đź’™Thank you SO SO SO much to everyone! I wasn't expecting half of the reviews, and I'm so happy so many people are reading along! Please keep reviewing or letting me know you're reading ;)

I hope everyone is hanging in there. Things are weird in AZ, weird at work, and there's nothing I want to buy online. So this chapter is presented to you by my need to stay sane.

Thanks to Bamberlee for editing!

The interrogation starts first thing in the morning.

"What were you doing with him?"

Holly lounges on my bed, watching me try to pick out something to wear. Her presence isn't unwelcome, but she'd shown up twenty minutes ago, and proceeded to do nothing but question me about the Dauntless soldiers.

"Who?"

"The one on our porch steps. Don't try to play dumb. Do you know him?" Holly doesn't hold back any punches. She looks at me, twisting her hair around her finger and waits for me to answer. "Everly…"

"Were you spying on me?" I glance over my shoulder, and she smiles.

Evilly.

"I was bored, and I just happened to be looking out the window, and there you two were. So…what were you doing? Do you know that guy?"

"No, I just know he's one of their leaders. And…we've all seen him talking. Last week, he was the one talking about factional boundaries or…something." I stare at the dresses in my closet, trying to remember what Eric had been talking about during the last virtual announcement. I hadn't been listening as well as I should have, because Landon kept elbowing me and laughing when I swatted him away. "I ran into him and I thought maybe I could help them if they needed it. We're supposed to help whoever asks."

"You? You want to help the men from Dauntless? What are you going to do? Bake him a pie?" Holly is dead serious, and her voice rises up in dramatics. "I bet he doesn't even eat dessert."

"Probably not. I don't know!" I answer her irritably, both at her lowkey, secret agent boredom and the fact that I'm about to be late. I finally grab the first dress I can. It's pink, like almost everything in my closet, but a darker pink. "He said they're looking for someone. We've had lots of people coming in and out of here. Maybe it's one of them or maybe it's someone I crossed paths with. Anyway, go get dressed. You're going to be late for school."

"I'm not going. I'm sick," Holly grins, and she flips her hair to the other side. "I told mom I was going to throw up and she said I could stay home."

I turn to really look at her, and she's most definitely not sick.

"Okay, I just don't want to go. We're supposed to be learning about taking care of the chickens and I don't want to. I'll make it up tomorrow." She lies back on my bed, nearly kicking Zander in the face, and she carefully nudges him with her foot. "Does he ever sleep in his own room?"

"No, but he can sleep in yours if you want," I point out, and I realize I'm going to be late for my own class. It wasn't so much I had to attend one, but my initiation group was supposed to meet in twenty minutes to spend the day with a bunch of toddlers. "Go…make some toast or something. I have to get ready."

"Okay, well hopefully Eric likes your dress. If he comes back," Holly answers with a hint of mockery, and when I glare at her, she smiles. "I saw you guys on the steps. Did he kiss you? I bet it would be gross if he did. Slobbery."

My glare isn't enough to wipe the smug look off her face.

"No, he told me it wasn't safe to be out and to go home." I answer, even though it's obvious she doesn't believe me. She props herself up on her elbows and squints at me, trying to detect if I'm lying. "That's it. Nothing else, Holly."

"He looked like he was going to kiss you."

"He wasn't," I answer defiantly, because I was pretty certain he wasn't going to do anything of the sort. He'd asked for my name, but more than likely so he could mark down that I wasn't in my house. "Now leave. Before you wake up Zander."

"Fine," Holly climbs off the bed, but she stops at my doorway. "I just came in here to tell you I bet he comes back. I think he likes you"

"Who?" I grab a second dress, equally impractical and equally pink, and I try to downplay my interest in listening to her.

"Eric."

"I met him once." Twice. "I highly doubt he cares. I was just trying to do my part."

"Your part. Okay." Holly answers in a sing songy voice, and she finally leaves. "Good luck today. It's supposed to rain. Your fancy dress is gonna get all muddy."

"Goodbye, HOLLY." I wait until the door shuts, and I hear her heading downstairs, and I hope she keeps quiet.

I highly doubt she will.

