Okay so I particularly enjoyed writing this chapter. There is one part that I absolutely love and I hope you guys like it too!
Her weeks would probably be filled with pranks, wedding plans and crazy shit with Uri and Zeke by her side. her brothers seemed to be getting rather relaxed and Issy thinks that that's gotta change. They won't be expecting it and that is the best part.
For Issy, the remaining days of her night shifts ended too quickly; for the rest of the squad, it didn't end fast enough.
It was the first Monday of her two weeks off when Issy found herself sat on a table in the cafeteria with her twin, Cody, Noah and Bree. At first they were catching up on all that had happened. Alec and Cody were firing out ideas for the stag do while Bree and Issy laughed at each one. Soon, they were joined by Zeke, Jason, Hugo and Eric – all of whom seemed to be arguing about something to do with courage.
"But what if someone was forced into the situation? Are they courageous or are they simply getting through it all as best they can?" Jason says as he sits down, flipping a bottle of water onto the table.
Zeke sits next to Jason with a frown. "I think it depends on their actions. If they do the bare minimum to get through then no."
"Also," Eric points at both of them, smiling slightly in Issy's direction as he takes the seat next to her. Bree wiggles her eyebrows at Issy and the golden-eyed woman turns away as her cheeks heat up. "It depends on the people surrounding them. If the people around them are people they want to impress then it's forced but not courageous in the sense that its by instinct." Eric's hand finds her knee under the table and Issy bites her lip. "Say if a low-ranking initiate was with a group of high ranking Dauntless born and they were going zip lining." Issy and her friends exchanged confused looks. What the hell are they on about? "The initiate would want to prove themselves and impress the Dauntless borns by going first or not screaming. That's not courageous, that's egotistical."
Cody raises his hand up slightly. "Hold up one moment. What's zip lining?" The older members exchange equally confused expressions before looking back to the younger members.
"You don't know what zip lining is?" Zeke asks aghast. All five of them shake their heads no.
"Wait!" Jason holds up his hands, much like Cody did, to pause the conversation. "You mean that you've been in Dauntless for nearly two years and you've never been zip lining?" They all shake their heads again.
The older members look at each other again in a silent conversation before Eric starts grinning, nodding his head to Zeke and Hugo. "Round everyone up that's free, we're off zip lining." Eric and Jason pulled the younger members from their seats, all of them wearing perplexed expressions.
"Yessir!" Both men salute him eagerly.
Though in that moment it seems that Zeke and Hugo didn't have to go very far. The cafeteria doors opened and in came Uriah, Tris, Marlene, Shauna, Will, Christina and Lynn. Like clockwork, Zeke proceeds to grab Shauna, Uriah and Lynn by their arms and drags them back out. Jason does the same Marlene and Will as Hugo hooks his arms in Tris and Christina's, pulling them back out too. Bree, Noah, Cody and Alec follow behind quickly, interested in what's about to happen. When Issy hesitates, Eric places a hand on the bottom of her back and pushes her to follow the rest.
As Zeke, Jason and Hugo continue to pull their captives down the hallways of Dauntless, all of them complain loudly until Hugo shouts at them.
"Shut up! This lot have never been zip lining before so that's where we're going." They shut up immediately, their eyes lighting up and they pull out of holds, practically running.
"What about Declan and Four? We were going to meet them after a snack."
"Eh," Hugo shrugs. "We'll tell them on the way where we're going."
The twins exchange a look, their eyebrows furrowing. "Won't they want to come with us?" Alec asks.
Zeke snorts. "Good luck with that kid." Issy raises an eyebrow but says nothing.
On the way out of the compound they find Four and Declan laughing to Max about something. Eyebrows are raised in cautiousness when the three notice the group.
"What's happening?" Dec asks slowly.
"Can you believe it that these idiots," Uriah gestures to the twins, Cody, Noah and Bree. "Have never been zip lining?"
"Oh okay." Dec looks to Four, who swallows. "Have fun guys."
