TOBIAS
I SIT IN silence.
There's nothing but the steady beeps of the monitor and the occasional shuffling as someone passes by outside the door.
I can't lose him.
I can't tell Hana that I let both her sons die.
If I had only taken that gun the first time, I could have ended the fight a lot sooner.
Zeke's breathing is slow and shallow, but at least he's breathing again. When we brought him back, the staff immediately took him into a closed room for over four hours, before giving us any sort of update. Now he's asleep, hooked up to an IV. Wires run from his body to computers, which monitor his heart rate and vitals.
Amar sleeps in the chair next to me. I don't know where Christina is, but she's probably back with the transfers. My eyes are heavy.
Today was nothing like what I expected to happen.
Who were those men? And why were they waiting for us?
I sit there and think for an hour or so, replaying the events in my head, hoping to catch a clue I didn't notice before. The doctor comes in and tells me that they're going to keep Zeke overnight and we can come back to see him tomorrow. I want to stay by his side all night, but I know I need to get some sleep, so I wake Amar and we head out into the lobby. Christina is there, curled up in a chair, her hair unkempt from worry. I shake her shoulder and she opens her eyes groggily.
When she recognizes my face, she whispers hoarsely "Is he alright?"
"Yeah, for now. We're going to go home, though, and come back tomorrow."
She stands and follows us out of the building, to where the car still waits. The boy who helped Amar earlier is there, watching over the transfers. Most are asleep on the floor of the back of the vehicle, but some are still up and about, eating off of small plates or talking in low voices. One girl has an eye patch.
"I was wondering when you were going to come back. Most of the them are asleep, and I sent Annie and Arian to go find some dinner," the boy says.
"Thanks, Justin," replies Christina. "I'm really sorry this whole thing didn't go as planned…"
"Don't worry about it," reassures Justin. He smiles a little with the corner of mouth. "I've been through much worse. I'm sure we all have."
His gaze travels over the group and his smile fades. I used to believe that I've always had a rough life, with an abusive father and rebellious factions and brainwashed leaders running my city.
But at least I had parents, and a place to call home. These people have lived on the streets, with less food than the factionless. They've dealt with daily fights breaking out, nine times out of ten resulting in a fatality.
"I don't want to wake them, but if you're willing to, the sleeping quarters are only a few blocks from here…" suggests Christina.
"I think we'd all prefer that, right Annie?"
A girl, about the same age as Justin, walks over to us from where she is talking with a small group. Her figure is lean and her dark hair hides her face from the dim street lighting.
"Yes, it would be much preferred compared to out on the streets when we thought we were finally free from that."
She looks up and we make eyes contact. Her eyes pierce mine, sharp and deep green, like the orchard outside of the Amity headquarters. I feel frozen, like she is staring into my soul, and peeling apart my secrets, one by one, evaluating every part of me, every piece of who I am…
She suddenly breaks away and laughs at something Justin says, like the connection never happened, but I can't shake the sense that she doesn't like me. Something about her posture, as if it's too rigid for this atmosphere.
Like she's worried someone will figure her secrets out.
Christina interrupts my train of thought. "Let's go, day-dreamer. It's time to get some sleep."
She leads the way to the car, which I'm starting to associate with very bad things, including the way she drives. Justin and Annie have gathered the rest of the transfers and climb into the back, shutting the door behind them.
"Where are we heading?" I ask as she drives away from the building.
"I think you'll recognize it," she answers.
It's only about five minutes before a tall building looms in the dark.
The old Dauntless compound.
She pulls around to the main entrance and opens the back doors. People pile out and Amar leads them to where they'll be staying for the night. The last person to exit has a mess of brown hair and their shoulders are sagged.
But I recognize the face all the same.
"Dammit Peter, I had hoped we'd lost you," says Christina heatedly.
I have to agree with her that it would be a better end to the day if he hadn't shown up, but he did save us after all.