By the time I make it downstairs, she's in the kitchen with my mom, slyly picking out ingredients to make a cake and looking pretty darn smug.

Holly was right.

It does rain.

The skies blacken with each passing second, and fat wet drops pour down without any mercy. The storm forces us inside, which is the last place I want to be.

Same thing with the children.

"This is nuts. They're out of control!" Sophia laughs, watching one of the youngest kids fling finger paint in our direction. I step away from the line of fire, not wanting to be covered in the bright paint, and she gets most of it on her. "Everly! You jerk!"

"I'm sorry!" I try to keep a straight face as some lands in her hair, giving her a nice sloppy red streak, and she doesn't even bother to wipe it out. "I just took a shower."

"They're extra crazy today. It must be the weather. Here I was thinking this was going to be easy," Sophia is the same height as me, and she's dressed similarly. She smiles widely as one of the older kids, no more than four years old, shows her his painting, then demands she pick him up. "Do you think they're ready for lunch?"

"Probably," I glance around, feeling the claustrophobia setting in.

It was barely eleven.

I'd shown up right as the final child was dropped off. Parents in Amity had the option of leaving their children with us, for whatever amount of time they needed. Some of them were working in the fields, trying to harvest whatever they could before it got too cold. Some were working in the greenhouses. Some were doing community chores, laundry, working with the livestock or helping in the kitchens. The community came together to watch their children so they could work, and part of our initiation was to help with those who couldn't be left alone.

I enjoyed it at first.

Our beginning weeks were easy. Most of the children were adorable, wanting nothing more than our attention and someone to play with, and they were excited to have us with them.

But now, I was really tired of fighting with them to eat their lunch or not wander off into the woods.

"You know what? Why don't I go see if they're ready for us? Maybe we can take them early," I offer to both her and Courtney, and the lone woman overseeing all of us. Her name is Mable, and she works quickly and efficiently as she counts heads to make sure they're all inside. "Mable, are you good with that idea?"

"Yes, please. Landon should be in the kitchens. I don't think anyone will mind but do ask if it's alright." Mable answers without skipping a beat. After years of working here, she's unfazed by the children running around. Her long red hair is parted down the middle, and she smiles at everyone. Even the ones throwing paint.

She didn't appear to be high off any peace serum, but I'm starting to get suspicious. No one could willingly want to be around all these terrors for this long.

"I'll be right back," I promise, doing my best to ignore the pleading stares from a few of the transfers.

It was becoming apparent they'd come here thinking they'd picked an easy faction. A few had boasted they'd chosen Amity because they'd heard living here was a breeze. One boy, tall and dark and reasonably handsome, said his only goal was to find a wife, be assigned somewhere to live, and work for a few hours a day before returning home to his wife cooking him dinner.

He was in for a rude awakening when he realized the farmers worked before the sun rose, and often didn't return until it set.

And that half of us barely knew how to cook because we all lived at home.

"Okay, and if not, we'll stall. Maybe your dad wants some company this morning." Mable plucks a tray of paints from a tiny child ready to dump them on the ground, and gestures for me to go. "Liam, you come with me. Let's draw a picture for your mom and dad. I bet they'd love one for a present."

I escape just as Liam agrees. He happily follows Mable back to the table with his friends to draw his parents what will undoubtedly end up being something incomprehensible, but he'll say it's a cow. I smile goodbye, and I only hesitate outside the large doors for a single moment, contemplating how I'm going to get to the kitchens without getting drenched.

I don't really have any other option.

I take off, walking quickly, then eventually running and trying to dodge the rainfall.

I make it there in record time, and I come to a dead stop when I find Landon standing outside the entryway. He waves, his long brown hair hanging down to his shoudlers and his shirt a size too large, and there's an ease about him that makes me nervous.

He was the perfect Amity member. No one would ever think he didn't belong here. He took everything with grace, accepting it as it came, and he was unbothered by an obstacle in his path.

I didn't have that same ease.

He once promised it would come with age. He spoke like he was much older, rather than a few years, and told me one day, I'd find myself content with the way of life here.

"You're all wet."

He heads right over to me, grinning as the rain dampens his shirt, and he reaches for my hand. I let him pull me back to the shelter of the doorway, and notice he looks genuinely happy to see me.

