Chapter 6
TOBIAS
I don't waste any time in leaving my mother's office. I head straight for the east wing of the building and make my way down the stairs.
The private cells, strategically dispersed around our headquarters, were my idea. My mother thought constructing them would be a waste of resources considering we already had a room filled with large cells that served as a containment area for prisoners, but I convinced her that being at war with multiple factions would mean we'd have prisoners we'd need to isolate. Of course, they're also convenient for days like these when there is someone I'd rather isolate from her, even if it's just until she can manage to find out exactly where they are.
My footsteps echo as I walk through the hallway and then to the very end of the large, open space; as far away as he is, I can see the guard standing in front of the door.
This entire floor is unoccupied; a few pillars are the only things taking up space inside it, and the light shining through the giant glass windows bounces off the white walls. When we found this building, there were old tables and desks and computers thrown all over the place, like a storm had passed through it, and almost every floor was the same except for this one; there was not a single piece of equipment inside it and there was a randomly placed room at the very end of it. I often wonder what this floor was used for.
The guard fixes his posture as I get closer to him. He looks tired and he's wearing the same clothes from last night; a faded orange shirt with a pair of dark jeans.
I scowl at him. I don't even know his name, but I remember his face; I see it in my mind, that stupid grin he had when he was shoving his hands up her shirt. Just the sight of him makes me sick to my stomach and I feel the urge to break his jaw.
"You're being relieved of your duties," I say roughly. "Tell your friend. You're not to come back here, either of you. And I better not hear about this from a single soul." I give him a threatening glare.
"Yes, Sir," he says, and without question he leaves. I watch him as he walks sluggishly all the way to the end of the room and only when he's out of my line of sight do I open the door.
It's dark inside; there are no windows and the only light is the one coming through the door. I don't know why, but I expect to find her in a corner, sitting with her knees curled up to her chest. But instead she's waiting for me, standing in the middle of the empty room with her arms crossed over her chest. She's not as tall as the other women who were captured along with her, but she looks just as strong, just as fierce.
I leave the door open behind me and I take a few steps inside to get a better look at her.
"Did either of the guards hurt you again?" I ask lowly as I step toward her.
But she doesn't answer. She just stares at me, angrily, like she'd walk right over and slap me if she could.
And then she does.
It's entirely unexpected, and I grunt a little when my face takes a hard hit on the left; I find myself looking at the wall to the right instead of in front of me. My cheek burns but I don't rub it; instead I slowly bring my face back around.
"That's the thanks I get for saving your life?" I growl at her.
She's standing right in front of me, so close that I can hear and feel her heavy breaths. I stare at her for a few seconds and she stares back, her eyes penetrating into mine, and it is her. I gasp. I recognize those eyes, strong and determined, that familiar shade of light blue. I recognize her lips, her cheeks, the tiny bit of blonde hair that falls in front of her face.
I knew it. I knew it was her.
She doesn't say anything to me; she only stares at me, looking as confused as I feel. If she's real, then what does that actually mean? And how terrified should I be given that I can't even begin to imagine the possibilities?
"What's your name?" I ask roughly. I don't want to be unkind to her, but if my mother is right and this is all just a trick of the mind, I can't let her know she's affecting me.
She takes a small step back. "You really don't know who I am?" she asks me, and the sound of her voice makes me shiver.
"Obviously, I don't," I scowl. "And how would I?" I hiss the question at her, but I really do want to know.
"Is that what she meant? When she said you knew little of me?" she asks, her voice breaking. And with her hands clutched at her side she says, "What did she do to you?"
"Who?"
"Evelyn," she answers strongly. "Your mother. What did she do to you, Tobias?"
This time I can't hide it; my body immediately reacts when she says my name. Not the way it had when the other woman said it, but more like every single cell I'm composed of is standing at attention, anticipating her orders. I become stiff and my breaths once smooth and easy are now a jagged mess. I have to fight the urge to grab her, shake her, get her to tell me who the hell she is whichever way I can. Fighting to keep control of myself, I say, "I don't know what you're talking about. But I can't help you if you don't tell me who you are."