"What?" Alec asks as the rest of the group turn to go. "Aren't you coming with us?" After a pause of silence Alec inhales and glancing to his twin, his eyes blazing. "Actually no." People turn to Alec, baffled as to why he's done a complete flip. "Stay if you wish."
Issy laughs silently, sharing the same thought as Alec. She walks to where her brother stands and leans her arms on his shoulders, both of them staring Four and Declan down, eyes gold and taunting. "I'd never thought I'd see The Legendary Four and my brother back down but if you're scared then that's fine." Issy shakes her head with a grin as her brother takes over.
Alec glances to Max, his hand coming up to hold Issy's arms. "I thought we were meant to face our fears and not cower away from them..." He cocks his head at Four and Declan. "I guess you're not as Dauntless as I had thought."
Issy grins viscously "Shame."
Silence settles between the twins' challenge, clenching jaw and gob smacked faces. The twins wait for the response they're bound to get, one that they always get.
A muscle in Four's jaw ticks. "Fine. Let's go." He hisses, barging into Issy's shoulder as he walks past the group towards the nearest exit of the compound. Declan follows after him.
Issy staggers back, tripping over her feet. She didn't expect that. Tattooed arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back into a chest to steady her. Eric snarls lowly, his arms tightening and Issy rubs his forearms, silently telling him that she's okay.
Everyone around them turns to the twins absolutely shocked.
"What?" They say simultaneously.
"Years." Zeke starts slowly. "For years I've been trying to get them to go and you two do it within a few minutes. . . How?" Alec just grins and follows Four and Dec out. Uriah starts laughing as he follows Alec, pulling Tris and Christina with him. The rest follow soon after, but Zeke is still staring at Issy, waiting for an answer.
She just shrugs in Eric's hold, twirling out of it before grabbing his forearm to pull him along. Eric sends a smirk in Zeke's direction, nodding to Max, as he goes. Issy laughs gleefully, pulling at Eric's arm and forces them to run. Eric laughs as he runs by her side and she winks at him. Issy hears Zeke take off after them and she yells over her shoulder. "C'mon Zeke! Is that the best you've got?" There's no response but Zeke's snort sent Issy running faster. They catch up with the rest of the group quickly enough. "Hey guys! Zeke's it!" There are yells and squeals and laughs immediately as they all set off running.
Their footsteps thunder across rocky ground. Members push themselves against the walls to get out of the way. From the corner of her eye, Issy sees Eric gaining on her. His fingers find her ribs and a laugh bubbles from her throat as she tries to push his hands away without falling over or stop running.
"You're it."
Issy's eyes light up. She hadn't even heard Zeke say Eric was it, she was too invested in the moment to care. Her pace slows as a wolfish grin graces her lips and Issy lifts a finger up against them. Eric grins, nodding once and doesn't announce who's it. Issy takes off a second later, catching up with her prey. No one gives her any attention and that works better for her. Without a moment's notice, Issy pounces on Declan's back and he topples into a wall, panting in surprise.
"YOU'RE IT!" She yells in his ear and dances out of his reach when he tries to swipe at her. "No backsies!"
There are several laughs behind her and when she glances back, Issy grins when she notices Eric jogs with his phone poised in their direction, probably recording the whole thing. Though, what Issy doesn't notice, is Declan creeping in her direction. Her gaze is on Eric and then she's yelping when Declan throws her over his shoulder and sets off running.
"Declan you sleaze!" Issy yells and their friends laugh louder. "Let me go!"
Declan stops so suddenly that Issy swears she has whiplash. "Okay!" He says darkly and her eyes widen as she tries to grab onto his clothing and –
Too late.
Declan throws her in the air like some kind of odd back pass. Her eyes snap shut as she feels her heart lodge itself in her throat and her stomach fall out of her ass. Moments later hands grab the back of her legs, and her body hits another shoulder. Issy wheezes sharply as her eyes snap open. She latches onto the t-shirt clinging to the guy's back for dear life. Never – never again. Her head tilts back and her wide eyes meet grey. Eric laughs at her, still running. Somehow he caught her, still running. Her grip tightens and her nails dig into his back.
