Author's Note:
SO SORRY it took so long to update! I've been dying to post this, but my computer's been spazzing on me, and been giving me trouble connecting to the internet, it's pretty touch and go, lol :/ Anyway, thanks all for your patience, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Fair warning, this chapter and the next (and possibly even the one after that) are going to be pretty rough. We're learning quite a bit about Eric's past, and the reason for the PASTBOMB is because of his current predicament, and his past will play a major roll in some of his upcoming episodes. It's pretty sad, and... yeah. Like, I know way too much about some of this crap, and it's kinda why I decided to have Eric go through it (in a more extreme form, though), just because I've had personal experience with most of the crap. Anywho... SHOUTOUTS!
RisughXD - Thank you! I wish I could've done it more descriptive, because the original scene I had written was pretty steamy, and rather violent, and then I was like, "well shit, I kinda rated this story 'T'." *sigh* I liked my original scene better, like honestly, I was not happy with the short, pretty much "normal-sex" version, lol :) And here you will learn about it! :) ILY2! (Go read The Last Scene)
mona-rose - I'm glad you liked it! You are about to find out about them! :) ILY (Go read Alone)
EvieLyn - I know! Still not the way I wanted it to go, though. You shall see... lol :) (Go read Take Care, which by the way, has just been added to the community Eric-Centric)
Craseelix1190 - Wow! binge read! that's flattering! :) I'm glad you're enjoying it! :) don't cry! :( Here's your Eric fix:) Although, like I mentioned above, the next couple chapters (including this one) might be rather difficult to read:( It's pretty sad:( I know! I'm proud of him, too! :) (Go read Fire and Ashe)
Electric Blue Reader - I love your reviews! They're hilarious, lol :) And yep, you totally called it, lol :) yep, they had the 's word' lol :) I like the weirdness! And thank you ! :)
interdictum in aeternum - I missed you! :) It's okay, I understand:) It's definitely going to be angst... pretty pitiful stuff actually, like this chapter gets information across, but isn't really descriptive about things, but coming chapters we're going to be seeing detailed, Eric POV experiences, it's sad:( Like, I was literally crying just typing out the rough drafts for those chapters:( So glad to see you, though! :) xoxo
lovearielx - I'm glad I've intrigued you! I will answer that question at a later date, I PROMISE! :) Well, we all know Eric isn't really one for opening up, but come on... Lia's "doing something to me, Smart Mouth" to Eric, lol :) Yeah, he'll talk about stuff a bit, a little later on :)
Onyx Thanatos Theodore Lerins - Wow! Thank you! I'm so glad you're in love with it! :) Welcome! Hope to see more of you! :)
NL92 - Here ya' go! *posts chapter so you can find out what I had in store* :)
Simana - I know! I was so proud of him for standing up to them, and not just using brute force, he was able to intimidate with his words and glare, too! You're about to find out a WHOLE LOT about it:) It's kinda different though, and VERY loosely based on some of my own experiences, so hopefully it will feel pretty real when we get into the little Eric POV scenes:) will not be happy scenes, might cause lots of tears, jus sayin'.
Thanks again for everyone who reviewed! Ya'll literally make my days brighter:) And thanks to everyone who faved and followed, and if you haven't yet ya' know the drill :) Love to hear feedback! Thoughts, theories, all that:) Love you guys!
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Three days later, once all the fear training simulations were finished for the day, Tobias went out in search of his blonde friend, unable to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach any longer. Cordelia had been vague about her suspicions, a rare oddity for a Candor, and Tobias could not calm the knots twisting in his gut. He knew where he could find Eric, as the young leader always spent the early mornings, and afternoons maintaining his physique in the training room.
And, as usual, there was the blonde, attacking one of the many heavy bags with a skilled expertise. Tobias didn't think that the blue-eyed instructor was aware of his presence, so he was startled when Eric addressed him.
"L- l- lauryn, Lauryn an- and I- I, w- we h- h- had a, a t- talk th- this m- m- morning," the blonde stated evenly, as he continued his assault against the yellowing canvas.
