Thank you for the positive feedback and votes on the last chapter. It means a lot to me.

That said, I have to say that I probably won't have current internet access during the next two months, so when it takes me a while to reply to comments or pm's, it's because of that, not because I'm not interested or don't appreciate to communicate with you.

So here goes the next chapter.

Chapter 55

Tobias

I step out of the hot shower I took to warm up after sneaking back into Dauntless in my still wet clothes. Although Tris and I dozed off after our mind-blowing sex and only woke up when it had already started to get dark outside, it hadn't been enough time for our clothes to dry.

My thoughts circle around our afternoon.

I kiss the top of Tris' head that is resting on my chest and listen to her steady breathing while she's asleep.

I'm still amazed by the experience we shared. This was so different to the two times we did it before. There was the same love in it, but the passion was multiplied by — well, I can't decide by how much.

There's the widest grin on my face as I remember how Tris moved under me as she came. And I can't help being proud that I could make her feel that way — that I can make her feel that way, actually. I want to repeat this a million more times. The world should just be her and me and an apartment with a fridge full of food, so that there'd be no reason for us to ever dress and leave.

I let my thoughts run wild while I hold Tris close to me.

It takes a while until she stirs and wakes up, and when she props her chin on my chest and looks at me, she wears the same grin that I do.

"Hey handsome," she says, her voice hoarse from sleeping.

"Hey beautiful. You've been asleep for a while. Something must have made you tired," I tease and raise my head to plant a kiss on her forehead.

For just a moment, she looks down. But her eyes are back up on mine as she replies with a mischievous grin, "If only I could remember what it was."

"Let me help you remember," I whisper seductively and flip us around. Tris gasps, not expecting this sudden move.

"Tobias, what are you doing?" she half chuckles, half sighs as I attack her neck with kisses, following her collarbone to her raven tattoos.

After that, I bring myself face to face again with her. "I'm refreshing your memory," I murmur against her lips before claiming her mouth.

Our breathing increases with our lust, and I kiss and lick my way down Tris' body. I want to feel this rush of love and desire, of trust and power, again, and I want to end what I'd started.

"Let me make you soar again," I breathe against her skin as I kiss down over her abdomen.

She doesn't say anything, and she doesn't have to. Her moan and the parting of her legs are answer enough. I love her new eagerness.

This time, I kiss and lick my way up along the inside of her thighs, getting closer to where she obviously wants to feel my mouth again. Her fingers tangle in my hair as soon as she can reach me, and I smile against her as I realize where she directs me with her hands.

"Can't wait?" I ask, momentarily taking my lips off her heated skin. But I know she can still feel my breath.

"I'm done waiting, we've been waiting for so long already," she breathes, the longing in her voice unmistakable as she pulls on my hair.

I obey and don't make her wait any longer. I dip my head between her legs and kiss her until her grip on my hair becomes painful and her hips rise up towards me from the mattress in seek of more pressure.

Giving her this orgasm with my mouth is the most intimate thing we've shared so far. Could there be a bigger proof of her trust than letting me do this, or better yet, wanting me to do this?

She pulls me up afterwards and directs my throbbing shaft right into her. It's easy with how wet she is, and I don't wait until I begin to thrust.

I want to kiss her so badly, but I'm not sure if she wants me to, with her taste still on my lips. Instead, I kiss along the side of her neck, loving how she turns her head to the side to offer me more of her skin.

I follow her unspoken invitation. I'm careful not to hurt her as I bite her neck and suck on her skin. I don't want to cause her pain, just pleasure.

Tris moans and whimpers underneath me, her nails scratching along my sides.

"Kiss me," she demands and turns her head, forcing me to let go of her neck.

"I still have your taste on me," I remind her.

"I don't care. I want you to kiss me."

She doesn't have to tell me again. I kiss her and let myself be taken away. Her hips meet mine as I set up a quick pace. I massage her breast with one hand and pinch her nipple, and Tris kind of gasps into my mouth and only grasps my ass firmer.

I can't take much more, so I let go. It's so much easier to allow myself to do that when Tris has already come before me. For some precious moments, it's just me and her, being madly in love.

I would have loved to shower together with Tris after coming back, but we decided we should sneak into the compound separately.

