The sight of them caused Tris's heart to stop. She had decided to stay up later than usual, occupying herself with her thoughts. There was something peaceful about the streets of the Factionless sector at night. The world was asleep, and it was as if the thing that divided them all fell away. Everyone was on equal footing in the stillness of the night. She had just turned the corner to head back to the warehouse where she slept, when she saw something. Two people jumped out of the Train that was passing, hitting the ground with a thud. Tris quickly hid herself from view, until the moonlight above revealed their faces.
Her Mom had an excited yet determined look on her face, while her Father looked like he was going to pass out. She thought that rather odd, since her Father was the strongest man she ever knew. They both looked around a moment before turning their backs to her and walking in the opposite direction. Her heart caught in her throat at the prospect of losing this opportunity. Tris acted quickly – and rather recklessly, considering it was the middle of the night. In one swift motion, she was back around the corner and headed right for them.
She had learned rather early how to keep her footfalls from making too much noise, so she was able to get incredibly close without being detected. Once she was about five or six feet away, she planted her feet on the ground and said the only thing she could think of.
"You're going the wrong way."
Both of them froze, but it was her Mother who turned around first. Though it was rather dark out, as the moon hid behind some clouds, Tris could tell she recognized her. Whatever her Mom was holding she dropped to the ground and bridged the gap between them. Her arms wrapped around her daughter, pulling her close to her chest. It had been so long since she had hugged her Mom that all she could do was cry. The tears came quick and fast, and she did her best to keep the sobs inside. But it was no use – they came more quickly than the tears did, and with ferocity Tris hadn't known in a long time.
"Shh..." Her Mom whispered, running a hand over her hair. "It's alright; we're here now."
Tris sobbed again. "You're here."
She pulled back and gently brushed a tear from her cheek. "Look at you – my daughter, the fighter."
This caused a laugh to escape her. "You have no idea."
Just then, Tris remembered it wasn't just her Mother who had come to see her. Looking over her shoulder, she found her Father standing a few feet away. A look of uncertainty passed across his face as their eyes met. She knew the reason it was there. That day at the Choosing Ceremony will forever be ingrained in her memory. The look of anger and disgust on her Father's face plagued her thoughts for months after becoming Factionless. Tris even began to harbor unforgiveness and anger in her heart for him as well. But seeing him standing here now left her nothing but joyful.
"Dad," She said softly, wrapping her arms around him much like her Mother had done with her. She felt him relax beneath her as he brought his arms around her.
"I've missed you," He whispered in her ear before pulling back. "God knows how much I've missed you."
"I'm not mad at you." She responded, still seeing some fear in his eyes. It dissipated at her words.
"I'm so sorry for how I reacted to your choice. It was your choice, after all. I had no right to -."
Tris cut him off. "You don't need to explain. You're here now – that's all that matters."
"We brought you some things," Her Mom interjected, grabbing the backpack and handing it to her. "Clothes and food."
She smiled, thinking of what she would do with this. "Thank you, Mom. This will go to good use." She paused a moment before looking around. "C'mon, let's go somewhere safer. I'd like you to meet some people."
With that, they made their way to Tris's warehouse. Everyone was asleep already – everyone except Margaret. The look of shock on her face when Tris introduced her to each of them was quite amusing. Margaret was nothing but kind, shaking both of their hands and pointing out her younger sister, who was already asleep. The night slowly drifted on from there, with talking and quiet laughter. It wasn't until the sun began to peek over the horizon did they realize how late it. Tris escorted her parents out of the warehouse.
"My sweet girl," Her Mom whispered as she hugged her. "I love you."
She smiled as she pulled back. "I love you too, Mom. I love you both. But I don't think you should come back here." The look on her Mom's face was heart breaking, but she continued onward anyway. "You know the rule: Faction before blood. If they catch you spending time with me, God only knows what they'll do to you. And I couldn't bear to be the reason you both were hurt."
