Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any of the characters or any of the dialogue that comes directly from the text.
Chapter 31
"What are we going to do?" Khloe asks expectantly.
I wish I had an answer for her.
I shake my head.
"I don't know. I only just found out all the horrible details and, while I do have a couple of people I've been trying to work things out with, we haven't had enough time to figure out a plan."
Khloe swallows and nods her head.
"Well..." she starts, before looking out the window and turning quiet. "It's a simulation..." she adds trailing off.
"Yeah," I reply, wondering where she is going with this. "…and?"
"I guess we could...turn it off?" she offers weakly, looking back towards me.
I sigh. "That would be the short-term solution, but we'd need someone who could do it. Is that something you're capable of?"
This time, it's her turn to sigh. "Unfortunately, not...could you?"
"No, and even if I could, the only thing I know for sure is that its being run from Dauntless. I don't know by who and I don't know if it's being guarded and if it is being guarded, by how many?"
"So there's nothing we can do?"
"I didn't say that. There is one person I know who might be able to stop the simulation but it's not going to be easy. First, we have to find him and then we'll need some backup in case we run into guards. It's not a great plan and there's no guarantee we'll make it out alive. Plus, even if we do manage to shut it down, it'll only put a stop to this insanity temporarily. I'm sure Jeanine and Max will regroup and keep trying until they manage their goal."
"It's better than nothing, I guess."
"It's risky but, if we can stop at least some of our members from becoming murderers and prevent Abnegation from being wiped out entirely, I think it's worth it and it could buy us some time to figure out how to bring down Jeanine."
"So who is it? Who do we have to find?"
I can't help but be weary of outing Four to Khloe. It's one thing to put myself at risk by trusting her, it's another to put Four and potentially Tris at risk.
"Tobias Eaton," I reply, banking on the fact that she won't know that they are one in the same.
She stares at me, blinking silently for a moment.
"Marcus Eaton's son? The kid he abused? He's who you think will be able to stop the simulation?" She seems apprehensive as I nod in response. "Part of Jeanine's plan involves killing his dad. After what the papers say Marcus did to him, you'd think he'd want to kill Marcus himself."
"It would be way too selfish of him to let this happen just to get rid of his dad. Tobias might not be perfect but he wouldn't risk this many people's lives for his own means. If he even wants his dad to die because we really don't know if he does."
"I would," Khloe says pointedly raising her eyebrows.
"So would I," I reply. "But we didn't grow up Abnegation."
She nods her head in understanding.
"...I'm trusting you here Eric...doing this...it'll make us faction traitors...so I have to ask...how much do you trust this Tobias person?"
That's a good question.
If she had asked me a few months ago I'd have told her I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him but things have changed. I'm trusting him to take care of Tris aren't I? And if I'm trusting him with Tris I guess I trust him more than most people.
"I trust him with my life."
I say the words but I don't believe them, at least not entirely. It doesn't matter though because I don't have to believe them, I just need Khloe to.
She squints a bit, seemingly examining my face. Satisfied with whatever she sees, she leans back in her seat.
"Okay, let's go find the Eaton boy."
I nod and quickly turn the engine back on.
Upon our arrival, we are met with an unnerving sight. The buildings around us are dark and empty and the roads are packed with Dauntless "soldiers". They march in unison except the officers, those Dauntless members that were tapped on the shoulder to join the cause outside of the simulation, who are gathered in clusters.
I hear gunshots in the distance; they grow louder and sharper as Khloe and I walk further into town. I see a soldier pushing an Abnegation council member to his knees. The soldier takes her gun out of its holster and, with sightless eyes, fires a bullet into the back of the council member's skull. I look away but not before recognizing the sightless soldier as Tori.
My stomach drops as I realized that the window for seeking out allies has closed.
We continue walking and I keep my eyes pealed for Four and Tris amidst the sea of Dauntless soldiers mindlessly carrying out orders. Has Tris already been turned into a murderer? Or is she simply blank faced and unresponsive, marching through the town somewhere?
I am broken from my thoughts as Sam comes jogging up to us.
"There you are," he says, slightly out of breath. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Max needs you. They've caught some Divergent rebels. Follow me, I'll take you."
Divergent rebels...oh God, Tris. They can't have figured her out...can they? But how could they have identified her, or any Divergent, if everyone is under a simulation?
"Lead the way," I say calmly.
Khloe trails behind as Sam brings us to Abnegation headquarters. We walk past two guards, through a door and into a plain office that contains just a desk, a computer and two empty chairs. Jeanine sits behind the desk with Max standing by her side. To the left of them, two guards restrain an angry looking Four as he struggles against them looking ready to attack something across the room. I follow his gaze only to find Tris being held at gunpoint by Dauntless officers.
What the fuck is going on? Four may not be acting like himself, but he's also not acting like the emotionless soldiers outside.
Tris and I lock eyes and my heart begins to pound at the danger of the situation.
