Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.

The piles of rusted metal objects and moth-eaten sofas easily disguise the small person huddled in the corner. Yet Eric can see him, awash with the pale light, his hands moving automatically to his face, to cover it.

Then it registers in Eric's mind, that this person is just a kid, like him. They're about the same age, yet they don't look much alike. The kid is almost a head taller than him, and his hair is much shorter, and his skin is much darker. And, pooling beneath his bare feet are twin puddles of blood.

Eric knows the kid needs help, yet he remains frozen to the spot. He watches as the boy slowly lowers his hands. Now Eric can make out the expression on his face - he's staring with wide eyes, his mouth slightly parted, as if he wants to say something but can't. He's clearly terrified.

Tentatively, Eric takes a step forward. Immediately, the boy recoils.

"No!" he bursts out. "Don't!" He holds out a hand, warning Eric to stop where he is.

Eric's gaze moves down. Judging by the boy's loose gray clothing, he is from the faction that despises Erudite the most. Slowly, Eric takes a step back.

"Go away." The boy nearly spits the words out.

"It's okay," Eric tells him. He moves the beam of light away from the kid's face. He recalls something he learned in his first-aid class - You always ask the person in trouble, if they want your assistance. "Do you… do you need help?" he stutters out.

The kid nods, silently. His dark eyes stay glued to the floor.

"What - what happened to you?" Eric props the flashlight up on a rickety metal chair, and cautiously approaches the boy. He tosses his bag onto the floor, where it lands with a heavy thump. "Um, what's your name, by the way?"

"My name's Tobias." The kid gestures to his bleeding feet. "And it's nothing. I just ran all the way here, and, uh… I guess I stepped on some rocks."

Eric's brows furrow. "Why were you running? Were you, like, trying to get away from something?"

Tobias' expression hardens, suddenly. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Eric decides not to press him further. He digs around inside his bag, searching for the first-aid kit his mother made him bring. "I can tell you what happened to me," he says to Tobias, attempting to fill the awkward silence. "My mom just kicked me out of the car and drove off. And I don't know if she's coming back." He pulls several strips of gauze out of his bag.

"She kicked you out? Was it 'cause you lied to her?" The other kid seems genuinely curious.

"No." Gingerly, Eric presses the gauze to the bottoms of the kid's cut feet. The crimson spreads over the fabric in a couple of seconds. "Here's the whole story. So I was helping my friend, Betsy, cheat on this really hard math test. Because she's not good at math, even though she's smart. And the teacher doesn't help her, because he thinks she should already know everything."

"That teacher sounds stupid." Tobias wears a small smile.

"Yeah, I know." Eric removes the gauze. It's soaked through with blood. The scarlet liquid runs down Eric's fingers, and the sharp, metallic odor fills the room. "So anyway, there was a substitute teacher that day, and she caught me and Betsy cheating. She called our parents, and my mom said I'd get in big trouble, unless I did what she told me."

"What'd she tell you?"

Eric reaches into his bag and takes out a water bottle. "See, my mom's somebody important. If she says one thing, everyone listens to her. So she told me to tell the headmistress that only Betsy cheated, and I had nothing to do with it. She said she'd help lie for me, so no one would know I did something wrong." He twists the cap off the bottle and, slowly, pours the water over the wounds on Tobias' feet.

The other kid is grinning. "And you didn't do it, right?"

"Nope," Eric says. "I mean, why would I? I was the one who came up with the idea. So I told my mom I'd tell the headmistress the truth. And she got really, really angry. She said if everyone else knew what I did, I'd get expelled from school. She said it would ruin my reputation or whatever. And then…" Eric smears Tobias' wounds with ointment, his nose wrinkling at the overpowering smell. "Then… she said it would ruin her reputation, and our family's reputation, too. She told me she didn't want all the work she…" Here Eric pauses. His breathing quickens, and his face grows tight. "...invested in me to go to waste."

"Wow," Tobias replies. His mouth is agape, as if he's not sure whether to cry or laugh derisively.

"She called me…" Eric turns away. His voice quakes. "...an ungrateful spoiled child." He sniffs. "She said I deserved to be factionless." He finishes cleaning the cuts on Tobias' feet, and starts to apply the bandages.

"I'm sorry," the other kid murmurs. He looks at Eric with sympathy.

"There," Eric tells him. He's completed his unpleasant task. He extends a hand, and helps Tobias up. The other boy looks quizzically at him.

"Are you… okay?"

Eric avoids his eyes. He turns to pick his bag up off the floor. "No," he finally chokes out. He wipes away a tear. "I mean… what if Mom actually left? For good?" He's sobbing now. "What if… I am a waste of her time?"

Tobias puts a hand on his shoulder. He shrugs. "Well, if she's really so smart, she won't actually abandon you. She's not gonna let people find out that she's a child abuser."

"Oh." Eric wonders why this didn't occur to him before - of course his mother would not do something so illogical. If she wanted to get rid of him, she'd plan it meticulously. She wouldn't leave anything up to chance.

Gradually, his sobs cease. He retrieves the flashlight from where it sits, on the greasy metal chair. "Okay. So… is Mom going to come pick me up?"

"Probably."

Another thought brings a fresh wave of worry to Eric's features. "But - what about the factionless? They're probably still outside. And I don't want to run into them again."

"Don't worry," Tobias assures him. "The factionless like me. I don't know why, but they do. Because I'm Evelyn Eaton's son." He pauses. "If I'm with you, they won't try anything."