"Yeah?" Four said, raising his eyebrows, slightly surprised that his friend would give up holding a grudge so quickly; though, the speedy recovery of best-friendship status probably had something to do with the blue-eyed man not wanting to have any regrets.
"Y- yeah," the young leader confirmed, ceasing his movements momentarilly, to wipe the moisture from his brow with the back of his hand, before removing his sweat-soaked, grey t-shirt and resuming his exercise. "W- we're, we're g- g- good, n- now."
"Awesome," Tobias replied, scanning his eyes over the young leader's back. "I don't see any scars..." "I guess Lauryn can smoke with us now, and laugh at what a light-weight stoner you are."
The blue-eyed man chuckled at the statement, as he pounded into the punching bag, causing it to sway violently, and he had to place a calloused palm against the canvas to prevent it from slamming into him between punches."Y- yeah."
Four slowly moved closer, deciding to take a few swings at the bag to the young leader's right, for a better vantage point. In between each hit, the brown-haired instructor would shift his honey-brown orbs to the left, attempting to catch sight of these scars that Lia had told him about. He still couldn't see anything, though, and he had to suppress a groan of frustration. If Candor was tricking him just so he would feel awkward and get caught staring at Eric after his 'hey baby' comment while under the influence... well, she would be unpleasantly surprised when her next fear serum ended up causing her to shit herself.
"Hey, can I get a water?" Tobias inquired, thinking quickly, when he caught sight of Eric's things leaning against the stone column to the blonde's immediate left; that would definitely be close enough to see. "I'm parched."
"I- I, I d- d- don't c- care, S- s- stiff," the blue-eyed man answered, with a joking grin, as he stilled the punching bag, before swinging out with his right arm, muscles flexing beneath taut skin.
Four cleared his throat a bit, moving behind Eric and kneeling down beside him as he slowly twisted the cap off the bottle, tilting his head back and to the right a bit as he squinted at his friend's upper body.
"What the fuck?"
"H- huh?" the blonde halted his routine, and turned to raise a quizical eyebrow at the brown-haired instructor, who was staring at him with an odd expression.
"Huh?" Tobias repeatedly dumbly, quickly averting his eyes as he tipped the bottle of water back and allowed the cool liquid to slide down his throat.
"Y- you s- s- said, 'wh- wh- what th- the-'."
"I said that out loud?" Four inquired, horrified, as his eyes widened at the thought that not only had he been caught staring at his friend's naked torso, he had brought the attention on himself, with a question that was intended to remain inside of his head. Tobias couldn't help but scan his eyes over the dozens, upon dozens, of nearly-invisible marks, again. "How did I not notice those before?" Some part of Four's brain suggested that he simply hadn't been looking for them, as it was extremely hard to distinguish the pale scars, that nearly blended in with Eric's pale skin.
"Y- yeah... wh- what are y- y- you, what are-...?" the young leader trailed off when he realized what the brown-haired instructor was staring at. He set his mouth in a thin line, as he reached down in front of Tobias to grab his shirt, throwing it over his head, quickly. "I- I, I g- g- gotta, gotta g- go."
"Shit, Eric, wait," Four said, with a sigh, as he stood to his feet, grabbing a hold of the blonde's scarred, and tattooed, forearm, preventing his exit. He sighed again, when Eric didn't make eye contact, opting to look past the brown-haired instructor's shoulder, pointedly, with a blank mask. "Just... fucking wait."
The blue-eyed man continued to stare at a random point past Tobias' shoulder, swallowing repeatedly, while the slightly more slender man ran a hand through his mussy, brown locks, contemplating what to say.
"Look," Four began, with a resigned tone of voice. "You know about Marcus... Is-... Is that what-?"
"N- no!" Eric barked, shrugging out of the other man's grip, roughly. "I- I, I a- ac- actually h- had g- g- great, great p- parents! D- don't, don't... d- d- don't c- compare m- m- my d- dad, dad w- with y- y- your's!"
