She nods solemnly in response. "There's a storm brewing. You should at least know what you're up against." Meg takes a step back. "We really need to leave though; our time slot is almost up."

"Say hi to Charlie for me!" Issy shouts to Meg as her friend walks away. "And stay safe!"

"Right back atcha Golden Eyes!"

After their shift had finished and they were back to the cabin, Calvin, Issy and Uriah had pulled the captains into the office and explained what Meg had told them. At first there were some doubts as to whether the information was real or not but when all three of the squaddies had defended Meg, they let up.

Throughout the whole exchange, Issy found Clark watching her thoughtfully. She didn't have a clue why, but there had been moments while at the cabin or during shift when she'd notice him watching her.

She shook the thought away, focusing on the situation instead. Kenna, Duncan and Clark were whispering to each other as Issy stood with Uri and Calvin, waiting for their decision. Kenna pulled away first and looked towards where they stood.

"We will relay this to Max and Harrison and leave up to them to decide whether or not to act upon it." She nodded once. "You are all dismissed."

xXx

Issy was still reeling from what Meg had told her. Crystal was such a good friend to them all towards the end of initiation and family despite the few weeks they spent together unlike the Dauntless borns that already knew Crystal. Issy froze at that thought. The Dauntless that grew up with her… Hector.

Issy was immediately on her feet. Hector needed to know. Soon enough she was running about all the places she though Hec would possibly be but she had no luck in finding him. While running around the cabin she came across a few of her squad mates.

"Hey! Bulldozer!" Issy shouted and the man in question turned to her. "Have you seen Hec?"

Bulldozer frowned down at her. Her question was rushed out from being out of breath and the urgency of the question.

"Nah, he's currently out on shift." His frown deepened. "Why?"

"I –" Her breath caught in her throat as tears welled up in her eyes. The reality of her friend's death suddenly came crashing down on Issy. "I just really need to talk to him about something." It was whispered and her pain flowed through her words.

"I'll send him to you as soon as he gets back yeah?"

Issy merely nodded in response and Bulldozer pulled her into his arms, not at all bothered by the tears currently soaking into the shoulder of his t-shirt.

xXx

Hector found Issy bundled up in blankets on one of the deep bucket chairs overlooking the back-garden hours later. There was a look of urgency on his face which softened as he took in her blotched face, evidence of the tears she had already shed. Something flickered in his eyes and he immediately became wary.

"What happened?" He whispered. Issy swallowed th lump that had begun to form in her throat as Hec sat down in the seat opposite her, leaning forward slightly. "Issy, is this about the Factionless that your crew came across during your shift?" She nodded. "What happened?" He repeated.

"What do you know?"

"Uriah said that a group of Factionless came across your crew during your shift. One of them came up to you and started talking but BD interrupted him before Uri could say anymore, saying that you needed to talk to me."

"Oh." She swallowed, unsure of how to start. "Hector, Crystal is dead." Issy watched as confusion shifted slowly onto on his face, followed quickly by disbelief.

"What?" He shook his head fiercely. "No! It's just some Factionless tryin' to get in our head Iss. They're lying."

Issy's lips twitched into a sad smile. "The Factionless was Meg." His head shot up; eyes wide with disbelief. "She wouldn't lie about that."

"Meg told you? How, how did it even happen? I, ah, I don't understand…"

Issy curled into herself and pulled the blankets around her tighter as she retold what Meg had told her. She started with how the Factionless have split into two groups, how Ollie supposedly played a part in Crystal's death and the fact that her crew have already told the captains about the new information. Towards the end of explanation, Hec fell back into his chair as the realisation hit him. "Something is stirring within the Factionless Hector and what happened with Crystal is possibly just the start of it."

"More women like Crystal could have died without us knowing about it though!" Tears of anger and grief slipped from his eyes. "The Factionless wouldn't tell us about it and you could probably guarantee it's been happening a while before any of the ambushes started. The embers have been flickering for a while now but something has happened for those embers to evolve into flames."

"Fire is catching."

"And if Dauntless doesn't find a way to stop it, then we'll all burn."