"Eric…" I called out hoping he'd answer me.
He never did but now opening my eyes. I was in the training room back in Dauntless. The orange punching bags hung along the railings, the matts scattered throughout the large open airy room. But it was silent and empty in here. It was entirely daunting.
"Tris!" a strong bold voice came from behind me, "In the ring!"
I jumped at his voice, I turned and saw him there…and he looked amazing. Although he had the typical menacing grimace on his face, the bruises and cuts all over were gone. He looked just as handsome and strong as I remember, his face wasn't sunken in and weary looking. I could see the blinking blue light under his black t-shirt. It wasn't him…
"Today initiate," Eric ordered stepping into the ring and took of his vest letting it fall to the floor.
"No," I said shaking my head.
"What?" Eric demanded crossing his big arms.
"No," I replied crossing my own arms stubbornly.
"Get your ass into the is ring or your out!" Eric barked at me.
"Fine," I replied still just standing there.
"I train soldiers here not rebels," Eric said walking towards me and grabbed onto my arms hard.
"I know…" I replied softly, "you're the best trainer I ever had…you're the greatest man I've ever known."
Eric's face got colder by the second, he shoved me backwards. The force from his push threw me so far back I hit the back wall. It crumbled around me loudly. Eric came running towards me and every step he took seemed to thunder loudly, cracking the ground beneath him. I just stood there, waiting for him.
"Fight back!" Eric demanded as he got closer to me.
The raised his fist at me punching me square in the face. The wall behind us crumbled away. I flew farther backwards, trying to breathe through the shock of the pain. I laid there in the street absorbing the pain, Eric followed me.
"Fight back you coward!" Eric yelled burying his boot into my stomach, "You're such a fucking stiff."
"Eric you need to fight back," I said spitting out a pool of blood.
"You need to get the fuck up and prove to me how Dauntless you are," Eric said coldly looking down at me like an insect, "I told you, you chose us and now we're choosing you…or not."
He grabbed onto my jacket harshly and threw me and hit a brick wall square on my back.
"Get up!" Eric screamed at me.
"No," I mumbled back weakly.
"Why not?" Eric yelled just standing there. His face kept twitching and he kept shaking his head.
"Because I love you," I replied pulling myself up weakly. I was so used to being in pain lately that it seemed like I was used to it now.
"Don't love me," Eric commanded, still shaking his head. He was sweating profusely.
I could see it in his eyes, he was fighting it.
"I do Eric," I said stepping closer to him. I reached out to him.
Eric immediately took my outstretched hand and pinned me up against the brick wall. He gave one more punch to my stomach, violently knocking the wind out of me. I coughed aggressively trying to regain some clarity, coughing up more blood. Eric seemed to step back; he was looking at me curiously as I sat there withering in pain. He gripped his face harshly, breathing raggedly.
"Eric I know you're hurt," I said straightening up. I stepped closer to him and before he had time to react I put my hands on his face.
He looked at me with a mix of disgust and shock at me putting his hands on the sides of his face…but he didn't do anything.
"I'm hurt to Eric," I said softly to him leaning into him, "I know you hate yourself…I hate myself sometimes too. But it's not us that's the problem, it's them Eric. They made us into who we are. Eric I know who you are deep down…you want people to love you. You want to prove to yourself and others that you're strong and brave and a good man. You are Eric…"
Eric seemed to stand there with a still disgusted look on his face. But he still wasn't reacting so I kept talking.
"You're mad at me," I said, thinking just keep talking, "you're mad because I killed Max. You loved him and he loved you…now you're mad at me for taking him away. And you're mad at yourself for everything that you've done…but Eric I just want you to know that, I forgive you for everything. I can be your family if you let me Eric."
"Tris…" Eric said his voice wavering, "I… I can't be-,"
"Yes you can," I cut him off urgently, "you're the bravest person I know Eric. Just let me in, please…I forgive you Eric, you need to forgive yourself."
"I fucking can't!" Eric said shoving me back against the wall. He raised his fist to me again.
"Yes you can!" I screamed at him before he let his fist fly, "Be brave Eric…can you forgive me?"
Eric lowered his fist but closed his eyes tightly. His breathing became slow and steady. When he reopened his eyes…they were the same light shade of blue that they were when he made love to me in the clock tower.
"Tris…" he muttered softly.
"Amity sim, Complete," the computer system announced.
"Wait…" Jeanine said looking over the system, "it's not possible."
"Did Tris finish the sim?" one of the Erudite's asked.
"It wasn't Tris," Richard said looking at the screen with a look of pure hatred across his face, "It was Eric."
"No!" Jeanine shouted at them, her cool façade fading fast. There was no way she was wrong, "Eric couldn't have finished the simulation! That means he'd have to be-."
Oh my god, I missed her. I loved her. I loved her so much, was all I could think of as I held onto her as tight as I possibly could. I decided in that moment I would never let her go again. She kept her tight grip on me, breathing down my neck slowly. By her breathing I knew she could feel the overwhelming feeling of relief growing inside of us.
