Thank you SO much to Bamberlee for editing so quickly! You are the true hero of this story.

Thank you so so so much to everyone reviewed! So many good fun reviews to read!

And finally, this chapter is dedicated to Mel who is impatiently waiting for this update.

Enjoy ;)

I watch the Dauntless leave from the edge of the Dome.

I don't go back to where I had been sitting, though by now Sophia and Courtney must be wondering where I went, but instead, I stay to the very side. I have a fairly good view from here, and no one notices me watching.

Jake and his friend Karl leave, happily bopping along with their friends as they follow out a surly looking woman. She's about my size, but her dark hair is pulled up so severely it looks painful. Her uniform is the same as Eric's, but less black, and somewhat fitted. She yells at the initiates to fall in line, and they do. They listen to her with the same sort of respect I would expect if Eric were the one barking out orders, and they quiet down when Jason and Not Jason stroll by.

Jason counts them while he walks, tapping a few and pushing them further into the line, and he pauses by Jake. He talks to him for just a moment, and he leaves when Not Jason shows up.

Not Jason is more casual with his perusal of the initiates. He smacks one in the head, gesturing for him to fix his jacket and cuts another off so he can walk with Jason. The two of them fall into step together, and behind everyone is Eric.

He walks slowly, but powerfully.

His arms are behind his back, and he surveys the men and women with mild approval. His stare lingers on some –those who are better, in his opinion—but most don't earn his attention. He observes everything around him with a heavy scrutiny, including his own friends. His stare sweeps over the fence, old and rotting and barely holding up, and lands on the worn walkway it encircles. A few steps later, his gaze returns to the initiates, heavy and calculating as someone yells to make sure CJ is with them.

I have a feeling they're lucky they didn't have him training them.

"What are you doing? You missed the whole lunch!" Sophia bursts my bubble of watching Eric walk like it's the most fascinating thing on Earth, though his gait would be hard to mimic, and she looks concerned. "We couldn't find you and we looked everywhere."

"I saw Jake," I answer, relieved to have a bit of an out. "We talked for a minute and he introduced me to his friends. Then…I saw Eric and he wanted to talk to me. So I went with him."

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Sophia is immediately suspicious, and she should be. Something dawns on her, and her eyes fly open even wider. "Everly, oh my God, is he the older guy?" Her face lights up in triumph. "I knew it! When you walked into him on the pathway….his whole face was like, I can't even describe it."

"It was like what?" I stare back, mildly horrified. The first time I'd met Eric, I'd crashed right into him in the most graceless way possible. I had somehow missed him storming down the pathway, and I'd found myself walking right into his chest.

"Like, he just looked so pleased. First he looked annoyed, but then when he saw you, really saw you, he kind of blinked and didn't let go." Sophia recaps my encounter with Eric in the vaguest way possible. "It was love at first sight."

She smiles, her gaze dreamy as ever, then she shakes her head. "Plus, he keeps coming back. Everyone knows Dauntless hates Amity, especially him. Remember when he was here with Johanna and he threatened to shut down the faction if she didn't comply? And she threatened to get Jeanine involved. He didn't come back for a while, and now he's here all the time."

"He's working," I point out, but it's lost on Sophia.

"Working on showing you he loves you!"

"He's hardly in love with me. He was asking about who I saw the other night. I'm going to see if he'll help me with Landon. I thought maybe he'd know what to do."

"You told him?" Sophia startles, and her whole demeanor changes. Gone is her romantic version of these recent events and now she looks irritated. "Really? Why? He's not going to help you. He's going to lure you in and make you think you have valuable information and when he has what he wants, he'll be done. Even if he is in love"

"What do you think he wants?" I stare at my friend, her face wrought with nervousness, and suddenly her gaze is anywhere but on me. "Sophia! I just…I told him I saw someone and he wants to know who. You think that's all he wants? To know that Landon is screwing around in the forest?"

"No, that's not all he wants," Sophia answers slowly, and she stalls by staring at me like I have three heads. "But we know he's going to take it when he's done here."

"Then what is it?"

"Everly," this time, her words are slow and pointed, and just as strong as when she announced she was going to bust Landon. "He wants you."

I arrive home to chaos.

In hindsight, I should have come back sooner.

After Sophia told me she was so sure Eric's main goal in life was to acquire me, a statement I rebuked because I wasn't stupid enough to believe it was true and it had the faint echoes of Landon deciding we'd just be together, Sophia sat with me while I ate dinner. Courtney joined us; she was huffy I hadn't eaten with them, but once I filled her in –well, really Sophia explained what happened and Courtney shrieked that she didn't know Jake was here, she was fine. She leaned in and whispered Landon was working in the kitchen tonight, and he'd practically thrown her plate at her.

