A/N Tenth chapter! I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated last, but I have been busy with school. Semester tests= about 10 100-point-grades. Yay! Plus, I was having some trouble with the second chapter of White Rose. Disclaimer in the summary. Still no name guessing. I just realized there was no period at the end of the last chapter and my mind went crazy for a second!
Tris's P.O.V.
A lake comes into view.
Well, if that's what you want to call it. I mean, it used to be a lake, but it is now a marsh. The marsh has a large fence in it, which 'protects' the city from something, what, I have no idea. I used to try to imagine what it looked like full of water, but that is nearly impossible. Maybe I will be able to one day.
"Isn't Erudite close to here?" Christina asks.
"Yeah," Will replies, "it's just south of here." For a second I see longing in his face, but it is gone very soon.
I cannot believe how close I am to Caleb. I have not been this close to my brother in over a week. I cannot think of him, at least not here, so I shake my head to clear my thoughts of him.
Marlene takes out a flashlight and shines it so everyone can see. "Scared of the dark, Mar?" Uriah teases.
"If you want to step on glass, be my guest." Marlene replies, shutting him up.
The ferris wheel comes into view. "I can't believe people used to ride that for fun." Will says.
"They must have been Dauntless." I reply.
"They must have been a lame version of Dauntless. A real Dauntless ferris wheel would make you hold on for dear life. No cars to ride in." Christina says. She definitely has a point.
We stop at the carousel. "Anyone have plans? We may not be Erudite, but we have to be able to think on our feet. We have ten minutes before the other team picks their spot, use this time wisely." Tobias shouts, pulling the neon flag from his pocket. Everyone starts to talk all at once, and suddenly there is a full-blown argument between eighteen people. I thought this was a team exercise. When no one is looking, I make an executive decision. The only way we can find the other team's flag is to climb as high as possible. I turn on my heels and walk toward the ginormous ferris wheel towering behind everyone. Will I really risk my life to win a Dauntless game? The answer is yes. I stare up at it, then grip the cool metal of the ladder. I begin to climb. When I have climbed up about five feet, I hear breathing from below me. Tobias is slowly climbing up the ladder behind me.
"What are you doing exactly?" I whisper-yell.
"Following you." He replies, surprisingly calmly.
"Okay then, but we both know you are scared of heights."
"Don't remind me."
"The point in this is teamwork, right?" I ask trying to distract.
"Bingo. Teamwork used to be a large part of Dauntless. Not so much now, though. Now instead of teamwork, it is every man for himself."
"Teamwork. That sound suspiciously Abnegation-like."
"I know." Tobias replies. "In my eyes, Dauntless and Abnegation are one-in-the-same."
"I see where you're coming from." I reply. "How can two completely opposite factions be so similar?"
"It takes bravery to be selfless." He simply states.
"You've thought about this, haven't you?"
"Long and hard." Thats where our conversation ends.
The wind picks up as we climb higher. It gets colder the further we climb. I know it's early June, but there is still a chill in the air from springtime. Soon, I am shaking from the cold, and Tobias is shaking from the height. I look down, and we are about thirty feet in the air. A small landing sits about fifteen feet above my head. I climb higher and higher until I reach the landing. Tobias comes up beside me, so I scoot over and lean against the railing. He stiffly comes beside me, but sits with his hands wrapped around his knees while mine drape freely over the side. I still see no sign of the other team's flag.
"We need to go higher." I state.
"Why?" Is he whining?
"Because I don't see the other flag."
"Okay, fine, but I thought you might want to know, your divergence is showing. Erudite, right now." He states very stiffly. "And one last thing, are you human? How does this not scared you, I mean we're like forty-five feet off the ground!" He gulps.
"Ok." I reply, knowing there is nothing I can do to hide that now. "Let's move."
I continue to climb, always aware of how close Tobias is to me, not by his labored breathing, but by the electricity jolting through my body where he touches, or even nearly touches, me. As we near another landing, I put my hand on a rung, and it gives out. I quickly move my hand to the rung above it, check to make sure it is secure. I tell Tobias about the rung and move on. I reach another rung, and it, too, gives out. I begin to freak out, because the one under my foot does the same. The rung above where my feet dangle is the one that first broke, and I cannot reach another. I grip the rung in my hands with all of my might, and Tobias, seeing what happens, tells me to hang tight. He does not help by trying to joke. I hear the ladder creak as Tobias climbs down it. I do not dare look down, so I scan the vast area, searching for the light that signals the other team's flag. I find it eventually, and, suddenly, the entire ferris wheel shifts counterclockwise, scaring me to the point I almost loose my hold on the one and only rung. The ferris wheel continues to move, which must mean someone– Tobias– has somehow started the old ferris wheel up again. I spin for a bit, and then the ferris wheel comes to a jolting stop. I loose my grip and begin to fall.
A/N I'm actually pretty happy with how this turned out. And, I just want to say, you may think you know what will happen, but this is my version, not everything's the same. Thanks for reading, please review and/or name guess. I also need to know where "Be brave, Tris." is I seriously can't find it.
-T