Tris doesn't come down for dinner. I don't go up to her, guessing she just wants some time to herself, and I give her just that. I see that Caleb is with Peter and the abnegation girl, Susan.
Peter. Why would Peter be with Caleb? Then I know why. Susan adjust Peter's sling. Susan, being the abnegation that she is, must have requested him to join her and Caleb for dinner. If only she knew the terrible things he is capable of, broken arm or not.
I join them, but I am quiet. I told Tris my plan. The question is when to leave Amity. I sigh heavily, hoping she comes down here.
And as if on cue, she does appear. She comes up to me, once she sees me. Her breath is ragged and shaky, breathless. She smells life apples and earth, obviously meaning she was outside.
"Erudite." Is all she says. She doesn't need to say anymore. An abnegation member hears, and comes forth.
"Coming here?" I question.
A nod in return.
"Do we have time to run?"
Tris thinks about this, but doesn't answer. I suppose she doesn't want to tell anyone the truth.
No. We don't have time to escape. The abnegation members surround us in a semicircle.
"Why do we need to run? The Amity established this place as a safe house. No conflict allowed."
"The Amity will have trouble enforcing that policy." Marcus says, eyes narrowed. I try to not be a coward, but I look at my shoes when he talks, on instinct. "How do you stop conflict without conflict?"
A nod from Susan.
"But we can't leave. We don't have time. They'll see us."
We have no choice but to fight out way out.
"Tris has a gun. We can try to fight our way out." I say, about to turn and retrieve it.
"Wait." Tris says, stoping me mid turn.
"I have an idea. Disguises. The Erudite don't know for sure that we're still here. We can pretend to be Amity."
Why didn't I think of that? Oh yes. Because Tris is smarter then you. I smirk.
"Those of you who aren't dressed like Amity should go to the dormitories then. The rest of you, put your hair down;Try to mimic their behavior." Marcus orders them, and they scurry off.
The rest of us follow, changing quickly. I take a look in a small mirror to see if I look Amity material. I see my tattoo of flames on display, that may as well say "come and kill me." I groan, and rummage around for a shirt with a longer collar that might cover my tattoo well enough. Lucky for me it does. I change my pants too. I spend countless seconds going through yellow and red pants until I finally find some jeans. They are wrinkly on the knees though.
I take another look in the mirror and I look absolutely ridiculous.
I look like the Amity all right.
I see a whole bunch of Abnegation gray, and stuff as much as I can into one trash bin.
"Do you think the Amity will lie for us?" A voice says. It is low, and quiet, but distinct.
"To prevent conflict?" I think of why the Candor don't like the Amity. The candor believe that peace can easily be achieved by false facts and lies. I am happy we didn't ask for refuge In candor.
"Absolutely." I tell Tris with a nod. She checks my clothes, and raises an eyebrow. "Nice shirt." She says, sarcasm obviously intended. I scrunch my nose up at her. I know I look like an idiot. I don't need to be reminded. And she looks just as stupid.
Who am I kidding. I look dorkier. But I have my reasons."It was the only thing that covered up the neck tattoo, okay?" I tell her heaving a sigh, and scowling. She smiles, and checks her collarbone. The shirt she wears covered the three ravens, representing her family, the ones she loves.
Could I be one of her ravens one day?
The cars pull up. I see why Tris knew it was Erudite. Only they would be able to build cars that can rin on solar energy. People come out of those cars. some wear blue, but the majority wear black.
The dauntless. As they come closer, a visible piece of blue cloth wraps tightly around each of there arms. There loyalty to the intelligent ones. there loyalty to the faction that almost killed them.
I narrow my eyes. Could my friends have sided with the Erudite? I take Tris hand. We did not expect any dauntless to appear. I guide her to the amity dormitory. A part of my remembers when I helped her to the transfer dorms when she had her fear simulation of crows.
"I didn't think out faction would be that stupid, You have the gun, right?"
"Yes. But there's no guarantee i can fire it with my left hand." Tris points out.
Which means she is unable to defend herself properly if someone where to attack her.
"You should work on that." I state dryly.
"I will." He voice goes cold. "If we live."
I hear how she says we. A beautiful word when she talks about me and her.
We need to live. We have to. My muscles clench. She's usually determined. Tris would never think so negatively. Something isn't right. But now isn't the time.
Her eyes are nervous,look through the corners of her eyes. She looks innocent. Fragile. To someone else, she might look weak. To me, she looks brave.
"Just bounce a little when you walk." I say, kissing her temple. "and pretend you're afraid of their guns" I kiss her below her forehead, above the bridge of her nose. "and act like the shrinking violet you could never be." I kiss her cheek, which is now a burning pink. "And you'll be fine." I assure her. She is good at pretending to be vulnerable. She;s done it before. This is no different.
"Okay." She pulls my long shirt collar , and her lips join with mine. A bell rings, which tell the Amity, and ourselves to gather in the dining hall.
Susan assists Tris in the art of acting like a normal average Amity. At the right moment too. We sit and as we wait, Tris and I stare at each other. I can't assure her, when I can't calm myself either. So we sit there, telepathically sending each other messages that we imagine ourselves having. Then Johanna talks, interfering with our signals.
"Our Erudite and Dauntless friends are looking for some people. Several members of Abnegation, three members of Dauntless, and a former Erudite initiate. In the interest of full cooperation, I told them that the people were, in fact, here, but have since moved on. They would like permission to search the premises, which means we have to vote. Does anyone object to a search." She asks kindly, but the sternness in her voice clear and firm. No one raises there hands.
"Three of you stick around." The Erudite woman orders the Dauntless."The rest of you, search all the buildings and report back if you find anything. Go."