"Okay..." the brown-haired man wasn't sure what to say to that; it was clearly implied through the past tense phrasing, that Eric's parents were gone. "Sorry... I just-... Bro, what the fuck? What the fuck is that shit?"
The blonde was shocked, and felt slightly uncomfortable, at the way his former Abnegation friend's voice broke on the last sentence. Regardless, he wanted to leave the past, in the past. "F- four... j- just, just d- d- d- don't, o- okay?" Eric turned to go again, shaking his head, but Tobias grabbed his other arm, causing the blonde to release an exasperated groan. "Wh- wh- what?!" he roared, the angry sound echoing through the large, open space of the empty training room.
The two men stood in silence for several, tense moments; the blonde glaring at Four, and fuming, like a cornered and wounded animal. Eric's icy-blue orbs revealed nothing but pure fury, refusing to let the other man see the dark secrets contained within the depths of his soul. Four was confused, and concerned, and simply gazed wearily at the young leader, uncertain of how to approach this situation.
"What the hell are those scars from, Eric?" he started, his voice quiet, and calm, even in the midst of his internal turmoil. "What the fuck would make a scar like that? Who did that to you?! And don't tell me it's not any of my fucking business, because when everybody else left you, it was me! I was there for you! I pulled you off that car, and out of the line of fire! I kept your ass from bleeding out! I relayed the words you were too scared, or too ashamed to speak! I was the one that kept your self-conscious ass from losing your position! I took over your responsibilites! And I did it all asking nothing in return, because I wanted to! I was fucking there for you!"
Eric didn't know what to say to that; Four was right, on all points. Yeah, Lauryn was there, too, but Tobias was always there; Tobias was the brother he never had, and didn't deserve. "I don't even want to think about this shit..."
"Say something, man," the brown-haired instructor pleaded, releasing his hold on the blue-eyed man's arm, his own slightly thinner arms falling loosely by his sides. "Please, tell me something."
The blonde closed his eyes for a moment, the memories sending the all-too-familiar waves of panic through his mind, and his pulse quickened with the irrational paranoia that this, this life at Dauntless, was simply a product of fear; an escape from real life. The paranoia that this life at Dauntless, wasn't real, and he would eventually wake up, and be thirteen again, back in Erudite. "Nope, don't you fucking think like that, Eric. You went through too much shit, to go back to that, now. Besides, if this was an escape, I wouldn't be dying right now... I don't think."
"Eric-."
"R- r- root, Root," the young leader blurted out, quickly, his breathing slightly labored, as he took a couple of staggering steps backwards. He spared a nervous glance at Tobias' face, saw the fearful shock cross over the other man's features, and then he turned around and walked away, briskly. Eric knew that Four knew, now; Tobias' father had been present at the trial, as a part of the jury that decided his foster parents' fate. "Darkly ironic..." he thought to himself, with a humorless chuckle, as he shoved through the exit into the corridor.
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"Hey."
"Hey," the dark-haired girl replied, moving to the side to allow Lauryn entrance into Eric's apartment, where she was currently lounging around before her friends, and the young leader, would show up to smoke, and jam. There was another good twenty minutes, before anybody showed up, though. Eric exercized, religiously, every day; in the wee hours of morning, and in the early afternoons.
"It isn't much, but..." the red-head started, taking a seat on the couch, as Cordelia joined her. "It was really hard to get, too."
The amber-eyed girl swallowed thickly, staring at Lauryn expectantly, as she waited for the Dauntless-born instructor to say something. She didn't, so Lia did. "...And?"
The red-head offered a small, tired smile, for the former Candor. "I actually haven't even looked at it, yet... I'm scared; I didn't want to do it, by myself... I just know there are a few documents here that pertain to Justice Hall versus Root... specifically, the victim in the case."
Lia took a deep breath, and gestured for the green-eyed woman to go ahead and open the manilla envelope; just get it over with. "Let's have a look, then," she said, as Lauryn pulled out three sheets of paper.
"This is a notification of sentencing with Eric's name, Lia..."