She went first, and I told her not to wait for me. I could see that she was shivering, although she tried to hide it from me and be strong. I did the same: It was freezing cold on the roof, the wind making it worse than it already was without it, but I clenched my teeth until she was safely inside. Then I waited another ten minutes to follow her.

Now it has become later than we had originally planned. I dress quickly and head down to the cafeteria. We decided it would be the easiest way to meet the other Allegiant there and discreetly agree with them when to meet later.

But to my surprise, none of our friends is there. I scan the room twice, both on the way to the counter to get my food and then on the way to my usual seat. Even Tris isn't here yet.

I eat because I'm hungry, not because I have a big appetite, constantly keeping an eye on the door.

When Tris comes in, I have to look down to keep myself from grinning stupidly. Images of our lovemaking come back into my mind, and I let them in.

Tris sits down on the other side of the cafeteria after getting her plate of food, and like me, she keeps looking around. Maybe the others are already in Zeke's apartment, waiting there for us to stop by. It's where I plan to go after finishing dinner.

But I don't make it that far, since I run into Zeke in the pit. He looks unusually worried.

"Four, I'm glad you're back. Both of you?"

I nod, and he runs his hands through his hair.

"Just by any chance, have you seen Lynn or Marlene?"

"No. Why?"

Zeke's alarmed state of mind is contagious. A sense of dread wakes up in me, one that I can't name yet.

"They wanted to go to the park together to talk, that's what Uriah said. Marlene was supposed to meet him for dinner one and a half hours ago, but she didn't show up. He went looking for her, but he couldn't find her. And nobody has seen Lynn either. So that's why we're all looking for them. Lauren and Will even went to the park to check if they're still there. They should be back soon. And then we realized you weren't back either."

"Shit, listen. It took longer than we thought. We had to wait until the rain stopped. But now we're back safely, with good news for a change. How can we help?"

"I don't know, we've checked almost the whole compound by now. Damn Four, how am I supposed to tell Shauna that her sister is missing?"

"She doesn't know yet? I thought you were all looking for her."

"Shauna is still working, but her shift ends in half an hour. If we haven't heard anything by then, I'll have to tell her. I'll pick her up from work and tell her on the way to my apartment. We're all meeting there at eight."

I take a deep breath. So much about forgetting the fucking world around us. It's impossible with what's going on.

I encourage Zeke to keep looking and give Tris a short summary of what he told me once she comes out of the cafeteria. Then we both set out in different directions to look for Lynn and Marlene.

Tris

There is no sign of them, nowhere. I even ask some people if they had seen the girls, but they all say no.

This is scary. If they don't come back tonight and nobody has seen them, something bad might have happened to them. I refuse to believe that this is just a coincidence.

When I arrive at our headquarters, everybody is already there, anxious to discuss what's going on. Only Zeke and Shauna haven't made it yet. I greet Tobias with a kiss and the rest of them with a hug. A simple hello doesn't seem to be enough for the situation we're in.

Shauna comes in soon after me, with Zeke following behind her, panic in her face. "Has anyone seen Lynn?"

I feel sorry for her when we all have to shake our heads to answer her question, and also for Uriah, who looks alarmed.

"Okay, we'll need to calm down. We don't know if the conspirators are behind this or not. We should discuss our other issues first, and then we can come back to Lynn and Marlene if they haven't shown up until then," Tobias suggests, trying to give this meeting a direction.

Shauna immediately confronts him. "You can easily say that, cause Tris is here with you and not presumably in the hand of some crazy leaders!" she exclaims.

Zeke has to jump in and pull her into his arms to calm her, nodding apologetically towards Tobias.

"I don't want to upset anyone, honestly. I'm just trying to keep our minds together and approach this strategically. It's the best option we have," Tobias explains.

I'm thankful that Uriah agrees. I know he's in fear of losing Marlene, but he's still able to see Tobias' point. Maybe it has to do with being Divergent.

"I need a moment," Shauna says and leaves to the bedroom.

"I need to check on her," Zeke shrugs and follows her.

We sit quietly. Everyone's thoughts are somewhere far away, trying to process it all. I am so disappointed by this new development. I was so happy and confident when we left Candor that I didn't bother to worry about all this during the afternoon.

Finally, Zeke leads Shauna back into the living room, never letting go of her hand.

