Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any of the characters or any of the dialogue that comes directly from the text.

Chapter 30


When we arrive at the conference room, I scan the crowd. There has to be about twenty-five of us in total. Surprisingly, two of the Dauntless leaders are actually missing which leaves us with seven leaders (myself and Max included) and nearly twenty Dauntless members.

I look over the crowd once more and am not surprised by the members in this room. The majority of them are the cruelest among us: those who lean towards the more violent and disciplinary traits found in Dauntless, those who have been the most vocal about their distain towards Abnegation, and those who have always let their feelings of Dauntless superiority be known. Amid them is Peter. My blood pressure instantly rises at the sight of him.

These are the people Max is trusting? These are the people Max is choosing to align himself with?

"Listen up!" Max shouts over the chatter. "You all know why you are here. Everyone in this room holds the same values and understands what needs to be done in order to provide Dauntless with the best possible future. I won't go over the plan again, you have all been briefed individually."

I was under the impression that this meeting was to go over the plan with everyone. Clearly I was wrong, but if everyone here already knows what's going on, why are we here?

"Today, all of our members were injected with the new serum that Erudite has supplied us. At 0330, we will activate the serum and initiate the program. According to our timeline, by 0500 our soldiers will arrive at Abnegation to put our plan into action."

Holy Fuck! This can't be happening. We need more time. Tris and Four…who knows where they will be at that time. Still at Abnegation? On their way back? What will happen to Tris when the serum is activated?

The panic I feel at his words is overwhelming. I clench my fists by my sides, digging my nails into my palms in hopes that the small amount of pain will distract me. I breathe, too quickly, in through my nose and out through my mouth. The breaths come out louder than I intend and I worry someone will notice me.

Most of the crowd cheers, but I notice a few among them stand silently. Khloe, one of the younger Dauntless leaders, looks about as panicked as I feel. An ally?

Our eyes meet and I look at her curiously. She seems terrified: eyes wide, jaw clenched and hands shaking slightly by her sides. There's no way she is on board with this. Trying to align with her while not being 100% sure of her intentions is risky, but my options are limited and one ally in this room is better than none.

I glance around the room making sure no one is paying attention to us. When I am sure no one is watching me, I look back at Khloe.

Calm down, I mouth.

Her brows furrow in response, confusion evident on her face.

Just breathe, I continue.

She breaks eye contact and looks around. No one notices her.

What? She mouths back, returning her attention to me.

Breath, it'll be okay, I mouth just as Max starts talking again.

"Dauntless," he says, addressing us all. "The time has come. Our government is broken and change is needed. As Dauntless we recognize that it is up to us to demand the change we want to see."

His audience nods their heads in agreement, a few grunt affirmatively while others outright cheer.

"It is up to us to make the hard choice because in making that choice, we are doing what is best for our people. Together, we will rise up against Abnegation, take control of our government and secure a future of wealth, comfort and prosperity not only for those of us in this room, but for our entire faction."

"It won't be easy and it won't be without casualties, but we are Dauntless, we are brave, we are warriors. Together, we can succeed and we will succeed. So look around, because the next time you are in this room, our faction will be forever changed. Our city will be forever changed."

More cheers are let out. I have to admit, he's pretty convincing. If I didn't know any better I could see how someone could fall for this speech.

"Leaders, come see me for your assignments. Everyone else, go see Ayla for yours," he finishes.

Khloe meets my eye again as we make our way over to Max.

"Eric and Sam, go down to the armory. There, you will find multiple crates. In five of them, you will find guns, enough for each member who will be awoken by the simulation. In the others, you will find holsters and belts. Bring the crates to training room C; the members will set them up on the tables once they are fully briefed. Khloe and Maliah, go to training room C now and set up the tables from the storage area. Once that's done, the four of you head to the garage and make sure the trucks are fully equipped. There should be a few crates already there with everything you'll need. Understood?"

We nod our heads in unison before turning to leave.


"Finally," Sam says. "It was killing me not knowing when we would finally go through with this."

"I definitely wasn't expecting it to be tonight," I say earnestly.

"Me neither," Khloe agrees.

Maliah shrugs, "It's about time those freaks at Abnegation get what they deserve."

Khloe and I exchange a look while Sam nods at Maliah in agreement.

We come to the end of the corridor and the girls turn to the right, towards the training room.

"See you soon," Sam calls after them as we turn left, towards the armory.


The crates are heavy and it takes two of us to carry each of them to the training room. After what feels like a hundred trips filled with Sam's lack of coordination and incessant chatter, all of the equipment is successfully relocated.

The girls finish setting up the tables moments before we get the last crate into the room. Together, we make our way towards the garage.

The walk is quiet aside from our footsteps and I can't help but wonder where Sam's energy has gone to. I wonder if he starting to rethink the plan? Maybe it's dawning on him how horrendous and idiotic it truly is.

My question is quickly answered as he sprints over to a nearby garbage can and proceeds to vomit.

Ah, so not becoming a better person then. Just moving from drunk to hungover. His actions make me grateful that I abstained from drinking at the banquet.

When we arrive at the garage, Max is already there, talking to someone on his com device. He nods at us in greeting before walking towards a more secluded area of the garage. I scan the room in search of the crates and find them located in the back corner.

"Over there," I say to my companions, nodding in the direction of the crates.

We decided to open all of the crates at once, figuring it will be easier to distribute the materials evenly knowing what exactly lies within them.

