Chapter Twenty-one: Plans In Motion

When we finally made it back to the Compound, a light snow was blowing across the road. A chill ran through my but it was early autumn and I knew that it would be gone by morning. That wasn't the point though, it was still snowing. I'd never been fond of snow. I hated being cold, making me long to be wrapped in Eric's arms, snuggled against him under the sheets. God I wanted nothing more than to be with him right now. I was annoyed and overwhelmed. I needed him to anchor me down and work it through with me.

As soon as we were out of the truck, Tris handed over her vest and weapon. I was fine giving up the heavy vest, but part of me would feel more secure with a weapon around. With everything that was happening, I felt it advantageous to be prepared for anything. The soldiers of the compound would be armed. If we stood a chance against them then we needed more than what we had.

"You okay?" Tris asked as we walked toward the dormitory.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Just…thinking."

She sighed, letting silence fall before she finally broke it, "Don't take what Amar said to heart. About Tobias."

"Why not?" I frowned at her. "He hates Four for what he did. I get that. But at the same time, he doesn't know him anymore. He doesn't know how kind and gentle and strong and brave Four is. He is so much more than Amar is giving him credit for. He's not perfect. He makes mistakes. But he is still worthwhile."

"I know." She smiled at me. "Believe me, I know."

Nodding at her, I took a deep settling breath. "I know you know, Tris. But you didn't defend him either."

"We're on the verge of breaking up. I didn't feel it necessary to tell him all my problems after he said how good I am for him." She replied.

"Still." I frowned.

"I'm not like you." She frowned back at me. "Defending Eric is second nature to you. Someone threatens him and you turn into the scariest thing on the planet. They try and talk bad about him and you attack without pausing."

"He's everything to me." I told her gently. "And after how we started and everything that has happened since, I'd do anything for him."

"I know you would." She smiled. "And he'd do anything for you."

Nodding, I smiled at her, "He would. But we're also each other's weakness. Which is probably why I attack first and ask questions later. I don't want to give anyone the opportunity to take him from me."

"Neither do I." She smiled.

Reaching the dormitory, I rushed forward, eager to see Eric. Opening the door, I scanned it, only he wasn't here. Frowning, Four wasn't here and neither was Christina. Hazel, Caleb, and Peter were the only ones here. None of which I wanted to see right now.

"Where's Eric?" I asked, stepping toward Hazel.

Hazel swiftly tucked something away, making me swiftly move to her, pulling out the tablet that held our parents files. Frowning, I handed it back to her gently, nodding at her. Caleb was holding one identical to hers. Peter glanced up at me before he returned to his book, scribbling notes on a nearby notepad.

"Have any of you seen…?" Tris asked.

"Four?" Caleb finished for her. "I saw him in the genealogy room earlier. Eric was with him."

"The…what room?"

"They have our ancestors' names on display in a room. Can I get a piece of paper?" He asked Peter. Peter tore a sheet of paper from the back of the notepad, handing it to Caleb. Crossing my arms, I watched him scribble directions down onto it. "I found our parents' names there earlier. On the right side of the room, second panel from the door."

"Ours too." Hazel smiled at me. "Just down the left of theirs."

"Okay." I told her, forcing a smile.

Caleb handed the paper to Tris, looking at her. Tris looked at the paper, touching her brother's handwriting. Nudging her, I wanted to get to Eric as soon as possible. I'd been away from him all day and was ready to be with him.

"Thank you." Tris told him. "Um…how's your nose?"

"It's fine." He told her. "I think the bruise really brings out my eyes, don't you?"

The siblings are smiling at each other, making me glance at Hazel. She smiled at me nervously, getting a brow raise and a nod from me. We might be on better terms, but I was too on edge on the verge of grumpiness to care right now.

"Wait, you two were gone today, right?" He added after a second. "Something's happening in the city."

"What's happening?" I frowned, taking a step toward him.

"The Allegiant rose up against Evelyn, attacked one of her weapons storehouses."

"They've finally acted?" I asked.

"The Allegiant?" Tris asked. "The people currently led by Johanna Reyes…attacked a storehouse?"

"That means they're moving their plans forward." I stated looking at Tris. "What does that mean?"