First, it's Tobias' and my turn to talk about what happened at Candor. We skip the personal parts of our interrogations, though. It's nothing the others need to know about, and Tobias and I perfectly agree without ever having had to lose a word about that.

Then I turn to Will and Christina, "So what did Caleb and Cara say? Are they alright?"

The atmosphere in the room is suddenly tense. They must all know something Tobias and I don't.

"What is it?" I push.

"We couldn't find them near the compound, so we went looking for them in their lab. But they weren't there," Christina begins. Her hesitation is unnerving. "And neither was their equipment, except for some parts laying broken on the floor, as if there'd been a fight. All we could find that could still be useful is this communicator."

I look at her in shock as she digs into her bag and takes out the device Caleb used to stay in contact with me. I have the same one.

"I'm sorry, Tris," Christina mumbles as she hands me the device. I turn it around in my trembling hands, then try to switch it on. It asks for a password.

"We tried a few already, family members' names, factions and places in the city. But we couldn't get access," Will says, sounding eager. Apparently he thinks I'm able to guess my brother's password. But how? I would have tried the same things they did.

I concentrate and type in some combinations of names and birthdays, then some places in Abnegation that we used to go together. But none of it is right.

"I have no idea what the password is," I sigh as I put the device down on the low table. It makes me crazy to hold it without being able to use it.

"You should keep it, maybe you get an idea later. Sometimes it just pops up when you're not really thinking about it," Will encourages me.

"Yes, later," I say.

For now, I want it out of my hands. But as soon as I stop trying to guess Caleb's password, fear creeps up on me. Without a task to occupy my mind, I'm forced to think about my brother and what could have happened to him.

I ask Christina to retell me their observations, desperately trying to find a clue that might help me find him. But there is none. Either they've destroyed their lab themselves, which seems unlikely because they surely would have done it without leaving a trace, or they have been caught.

The communicator must be the key. Caleb wouldn't leave it without a purpose, at least it's the hope I'm clinging to. There must be something on it. There must be.

And now, after we've talked about all that happened today, it becomes more and more obvious that something is wrong with Lynn and Marlene. We can't ignore it any longer.

But we're all clueless about what to do about it. We don't know what exactly has happened, or where they are. We can't even make plans to go and save them. They are most likely somewhere in Erudite, but it remains only a guess. They could be anywhere, but we are sure that Jeanine is behind this.

As unsatisfying as it is, we have to investigate further tomorrow, or wait until we hear something. It's unnerving.

Zeke offers to take Caleb's device apart to access the files on it without needing the password, but he can't promise that it'll work, and he mentions that there's the possibility that all data on it could be destroyed during the process, since he doesn't have experience with this kind of gadget.

"If I haven't found the password by tomorrow, you can have it. But I want to sleep over it. I can't think clearly right now," I conclude.

"Yeah, sure," he nods.

The silence weighs heavy on us. We need sleep, we need to think, we need to come up with a plan.

My head is still spinning long after we've gone to bed. Tobias finally fell asleep next to me after a long time lying awake, but I still can't calm down enough.

Or can I? I think I was sleeping for a while, then wake up again.

I go to the bathroom, then back to sleep.

I'm tossing around in bed in a state of half-sleep for what feels like an hour.

Then I have a glass of water, before I sleep again for a little while. Or a long while. I don't know. It doesn't make any difference.

Then I wake up from a nightmare, a mix of my last nightmare influenced by the vaccine and yesterday's events.

I lie awake and stare at Caleb's communicator on the nightstand. If only I knew how to get in there.

And then, in my exhausted mind, I have an idea. I wonder why I didn't think of this earlier.

I slip out of bed quietly and tuck the blanket around Tobias. I don't want him to get cold. I take the device, put on my shoes and quietly walk over to my own apartment.

I don't switch on the lights, I don't need them. I know where my own communicator is hidden. Pulling it out underneath a pile of shirts, I see that it's blinking. I've received a message from Caleb:

"ANCBADE"

Adrenaline rushes through me. That must be his password.

The moment I want to type it in, I hear a knock on my door, and I freeze. If it was Tobias, he'd just come in.

Something rustles.

I hear footsteps outside, someone running away.

As I move closer, I see the envelope that's been pushed inside underneath my door. I bend down and pick it up. It's addressed to me:

"Important message for Tris Prior"

DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Divergent world nor the characters, they belong to Veronica Roth.