CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
That I night I make my way back to the Dauntless entrance where I told Tris to meet me. I arrive five minutes early and wait in the shadow of the building for her. When I see her I don't say anything, I just reach for her hand and lead her toward the train tracks. I can already see the 11:30 train moving towards us. As the train passes I run a few steps before pulling myself into the car and then reach back to help Tris in behind me. She stumbles a bit as the train's movement throws her slightly off balance and she falls against me, her cheek landing against my chest. I reach out to grab her shoulders to catch her but then let my hands glide down her arms to her elbows. Dauntless headquarters recedes into the distance as we stand near the open door, steadying each other as the train jostles us and the wind blows against us.
"What is it you need to tell me?" she shouts over the roar of the wind.
"Not yet," I say.
It will be a few minutes before we can see Erudite headquarters which is what I want to show her. But for those few minutes I get to be alone with her...my girlfriend. I sit down on the floor with my back against the car wall and pull her down near me so we are facing each other. The wind is still pretty strong and blowing strands of her long blonde hair. I brush the loose hair from her face and tuck it behind her ears and then pull her toward me so I can kiss her.
The train lurches and I feel her arm react - to reach for something to help balance herself, but instead of landing on the train floor I feel her hand against my hip. She doesn't move her hand away but instead adjusts herself to sit on my lap and kisses me. I move my hands to her shoulders again and then run my fingers down her back. Suddenly I remember something I've been curious about. I unzip her jacket, just a little, until the tattoos on her collarbone are revealed. I lightly run my fingertips over the birds on her skin and smile.
"Birds. Are they crows? I keep forgetting to ask."
"Ravens." she replies. "One for each member of my family. You like them?"
I pull her close to me and gently kiss each bird. Then I reach up to touch her face with my hand. The train is slowing as we reach the center of the city and we are almost to the place where we can see Erudite headquarters now.
"I hate to say this, but we have to get up now," I tell her.
She nods and opens her eyes. We stand and I draw her over to the train door again. It's now midnight and the lights of the city have been turned off. In the faint moonlight the shapes of the city's buildings are barely visible against the dark night sky. But against the dark background, far away in the distance, there is one area of light. Erudite headquarters.
"Apparently the city ordinances don't mean anything to them because their lights will be on all night," I say.
Tris frowns. "No one else has noticed?" she asks.
"I'm sure they have, but they haven't done anything to stop it. It may be because they don't want to cause a problem over something so small," I reply. I am silent for a moment, gazing out at the landscape, lost in thought. Then I shrug and continue my thoughts out loud. "But it made me wonder what the Erudite are doing that requires night light."
I turn to look at Tris and lean back against the train wall.
"Two things you should know about me," I tell her. "The first is that I am deeply suspicious of people in general. It is my nature to expect the worst of them. And the second is that I am unexpectedly good with computers. A few weeks ago, before training started, I was at work and I found a way into the Dauntless secure files. Apparently we are not as skilled as the Erudite are at security, and what I discovered was what looked like war plans. Thinly veiled commands, supply lists, maps. Things like that. And those files were sent by Erudite."
"War?" she asks incredulously as she brushes the loose strands of hair away from her face again. "War on Abnegation?"
I reach out for her hands and slide my fingers between hers. "The faction that controls the government. Yes. All those reports are supposed to stir up dissension against Abnegation. Evidently the Erudite now want to speed up the process. I have no idea what to do about it…or what could even be done." I look out towards the city, towards the shining area of light.
"But, why would Erudite team up with Dauntless?" she asks, but then a moment later answers her own question. "They're going to use us."
"I wonder," I say after another few minutes of thought have passed, "how they plan to get us to fight."
"I don't know," she answers.
We look at each other. A sense of foreboding has settled over us. We both know something bad is about to happen in the city. I think of the Abnegation sector. Marcus is still there. I have no respect for him but I don't want him and countless other Abnegation members like Tris' parents who are innocent to be attacked and possibly killed for no reason. And the thought that the Dauntless, my friends and even Tris and I could be a part of an attack? It's unthinkable. I know I would never willing take part in anything like that. What plan could Erudite possibly have to convince us to wage war on another faction?
I pull Tris toward me and hold her in an embrace, her head resting against my shoulder. I don't know what we can do about the situation but part of me feels better now that I've told someone about it. At least it's a burden I don't have to bear alone anymore. Maybe together we can figure out what to do.
The train has made its way around the city and we are back near Dauntless headquarters again. We jump off the train and part before we enter the compound again, but not before I pull her aside for a kiss goodnight.