So this is a longer chapter. But we're about to delve into the memories of Natalie and TJ in the next chapters. Let me know your thoughts on the story. Leave me a review. All constructive feedback is welcomed. Apologies for any typos.
Chapter 9
Tris
I know Tobias doesn't understand or really believe me. But there is something inside me that I cannot explain that tells me this is real. When I look into both Natalie's and TJ's eyes, I see myself and I see Tobias. I see everything I love about my husband in their faces. The lips, the ears, the thick eyebrows. His hair.
I see my mother in their cheeks. I see my father in their chins and hands. I even see my brother.
We sit on the train quietly. The compartment is empty and the only sound is the wind whistling through the cracks of the door and the wheels skating along the tracks. Tobias stands by the door, his back to me. He scratches the back of his head and yawns softly.
"You need a haircut." I say looking at the dark brown hair grown all over his head. It's messy and stands up in certain places. Tobias runs his large hand through it, trying to smooth and pad it down. It works a little, but it is still a little thick and wild. He murmurs something I couldn't understand and I sigh to myself.
I know believing this is hard for him. It's hard for me still. I want it to be nothing more than a simulation, a dream I can force myself awake from. But I know it isn't. I've been pinching myself to make sure I'm awake and I know I am when I see my skin blotch in angry red marks from my fingertips.
I see the facility where Caleb and Cara work. They work in the laboratories that help the Department of Agriculture develop serums that increase food growth and nutrient enhancement. It's good work and pays Caleb well. But he told me he puts a lot of his money into city reconstruction programs, scientific advancements, and, probably at Susan's influence, food pantries in the city. How very Erudite and Abnegation of him.
The train comes to a halt slowly as it pulls up to the stop. There's a few people waiting on the benches and standing on the path where the doors will open. I assumed they were just getting off work because not too many people ride the trains at night. There hasn't been too much crime here in the city since we exposed the truth about the faction experiment, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. But Amar, George, Zeke, and the rest of the police crew are really good at patrolling the streets, but even they can't do everything.
Tobias and I find ourselves in front of the building where Caleb works. It is rectangular and made of tan colored stone. Above the large glass doors with brass handles reads "Lab - South Wing".
We walk in and find the elevators. The building was quiet unlike during the day when it is frantic with people coming in and out. Caleb always worked late and I would hear from Susan at our lunches that he would disappear for days on end. She finally had enough and told him she would leave him if he vanished because of work again. Caleb chose Susan, but he definitely was still obsessed with his job.
Once we were in the elevator I pushed the button to the ninth floor. Tobias looked down at his watch and I peered over at it. It was nine-twenty five. We'd have to explain to Caleb on the way.
Once the doors open I'm staring down the long hallway where Caleb's lab is located four doors on the right. The fluorescent lights above me are bright and hurt my eyes a little. They must have just been replaced because the light is vivid and white. The small hum I hear from them in the silence is strong.
"Hopefully he's still here." Tobias says walking down the hall.
"He's here. Trust me." I say.
He freezes up next to me and gives me a sideways look full of contempt and weariness.
"I didn't mean it like that." I say looking at him. He says nothing and simply walks in front of the lab door. It is made of thick wood with a narrow window on the top. I knock three times and wait for an answer. Nothing. I jiggle the handle and find it open, so we go inside.
The lab is dark all aside from the desk light where Caleb is slumped over the table. His white lab coat is crisp and spotless on his body. There is a computer screen to his left and on it is a complex image of spheres connected by bars. It is twisting and moving. Each bar rung is red then blue and sometimes yellow. Above his desk is an assortment of glass beakers and books, all stacked neatly on each other. I walk closer to him and see small pictures of him and me, then our parents, and Susan arranged neatly in a line next to a container full of pencils, pens, a ruler, scissors, and other foreign metal instrumentals.
Caleb's head is leaned down and his face is turned, mouth open, against a heavy book with black and white pages. He is snoring lightly and a line of his drool is dripping onto the page.
I chuckle and tap him. He stirs a little. I roll my eyes and shout loudly "Caleb!"