"Okay," Eric says. He takes Tobias by the arm, and they head for the door.

"So," Tobias asks him, "what's your name?"

"Mine? I'm Eric."


A gentle breeze blows through the decrepit buildings. They're softly lit by the glow from the afternoon sun. Eric and Tobias sit silently on the curb, next to the stretch of uneven pavement.

"When do you think she'll show up?" Eric asks, anxiety in his voice.

Tobias shrugs. "Don't know. But she'll come."

"So…" Eric turns to the other boy. "What about you? Do you have a mom?"

Almost imperceptibly, Tobias shakes his head.

"Oh. Well…" Eric hesitates. "You have a dad?"

"An abusive one, yeah." Tobias glances down, at his bandaged feet. "He's the reason I ran out here. He locked me in the upstairs closet, and he was going to hit me with a belt, but I escaped. If I go back, he'll be waiting for me. Oh, and he's also a council member. He'll probably rat me out to the council, when I go back."

"That's… really terrible." Suddenly, an idea forms in Eric's mind. "Listen. I have a plan. What if… what if I could get my mom to lie for you? So you don't get in trouble, I mean."

"What?" There's confusion on Tobias' face.

"It would work, right?"

"No, it wouldn't." And Tobias points at himself, at his unflattering gray clothes. Eric is puzzled for a moment, then he realizes.

"Oh, yeah." No one despises the Abnegation more than Maggie.

"So, you got a backup plan?" Tobias looks hopefully at Eric.

"Um… no," Eric confesses. "And right now, I can't think of any." He doesn't want to think anymore. He just wants to see his mom again.

"I guess we'll just wait, then."

They sit there, blanketed in silence. Several factionless walk by. One of them is a bent old man, most likely an ex-Dauntless. A faded tattoo stands out on his collarbone. He wears a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles.

All of a sudden, Eric remembers. The glasses in his jacket pocket, an accessory he didn't even need, that most likely broke when he fell on the sidewalk. He reaches into his pocket and pulls the spectacles out. They're snapped in half at the bridge.

Tobias studies the remains. "You wear glasses?"

"No. My mom made me wear them," Eric complains. "She thought I'd look smarter with them on."

And suddenly, Tobias is doubled over, in a fit of laughter. "Oh, my God. That's hilarious."

"Stop laughing! I hate them!" Eric flings the glasses far away from him. "If I had a gun, I'd do target practice with the lenses."

"But you don't have a gun." Tobias grins.

Eric huffs, and rolls his eyes. His gaze moves back to the old ex-Dauntless. The man limps over to the side of a dilapidated building. Suddenly, two factionless teenagers leap out from behind a section of wall. They each hold a dart gun, spray-painted black. They fire several darts at the old man's head, then sprint away, laughing uproariously.

Eric turns back to Tobias. There's an excited glint in his eyes. "Want to go have some fun?" he whispers. His new friend nods.


Silence. Only the sound of the wind whistling through the skeletons of buildings. High up on a crumbling section of wall, sits Eric's pair of spectacles, the broken parts held together with duct tape. Then -

Thwack! A dart slams into the wall and ricochets off it, just missing the spectacles.

Across the street, Eric hurls the dart gun to the ground. "This sucks," he grumbles. "I still can't hit them. How come? I did everything the trainer told me to do."

"Let me try," Tobias begs. Eric reluctantly hands him the gun, then takes off running across the street. "Wait! I'm gonna go move them. So it'll be easier."

He reaches the spot where the glasses sit precariously, atop the skeleton of the wall. His hand shifts upward, then, without warning, crack! A dart whizzes past his head and slams right into the spectacles. Instinctively, he ducks. He stays there for the next few seconds, breathing heavily.

"Dang, you almost shot me in the head." Eric glances upward. Did he really -

Yes! The mangled glasses lie on the sidewalk. One of the lenses is webbed with cracks. Eric pinches the duct tape between his fingers and lifts up the glasses for Tobias to see.

"Man, you're good! How'd you do that?"

Tobias beams. "I learn pretty fast, I guess."

"Okay, my turn. Hand me the gun."


Hours pass. The sky is darkening. The sun, now just a sliver of orange light, is fading below the horizon. The wind has quieted. The city is going to sleep.

And still…

"Score!" Eric lifts the dart gun in triumph.

"No way! That was only worth two hundred!" Tobias glares at him.

"Okay, yeah, I guess you're right." Eric lowers the gun, and lifts his gaze to the sky. "It's getting pretty late, and Mom's still not here." His forehead is creased with worry. "What'll we do?"

"I have no idea." Tobias looks just as anxious as Eric.

A few beats of uncomfortable silence, then Tobias speaks up. "I'll just have to go back home, and hope some of the council members believe me. Hopefully, they'll help you, too." Reluctantly, he starts walking. Eric shuffles along beside him.

"You know," Tobias comments, "I kinda wish there was school tomorrow. My dad tries not to hit me on school nights. Otherwise, the teachers are gonna see the bruises."

Eric says nothing. Then, suddenly, a plan begins to piece itself together, inside his mind. He taps Tobias on the shoulder. "Wait. I think… I think I know what to do. You want my help?"

Tobias turns to him, a glimmer of hope dancing in his eyes. Eric leans in close and whispers his plan into his ear. When he pulls away, both boys are smiling. They leave the factionless sector and pass into Abnegation territory, their newfound hope keeping them going.

AN: So what do you think? How will Tobias get out of this situation, and how will Eric help him? Please leave a review!