Hello, everyone! Sorry this is late. I started re-reading what I had already written and then noticed that I had left out a couple words in some sentences and that sometimes I changed tense so I went back and edited the last six chapters. The information in them hasn't changed but the formatting has, so no reason to go back and re-read unless you just really like this story. I'd like to thank foreverellen, Raynacch SilverMoon, Xassiopea, koipond-tea, ThisIsSoCool, HermioneSnape4eva, and TrueColorsNeverFade for reviewing. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please Review!

Disclaimer: I only own Liss.


As usual, I'm the first one up and out of the room. Since we don't have training today, I go straight to the cafeteria, which is mainly empty. I take a seat at an empty table and pick at a muffin. Soon, Tobias joins me.

"Morning," I say.

"Morning."

I'm not quite sure what to say to him; it's been two years since we even had an average conversation and I'm unsure what would be appropriate for me to say. It's noticeable that Tobias is having the same problem, as he keeps opening his mouth to say something before closing it. Taking a bite out of my food, I rack my brain for something to say.

"So . . ." I trail off.

"Yeah?"

"So, I noticed yesterday that you stepped out when Peter and Tris were fighting."

"And?"

"And, you didn't step out for anyone else," I pause before saying, "Do you like her?"

He quickly replies, "No."

"You're lying," I state, grinning.

"She's an initiate, and she isn't the best at fighting."

My smile instantly falls and I ask, "So, you don't think Tris can make it past Stage One? She's done well. I mean, yeah she lost to Peter but he's one of the best in the class."

"It could go either way right now. Even if she does make it past Stage One, she's still an initiate."

"So? It's not like you're going to announce it to everyone. And I'm an initiate too, and you and I are allowed to talk outside of training. No one has to know you like her like that."

"You're not my initiate; you're Eric's."

"Oh, come on, he's not that bad." Tobias raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "Okay, so he's sort of bad, but he's been helping me."

"He's using you to help himself."

"I know that, but-"

"No, you've got to be careful around him Liss; especially during Stage Two."

Something in his tone makes me pause and before I can ask what "Stage Two" is, Zeke comes and sits down next to Tobias.

"Hey," he says to both of us.

"Hey," I reply while standing up, "I'm gonna go find Will."

"Liss, can we finish talking after dinner?"

"I'm supposed to meet with Eric, but I can go to your room after."

He clenches his fist when I mention Eric but agrees.

Once I exit the cafeteria, I decide to head to the roof rather than finding Will. I walk through the Pit weaving my way in and out through clusters of people; it's then that I spot Eric and Max. Eric catches my eye and motions for me to join them and I do so reluctantly.

"Hey," I state awkwardly.

"Max, this is Liss. Liss, this is Max."

Max nods at me and I say, "It's nice to meet you."

"I was informing him of how your training was going," Eric claims, looking at me expectantly.

"Eric's been a great teacher so far, I don't think I could have won my fight yesterday without him."

"I'm more interested in how you won your first fight. What made you think to use someone's pressure point?"

"Oh. Well, I mean, there weren't any rules. I was told the fight would end when one of us couldn't continue. I didn't want to seriously hurt anyone, and I don't think that the point of Stage One is to necessarily teach us how to harm someone."

"Oh?" Max questions.

I swallow and dig my nails into the palms of my hand, out of nervousness. Eric is watching me closely and I can tell he's irritated that I couldn't corporate without making things complicated.

"Well, part of it is, but I think it's not just about showing that you're courageous. It's showing that you know what to do with bravery, that you aren't just charging into something to prove a point. In order to be brave, to me, it means that you have to be intelligent and honest and selfless, and I guess I might as well throw kind in there too. You have to be honest with yourself about why you're being brave and you have to be smart because running out unprepared will most likely get you killed. You have to put others in front of yourself generally and that's kind and selfless."

We all stare at each other for a moment, and I suddenly wish I had listened to Tobias when he told me to be careful, non-Divergents don't think this way.

"Haven't heard anything like that before, but you're right. It's about teaching you what to do if you need to take action. We could use more people like you in Dauntless."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding and Max checks his watch.

"Thanks," I reply.