"You're welcome," he says, before pushing past her and following Amar into the building.
"Why's he here, anyway?" asks Christina.
She walks beside me, her hands shoved into her pockets.
"I don't know, but everything that's happened today has been for a reason, I'm sure of it. Peter must be, too."
She shrugs, and I wonder if I'm wrong.
Maybe they were just a group of particularly edgy GD rebels. Maybe Peter was just at the right place at the right time. And maybe this is all just an overreaction and everything will clear up tomorrow.
Just maybe.
When I walk into the pit, I see Amar, Christina and Justin sitting on the benches and I join them. It's been a couple days since we came back from the fringe. Zeke is getting better each day, and he's eager to leave the hospital, but the doctor wants him to stay for a few more nights so he doesn't strain himself. I grab a slice of toast and begin to eat.
Justin is in the middle of a story.
"—far as I knew, he was the baker's son, but I found out the next day that he was actually the banker's son, run away from home to try and live a life of freedom! Yeah, because I'm sure everyone just wants to live like a poor man."
Christina snorts in agreement and I smile a little. It must be nice for Justin to have a place where he doesn't have to be on his guard all the time.
"Hey, Annie!" he says, waving in the direction of the main entrance.
Annie joins us, sitting in the empty space on my left.
"How are you this morning?" asks Justin.
"Quite wonderful, thank you. The beds were something of a beauty."
I can't imagine what is so excellent about the dingy bunks, but I guess they're better than cots or street sides. I notice Christina's face has suddenly lost its good-natured smile, and her lips are pursed in dissatisfaction. I don't know what tipped her mood, but then I see the flinty look she flashes in Annie's direction, and I know.
She's jealous.
Annie has a thin face and small nose, which are dappled with freckles. Her black hair contrasts with her green eyes, making them a prominent, yet striking feature. I can understand what Justin sees in her. Her mood has also improved, and when she looks at me, it is not cold and calculating like the night before. She has a warm smile and a sophisticated air that makes you want to stand a little bit straighter.
"How long have you two…" asks Amar, gesturing between Annie and Justin.
Annie raises her eyebrows "How long have we been—"
"Together?" finishes Justin. Both of them laugh. "Well, I'd say for as long as I can remember."
"We're not dating," clarifies Annie. "Justin's my twin brother."
I notice they both have the same striking green eyes and slight face. Next to me, Christina visibly relaxes, but her eyes suggest otherwise.
"So what did this place used to be?" asks Annie, looking around the large room. "An underground cave or something?"
"Believe it or not, this has always been the dining hall, along with an assortment of activities," I tell her.
"Ever heard of the factions?" Amar asks.
"Can't say that I have."
"Well basically this city that we live in was divided up into five groups called factions, who each had different values and purposes in the society. Amity harvested food outside the city limits, as well as provided us with counselors and caretakers. They valued peace. Abnegation made up the government and valued selflessness. Erudite were the teachers and researchers and they valued knowledge."
Christina smirks and mutters "A bit too much, I'd say."
Amar ignores her. "Candor…what did the Candor do, Christina?"
"Besides having a smart mouth?" snickers a familiar voice behind me.
"Ugh, Peter, you're not invited."
Peter takes a seat anyway, to Justin's left.
"Oh, c'mon Christina, Peter's a cool guy," says Justin.
I think Christina is going to make herself sick, she gags so hard, but I can understand where Justin is coming from. He never knew the Peter that stabbed Edward's eye with a butter knife, or betrayed Dauntless, or tried to kill Tris…
"Why are you here, anyway? Not like, at this table, but in the city at all?" she asks.
"I, um, missed this life. I came back to see all my friends again. And I've received such a warm welcome." He looks pointedly at Christina, who sticks her tongue out at him. Maybe they're on the road to becoming civil. Peter probably doesn't even know why she despises him so much.
But I can't help thinking that Peter came for a different reason entirely. I catch his eye, and the look he gives me confirms my suspicion.