Her Father smiled sadly, but nodded. "Beatrice is right, Sweetheart. We took a big risk coming here tonight, and while I wouldn't trade it for the world, it was dangerous. If we do this on a regular basis, people will start to notice. The wrong people."
Her Mom sighed, placing an arm gently on both of them. "When did you two become so much alike?"
Tris laughed softly before turning serious. "I will find a way to keep us together – you just need to give me some time. This won't be the last time you see me. It will only be the last time you see me here."
After a few more moments of discussion, they all agreed. Meeting together like this – in the middle of the night, in the Factionless sector – was far too risky for all of them. If they were going to continue to be a family, they would need to find another way. Tris had taken it upon herself to find a way to make this happen, but what could she do? She had no resources at her disposal and a no voice. An idea popped into her mind as she watched her Mom and Dad jump onto the moving Train. It was a crazy idea, but if she was ever going to see her family again, she would need to go through with it. And why waste time?
Tonight would be as good a time as ever to hop on the Train and hope Four was there to help her.
The Dauntless soldiers had just left to patrol the various Factionless sectors when Four decided to take the risk. It would only take them one Train ride around the city to find their positions, and for the rest of the night, the Train would be unoccupied. He could easily sneak onto it and spy on his fellow Dauntless. He needed to find some answers, and what better place to start than the source.
Grabbing the spare jacket in his room, Four made his way through the Chasm and out into the night. The sun was just dipping below the horizon, as the moon made it's appearance. There would be just enough light to see whether anyone was close enough to spot him. The cool air swirled around him as he looked for signs of life. Thankfully, he was alone.
Once Four hopped onto the Train, he thought about just how he was going to spy on the soldiers. He could go to each Factionless sector and figure out who was where. Some of the Dauntless soldiers were slackers, so he wouldn't have to worry about the sectors they patrolled. He was more concerned about the sector that Eric and his buddies patrolled. That would be the most dangerous.
As the Train came closer and closer to the Amity Farms, he decided to start with Tris's sector – that way, he could keep an eye out for her as well. He wasn't sure why he felt such a pull toward this girl who was little more than a stranger to him. Maybe it was the way she carried herself – with strength and confidence - despite her circumstances. Maybe he just felt obligated, now that he had already saved her once. Whatever the motivation was, he decided to let it guide his actions.
He rose from his seated position against the wall, and was just about to get off the Train when he saw her. The Train moved past her quickly, and he watched as Tris reached for the door handle, but missed. A hurricane of emotions coursed through him. What on earth was she doing here? Had she lost her mind? Moving toward the open door, he leaned out and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. The look of shock on her face didn't amuse him like it usually did, and the first thing he did when he steadied her was yell.
"Are you insane?"
She flinched slightly at his tone, but didn't say anything.
Four groaned and grabbed her arm, pulling her further into the Train car. "Do you have a death wish, or something? Off all the nights to go for a ride, you picked tonight!"
"What are you talking about?" She responded, finally finding her voice.
Realization dawned on him. He hadn't told her about the Dauntless soldiers, so how could she possibly know not to ride the Train tonight. A wave of guilt crashed over him. and he sighed. "Oh crap..."
Tris frown, crossing her arms. "Care you explain why you're screaming at me?"
He ran his right hand through his hair and sighed again. "I'm sorry, Tris. I shouldn't have yelled like that. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Didn't you see them?" His voice still held an angry edge.
She hesitated slightly before answering. "You mean the Dauntless soldiers? Yes, I saw them. And I was going to ask you about that, but you didn't give me a chance to." She paused. "What are they doing here?"
He shrugged before sitting down again. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I was going to spend the night spying on them, but I can't very well leave you here to fend for yourself."
Anger passed over her face. "I am fully capable of taking care of myself."
"I'm well aware of that, but there are certain people you wouldn't want to meet in the middle of the night. Trust me."
Tris sat down across from Four, crossing her legs. "Like who?"
