"What are you doing on the Chasm floor this late?" it was Jeanine.
"I was just… relaxing," Four stuttered.
"Right. Well I have a question for you," she smiled. "I was wondering if you would allow me to bring a few people from my faction to search Dauntless for Divergents. We've already… taken care of the Divergents from Candor, Amity, and of course, Erudite. We were hoping to search Dauntless next."
"Why do you want to search places? Divergents can't do any harm to anyone."
"Have your eyes been closed your entire life, Tobias? Those Divergents will ruin our society."
"I don't think so Jeanine. They haven't been a problem so far."
"Fine, Tobias," she handed him a paper, probably the same one she gave Eric. "I need you to consider this. It's extremely important. I will be back in three days and you should have your decision. Choose wisely."
Jeanine then walked away. Four searched the paper. In perfect scrawl it read:
To whom it may concern,
You are in a very high position inside your faction. This is why I, Jeanine Matthews, have decided to ask you what you think about the horrible Divergent problem. We are asking you your permission to search your faction for Divergents. Some kind of "Aptitude Test" will be performed on any Divergent suspects. This Test will not affect these people the way the Aptitude Test did, it will be much more safe, and it will only take a short while.
Thank you for considering,
Jeanine Matthews
There was no way Four could do this. He knew Marlee was different, he knew she belonged in more than one place. He knew she was Divergent. And anyway, he didn't think it mattered. Even if Marlee wasn't Divergent it didn't matter. There was nothing wrong with them.
He turned the paper over and there was more writing.
Please fill out the following information below:
1) Do you think that we should be allowed to search your faction for Divergents?
2) What do you think about the Divergent community?
Instead of filling it out he let it drop to the bottom of the Chasm. There was no way he could touch the paper again. As the paper fluttered down he listened carefully. He thought he could hear someone walking towards him. He swung himself around, prepared to run.
It was Marlee. "Tobias? What are you doing here?" She stood at the unofficial entrance of the Chasm. Her arms were crossed and she was shivering. Her face seemed dim and she looked extremely tired.
"I come here when I need a break from everything," Four half smiled at his sister.
"Oh."
"How'd you find your way here? Did they show you?"
"No. I was just exploring."
"You shouldn't be out this late, Marlee," Four said. Marlee considered this. She looked down at her feet and squeezed her sides.
"I know, brother, and neither should you."
"I had some important stuff to take care of as well," he snapped (literally), and glanced down at the paper. "Jeanine was talking to me about something," he looked back at his younger sister. She looked back up at her brother.
"About what?"
"Nothing important. Anyway, you look tired, you should get back to sleep," he walked over to Marlee and put his arm around her. "I can walk you back."
"Fine. Only as long as you tell me what happened later," she put her arm around Four. They walked together away from the Chasm into the dark maze of the compound. As they got farther and farther from the Chasm it got quieter and quieter. The dripping eventually stopped.
"Good night, sister," Four said as they stopped at Marlee's door. "I will be there tomorrow, I promise."
"I'm scared," she looked up at him.
"It will be alright," Four smiled. "I'll be there to keep you safe."
Marlee opened the door and entered her room. And that was when Four realized something. Eric was a transfer from Erudite two years ago. He told Jeanine he didn't want her searching Dauntless. He betrayed his former leader.
It was getting late, and Four didn't want to wander in the hallways any longer. He made his way back to his bedroom. He went in the kitchen and got himself a piece of the famous Dauntless chocolate cake. As soon as he finished he climbed in bed and almost immediately fell asleep.
—
When Four woke up he was too tired to make himself any breakfast, and he didn't want to go eat with everyone else. He always hated being surrounded by people. He looked in the refrigerator and searched for something to eat. The chocolate cake was gone, for he had gotten up multiple times that eat and found himself hungry.
After drinking a glass of water he went out for another walk. He was going down to the Chasm to see what happened to the paper. Of course it was probably gone, but he wanted something other than nothing. As soon as he found his way to the Chasm he heard a pair of voices.
"I cannot believe it. Initiation is so complicated."
"Yeah, and Eric keeps scaring us by telling us we'll be factionless."
"It's so unfair."
Four kept walking, trying to seem casual. As he got closer the voices seemed more distant. When he finally walked around the corner there was no one there. They must've walked away. He knew that Eric could be harsh to the initiates, and it was true that they could potentially become factionless. Nothing was unfair at all. This confused Four.
He decided to wander the halls, of course this could very well be against the rules, but Four never made the effort to pay attention to what they were. In fact, he probably had something to do. Probably somewhere to be. After a while he just didn't care anymore. He did what he wanted and he did it whenever he wanted to.