Notice of Disposition
E. E. Thomas
Leader Suite, 101A
Erudite
Justice Hall VS. Root, Dean & Claudia
Candor Family Justice Case Number: 000-147-2298-04
Presiding Judge: Hon. Robert Ward
Charges:
Unauthorized & Hazardous medical and/or scientific experimentation on a human being / Cruel and unusal punishment - 1st Degree / Child abuse - 1st Degree / Gross Negligence - 2nd Degree
Dear
Everett E. Thomas
This letter is to inform you of the outcome in the above-named case in which you are the victim. The defendant(s) appeared on 29 December 2268, and was found GUILTY/NOT GUILTY of ALL charge(s), and 0 charge(s) were dismissed. The Council sentenced the defendant(s) to the following:
Immediate Removal from Faction - Erudite
If you have continuing concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Yours truthfully,
Candice Ward
Victim Advocate - The Court of Family Justice
Office 3B, Ward Advocacy Center for Dependants
30 December 2268
"Fuck... it was him," Lauryn sighed, dejectedly, handing over the paper to Lia for her to scan over the words for herself. The red-head supposed that Cordelia's expression, was probably a mirror image of her own.
"Wait..." the dark-haired girl said, with a frown. "That's my mom!"
"Huh? What's your mom?" the green-eyed woman inquired, peeking over Lia's shoulder. "Candice Ward... Oh, hey. Yeah. I've met her a couple of times, ya' know, when we have to get Family Justice involved... It doesn't happen as often as you'd think, though, as violent as our faction is."
"This is kinda weird," Cordelia sighed, exhaling in a huff. "I mean, I already knew my dad handled the case, but... My mom wrote my boyfriend a letter, before he was my boyfriend; weird."
"Nah, that was just her job," the red-head waved the other girl's silliness off. "Besides, Eric isn't in to cougars... I don't think..."
"Ha ha, very funny," the dark-haired girl dead-panned, half-heartedly. She wasn't feeling very humorous given what they had just learned about Eric, even if it was a bit vague, and she wasn't in the mood to explain her parents' deaths, again. "What else you got, there?"
"Um..." Lauryn scanned over both of the remaining sheets quickly, her eyes widening, in near-disbelief, before shaking her head and passing the sheets to Lia, with the oldest-dated sheet, on top.
Page 1
Erudite Transitional Sanitarium for Dependants
Knowledge. Acceptance. Healing.
Inpatient Intake
Client Case Number: 000-147-2298-04
Date of Intake Session: 03-October-2268
Date of Report: 10-October-2268
Client Name: Everett E. Thomas
Date of Birth: 15-March-2255
Referral for Treatment: Matthers, Chelsea (RTP - Ph.D)
Emergency Contact: N/A
Presenting Difficulties:
Client is unable to engage in preliminary assessment at this time.
History of Presenting Difficulties:
Client is unable to engage in preliminary assessment at this time.
Significant Life History and Background Information:
Client is unable to engage in preliminary assessment at this time.
Significant Medical History:
Client has no significant medical history prior to 28 September 2268.
Clinical Observations and Impressions:
Physically, the Client has sustained 192 second-degree burns, all at different stages of healing; the burns are approximately one-inch long, and the wounds that have healed completely have become hypo-pigmented scars, located across the majority of Client's torso, as well as deep bruises encircling Client's wrists apparently caused by plastic slip ties, according to the DPR of how Client was discovered. The Client also appears to be grossly malnourished, dehydrated, and fatigued; Client refused sleep for the first four days upon arrival at ETSD, before sleeping for 27 hours, straight, approxamately one week after being removed from the home of Dean and Claudia Root.
The Client exhibits signs of severe disorientation, and seems unable to comprehend any awareness, or recognition, of time and location. Client has been witnessed mumbling, incoherently, and carrying out illogical, rambling conversations that are nonsensical in nature with non-existent entities. The Client appears to be struggling with delusional misidentification, and perceives all persons to mean him ill-intent.
Client has displayed a rather odd behavior on several occasions, repeatedly insisting that he "swore he was awake", to no one in particular, or even directly addressing the technicians caring for him when in a state of delusional misidentification.