He jumps up, knocking the book to the floor and swings his arms around wildly, almost knocking his keyboard onto the floor. His eyes flutter and scan the room madly before he focuses on me. Caleb blinks and rubs his eyes with his knuckles, then wipes his wet mouth on the sleeve of his lab coat.
"Beatrice! I didn't hear you come in, I'm sorry!" He yelps obviously embarrassed he fell asleep at work.
"What time were you supposed to get off?" I ask pursing my lips together.
He fumbles in his pockets and looks upward at the clock near the right of the room.
"Well…technically four and a half hours ago. But it's fascinating, Beatrice we're really coming along with the developments on the—
"That's great Caleb, you know I'd love to hear all about it." I lie "But we need your help. You have to come with us. It's…hard to explain. You'll have to see it for yourself."
"Who's we—-oh, hello Tobias! I didn't see you!" Caleb says turning toward the door where Tobias is leaning against a black desk scowling into space. He's irritated and it sends a wave of annoyance through my chest. I didn't feel like trying to convince him I knew he trusted me or console his feelings right now. This was bigger than him. Even me.
Tobias throw two lazy fingers toward his brother-in-law and his jaw stiffens.
Caleb turns to me and says "What is it Beatrice? Are you in trouble?"
"Sort of…I think I am. Well we all are." I say nervously. "Can you keep an open mind?"
Caleb contorts his face a little and crinkles his eyebrows together. He sighs deeply and says "Of course Beatrice. I suppose you'll explain on the way, right?"
I nod and he turns off the desk light and opens a long cabinet door near the side of his desk. Inside are three more crisp white lab coats, a blue oxford shirt, and a blue nylon jacket. He takes the lab coat off and hangs it up neatly on an empty hanger, then removes the blue jacket, putting it on.
"Let's go." I say.
We leave the building quickly and make our way back on the train stop. Caleb checks his watch and looks up toward the night sky. He's muttering to himself about something with the crops at the Amity farms and how the atmospheric pressure will do something. I'm not really focused on what he's saying. I look over to Tobias who's still chewing the inside of his cheek, making his jaw tighten and constrict.
"If you keep eating your cheek, you won't be hungry for dinner." I say lightly looking at the tracks.
"I'm not hungry. Besides it's too late to be eating." He says stiffly not looking at me.
"Are you going to be nice or are you going to be angry at me all night?"
He sighs irritably and opens his mouth to say "Tris. Not now."
I don't want to get into an argument with him. Especially in front of Caleb, but he's pissing me off, and also making me a little sad. I guess he doesn't see what I see. I can't expect him to.
The train comes and we quickly board, finding another car to ourselves. Tobias stands at the front, away from my brother and me as we sit down. I feel a small pang in my stomach as I watch his back face me in the distance. We'll be a little late to the Hancock Building but not by that much. I also would have to trust Christina would bring Cara. Or even that her and Zeke would even show up at all.
I turn to Caleb and he looks at me with worry and curiosity in his eyes.
"What's this all about Beatrice?" He says his hands folded in his lap.
"Well…today, I was kidnapped."
His eyebrows shoot up on his forehead and he gasps.
"I'm clearly okay! The people who took me didn't hurt me. In fact they…they need my help. Our help. All of us."
Caleb's mouth is still slightly ajar and he shakes his head. "That doesn't make sense. Why would someone kidnap you, not hurt you, and then ask for help? It isn't logical."
I hear Tobias snort up front, but he tries to cover it up with a cough. I glare at him for a few seconds but then turn back to my brother.
"I know…but they…well I think it's best you see for yourself. They've shown us things. Things that seem really crazy and impossible, but remember I asked you to keep an open mind?"
He stares at me and then nods slowly.
"They have a message for you." I say.
His face drains a little with dread. Caleb wipes his glistening brow with his left palm and then wipes the sweat on his jeans.
"Really? Wh-what is it?" He stammers.
"I don't know. But you'll have to listen to it. It's important. Trust me." I say.
Caleb shakes his head. "Trusting you isn't the issue, Beatrice. It's whether or not these people, who kidnapped you, can be trusted."
