I don't know if anyone wants to see the world of Divergent experience what we're going through right now with Covid-19, but I wanted to write it anyway. Maybe it's my way of processing what we're going through, or maybe I just wanted to write it so I could see a resolution. Anyway, this is a short-ish Eris (Eric x Tris) love story, set against the backdrop of Dauntless living through a Coronavirus outbreak in Chicago. There was no war, and no hunt for Divergents. I'll update daily, and I think it will be five chapters - four plus an epilogue, really (it's fully written, but it's one huge document I'm breaking into chapters as I upload and edit)
Enjoy, and stay well!
XOXO,
Libby
.
The first time I heard of the virus, I thought it was a euphemism for a hangover. I mean, there's a beer brand right in the name. "Corona-Virus" is not unlike "Irish Flu" when you think about it. So when Max made an announcement about this Coronavirus going around, I thought it was an attempt by Dauntless leadership to get people to cut back on the partying.
.
The second time I heard about the virus, it was from Shauna. She came home from guarding the wall and told us about rumors that were circulating.
"The factionless are restless," she said to our table of friends during dinner. "The flu is hitting them hard this year. They've been getting brave, jumping Amity delivery trucks. We're talking about mobilizing patrols to ride along since the Amity hippies won't defend themselves." My only thought was to hope that my squad wouldn't get mobilized.
After finishing first in my initiate class, I could have done anything. Max offered me a position in leadership. Gus tried to recruit me for intelligence in the Control Room. But what I really wanted was to be free, and I knew I wouldn't feel free dealing with faction politics or sitting behind a computer screen all day. I wanted to be with people, express my creativity, and have some fun. I still have to do my every-other month drill like all Dauntless, after all we are the faction providing security for the entire city of Chicago, but on a day-to-day basis I'm much happier with the job I chose as an apprentice under Tori and Bud in the tattoo and piercing shop.
.
The next time I heard about the virus, it was in a short printed message that was delivered to me at work. Veronica, Dauntless' only female leader, brought it to me. The message contained few words, but managed to crush me nonetheless.
Caleb Prior, Erudite
Tris Prior, Dauntless
The Abnegation Council wishes to express its deep regret in informing you that your mother, Natalie Prior, has died after a brief illness. Mrs. Prior's selfless dedication to the factionless, and her service to the Abnegation community were a gift to us all. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Marcus Eaton
I don't remember much of what followed. I know that I read the brief message and dropped into a chair. I couldn't breathe. All I could think of was my mother's soft smile, and her hands gently running through my hair as she trimmed it before I left for Dauntless.
Eventually I realized that Tori and Christina were sitting with me. Veronica was still there, too.
"There's a virus making people ill in Abnegation," I heard Veronica say to the others. "Erudite thinks it started with the factionless, and since Abnegation work closely with them, some of them caught it. Tris' mother was the first non-factionless to die from it."
"What about my dad?" I croaked, my voice thick with shock and unshed tears.
"We don't know who is well and who is ill," Veronica said. "But Andrew is a council member, and your mom was sick, so there's a good chance that he is also. I'm sorry, Tris."
A pitiful whine escaped my mouth, and I felt Christina wrap her arms around me.
.
Faction before blood is a strangely surreal idea. At the tender age of sixteen I had to decide where to spend the rest of my life. Since I didn't choose the place where I grew up, I lost my parents in the process. Since my brother chose differently than I did, I lost him too. But I knew they were all right here in Chicago. I knew that my dad was going to work and reading the paper by the fire each night. I knew that my mom was leading Abnegation's outreach to the factionless and taking care of the cooking and cleaning at home. I knew Caleb was studying hard at Erudite. I knew that we were all right where we were meant to be, and that I'd see them next Visiting Day. Suddenly, that was gone. I would never see my mother again.
The message Max delivered to my apartment just two days after I was notified of my mother's death was less shocking, but just as painful.
Caleb Prior, Erudite
Tris Prior, Dauntless
The Abnegation Council wishes to express its deep regret in informing you that your father, Andrew Prior, has died after a brief illness. Mr. Prior's selfless dedication to the Council, and his service to the Abnegation community were a gift to us all. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Marcus Eaton
The fact that the two messages were nearly identical was my undoing. Though no one expected Abnegation to be eloquent, I felt that it was cold and heartless to send out form letters informing someone of their parents' deaths. My selfless mother and hard-working father deserved more than that. Caleb and I may have transferred, but we deserved more than that, too. I refused Max's offer to call someone to come be with me, and instead made my way to the training room.
Tobias found me there a few hours later. He had been my initiation trainer, and we had struck up an illicit friendship during my initiation. I had a huge crush on him back then. He opened up to me, and I thought he liked me, but he didn't. Thankfully, I was way too chicken to declare my crush to Tobias. I think he knew, but he was too nice to say anything. What we did have was an almost sibling-like connection, and after initiation we settled into a solid friendship.
