Zeke

"Instructor Four, how's your day going?" I try to sound cheerful because Four looks so dour. He always looks that way and it's worse during initiation, though I don't remember it being this bad last year and it's only Day Three.

"Terrible. I hate having training with Eric there and we still have fights left today."

"Well, he is a sadistic guy so I'm not surprised." Shauna offers.

My back always stiffens when someone mentions Eric because I immediately am transported back in time to all of the instances I've seen Ri with bruises or bloodied knuckles. Every time I'd ask her what happened and every time her response was the same: Eric. The fact that he's taken such a keen interest in initiation this year frightens me for that same reason.

"I swear he's getting worse every day." Four rubs a hand over his face as he continues to stare at the table.

Lauren takes the seat across from him. "You can't blame yourself for what happened today, Four. You can't control him and we all know no one can control her."

There's one initiate I can think of that no one can control. It hits me that Four still hasn't looked at me this entire time. My hands start to get clammy as the vice grip of fear chokes me.

"What happened?" Is all I can manage as I try to keep myself from descending into total panic. Glancing around the room I realize that Tris is nowhere in sight. That doesn't do anything to help me keep my composure.

Lauren reaches over to me and grips my wrist. "Zeke, calm down. We were throwing knives today and one of the initiates—Al—was doing probably worse than anyone I've ever seen. Eric decided to pick on him and ended up telling him he had to stand in front of one of the targets while Four threw knives at him. He said that if Al flinched, he'd be factionless." My shoulders slump forward, relaxed but also exhausted.

"Oh? That's what happened? That's a new low for Eric but at least he had you throw the knives, Four. Both you and Ri have told me how bad Eric's aim is. That kid would have ended up blind or dead. So I take it that he's OK?" Lauren and Four exchange an uneasy glance that I don't like.

Four clears his throat. "Al's fine, Zeke. I didn't even get to throw a single knife at him because Tris stopped it." The irritated groan that sounds from the back of my throat is automatic. Tris never could stop herself from protecting other people from bullies. I shouldn't have been surprised her aptitude test results included Abnegation. "So Eric made Tris take Al's place. Zeke—"

"And?" I ask it too loudly, too angrily. I trust Four's skills but I still don't like this and I'm powerless, which just makes the anger worse.

"Zeke, she's fine. I promise. I only cut her ear."

"You cut her ear?" I don't care that I'm staring daggers at my best friend or that I know Tris can protect herself. He hurt my sister and I couldn't stop it.

"I had to, Zeke." Four's face is sincere and contrite. I think this is the most emotion I've ever seen him show. "You know Eric wouldn't let her go without at least some blood being spilt. If I didn't do it, he would have and I didn't trust him not to kill her. Zeke, you have to believe I had no other choice."

The information is too much for me to handle so I put my head down on the table, hoping that when I look back up, I'll know how to respond. A gentle hand begins softly caressing my back: Shauna's. The action draws me from my angry musings so I finally draw in a shaky breath. I know Four well enough to know he'd always do whatever necessary to protect Tris and Uriah.

"You're right." I don't lift my head from the table as I say it. "You didn't have another choice- Eric would have hurt her and this time she wouldn't have been able to defend herself." I slowly pick my head back up, avoiding eye contact with all of them. Admitting that I overreacted is something I'm loathe to and I just had to do it.

"Wow, Four, at least one of the Pedrads forgave you." Lauren says it sympathetically to Four. I wonder what happened.

"Too bad Tris hasn't."

"Maybe yelling at her wasn't the best idea."

"It wasn't my best moment. She yelled first, anyway. Sometimes she's just too—"

"Stubborn?" I offer with a grin. Knowing that Tris still had her wits about her enough to be mad at Four proves to me that she really was OK.

"Yes. Exactly."

"Always has been and always will be." I keep grinning as Four's face crumples in disappointment. I know Ri must be like the sister he never had at this point so this has to be hard for him—her rejecting his attempt to protect her. I don't know how to tell him that it never gets any easier. "Don't worry too much about it: Uriah will calm her down and make her understand. He always does. Why do you think she doesn't hate me after all these years?"

We let the conversation meander on to other topics, which I welcome because I don't want to hear more about what is happening in initiation just now. Since both my brother and sister are initiates, Four and Lauren aren't supposed to give me any information on their progress. Even what they've told me was probably more than they were supposed to so when the conversation turns to the afternoon's fights, I don't say or ask anything.

That night at dinner, Four sulks the entire time. He says nothing and when we're finished, he moves almost mechanically. Whatever is going on has him completely out of sorts.

"Hey Zeke, I was thinking maybe I could come have a drink at your place." The comment is confusing to me but I find myself nodding dumbly anyway.

"Sure. I was headed there right now. Why don't you come with?"

Our footsteps are the only sound as we walk. I've lived in Dauntless for 18 years and I swear it's never been this silent. Once I've closed the apartment door I walk straight to the fridge and take out two beers, open them and hand one to Four.

"This isn't really what I'm here for."

"I know but if you wanted to talk without cameras present, then it's about something that will require me to have a beer. Judging by your attitude at dinner, you need a beer too." Four silently nods. "What is it?"