I look at Tobias, expecting him to make a noise in agreement with my brother but he stands still and says nothing.
"I think they can. Like I said you'll have to see for yourself."
It's three minutes after ten when the train stops near the Hancock Building. We lightly jog toward the entrance, the street barren and silent under our footsteps. There's a few buildings still lit up and I see shadows moving behind curtains, but that's about it. As we turn the corner onto the street where the building is, a group of young people talking and laughing amongst themselves almost walks into us. They smell like bitters, whiskey, and cigarettes, it makes my nose cringe.
"Sorry, man!" One of them, who can only be eighteen, slurs as he nearly trips over Tobias' foot. I almost think Tobias will punch him in the face, but he scowls and lets him pass with the rest of his friends. We make it to the Hancock Building and it's nearly dark inside as well as out.
"Why are we going in here?" Caleb asks curiously.
"You'll see Caleb." I say walking toward the front doors. They're locked when I pull on them and I turn around, placing my hand to my warm forehead. I shift toward Tobias who's picking something out his fingernails. He hasn't looked at me once since we left Caleb's office.
"Maybe…they left?" Caleb says softly.
No. I shake my head and look around the building. There must be a window or something we could crawl into. A vent or backdoor. I start circling toward the back, when I hear Tobias sigh indignantly.
"Tris, come on! I'm not doing this with you, I'm going home." He says coldly and turns away from the building. I almost shout at him to leave, that I would be better without him and his attitude, but I realize I couldn't do this without him. To be honest, I didn't feel safe if he didn't stay.
Caleb looks suspiciously between the both of us and shakes his head a little. Suddenly a few lights in the lobby come to life. I feel my stomach jump with anxiety and excitement. I turn to the doors and a tall figure is walking toward them. The glass doors on the Hancock Building are opaque so I can't make out who it is exactly opening the door. But when they creak open I feel my heart jump in my throat and I gulp hard.
It is Natalie. She is real. She is smiling, no beaming at me. Her intense eyes are narrow and moist. My eyes. My father's eyes.
"You came." She choked slightly.
"Yes." I breathed. Natalie peered over my shoulder to see Caleb straining to get a view of who I was speaking with. Tobias stopped his departure and stood with his muscular arms crossed over his chest.
"You bought Uncle Caleb." She said opening the door up for me to enter. "He's as handsome as ever."
I follow her in, but pause when I see Caleb and Tobias not moving. I hold the door open and say to them. "Are you coming or are you going to stand out there looking curious and pouting like a baby?"
Caleb looks nervously at Tobias who glares into space, anger and ice seeping into his eyes. He walks in behind Caleb slowly and the three of us stand in the lobby that's still all but dark. The only light now came from the small wall lamps near the elevator. Natalie came from the shadows to stand in front of us. Caleb gasps a little and raises a shaky finger at her.
"Where did…she…she looks…" But he couldn't finish. Natalie smiled at him and then at me.
I look around the lobby and ask "Where's your brother?"
Natalie shrugs and says "Playing ninja on out on one of the balconies I'm sure. I'll call him. Zeke and Christina are already here. They bought Cara. We explained, roughly, what happened here today. She took it rather well. I guess something like this would intrigue an old Erudite like her."
I nod and she presses a small black earpiece in her right ear with her long fingers. Her nails are pointed and painted a deep plum color. I notice the white shirt and gray pants she had on earlier have been replaced with a black cropped t-shirt and a high-waisted leather pants. Her stomach is flat, smooth, and defined. My body definitely didn't look like hers at her age. But everything else was so recognizable.
"Hey Wandering Swordsman, our folks are here, you ready to get the party started? Natalie speaks into the earpiece. There's a static murmur that comes out and she rolls her eyes, but then smiles.
"He's on his way." She says.
"Our folks?" Caleb asks nervously.
Natalie peers around me and Caleb toward Tobias and she frowns slightly.
"Dad?" She asks softly.
He ignores her and I feel my face grow hot and I taste bile on my tongue. Natalie's expression grows sullen and she looks down at the glossy floor of the lobby.
