Hey, been along time since I have written. This is a story I have loved and got a lot of feedback on. So I ma editing what I have already written and continuing to write where I left off. This story has re-inspired me to writing.
CHAPTER ONE
She stared into the fire, letting the flickering flames mesmerize her and the heat numb her face. If she looked deep enough into the embers, she would see the dark mass that was the body of her father. She blinked back the tears not letting herself feel the grief of this loss. There was a time for mourning, but now was not that.
"Come on Blair," her brother said softly from beside her. "The fire will attract attention; we have to go now."
She nodded and turned her back to the fire and walked away. Her face feeling the cold night air now that it was not near the flames. The snow crunched beneath them as they trudged onwards, snowflakes silently fell around them some settling on the limbs of the skeletal trees that surrounded them. The icy chill of the air around them seeping in, down to the bone. It was just another eerie war-torn land scape that they had to make their way through, and there would be more attacks as they did so.
Their group had started out with 20 in total and over the months it had dwindled to now just being two, Blair and her brother Dean. They had managed to avoid running into too much conflict, even though they did have the few inevitable run ins with the Alliance. But it was the elements that were the biggest killer out here. The extreme heat and the scarcity of water in the warmer months, and the frigid cold in winter, had not treated the group of rebels well. No matter how prepared you are with survivalist training, the elements will kill you.
They made their way quickly off the track and down to the frozen riverbank, they weren't too worried about leaving behind boot prints knowing that the falling snow will fill them shortly, covering their tracks. Blair looked at the map her dad had been carrying quickly before stuffing it back into the pocket of her coat.
"The next 'safe house' is 80kms north of here," she said, "but, I'm sure they're expecting us to go there. We can circle back the way we came and go to the 'safe house' in Chicago," Blair looked to her brother to make the decision for her. This was usually what her father would do, plan their next move and decide where was safest, which direction would avoid conflict and keep them all alive.
"Chicago?" Dean raised his eyebrows looking at Blair, "they have the fence there, it'd be near impossible to get inside. And they operate under the faction system, we would never blend in. They don't know what goes on outside the fence Blair, they aren't aware of the war, they aren't aware that there is life outside."
"I know that Dean," Blair sighed, "it's worth a shot. We can get in, breaking through boundaries is what we are trained to do, and then we just stay out of sight until we learn the faction system and are able to blend in. We'll never be found by the Alliance in there, we'll be hiding in plain sight."
Dean stayed silent for a long time, he hadn't looked at Blair, he just stared off into the distance chewing on his bottom lip. The conflict going on in his head showed on his face. Finally, he looked at Blair making eye contact and nodded. "Alright fine, we can try to get into the city. We'll observe their security on the fence before we make a move, we cannot be caught. If it appears to risky, we won't try, that's the deal Blair"
"That's fine by me," Blair smiled. Finally, she felt like they were going to be ahead of the Alliance. Up until now the choices they'd been making had obviously been too predictable, she hoped this was unseen move on their behalf.
They kept up their pace through the deepening snow, it was hard going, but this is what they had been trained for. Before any of this had happened, Blair and Dean had been a part of the Alliance, the security for the Government. They had been trained in combat as well as survival training. Once they'd passed basic training they could then specialise. Blair, Dean and their father had been a part of a unit called the 'Special Forces' which meant they undertook covert, counterterrorist, and other specialized operations. It was on one of these operations that they found out what the Government were trying to organise.
Blair and her family did not agree with nuclear war, the evidence of its destructive power was burnt into the ground around them. Even though no matter what the Government were doing it kept the world in a state of normalcy, people killing people. That's how the world worked. They did not want to help the Government start another war with nuclear weapons of mass destruction. They then went rogue, but they weren't the only ones who disagreed with the Governments plans. They were now part of the group of rebels.
Of course, they were considered a liability, being in the Special Forces meant they were privy to certain top-secret information. The Government sent the Alliance to kill them and the other rebels to keep this information from becoming public knowledge. Slowly it was starting to look more and more like the Alliance would win. But Blair couldn't think about that right now. For now, just surviving was all that mattered.
"If we stick to this pace and have no other confrontations, we'll make it to the Amity farms outside the gates by nightfall tomorrow," Dean muttered while studying the map.
"So, we aren't stopping?"
"No, I don't want to stay in one spot until we are at the fence. We're in danger until we are inside the city, let's not have any more unnecessary delays," Dean said shoving the map into his pocket and increased the pace slightly.