"YOU THREW ME LIKE A FUCKING RUBY BALL!" Issy roars and she hears Dec's distinct laugh somewhere in front. "YOU SON OF A BITCH I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She clings to Eric as he runs with the rest of the group. They break through outside just as the train horn goes off and they don't even stop running.
"Hurry!" She hears Four yell and Issy twists Eric's shirt in her hands tightly. His hands tighten on her legs and Eric jumps. Issy tenses around him as wind pushes her hair across her face. And then they land in the train cart.
With Eric's help, she slides down his body slowly. In any other situation, Issy would have enjoyed it. But anger fuels her and her eyes glow white-ish gold. Her legs feel weak when Eric finally puts her down. As a precaution, she wraps an arm around his waist to keep her up. "Motherfucker!" Issy leers at her eldest brother. "You yeeted me!"
Their friends glanced between Declan and Issy in amusement.
"You deserved it." Dec shrugs, grinning.
Issy grips Eric's waist tighter. "But you yeeted me!"
Declan shrugs again. "You survived."
Without another word, they all broke into small groups, some sit on the floor and some stay standing. Eric pulls Issy down to the floor with him and she leans her head against his shoulder, their sides light pressed together. Jason joined Issy and Eric and immediately launched into a conversation about tattoos. Even though Issy tries to listen to whatever Jason and Eric are on about she's too busy glaring at Declan across the train cart.
Eric nudges her. "Glaring at him won't change anything."
Issy doesn't look away from her brother. "If I glare at him hard enough, he might combust into flames."
"Issy," Eric scolds lightly, nudging her again. "Jason asked you a question."
Issy tears her gaze away then. "What?"
Jason laughs. "I asked you if you had anymore tattoos?"
"Uh," Issy frowns. "I lose count of them, but I don't think so." She shifts her head on Eric's shoulder, counting them all out loud. "Lower back, back of my neck, side of my neck, collar bone, left wrist, left rib cage, below my right ear and right hip I think?" Issy taps the side of her chin in thought. "Though I was thinking of getting one on my thigh… Maybe another one all the way down my spine? I dunno, I'll see."
"Any more piercings?"
"Nope." Issy shook her head. "Someone took my tongue piercing out when I was in surgery and its closed up now… I may get it re-pierced."
Zeke bounces onto his feet. "Time to jump!" He shouts as he jumps out of the train.
"Want some help Issy?" Dec says teasingly.
"Go fuck yourself." Issy says as she jumps off the train.
When everyone is off the train, Zeke and Hugo lead the way through the city. Neither of them answer the questions from the younger members. Zeke led them into an exceedingly tall building and told them to stay. Zeke disappeared down a hallway while Hugo led them to a lift. The building was dark with shadows the only light coming from the broken windows.
"It looks like something out of horror movie." Cody commented as he looked around. All of a sudden the lights switched on and Cody flinches.
Zeke came back and they all piled into the lift. Due to the amount of people there, they were all squished up against each other in some kind of way. Eric had walked into one of the corners, pulling Issy along with him. She was pushed up against his chest with Bree leaning against his shoulder and Uri and Alec pressed against her back.
"How far are we going?" Alec asked.
"To the top."
xXx
Zeke pushed the door open and they tumbled onto a roof.
The lift ride seemed to take forever and then there was another couple of flights of stairs to climb. Most of them were out of breath by the time they made it to the top. Issy had her hands on the ledge of the roof looking at the skyline around them. The view took her breath away. Though she still didn't understand why they were up here – at least not until there was the sound of buckles clanking together and she turned to see Zeke and Hugo pull a harness across a wire and clip it down to the edge of the building to it didn't slide down into the abyss of the night.
"Eric! Fancy going first?"