"Ignore Four" I say coldly.
He glares at me now and he opens his mouth to retort, but suddenly a blur of blonde and dark colors flips down from the level above us and lands perfectly on two feet clad in tall black boots.
TJ rises with his sheathed sword in his hand. He looks piercingly at all of us and Caleb jumps back, tripping over his feet and crashing to the floor. He looks at the sword then to the face, back to the sword, but finally back on his face. His eyes widen and he gasps.
"You…look a lot like…" "Yeah I know." TJ says abruptly. "Nice to see you Uncle Caleb."
Caleb's mouth hangs open and his glasses are crooked on his face. He pulls at his hair and stares madly at Natalie and TJ.
"Uncle…" He whispers. I help him to his feet and I say "Remember. Open mind."
He nods very slowly and his face is blotchy and flushed now. Caleb fumbles in his jacket pocket for a small linen handkerchief and pats his forehead dry of the dripping sweat he's now producing profusely.
"Shall we go? No need to keep them waiting any longer." TJ says turning toward the elevator with his sword clutched deeply in his hand. He presses the button to call the car and it opens with the standard ding. We all pile in except for Tobias who looks out the lobby windows onto the street.
"You coming, Old Man? Or are you scared?" TJ says holding the doors open with his strong, muscular arm. Tobias says nothing and walks toward the elevator compartment. He wedges himself away from me and beside Caleb near the right corner in the back. The doors close we rise toward the top. I stand next to Natalie who's humming something familiar. Her dark hair is thick just like Tobias' and hits right above her shoulders. TJ is wearing a dark blue tank top that is cut narrow in the back. His back tattoos are exactly like his father's. The five factions are present even under the strip of fabric and the Dauntless flames curve over his shoulders.
Caleb stares at them intently and says "Nice tattoos…they look familiar."
"They're a family heirloom." TJ says staring at the elevator doors. I look over at Tobias who's studying them curiously. We're two floors away and he turns to me and moves the front of his shirt to his right. My eyes widen when I see three birds inked above his collar bone and I touch my own chest lightly. I touch nothing but the leather of my jacket but I know the image all too well. It's the first tattoo I got when I chose Dauntless.
"Like I said, family heirloom." He repeats turning back to the front.
Natalie smiles as the doors ding open and she says "It's a good story on how he got them. You'll see, Mom."
We walk out into the top of the building and find Zeke, Christina, Cara, and Uriah sitting on the floor talking casually. My eyes widen incredulously at the sight of Uriah who grins and waves at all of us.
"You bought Uriah, Christina?" I say a little too harshly than I wanted.
She raises her eyebrows at me and rolls her eyes irritably, but then chuckles. "He invited himself. I couldn't stop him. Besides, the twins said it was cool."
Uriah grinned and said "Your kids come from the future and want us to infiltrate the Bureau of Genetic Welfare to destroy a file and you expect me to sit at home, Tris?"
Caleb stops in his tracks and looks at me flabbergasted with his mouth agape. "Beatrice, what?!"
I shake my head and say "They'll explain everything. I promise."
"Don't be so sure." Tobias mutters walking past us to sit down next to Zeke. I ignore him and lead Caleb toward the group. We sit next to Christina and Cara who's sitting with her knees pressed into her chest. She nods to me and smiles. Caleb looks nervously at her and Christina, his glasses fogging up from his sweating face..
"No need to panic, Caleb. I assure you it's a logical explanation for this. Or rather I want to believe there is one." Cara says calmly. It's something I've always admired about her, she doesn't panic. Or at least she's very good at hiding it.
Natalie and TJ walk out from a dark corner with the glass water sculpture. It's crack seems deeper than from when I saw it earlier, but it is the exact one Tobias has in our apartment on the dresser.
"So. I'm glad you all came." Natalie begins as she watches her brother sit the sculpture down carefully in the middle of the floor. "I promised you we'd reveal only what needed to be revealed. I can't emphasize how important this is. The future of everyone depends on it. I can't try to convince you anymore than showing TJ and I's memories. It's….hard. What you're about to see are events that have happened over a course of several long months, probably nearly eight to be exact."
