Ethan stepped off the train to Abnegation. Everyone was so calm at the moment.
"Have some...please…" Ethan was greeted by a woman holding a basket containing loaves of bread, passing it out to everyone coming off the train.
Ethan shook his head, and was almost happy at the sight of Abnegation. It was so peaceful and everyone was smiling. Ethan shook off his grin, Abnegation was about to be attacked. He had to warn Marcus Eaton, the faction leader and find his sister.
Ethan's mind flashed back to Jeanine commanding Eric and his Dauntless. The words kept repeating in his head "Eliminate anyone you have to." Ethan could walk freely without support now, the painkillers that Kathryn provided were losing effect, but had got him through the difficult part. Or so he thought.
Ethan had to dodge the herds of factionless coming in through the streets, being offered food, drink and clothes. Marcus Eaton. The man stood next to a factionless child. Marcus directed the shy child to his mother, and she ran to her. They had faces filled with hope as they were finally fed, and hesitantly made their way out of Abnegation.
"Ethan...we're very happy to see you here." Marcus said, they had met before on numerous occasions. Jack Kang and Marcus would often converse during faction meetings, and Ethan was usually in the audience.
Ethan nodded and started after breathing in and out. "We need...to leave right now."
Marcus looked relaxed and was taken back by Ethan's suggestion.
"What's happened? Abnegation…"
"Jeanine is using Dauntless to attack here...we have to get everyone out….now." Ethan was quick and certain with his words.
Marcus tutted and sighed, angered. "I half-expected it would come to this. When will they be here?" Marcus signalled his right hand man to come over, Andrew Prior revealed himself and made his way down to Marcus.
"I don't know. But we ha-" The sound of a hundred footsteps was heard, getting closer and closer. It was the most terrifying sound in the world, the booming of chaos.
Andrew darted back and ran, Marcus went to follow him when Ethan tugged him back with his arm.
"Yes. Your sister…" Marcus squinted as he tried to remember, and opened his eyes in horror. "She was at her house…"
This meant Dauntless would've already reached her. Ethan let Marcus go and breathed hard and deep. His chest pumped like a lion's. The shooting had just started, signalling Ethan to run not away, but toward the Dauntless army. The crackle of bullets continued, as well as screams from all directions. He could just about manage to see Dauntless over the hill and he hid behind a small house. He silenced his hyperventilating as they drew near. He couldn't hide there, he would be gunned down. Ethan savagely tore off his bandage on his leg, gritting his teeth in pain as the bulletwound was open again. He threw himself to the ground and froze, acting dead. If this worked, he would be passed most of the Dauntless march and only patrols would be left. His leg started to bleed a little again, which he supposed was good but hurt ridiculously. By now any painkillers in his system would have worn off and he tried hard to act as still as possible. Gunshots cascaded eerily past him, and he tried not to flinch as boots crunched by his ear.
Just as he had hoped, the Dauntless seemed to have lost any sense of personality, almost in a trance and wouldn't waste time to investigate his body.
The marching Dauntless were far away now, but the smell of burning houses...and innocent victims stung his nose. Suddenly, he was poked in the back by something. He held his breath as he was kicked in the ribs by someone. Ethan continued to play dead. It must have been the patrols, looking for any survivors, he hoped his little sister had hidden in her spot in her room as she had always done. He heard a gun being cocked behind him. He heard the Dauntless use his radio. "I think I got a live one here…" The Dauntless waited, keeping his weapon up and facing Ethan. Ethan opened his eyes to look where the Dauntless was. Ethan heard the response on the radio. "Proceed."
The Dauntless was poised over Ethan, ready to shoot him in the head. Just as the Dauntless had pulled the trigger, Ethan span out of the way and kicked his feet from under him. The Dauntless was surprised by the sudden move and dropped his weapon in the process. Ethan lept onto the Dauntless with fury. The Dauntless lashed out but Ethan was on top of him and kept launching a flurry of punches at his face. Punch after punch from Ethan, the Dauntless' face became bloodied and red, and tired. With his last ounce of energy, the Dauntless reached for his rifle. But Ethan was quicker and snatched it up, pointing it straight at the Dauntless' heart. Ethan wanted to pull the trigger, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Ethan stood up and the delirious Dauntless just rolled his eyes until he fell unconscious.
Ethan debated dropping the weapon or not, but he kept it just in case. It was heavier than he had expected, but was quite basic to use. It had a half-full magazine, Ethan didn't know how to use one of these but he knew it was ready to fire thanks to the Dauntless he had just beaten.
Ethan was no skilled fighter, but he had willpower. He was quick and had impeccable timing. He was infused by his greatest fear. Losing his family. Losing his sister. No, they wouldn't hurt a thirteen year old girl. Even Jeanine wasn't that deluded.
Ethan tried not to think about what might have happened to his sister, but rather set about running to find her. Ethan darted in and out of cover, dodging the patrols efficiently. They started burning some of the smaller houses down, so Ehan acted quickly and set his eyes on his sister's house. She lived with two guardians whom she was not related to, they were good people, true role models of Abnegation. Ethan never knew his father, and his family was mostly separated across the factions. He had a web of confusing connections to the faction hierarchy. His sister was taken in by Abnegation when his mother couldn't support both children. Ethan's mother, like himself was born into Candor. Ethan had a half-brother in Dauntless. His uncle was the leader of Candor. It was confusing for Ethan and he had never bothered to indulge in his family history.