"And why would you want to help me if you don't even know who I am?" She asks, her voice steady.
"Because I think killing you would be a dreadful mistake," I answer. "My mother, on the other hand, doesn't share those sentiments. If she finds you, she will kill you."
For God knows whatever reason, her lips suddenly curve up into a subtle smile; so subtle you wouldn't see it if you weren't looking hard enough.
"No, she won't." She slowly shakes her head as she takes a step closer to me.
"You obviously don't know my mother," I say with a huff.
"But I know you," she says resolutely, "and you won't let her touch me."
My thoughts become chaotic, my mind is hit by a storm of scary and dangerous questions that I'm not even entirely sure I want to know the answers to. It's no longer whether or not she's real because she is. She's standing right in front of me, in the flesh. And this can't be another one of the Erudite's mind control experiments. I've been dreaming about her long before whatever new program my mother was talking about came to be. How am I supposed to make sense of this?
"Who are you?" I ask nervously, as if I were standing in front of a ghost. That's certainly what it feels like.
"You recognize me, don't you?"
"No." My answer is rough and I suddenly regret having showed her weakness. "Why does my mother want you dead?"
"Why are you trying to keep me alive?"
"I don't have time for this!" I take a threatening step toward her, making the space between us even smaller, although there's no need to; it's only us on the entire floor. "Don't play games with me!" I look down at her seething, but she doesn't flinch.
"Games?" she smirks. "You're the one asking me questions you already know the answers to, Tobias."
"I don't," I grumble softly, but I know she hears me. Realizing I've wasted enough time and it doesn't seem like I'll get anything out of her, I let out a breath and say, "Let's go." I can't leave her here. I turn around and begin to walk out of the room.
"Go where?"
When I stop and look behind me, I see she hasn't taken a single step. "We need to move. I'm helping you get out of here."
Out of nowhere, she begins to laugh, but she does step forward. "Now why would you do that?"
"I don't trust you can find your way out of here without getting killed first," I answer hotly, but it's not an actual answer, not to the question she was really asking. The truth is I don't even know what the truth is; I don't know how or why she invaded my dreams, I don't know why I feel the need to protect her from my own mother even though it goes against everything I believe in, everything I've been fighting for my whole life.
She stares at me inquisitively again. There's almost no point in denying her an answer anymore; she knows I recognize her, or at least thinks I'm very curious to know who she is. I can see it in her eyes.
"Are you coming or not?" I snap at her. When she nods and steps out of the room I continue walking and she follows behind me. "Stay close," I command, and we quickly walk across the empty floor.
When we arrive at the staircase and I begin to make my way down, she asks, "Aren't we going to get the others?"
I give her an eye. Why would she expect me to set them free? "No," I answer harshly.
"But I need to get the keys to the truck or I might not make it to Dauntless," she demands. "It's too far away from the tracks. I can't go on foot."
It's only occurring to me now that of course she'd go back home. I don't know where else I was expecting her to go after she left here. And in that case, why would I take the risk to even help her? She will no doubt tell the other Dauntless leaders that I helped her escape and they'll draw their own conclusions about our leadership here and my loyalty to the factionless.
Apart from that, she knows exactly where the other prisoners are being held. If they planned a rescue, she would be able to lead them straight to the holding room. Setting her free would be just about the stupidest thing I could ever do.
When I hear a set of quick and hard footsteps coming up the stairs I decide I don't care.
"Fine," I say and I pull her away from the staircase and into another room nearby. I quietly shut the door and then I stand close to her so she can hear me. Softly I say, "I'll take you to where the others are, you get the keys and then we go. We don't have time for conversations, explanations, or anything of the sort. Got it?"
Having her this close to me is nerve-wracking, and at the same time it feels like breathing in fresh air. Not knowing why it feels like that is almost painful.