"Anyways," says Christina, "Candor provided the judges and upholders of the law. And we valued honesty."
"And finally, Dauntless." Amar gestures to the room around us. "The protectors of the city, valuing bravery."
"And perhaps a bit of recklessness," I add with a smile. Amar, Christina and Peter all nod in agreement.
"What happened to the factions?" prompts Annie.
Amar hesitates, unwilling to share that the downfall of the factions wasn't much better than living in the fringe. "We decided that it was better for everyone to live a life of freedom, instead of bound by faction customs."
She doesn't seem to suspect the whole truth and just shrugs her shoulders. Throughout breakfast, Justin tells us that he and Annie lived in small shack with just their mother, until they were eighteen. When she died of a sickness, they left that part of the fringe and moved to the nearest town, which was the closest thing they ever had to real civilization. That's when they heard the news from the local minister, Joseph, about transferring to the city to start a new life.
"He was very kind to us," adds Annie. "Not many were, and we were thankful for his aid. On stormy or cold nights, he would let us stay at the church because our residence wasn't…" she bites her lip. Her face his red and she lowers her eyes. She seems ashamed of her previous situation, so Justin jumps in, saving her from the uncomfortable stares.
"He told us to meet at the church on the day the city was supposed to come. That's when the men showed up."
Annie recovers her voice. "They asked us if we were the transfers and Joseph said yes. Then they said that if we tried to run away, they would…shoot us." The last words are just a whisper.
"One girl, Lucy, got nervous and tried to run, but she didn't make it half way to the door before they shot her. We don't know what happened to her; they took her away from us. They told us all to get up along the wall and stay put because they were…waiting for somebody."
"Who were they waiting for? Us?" asks Christina.
Justin nods. "I assume, anyway. When you arrived, they said something about 'that's the one', but I don't know which one of you they were talking about."
"Well, it must be Christina; she's the only one who regularly goes on these missions," suggests Amar.
"Unless they knew who would be coming this time. Their target could be any of us," retorts Christina.
"But how did they know?" I ask. "It's not like we were telling everybody in the city the four of us were going." I turn to Christina. "How many people knew about us?"
"Well, it's in the system, for records and stuff, but that's highly guarded. I'm not even sure you could hack into it, Tobias. Plus there's been no notice of a security breach. And my boss knew. But that's it. What about you?"
"Johanna. And my mother."
"Only George knew about us," Amar puts in.
"Did they perhaps tell someone else?" she suggests.
"I mean, maybe. It wasn't exactly supposed to be a secret," I say.
"So either someone who knew is a traitor, or we've got some crazy psycho mind-reader on our hands," concludes Christina.
"Well, we're not going to figure it out just sitting here, so let's get something done," interrupts Peter.
"He's right," says Amar, "we need to ask if anyone told someone else about it. Then we'll work from there."
Everyone rises from the table. They all go back to their rooms to gather their belongings before riding with Christina to the apartments where they'll be staying. Peter hangs behind.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" I ask after a few moments.
"I didn't. I was in the town, on my way back to the city, and I heard a commotion from inside the church."
"What about the gun? Do you always carry one around?"
"Not usually. But I figured that if I was going to be walking through hostile territory for days, it would be a good idea."
We walk in silence back to the dormitories.
"Hey, Four, I didn't really leave the office because I wanted to see you guys…"
"I figured as much," I say. "What's the real reason?"
He hesitates, and then looks at me, his eyes dark and serious. "I came to warn you."
That's when the wall next to us explodes, the force sending both our bodies sliding across the floor. Peter hits the wall and lies still. I choke on the dust and debris filling the air. My head aches and everything seems to spin around me. I can't see much through the clouds of ash, but I can hear something from the direction of the explosion.
A dark figure walks toward me through the smoke and stops by my head.
"Yes, zis is ze one," a deep voice says.
And everything goes dark.