Tobias insisting on coming with me to my first Amity training day, and even though I tried to protest I was secretly glad. I like the orchards and the temporary peace of amity, but I don't think I can handle all the well-meaning people there without some sense of sanity.

When we get to the compound we are met by some factionless guards, who then proceed to lead us away. They don't speak to us so we don't speak to them; instead we walk behind them holding hands in silence. It feels like it did in Cander when we were arrested. These guards are just as friendly.

'I think we're going to see Johanna,' Tobias eventually whispers into me ear, and I nod. I've already seen recognised the path to her office from the last time we came here before Erudite. It makes me nervous, and I automatically tighten my grip in his.

When we enter the room Tobias' easy relaxed posture changes and I feel him tense all over. In front of us is Johanna with hair covering one side of her face as usual, and next to her stands Marcus.

'What are you doing here?' Tobias says, withdrawing his hands from mine and clenching them into fists at his sides. They are so tight I can see his muscles changing to white before my eyes.

'Where did you think I was,' Marcus asks cocking an eyebrow at his son's reaction, 'I could hardly stay in Abnegation with your mother.' Tobias doesn't reply to this, and instead turns to Johanna, who has been looking between them with a look of growing concern on her face.

'I hope,' Tobias begins, evidently just able to control the anger that must now be pulsing around his veins like blood, 'That we are here for a reason, rather than the Amity trying to interfere again.'

'You are,' she replies, and her voice changes after that into a small whisper, 'The factionless guards are standing outside, so we can't talk as openly as I would like. We have decided that even though we value peace above all else we cannot watch the citizens of the faction suffer and die any longer. We would like to talk about an alliance, if what your dauntless leader was true and you plan to fight them.'

For a moment there is silence, and then I speak for the first time, in the same low voice that she was using.

'I've seen the amity make decisions before. It's hardly a subtle business. How did you get agreement for this.' She offers me a tight smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

'Much the same way, but we spread the word of what we were voting on beforehand. Instead of saying we were making the decision to ally with the factionless we said that we were making a decision on the type of fertiliser to use. So many of us have died that the word didn't take long to spread'

'Also,' Marcus cut in before either me or Tobias could reply, 'the factionless are still eating food provided and prepared by the amity. The fact that they are treating these people like servants means that they are susceptible to deception.'

'Deception?' Tobias shoots Marcus a sharp look, 'explain.'

Marcus looks like he is going to reply angrily, but Johanna cuts in, evidently trying to avoid a scene in her office.

'We've been putting peace serum into their food, and not just the bread. The food of the factionless and the amity are kept separately,' her voice is full of a tone I haven't heard in is before; disgust. 'Their food is of the best quality and our food is taken from the pieces that nobody else in the city will eat.'

I sigh and look up at Tobias, who is still staring at Marcus; his hand is twitching as though he is longing to hit him again. When Marcus opens his mouth to speak, I pry open his hand and slip mine into his again, foreseeing another ugly scene like that one in Cander.

'I heard that you were responsible for forming the alliance of the dauntless and factionless before. Surely you must feel responsible for getting the city out of the situation that you created for them.'

If possible Tobias tenses even more at my side, but doesn't make a move towards him. Instead he acts as though Marcus didn't speak.

'The Dauntless are willing to ally itself with the amity,' Is all he says to Johanna.

'Good,' she whispers, and then her voice changes again, returning to its normal volume, 'Tris you should head to the training area. Michael, will meet you outside. Four would you mind coming with myself and Marcus to our computer labs, we need to sort some things out, and I think you could help us.'

I don't want to leave Marcus with his father, but at a look from him I walk out of the room and follow the blonde amity boy to the area where they will try to teach me to be kind.


Robert is the one leading the training, and my chest lightens a little, relieved to see his familiar face; knowing that he is not one of the people who were brutally murdered by the factionless.

'My name is Robert,' He says, his voice soft and welcoming, 'for the next month most of you will be taught by me and another instructor names Kate. Suring this time in training you will be taught agriculture, voice control and many other things, but first I will show you around the areas that you will be using, after the brief tour there will be a time to ask what questions you have for me.'

The difference between this and my dauntless initiation surprises me. Where in Dauntless all voices were brisk and stern, here everything is soft edged and comfortable. I don't like it. It feels to slow and inefficient for me. Kindness may be a quality we all need to learn, but to my mind there is a difference between kindness and simpering.

We follow Robert and he stops at a room that looks familiar to me from Dauntless and that dreadful time in Erudite when they tortured me.

'This is the simulation room. Every day you will go through a simulation designed to test your kindness, and gradually your mind should start to understand how to deal with the situations you are presented with.'

I shudder. I have learned to hate simulations during the last months, and I am not eager to do it again. Although, I remind myself, this is amity and the simulations will not be at all what I have accustomed myself to.

Next he leads us to another small room, this time there are blank walls, and only two chairs inside them. Now I am curious to what this could be.

'Like the simulations you shall also be visiting here once a day to meet with an amity councillor. Here you will be taught how to modify things like posture and voice control so that you can encourage kindness in others as well as yourself. It is also a time fore reflection and to share anything you may be struggling with during the training period.'

Of course, I think, the amity would have time set aside for sharing feelings. With an effort I don't roll my eyes at the idea and follow the others outside into a small sunlit garden. Unlike the rest of the areas in the amity compound there is no vegetation here, just four rows of soil. Here and there are small fences separating the soil into squares.