That wasn't shocking.

I would imagine things were tense when you were trying to lead a double life.

I stayed to eat dessert, something sticky and sweet and warm, and I walked home thinking how it was nice to have some time to myself. Even if nothing other than Landon getting in trouble came from this whole Eric thing, at least I was realizing my life was not meant to be someone's babysitter. I wanted to do more than spend my days making sure Zander was entertained, and less feeling like I didn't fit into my own family.

They weren't awful by any means, but I was squished in between being Zander's main form of entertainment and my younger siblings needing more attention than my mother could offer.

Sure, Forrest is around. But he'd been spending more and more time with Willow, and he was barely home. He showed up for a few required meals, stuffed his face, and was gone before anyone could ask too many questions. My mother was busy pretending she was fine, this was fine, everything was fine. She dutifully made dinner after dinner, dessert after dessert, and pretended my father's absence was nothing.

He was serving his faction, and she chose to believe that.

Tonight, he is home.

I can tell, because the minute I step foot inside, the tension is unparalleled.

Zander is there, front and center, building tower after tower in an oddly silent manner. He stacks the blocks slowly, somewhat threateningly, and he watches me with a look of disapproval as I slink past Forrest. His dark hair is a mess, and it's clear someone plunked him down and let him play for a few minutes to keep him occupied.

Behind him, lounging against the wall, is Forrest.

"Did you eat in the Dome?" Forrest demands, chewing on a muffin like he hasn't eaten in days. "We missed you, Squirt."

I nod, glaring at the nickname.

"I ate with Sophia and Courtney," I eye the stairs, wondering if I could sprint past him and make it up there before anyone noticed I was back. "Did you eat here?"

"Uh huh," Forrest looks unenthused, and he ducks his head to my level. "You missed this major argument. Everyone is losing their shit. It's still going on, and fuck, what did I just step on. I think someone's duck pooped in here."

"Duck poop!" Zander parrots, and he ignores the look Forrest throws him.

"Z, pick up your toys. And who even let a duck come in here? I thought we all agreed no more animals. Anyway, dad and mom started talking and Zander brought up his rock collection. He wanted to show dad, but he made the mistake of saying he picked them out with Harrison and things got bad. Real bad. I think Holly might be crying," Forrest swallows the rest of his muffin, and he makes a face. "I'm moving out, by the way. In a week."

"What! Why? No!" I completely ignore the name Harrison, because Forrest moving out is more important. I hate this news more than anything. I hope I've heard him wrong, because in the kitchen, Leif and Wesley are torturing Paisley and Holly as my parents argue in the background. "Where are you moving to? The tree house in the backyard?"

"Funny," Forrest pretends to laugh, and then he turns serious. "I'm proposing to Willow. If she says yes, we can't live here. I applied for one of the small homes a few sections down. I got approved this morning."

"You're leaving me here," I answer darkly, and he knows I'm not thrilled. He nods, and to his credit, he looks guilty. "I'll never get out if you're gone. I'll be stuck helping forever."

"I can't stay here forever, either. Maybe you should marry Landon. At least he won't make you put half the family to bed." Forrest's suggestion is gentle and he means well, but the look on my face tells him just exactly what I think of his idea. "Okay, or not. You can marry someone else. Or maybe you just say you want to go stay with the initiates. Communal living isn't fun, but it's…it might be better for you to get away for a bit."

"I hate you," I shake my head, not meaning it at all. "You're really going to propose?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it all week. Actually, Landon was the voice of reason. He was like, just do it man. Why wait?"

"I wouldn't take any advice from him," I shudder. "I don't want to marry him so don't ever say that again. If he asks me, after everything he's pulled, I'll punch him in the face. Again."

"Everly Carlen!"

I must have been a little too determined in my desire to never marry the guy who threatened me, because my father is standing in the entryway to the living room, looking visibly disappointed.

It's a look I'm familiar with, but it's mixed with some pretty vibrant anger.

"You punched someone in the face? What's gotten into you?" My father's words are scolding, and he's clearly not impressed with my plan. "Landon mentioned you'd been acting out and to hear you say such a violent thing is worrisome."

"Oh, he said I'm acting out?" I stare at my father, and Landon's plan slowly clicks into place.

I don't know how I missed this before. Landon is going to turn this around on me. He'd already started with my mother, showing up and lamenting about a bruised nose. I would bet he'd hinted it was me and made her promise not to say a word. Next is Mable. He'll drop a few sweet concerns about how I'm being weird, and she'll agree. She'll confirm how I've been acting spacey, leaving early, and am not thrilled to wipe tiny noses.