TJ crouched on his strong legs and looked up at his sister. She nods a little and says as he fumbles for the button again. "This message is for Uncle Caleb from, well, Uncle Caleb. From the future."
I feel my brother breathe deeply into his handkerchief and then wipe his face again. His hair is slightly damp and he looks slightly sleep deprived. He grips the linen cloth in his fingers and watches the twins cautiously. TJ presses the button and the long black viewing scope rises up again out of the sculpture. Caleb gasps out of shock and amazement. As much as he's panicking, his curious nature is also being stroked.
The holographic screen and image burst in a arc of light. Future Caleb appears and I feel the present one gasp again, his eyes wide and mouth open. Cara and Uriah are also sitting up stiffly, their eyes equally open and focused on the screen.
"This is a message to myself." Future Caleb begins. "Caleb, I know that this may be something of a shock to you, seeing your thirty-two year old self speak about things that are illogical and unfathomable, but you must put that aside. At least for the current moment. I have sent my niece and nephew back in time to infiltrate the Bureau of Genetic Welfare and destroy a file with notes about a failed experiment called the Resurgent Project. You should know what file I'm talking about as you and Cara both came across it when you were younger."
I look at him and Cara and they both look at each other. Caleb's voice tries to speak but nothing but a raspy and hoarse groan comes out. Cara says nothing and rocks back on her legs as she continues to watch the screen.
"It is imperative that you and Cara tell the others about what you came across. You are the only ones who've seen it and know what it's contents entail. It must be destroyed at all costs, Caleb. Our lives, our sister's life, our brother-in-law's life, and just about everyone else's depends on the destruction of that file."
Future Caleb's eyes shift slightly to the right quickly as if he's heard a noise. He pauses for several long seconds, leaning forward slightly to see if his suspicions are true. Finally he sits back slowly and clears his throat.
"I have left very special and detailed instructions for you and Cara to complete while the mission to extract and destroy the file is taking place. You must begin working on it immediately. I have given the instructions to my niece who will hand them over to you. Again, this is not a dream or simulation. It may not be logical, but neither was time travel and we finally invented that."
Caleb's shoulders stiffen around me and I feel his body slowly shift to get comfortable on the floor. To hear his future self invents time travel is a treat he cannot fathom. Neither can I honestly.
"Remember, be diligent in your mission. Tobias and Natalie have a strategy myself and a few others in this time period have came up with. Trust them."
The image disappears and the wind rustles through the room. The outdoor balcony where the zip line begins is open. I look at Natalie and TJ who are looking at everyone in the room.
"So…you two…you've seen this so called Resurgent file?" Uriah asks leaning forward on his elbows.
Cara and Caleb look at each other apprehensively. But Cara finally says "Yes we have. But we didn't know it would cause any problems in the future. It was an obsolete experiment that was full of genetic testing of Divergent offspring. The trials and recordings Caleb and I saw were…disturbing to say the very least. A lot of it involved surgical amputation and shock therapy. Very primitive and barbaric. I can see why it was shut down."
I look at my brother who's still trying to understand how his future self could communicate with him and let alone develop time travel.
"Caleb. You know what the file looks like?"
He looks up at me and lowers his eyes between his lap and the square dark tile he's sitting on.
"I think so…but there were so many files in there! A lot of them were identical. How're we supposed to remember something like that?"
"It was in a dark blue folder with green tabs on it. It also had the United States Government Seal on it." Cara says almost automatically. "Top shelf near the fear landscape animals experiments."
"You're good." Christina breathes in amazement. Cara flashes a quick grin at her.
"But who's to say they haven't moved the files? The room could be gone in the Bureau. They could've have already destroyed it themselves." Zeke says looking at me then at Natalie and TJ.
TJ begins "I highly doubt that. When my mother reset the memory of the Bureau, they had to be told what their purpose was again. They were told to focus on leaving genetic damage and genetic purity testing behind. The Bureau still works with genetics, but it's focused on more pharmaceutical matters now. You know like understanding how certain diseases or ailments are hereditary. They aren't focused on behavioral matters within someone's genetic makeup anymore."
