Tris' POV
The moon curved into a crescent on Wednesday night. The stars shone down brightly, highlighting Four's silhouette as he crept out of his room. He looked both ways before sneaking out of the compound.
I was right behind him.
His feet silently landed on the metal top of the train. I waited for him to slide inside before jumping onto the caboose of the train. I quietly crept inside the train and kept an eye on the back of Four's head.
Surprisingly, Four leaped out of the train at the factionless district. I swallowed my curiosity and jumped out with him, making sure he didn't see me.
If he saw me, he'd definitely send me back to the Dauntless compound. Four ran past the factionless district and entered a heavily vegetated forest. He followed a dusty dirt path, stopping only to take brief drinks. Clutching a backpack full of water and food, I copied his movements.
We kept running until around midnight. Four built himself a fire and instantly fell asleep. The orange embers lit up Four's handsome face. Four, you're so hot. I miss you so much. I wish I could snuggle with you… but you like Julia. I miss you so much.
My makeshift bed of twigs was uncomfortable, and I slept fitfully.
The next day, a faraway rooster filled the fresh morning air with its calls, waking me up with a start. I jerked my head up and scanned Four's camp until I saw his sleeping figure. Thank god he didn't leave yet. Tris, I chided myself, you have to be more careful. What if he left before you woke up?
I snacked on some berries and watched him. When he stirred, we were off running again. We journeyed for days, rarely stopping for a break. Yet after a week, I was aghast when I opened my backpack and found only half of a water bottle left and a small pack of stale saltine crackers. I'm out of food and water…
Panicked, I frantically looked around. I'm going to die… I'm going to die… unless I ask Four for help. But I can't let him know that I am here.
Then, just as I thought I was going to die of malnutrition and dehydration, a miracle happened, and Four seemed to be out of food and water as well. He veered off the path and walked into a nearby village.
Raising his hand in a gesture of peace, he greeted the guard by the village entrance. I strained my ears to hear what he was saying.
"Hello, my name is Four. I was just traveling by, and ran out of food. Could you possibly provide me with some supplies?"
I watched the guard nod before leading him inside.
I decided to sit down in the shade under a tree while I waited for the guard to , the days of hard traveling caught up to me, and I fell asleep. I woke up two hours later, the sun high in the sky. Blinking away my fatigue, I checked my watch. It was noon. Damn it. How in the world did I fall asleep?!
Approaching the village guard, I cautiously raised a hand in greeting. "Um, hello?"
The man's stern expression didn't look welcoming.
I tried again, "Uh, I need help. I ran out of food and water."
"Why are you here?" he asked cautiously.
"I was traveling."
"Were you traveling with a companion?"
I immediately thought of Four. "Oh! Um… yeah. He ran ahead to… um… scout the path ahead of us."
The man nodded slowly. "Well, your companion left an hour ago. You might want to catch up."
Fear struck my heart. How long was I asleep? The man opened the gate into the village. "Come in. Rosa can give you supplies." I followed him into a village hut.
There was a middle-aged woman inside. Although she couldn't have been older than thirty years old, stress and physical labor had turned her hair grey.
She appeared to be elderly, but her bright eyes sparkled with youth and intelligence. The village guard tapped her on the shoulder. "Rosa, this is a traveler who is just passing by. Could you provide her with some food and water and send her on her way?"
Rosa nodded before turning to me. "Hello, my dear, what's your name?"
"I'm Tris."
"What faction are you in?" She noticed my bemused expression and chuckled. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I may live in the forest, but I know about society. A visitor told me all about city life."
I smiled at her twinkling eyes. "I'm in Dauntless."
She didn't look surprised. "Just like the boy who came in here before you." Rosa watched my expression before continuing thoughtfully, "you're his girlfriend, aren't you?"
I blushed. "Um, well—"
Rosa winked. "I understand. Hey, Killian, could you bring this lovely girl some crackers?"
Turning, I saw a tall, blonde boy run up with several packs of crackers. "Here, Mom."
She hugged him. "Thanks, honey. Tris, this is my son, Killian. He's 15 this year, and he's been badgering me about city life. Could you tell him a little bit about your life? I have to go, but I'll be back soon."
Killian eagerly took my water bottles and washed them out, filling them with more water.
"So, Mom told me that society is split up into factions?"
His curiosity reminded me of Caleb and I immediately took a liking to him. "Yep, she's right. We have five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Each of the factions is centered around a certain trait. For example, the people in Dauntless value bravery."
Killian was fascinated. "Oh, what about the rest of them?"
