Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any of the characters or any of the dialogue that comes directly from the text.
Chapter 19
No one gets cut at the end of stage two, but I still think it's beneficial for the initiates to be aware of where they stand in comparison to their competition. Their ranking lets them know how close to being cut they are and gives them a chance to work their asses off in order to improve before the final rankings.
I push open the door to the transfer dormitory, the chalkboard with their rankings in hand. The majority of the initiates are mingling around but as I make my way across the room they follow me and form a crowd. I hold the board strategically facing my body in order to prevent anyone from seeing what is written.
I glance over at the faces in front of me and realize that Tris is the only initiate who is missing. The door to the dormitory catches my attention and I watch as the missing girl enters. Tris, confused, makes her way over to the crowd. She stands next to Will and whispers something to him.
I lift the board up above my head and hang it on a nail that is protruding from the wall. The board reads:
Tris
Peter
Molly
Christina
Drew
Will
Al
The room falls silent and all of a sudden every single transfer is looking at Tris. I look towards her, not entirely sure if I want to make eye contact with her or not…but it doesn't matter because she is actively avoiding everyone's gaze by staring intently at the board above me.
Divergent or not, her times have been by far the best and until I figure out how the hell to deal with this…with her…the rankings stand. As I turn to leave, I hear Peter's angry voice directed at Tris.
"I will not be outranked by a Stiff," he hisses. "How did you do it, huh? How the hell did you do it?"
I stop short of the door. With all my stressing over Tris being Divergent, I hadn't even considered how her ranking first would play out among the other initiates. Edward was ranked first and look where he is now. A shiver runs through my spine at the thought of Peter attacking Tris in the night. I contemplate confronting him, but when I turn around Will is already dragging him away from Tris by the collar.
"Leave her alone," he says. "Only a coward bullies a little girl."
Feeling a bit better knowing Tris' friends are looking out for her, I turn and leave, heading towards the control room.
I spend the majority of my shift in the control room tracking Tris on the monitors. I really don't know what I'm hoping to find by watching her. A sign that she is dangerous? A sign that she is conspiring against us? A sign that she has some kind of villainous plot to take us all down? It's laughable really.
If I'm being honest, her divergence isn't even why I'm tracking her. After posting the rankings in the transfer dormitories, an unsettling feeling took up residence in the pit of my stomach and it didn't take long for me determine its source. Fear.
Fear for Tris and the possible repercussions of the target that I've put on her head by ranking her first. My gut is telling me that she isn't safe, that Peter is going to try something. But aside from assigning myself to be her personal bodyguard, which isn't an option, this is the only way I could think of to try to keep her safe.
So far he hasn't come near her since the initial confrontation in the dormitories. I was kind of surprised to see her friends confronting her after Peter had been dealt with and even more surprised to see that the Dauntless born initiates have taken a liking to her.
Tris' interactions with the Dauntless born seemed so natural. She fits right into their group with little to no effort. Watching her, it wouldn't even cross your mind that she doesn't belong here. On the surface, she really is Dauntless.
I wonder if she could do it…make it through initiation…stay here…live her life just like the rest of us. No one needs to know, and if I don't let on to Jeanine what I know…well she would just assume, like everyone else, that Tris is Dauntless, through and through.
A voice at the door interrupts my thoughts.
"Good evening, Eric."
Jeanine. What the hell is she doing here?
I turn in my chair to face her.
"Jeanine," I say in greeting.
"Take a walk with me, would you?" It's posed as a question, but it's obvious that I can't say no.
I nod, standing up and following her out the door.
We make our way in silence in the direction of the Pit. The corridors are empty at this hour but we both know the cameras are still going. With me out of the control room it's unlikely that anyone will notice us on the monitors, but to be safe, she leads me down a specific corridor in which I have previously messed with the cameras to create blind spot.
"It's been a while since I've heard from you," she says, stopping abruptly. "I'm starting to think you aren't taking this seriously. I was expecting to get weekly updates, but your contact has been sparse at best and the messages I have gotten have been extremely brief."
Since I first suspected Tris of divergence, I have been avoiding Jeanine. With no one else showing any signs of divergence, there hasn't been much information to relay and I decided it wasn't worth alerting her to my suspicions about Tris until I had conclusive evidence. I kept telling myself that she wouldn't care, wouldn't want to know until I had facts to give her.
But then…then I got my conclusive evidence. I had the facts for her and instead of reaching out I stopped contacting her all together.