All that was left was my father, and it was obvious he'd already won him over.

By the time I was done with initiation, I'd either fail, because Mable would be convinced I wasn't committed, or I'd be welcomed as a member but I'd have to prove myself.

And nothing would prove my commitment to the Amity faction more than marrying Landon.

"He attacked me. Did he tell you that?" I stare at my father, waiting for this to sink in and for him to realize who Landon is, but it doesn't come.

Because he knows who Landon is.

"He grabbed me by the arm and…" I stop, and my father crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"You haven't exactly been the model member of Amity these days. Look, initiation is hard. Conflicts come up that aren't so easily dismissed, especially without the peace serum. Your mother and I agreed you should be taking something, even just a minor amount to make it through initiation. Landon came to me and said everyone has noticed your lack of enthusiasm. Do you know what happens if Johanna hears you don't want to be here?"

He stops his lecture to let me change my mind.

I can see it on his face, how he thinks he's doing me a justice by allowing me the opportunity to announce I was wrong.

But I'm not.

I'm also not going to sit around and wait for him to realize I was in trouble here, and so was he.

"Landon hurt me. He grabbed my wrist and threatened to mess with my initiation. Believe who you want."

I take off before my father can say anything, because the hurt is too much. It's too heavy, considering I'd been feeling trapped as it was, and too horrifying to think he believed Landon over me.

I ignore the protests of my mother, not so soft and not so mild, as she hotly demands my father make this right. I ignore Forrest calling my name, Zander crying as his tower crashes over, and Paisley and Holly shrieking that I wasn't lying.

I slam the door shut to my bedroom, and for the first time in years, I lock the door behind me.

This time, I do everything in my power to make sure my initiation is going just beautifully.

I show up early. I cheerfully greet every small child by name, and I sit through the grating small talk from their parents. I feign interest in how they are doing and I wash away my annoyance at the ones who announce their child isn't feeling well, but they have no choice but to drop them off. I help Mable sign them in, I pass out all the buckets we're using to go feed the goats, and I only scowl when I realize I'm going to smell like farm animals for the rest of the day.

I have no choice but to grit my teeth and get through it.

My enthusiasm for all of this wanes by lunch.

My arm is covered in sticky peanut butter and honey, and Holden sits on my lap, pouring his juice all over my skirt. Cody sits by him, and when he wants my attention, he pulls on my hair, effectively matting it together with the jelly he'd been using to paint his plate.

"Oops."

He stares up at me, and I smile back, realizing I'll have no choice but to shower again before meeting up with Eric.

"It's fine. I can wash it out," I force myself to sound cheerful, for no sane person could be excited to do this day in and day out, but Mable is impressed. She seems very happy with the change in my attitude, and even happier when I stay the entire day.

I watch her mark down a few things on her initiation paperwork, similar to my father's but far less rigid, and I know she's pleased. Our initiation is fairly simple: all you had to do was prove you could live here, and exist in peace with the others while learning from one of the main areas that needed help. I wasn't doing anything to prove I couldn't do those things but acting out and fighting with Landon would prove suspect.

So when I see him waiting by the door as I leave, I flash him a wide smile, and this time, I don't protest when he offers to walk me home.

I just make sure Mable sees it.

"So what have you been up to?"

My words are so sweet they hurt.

I hate this, because while I am nice, living in Amity forces you to be nice to those who don't deserve it. In a way, everyone deserves kindness, until they don't. Landon shoving me against a wall and threatening my initiation should be a clear sign he doesn't deserve a second of my time, but I had to be smart.

If Landon was going to play dirty, I could too.

"You look good. Better than the last time I saw you," I keep talking, staying a careful distance away from him, and he finally smiles.

It's genuine.

For a swinging moment, he looks absolutely normal. His long brown hair hangs to his shoulders, in slight waves from being tied back. He's dressed casually; it was likely he spent the morning tending to the livestock, which gave him all the freedom he could ever want.

No one could stop you if you were out walking cows and making sure they stayed within their fenced areas.

They quite often broke through the weak fences, and it took half the faction to corral them back.

But the moment swings back the other way, to the extreme Landon, who's no better than he was when he was hinting he'd ruin my initiation in hopes of coming to my rescue by agreeing to marry me.

"I've been busy. Really busy. Evelyn has me doing a lot. She needs something every day."

"I bet she does," my retort is more sarcastic than I mean it to be, so I smile up at him quickly. "I would imagine building an army is a lot of work."

"Have you reconsidered joining? You could be a big asset, you know. You and your father would have a place with her." Landon offers, and I have to work very hard not to shake my head in a disgusted manner. "Your mom might, but Hank isn't sure how to tell her …but she might agree to it if we're both involved. We could get married soon and then she'd have to agree. She wouldn't want you to be on your own."