I don't quite share his same enthusiasm.

"I just came to see if the kids could come to lunch earlier than usual. The rain is making them extra crazy," I drop my hand away from his, wiping my hair out of my eyes and squeezing some water from the ends. "Mable said I should ask if that's alright."

"Of course, they can come early. They might like a little walk in the rain," Landon looks at me, slow and warm, and it's only a single second before he reaches down to move my hair out of the way. His fingers are rough when they touch my cheek, proof of his time working outdoors. "Are you cold? I can get you a shirt to throw on."

"No, I'm alright, but thank you." I do my best to smile back, reminding myself he was kind. He was good. Safe. He was someone who would one day ask me to marry him, and I'd wind up walking our own children to lunch.

The wave of nausea at this idea is immediate.

I don't know why.

He certainly wasn't repulsive.

"I'll have someone run back so you don't get any wetter." Landon whistles for his friend to come over, and he quickly instructs him to fetch Mable and the group. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

I hesitate, long enough for him to take my hand again.

He holds onto it while we walk into the kitchen, right up until the very moment we find the soldiers from Dauntless waiting.

"Neither of you have left Amity in the past few days? Not even for a delivery?"

This time, there are three of them.

Not Jason, with his hair down in all its long, tangled glory.

The one who I'm guessing is Jason, with long red hair up in a bun. He looks as friendly as Not Jason, though both are fairly serious.

And Eric.

I don't know why, but the minute I saw him, I tore my hand away from Landon and stepped to the side. It was a smart choice, because Eric was looking right at me. His gaze was intense, focused solely on me as I walked in. He wasn't happy, not even close. I could see it in his jaw, clenched tightly and tensed as his comrades spoke, and his shoulders. While pulled down to reveal his indifference at being here, they were stiff. To someone passing by, he appeared causal, but I had a feeling he was anything but.

"No, I've been working here all week," Landon answers, holding both his palms up at them. "I don't think Everly has gone anywhere, have you?"

He looks at me, and they follow suit. Not Jason and Jason stare at me intently, until there's a flicker of recognition from the one who'd come to find Eric yesterday.

"Everly," Not Jason says my name, drawing it out much longer than necessary. "You haven't gone anywhere out of the ordinary, have you? Into the woods? Or…over to another faction?"

"No," I shake my head, fighting down the searing panic rising up. They'd been here looking for my dad, but that didn't explain why they were back. "I've been here. I'm working with…"

"She's going through the initiation class, so she really can't leave," Landon interrupts, and I remember one of the less fun things about him.

These past few months he'd taken to speaking for me. If the opportunity arose –if someone asked me if I wanted dessert while dining in the Dome, if someone offered to walk me home who wasn't him, if someone asked if I was interested in visiting for coffee or tea, Landon answered for me. He believed he was doing me a service; I often felt awful turning people down when they wanted company, and he knew it.

It felt a little gross.

He was using my empathy to his advantage, and I wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise.

"You're in the initiation class here?"

This time, Eric speaks, and he sounds highly amused. His voice has a mean edge to it, the kind the soldiers had when they goaded us after they took what they wanted. "How old are you?"

"Can I ask what initiation even is here? Goat milking? Chicken racing? Donkey jousting?" Not Jason laughs. "If you say yes, I'm going to be really jealous. I got punched in the face during our initiation."

"You're in luck. Donkey jousting is today if you're interested," I answer back in complete seriousness, and his face lights up.

"I'm in."

"Everly!" Landon looks surprised, but I don't know why. "She's joking. We don't treat the animals like that. Our initiation is serious. Adapting to our way of life isn't some joke. It's not…"

"How old are you?"

I look up to Eric staring at me. He stands with his spine straight, and his head cocked. He's waiting for me to answer him, and I have a feeling there's a reason he's asking a question he already knows the answer to.

"Eighteen."

He doesn't like my response.

I can see it in the way his lips curl up and his eyes narrow.

"Great." He answers flatly, then gestures to his friends. "I think we have what we need. We can stop by the office to let Johanna know we'll be back. For now, your deliveries are to run as scheduled. If you need to change anything, she's to let us know immediately."