"Eric told us yesterday morning he'd have a say in fight pairings. So he's been pairing Uriah and Tris specifically with the other people who he thinks are the hardest and cruelest initiates. Uriah fought Edward yesterday and Peter today. He won both. Trist fought Peter yesterday." Well, that has my attention. Four stares at me for a moment before he continues. "She won in under a minute, Zeke. I had to pull her off of him, though, because she lost control. Today she fought Edward and she won, still in under a minute. It took Uriah almost ten minutes to finally beat Edward and six minutes to beat Peter, but those two are the only real competition for Tris and Uriah."

"Except for each other." I know where this is going.

"Yes. Zeke, I think Eric is trying to make this their own personal hell. He's doing it by claiming that it's based on skill and competition but you and I know Tris will easily beat Uriah. There is no competition."

"And it will kill her to do it. He's having her fight him because he knows it will hurt her more than anything else."

"Exactly. Zeke, I don't know that I can stop this from happening."

I shake my head as I take a long drink from my beer. "You can't. Eric has set it up so that if either refuses to fight, then he can throw them out for breaking the faction before blood creed. He'll claim that they are traitors to the faction and the faction system overall and can't be trusted. They have to fight each other and Ri has to figure out how to live with it." I, Ezekial Pedrad, am waving the white flag right now. Eric has bested us all—he has devised a way to hurt both of my siblings and there's no way I can stop it.

When Four takes the beer from my hand and sets it on the counter along with his, I don't stop him. "Listen, Zeke, we can't keep this from happening but we can make sure it doesn't destroy her. That's what Eric really wants: to see her break. He knows Uriah won't really care and will forgive her. But he knows she's going to hate herself for hurting Uriah anyway. She's smart enough to know that she has to fight him and that she'll have to win because it will be too suspicious otherwise. But that won't stop her from letting it tear her apart afterwards. She'll need her older brother to help her with that. Zeke, you have to be there for her."

"What she really needs is Amar, Four. He's always been better at reasoning with her in moments like these."

"Well, Amar is out on a mission so it's up to you, Zeke. Just come by the training room at the end of the day. I'll keep Eric busy so you can pull her away."

"Alright, I can do that. But Four, can you try to keep an eye on here later in the night? Even if I talk to her she may need someone else to talk to."

"Yeah, I'll make sure Lauren and I are both around."

The hallway walls are always cold to the touch at first but I guess that's what happens when the walls are made of solid stone. Leaning against one of them, though, has always brought me a strong sense of peace. The transfer of my body heat to the hard surface to warm it while cooling me calms my nerves. The resultant temperature we share feels comfortable. Even that comfort isn't enough for me as I lean against the wall, waiting for Tris.

A group of initiates come pouring out of the training room so I try to look uninterested that way I'm less noticeable. Marlene and Lynn both cast curious glances at me like the other Dauntless born initiates do but no one draws attention to me. They know better. Judging by their faces and their silence, they know why I'm here and they welcome it. The fight must have gone worse than I'd imagined.

The group clears out, leaving no one in the hall but me. I move around the corner, flattening myself against the wall in a place where I know the cameras won't see me. I hear Lauren and Eric leave, talking. They're distracted enough that even if I stood next to them, I suspect they wouldn't pay any attention to me.

"Zeke?" Four's whisper reverberates down the corridor. I stretch my neck around the corner to look at him. "OK, you're here. Come here." I walk over to Four but I already know he's alone.

"What's going on, Four? Where's Ri?"

"I don't…I don't know, Zeke."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"When the fight ended, I had a couple guys take Uriah down to the infirmary. In the process, Tris left. She just walked out. I couldn't go after her so I have no idea where she went."

"So she's missing?"

"Yes, but Lauren and I will look for her. Lauren's distracting Eric right now so I could talk to you but we'll both go look for Tris. You can't; it will look suspicious. Instructors looking for a missing initiate is nothing new."

"You'd better find her, Four. This is my sister who you promised to help me protect. I would kill for her."

"I know, Zeke. I'll find her. Don't worry. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her." I have to respect that Four drops his gaze to the floor. He feels as upset and worried as I do.

"I know, Four. I'm glad to know you care about her as much as I do." Four perks a little at my words. I don't know much about Four even though he's my best friend but he's mentioned never really having a family other than one parent. It makes sense that he's adopted mine over these two years and frankly, the idea of Four acting like an older brother to Uri and Ri is comforting. He can do some of the things I can't. "Honestly, being the protective older brother gets tiring and Amar is gone more these days on missions since he stopped instructing. Having someone else to share the burden is nice." I dig in my jacket pocket until I retrieve a silver flask. "Take this with you. Once you find Ri, I think you'll both need it after today."

"Keep it." Four pulls a similar flask from his pants' pocket. I'm surprised because Four doesn't drink that often. "I figured I'd bring this today just in case. You'll probably want yours tonight still, anyway. Now, go see Shauna and let me find Tris."

I nod before I turn to leave. There's no one, outside of Uriah and Amar, who I'd trust with Ri more than Four.