"Led by Johanna Reyes, Patrick Farrier, and Marcus Eaton." Caleb stated. "But Johanna was there, holding a gun. It was ludicrous. The Bureau people seemed really disturbed by it."

"Is everyone okay?" I asked.

"Dad's fine." Hazel told me.

I nodded at her, "Okay. Good."

"Wow." Tris said shaking her head. "I guess it was just a matter of time."

"Let's go." I told Tris, turning toward the door.

There was a small moment of silence before her steps started to follow me. Moving into the hallway, we paused long enough to look at the directions, and then we were moving again.

Practically jogging down the hall, Tris put her hand on my arm to slow me. We didn't have to be in a hurry. Though part of me thought that was because she didn't want to get there any faster than she had to. She was going to face Four and knowing that they weren't on the best of terms made me slow, take a deep breath, and just try to relax. But my mind and body was still ready to react to anything that could possibly happen.

When the room finally came into view, able to see the bronze walls, with warm light reflecting off of them. Tris reached the doorway first, stopping and standing there, watching as Four ran his fingers along the wall, assuming it was his family tree. Though his mind was clearly somewhere else. Eric was standing just down the way from him, his arms crossed as he frowned at the wall.

Pushing past Tris, I swiftly moved forward, "Eric."

He turned and I could see his face relax, "Pen." Wrapping my arms around his neck, I buried my face against it. "Hey, baby."

"I missed you." I told him, running my hand down the back of his head.

"You okay?" He asked as he let me go.

Taking his hands in mine, I met his eyes, "We went to the fringe and it wasn't what I had expected."

"What happened?"

"They almost killed George. They have been taught to be afraid of us. They're dirty and lonely and afraid. They are struggling to survive while we're here being offered everything we could ever need."

"If we agree with what they believe." He told me with a raised brow.

I nodded, "We're still better off. Only I almost would rather be out there."

"No, baby." He told me. "Out there is completely unpredictable. At least here we have an idea of what to expect." Nodding again, I took a deep breath. "Did something else happen?"

Swallowing hard, I nodded, "I may or may not have willingly and knowingly put myself in a situation where something may or may not have happened that could have –"

"Pen." He frowned hard, interrupting me, his hand gripping my wrist painfully.

"I charged into a group of them who had every intention of killing George. They had a gun. I was outnumbered. They threatened to kill me." I told him quickly. He let me go, pacing away as he dragged his hand down his face. "But I'm fine." I told him. "Eric, I'm fine."

"This is why I didn't want you with her." He shot at me but was pointing at Tris.

"Eric." Four frowned at him, his arms around Tris. It looked like they had made amends.

"Did she tell you what happened?" Eric asked.

Four's frown deepened, "She doesn't have to. Neither does Pen. You know just as well as I do that both of these women will do what they have to do to protect the people they care about." He paused before a smirk crossed his face. "We also know that no one can tell them what to do."

Eric frowned harder but didn't say anything, continuing to pace.

"It wasn't that bad." Tris told him. "I had her back the whole time. If they tried anything, I would have taken them down. And she put the fear of god into them all on her own."

He looked at me, I simply smiled at him, "I threatened them with you."

He scoffed but a smirk crossed his face as he shook his head, "Of course you did."

"You're scary when you're angry." I stated as I stepped up to him. "So don't be mad at me. Especially for being honest with you."

"I'm not mad. I just worry. And after all the promises of staying safe for each other, I don't think your decisions are staying true to that." He replied.

"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do." I told him with a small shrug.

He sighed but nodded, gently taking my face in his hands. "Fine."

"Love you."

"Love you too." He said and kissed me.

"Do you two need anything from us?" I asked Four and Tris, keeping my eyes locked on Eric's.

"No." Four told me.

"Good." I replied. "Will you fulfill the last promise you made me?" I asked Eric.

He smiled, his arm wrapping around my waist, pulling me tightly against him. "Yes."

With our arms wrapped around each other, we moved toward the door, only to have him stop me. "What is it?"

"Do you wanna see your family tree?" He asked.

Looking at the wall, seeing all the names written across it, part of me was curious. Just like I was curious about the files on the tablet but I didn't need to read them, the same was for seeing their names on a wall. The chances of me seeing them again were slim to none and I would never know anyone else from my family tree.

"No. I'm good." I told him.

