AN: a short chapter after a long break to try to get restarted!
Tris and I struggle to keep up with Inez and the three Factionless, who move very quickly and very quietly, even as they pick their way across yards and through cluttered streets. I guess it helps if you already know where you're going, and oddly enough, I don't. Even though I lived here for 16 years, I've never even heard of any tunnels.
"You know where we're going?" I mutter to Tris.
"No clue," she whispers back shortly. I realize she's out of breath and shoot her a glance.
"You okay?"
She scowls, not looking at me. "You try being in a coma for a week."
"Right," I snort quietly. "Or maybe it's just the alcohol catching up with you."
Inez is looking back at us and mouths "shut up," pointing off to our left. It's nearly dark out, and we can see beams of light bouncing along the walls of the houses behind us.
Inez makes a sharp right, with Rat, Laila, and Jeb making a precision movement behind her, which suggests to me that all Factionless know Abnegation better than the Abnegation do. We come to a cinderblock wall, and Inez stops abruptly, sliding what appears to be a trash heap to the side and crouching down to look at something. Moments later, Laila and Jeb crawl past her and disappear from sight. Inez motions me and Tris forward, and I see she's pointing at a hole in the ground.
"Jump," she whispers. Tris goes first and I hesitate briefly behind her, wondering if there will be a Dauntless-style net. My hands start to sweat at the thought that this might be a long drop. Dauntless use that uncertainty to weed out any initiates who really can't cut it, and also just for a little mildly sadistic fun. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was running away from an actual sadist, they might have succeeded in weeding me out, in fact. But who knows what Factionless think is fun? Or sadistic, for that matter.
I hear Inez huff impatiently and I jump. It turns out to be a short drop, with something slightly springy - maybe an old mattress - at the bottom. I move quickly to the side as Inez drops down, and then Rat, who reaches up and pulls the entry shut above us, sliding some kind of bolt across it.
"This way," Inez whispers, flicking on a small flashlight. I can see that the light is for our benefit; the Factionless don't need it to find their way in this underground world.
We are only in the earthen-walled area for a short time; it slants down sharply and empties into a massive concrete tube, large enough to hold my 6 foot frame fully upright. It is crumbling at the seams, with a small, slimy trail of water smeared along the bottom.
"Drainage system," Rat whispers in my ear, the sour smell of his breath surrounding me like a light fog. "Can't use it when it rains." He smiles and winks at me, and I'm not sure if that means he's joking or happy at the thought of a flood washing us all away. "Factionless take an oath not to reveal the existence of these pipes," he adds, fondly patting the wall.
"Then why are we down here?" Tris asks, pointing at herself and me.
"Because Bobby is an oath-keeper," Rat says with a shrug. "He can make decisions about what is kept secret and what isn't, and he told Inez to use the tunnels." In the slight light, I can see that Rat is looking at me thoughtfully. "In front of everyone, he told her to use the tunnels. You two must have some serious mojo." He shrugs again and looks away. "That's why I came with you - it's why we all did. Well, I'm just curious. Jeb probably buys that whole higher purpose thing. And Laila...well, it's all about revenge for Laila."
"Revenge for what?" Tris asks.
"None of your business," Laila growls, suddenly at my elbow. "You have a big mouth, Rat."
"One of my more endearing traits," he agrees easily.
"Okay, so if you're done socializing, why don't you all shut up and focus on getting back to Dauntless. I don't know what Marcus wanted and who was with him, and I don't want to find out," Inez says dryly, waving us to a tunnel that slopes obliquely away. We continue on in silence.
Right when I'm starting to think we might be lost, I hear a distant rushing sound.
"Do you hear water?" I whisper to Tris. She nods.
Soon, Inez comes to a sudden stop in front of us. The tunnel ends in a solid wall of concrete. Looking up, I can see it's really the bottom of a deep shaft, with a glow of light far above. Inez reaches over her head and grabs a thin metal rail, pulling herself up. We follow her, climbing the strut path up the wall, the sound of water growing louder with each step. Just when I'm starting to feel the burn in my calves and biceps, I see Inez haul herself over a ledge and into the light.
I follow her and emerge, blinking, onto a pile of wet rocks next to a roaring river. It's Dauntless, I realize immediately. Not only is it Dauntless, we are only a few yards away from my secret hiding place, where I kissed Tris for the first time. As she emerges behind me, I turn to look at her. Her bright blue eyes, so dilated they look black, suddenly constrict, and then her cheeks redden, once she realizes where we are.
"Home sweet home," I say, capturing her hand in mine. She smiles at me, flicking her eyebrows slightly, which is pretty suggestive for her. I feel my body responding and look away, clearing my throat.
Inez is watching me again, with that cryptic, appraising look, and I stare her down, keeping a firm grip on Tris's hand. We wait until everyone has emerged from the tunnel, and then pick our way up the path and into the Pit.
All three of the Factionless test positive for Divergence. Shauna gives them each a key to their rooms and leads them away on a tour. Later, when she brings them back to the control room, we barely have time to introduce them to the team before Leo, Uriah, and Lynn whisk them off to a training room for a skills assessment. We watch a video feed of their session.
Rat, who grew up in Erudite, is utterly hopeless. He can't shoot or throw a knife, and he absolutely refuses to hit anyone. Inez just laughs and tells us that Rat can take care of himself just fine when he feels like it. Jeb has no training at all, but he's very strong and well-coordinated. He'll respond well to training.
Laila, however, is another matter. She is as good with a gun as I am, and she's utterly ruthless in hand-to-hand combat, knocking Uriah out within five minutes. Leo and Lynn look at her in astonishment.
"I grew up here," we hear her explain nonchalantly.
"You're Omar's kid, aren't you?" Leo suddenly says. Laila looks at Leo levelly, without responding. He nods at her, but says nothing more.
"You knew?" I ask Inez, who nods. I wait for her to elaborate, tapping my foot impatiently.
"She was a year ahead of me in school," she finally says. "Her test was inconclusive. They knew she was Divergent right away - straight to Factionless."
I stare at Laila on the screen. She flings a knife at a target, and I notice she is controlling her breathing. Did Amar show her how to do that, too, when they were growing up? Or maybe he learned it from her. I suddenly realize that Tris is looking at me, lips pursed in question. There's an angry glint in her eye. Warmth spreads along my chest as it dawns on me that Tris appears to be jealous. A pleased smirk is tugging at the corners of my mouth, but I do my best to suppress it.
"Later," I hiss, and she nods curtly.
I don't really want to talk about Amar to anyone other than Laila, but I suppose I'd better explain what's going on, or Tris really might get the wrong idea.
