Tobias
Tris is on a slab. Her body is limp; her chest no longer moving up and down. They've killed her. Jeanine and her corrupted Erudite faction. I smooth my hand over her blond hair. Tears are flowing from my face. I don't want to believe she's gone. I can't. This can't be it.
Someone coughs and I look up to see Peter. Traitor, I think. He's part of the reason she's dead. And there's Caleb too, Tris' brother. He let this happen, he let them kill her. I want to destroy them all.
Suddenly Tris gasps for air. I jump back. She can't be alive, can she? I saw the serum go into her body. But she is; she's breathing and she's alive. I crush myself to her.
I start, sitting up on the couch. My chest feels heaving. A nightmare, just a nightmare. But also a memory, maybe.
Turning to look behind me, I see Tris is undisturbed by my outburst.
It's night and the moonlight is coming in through the windows. The back of the couch keeps Tris in shade for the most part except for her hip, the little bit of moonlight highlighting the curves and edges of her naked body. I am naked too. I am also covered in a sheen of sweat. Reaching for my pants, I stand.
I need to move, to leave the room. I'm not fleeing from Tris. I just need some space.
That dream was so vivid, so real. I wipe my face, my hand glistens with sweat and tears. A memory. But it's only a snapshot; a moment in this complicated life I woke up to. iMy real life/i, I remind myself.
I should tell Tris that I've had a memory and I will, only after I've sorted through my own feelings about it and what the memory was about. Tris. Dead. But not dead. I sigh.
I move through the compound. Part of me hopes for more memories to come, part of me dreads it—to relive every moment, bit by bit.
I come to a large space with scaffolding against large sections of the walls. The moonlight creeps in through the glass parts of the ceiling. I recall someone mentioning reconstruction but I don't know the reason for it. Eyeing the scaffolding warily, I can't imagine climbing to the top, not with my fear of heights. I shake my head. An image of a ferris wheel comes to my mind but it's gone before I can see it more clearly. How was I ever Dauntless? I must have been desperate, but then again, I survived.
Despite the scaffolding, the open space seems to be just what I need. No memories stir here, so I must not recognize it.
I've been sitting in silence for several minutes before a chill creeps up my spin. I sense a set of eyes on me from the shadows. I look up to see a person in silhouette standing about fifty feet from me. It is male, broad shouldered and lean build. The figure is either bald or has short cropped hair. I don't immediately recognize him.
"I don't know if I'm not supposed to be here. There weren't any posted signs." I stand when the figure doesn't respond. Something isn't right.
Suddenly the figure steps forward and I open my stance and bend my knees, ready to attack.
The figure takes another step forward and steps into the light.
I know the face instantly but I can't put a name to it. Images flood my mind. I'm at the Pit with Zeke, a scrawny boy with similar features hangs all over him. Next a body comes hurling through the air to land in the net. It's Choosing Day. Zeke helps me pull the jumper from the net—it's that same boy but he's older now, less scrawny. The next image I'm with Tris; we've arrived at the Candor Headquarters. We're greeting fellow Dauntless. Zeke isn't here. But the boy is. He's got piercings and tattoos of his own and he's smiling at us. Tris mouths his name but I don't hear it. The image disappears and another arrives. A hospital room. Zeke is holding his mother and they're both crying. The boy is lying in the bed, his eyes are closed. I want to look away but I can't. A doctor comes in and pulls the plug.
I gasp.
My gaze lands on the figure before me. "Uriah."
He smiles. Uriah was always quick to smile.
"That's right, Four, it is me. And this is where the wall the blew up, sending me hurling in the air and I hit my head. It was all because you trusted the wrong people."