He nodded at me, looking at Four and Tris before leading me from the room. Going back to the dormitory, Christina still wasn't back, making me think that she was with Uriah. Giving my sister the smallest of smiles, Eric and I moved to our corner of the room. Changing into something more comfortable, I watched as Eric laid down on his cot. Doing the same, I turned onto my side so I could look at him, his bare chest just asking to be touched.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" He smirked at me.

Laughing, I moved on top of him, sighing contentedly as he threw a blanket over the pair of us. "Apologies."

"You said you wanted to sleep together. Well, this is as together as we can get." He replied.

Leaning down, the tips of my fingers finding his jaw, I kissed him slow and deep. "This is perfect."

"I love you, Pen." He told me softly.

"I never get tired of hearing that." I grinned at him. Kissing him again, I kept my lips against his, "I love you too."

Pressing a kiss against the center of his chest, I gently sucked the skin, my hands moving to his sides, running them up and down them. He shuddered, running his hand down my hair, the fingers of his other trailing down my arm.

"Keep that up and we'll need to try and find any room to be alone in." He told me.

Laughing, I pressed my forehead against his chest before I met his eyes, "I'm not having sex with you in a storage room."

"Why not?" He smirked. "We've done it in worse places."

"The bathrooms we've done it in have definitely been cleaner than a storage room." I countered.

He pouted at me, "You're no fun."

Laughing again, I hugged his shoulders against me as I kissed him. "You know that's not true."

In the next second his hands were gripping my sides, making me squirm against him. Bending my knee, he gripped the back of it, sending me into a fit of laughter and limbs. Inevitably, I found myself on my back on the floor, Eric looking over the edge at me, a cocky smirk on his face. For a moment I was annoyed with him, only then I saw the look in his eyes, depths to them that I had never seen before. It made me wonder if it had always been there and I'd never noticed it, or if it was something new he was showing me for the first time. Either way, it made tears brim in my eyes, only then I frowned, pushing the tears away as I cleared my throat. Blinking rapidly, I looked away from him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I don't know." I told him.

"You looked at me and were literally brought to tears." He went on, only he was grinning at me.

Meeting his eyes again, I grinned back at him, "I look at you all the time. I shouldn't cry at the sight of you."

He held his hand out to me. Gripping it, I stood, squeezing onto his cot against his side. "Emotions have been running a bit high lately."

"Yeah, but mine have been exceptionally high and most of the time I don't have a good explanation for it." I stated. "Crying fits really aren't normal for me, but I've been having quite a few of them."

"You've been through a lot." He stated, his fingers moving up and down my back.

Sighing, I nodded, running my fingers back and forth across his chest. "Still. Crying is a weakness that we can't afford right now. I'm a little less girly then I've been acting."

"What do you think the cause is?" He asked me.

Thinking, I shook my head, "I don't know."

"It doesn't matter." He told me. "You've lost people, gained people, and have been holding a lot on your shoulders. But I can shoulder some of the weight you know. Remember, your burdens are my burdens."

"I know." I smiled and kissed him. "You're perfect."

He laughed and picked up my hand. The cuts from our fight in the bathroom weren't fully healed yet. The glass having left a slightly jagged scar against my palm. He brushed his thumb against the marks. Bringing my hand to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss against them. "Far from it."

Putting my hand against his face, I made him meet my eyes, "You're perfect for me. Faults and all."

Then he was kissing me. For several minutes we simply laid there, are lips never ceasing. It wasn't till I started to drift off that he finally took his lips from mine. Frowning, I nestled closer against his side, leaving not even a fraction of space between us. Feeling his lips against my forehead, I sighed contentedly, falling asleep with ease.

Waking to a hand on my shoulder, I heard Tris say my name. I was still against Eric, only he was now on his side, his body forming around mine. Managing to turn my head, I looked at her before frowning, turning myself into Eric's chest again.

"We have a meeting."

"I'm far too comfy to go to any meetings." I told her.

"It's with the council." She replied.

Looking at her again, I sighed, forcing myself to get up from the cot. Eric took a deep breath, sitting up and instinctively gripped me. "It's okay." I told him. "I have to go with Tris. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"What for?" He frowned, rubbing his eye with his palm.

"Council meeting." I told him as I started to change my clothes.

"Okay, baby." He replied but was still frowning.