"Maliah and Sam, why don't you take trucks one through four and Khloe and I will take care of five through eight. Whoever is finished first can start work on the medical truck," I suggest, hoping to have a few minutes alone with Khloe.

Sam runs to a garbage can in response and Maliah rolls her eyes and sighs.

"I think you and I will probably have to take care of the medical truck," Khloe says to me, smirking in Sam's direction.

"That's fine," I reply, turning to Maliah. "Just do what you can and Khloe and I will help you finished once we get through ours."

She lets out a huff but nods in agreement before walking over to the crate filled with semi-automatic rifles. Khloe heads for the pistols and I move towards the revolvers. Sam has yet to return from the garbage can.

I shake my head. I need to get Khloe alone, but without Sam the distribution of work makes no sense.

"Change of plans, I think we'll have to discount Sam from helping…the three of us will do all the trucks together. We'll each take a type of weapon and equip all the trucks. I'll take the rifles, Maliah the pistols, Khloe the revolvers. When that's done, pick a truck, make sure the coms are working, the gas tanks are full and each truck is stocked with the items from the food and water crates. We don't know how long this mission will take, better safe than sorry."

Despite the fact that I'm the youngest among us, no one seems to mind that I've appointed myself defacto leader as the girls nod in agreement.

With the amount of supplies allotted for each vehicle, it takes us a while to complete our task. All the while, Sam spends his time laying, moaning and groaning on the concrete floor next to the crates. I noticed Maliah kick him in the side a few times throughout the process to which he mutters 'bitch' under his breath. Eventually, I suggest that he drags his ass to the infirmary and ask them for an IV drip to cure his hangover before it's time to move out. He complies, but not before vomiting one more time for good measure.

With the trucks ready, I go in search of Max for further instructions.

"Eric! Just the man I wanted to see," he greets me.

"Trucks are ready to roll. What's next?" I ask, nervous for his response.

"The serum has been activated. Our soldiers are currently arming themselves and heading to the trains. I want you and the others to meet them there and make sure they all get on the trains. Send two of the leaders along with them and then grab a truck and meet me at Abnegation. I'll be heading there shortly with the rest of the leaders and the members."

This is it. The serum has been activated. The attack is underway. The window to prevent it has passed and my only hope now is that Four and Tris were able to convince the leaders of Abnegation of its impending arrival.

But, even if they have, none of us were expecting the attack to transpire this soon…regardless of whether or not they believe the attack is coming I doubt they were able to form a strategy quickly enough to protect their faction from the trained, brainwashed soldiers that are about to ascend on them.

"I'll go get the others," I say in response to Max.


We arrive at the train platform shortly after the last of the soldiers. They are silent, still. Lined up in equal rows, dressed in similar fashion, weapons holstered across their backs. We stand at the back of the pack, watching them curiously.

Is this what Tris has been reduced to? Is she somewhere in Abnegation, blank eyed and stiff, waiting for backup to arrive before she strikes? I imagine Four is with her, shaking her, yelling at her, trying to break her from her trance. I shudder at the thought. Tris' mind is who she is, take that away and what would be left?

Sam and Maliah walk forward, turning to face a couple of the soldiers. A smirk spreads across Sam's face as he picks up his pistol and pokes the motionless man in the temple. His head sways slightly before returning to its original position, stark straight, eyes front. Sam laughs and looks over at Maliah.

"What do you think would happen if I shot this one?" she asks cruelly, an evil glint in her eyes, pistol aimed at the soldier's forehead. "Would she even try to stop me?"

I look over at Khloe whose fists are shaking next to her thighs, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she breaths heavily.

"That's enough," I shout at the two heartless leaders. "These are our people and they deserve our respect. Now make sure they get on the train and stay there. Khloe and I will meet you at Abnegation. Come on Khloe."

I turn to leave, trusting that the two idiots can do their jobs without supervision, Khloe follows.


With all of the soldiers waiting to board the train, and all of the remaining members and leaders already on their way to Abnegation, the compound is eerily quiet as Khloe and I make our way back towards the garage.

Once there, I jump into the driver's seat, Khloe into the passenger's seat. I start up the vehicle and back out of the garage without a word. As I drive, I notice Khloe giving me side glances. I want to discuss the attack with her candidly, but the coms devices in all of the trucks are connected and whatever I say could be heard by others. When we are halfway to Abnegation, I pull the truck over.

"What are you doing?" Khloe says, looking alarmed.

I bring my index finger to my lips, requesting that she be quiet as I turn off the truck, effectively cutting off the power. I reach behind the screen in the middle of the truck, locate the connection and pull the wires from their home.

"This attack is fucking mental and shouldn't be happening," I say to Khloe, no time to sugar coat it. "Max and Jeanine are insane and I am not okay with genocide in order to overthrow the government."

Her eyes grow wide and her mouth parts but no words come out.

"Thoughts?"

Please don't let me have misread her signals. Please.

"I…I…" she stutters. "I couldn't agree more."

I breathe a sigh of relief. An ally amongst enemies.


Hello lovelies! I know I'm a day later than I had originally said but my god the early pregnancy nausea and fatigue has been real these passed 3 months (and especially these passed 2 weeks). Thank you for understanding!

I also have one more big assignment left for school and then I will be entirely done my program and hopefully whatever energy I have left after work/on the weekend and I can finally plough through the last 7 to 10 chapters of this.

As always, feedback/comments are appreciated! Thank you for sticking with me.

-MWB