"Tris…" whispered in her ear, "Don't ever leave me."
"Never," Tris whispered back to me, "you completed the amity sim… that means that you're-."
"Just a lousy two percent," I said back to her with a smile
Tris reached up to my chest, feeling the metal balls in my chest. The light wasn't blinking anymore. It was off, I wondered why. My heart was pounding though, I placed my hand over Tris's holding her firmly to my chest. I could tell she could feel it to.
"It's all you're Tris," I whispered to her.
"Initializing message," a computer voice came from around us.
Keeping my arms wrapped around her waist, I looked around us. We were standing outside Dauntless, the wall had been destroyed and shattered. The box was standing on the pedestal near us, glowing brilliantly blue.
"We're still in the sim aren't we?" I asked looking over to Tris confused. My body didn't hurt like I know it should. We were still under. I was divergent…I am divergent. After all this time…
"Looks like it two percent," Tris smiled up at me.
Off to the right of us, a hologram of a woman stood before us from the box.
"Hello. I come from outside the wall, where we have all but destroyed each other," said the woman, she looked familiar. She had Tris's hazel eyes. This was what Jeanine had been waiting for, "We designed your city as an experiment. We believe it is the only way to recover the humanity we have lost. And we created factions to ensure peace. But we believe there will be those among you who will transcend these factions. These will be the Divergent. They are the true purpose of this experiment, they are vital to humanity's survival. If you're watching this now, then at least one of you is proof that our experiment has succeeded. The time has come for you to emerge from your isolation and rejoin us. We've allowed you to believe that you're the last of us. But you're not. Mankind waits for you with hope beyond the wall."
I knew it…my mother was right all along. I slowly opened my eyes to see Eric to the right of me, also waking up. He glanced over at me and smiled. Everyone in the Erudite lab all shared the same look of shock and disbelief. Four was standing the sim room, glancing between Eric and I. he looked just as shocked as everyone else. And Eric…he was like me. We were both divergent. I pulled all the cables out of my body and stood up.
"You were wrong about us, we were never the problem," I said with a blissful smile and walked over to Eric removing the cables from him, "We're the solution."
Eric was still weak, he fell into my arms. Four came over to the other side placing one of Eric's arms around his neck, together we held him up.
"Thank you," Eric muttered to Four and then glanced between the both of us, "So does this mean I get to join your little divergent club?"
A menacing look of failure spread over Jeanine's face. She looked at us all precariously and then glanced over her shoulder to another man. A man that looked curiously like Eric only more severe…
"Bury the box," she ordered as the man that looked like Eric behind her took out a remote.
I didn't have to question her to know what that remote was for. The panic in Eric's eyes was quick to ignite in seeing what he was doing. His grip around me tightened, preparing for what was coming.
"Stop!" I yelled out to him.
"The serum running through your veins may not work on a divergent Eric," the man said, his deep voice shaking with rage, "but the conductors wrapped around you're pathetic heart will still kill you."
"Bury the box," Jeanine ordered coldly, "No one sees it. Ever."
Suddenly the sound of a bomb exploding near the door to the lab made everyone jump. All the dauntless and factionless came storming in holding up guns to all of the Erudite's. Eli came running straight up to the man holding the remote who became temporarily distracted.
"Elijah," the man said with a shocked look on his face.
"Hey dad," Eli said sarcastically and his him over the head with the end of his gun. He fell to the floor limply as Eli picked up the remote to Eric's Fulminator.
"Don't worry brother," Eli said holding it up, "I got it."
"Dad?" I asked looking over at Eric.
"Unfortunately," Eric sighed.
More and more Dauntless came filing in. Jeanine, Caleb, and all the other Erudite were arrested and taken away. Eli came in and help get ahold of Eric while Four took the box. He began messing with the computers, saying that we was going to put the message on every monitor on the city. Along with all the other people that filed into the lab, three more people came over to Eric, Eli and I. Two who looked very similar was who I assumed were Eric's brothers. One of their faces was just as bruised up and weary as Eric looked. Another was a woman who had eyes like Eric's.
"Eric!" She cried out wrapping his arms around him.
"Hey mom," he said quietly and then turned to his other brother, "Jed!"
Jed, engulfed Eric in a similar hug.
"Have I thanked you yet for everything you've done for me yet?" Eric asked quietly.
"No," Jed said shaking his head with a chuckle.
"Well…" Eric mused playfully, "why start now?"
"Jed! Cole!" Eli said happily and hugged the both of them as well.
"Hey…Eli," Jed said awkwardly as he and the other brother, Cole hugged him back shyly.
"All my boys," the older looking woman mused happily, "never thought I'd see the day when you were all together again."
I stood there, letting them enjoy their small family reunion. Everything seemed to be shifting; it felt like I could finally breathe for the first time in months. I watched the Erudite take Caleb away. He looked at me impassively, as if unsure of what to think. I wasn't sure what to think…so I did nothing.