Chapter-9
My feet pound against the pavement as we run to my parents home. I turn the corner and pull Tobias with me. I press myself against the wall and look around the corner to see a small crowd of Dauntless march with guns in their hands. As they march into houses, I see women being dragged by their hair and gunned down in front of the house. If I was in Dauntless would I be a part of this?
If I was in Dauntless would I be able to stop this?
I cover my mouth to stifle a scream, I remember the goal in mind, I have to save my parents.
I open the back door and head towards my parents room. Up the stairs to the left. I walk up and hear the front door being pounded on. I have to hurry. My parents thankfully locked the front door. I thrust open the door to their room.
No one is here.
Another pound.
I run down the stairs and outside, "they aren't here."
Tobias sighs, "we have to keep moving maybe they are somewhere safe with others who have escaped."
I nod, refusing myself to imagine their motionless bodies in the grass stained with deep crimson blood. Tobias takes my hand and we run past a few more houses when I see a blur of grey run into an alley. I follow it, hoping that maybe it will be someone who can tell me where my parents are.
"Mother?" I whisper.
My mother stands backed against the wall and looks at me, "Beatrice you need to go, now."
"Mother, come with us. We can make it." I hear the marching grow louder. They are approaching.
Tobias looks at my mother, "please Mrs. Prior, come with us. Tris we need to hurry, the Dauntless are getting closer."
"They will kill all of us if we run, I will stay and distract them. Go, Tobias keep her safe."
I can see the internal fight going on within Tobias eyes. "You two leave, I can hold them off."
My mother smiles, and kisses both Tobias and I on the cheek, "take care of her, Tobias." I watch my mother run and grab a gun that was lying in the street next to a body slumped on the ground.
I blink. Everything is happening at once, the screaming pounding into my ears, the gunshots blurring together. My mother, the Dauntless, more gunshots are fired, screams, deafening screams. I begin to let out my own scream, to mix with the others and melt into the air. Tobias hand covers my mouth as I cry and thrash out.
A blur of red. I watch her frame covered in a blur of red, her knees sinking into the pavement. Her head slamming into the ground, a sea of crimson consuming her body.
She can't be dead. I have to help her, if I get there fast enough I can save her. I kick against the solid body holding me back and dragging me away. I let out a muffled yell and soon tears blur my sight and I go still. The strength that was just forcing me to fight has drained from me, like my mother's blood.
She is dead. I let Tobias guide me away, I don't pay attention to where I am going, I just keep replaying it over and over again. There was so much blood, how was there that much blood in her?
I finally feel the pressure on my arms, I assume Tobias hands dragging me away from my mother's body, leave. I look up and everything I ate this morning threatens to reappear. I collapse onto my hands and knees and retch onto the pavement. Someone holds my hair back, but I can only focus on the searing pain in my throat.
I cough a few times and sit on my heels, Tobias stands next to me looking for something. I pull my sleeve up and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I look at the broken glass surrounding me and the smashed windows next to me. We are in the Factionless sector.
"Tobias, why are we here?" My voice is hoarse and weak.
"We are meeting someone who could help us."
I stand up and follow Tobias closely. I wonder if the people he speaks to in the Factionless are those who can offer us help. I see a few people walking. I press into Tobias. Tobias stops near what to me is a random door and knocks a few times, a man with an eye-patch opens the door. If you could call it a door, it's more of a piece of wood that has been eaten by time and weather. Tobias looks at him, "I need to see Evelyn."
Evelyn? I feel some jealousy coursing through my veins. The name sounds oddly familiar and as a result, I get even more jealous. Is this what he was doing in the Factionless?
I don't really notice what Tobias and the man with the eye-patch are saying because of the confusing emotions stirring inside of me. Sadness, anger, jealousy, pain, hope, fear. I feel every emotion crashing into a new one and my heart beat starts to muddle into the odd feelings I am having. I follow him inside, cots line the floor and empty cans are tossed about without a care. I take Tobias hand, painfully aware of how far I am from home. We pass by Factionless and their faces begin to mesh together, I stop paying attention to everything around me and focus on the support from Tobias that I am feeling. His strength is my strength as I struggle to keep tethered to reality. The events of today hit in waves, at some points I begin to wonder if this is some kind of simulation.
Except, I'm Divergent. The simulation doesn't work on me.
Before I know it, I hear my name and snap back to reality. A woman, with an almost regal air about her stands in front of me, dark hair and piercing eyes almost black in color. Much like Tobias own deep blue eyes.
The connection between the two stumbles upon me and I force myself to keep a straight face. Tobias looks at the woman, "Beatrice, this is Evelyn Johnson... My mother."
His mother? Isn't she supposed to be dead? I don't even try to bow my head, much like I would have if this was a normal day. I don't care about being Abnegation, since it seems the Dauntless has wiped us out. I realize quickly that Tobias called me Beatrice. I don't care about keeping up this act of being Abnegation any longer, since my faction is now one on the brink of extinction. "It's Tris."
Evelyn looks at me, then looks at my hand intertwined with Tobias. I have a deep feeling that the relationship between Evelyn and I is not going to go as smoothly as I think Tobias will like. Evelyn nods, "Tris."
I look at Tobias, and can see how tired he looks, I must look a million times worse. I lost my mother today, I have no idea where my father is. Susan? I forgot to make sure she was alright, I'm sure she heard the shots and escaped. The Dauntless hadn't reached the single's sector of Abnegation. Finding Susan is my top priority. I look to Evelyn, "do you know why the Dauntless attacked Abnegation?"
Evelyn looks at me, "we will discuss this later." She begins to walk away.
Tobias doesn't move, "answer her question."
Evelyn looks at us, her lips pressed into a firm line, "we have reason to believe that the Erudite had something to do with it."
"What makes you say that?" I ask.
"You are very curious for an Abnegation."
I cock my head to the side and raise my eyebrows, "you are very secretive for a Factionless." It's true, she shouldn't be questioning me, I am the one who fed her and her people for years with my work. She shouldn't really have any secrets, or let alone what looks to me, to be some kind of society within the Factionless.
Evelyn looks at Tobias, then to me, "we sent a few people out when we got news of the attack. We saw Jeanine Matthews among the leaders of the Dauntless."
"Erudite's leader?" I ask, what about Caleb? Does he know about this? I need to get to Erudite and find Caleb, he must know what is going on.
Evelyn nods once again, "you must be tired. Follow me."
We follow her and she shows us to a small corner with a cot and hands us a can of food, I look at it with distaste. I don't want to eat anything ever since I threw up everything. Tobias kisses my forehead, "we will figure this out, Tris."
"We need to get to Erudite, to figure out what is going on."
"Or we can find someone who does know." He says.
"Like who? The only people who would know something would be a Dauntless soldier, a member of Erudite, or Jeanine herself."
"Then we will have to get one of them."
I stand up, "let's go."
"Tris, get some rest and we can sort out a plan later."
I turn to Tobias, "my brother is somewhere in Erudite, unaware of my mother..." I blink back tears and focus, "my father, I don't know if he is dead or alive. We haven't found Susan. I need answers. I can't just sit here and do nothing."
Tobias bites his lip, "alright, we will go when everyone falls asleep."
I sigh, "thank you."
I sit down next to Tobias and lean my head against his shoulder, "I love you."
"I love you." Tobias wraps his arms around me and closes his eyes, "we will get through this Tris, I promise."