"Eric," Max says loudly, loud enough that I can tell he's repeating himself.
I break my gaze on Tris and turn towards him.
It is Jeanine who speaks. "Eric, we need you to escort Tobias back to Dauntless. Bring him to the control room. We'll need a sentient being there to monitor things and, as I understand it, he used to work there."
I feel Khloe's attention turn to me at the sound of Four's birth name but don't look at her. I can only imagine what is running through her mind as my dislike, to put it mildly, of Four is public knowledge.
I blink. "I was told I was needed because of Divergent rebels..."
Jeanine sighs before speaking once more. "Yes, Tobias here was found wandering around with his little girlfriend over there. Apparently, the original serum didn't work on them which can only mean one thing, they are Divergent. I'm testing out a different serum on this one," she says pointing at Four. "This simulation manipulates him by altering what he sees - making him confuse enemy for friend. The advantage of this version is that he can act independently and is therefore more effective than a mindless soldier."
Tris not reacting to the original serum makes sense because of her divergence...but Four was never injected...so is he truly Divergent or just assumed to be? In Jeanine and Max's eyes he is Divergent. I wonder what will become of him after he is done in the control room.
I try not to think about how fucked we are by the fact that the only person who could possibly have shut down the sim is now working for the other side and focus my attention on Tris.
"And this one?" I say, trying to look disgusted as to conceal my true feelings.
"She is too injured to be of any use to me. She will be brought to room B13 and subsequently executed. Perhaps Sam can accompany her, along with the officers. Oh, and Eric, you and I will need to have a conversation about your observation skills later."
My heart stops at the word executed and while I should probably be concerned by Jeanine's obvious disappointment in my failure to identify Tris as Divergent I am too distracted by the blood that has pooled at Tris' feet.
The instinct to go to her is strong and it takes everything I have to stay in place.
I grit my teeth and turn my attention back to Jeanine.
"Why don't I take Tris to room B13 and Khloe and Sam can escort Four back to Dauntless? You've given me a job to do, and I won't be able to start if I'm stuck going back."
"That's a good point Eric..." Jeanine starts but is interrupted by Max.
"No, Sam will take Tris. You and Khloe take Four. It won't take you long. We are still working on rounding up the members of Abnegation. There will be plenty of time for your mission when you get back."
Jeanine looks at him curiously but doesn't say anything.
I know why Max is doing this, he knows about my relationship with Tris and he doesn't trust me to walk her to her execution. I wouldn't trust me either.
I want to argue with him, but he hasn't outted me to Jeanine yet which means on some level he's trying to protect me. God knows if Jeanine found out she'd probably force me to execute Tris myself right here.
"Take him and go now, Eric," Max says sternly.
I risk one last glance at Tris before grabbing Four by the front of his shirt and throwing him towards the door.
I need to get out of this which means trusting Khloe with more information than I feel comfortable sharing. My heart continues to beat rapidly as I try not to think about what Jeanine could possibly have in store for Tris.
Khloe and Max follow me out and Khloe rises her gun to Four's head.
"That's not necessary," Max tells her. "He thinks he's on our side."
"If you think I'm going to trust this Divergent for a single second, sim or no sim, you've got another thing coming," she responds.
Her words surprise me. Does she mean them? We didn't discuss her stance on Divergents. She could easily hate them while still being against this war.
Her reaction to Four being one…although he might not actually be one…makes me even more weary of what I'm about to tell her.
"Fine, just make sure he gets to the control room in one piece."
Khloe nods and nudges Four with her gun, signaling for him to walk and they begin to move forward.
My mind is racing. I have to get to Tris.
"Eric," Max says from behind me. "A word."
Fuck.
I turn to look at him.
"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your feelings blinded you to what she is. Jeanine doesn't have to know about any of it, it can stay between us. But you've got to let it go. One girl, a Divergent rebel no less, isn't worth risking everything that you've worked towards. Understand?"
I nod my head in agreement.
"I need to hear you say it, Eric."
I take a deep breath. "If you don't think I'm already disgusted enough with myself for ever putting my hands on that freak, you're wrong," I spit, hoping my acting skills are good enough to throw him off.
"Glad to hear it," he says, looking satisfied with my response. "Now go catch up to Khloe."
I nod and watch him head back toward the headquarters before turning and jogging towards Khloe and Four.
Hello Lovelies!
I know, it's been a million years. I'm so, so sorry. Life just got in the way.
If any of you are still out there, thank you so much for sticking with me! I want to assure you that I have every intention of finishing this story. I am determined to play it out to the end.
There are approximately six chapters left to go. Three of them are fully written and the rest are outlined. I have a very clear direction for where I want to go, I just need to find the time to finally write the remaining chapters. My goal (and it might not sound like much but with the little time I currently have it's kind of a big goal for me lol) is to get this finished by the end of the year.
As always, comments/reviews are very welcome!
I look forward to hearing from you and I hope you enjoyed this one!