"Landon, why do you want to marry me?" I interrupt, and he's immediately irritated I've cut him off. "I just need to know. Is there a reason you're so determined to make this work out in your favor? I know you can ruin everything here for me, so I just want to know why. Why me? You know I don't trust Evelyn or what you're doing. So you want to get married so I can join your weird army and what? Pretend things are great?"

His eyes narrow, and I wait for him to lose his cool.

Instead, he shrugs.

"Landon?"

"You're pretty. That's enough for me."

His words are met with dead silence.

I count the steps in my head until I reach five, and I try to figure out if he's being serious.

"That's…it. You want to marry me because I'm pretty?" I almost stop in my tracks, because the thought hurts when I say it aloud. "Not because I'm really funny or I'm adventurous or I'm really-"

"I guess you could say going against the rules of Amity is adventurous," Landon laughs, but it's mean. "Everly, don't think about it too hard. You're not…most guys here want to marry someone they can build a home with. You can't cook. You can't sew. You don't want to be here. You dislike the meetings and working with the kids and we all know you don't want to drink the peace serum. I get it. Which is why I think you'd like Evelyn."

"I don't like Evelyn and I never will. I think something could change, but what she's doing doesn't feel right." I blurt out, and this is the most honest conversation I feel like Landon and I have ever had. "But…there's nothing else? No other reason you would want me to be your wife?"

His stare meets mine, and it's clear there isn't much more to his decision.

It's not that I want him to want marriage for a slew of good reasons, this just feels really crummy.

"I told you. If it's not me, some asshole from another faction will propose and you'll say yes because you want out. I know you. It'll be easier with me than someone who doesn't understand you. Like I said, you're pretty. We can have some fun, and I'll keep you in line. I'll make sure no one figures out you don't actually want to live here, but you were too scared to pick another faction."

"What if I wasn't pretty?"

The words sound shallow coming from me, and I regret them the minute I say them.

I wasn't blind to what I looked like, but didn't think I was all that pretty. Most of the girls here were taller. Blonder, or their hair lightened in the sun to a brighter color. They didn't downplay their looks in any way, but you could tell they knew they were attractive to the men watching.

I'd never really noticed if anyone looked at me, other than Landon.

"Well, you are pretty. Everyone knows Hank's daughter is good looking, but not interested in anyone here."

"But if I wasn't…" I watch him ignore my question, staring up ahead. "You wouldn't want to marry me. I'd have nothing to offer you then."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Landon answers tightly, and he reverts back to doing Evelyn's work. "Come to the meeting with me tonight. I'll show you what our world could be like. You won't have to worry if you're pretty or not."

"I'm not worried about that. I was just hoping there was more to this than someone finding me attractive," I wrap my arms around myself, regretting my decision to let him walk me home.

Finding out the only reason Landon liked me was because he found me pretty didn't feel good.

Neither does the moment when I wonder what Eric thinks.

Maybe the only reason he was talking to me was because I was decent looking and he knew he could get information out of me.

I suddenly feel very stupid, so much that it hurts to breathe.

"I gotta go. Thank you for walking me home," I speed up once I see my house, and I don't give him the chance to answer me.

He wouldn't anyway.

To him, I was nothing more than something to be won, and to Eric, I was nothing more than an informant.

I decide I'm going to stay home, and request to move into the communal living space.

"Do you want a sandwich?"

This time, Forrest is the only one who notices I'm home.

I yell back no, then add a thanks on the end, and I lean my head back against the rim of the bathtub. I'd come home to almost no one here. My mother and Zander were outside, and everyone else was gone. I said hello, ate a quick snack, and went upstairs to agonize over my decision to not meet Eric. I didn't want him to think I was some moron who would tell him whatever he asked just because he was paying attention to me. The worst part of it was that he was paying attention to me. He was the only one who was listening and the only person to show a fleeting second of concern.

I squeeze my eyes shut when I think about him holding my hand, the feeling so unnatural but perfect, and I go back on my decision to not meet up with him.

It wasn't just that I was hoping he'd hold my hand again, or he'd ask how my day was, but there was a chance he could come find me. I would be putting everyone at risk if he just showed up here, and he would. He knew where I lived. He knew my father's name, and he knew Landon's. It would be easy for him to piece all this together and knock on the door and demand to speak to me.

I'd have no way to fix anything if that was the case.

I sink beneath the bubbles into still too hot water, and I realize I have no choice but to tell Eric what I know.

He's early.