"I've got a meeting, Eric be at my office by three. Nice meeting you, Liss," Max conveys before walking off.

After a few seconds I say, "You're welcome."

"For what?"

"He liked me. That helps you, doesn't it?"

"You almost blew it with your speech," he spits out.

I feel an overwhelming amount of rage seep into me. How dare he? I go out of my way to help him and then, when things go right, he gets angry because I didn't follow his stupid script.

"He liked the speech. I was just being myself. And, maybe, if you thought like that, he might stop trying to offer Four your job."

His eyes flash and I step back when I see his hands curl up into fists. However, he doesn't hit me just seethes silently. I had hit the nerve that I was aiming for, but I was already beginning to feel slightly guilty for saying it. Before I can decide if I want to take it back or not, Eric turns on his heel and storms out of the Pit.


"What do you think is out there?" Christina questions. "I mean, beyond the fence."

I'm sitting on the floor of the train next to Will, trying to keep my mind from wandering back to my conversation with Eric.

"A bunch of farms, I guess," Tris answers and I notice her eyes flicker over to Tobias.

"Yeah, but I mean . . . past the farms. What are we guarding the city from?" Christina continues, then she turns to Tris and says, "Monsters!" while wiggling her fingers.

"We didn't even have guards near the fence until five years ago. Don't you remember when Dauntless police used to patrol the factionless sector?" Will says.

"Yes," Tris and I say simultaneously.

"Oh, right. I bet you guys saw them all the time," Will replies.

"Why do you say that?" Tris asks, sharply.

"Because you had to pass the factionless sector to get to school, right?"

"What did you do, memorize a map of the city for fun?" Christina teases.

"Yes. Didn't you?"

Will appears so puzzled at Christina's question that I can't help but laugh while the train comes to a halt. I jump out of the car, and look around. A barbed wire fence stretches across the land; behind the fence the only thing that's visible are trees. Several Dauntless are sprawled out around the fence, carrying guns.

"Follow me," Tobias orders.

We walk till we reach the road that continues on underneath the gate, which I notice locks from the outside.

"If you don't rank in the top five at the end of initiation, you will probably end up here. Once you are a fence guard, there is some potential for advancement, but not much. You may be able to go on patrols beyond Amity's farms, but-"

"Patrols for what purpose?" Will pipes up.

"I suppose you'll discover that if you find yourself among them. As I was saying. For the most part, those who guard the fence when they are young continue to guard the fence. If it comforts you, some of them insist that it isn't as bad as it seems."

"What rank were you?" Peter asks.

"I was first," Tobias answers.

"Why didn't you get a government job?" Peter continues.

"I didn't want one."

The rest of the trip passes by uneventfully and soon we're headed back to the Dauntless compound.


At a quarter to eight I head to the training room, unsure if Eric will even show. I start up on one of the punching bags; however, I have difficulty keeping my attention on fighting, and my eyes begin to flicker to the door every couple seconds. When Eric finally does arrive, it's well past eight and my punching bag is swinging from the force of each punch I attack it with.

As he approaches me, I stop and say, "I didn't think you'd show. I wanted to apologize, for what I said. I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, you did. You don't have to apologize; I need you to win your next fight, so I'm going to continue training you. Now go, I haven't got all day."

The anger from earlier returns and I turn to the punching bag and hit it with as much force as I can muster over and over while replying,

"I'm not apologizing so that you'll train me. I'm doing it, because I mean it."

I kick the bag and it swings out again; then I turn to Eric.

"I know, I shouldn't have said what I did to Max. I'm aware that every time I do the opposite of what you say, I end up screwing things up. So, when I apologized, I wasn't doing it for my own benefit."

He nods and I take that as him accepting my apology. It's only now that I realize that I'm less than half a foot away from him.

"You're doing better," he pauses, "If we can get you this angry before your last fight, you'll win for sure."

"What?" I ask.

"When you punch the bag, it usually only swings a bit, but since I've walked in, it's been swaying almost every time you hit it."

He grabs my shoulder and turns me around so that I'm facing the bag again then gently pushes me towards it.

I swing my arm forward, but even before it hits I know it's not forceful enough.

"No, not like that. Get that anger back, from what I've seen, you have a lot to be angry about."