"Of course I'm taking this seriously. I've been doing this for you for years. I've always let you know when I've had suspicions. Even before I was specifically assigned to this mission," I reply.
She looks at me, searching my face for information that my words aren't telling her. I try to look offended. She squints at me and purses her lips. She doesn't look convinced.
"So tell me, what have you found so far?" Her eyes are locked on mine and I can tell that she is waiting for me to slip up or come clean and tell her why I've been avoiding her. Now would be the time to tell her about Tris, to explain that I didn't want to tell her until I knew for sure…
"So far there haven't been any signs of it." The words come effortlessly and I hope my face hasn't betrayed me.
She sighs and breaks her watch on me, moving to pace back and forth.
"Well, you wouldn't have seen much of it yet. Combat training shows nothing. The simulations, however, reveal who the Divergent rebels are, if there are any, so we will have to examine the footage several times to be sure."
We? Has she seen the footage? Does she suspect anything?
"Don't forget the reason I had Max appoint you," she says. "Your first priority is always finding them. Always."
"I won't forget. I've reviewed all of the footage so far, and like I said, there haven't been any signs of it." I need to know what she knows. "Have you looked at the footage?"
"Not yet, now that all of the initiates have completed a handful of simulations, I will be reviewing all of it at once. I find it more helpful to watch each initiates progression rather than jumping back and forth between the initiates."
I nod but before I have time to speak a faint shuffling noise in the distance startles us both and I immediately look around the corridor for any signs of intrusion.
"I have to leave now," Jeanine whispers. "But Eric, don't disappoint me."
She gives me a knowing look before turning and walking in the opposite direction of the shuffling sound.
I am too distracted by the sounds that have now disappeared to read much into the look she gave me. I let her walk away before turning and moving in the opposite direction. I strain my ears checking for sounds of life. It's not much, but a voice seems to be coming from the direction of the Pit. I walk slowly towards it not sure what I will find.
Suddenly, a scream breaks through the silence of the night. It's not a good-natured Dauntless shout, or the shriek of someone who is scared but delighted. No, this is the particular pitch of terror. Small rocks scatter behind me as I run down to the bottom of the Pit, my breathing fast and heavy.
Three tall, dark-clothed people are standing near the railing. They are crowded around a fourth, smaller target, and even though I can't make out who they are, I know a fight when I see one. Or, I would call it a fight if it wasn't three against one.
One of the attackers spins around, sees me, and sprints in the other direction. When I get closer I can see one of the remaining attackers holding the target up, over the chasm.
"Hey!" I shout.
They look towards me and that's when I see her.
Tris.
My blood boils and anger forms deep within me as I collide with one of the attackers – Drew, I can tell by his hair colour – slamming him into the barrier of the chasm. I hit him once, twice, three times in the face. He collapses to the ground. I start to kick him, over and over, blind rage consuming me.
"Eric." Her voice is quiet, ragged, and in this moment it's the only thing that could possibly ground me back to reality. She's hanging from the railing, dangling over the chasm. The last attacker is gone.
I run towards her, my heart threating to beat straight out of my chest, and grab her under her shoulders, pulling her over the edge of the railing. I hold her against me and she presses her face into my chest, her fingers gripping my shirt before her body goes limp.
I check that she is still breathing and then proceed to look for signs that she is in need of medical attention. Satisfied that her wounds are mostly superficial, I decide against bringing her to the infirmary where the others who went after her would think to look for her. Instead, I carry her to my apartment. I shove my way through the apartment door and lay her down on my bed.
She isn't badly injured, but Drew might be. I should probably care more about that, but after today's attack and what he, Peter and Molly did to her only a couple weeks ago I don't really give a shit about what happens to him.
The anger that rose up in me at the sight of her being attacked is something I haven't experienced in years. I lost all control. It was as though the anger took control of my body and I was just along for the ride, unable to stop or change course.
I try to steady my breathing as I walk to the bathroom to wash the blood from my hands – a few of my knuckles are split, cut from the impact with Drew's face. If Drew was there, the other attacker had to be Peter, but who was the third? Not Molly – the shape was too tall, too big. In fact, there's only one initiate that size.
Al.
Al who is currently last ranked among the initiates. Al who should have been cut weeks ago but was saved by the incident with Edward. Al who claims to be her friend.
I keep my hands under the cool water until it runs clear, then dry them on the towel and go to the freezer for an ice pack. As I carry it toward her, I realize she is awake.
I mean, we all knew it was coming! I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun writing the next chapter, can't wait to post it. Thank you for reading! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. See you Friday!
-MWB