I cheerfully explained everything, including the Choosing Ceremony. I even went into elaborate detail about my own story; how I was born in Abnegation and later switched to Dauntless. A few hours later, I was dismayed when I realized that I was so caught up with talking to Killian, I lost track of time. Alarmed, I looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.
"I'm going to lose him," I muttered to myself.
Killian watched me intently, trying to understand everything. "The guy who passed by earlier is your boyfriend, right?"
I smiled shyly. "Good job, Detective Killian."
Killian laughed with glee. "Wait, so why are you going to lose him?"
"Well, I've been following him… to keep him out of danger," I explained.
"So you're like a bodyguard?"
"Yeah, sort of. Anyways, he ran ahead of me, and now I've fallen behind because I spent too much time here. I'll never find him."
My young friend's eyes lit up. "Hey, I know these woods really well. My dad taught me how to track people through the forest."
There's hope after all. "Really?"
"Yeah! I'll go find Mom and ask her if I can go," he exclaimed excitedly.
I followed him to the sheep pen, where Rosa was watching a border collie herd the sheep.
Killian ran up to his mom. "Mom, Tris needs help tracking her boyfriend in the forest. Can I go with her?"
His mom nodded absentmindedly. I approached her, worry written on my face. "Rosa, it might be dangerous."
Her eyes focused on me. "Will you bring him back to me, safe and sound?"
I nodded sincerely. "Definitely."
"Go with her, Killian. You haven't been out for an adventure in ages."
Killian hugged the woman before grabbing a backpack and loading it with his own water bottles and bags of snacks. "Let's go, Tris!"
We left the village and began our journey to find Four. Ever few minutes, Killian checked the dirt path for footprints and fallen branches. "We're on the right track!" he claimed enthusiastically.
I grinned. As we got closer to Four, I signaled for Killian to be quiet.
"These tracks are new. He should be really close!" he whispered.
"Stay close behind me," I responded quietly, before tiptoeing forward. A few minutes later, I saw Four perched on a tree stump, taking a drink of water. "We found him!" I whispered excitedly. "Killian, he's right there!"
When there was no response, I turned around. Killian was nowhere to be seen.
"Killian! Where are you?" I whispered anxiously, trying to find my friend. I retraced my steps backwards, before gasping at what I saw.
A group of six bandits were dragging Killian into the cover of the trees. A man held his hand over Killian's mouth, preventing him from calling for help. His eyes were wide with horror.
"Hey! You! Stop!" I screamed, running up to the men. I slammed a punch into the first man's face, before aiming a kick to his gut. He collapsed to the ground.
I scrambled to find the man holding Killian. He held Killian in front of him.
"You can't hurt me without hurting your friend," he said in a raspy voice. Ignoring him, I took out another man before staring at the four remaining thugs. Thinking quickly, I broke a branch off from a nearby tree and threw it at the man closest to me. He gasped in shock and staggered backwards to dodge the stick. He hurtled into the man holding Killian and knocked him over. While he was distracted, I grabbed another stick and jabbed it into Killian's kidnapper's ribs. He let go of Killian and cursed.
Killian was sweating and he looked terrified. Grabbing him, I gently whispered, "it's okay, we'll be okay." However, I quickly lost my confidence when I looked up at the four grown men towering above me.
Oh crap. "Killian, run!" I screamed, pushing him away from me. "Run for your life!"
"But, Tris—"
"Go! Go, Killian, go!" I yelled. He took one last look at me before running towards safety.
I breathed a sigh of relief, before facing my attackers. The nearest man cracked his knuckles.
"Little girl, are you trying to be a hero?" he chuckled evilly. "Tie her up."
His henchmen approached me, trying to grab my arms. I jabbed my elbow into someone's stomach and kneed someone else in the crotch.
One of them grabbed my arms and began tying it with rope. I wrenched my hands from his grip and tried to punch his face, but he blocked my punch. He grabbed a stick and slammed it into the side of my head.
Stars began to dance around my head. My head began feeling dizzy.
"Four!" I screamed. "Four, help me!"
And then I blacked out.
I'm so sorry for not posting this chapter earlier! My computer was having internet issues, so I couldn't access Fanfiction. I'm so, so sorry! To make up for it... I'll post the next chapter by Monday. I'm almost done writing it; I just have to edit it.
Right now, I'm trying to decide if Killian should be a major character or not... let me know your opinions!
Oh and, I finally bought a copy of Insurgent (I know, I'm awfully late). And... I have to say, I liked Divergent a lot better! But the ending was so unexpected. I can't wait for the next book! Go Veronica Roth!
Thanks for the support, I love you all :)
~BubblyFanatic