The dauntless come forward, and I tense. I have been in dauntless for two years. I am famous there for having a limited amount of four fears. I was so famous for that, it became my new name in dauntless itself. We did not count on the Erudite to bring a handful of dauntless. One of them might just be able to recognize me.
And one just might. It is Madge, A dauntless leader. I shot her thigh last time I remember. I look away staring at the table. She will recognize me. Of course she will. I was the one who shot her. Her leg has healed quickly and well enough though, courtesy of of Erudite.
"Your hair is pretty short for an Amity." She states.
She has an idea of who I am, and I know there is no way of hiding now. Tris sits across from me, and although she could have went unnoticed, Madge would remember her as well. I try anyway.
"It's hot." I say, but it comes out to quickly and fiercely.
I feel a tug on my collar, and I am prepared to act. I grab her arm, and pull it so she loses her balance, her head smacking the table. A gun fires, and a few shout while others duck under tables and benches. I grab Madge by the neck, and push her to her feet. I take her gun and shoot at the soldiers across the room, using Madge as a human shield. If they sided with her and the rest of the corrupt dauntless leaders, then they wouldn't dare shoot at Madge.
And then I see Tris. I expect her to duck under a table, and shoot at other soldiers, but no. She stays still as a statue.
Frozen.
"Tris!" I yell, and her mind snaps back to reality. "A little help here?" I ask frustrated, as I see other Dauntless guards coming toward us.
Tris reaches for her gun, but winces when she touches it. A soldier aims his gun at her, and my eyes widen. I am about to shoot him, but I see Caleb take Tris gun, and fires twice at the mans knees.
He screeches, and falls, and holds his leg in pain. He won't be in pain much longer.
I shoot him in the head. I see the Erudite woman, obviously the one in charge of giving orders. Her mouth opens, about to yell some more orders, but I stop her with my gun, which is running dangerously low on bullets. "Say another word. And I'll shoot." I say my voice low. She says nothing more, but her mouth is still open, a command stuck in her throat.
"Whoever's with us should start running." It is time to leave the Amity.
Pairs of feet shuffle out.
The Erudite women has a gun, and it aims at someone-aims at Peter.
As much as I hate him, he can't die now. I don't know why. but he 's the only other dauntless we know of on our side.
I reach for my gun as she pushes the trigger, and I know I am too late. Well, I would have been if Tris had not pushed Peter out of the bullets tracks. Luckily the bullet doesn't hit her either.
"Put the gun down." I say, my barrel pointing toward her head as I inhale. "I have very good aim, and I'm betting you don't." I say as I see the gun tremble from her shaky hands. I walk backwards my gun trained at the women, Tris and Peter ahead of me. I slam the door separating myself from her, and we all scatter.
"I have to...stop..." Says a small voice behind us. Susan.
We take a small break, but Tris look alert, almost eager to keep going. Susan whimpers, and Caleb comforts her.
Tris and I look at the city ahead of us. The light shine through it, and it's a wonderous sight, especially since we were in Amity for a few days. The city makes me feel alive. It helps me think.
It helps me remember how Tris was frozen as a statue when bullets flew around her head.
"What was that Tris?" I start quietly."
"What?" She croaks out.
What else! "You froze! someone was about to kill you, and you just sat there! I though I could rely on you at least to save your own life!" I say shouting at her. I can't help it. She could have died today, and then what? What would happen to me? How would I be able to live the rest of my life?
"Hey! Give her a break, all right?" Caleb says defending her.
"No." I snap. "She doesn't need a break." I say. But then I look at Tris, she looks unsettled, she looks fragile. She looks tired.
I might not be helping her by yelling at her.
"What happened?" I say, making sure to be gentle this time. I know she is strong. She was ranked first after all. But I just have this feeling in my chest, rising to my throat, up to my brain. It tells me that something isn't right. That someone has lied to me. That someone is Tris, and I suppose the more I yell at her, the more likely she is to keep things from me.
She coughs once. "I panicked. It won't happen again."
I give her a look. How can I be sure of that?
"It won't." She says stretching her words to add emphasis.
"Okay." I say, dissuaded. I'll get back to her on that later. "We have to get somewhere safe. They'll regroup and start looking for us." I say.
"You think they care that much about us?" Tris asks.
"Us, yes." I say referring to Tris and I. We ruined there simulation program, leaving a job of theirs unfinished.
And we are Divergent.
"We were probably the only ones they were really after, apart from Marcus, who is most likely dead."
I say emotionless. It doesn't matter if he were dead or alive, really, because either way, he did those things to me. Either way, he locked me in a closet, and either way I fell asleep to the sounds of parents fighting, and the sobs of Evelyn at night.
Either way he will always torment me. Either way, I will always be the coward that left because of his father.
Either way, I will never truly be Dauntless.
"Tobias..." Tris says, her words trailing off. I don't want her to continue.
"Time to go." I tell Caleb and Susan.
Caleb has to help Susan to her feet, encouraging her to get up and keep going.
I see Tris moving out, determined. It is then that i know that she sin't broken yet.
It is then that I realize how different she is, and how strong she can be. How capable she is than most girls.
It is then that I remember why I fell for her in the first place.
And so I walk beside her, my anger slightly subsided.
Im so sorry for the late update... Thanks to everyone who reviewed or commented :) Well, I have to tell ya guys something...Im not going to read divergent until the 22nd of february. Why? Well, a year before that date is when I first picked up Divergent and started to read it. I though If I took a break from the book, I could forget everything that happened, so it would be like reading it again! So that means I'll update Insurgent a little less...sorry :( Also, I have a new story called the fire within, check it out :)