"Got it," she whispers, and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Good."
When the footsteps are gone, we come out of the room and make our way across the floor, quietly scurrying through the corridors that connect one half of the building to the other. Being seen is not an option.
She looks around curiously, but she moves quickly, never more than a foot behind me. Every once in a while she glances at me, though I can't read her face. I realize I still don't know what her name is.
Together, we make our way down two flights of stairs until we're on the eleventh floor. She immediately recognizes the door to the holding area. I wouldn't be surprised if she's mapped out this entire building in her head already. No doubt she probably could get out of here all on her own. Not that I'd take that risk.
"Go down one more floor and hide inside the room to your left," I say to her, both of us still standing on the stairs. "I'll go inside the holding area and send the guard upstairs. The second you hear him leave you come back up. Okay?"
"Okay," she nods and in only a few seconds she's on the floor below me.
I push open the doors to the holding area and I make my way toward the guard. Only when I get close enough do I realize he's fast sleep. His gun is nowhere within reach and the keys hang loosely off his fingers.
"Hey!" I yell at him, frightening him awake. He jumps and the keys fall from his hands, clattering on the floor. He picks them up and then wipes his face nervously before standing to his feet, suddenly springing to life. "My mother wants to see you," I say.
"Yes, Sir," he nods nervously, and just as I expected, he quickly begins to make his way upstairs. Everyone who lives in this building knows better than to make my mother wait. All that means is, I don't have much time before she sends him back or comes looking for me.
On cue, she comes back up the stairs and rushes into the holding area. She runs past me and heads straight to one of the bigger cells at the back where the others are. I follow her so I'm close enough to hear what they're saying, but I stay out of their line of sight.
"Tris!" I hear one of them yell.
Is that her name? Tris? I don't dare try it out with my lips.
"Christina!" she yells back. It's her friend, the one my mother told me was also a part of the new Erudite experiment. I suddenly wonder if she'll be safe here, but in any case, she's not my priority. I can't concern myself with her and risk getting caught.
"How are you outside?" Christina asks her. They hold hands with the cell door between them. She doesn't wait for an answer. "Tris, something strange is happening here. I… This might sound crazy but… Four is here," she whispers.
Tris begins to stammer without forming any actual words.
"We need to go," I urge her after a few seconds have passed.
"Is that him?" Christina asks quickly, and I almost regret having spoken.
"Yes, but I can't explain now. I don't have time," Tris says nervously, her voice shaking. "I need the keys to the truck."
"What in the world is going on, Tris?" a male voice says.
"I swear to you, I don't know," Tris answers him.
"Sure, you don't," another one says sarcastically, and I have a feeling I know which one it is.
"We need to move!" I yell again, and this time my voice echoes in the dark room. "Or would you rather stay here with your friends?" The guard might come back any minute now.
"Give her the keys, Shane," Christina commands.
Whoever Shane is, he doesn't argue and he passes the keys through the cell door.
After quickly but gently taking the keys in her hand, Tris makes a break for the exit and I follow behind her. I can see it on her face she doesn't want to leave them here, but she's smart enough to know she doesn't have a choice. She begins to walk down the stairs.
"Stay behind me," I say through my teeth and I pull her backward.
"Let go of me!" she snarls, her eyes wet with tears.
"Do you really think you can walk down those stairs and not be seen?" I ask her, frustrated. If anyone spots us, getting her out of here will become a whole lot more complicated. She doesn't answer me, so I clarify, "Well, you can't. You'll have to follow me."
I lead her in the opposite direction, up to the twelfth floor, and make a turn into a hallway. In the very middle of it, there's an elevator shaft. None of the elevators in the building are working since we redirected the power to fuel more important things like the lights and the heating in winter. But the structure is sound, and the ropes are still strong.
I pry open the door of the elevator, and once we're inside I break open a small hatch at the very top, just big enough for a person to fit through. I give Tris a boost and she uses the strength in her arms to pull herself up and out the hole. I'm considerably taller than she is, so I only need to jump to grab onto the top, and I pull myself up behind her. Then, using the ropes, we climb down the elevator shaft. I take deep breaths and I never look down.