I'm curious as to what he means by that but let it slide. Instead, I imagine Marcus there, I think of everything that he's done to Tobias and I, how it's his fault that I'm here and he's the reason I grew up without a mom.

This time when my fist collides with the bag it sways slightly and I can see Eric smirk out of the corner of my eye.

He has me continue practicing till almost ten and when he dismisses me, I feel lighter as if some of my anger that's been stored for years has been let out.

"Oh, shoot," I say as we exit the training room.

"What?" Eric inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"I told Four that I'd meet him in his room after we finished, but I still don't know where his room is."

Eric's lips twitch upwards slightly before he says, "I'll take you."

"Really?"

"Come on," he states already walking off.

I scurry after him.

"How do you know where he lives?"

"We were in the same initiate class, so our rooms are near each other."

"You transferred from Erudite," I claim. "Four told me."

He rolls his eyes before asking, "What else has Four said about me?"

I shrug. "Not much, we haven't really talked but from what I have seen, you're not exactly his favorite topic."

However, as I mentally flip through all of my conversations with Tobias, I notice that Eric has been mentioned in almost all of them. After three more turns, Eric stops in front of a plain black door, then knocks. We stand in silence for a moment before I say,

"Thanks."

"No problem," he replies before placing a hand on my shoulder. "You did well today, Liss."

The door swings open and I rip my eyes from Eric's. I take a step back, making Eric's hand fall. Tobias and Eric glare at each other for a moment, and I clear my throat.

"So, uh, yeah. Thanks again," I say stepping towards Tobias.

They both look towards me and I push Tobias back so that I can get into the room. Nodding towards Eric, I close the door.

"Gosh, you two act like you're five."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Well, thanks but I can look out for myself." Tobias looks at me doubtfully. "I can, he's not trying to hurt me. If he was, wouldn't he have done something by now?"

He looks like he wants to say something else, but instead he nods stiffly. His room is spacious; a large bed with a blue quilt sits in the middle, a small kitchen is in one corner and an open door on the other side of the room leads to a bathroom. The words "Fear God Alone" are spray painted on one of the white walls.

"Thirsty?" he questions.

I nod and we both walk to the kitchen. I sit down on one of the four chairs surrounding a dining table as he fills a glass of water. He hands me the glass then takes the seat opposite of me. After a moment of silence he says,

"What happened when I left?"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"When I switched factions. What happened?"

I can see a slight amount of guilt in his eyes and I look down at my hands.

"Nothing. Well . . . not nothing. But things stayed the same. Marcus was still . . ." I trail off. "Can we just not talk about this? I mean, it won't change anything. It won't make things better, and I meant it when I said I don't blame you. He would have continued even if you had stayed. I . . . I want to get over it. I want to quit feeling like he's controlling my life. I'm out, I can make my own choices now and I shouldn't have to worry about what he thinks."

"I'm sorry Liss."

"No! Stop saying you're sorry. If anyone should be sorry, it should be him. I hate him."

"Yeah, I'd like nothing more than to put a bullet in his head for doing what he did to us."

"Me too."

We exchange a glance and I smile slightly, glad to have finally gotten that out. Then I lean back in my chair and say,

"Earlier, you said to be careful during Stage Two. Why?"

"You're Divergent, right?" I nod. "Stage Two is a simulation, or several simulations. It's easy to pick out the Divergents. The leaders, including Eric, will be paying close attention, trying to spot any Divergents and if they find you, they will kill you. My instructor, Amar, was Divergent and he knew I was too. They killed him, a week after my initiation was over."

"Do you think it was Eric?" I ask, and for some reason I'm filled with a desperate desire for him to say, "no" that he doesn't believe that Eric did it.

"There's no proof, but he's not going to go out of his way to protect you. He'd rather get rid of you, they think Divergents threaten the system. From what I've seen, Eric will do a lot in order to keep his job title safe. "

I think about my speech that I had given Max earlier and dread fills my stomach. He'll most likely be keeping an eye on me from now on.

"Okay," I say. "I'll be more careful."

"You should go back to your dorm. It's late and you'll have to be up extra early tomorrow."

I nod and hug Tobias tightly before leaving.