I show up ten minutes before six, and he's already there. He's standing outside the truck, leaning back against the door with an air of disdain, and his expression is unenthusiastic. It stays that way as he eyes my dress –the one I purposely picked out because it fit better than the rest – and it only changes when he opens the door.

"Get in."

He's the pinnacle of charming as he waits impatiently for me to climb into the truck. I hesitate only for a moment, because this isn't what we'd planned. He'd told me we'd meet and go into the woods where Landon had taken me, but this is nowhere near the Dome.

Or the route Landon had dragged me along.

"Wait, I thought we were going-"

He doesn't wait.

His hands find my waist, the feeling familiar now, and he forcibly helps me up onto the high seat.

"We are. Just…not yet."

He slams the door shut and stomps around with the enthusiasm of Zander. Actually, Zander might have more enthusiasm over seeing such a large vehicle, but it makes me smile when Eric glances around to make sure we're alone, and a pleased look crosses his face.

We are.

Everyone in Amity would be at dinner or heading home to make dinner. It was unlikely any of them would be out here, especially since it would be dark soon.

"Did you eat?" Eric asks, but he's gritting his teeth together like this is painful. He relaxes when I shake my head no, and the truck moves before I can figure out we aren't staying here. "I brought dinner. We can eat and then head out to where you saw the factionless. I can't risk showing up while everyone is at the Dome."

"How do you know-" I start to ask, and he glances over at me. He eyes the dress again, then turns back to look at the road.

"The cameras. Amity holds their dinner at the same time every day. Even if only half the faction shows up, that's still too many who aren't there." He drives just as quickly as before, but it's less jarring this time. "We'll go when they head home."

"Won't it be dark?

He glances over at me again, and his amusement is familiar, too.

I fight off the rush of insecurity that I was right in thinking he was only here to get information. He had to think I was stupid; it was unlikely anything stopped him, including darkness.

"Do you like burgers?" he asks with dead seriousness, and I notice he leans toward me. It's slight, but I scoot closer, trying to figure out if I heard him right. "Do you eat meat or just leaves?"

"Just leaves," I laugh, but I find myself more in the middle so I can watch what he's doing. I don't know how to drive any of the trucks, but he makes it look easy. "I can eat meat. I just try not to name the cows while we raise them."

He lets out a huff of laughter, then turns.

Sharply.

So sharply I crash into him.

"Do you eat a lot of meat in Dauntless?" I steady myself back up, but I would much prefer to stay close to him. I wonder if I am stupid, seeking out danger instead of safety. I also wonder what he brought or where he got the food, and I wait until he looks at me again. "Is there serum in the hamburger? Wait, are you drugging me? Am I going to end up high?"

"Yes," he answers mockingly. "Aren't you hilarious? But we don't put our serum in the food. We prefer to inject it right into the bloodstream."

The thought makes me shudder, but I wonder what on Earth they do with it.

"Why?"

Eric pulls the truck over, and he kills the engine before he answers. "It's part of our initiation. Each initiate is injected and then they go through a simulation of their worst fears. They work through them. They're scored on how well they do and how little they panic."

"Did you panic?" I watch him closely, noticing his hair is a little less perfect today, and his uniform jacket is unbuttoned. Not far, just a little, but he's less severe than I've seen him. "Did you get through yours?"

He's silent. He turns to reach behind him, and he procures two plates. They are wrapped up more neatly than mine were, and the food looks entirely different. It looks dark, unlike the bright colors we served. "Here. Eat. And I got through mine just fine. I didn't find it particularly challenging once I knew what we were doing."

"Thank you," I take the plate from him, and my fingers touch his.

He looks down at me, and I look up at him.

"You weren't afraid of the…simulation?" My voice sounds too high, and I cringe. "Or, maybe you were but you just-"

"I wasn't." He sounds bored, but he doesn't look away. "Nothing scares me."

"Not even the food in Amity?"

This time, he smiles.

It's wide and real, not the mocking sneer he liked to throw around.

"Eat your dinner."

"Are you sure you aren't married? This looks like someone professional cooked it." My question comes while I unwrap the dinner. He's brought hamburgers, but they don't look like anything I've seen before. They are larger and bulkier, and almost too large to bite into, but far more luxe than the food we serve.

"No."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I flash back to someone named Ashley calling him. Eric must not appreciate my question, because his stare turns dark. "No?"

"You ask a lot of questions. I don't have time for a wife or girlfriend," he answers sharply. "Not that that would be any concern of yours."

"It's not," I agree, and I pull my feet up like the last time I was in the truck. The cabin is larger and set back, and there's plenty of space for me to turn and look at him. "I was just wondering. Are your friends married?"