"Which means" Natalie says after him "That they probably don't even know the room even exists in the place. They know there's old parts of the Bureau but the room with the failed experiments is only one of many rooms with obsolete materials or junk."
Cara pauses and says "Well, you could be right. I don't see them delving into the lower levels of the building to try to sift through old rooms, not when their focus has shifted. But the person who wasn't affected by the memory reset could easily already be protecting the file. If they knew what really happened three years ago, then who's to say they aren't putting the Resurgent project back in motion?"
TJ and Natalie say nothing. Caleb finally piques up and says "That's could be true. But if these two are from the future then that must mean the project must take sometime to develop, right? It's not something a person could make within the course of a few days or months."
Natalie nods and smiles. "Exactly. Even if they are guarding or beginning to develop the project now, they can't without the file. That file has all the research, instructions, and everything. It's not backed up on a computer either which makes the information even more valuable."
"Okay, okay, but I'm not convinced this is something worth storming into the Bureau for. We still don't know who the person is doing the experiment or even how we're going to get inside without being arrested by the government. That's a federal building after all. I'm all down for a little adventure and action, but I'm not trying to get thrown in jail or almost die…again." says Uriah.
I look at everyone who slowly nods in agreement with Uriah. I stop at Tobias' face who's now looking directly into my eyes. I see the cold frustration and anger that's been there all night, but also, pleading. It's the same look he gave me when he asked me to not go into Erudite headquarters when we were younger. When I betrayed his trust for the first time. It makes me sick to my stomach to feel I was doing it again. As much as I asked him to trust me, there's still moments where I don't allow myself to trust him.
Natalie and TJ say in unison "We have a plan."
"Oh really? Does it include us not getting shot at?" Christina asks brashly.
"Yes." Natalie says simply.
"Okay, but we still don't understand why this is so important in the first place?" Cara begins sitting up straight on the floor. "What's so threatening about a failed experiment. When Caleb and I scanned through it, there's no way what the file was talking about could exist. There's no such thing as genetically enhanced Divergent offspring who can run faster, heal quicker, be physically stronger than a regular human. Human genetics don't work that way. Evolution has take place over time. Long periods of time. You all aren't that far away from this time period, you mean to tell me you all are these Resurgent children?"
TJ glares slightly at her and looks at his sister. He shakes his head and closes his eyes.
Natalie purses her lips and says "Yes we are. We have abilities. The evolution did happen. It just wasn't that far off as you thought. The Resurgent gene, like the Divergent gene does exist. They're just not under some bullshit 'genetically pure or damaged' label the Bureau tried to pass them off as. After the Great War happened, humanity shifted. Evolution just didn't happen, adaptation did. Some humans found they could run faster, learn knowledge more quickly, control their fears, control others, or even move things by their thoughts."
Cara snorts and says "You all have read too many books where you come from. Things like that only exist in stories."
Natalie breathes irritably and turns to her brother. He looks at her with his mouth tight and his fist are shaking. To my surprise, his eyes are glistening over and Natalie puts her hands on his shoulders.
"It's over." He mumbles.
"TJ, calm down, no it's not." Natalie gasps trying to reassure him. "Calm down."
"Mom and Dad…they're gonna die. Cause they think we're some kind of freaks and liars. It's over."
He fights to suppress a sob, his chest rising in quick huffs and his face going red. I want to run to him and pull him into my arms. But it's what he says that stops me.
"We're going to die? What are you talking about?" I say rising slowly from the floor.
"It doesn't matter!" TJ shouts, the boom of his sharp voice making me stop in my tracks.
"I'll storm the Bureau myself. I don't need them. I don't need anybody." He glares at all of us, his eyes sharp and cold. I've seen that look. It's the look Tobias gives when he's angry and feeling dangerous. Like he'll break your neck without a second thought if you stand in his way. I never wanted to be on the opposite end of it, it's as scary as I always knew it would be.