Ethan reached the doorway to the small bungalow. The door was knocked down, he walked over the fallen wooden door into the house. It smelled strange to Ethan. Ethan held his rifle close, his hands shaking as he tried to clear the dining room which also doubled as a living room.
Ethan lowered his rifle, and his arms went limp as he saw the still bodies of his sister's guardians. They were littered with bullet holes from shoulder to hip. It was still dusty from the gunshot residue in the air, they must have been murdered meer minutes ago.
Ethan gulped down hard, removing the sick from his throat. Ethan didn't know Audrey and Edward well, but he knew they didn't deserve this kind of fate, no one did.
Ethan removed himself from the room, searching the others. There were three left. The kitchen - he searched manically but his sister wasn't hiding in there either. Edward and Audrey's bedroom - he searched manically but his sister wasn't hiding in there either. He threw the pillows off and made a complete mess of the house in his search.
Finally, he remembered where he always told his sister to hide during these times. Under the bed or in the wardrobe in her room.
Ethan, slowly opened the door to his sister's room. It was a simple design, with a little more colour than the rest of the house. He walked through quickly, ready to search under the bed and expect her hiding there, ready for him to embrace her. Or for him to open her wardrobe and her to tearfully dive into his arms. "Rachael!" He screamed at the top of his lungs upon entry.
But none of that happened when he saw her. She laid there, leaned against her bedside. Dead. She was getting pale quickly but must've died quickly, at least it was painless. Two small holes in her chest. Ethan teared up and got close to her, holding her and looking her up and down in shock. Ethan was almost as pale as she was now. He rocked her back and fourth, making disturbing groaning noises as he did. He sobbed and snot ran down his frozen nose. Small tears just rolled down his cheek, and he couldn't move or put into words what he felt. Ethan just rocking her head in his arms, looking straight ahead towards the picture of him and her from years before.
Ten minutes had passed, and Dauntless were coming back.
Ethan just held her still now and stopped his sobbing. His face was still soggy and red, and he felt a sneeze coming. Ethan's head flung back as he sneezed, ash began to fill his nose. His eyes turned a saturated red and began burning. Dauntless had starting burning the houses, including the one he was in. He heard Dauntless by the doorway, talking numbers for resources and manpower and using terminology he didn't care to understand. Suddenly, smoke appeared,light at first as it entered the room.
Ethan looked at his sister once more, wanting it to be another one of her sick pranks, but it was real. His face relaxed in memory, calming himself. He slowly closing her eyelids and set her down carefully whilst wiping his eyes from whatever was in them. The smoke was a little heavier now, forming a dark cloud rather than a hazy mist. It was very hot too now, and as much as Ethan wanted to stay...he couldn't. He still had reason to live, he would live on for his sister, for the life that she should've had.
A Dauntless man poked his head round the doorway, to spot Ethan standing, feet apart with his rifle.
The Dauntless raised his rifle at Ethan, ready to fire. But Ethan was ready and drew quicker. Just as the Dauntless had Ethan in his sights, Ethan had already fired multiple shots into him. The Dauntless fell violently backwards. Ethan had just killed a man, and his wrist ached from the juddering weapon recoil. But Ethan wasn't here to justify his actions, the situation was kill or be killed.
Ethan looked around now for escape options, and recovered from the rush of his first kill rather quickly, he had no time to feel bad, he needed to live.
Another hourly train arrived. He knew not where it would lead but hoped it was better than his current location. As soon as the Dauntless fell and took his last breath, the rest of his squad rushed over and fired a volley of rounds at Ethan. Luckily for Ethan, he was behind his sister's bed and they couldn't see exactly where he was. They resorted to firing round after round into the room blindly. Wood splintered everywhere, the bed was torn to pieces with bits of all material, cloth, wood, china and glass everywhere. Rachael's body absorbed a few shots too, but to the Dauntless soldiers she was just another of the casualties ready to be burned.
The squad of Dauntless didn't dare enter as the room was filled with smoke, fire was now visible, licking and climbing up the doorway's old framing. The Dauntless squad couldn't see Ethan through the smoke, and took this time to reload. They sent two troops around to the back to stop Ethan escaping through the window. But by that time, Ethan was already gone along with the train. The room was left to nothing but a smoldering ash pile, with the Dauntless panicking like rats in a firestorm.
Ethan, once in the train slumped across the floor, bleeding out, his leg was completely numb now from the sprint to the train, and was most likely infected. But this was not his main concern, he was shot again, through the side this time. It burned as if a thousand suns melted on his new, fresh wound. He couldn't help but splutter a mixture of ash and dust as the train rocked him from side to side. Ethan's chances wasn't looking good. He began to close his eyes for one final time, making peace with himself and mumbling his deepest apologies for the sister he failed. Succumbing to a sweet and peaceful rest, with all pain becoming meer background information, he couldn't erase the image of his little sister, and shed a final, warm tear for her.