Diagnostic Impressions:
The Client's clinical presentation suggests that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; a precipitated form of severe, Acute Delirium; Depersonalization; and possible, audio hallucinations.
Recomendations and Preliminary Treatment Plan:
As soon as Client is coherent, I suggest an exploratory psychodynamic-psychotherapy at a frequency of once per day, with an emphasis on discovering the details of the precipitating causes of his fragile mental, and emotional state. The exception to the exploration, would depend on how quickly the investigation with the Client's legal guardians is complete, and if I receive the results in a timely fashion, I will proceed with an alternative treatment approach.
I am prescribing a change in Client's current medication that he was started on at EMC, risperidone, which has worsened the signs of delirium and depersonalization, and increased paranoia. I suggest a trial with another, atypical antipsychotic, quetiapine, 40mg/ml twice daily for two weeks, unless adverse reactions occur.
Intake Completed by:
Jonathan H. Williams, M.D.
Lia felt numb, as she slid the first paper out of the way, to read the next page. "Eric was admitted to a psychiatric hospital..."
Page 2
Erudite Transitional Sanitarium for Dependants
Knowledge. Acceptance. Healing.
Inpatient Quarterly Report
Client Case Number: 000-147-2298-04
Date of Quarterly Session: 01-January-2269
Date of Report: 08-January-2269
Client Name: Everett E. Thomas
Date of Birth: 15-March-2255
Referral for Treatment: Matthers, Chelsea (RTP - Ph.D)
Emergency Contact: N/A
Presenting Difficulties:
Client refuses to participate in assessment; his only "request" is the light be left on his room at night. Client refuses to participate in weekly, group therapy sessions, and does not engage in conversation, or any interaction whatsoever, with the other residents. The Client attends his daily psychotherapy sessions, but refuses to answer most questions directed towards the 67-day stay with Dean and Claudia Root. From outside observation, Client appears to have trust issues, severe anxiety around large groups of people, and extreme paranoia.
History of Presenting Difficulties:
Client refuses to participate in assessment, although we now know, thanks to the gracious cooperation of Candor Family Justice, and the Ward Advocacy Center for Dependants, several details surrounding his stay with Dean and Claudia Root.
Under Truth Serum, both defendants admitted to conducting research for TSD on the Client, without his consent, to observe the physical and psychological affects on a human. It was admitted that both defendants were Heads of Psychology Research Dept.s I and II, and lacked authorization for any human testing on their current focus of study. It was also admitted, that the defendants limited food, and water, intake, so as not to interfere with the success of the study, during that time, and that the defendants had restrained the boy to keep him from escaping.
Dean and Claudia Root confessed to forcing the boy to stay awake by prodding him with a non-lethal electroshock weapon, enhanced by a diode-capicitor voltage multiplier, thus directly resulting in 192 hypo-pigment scars across Client's chest, shoulders, and back, due to low-current electrical burns. It was admitted that the defendants would purposely isolate the Client in total darkness, to disrupt the normal rhythm of his internal clock, and inducing hallucinations for analytical observation.
Both defendants admitted that they knew what they did was wrong, but argued that the strict guidelines and policies at Erudite were preventing the increase of knowledge for their study on the physical, and psychological aspects of Total Sleep Deprivation.
Both defendants have been found guilty by the Candor Family Justice system, and have been removed from Erudite, and forced to live Factionless.
Significant Life History and Background Information:
Client refuses to participate in assessment, at this time, but Jeanine Matthews was able to provide us with some information. The Client's parents were killed when Client was a Fourth Year, and he has been placed in four different foster families since 17 June 2265.
According to Miss. Matthews, the Client was a "very intelligent youngster", but that the Client would often skip classes in favor of spending leisure time with Dauntless-born children around his age. Miss. Matthews stated that the Client was a wild, and rambunctious, adolescent, while still maintaining an air of chivalry, and politeness, and was "indeed a joy" to engage in intelligent theoretical, and moral, debates.