"You need me." Natalie sighs. "I need you. We're all we have. Remember?"
He bites his bottom lip and looks away from her and away from everyone. TJ nods and Natalie embraces him, her body towering over his slightly.
"You're still my little brother, even if we are twins. I'm not gonna let you go it alone. I won't let our parents end like this."
I look at them and I hear my heart pound in my ears. Then I hear Tobias' voice from the side of me.
"Don't you have something else to show us? Your memories right? Let us look at them, then decide from there whether or not it's worth trusting you and helping you destroy the file."
I look over and everyone else is focused on his him as well. Zeke's eyes widen and he chuckles. "Agreed. Let us see these…er…memories of yours. I still think this is a dream, but I have to say even with all the holes your story, you've got me curious. You two definitely aren't from around here, that much I can tell."
Cara still looks unconvinced. Her arms are folded over and she looks sternly at Natalie and TJ.
"We'll take a vote. After you show us." Christina says leaning back on her arms. I smile at my best friend and thank her silently. But I'm more grateful to Tobias who's staring at the twins as he bounces his legs on the ground in front of him. He looks up at me and gives me a weak smile and a wink. I grin and I sit back down next to my brother who's breathing calmly now. His eyes are focused on understanding, instead of being critical.
"You're the oldest." I say to Natalie. She smiles and nods.
"Yep, but I can't tell you by how many minutes though. You'll see for yourself. Soon."
Her glance down at my body and I look back curiously at her, but she's looking at her brother who's face is relaxed now. He looks so much like Tobias it makes me smile.
"How old are you kids anyway?" Uriah asks with his arm around Christina. I wondered if they got married and had children in the future. Maybe I would find out.
"Fifteen." Natalie responds. "Birthday wasn't too long ago."
"When is it?" I can't help myself from asking, but she puts up a waving finger and smirks.
"Now you know I can't tell you that Mom."
I sigh and fumble with my fingers.
"I will tell you, that the Dauntless cake we ate was delicious, though."
Uriah's eyes widen brightly and he seethes "You all had Dauntless cake! Man, I haven't had that in years. Wait—how?"
TJ shakes his head at his sister and she frowns a little. Uriah says "Ah, too much to say. Gotcha."
They sit on the floor with the sculpture in front of them and this time Natalie presses the small button on the side. The narrow scope rises up again from the twisting middle and stands erect in the air.
Natalie sticks out her left palm facing it toward her brother who takes it with his right hand. They clasps their fingers together and sigh deeply.
"You start TJ. It really began with you."
TJ nods and then they both close their eyes. There's a few moments of silence in the room and I see Cara shift a little to get a better view.
"What are they doing?" She asks.
"We're linking our memories of the past months' events. We have to concentrate, please be as quiet and still as possible." Natalie breathes evenly her eyes still closed.
Suddenly the arc of light bursts from the scope, but this time it is pouring out from the bodies of Natalie and TJ. Christina gasps and Uriah whispers "Holy…shit." I watch the holographic screen jump and flash. Caleb grips my hand a little and I hold tight to his. I'll admit, I was a little afraid of what I was about to see.
Suddenly the images flashed by quickly.
There was a beach seen through the eyes of a toddlers legs. They were covered with wet sand and jumped while giggling. The legs rose in the air by a pair of two strong hands and spun around in the air. There was a glimpse of a back covered in tattoos.
The image changed again and this time the legs were a little longer swinging high into the air.
"Faster, Mommy, faster!" The voice shouted. A pair of recognizable hands appeared and then a collarbone covered in three birds appeared.
Then the image flashed into two children no more than eight or nine running in a field of grass. The girl had startling eyes and dark hair that was long and flew behind her in the wind. She smiled, her teeth small and gums bright pink at someone.
"Natalie, Tobias! Time to go!" Came a deep voice from the distance.
Then the image shifted again.
This time I saw nothing but sunlight peering through an open window. I hear a sound. A buzzing. Deft hands and a pair of eyes in a mirror.
Next chapter we'll get to see TJ's point of view!