He ignored her question with one of his own. "What are you doing here, anyway? I distinctly remember telling you not to ride the Train again."
She hesitated, which puzzled him. "I was, uh...I was hoping to find you."
"What?"
She sighed and looked past him at the wall. "I need your help."
"With what?"
With that, she dove right into the events of the last day. Four was shocked to see that her parents had the guts to visit her. Certainly, they couldn't be from Abnegation. No one there was foolish enough to mess with the rules set by the Founders. Candor, maybe, because of their brass. Definitely not Amity. He let his thoughts drift away from where she came from and back to the present. It didn't take him long to figure out why she wanted to find him. The love Tris had for her parents was obvious, and seeing them again for the first time in over a year only caused that love to grow stronger. But having her parents come to the Factionless sector at night was not only dangerous but reckless as well.
"Do you know of another way I can see them? Without the risk of someone finding out?"
Four shook his head. "There really isn't any safe way to see them. You really just need to find the least dangerous option."
She nodded as disappointment clouded her features. "I know. It was silly of me to hope otherwise."
Looking over at her, he smiled as an idea began to form. "I have an idea, but it's going to take some planning and a lot of bravery."
Her eyes lit up. "Tell me."
He laughed at her excitement. "First, I need to know what Faction you came from. Because if you came from Dauntless, this isn't going to work."
"I didn't come from Dauntless."
He noticed she didn't expand on her statement, but that didn't bother him too much. He had kept secrets his whole life, so he would respect her decision to keep her own. "Good. This may work then."
Four began detailing his plan, right down to the last point. Dauntless was quite a large faction, so not everyone knew each person there. You could easily sneak people in an out if they looked the part. With a little bit of ingenuity, he was going to pass off Tris and her parents as being part of Dauntless. He knew Shauna and Zeke wouldn't stop until they found out what he was doing, so he decided to include them in the plan. Shauna would get the clothes Tris and her parents needed, while Zeke would work on the tattoos and piercings. These would be fake, of course, but the Dauntless didn't need to know that.
"You and your parents can spend the night at the Dauntless compound, and leave early in the morning before anyone was the wiser."
Tris looked hesitant. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
To be honest, he wasn't certain it would work, but it was worth a shot. "As long as you look the part, and don't talk to anyone besides myself, everything should be fine."
A look of relief passed over her face, and Four felt his heart fill with happiness. It was nice to see Tris look so content, especially after the events of the last couple of weeks. They spent another fifteen minutes or so talking until the Train started to pass by Tris's home. Four knew if they spent any more time on the Train, the Dauntless soldiers would get on and then God only knows what would happen. He had a few ideas and all of them made him cringe.
Tris stopped as she leaned out the open doorway, and turned to look at him. She stared for a few moments before resolving to speak. "Why are you doing this?"
He stood up, a look of confusion on his face. "Doing what?"
She turned completely toward him now and took a step closer. "This. You've known me for a total of two weeks; we've only spoken several times; and I'm Factionless. What could you possibly have to gain from all this?"
Her question surprised him, and to be honest, he didn't have an answer for her. What was he doing here? How did his life go from "normal" Dauntless to this? Tris had turned away, but his eyes were still fixed on her. She looked so small in comparison to the world she lived in. Despite her ever present attitude of "I can take care of myself," Four knew she couldn't live that way forever. She needed someone – anyone – to call her bluff. He'd been in the very same boat when he first joined Dauntless, and he made plenty of mistakes because of it. So, while this relationship wouldn't make any sense to anyone else, he knew this is where he needed to be.
Hello lovelies!
Hopefully, you all enjoyed this chapter. The amount of comments I got on the last chapter was quite surprising to me (a good surprise!). This chapter is one of the longest ones I've written for this story. If you're a writer, I'm sure you can understand the desire to just keep writing and writing...and writing. That's what happened to me here. :)
Until next time!
God bless,
LovedLik3Wildfire
