Love Without a Faction
By Darian Rehder
"I just don't understand Tobias... Why can't we stay here? The Erodite will never find us here. We're way too far away for anyone to ever find us, and it is safe here. We have food, we have shelter, and I have you," Tris explains to a reluctant Tobias. They had traveled for days to get to this abandoned cabin. No one would ever be able to track them to where they were hiding. They had even found a way to hunt and cook food for themselves. Tris was just happy that they survived the war. Tobias, however, had a different idea.
"Tris, you know why we can't stay here. No matter where we go you'll always be with me... I promise," Tobias explains. "You know they'll find us if we stay here any longer. We have to get out of here and find more people. There must be more people away from all the factions, perhaps a different lifestyle."
"You're right Tobias. I'm being silly. All this time away from our faction is just making me lose my mind I guess," Tris replied, chuckling.
"You aren't losing your mind. You're just not thinking this through thoroughly enough sweetie."
Tobias leaned down and kissed Tris on the head, smiling. Then he looked up at the sky. "Come on Tris, get your stuff we need to leave before nightfall. I have a feeling their hunting parties are close and I don't want to be found. We still have the hard-drive with us. "
Tris took Tobias's hand and they walked into their cabin. Tris grabbed the hard-drive and all the clothes she had brought with her and stuffed them into a bag that the Amity had kindly given to her when she and Tobias had left. Tobias put his clothes in there with Tris's and then they hurried out the door. It was roughly around noon so they would be able to venture out into the woods quite a ways before the moon came out at night.
Tris and Tobias, hand in hand, started towards the dark evergreen forest ahead of them.
They entered the forest and immediately saw a doe and her fawn grazing in the green meadow grass beneath the shelter of the forest. Tobias smiled at the baby deer. Then he and Tris continued on through the forest.
Suddenly Tobias heard a loud crashing sound in the forest ahead of them. It sounded like some sort of vehicle was headed towards them through the trees. They needed to find somewhere to hide in case it was the Erudite.
Tris heard the noise at the same time as Tobias and she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind a thick bush that he had not seen. They crouched silently in the grass waiting to see what had made the crashing noise.
Tobias was right, it was the Erudite search party, looking for the two run-away lovers. They did not notice Tris and Tobias hiding behind the bush though. Tris let out a sigh of relief when they passed.
When it was safe to come out from behind the bush, Tris took Tobias's hand and stepped back out into the open area. They quickly started their walk again.
"Jesus that was close, we could have been caught!" Tris said frantically.
"Well we didn't, and that's what matters right now," Tobias replied.
They continued walking until sunset, when they found a large abandoned cave that must have used to belong to a large creature. Tris and Tobias lit a fire inside, offering protection from the predators outside. They had no food so they fell asleep by the fire together, Tris's head on Tobias's chest. It was almost peaceful with all of this craziness going on around them, they could finally forget everything else and surrender to the heat of the fire and the whistle of the wind outside.