Chapter One
Tris' POV
I watch him place his finger, very gently, on the trigger of the gun. He looks at me and raises the gun. He takes aim at my chest, and then holds the gun still as the silence looming between us. I look him dead in the eye, almost challenging him.
"I know what you did," I say. I start to back up, searching the room with my eyes for the black box containing the memory serum. "I know you designed the attack simulation. I know you're responsible for my parents' death – for my Mother's death. I know."
"I am not responsible for her death!" David says, the words falling from his mouth too fast, too sudden, too loud. "I warned her what was coming just before the attack began, so that she had enough time to escort her loved ones to a safe house. If she had stayed put, she would have lived. However, she was a foolish woman who didn't understand making sacrifices for the greater good, and it killed her! It killed her Beatrice, just like it will kill you."
I stop searching the room with my eyes, and instead focus on him. Nothing else. There's something about the way he sounded so desperate, desperate that she was still alive, desperate that he could've saved her, desperate that she was his.
"You loved her, didn't you?" I ask him.
He goes completely still, rigid in his chair. He pales slightly and mumbles a reply.
"I did. A long time ago. Not any more."
I nod, suddenly understanding. He welcomed me into his circle of trust because I am so much like my Mother. I carry her hair, her voice, her bravery, her selflessness, her divergence. I am my Mother.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot the device I have spent all this time looking for. Without a second glance, I twist and lunge towards it. I hear the deafening bang of the gun firing, and pain surges through my body, making it heavier to drag across the room. Somehow, I don't know how, I make it to the device, and with shaking hands, I press the code into the device.
The gun fires again.
Even more pain. My vision is going blurry, and black dots are appearing in front of me, but I keep going. I finish punching the code in and go to press the green button to set off the serum but a numb feeling takes over my body and I fall to the floor. I close my eyes and try to fight the pain that is shutting down my body, killing it, and with one last surge of energy I reach up and slam my hand onto the keyboard, just before I hit the floor. A light turns green above me and I hear a beep, followed by a churning noise.
A weak, limp smile falls onto my face as I realize I did it. Even though I will die here, I have saved everyone. I have done my bit, now I must leave. I see my Mother emerge from behind David and walk towards me, in the same clothes she wore the last time I saw her, Abnegation grey, stained with her blood, with bare arms to show her tattoo. There are still bullet holes in her shirt; through them I can see her wounded skin, red but no longer bleeding, like she's frozen in time. Her dull blonde hair is tied back in a knot, but a few loose strands frame her face in gold.
I take a deep breath, my last one, and stare at her. I know she can't be alive, but I don't know if I'm seeing her now because I'm delirious from the blood loss or if the death serum has addled my thoughts or if she is here in some other way.
She crouches next to me and places a cool hand on my cheek, and strokes it lovingly, her eyes filled with a mixture of tears and pride.
"My Beatrice. My brave, intelligent, selfless Beatrice. I am so proud of you. You have done so much for so little in return."
I smile weakly and look up to her so are eyes are level.
"Am I done yet?" I whisper, as more pain shoots through my body.
"Not yet, my darling daughter, not yet. The war is over, but you still have a long, strong life to lead with Tobias. You need to hold on until somebody finds you."
"I can't, Mom, it hurts to bad. Can't I come with you?" I beg.
"No, not yet, sweetie. There are still people who need you. Hold on for Caleb, Christina, Tobias. They all need you. You need them. That is why you are not joining your Father and I just yet. Do you understand baby?"
I nod silently, looking at her.
"Good. I love you so much, and I am so proud of you. Remember, I am always here with you." She finishes, tears beginning to spill down her face.
And without waiting for me to say anything, she turns and walks away, past David and right through the doors that have just sprung open. I see Tobias run in, closely followed by Christina, who screams when she sees me. They both throw themselves down on the ground next to me, and Tobias abruptly gathers me in his arms and sobs as Christina holds my hand.
"Stay strong, Tris. Stay strong." He murmurs repeatedly in my hair, as I close my eyes and enter darkness.