Significant Medical History:
Severe and debilitating emotional, and psychological, trauma.
Severe malnourishment caused by a forced limitation of food intake; starvation.
Clinical Observations and Impressions:
The Client has greatly improved, physically, with rest and nutrients. The same cannot be said for the emotional, and mental, state of the Client; while he is now mostly coherent, the Client is withdrawn, and suffers from panic attacks on a regular basis.
It is now confirmed that Client does, indeed, suffer from auditory hallucinations, especially when he is left alone, or in the dark.
Diagnostic Impressions:
The Client's clinical presentation confirms that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; a precipitated form of severe, Acute Delirium; frequent night terrors; Depersonalization; and auditory, and occasionally visual, hallucinations. The Client still occasionally has episodes of delusional misidentification, as well as an intense fear of the dark.
Recomendations and Continuing Treatment Plan:
Client is currently receiving 300mg/5ml injections of Lithium twice daily, and 5mg/1ml of Haloperidol once daily. Client attends daily psychotherapy sessions, but rarely responds, even still I am having the Client continue to attend the private sessions, in hopes of a breakthrough.
Report Completed by:
Jonathan H. Williams, M.D.
"Oh my god... I only knew the charges, because my dad was the judge, but... oh my god," Lia said, quietly, unable to fully process what she had just read. "I didn't know it had been that bad... what's total sleep deprivation? And what's depersonalization? ...And what's delusional misidentification mean?"
"Um..." Lauryn said, biting her lip while she thought. "I don't really know... I was Dauntless-born, not Erudite."
"And they just let them go?!" Cordelia shrieked, growing angry. She was angry at the Council, who acted as a jury, and she was angry at her deceased father. Those people deserved nothing less than execution, in her eyes. "What kind of people do that to a thirteen-year-old child?!"
"A- are y- you... are you f- f- fucking, fucking sh- shitting me, r- right n- n- now?!"
The dark-haired girl and Lauryn turned their heads at the same time to see Eric standing in the doorway of his apartment, sweaty and pale, and seething. "E- Eric, I-."
"G- get o- o- out!" the blonde shouted, moving to grab both girls by their upper arms, and attempting to throw them out into the corridor. Lia was too shocked to fight against him, not that she would have been able to, anyway.
"Wait, Eric, please let me expl-!" Cordelia's words were cut short, as the door slammed in her face, and the lock could be heard clicking into place. The amber-eyed girl grew very afraid, and proceeded to bang on the door. "Eric! Eric, please! Let me in!" Lia was growing hysterical; this was her absolute worst fear. "Eric! Eric!"
"Lia!" Lauryn pulled the other girl away from the door, and it took all of the strength that a fourth-ranking, third-year member of Dauntless could muster to pry her away. "Lia, just... let's just give him some time, okay? Give him time."
"Time? Are you kidding me?!" Cordelia screamed, in terror and anger. "He's almost out of time, and I just ruined everything! This is my fault, Lauryn! He's never gonna talk to me again! What am I supposed to do?!" the amber-eyed girl was sobbing now, and screaming through the hot tears that fell over her pale cheeks. "What do I do?"
"I- I'm, t- t- trying!"
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The young leader slammed the door on both of the girls; he needed some time. He turned his back on the door, and slid down to the floor, feeling his anger ebbing away slowly, and giving way to the numbness that he hadn't experienced in years.
"Everett, you have to stay awake!" - Claudia
"I- I'm, t- t- trying!" Eric shouted, through gritted teeth as he felt a searing, white-hot pain shoot his body.
"Everett, what you are doing is important for the sake of knowledge. You should be grateful to be a part of this!" - Dean
"F- f- for, for wh- what?!"
"You're an insolent little bastard, aren't you?" - Claudia
"Everett..." - a girl?
"Everett." - who is that?
"Everett..." "Everett..." "Everett." "Weak..."
"N- no I- I- I'm, I'm n- not..." Eric placed his head in his hands, and he began to laugh, manically, along with the voices in his head, at his own stupidity.