With the snow came advantages and disadvantages. It was easy to navigate at night when the white snow contrasted against the darkness of nightfall, but now the snow had stopped falling their boot prints left an easy trail to follow. Blair just hoped that by the time the Alliance realised they weren't heading to the expected 'safe house' that all evidence of their presence had been erased. Just goes to show that even with the best and extensive training if the elements aren't on your side there isn't anything you can do to stay hidden. Where it was possible Blair and Dean would climb over rocks and logs the keep from leaving a trail through the snow. Normally walking through the riverbeds was the best way to leave no trace, but with how cold it was it would be a death sentence to willingly submerge their bodies into the frigid water.
They made it to the outskirts of the Amity farms without incident, but this was where things would become difficult. Even in the dark of the night they stayed hidden, this was where there years of training kicked in full swing as if it was second nature for them. They worked seamlessly as a team watching each other's movements, while at the same time keeping an eye on their surroundings. Moving silently Blair's boots falling into Deans boot prints as she followed his exact moves; they walked across rocks and logs where they could to not leave a trail.
Blair crouched down shielded by a tree and a bush that was almost completely buried in the snow, she watched as Dean kept going until she could no longer see his outline in the darkness. But she knew he would be fine; she then turned her gaze back to the fence and watched. It was going to be a long, cold night observing the Dauntless on the fence. But observation of the security was crucial to their success. She slid down onto her belly and wormed her way into the bush so that she was sheltered from view as well as from the falling snow. The ground was ice cold and the cold began to seep through her clothes and make Blair shiver. She bit her lip and clenched and unclenched her fists to try and keep the blood moving around her body for the smallest amount of warmth she could generate, all the while her eyes scanning the surroundings in front of her. Her eyes flickering along the fence watching each of the guards on duty.
It was 5.30am when there was a shift change over, it was robotic – clearly nothing ever happened to threaten the security of the city. The guards swapped over in a professional manner, but they didn't seem particularly alert. They had no reason to be, ever since Chicago had been fenced off and the experiment put in place there had been no threats or attempted break ins. Blair and Dean were going to be the first to try, the casual attitude the guards took would work in their favour.
Blair checked the glowing face of her watch, it was after midnight, and it was time for them to make their move. Blair moved from her spot under the bush and retreated into denser forestry before moving off to the previously established rendezvous point. As soon as she knew she was out of sight she took her chance to stretch out her stiff and aching muscles, jumping lightly on the spot a few times to get her blood flowing again and the heat moving around her body.
Dean emerged from the shadows silently gliding over the snow. He signalled to Blair to follow him and she immediately fell into step right behind him. They would through the dense forest trees, slowing down as the trees thinned out as they approached a small dirt road where a few trucks were lined up. They were amity trucks that were used to cart food in and out of the city.
"5.30 change over for morning and afternoon on my side of the fence," Dean whispered as Blair crouched beside him.
"Same on mine," Blair responded and she waited her turn to roll under the truck that Dean had just disappeared under.
The plan was to hitch a ride into the Chicago on the truck; the Dauntless soldiers on the gate never checked the trucks that the Amity used to make food deliveries. They lay under the trucks on the cold ground, when the trucks were ready to leave, they would get a good grip underneath and hitch a ride unnoticed that way.
"I thought security would be stricter," Dean muttered, "but they've become complacent with years of no threats, it's a wonder they even bother having men on guard."
"Don't criticise it too much, it's a good thing for us," Blair responded.
"So, I was thinking of a plan for when we get inside," Dean started "I can hack their computer main frames and put us in the system, I was thinking Dauntless. With our tattoos we'd fit in and with our training we'd thrive there. I can put you in as an initiate, I'll be a little more difficult to slide in unnoticed but I'm sure we could make it work."
"What so have me choose Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony?" Blair asked. She searched through her memory trying to figure out the date, "That's not until next week. They'll know I'm not Dauntless born."
"Well then you can be a transfer," Dean smiled, "from the farms of Amity," he laughed. Blair rolled her eyes at him but didn't say anything. It would be her best chance of fitting in unnoticed. It was unlikely that there would be any other amity transfers into dauntless.
"But you will have to be careful when training as an initiate. Be good, but at least pretend you're struggling a bit. Act kind of like a peaceful amity farmer, please."
"You saying I'm not peaceful?" Blair gasped in mock offence.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Dean smirked back.