I chose Dauntless because this is where I really want to be. Tobias chose Dauntless to escape from Marcus, his abusive father. As I settled in here, I'd gotten more and more like the other Dauntless. Though Tobias has been here for almost three years, he has still retained much of his inner Abnegation. I'm not surprised that he came to find me.
For several minutes, Tobias just stood and watched me punch and kick the heavy bag. Carefully, as if approaching a wounded animal, he made his way to me. "Keep tension here," he said quietly, placing a hand on my abdomen.
The gentle touch was my undoing. I collapsed to the floor as a torrent of sobs wracked my body.
Tobias squatted on the floor beside me and placed his large, warm hand on my shoulder.
"I want my mom," I cried.
"I know," Tobias said, trying to comfort me.
I know that Tobias knows. He lost his mother when we were kids. He knows this grief. But I'm selfish. I don't want to admit that he, or anyone, understands. My parents were special. My mom was amazing, and my dad… Well, every little girl idolizes her daddy. No one's grief is like my grief, because no one lost what I lost.
That's not true. One person lost what I lost - Caleb.
"Can… Can I go… to the… funeral?" I sobbed to Tobias.
"Oh Tris," he said, "I'm so sorry. They're not allowing anyone to travel between factions right now. The factionless are restless. Amity isn't giving Abnegation as much as they used to, and this flu is spreading through the factionless and Abnegation. They don't want anyone else to catch it, so we're not allowed to travel between factions."
I had no idea that 'faction before blood' would be so final.
.
I struggled to go back to my version of normal after losing my parents. I went to work, but Tori didn't have me do much. My friends checked on me, but I didn't go out to parties.
Almost two weeks after my mother's death, Zeke got sick. Shauna rushed him to the infirmary when his fever got high. The Dauntless medics performed a test that Erudite had provided, and proved that he had the same virus that was going around Abnegation and the factionless. All of Dauntless was shocked. Zeke had no contact with anyone from another faction, so how did he get sick?
Fortunately, Zeke didn't need to be hospitalized. His condition improved quickly due to his youth and good health. While he was sick, he and Shauna were forced to stay in their apartment, and no one was allowed to visit. Soon one case in Dauntless became two, and two became ten. It was obvious that the ban on contact between factions had come too late.
In Candor, several older members died. Erudite barricaded themselves in their compound and cleaned everything with strong disinfectants. Amity quit manually delivering food, and started using the trains. They would drive the food to the wall, load it on a train, and leave. From there, Dauntless guards rode the trains through the city, dropping off supplies at each faction.
Still, the disease spread. Max ordered all non-essential services to cease. That meant that the tattoo shop was closed, and I was out of work. Hair salons and bars closed. The dental office only took emergency appointments. The infirmary handled only virus cases and real emergencies. The worst of the sick from each faction were transported to the hospital at Erudite.
Those measures slowed the spread, but the number of people sick and dying from the virus continued to grow.
One night at dinner, Max made a faction-wide announcement. "Dauntless!" his booming voice called out through the cafeteria and the compound-wide PA system. I knew that the announcement was being broadcast at the wall, too, and everywhere Dauntless members lived and worked. "This is head leader Max Pfifer. I have an important announcement about the virus that is infecting the population of Chicago. Dauntless is instituting a mandatory stay at home order."
Max went on to explain things more fully. No one was allowed in or out of the compound without his personal permission. The children would not be attending school for the time being. Social gathering places were closed. Everyone had twenty-four hours to gather whatever supplies they needed, then the cafeteria would be closing as well. No one was allowed to get together with their friends or extended family members. Everyone was to stay in their apartments. Those who could work from home were to do so. Those who absolutely had to go to work, such as doctors, control room monitors, the guards at the fence and the food trains, and the staff at the grocery store, would be given special identification that proved it was necessary for them to be out of their homes. Everyone else was issued a specific day and time each week when one person in their household was allowed to leave to purchase supplies. My day was Tuesday between ten and noon.
My first reaction was that the plan was very detailed and obviously well thought out. I wondered if Erudite told Max what to say or if Dauntless had come up with it on their own. Either way I felt a lot better about the situation knowing that someone had prepared so thoroughly.
My second reaction was the realization that, for the first time, I was disappointed that I lived alone. Most new members were put in apartments with a roommate, but since I finished first in initiation I had the option to live alone. I loved it - right up to the day when they told us we would be stuck with only the roommates or family members we lived with, and I had no one.
After dinner there was a mad rush to get to the stores and stock up on things like toilet paper and food. Most Dauntless ate at the cafeteria every day, and were completely unprepared for the sequestering. Lucky for me, I knew how to cook, and I had some supplies on hand. My first stop after dinner was the electronics store, where I bought a tablet device so I would be able to communicate with others.
I went home that evening and took an inventory of what I had in my kitchen, and what I would need. It was Friday, so I really only had to supply myself for a few days until I was allowed to shop again. Dauntless shops are usually open quite late - some of them 24 hours a day - so I set my alarm for three in the morning, and went to bed.