"Sure, yeah. Anything to help," Landon answers quickly, but he's not entirely thrilled. His posture mirrors Eric's as his shoulders tense, but he loosens them. "Do you want some lunch to take with you? I could have Everly make you something."

I glance up at him in sheer annoyance at being treated like I was his personal assistant. I didn't work in the kitchens. I could have. I could have chosen the food service as an area to train in, but I didn't.

Because I couldn't cook.

The few times my father had tried to show me were disastrous. I lost interest immediately, couldn't convert anything from cups to teaspoons to tablespoons, and had no clue how to turn on the stove.

I could bake, though.

For some reason, baking was entirely different.

"God, no." This time, Eric laughs, slick and mean enough that Landon gets the hint. "The food here is inedible."

"No offense, but we have work to do." Not Jason answers brightly, well aware of Eric's insult. "Besides, Harrison is waiting for us outside. He just texted me and said to hurry the fuck up."

"I should go get the class, anyway." I step away from all of them, figuring it had been long enough that Mable and the others should be here. "It's a lot for them to handle."

"Of course," Landon responds, and he's not as happy as he appears to be. He'd wanted to show me something in the back of the kitchen, but we'd walked in to find the Dauntless soldiers milling around. They were inspecting some of the food being sent out; I watched one check the labels on the boxes, and another look at our list of deliveries for today. It didn't look like a ton was going out, but it was enough to garner their attention. "Come back here when you're done."

I ignore him.

I leave before the soldiers, and I make it out of the kitchen and into the main dining area. I pass through the tables quickly, toward the large doors of the Dome, and I throw them open. I make it a solid three steps before someone grabs me, and I yelp in surprise.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I blurt out my apology once I see the dark jacket, and I look up to a man staring down at me. He's older, his hair cropped short but sticking up like he hadn't combed it, and his eyes bright and flashing. "I didn't see you. I was looking for the class and…"

I stop talking, because he lets go like his hands have caught fire. He steps back, eyeing me warily, and I notice his jacket is buttoned tightly. The dark black accentuates his tan skin, but more so, the color of his eyes.

A very familiar green.

Like Forrest's.

They flash even more when another hand grabs my arm, and I look up to see my mother standing there. Her fingers curl around my arm firmly enough that I look up in surprise, and her expression is unusually tight.

"What are you doing here?"

She speaks in a tone I haven't heard before. There was never anything sharp about her. Nothing mean or angry, never annoyed or suspicious. She accepted everyone, helped anyone who needed it, and would do anything to keep things peaceful.

But now, there's an underlying scrape to her words, and I don't know who she's talking to.

"I came to see if the class could come to lunch."

"I'm here on business."

The man and I answer at the same time.

My mother blinks at both of us, her hair damp from the rain and her dress the same and she doesn't move. Her fingers stay on me, gently and invisibly inching me closer to her.

I wonder if she's afraid of him.

"Everly, come inside."

"Eden, don't…"

He says her name quietly, but he makes no move toward her. Before I can ask how he knows her, he keeps speaking.

"Keep her inside. Keep all of them inside. Erudite is looking for-"

"Harrison! Hey, Eric said I should drive back with you," Jason appears through the same doors I'd come from, and he surveys the scene before him. "You guys okay?"

"I was just coming to find my daughter. I wanted to join her for lunch," my mother answers, slowly, and she pulls me closer. I knew sometimes the peace serum made her loopy. She took it, like was expected, but I could always tell. Her words were soft and quiet, until the serum was wearing off. Then she was alive, her true self not dulled by the demand to stay peaceful no matter the case. "Why are you here? My husband said…"

"We're leaving," the man in front of me cuts her off, and he steels himself until his expression is dark. "Now."

"Hey, you want to drive?" Jason glances at me, then my mother, then the man. "Harrison, are you okay?"

"Fine. Never been better. I'll meet you at the truck," he answers dully, and he doesn't wait for Jason. He turns on his heel and stomps off, leaving us all standing there.

"Sorry, he's a little…a little off today. Amity isn't his favorite place to be," Jason apologizes, and his eyes are mischievous. "You guys have a good lunch. I'm sure we'll see you again soon."