"Jason has a girlfriend. They've been dating for years," Eric answers roughly, and he turns to look at me. "NJ just started dating someone. She's tolerable. For the most part. Poor choice of friends, but they can't all be winners."

"What's his real name?" I take a bite of the burger, and it's surprisingly good. "Did you make this?"

"No, but I could if I wanted to." Eric's answer is funny, because he sounds like Zander insisting he can tie his own shoes. "Eat all of it. You need it."

"Okay," I agree, but only because it's going to take me forever to finish it. "Is NJ… is he…one of your friends?"

"They both are. Is Jake one of yours?"

This time, he faces me completely. He kicks his own knee up, and he moves to look at me. "I looked up his scores. They're fairly impressive for someone who transferred from Amity."

"Do they really have to learn to throw knives?" I ask as I swallow down a bite of burger, "Do you know how to throw knives?"

"I do. And yes, they learn a range of skills so they're properly trained for every situation. Some are meant to prepare them to survive under pressure, and some are just to see if they can take orders." He smirks, and his eyes find mine. "Jake takes orders well. So do you."

"Are you saying I'd pass the Dauntless initiation?"

"Hardly." He chews his own dinner with a vengeance, but he must like the idea. "There are few women who chose this time around. Most of the initiates are a foot taller than you. You'd be pummeled into the ground before you knew what was happening. Unless I trained you."

"Oh," I reach for the drink he's brought, and it's sweet. "I thought you didn't train anyone."

"I don't," he confirms, and I smile at him.

For once, he looks almost human. He's sitting in a truck, eating a giant burger, and looking at me.

And he had trained me.

For a few minutes.

"Are you transferring factions, Amity?"

"Maybe I should," I shrug, and the words hurt to say. Perhaps I should have picked a different faction. Dauntless was probably a stretch, though I was starting to think I'd have survived. "But to answer your question, yes, Jake was a friend of mine. I was surprised he left. I thought for sure he'd stay in Amity."

"He's decent. Better than some of them."

We lapse into silence while we eat, and it's not unpleasant by any means. I stay facing him, watching him check his phone every so often. It vibrates constantly, but he never answers.

The last time is a name I don't recognize, and he hits decline immediately.

Daniel.

Of course, there is nothing in the area Landon had taken me to.

I stand beside Eric in a wave of pure nausea as he glances around. Standing beside me, he is striking. He is tall and menacing, and his gaze sweeps the clearing with militant precision.

"I swear this is it," I half gasp, half whisper the words, and I'm so afraid it feels like I'm choking.

Gone are the people, though I didn't expect them to be here. Gone are the large bins where they'd made fires. There is no burnt firewood. No ashes. No one milling around, waiting for Evelyn. Nothing.

"Eric, I promise this is-"

"They were here not long ago."

Eric shoves past me, and he stops halfway into the clearing. He looks around, then crouches down to touch the ground. A second later, he yanks his phone out of his pocket, and taps at the screen. He waits patiently, until it connects.

His stare doesn't leave the woods. He is perfectly still, until the tiny voice who chirps hello is familiar, echoing into the dark.

"Send a few squads this way, twelve men each. Three miles each direction. It's a mile out from the Dome, but before the river. I want them all armed and prepared to shoot on sight. There are no cameras here, but several on the walk in." He speaks evenly, keeping his tone authoritative. "If possible, have Harrison check on sections nine through fifteen. Send Jason this way."

I watch him stand up, and he's focused on the tree line in front of him.

"Sixteen, as well."

"Eric…"

"They're here. Stay where you are." He commands quietly, and his head cocks to the side. "There are a few up ahead. They're looking right at you."

The horror swells up, all consuming.

"Where?" I gasp, and I step forward by his side. I look at the trees frantically, trying to see if I can spy someone in the woods. It's too dark for me to make anyone out, and I have no clue how Eric knows they're there. "Eric…"

His arm reaches back, and he pushes me behind him. He holds me there until he's sure I'm not moving, then his arm drops. I don't know what he's doing because my view is nothing but the back of his jacket. I stay perfectly still, unmoving as his arm rises and his shoulder tightens, and the gunshot rings out.

Then my head tilts forward to rest against Eric's back, and my eyes screw shut.

"Are you okay?"

This time, his hands find my face.

They are warm; his palms press on each side and he moves my hair out of the way to look at me. The action is rough considering his size, and it reminds me how much larger he is.

"Everly?"

Eric says my name like a secret, so low I almost miss it. I nod my head yes, because my ears are ringing, and my blood is pumping so loudly I think I might pass out.

He'd shot someone.

I didn't see them until they fell to the ground from their perch in the tree. Just like my own descent from the branches, their journey is graceless. It's clear they are dead before they hit the ground, and there was no scream. Only a thud, and another as the others fled.