When my alarm went off, I reluctantly dragged myself out of my warm bed and threw on some clean clothes, which reminded me that I should also do some laundry before the quarantine began, as I shared a laundry room with everyone on my floor of the housing wing I lived in. Never one to waste time, I quickly threw my things in the empty washers before heading down to the stores.
Dauntless is rarely quiet. But with the bars and many shops closed, it was surprisingly calm. I went to the grocery store and was greeted by absolute chaos. The crowds were gone, but the shelves were bare, products were strewn about everywhere, and the staff looked ready to collapse.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked the clerks.
"People are stupid and crazy," whined a young woman with purple hair and excessive amounts of black eyeliner.
"Have you had your breaks tonight?" I asked.
"No," groaned a gangly young man with shaggy brown hair. His acne-scarred face looked exhausted, and I felt terrible for him.
"Who has been here the longest?" I asked, taking charge in spite of the fact that I lacked any authority to do so.
"She has," the man said, pointing at his purple-haired coworker.
"Why don't you go take your break," I suggested. "He can sit near the register, and I'll start cleaning up what I can. When you get back you can switch."
"We still have to stock shelves," the girl moaned.
"The tattoo shop is closed, so I'm not working right now," I said. "I'll stay and help as long as you need. As long as I can go swap laundry loads in a bit."
"Thank you," the woman said, nearly in tears.
For an hour I straightened shelves while the two clerks took their long-overdue breaks. I took an empty cart with me, and when I found things I wanted to buy, I threw them in. By the time their breaks were over, I had my shopping accomplished and the store looking much better. I paid for my purchases, then ran them home and moved my laundry into the dryer.
As promised, I went back to the grocery store to help stock shelves. When I got there, I was surprised to find Eric, Dauntless' ruthless and cranky young leader, loading gallons of milk into the dairy case. Eric and I had not had a single conversation since my initiation, and I was in no hurry to change that. I pretended not to see him and started putting cans of soup on the store shelves.
"Stiff," Eric said gruffly, interrupting my work.
"I have a name," I said, my abbreviated night's sleep making me less patient than usual.
"Tris," Eric said, practically hissing my name, "you don't work here."
"Neither do you," I retorted.
"Touche," he said, "but I'm a faction leader, and we have to pitch in."
"Everyone should pitch in," I retorted.
"It's not even morning," Eric argued, "so how did you know they needed help? Is the pock-faced grocery boy your boyfriend or something?"
"No," I replied tersely. "I thought I could avoid the crowd by shopping in the middle of the night. When I got here the place was a wreck. I might not be a leader, but Dauntless is my faction, too. Max shut down the tattoo parlor, so I can sleep all day if I want. I figured I might as well help."
"Once a stiff, always a stiff," Eric grumbled.
"Should I leave?" I asked. "Would you like to do this by yourself?"
Eric grumbled something under his breath and walked away. I won that little exchange, and I smiled for the first time since losing my parents as I went back to stocking canned goods.
By the time the store was stocked up, I had found a few more things I wanted. I made my purchase, said goodnight (or rather good morning) to my new friends, and went back to my apartment. I was fully stocked on groceries, my laundry was clean, and I was ready to get some sleep.
.
On Saturday I checked in with my friends, and let them all know that I had finally bought a computer device. Will gushed over its features. Christina told me all the most important apps that I just "had" to have. All I had set up was my email account, but when she gave it back to me it had games, a social app called 'Dauntless Community', and a dating app called 'Flame'.
"Chris," I scolded, "delete that."
"No," she said sharply. "Spend your sequester time looking for Mr. Right. Chat with some hotties, maybe have some cybersex, girl!"
"Christina! That is not why I bought the tablet!" I argued as my cheeks flushed hotly. God, how I hate blushing! I snatched my tablet away from my friends.
"Did you give Tris her birthday gift yet?" Marlene asked excitedly as she approached us.
"No, I was waiting for you," Christina said with a wicked grin.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "My birthday isn't for two weeks."
"They're saying the sequester could last a month," Marlene argued.
"Plus," Christina added, "you'll need this while you're alone."
I groaned. Those two were happy in their committed relationships. In fact, Christina told me that instead of going into sequester with Marlene, her roommate, she would be staying with Will. Will's roommate, Uriah, would be staying with Marlene. While everyone else was worried and dreading the sequester, the four of them were actually excited for their trial run at living together.
Christina pulled a wrapped package out of her large purse and handed it to me.
"You know," I said, trying to avoid the public humiliation I just knew was coming my way, "it's not my birthday for two weeks. I think I should hold onto it and open it then."
"No way!" Marlene and Christina declared in unison.
I gave in and opened the package, right there in the cafeteria lunch crowd. Boy did I regret it! Under the wrapping paper was a box containing a vibrating dildo!
"A sex toy!" I hissed.
Will and Uriah burst out laughing. Christina and Marlene grinned at me. My cheeks positively glowed. I threw the box at Christina and held up my tablet to cover my face. The last thing I saw before I squeezed my eyes shut was an amused-looking Dauntless leader with a slicked-back blonde fauxhawk and an amused sparkle in his grey eyes.