WARNING: YOU MIGHT NEED SOME KLEENEX.

Chapter 7

"You like me?" Tris asked shyly. "You are not afraid of my dad and my brothers?"

"Tobias gave me that the big brother 'hurt my little sister, I'll throw your ass into the chasm' speech and your dad said that speech is sufficient for him."

"Just as long as you are not getting dating advice from Zeke, that is good," Tris said. "He is a such a man whore and Aunt Tori told me that he is not allowed to get a tattoo at the parlor anymore, said that she does not want to risk anyone's health."

I could understand why Tori does not want to risk Dauntless members' health with Zeke getting a tattoo. From what I learned in school, some sexually transmitted diseases are spread by blood and Tori does not want to take a chance and accidentally infect someone.

"What is the deal with Zeke?" Christina asked. "He is hot as hell and I would not mind having him take my virginity."

"Look, Christina," Tris said. "Zeke is not the person you should have a sexual relationship with, even if it is a one-night stand. Zeke contracted HIV six years ago from a factionless man while he was out on patrol. Two years ago, it became full-blown AIDS. Do you want your first time to be with someone that can give you something that could possibly kill you?"

"And another thing, what our parents told us that the serums at Erudite are not working for Zeke," Uriah added. "The doctors at Erudite told Mom and Dad that he may not make it to Christmas."

I noticed that Uriah and Tris were holding each other and crying over each other shoulders. I remember the day when a Dauntless patrol officer told my family that Erika passed away.

Flashback

It was dinnertime, just the typical dinner in Erudite. Mom and Dad asked Emily and me what we learned at school today.

"In faction history class today, there was this Candor kid, Peter Hayes, that kept beating up the Amity and Abnegation kids," I said. "What worse, he said that the kids beat him up, so of course the teacher believed that prick. Well, that day, the principal Mr. Prior, well he knew about Peter's antics because of his friendship with Jack Kang and had a bottle of truth serum in his pocket. Mr. Prior injected Peter with the truth serum and he was forced to confess that the reason why he beat up the Amity and Abnegation kids because his biological parents had an affair and they were forced to give him up for adoption. It turned out that the Amity and Abnegation leaders had an affair and it resulted in Peter."

"It seems like this Peter kid has a lot of unresolved issues behind his adoption," Mom said. "I will have him come to the school counselor office to talk about this issue."

KNOCK-KNOCK

"I'll get it," Dad said.

I followed Dad to the door, wondering who could be at the door.

Dad opened the door and saw two of the Dauntless patrol officers with serious looks on their faces.

"I am Sergeant Shauna Hilton, and this is Officer Mia Jones," a young Dauntless woman said. "Is Ethan or Elizabeth Coulter here?"

"Yes, I am Ethan," Dad said. "Is there something wrong with Erika?" Erika was on her way to Amity to fix Amity's irrigation system.

"What is the matter?" Mom asked as she rushed towards the door with Emily behind her.

"Your daughter Erika was killed in a car accident," Officer Jones said. "She was killed instantly."

"NO, NO, NOT MY BABY GIRL," Mom yelled as she collapsed on the floor.

"Do know what the cause of the crash?" Dad asked.

"According to the preliminary toxicity screen, she was clean," Sergeant Hilton said. "No alcohol or serums were in her system and her car had no mechanical issues. Another car was involved in the accident, but we could not find the driver of the other car. I am sorry for your loss."

"We will be going now," Officer Jones said. "Sorry for your loss."

The officers left, and Dad had the serious look on his face and he looked at me and Emily.

"I believe that Erika was killed because she was Divergent," Dad said. "Eric, in two years, you will be able to choose your faction. Eric, since you have the aptitudes for Erudite, Dauntless and Amity, when it is time to choose, pick Dauntless because you will be able to defend yourself."

"Yes, Dad, I will do that," I said through tears.

Erudite law requires all kids to be tested for Divergence and according to Dad, so that Jeanine can kill them when they are 20 years old, that is if they choose Erudite. A transfer to Dauntless will save my life.

I went over to Tris and Uriah and offered them my hugs. Tris already knows about my sister, so I told Uriah a brief version of what happened to Erika and how she died because she was Divergent.

"Eric is not the only one that lost a family member," Caleb said as he joined us. "I lost my dad and I really miss him."

Everyone else shared their stories of loss. Marlene lost her mom and baby brother a car accident when Marlene was 8 years old. Christina and Lynn both lost their fathers, Christina's to cancer and Lynn's because he took a bullet that was meant for Marcus Eaton two years before he died of a heart attack. Will's sister Cara, who knew from Erudite, also died from cancer when she was 15 years old.

So far, the only ones that have not lost anyone were Al, Edward and Myra. I see Al comforting Lynn as she remembered her dad.

"Hey, it's getting late and we should go to bed now," Edward said.

The Dauntless-born initiates started to head back towards their dorm. I hugged Tris good night before she left to follow Uriah back to the Dauntless-born dorm.

Before she left, she whispers in my ear, "I like you too, Eric."