"Thanks."

I answer for us, watching him sprint to catch up to Harrison. My mother is silent until he does, and once they vanish from our sight, she drops her hand from my arm and lets out the breath she was holding.

"Do you know him?" I whirl around to face her, wondering what was going on. I didn't like this; the appearance of Dauntless in our faction wasn't good, and two days in a row was especially not good. "Mom? Do you know that man?"

She looks at me, pulling her arms in closer, but her stare goes back to the direction Harrison and Jason went.

There is nothing but woods and trees, and their trucks must be parked further out.

My mom swallows, and she gestures for me to follow her into the Dome.

"Not anymore."

Lunch is stupid.

I spend most of my time not eating, but occasionally choking down a single bite in between making sure the kids stay at their tables. They don't have to; it wasn't uncommon for the kids to wander around while they ate, or to join other tables and adults. But today, it's super crowded. Everyone comes in at the same time, desperate to find some solace from the rain, and the seating was limited.

"Is Landon upset with you?"

Courtney is the first one to notice my sour mood, and Landon's. I hadn't gone back to see him after Dauntless left. I'd found Mable and Sophia arriving with the class, and I dove into helping them find seats. Twenty minutes later, I was handed a plate of turkey, carrots, apples, salad, and a muffin, and I took the last empty seat next to Courtney.

"He keeps looking over here," she observes, taking a bite of her own sandwich. "Shoot, am I allowed to eat this?"

"No, there's nothing in it. They only put the peace serum in the drinks today. They're trying to stretch it. There's a rumor Erudite is behind on making it, and they're trying to catch up. They sent out a message claiming it goes further if it's put in the drinks," Mable answers as she zips by, with toddlers holding onto each of her hands. "The next shipment comes in next week. Normally, Dauntless delivers it, but this time, they're asking for our help. I expect Landon and the others will go pick it up."

She's helpful, but cut off when someone starts crying, having spilled their apple juice everywhere.

"This is going to be one long day," Sophia closes her eyes, and she shakes her head. "I know it's not supposed to be easy, but did anyone think we'd have more free time? I feel like I can't even go to the bathroom without someone following me."

"I agree." I sound disheartened, but I can't shake the weird feeling that something was going on. "Um, I'm going to grab another drink. Do you want anything?"

"No, we're good," Courtney answers, then a second later, she yelps for one of the younger boys to stop smacking his friend. "No! Zachary that's not nice!"

I stand up, grateful when no one follows.

I head to the line where the kitchen staff is passing out tea, and I enjoy a whole thirty seconds of no one needing anything from me.

It ends when Landon appears, his expression unhappy as ever.

"Who is he?"

This time, she looks right at me.

There are no distractions, because everyone else has gone to bed. Our house is quiet except for a few creaks and groans from the foundation, and my mother pauses washing the glass in her hands. It clinks against the sink, and she defers by pointing at the bowls on the counter.

"Will you hand me those?"

I do; I grab all of them, and I join her at the second large sink. I turn the faucet on, and I rinse off the bowl previously filled with Zander's macaroni and cheese. It was all he would eat today, but luckily, we had plenty.

Landon had made some to take to him.

He'd shoved it at me in a surprising fit of anger, and it was to plain to see he was mad. He had snapped to take the meal home with me, then left without another word.

"You can tell me. Do you know…the guy in the uniform? The older one?"

"Older?" She looks at me, her eyes crystal clear, and we both know she can't pass this one off in a happy haze. "He's not that old."

"He's older than me," I point out. "And you."

She side eyes me, but to be fair, I don't know how old he is.

I wonder how old Eric is.

"He's a leader there?" I guess while I scrub the bowl, trying to conjure up what he looked like. I remember he was tall, and his eyes were green. He didn't look like everyone else from Dauntless, but his uniform loudly announced he'd kill me if necessary. "It seemed like he knew you…"

"Everly," my mother stops, and she turns to look at me. Her eyes are wide with worry, right there, burning behind her stare. "Yes, he is a leader there, but he's dangerous. They're all dangerous. They are in place to make sure things stay under control. Not our control, but theirs. Their presence here is not good. If they talk to you, tell them what they need, and move on."