There's a maintenance door on the second floor, and we use it to climb out of the shaft. Then, quietly, we run down the hall and back to the edge of the east wing where there's a broken window with a tree branch sticking through it.
As much as my mother knows this building, I know it better.
We climb out and then very carefully we climb down the back of the tree. There aren't too many people on the first floor, but that doesn't mean I want to take stupid risks.
"This way," I say. I lead her to the back of the building and then deeper into the woods before we start to head toward the train tracks. She actually surprises me with how well she keeps up, though it shouldn't; I've always stressed to my men how well-trained the Dauntless are.
Maybe it's a stroke of luck, but as we're running toward the tracks I hear the train coming. We both run faster, hoping not to miss it. This is the best shot we've got at a clean getaway. The longer we're here waiting in broad daylight for a train to pass, the higher the chances of being spotted by someone passing through.
"We can make it!" Tris yells beside me, and with the way she's running I have no doubt we will.
Just as the last train car is about to fly past us, Tris grabs onto the rail and pulls herself inside, and then so do I. She walks to the back of the train car and leans her back against the wall.
I stay by the door and I watch her catch her breath.
"Are you coming with me?" she asks when she sees me standing there, and it almost sounds like a plea.
"No," I answer flatly. "I got you out. That's all."
She slowly walks back toward me and when she's standing right in front of me, she reaches up to touch my face, but at the last minute she changes her mind and pulls her hand back. A part of me wishes she hadn't.
"How did you end up here, Tobias?" she asks me and her voice breaks.
"End up where?"
"Factionless," she whispers.
"I've always been factionless. I came with my mother when I was four," I answer her, though I don't need to.
She stares at me again, only this time she looks more heartbroken than confused. "No, you didn't. You rejected her at every turn… and for good reason," she shakes her head. "You really don't remember."
"Remember what?"
The train car rattles and Tris leans herself against the wall. She lets out a breath. "Tobias, you were Dauntless," she begins, "But you… you died… or at least we thought you did."
I don't mean to, but I take a step back and I laugh. It's not the first time I've heard of my alleged death.
"I think I would have remembered being Dauntless," I say brashly. "And as you can see, I am certainly not dead. You can save your stories for someone who doesn't know better. I know all about Dauntless and your alliance with the Erudite, the technology you have access to, used to fool and control people," I say, but not even I believe that's the right explanation for whatever or whoever it is she is.
She squints her eyes together. "What are you talking about? We took down the Erudite years ago. There's no threat from them. They're already on thin ice. They know better than to run unsanctioned experiments. And even if they were, we have people in high places to inform us of that kind of activity. It was a protocol you set in place to ensure the disaster that was Jeanine Matthews didn't repeat itself. The only threat in this city right now is your mother and the factionless."
I chuckle, looking her dead in the eye. Either she really believes what she's telling me, or she wants me to think she does. I think it's the latter and she's trying to fool me, but it's a worthless attempt.
"Maybe my mother was right," I say lowly. "You're dangerous. I should have let them execute you." The words sting and I know I don't mean them at all.
"So why didn't you?" she asks me, and as if to aggravate me further she says, "I'm standing right here. You could always take me back. But you won't do that… will you?" A tear finally falls from her eyes. "Don't you wonder why that is?"
I do. But I don't think anything good can come from subjecting myself to listen to whatever it is she has to say. She might not be a part of the new experiment my mother was telling me about, but talking to her is undeniably still dangerous. She might know about how I lost my memory and is trying to use it to her advantage. For all I know, it was the Erudite who put her face in my head after they wiped me; that is, as far as I know, when the dreams started.
I can't trust her any more than I can bring myself to harm her.
I decide I'll find the truth on my own, and wanting to leave her here as much as I don't, I jump off the train to go in search of it.
