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Also, I know these chapters are short... but that's why I update so often, because it's only a page and a half or so.

PART TEN

Tobias stands behind me, his gun slung across his back like mine. Somehow I am not startled by his presence. His eyes are shadowed, looking black in the dark. Slowly, he pulls a familiar piece of paper out of his pocket. He holds it out to me.

"Yes?"

"This is yours," he says. Our fingers touch when I take it and I hurriedly tuck it into my shirt, ignoring the tingles. "It was some good light reading," he adds. It takes a second to register, but a surprised laugh escapes my mouth when I realize he is joking. His lips pull up at the corners in a crooked smile. Then his face turns serious. "Why'd you give it to me?" he asks.

I'm thrown off by the abrupt change. I just look at him for a long time. His hair has grown out a little, maybe a week or two away from needing a trim. He is tall, taller than me, of course, but his shoulders have broadened and he carries himself much more comfortably since the first day. He stands motionless and empty-handed in front of me, waiting for my answer. I have the sudden urge to touch his face.

"Because I wanted you to know what being Dauntless really means. What it's supposed to mean," I say quietly. He meets my gaze without falter. My lips move on their own. "Thank you."

I see the understanding in his eyes. He knows I'm talking about Eric. I turn back to the Ferris wheel. "Better view of the other team from up there, don't you think?" I say and grab the first rung again.

The breeze at the bottom becomes a gust of wind now. The higher we climb, the stronger it will get. Tobias's hands find the rungs my feet leave. The carousel shrinks beneath us. About halfway up I notice his breathing. It is fast and desperate, loud, like he is trying to control panic. I glance down to look at him, but my eyes slip past him and fall to the ground far below. The height is dizzying, but I feel so alive. Every bit of me is awake right now. If I fall now, I will die. But I don't think I will fall.

Tobias doesn't seem to feel the same. His hands are trembling despite his white-knuckled grip on the rungs and his face is pale. "Tobias, are you okay?" I ask, pausing. He keeps his eyes fixed forward on the ladder.

"I'm fine," he says through clenched teeth. I look out. The land spreads out in front of me, varying shades of darkness. The moon drifts through wispy clouds. I can't see anything from here.

"We have to go higher."

"Are you human, Tris?" he says on a burst of breath. "Being up this high… doesn't scare you at all?"

I'm Dauntless. I was born to push these limits. I grin up at the inky sky. "No."

"We're almost to the platform," I add. "We'll stop there." I hear a stifled, strangled moan escape him as I start up again, but he follows. The platform has no railings. I clamber onto it and move over, dangling my legs over the side, so Tobias has room.

"Look," I say, finally catching a glimpse of a tiny pulsing light on the ground. "It's coming from the park at the end of the pier. We found them!" I turn to Tobias with a smile. Only then do I see the full extent of his fear.

He is terrified. His eyes are so wide and he's breathing heavily. Instead of sitting, he crouches with his back against the metal support.

"I can't be up here, Tris," he mutters wildly. "I can't. I just… oh God…" He's panicking. I can see the sense leaving his eyes, but this time it isn't rage that takes its place. It's terror. I move quickly, crawling over to him so I am on my knees in front of him, face to face.

"Tobias. Tobias, look at me," I command. I put my hands on his cheeks, forcing him to meet my eyes. I try to fill his vision, to block out the huge empty space around us. "Focus. You need to calm down. Pretend it's a simulation." He groans and I see the haunted look in his eyes before he closes them. Has he already faced this today, sitting in the metal chair?

I grab one of his hands and force it open, pressing his palm to my chest. His eyes flicker open. "Feel me breathing? Slow and steady. Match your breaths to mine."

Suddenly I'm struggling to breathe evenly. But it's not fear, it's him. Something about him makes me feel like I'm going to fall. Or turn to liquid. Or burst into flames.

"Better now?" I ask a few minutes later. He nods, never looking away from my face. I pull his hand away gently, suddenly feeling cold. "Good, because we have to start heading back down–"

I never get to finish my sentence. As I shift to get off my knees, part of the rusted metal platform gives out with a screech. I am not very heavy, so I must have put my weight on it in just the right spot. The platform lurches wildly. My breath gets jammed up in my throat; only half a mangled scream escapes. Tobias shouts and lunges for me.

"TRIS!"

In a split second, our positions are completely different. He has my arms in a death grip. I am dangling off the side of the platform, gripping the edge. If he hadn't caught me, I never would have been able to hold on.

"Hold on," Tobias says. His fear is gone, or at least receded very far into him. He is all business now as I hang helplessly. "I'm going to pull you up. One, two, three–" On three, he heaves and I fly upwards, scrambling back onto the platform. My heart is beating so hard it feels like it will fall right out of my chest. There is no polite distance between us anymore. I cling to him, my limbs feeling like wet noodles, and he wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly. For a moment, our hearts pound together.

"Thank you," I gasp, my cheek pressed against his chest. He just saved my life. The words seem woefully inadequate, but I am unable to manage anything else.

"That was way too fucking close," he says. I feel his mouth move against my hair. "Let's get off this death trap."

I only realize how close we really are until I move to untangle myself. Heat rises in my cheeks and I hurry down the ladder. The climb down is arduous and shaky; Tobias freezes up twice, but we make it without another near death experience. We stumble our first few steps once back on the ground, but then confidently walk over to the group. I announce our findings.

"We know where they are."