"They said they're looking for someone," I rinse off the bowl, and she freezes.

"Did you talk to them?"

"Yeah, I talked to…" I pause, because the ceiling creaks above us. The wood beam groans, and the footsteps tell us someone is walking down the hallway upstairs. "Eric. He said his name was Eric."

She's silent. She turns the cup over in her hands, and I swear it's a whole minute before she exhales sharply. "Did he ask your name?"

"Yeah," I turn the water off, and I set the bowl on the rack to dry. "Do you know Eric?"

"No, I've heard of him. He's not any less dangerous than the others. Maybe more dangerous. He has close ties to the other factions and…"

She stops speaking when my father appears, his hair rumpled and his expression tired and not pleased. "Eden, are you coming to bed? Zander is waiting for Everly."

He looks at me expectantly, and I don't say anything.

Putting Zander to bed had become my unofficial job, and I would love to have a single night when he wasn't kicking me in the face.

"We're finishing the dishes. Can you keep Zander entertained for a minute? Then I'll be up there." My mother struggles to keep her voice even. It was easier on peace serum, and less easy when she was completely coherent. "Hank, please.."

"Fine." He doesn't like her answer. I'd noticed him looking oddly irritable every now and then. Sometimes at Zander. Sometimes at Forrest.

Often at me.

I tried to stay away, thinking he might be feeling overwhelmed with new initiates showing up, the demands for more food, and soldiers in his business.

"It's okay. I'll go get him. I can finish these later." I step away from the counter, and my mother is still silent. I notice she looks tense, and she doesn't say anything until I head upstairs. Once I reach the second one, my father asks her what's wrong.

Her words are quiet, but firm as she very gently tells my father Zander is not my responsibility.

"Outside."

Zander whispers this against my face. I shove him away, longing for the days when he preferred to sleep in my parents' bed, and wondering when I had become his preferred nighttime entertainment.

"Everly, take me outside."

He's insistent; he puts both of his hands on my cheeks and forces me to look at him.

In most cases, he's darling.

He has large eyes, dark and green and full of mischief, and longer brown hair. He rarely let anyone cut it or comb it, and he preferred to never be dressed. I liked him ninety percent of the time. There were days, and especially nights like tonight, when I wanted some quiet. I wanted to lie here with my own thoughts, and not have someone kicking me, or insisting we go outside at one in the morning.

"It's too late," I jerk my head away from him, and his whine is immediate. "Zander, go bother Forrest. I'm too tired."

"Not here." Zander's voice grows louder, and it won't be long before he wakes everyone up. Which meant someone else would come get him, but there was a chance it would be my father. "Everly, please. Please. Please. Please. Please."

"Zander…"

"Outside! Now!" He yells the last part, and I sit up. "Good Everly."

"I'm never having children." I inform him, and he doesn't care. "Ever. I just want to sleep through the night once. You're not even…"

"Everly!"

I look up into the darkness, and it's hard to tell whether it is one of my siblings, or a demon coming to take my soul.

"Everly, they're in our backyard."

It's both.

Holly creeps into my room, joining Zander and I on the bed, and she looks terrified.

"I went downstairs to get some water, and there was someone outside the window. I thought I was dreaming, but a second later, I saw someone in uniform."

"What?" I throw the covers off of me, and Zander crows in delight that we were getting up. "Where?"

"Outside!"

She follows me out of the bedroom. She's nearly knocked out of the way as Zander fights to be first, and he is. He takes the stairs three at a time, and we all reach the backdoor at once.

"You're going out there?" Holly looks horrified, and she tries to stop me. "Didn't Eric tell you to stay inside?""

"Yes, but…maybe…maybe I know one of them."

This was a stretch. I'd met Eric, Jason, Not Jason, and the man from earlier. The chances of me knowing who was in our backyard was slim to none.

"Just...stay here," I whisper, and I unlock the door. "Both of you."

Zander is quicker than me. He rushes past me, gleefully jumping into the dark night. "OUTSIDE!"

He gets a whole foot away before the man outside says my name.