Chapter 11

Tris

If you take the train from the fence to the city, it will take you about half an hour to reach the outskirts of the city. But if you drive, it takes well over an hour.
And in the hour and a bit we've been driving, nobody has spoken a single word. The tension in the air is so thick I can almost grab it in my hands. I have no nails left to chew, and Tobias' foot hasn't stopped tapping. Christina and Caleb have been sitting together, dozing, but I can tell they're having trouble. What could've happened? What could've left a gaping hole in the fence we thought impenetrable? Is there even anything left of our city?
I take a deep breath, and a strangled sob escapes me. I bury my face in my hands, and Tobias wraps his arms around me. "Shh, Tris. It's okay. It'll be fine." He repeats himself countless times until I finally stop crying, and ask him "How do you know?"
He looks at me. "I don't. But, nobody does. Nobody knows what could've caused that. But I don't think it's something bad."
I start to argue, but he raises his hand. "Let me finish." I nod.
"I think that if something as bad as you're thinking had happened, there'd be nothing here. But, there is. Tris, taked a look out the window."
I stand up, and look out the window. I see the buildings of Chicago, the Hub standing tallest. The gray buildings of Abnegation. The train tracks twisting and turning like an enormous snake. Tobias stands next to me, resting his arms on the cold metal wall. "There's no fires, no ashes. Nothing's destroyed; everything looks the same as the last time I was here. We'll get our answers soon enough."
"When?" I ask him.
"Today. We're going to Evelyn's office. She'll know what happened. I know you two don't exactly get along, but this will be worth it."
I nod again. Although I detest his mother, Tobias is right. Tobias walks to the front of the van, and whispers something to Amar. Amar nods, and takes a left turn, heading directly to the center of the city.
We arrive at Erudite headquarters, and everyone piles out of the vans. Tobias turns in front of the doors, and surveys everybody. "Tris and I are going to talk to Evelyn. The rest of you can go wherever you want after, but I need you to stay in the lobby while we find out what happened to put that hole in the fence. I don't want anyone sneaking off and dying or something. Got it?" The others nod, and Tobias leads the way into the Erudite headquarters.

The bulding is still destroyed, although repairs are ongoing. Tobias and I walk to the front desk, and Tobias clears his throat. "Welcome to Erudite headquarters. How may I help you?" says the clerk without looking up from his laptop. "I need to speak with Evelyn Eaton," says Tobias in a hard voice. "Well, make an appointment. Evelyn doesn't have time to speak to anybody."
"I'm her son. I have every right to see her. Now, where is her office?" Tobias has turned into Four for the time being, and for once I'm okay with it. When the Erudite looks up, he almost jumps out of his seat, and his glasses - which are missing lenses - fall to the floor. "Uh, yes sir, right away, Mr. Eaton. Follow me." And the clerk leads us to an elevator. I glance at the group, and give them a reassuring smile. I'm a bit more at ease now that we've found people alive and well, but I'm still curious. I follow Tobias into the elevator.
When we arrive at the top floor, the clerk gives us directions. "Walk straight down this hallway, and go left at the second intersection. Take another left at the next intersection. Ms. Johnson's office is the last door on the right."
"Thank you," I say. The clerk nods, and rushes back into the elevator. Tobias laughs when the doors close. "Nice fellow," he comments, and I laugh with him. When we reach Evelyn's office, Tobias turns to me. "Are you ready?" he asks me. He knows that Evelyn and I dislike each other, which is nobody's but her own fault. "Yeah, I'm ready. I can put aside my... feelings for her for the time being. We need to know what made that hole." Tobias nods. "Thank you," he says, and puts his lips against my forehead. I take a deep breath, and knock on the door.