'Here is where you will learn to grow things like us. You will each have your own patch of soil, in which you will grow what you want while you are here.' He looks at me now, and smiles 'The leaders we have training with us will share one patch of soil, as you cannot tend to it daily yourself.'

I am relieved when he turns away from me. Although I hate to admit it to myself this part of training does appeal to me. It seems like a good way to calm down at the end of the day, even if I am not particularly interested in growing things.

'And now our tour is over does anyone have anything there are not sure of.' No one seems to so he continues. He picks ten people at random and sends them to the simulation rooms, then another ten he instructs to stay and wait for someone who will teach them how to grow and maintain the gardens. I let out a sigh of exasperation as I realise that my first port of call has got to be the reflection rooms, but even though I hate the idea I grit my teeth and enter the room. The amity woman standing in from of me is dressed in fluorescent yellow and has a wide smile on her face.'

'Hey, I'm Kayla and we going to see each other every other day until training is over. Isn't that just terrific?' Her voice is high pitched and she is talking so fast that that it is a struggle to catch everything she says. Unlike Johanna I can tell that this woman is the kind of amity the dauntless dread meeting. She is gushy and perky, and more than anything I want to hit her, just to get the broad smile off her face.

Instead I sit down and the onslaught of questions and pointers about my voice and posture begin.


When training is finished I am distinctly nettled. The session with Kayla lasted for three hours, and although my temperament definitely became more hostile and sullen nothing could shift Kayla's perkiness. The simulation was almost as bad. It turns out that the situations they put you in can be as innocent as helping a woman who has fallen over on the street. Mine however was not that simple. When my simulation started I found myself standing in the middle of a battle. Like any Dauntless would I joined the fight, failing to notice the small child who was standing crying in the middle of it all. According to Robert, who was administering the simulation, my first though should have been shielding the child as he was an innocent.

The garden however was a lot better. With the help of the agriculture expert I planted half of out allotted seeds; tomatoes, green beans and potatoes, and felt myself relaxing. With ten minutes to go, my relaxation was shattered as Kayla appeared again to give me a hug and tell me that I had done 'a super job.' She then continued to prattle on for another twenty minutes, following me when I had started to walk to find Tobias. I only managed to shake her off by telling her I was tired and moving towards the room me and Tobias would be sharing until training had finished.

'Beatrice,'

I turn around to see who is calling me, instantly thinking that Kayla has discovered my duplicity. Instead I am looking at Robert, who is struggling to catch his breath.

'You... have to come …. with me.' He gasps, clutching at a stitch at his side.

'Why?' I ask in surprise, and then panic starts to seep in. 'Is it Tobias?' All Robert can do is nod, and I follow him without question, getting annoyed when he can't run fast enough.

'Oh for god's sake,' I snap, 'just tell me where to go and I'll go.' Breathlessly he rattled off the directions and I sprint in the direction he tells me.

'Outside near long grape vines, twisted in the shape of an apple I find Tobias. He is not alone however. Instead he stands with Evelyn and Marcus. I can tell that he is furious just by the look on his face, but he isn't shouting. Instead Evelyn is talking, and apparently ignoring Marcus completely. I quicken my pace until I am close enough to hear what she is saying.

'The amity is weak,' she says, 'and there is no room for weakness in the new society we are trying to build. Surely, Tobias you can see that we are doing what we need to, to make everybody stronger.'

'By killing innocent people,' Tobias spits at her, 'When you first approached me about an alliance you said that you didn't want to be tyrants. I guess that was just another lie.'

At this point I have reached him, but he doesn't make any sign that he has noticed me. He just continues to stare at his mother as though he has never seen her before. Inside me there is a small part of me that is saying 'I told you so' but the rest of me is too appalled with what she is saying.

'The lost all right to innocence when they refused to fight against the erudite.' Evelyn's face is flushed now, just as angry as Tobias, 'and if I remember rightly those who did come to erudite we focused on blocking us and stopping the attack.'

'No,' Tobias says in a deadly calm voice, 'They were protecting the Cander there. The Cander who you and your factionless were content to mow down, even when we told you that they were under a simulation.'

'If you are against us you are a liability,' I can hear the disgust in her voice, and for the first time I see the true Evelyn, or at least what her life has turned her into. She looks at son, and her face is a mask of hatred and disgust. I feel sympathy for Tobias, because no matter how angry I made my parents they never looked at me like that.

I am so absorbed in pity for him that I don't notice what is happening until its too late. Evelyn grabs the gun at her hip and aims for Tobias, who like me seems too stunned to react. When she fires Marcus is the one who reacts. He throws himself in front of Tobias, taking the impact of the bullet that was meant for his son.

Evelyn drops the gun, and spins on her heal. She doesn't try to shoot Tobias again but I can tell that this is fat from over. I am sorely tempted to follow her and attack her for threatening Tobias' life but instead I fall to Marcus' side. Bullet went through his chest, and I can already tell that he is far beyond anybody's ability to heal. He is still conscious, but barely. Tobias is just standing there not making a move towards either parent.

'Tobias,' I shout, breaking him out of his reverie and he joins me on the ground. Marcus' breaths are rattling and ragged but his arm reaches out and grabs Tobias' wrist. Tobias leans down and Marcus whispers something into his ear. He doesn't seem to react, but I see his fingers clench into fists when Marcus pulls away and the light leaves his eyes.


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