I'd never seen anything like it.

The branches moved and the trees shook, and the factionless took off. I wasn't sure how he knew this man's life was worth taking, but Eric had shot him dead on, right through the head, with a precision I wasn't sure existed.

"He was armed," Eric justifies his actions without my asking; the look on his face tells me this isn't what he had planned, even though he was trained for it. Our dinner had been nice. Our walk out here had been enjoyable, given where we were going. But all of that is gone with a glimpse of what his life is really like.

It was a shocking contrast to mine.

"He would have killed us if I hadn't shot him. Jason is almost here. They're going to take the body back and-"

"How could you see him?" It is hard to talk, even though I hadn't actually seen him shoot the man. I'd only peeked around after the gunshot, and I caught the tail end of his fall. "How did you know? How did you know he…"

"This is my job," Eric reminds me, but his hands don't move. He keeps them on my face, moving slightly to slide his fingers into my hair. It comes off as almost indulgent for him; his expression is confident, but it wavers when he touches my hair. "I dedicated my life to looking out for the factions. Which includes yours."

"What about the…the Divergents?" I look up. "You're looking for them, too. Was he divergent? Or just factionless? You said-"

I'm rambling.

The words spill out in sloppy horror, because I've never seen anything like this before. I'd seen a few people fight. Amity wasn't immune to a few scuffles or disagreements, but I'd never seen someone shoot another person.

"He'll be tested to see if he was divergent." His answer is pointed; it hints for me to shut up, because he clearly didn't want me to see this part of his life. "The rest of them would have attacked if I hadn't shot him. I have back up on standby in case they did but he was reaching for his weapon and he would have opened fire before the others got here."

"Who?"

I try to glance around, but I can't see anyone.

"Harrison. Jason. Ry-"

"Hey! Fuck, did you see anyone else?"

Jason has the world's worst timing. It wasn't that Eric was about to spill anything crazy, or at least crazier than what I'd just witnessed, but he was close to me. He was staring at me, imploring me not to think he just went around shooting people, and to trust that he didn't.

I know this, because he's so close he's right up against me, and he only pulls away to glare at Jason.

"They ran as soon I shot him. He's armed. Check the gun and run it against our inventory. If it pulls from our database, we'll need to see if anything is missing." Eric orders Jason firmly, but Jason pays no attention to him. "Jason, I said-

"Is she okay?" Jason is appropriately concerned. He eyes me up and down, then looks at Eric. "She looks freaked out."

"No shit. I just shot someone in front of her."

"I thought you two were having dinner. You said- wait, do we get to keep her?!

"Are you all just hanging out without me?" Not Jason appears out of nowhere, and he's got a dozen or so soldiers with him. The area is suddenly filled with members of Dauntless, heading straight into the woods with little concern. "I brought back up. Oh fuck, was she attacked? Is she hurt? Everly are you okay? Can you hear me? EVERLY! Oh fuck, she's not answering. Take her to Arlene. Then you can have her stay for a few days and maybe we could keep her!"

"Rylan, go get the body. We aren't keeping Everly. She's going back home," Eric roars, and I realize Not Jason's name is not even close to NJ. It's Rylan, and he's not moving. "Rylan, the body?"

"Okay, you know what? I was on body duty last time. Have…Bob go check him out. Why do I always have to do the gross work? You go do it. Or is it because you're too busy romancing Everly in hopes that she'll think you're a good guy and.." Rylan stops, mostly because Eric looks like he's going to kill him.

Which was not out of the question.

"I'm alright. I was just really thrown off. I didn't think anyone was out there." I reach up to touch Eric's hand, and he blinks in surprise. "I should go home. I should…um, maybe see if I can find anything else out. Maybe where they're going to meet next time."

I don't know where that comes from. It's pulled from a strange place of my own bravery, and it sounds convincing.

Rylan stares and so does Jason.

"Can I ask you something? Before Eric takes you home?" Rylan tilts his head, and his eyes fall to my hands on Eric's. Eric notices, because he drops his hands away immediately. "What does NJ stand for? I've been thinking about this since you said it, and I can't figure it out. The best I can come up with is Nina Jam."

"Rylan…the body…" Eric hisses, but Rylan ignores him.

Their friendship must run deep, because Rylan isn't afraid of Eric.

"I just need to know. Christina and I tried to figure it out but she said it was probably something like Not Jealous or Notorious Jaguar, which by the way, Harrison claims to have seen one in these woods."

"It stands for Not Jason," I inform him, wincing at his immediate disbelief. "I only knew Jason's name and you were with him, but I didn't know yours, so I named you Not Jason."