Tobias

"Come in," I hear Evelyn's voice, and I lead the way in. When Evelyn sees us, she gasps. "Tobias." She rushes to me and hugs me. I hug her back, but formally. I still find it weird being around her, let alone hugging me. After she lets go of me, my mother's eyes find Tris. She nods her head. "Tris." Tris nods back. "Evelyn." I can feel the tension radiating from my girlfriend, and to a lesser extent, my mother. I wish they would resolve their differences, for their own sake, if not for mine. "Please sit," says Evelyn, and Tris and I take two chairs in front of her desk. She smiles at me, completely ignoring Tris. I think I'll bring that up. "What can I do for you today?" "A few things. I'll start with the least important." Evelyn nods, and motions with her hand for me to continue. "We just arrived. We were rather... astounded at the gaping hole in the Fence." Evelyn sighs.
"Oh... About that. I assume you want the truth?" I narrow my eyes at her. What kind of mother asks her son that? She clears her throat and continues. "I guess someone forgot to tell the guards that the Allegiant were allowed to leave the city if they chose. When they arrived at the gates and asked to be let out, the guards refused.
The Allegiant killed the guards, and set bombs on the gate. They blew it open, and left." I sigh, a weight lifting off of my chest. "We thought someone had destroyed the city, or come in and killed everyone. I guess it's in my nature to assume the worst."
"Did they all leave? Even Marcus and Johanna?" asks Tris, and Evelyn turns to her, narrowing her eyes. I sense a conflict coming, but I'm going to make the best of it.
"Marcus and half of the Allegiant stayed in the city, girl. The other half left to explore with Johanna." Evelyn's eyes concentrate on my face again, but I wait for Tris to speak.
"Why do you insist on calling me girl? On treating me like an inferior?" asks Tris, her voice rising. Evelyn smirks at her, and I wish I could wipe that look of her face. But, I'm not Marcus. "Because you are a girl. You're barely seventeen years old, Beatrice. What makes you think you know everything? What makes you think of yourself as my equal? Why do you think you're better for my son than myself? You are wrong!" spits Evelyn, her face flushing. "I was there for him when you weren't," says Tris, and Evelyn's eyes widen. "I support Tobias in everything he does. I know him better than anyone, and I can say the same about myself. I love your son, Evelyn. I'm not just pretending, so I can use him. I wouldn't leave him when he needed me the most. I'll be there for him for the rest of his life. And I think the reason you despise me so much is because I've taken your place. You're only temporary, Evelyn. I'm permanent." Evelyn's face is flushed; I can almost see the steam gushing from her ears. "Get out," she says to Tris. "GET OUT!" "No." "She's not leaving without me, Evelyn. Tris is right; you need to get off your high horse and own up to the shit you've done. The fact that you left me to deal with Marcus by myself is unforgivable. I didn't come here to make amends. I came here to get the information I needed; but now I realize that I also came here to let Tris speak her mind to you. I want to know why you detest my girlfriend so much. Because she's not going anywhere. And I can't live with you two at each other's throats every time we have to meet. Get over your differences right now, or in the future at least pretend." Both women are looking at me, speechless. Tris is the first one to speak, but she no longer sounds angry. "Why is it that you hate me, Evelyn? What did I ever do to you?" Evelyn sighs, not looking at either of us. It surprises me when she answers Tris. She turns to look at us before she speaks. "You have no idea... either of you, how much I regret leaving my son," I freeze; I never thought Evelyn would admit to this. "But, I truly do. I should have told someone what was going on behind the walls of our home; and admitted to having an affair. I should have seeked help from my friends, and not left. I am truly sorry. I know that you may never forgive me, Tobias, but please, at least try."
I nod stiffly. I am Four right now; no emotions are showing. "And, Beatrice... You're right in your guess as to why I dislike you. I am jealous; jealous of the fact that my own son loves you more than he loves me. But, I now understand why he doesn't love me. And I can see that you truly make him happy. It pains me to see someone do what I cannot; you bring out the best in my son. I wish I knew how to be in your place, but I don't. I wish my relationship with my son was real, and not formal, or necessary. I admit that I was wrong when I told you that you are only permanent in Tobias' life; I know now that you two are truly meant to be together. I... apologize for my behaviour, and I hope that we can move on from this."
My own expression mirrors Tris's: both of our jaws have dropped, and we're staring at Evelyn as if she's grown an extra head. "I... Thank you," says Tris. "I'm glad we've gotten that out of our systems. I think you need to try harder to repair what you lost when you left Tobias with Marcus.
From now on, I'll be here, encouraging your relationship with each other." And Tris reaches across the desk and shakes Evelyn's hand. I just shake my head. Women. "I appreciate your concern, Tris. The two of you can accomplish anything, I'm sure of it. If you ever need anything, let me know." I nod, still too dumbfounded to speak, and Tris leads the way out of my mother's office.
On the way down to the main floor, Tris looks at me. "What's wrong?" she asks me, and I sigh.
"Nothing's wrong."
"Tobias. We promised no more secrets." It kind of hurts me that she automatically assumes I'm hiding something, but I don't let it show. "Tris, I'm serious. Nothing's wrong. I just... did not expect that. To be completely honest, I expected you and Evelyn to get into a catfight, or something, not.. do what you did. But, I'm glad that meeting went the way it did."
Tris hugs me, and pulls my face down to kiss her. "Me too," she whispers against my lips. "I love you, Tobias."
"I know. I love you too." We break the kiss when the elevator opens on the ground floor. The others rush toward us, asking all sorts of questions. I explain to them that the hole was caused by an Allegiant bomb, and that it was all a consequence of forgetting to inform the gate guards. They breathe a collective sigh of relief.
We get into the vans, and head towards to Dauntless compound to begin a new chapter of our lives.

Blah, sorry for another bad chapter. I'm terrible with dialogue that isn't between the main characters. I just came up with the Allegiant idea on the spot, because I didn't want to destroy the city.

Anyways, I have to clarify something.

For those of you who don't know, yes, I am a male. And I am not gay; simply obsessed with Divergent and in love with Beatrice Prior. So, yeah. For anyone wondering, I'm a dude.

That's all. Expect chapter 12 sometime soon. Not too sure exactly when. Also, keep reviewing and all that jazz.

PS

In the chapter where Tris and Tobias were confessing everything, Tris mentioned that her favourite band was Sepultura. Sepultura is an 80's old school death/thrash metal band. It gives a bit of a twist to Tris's character that she's into that kind of music.