Eric grins, rubbing his hands together as he walks forward. As Hugo helps Eric headfirst into the harness, Zeke is buckling him in and making sure there aren't any chances of him falling out. When the final checks are completed, Eric turns his head and winks at Issy. Then he is thrusted into the night by Zeke. The Leader lets out a whoop of joy as he goes and Issy finds herself running to the edge, her eyes following Eric.
"I want to go next." Issy breathes.
She watches as Zeke and Hugo gets another harness ready. Issy grabs Hugo's hand and climbs headfirst into it. Hugo and Zeke tighten all of the straps and buckles, yanking on them a few times to make sure they won't come loose before unclipping the harness from the edge. Issy closes her eyes after taking a peek at what was below her. Her hands find the strap across her chest and clutches it. Being hung by a harness and a cable at the height of at least a hundred stories was daunting, especially since there was only a few buckles and straps held her in place. "Don't forget to pull the brake at the bottom!" Hugo pulls the harness back before pushing her off.
The early autumn wind is biting and Issy's hair is tugged backwards. After mere seconds her eyes slowly open and a laugh bursts from her throat. The city flies past her, buildings almost close enough for her to touch. Gradually, her hands let go of the strap and she reaches out. Issy swears her fingers almost brush the glass of a building and her reflection smiles back at her.
She starts laughing and whooping when there's a few bumps in the ride and pulls her arms when she's pulled through a decaying building. She loves it, the feeling of being so high and speeding through the city like a bullet is like a drug and she never wants it to stop. Nothing is chaining her down. Nothing is holding her back. Weightless.
She's still laughing when Issy is plummeted down suddenly. Her eyes begin to water, and her hands find the straps again. Through blurry eyes, Issy can see a cross lit up across a wall, signaling the end of her trip. Her hands reach back, trying to find the brake. Her fingers wrap around the cool metal and she pulls it, slowing her to a stop.
Issy looks down to see Eric grinning up at her, his hands out and ready to catch her. She unbuckles herself and then Issy is falling again, only to have Eric grip one of her thighs and her back securely, her thighs wrapping around his waist and her hands on his shoulders.
"I could hear you laughing and whooping most of the way down." Eric smiles, gazing into her eyes.
Issy laughs again and leans her forehead on his. "Can I go again?" She whispers breathlessly.
His teeth are a bright contrast to the darkness of their clothing. "Maybe not tonight." Eric presses a quick kiss to her lips before settling her down on the ground. Issy can't help but feel a rush of disappointed when her lets go but smiles when he winks at her. "C'mon, help me set up the net."
Issy and Eric quickly move about and stretch out a net below the drop-down point. Eric told her as they worked that normally there'd be a large group of Dauntless waiting to catch them but since their adventure was rather prompt, they'd use the net instead. As they hook the last corner to the metal poles, there is yelling that gets louder. They pull the brake and drop into the awaiting net. Eric and Issy pull Noah down onto the ground.
Noah is laughing and his hair is a mess, but his eyes are bright. With a grin he shakes his head at Issy. "God, you are insane." He looks to Eric. "Could you hear her laughing too?" Eric nods, throwing his arm across her shoulders as Issy covers her face with her hands to hide her blush. "You really do amaze me."
There's whooping this time and Issy looks up to see Bree speeding towards them. When she drops down to the net, Noah pulls her off and she pounces on him. Her eyes gleam and Bree grins at Issy.
"How the hell did we not know about that sooner?" Bree practically yells.
"Right?"
Alec comes down much like Bree had, his eyes wide with adrenaline. Cody however didn't seem to take to it like the rest had, his jaw was clenched, and he looked like he was about to throw up. Four and Declan held similar expressions to Cody, both of them wobbling as they got to their feet. It was a stark contrast to how the rest of their friends came down, yelling with delight.
When everyone was on the ground, they all seemed to comment on how Issy didn't stop laughing or whooping, and with every comment her cheeks grew hotter. Issy curled into Eric more to hide her face. It didn't help that he was laughing along.
As they made their way back to the compound, they were all laughing or grinning. Even Four, Cody and Declan were smiling along – their queasy expressions gone.