"Not Jason," Rylan answers flatly, and the insult is strong. "You were referring to me as the person who is not Jason. Really? Really, Everly? After all we've been through…"

"Is no one gonna go look at the body? Should I just go over there?" Jason pipes up. He waits for an answer, and when no one says anything, he sighs. "I guess I will."

"I'm sorry," I have to say, I feel a little crazy, because I want to laugh. He looks so put out, like this nickname was so important, only to have discovered it meant he wasn't his friend. "I just…maybe it can stand for something else. Or I could give you new one!"

His eyes light up immediately.

"I approve of that plan. Eric, take her back to Dauntless!"

"I'm not taking her back to Dauntless. I'm taking her back to her house. Where she will be quiet, and not mention what she saw tonight. Right?" Eric looks at me, and he's back in his full Leader of Dauntless persona. He pulls his shoulders back, stands up straight, and barks this command like I was going to go home and announce I'd watched him shoot someone in our forest. "Amity?"

I agree immediately, because now, I really am in this too deep to get out.

"So um, thank you for dinner."

My words are amazing.

They float over both of us, into the dark sky, and up to the few stars that are out. Eric glances over at me like I've personally wronged him, but the look softens as he remembers we did, in fact, eat dinner together.

Despite all the commotion from the evening, it was a pretty nice night.

But it's probably not what Eric expects me to say.

"I had a good time," I bump into him on accident, where the path narrows, and he doesn't shove me away. He steadies me and keeps his arm near mine. "It was very…exciting. Is that how all your dates in Dauntless end? With someone getting shot?"

"It wasn't a date, Amity." He hisses, and I find him oddly charming.

Because his hissing isn't for my benefit, it's for his.

"Remember, you keep this quiet. If you can find out where the others are meeting, you let me know asap." He slows down his walk when my house comes into view, and I notice he shares my reluctance. "Don't do anything crazy, either."

"How will I get a hold of you? I don't have a phone," I remind him, and I hate that we are already here.

Our night came to a grinding halt once the seriousness of it all sank in. Once Jason went to examine the body, there was a sudden burst of swearing. Eric had been right. The man was armed. His gun was a dark grey, and once Jason read the very tiny serial number, there was more swearing.

It was one of theirs.

The woods came alive as the soldiers tramped through them, frantically searching for whoever was out there. Eric and Rylan explained their connection to the factionless wasn't a strong argument. They were assuming whoever was meeting out here was factionless rather than divergent, and they were hoping they proved to be both. If they could prove these factionless were forming an army, they had leeway to take care of them as needed.

Their only hesitation –which came more from Jason and Not Jason but now Rylan –was proving any of this. So far, they had my word, a man, a gun from their own faction, and several cameras someone had turned off. I watched as the soldiers returned with other things: a knife, someone's boot, some string, and a syringe. Eric blinked at each item, ordered the evidence to be placed in a truck, and asked where Harrison was.

He was nowhere.

Someone insisted they hadn't seen him, and someone else said they had. It didn't really matter. Eric declared he and I were going back to the truck, and he drove me home. He parked by the Dome, threw the door open, and announced he'd walk me home. It was kind of him, but more necessary than anything. Since being in the clearing, I was on edge. I had the strange feeling this factionless war was bigger than I could ever imagine, and Eric was right in the middle of it all.

Our walk was quiet, though every so often an animal neighed or quacked or chirped. Eric looked on in sheer horror as a few of May's ducks waddled past, then turned around and walked right back between his feet. They followed us for a few steps, ignoring the angry scowl he was throwing them, and one in particular seemed to really like him.

The sight was funny, until I realized I was home, and he was leaving.

"I'll find a way to get a hold of you. Since you seem to know more than most," Eric mutters, and he watches me step up on the first step of the porch stairs. I'm still nowhere near his height, and he tilts his head down like he's just realized this. "I'm in Erudite tomorrow. Candor the next day. I'll try to come by Saturday or Sunday. If anything crazy happens…try to find Johanna. At the very least, you can ask to contact Dauntless and it'll get passed on to me."

"Okay," I agree easily, even though Saturday or Sunday seemed incredibly far away. "How crazy are we talking? Like if someone else falls out of a tree again? Or if someone tries to kill me? If I find out you stole one of May's ducks…"

For the second time tonight, Eric smiles.

It's wide and slick, and he shakes his head. He moves closer, his boots hitting the step and his head tilted at me, and he smiles even wider when I tilt my head up at him. He reaches out to fix my dress, carefully pulling the fabric back up and in place, and his eyes meet mine.

His fingers linger there, in no real hurry to leave.

"Out of all the things I could possibly steal from Amity, a duck is hardly the one I'd choose."