Smiling, I moved to him, kissing him deeply. "I love you. I'll see you soon. Go back to sleep."

He nodded, kissing me again, "Love you too."

"Lay down, baby." I smiled, gently pushing against him.

"Okay." He said and laid down.

Grabbing my pillow, I handed it to him. He was already drifting off as he gripped it, hugging it against his chest as he curled himself into it.

"You're so cute." I told him, running my fingers through his hair. "Love you." I told him as I pressed a kiss against his temple. "Okay, let's go." I told Tris.

"Pen?" She replied.

"What?" I asked her.

"Socks. Shoes." She smiled.

Looking down at my bare feet, I just smiled before rushing and grabbing socks and shoes. "Okay, let's go." I told her again. Ready this time.

Reaching David's office, we were right on time. Tris checked her watch again, glancing at it to see it was exactly ten. In the next moment, David rolled himself into the hallway. He looked pale with distinctive dark circles underneath his eyes. It wasn't too long ago that I looked like that. It was a mixture of being hurt, stressed, and lacking proper sleep. And pain. Looking at him reminded me a lot of pain.

"Hello." I smiled at him.

"Hello, Pen. Tris." He said looking at her. "Eager are you? You're right on time."

"Of course I'm eager. It's my first meeting. Want help? You look tired."

"Fine, fine." He told her.

She moved behind him, starting to push him. He sighed, "I suppose I am tired. I was up all night dealing with our most recent crisis. Take a left here."

"What crisis is that?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, let's not rush it." Frowning at Tris, she just shrugged at me. David seemed to sense it, looking over his shoulder at me. "I wasn't expecting you, Pen."

"I know." I told him. "Tris had asked that I accompany her. For the benefit of our group, two sets of eyes and ears will help if anyone questions the decisions of the council."

"Smart." He nodded. "Well, welcome." Smiling, he offered me his hand.

Returning it, I shook his hand, the feeling sending a jolt of cold water through my veins. "I'll be the silent partner. No need to worry about me."

He just smiled and nodded. Maneuvering through the dim hallways, we were now in Terminal 5, David commenting that it was "an old name". There are no windows here, making the outside world completely invisible. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and silently. My eyes darted to see the possible exit points and weapons if necessary. If something were going to happen I wanted to be prepared for it. Looking at Tris, she seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Here we are." David said, triggering Tris to stop.

She pushed him through a set of double doors, propped open with doorstops. There are numerous people here, making my stomach drop and my heart start to race. I had no idea what to expect and now that we were here I was feeling anxious about it. The only thing that made me feel better was that there was coffee. All of them were holding tiny cups of coffee. All of them were also David's age, making Tris and me the youngest. Tris looked awkward with these people. Then I saw Zoe, making me feel a little better. She smiled at us, but it seemed strained and forced.

"Let's come to order!" David called to the room as he wheeled himself to the head of the conference table.

Tris sat in one of the chairs along the edge of the room, next to Zoe. I sat next to her, keeping the chair far enough back to get up quickly if I had to. It was clear that we didn't belong at this table with all the important people, making me feel watched. I just hoped that I didn't fall asleep. Though I was pretty sure Tris and I were on the same page about wanting to know about the new crisis David had mentioned. If he was worried about it then we should probably be doubly worried about it. We had no idea what he would do.

"Last night I received a frantic call from the people in our control room." David started. "Evidently Chicago is about to erupt into violence again. Faction loyalists calling themselves the Allegiant have rebelled against factionless control, attacking weapons safe houses. What they don't know is that Evelyn Johnson has discovered a new weapon – stores of death serum kept hidden in Erudite headquarters. As we know, no one is capable of resisting death serum, not even the Divergent. If the Allegiant attack the factionless government, and Evelyn Johnson retaliates, the casualties will obviously be catastrophic."

Freezing, my chest clenched, holding my breath as I stared at David. Watching every move he made to see if this was somehow a big joke. I tried to blink but I couldn't seem to make my eyes move. The room was already bursting with conversation.

"Quiet." David told us. "The experiments are already in danger of being shut down if we cannot prove to our superiors that we are capable of controlling them. Another revolution in Chicago would only cement their belief that this endeavor has outlived its usefulness – something we cannot allow to happen if we want to continue to fight genetic damage."

Still staring at him, I believed that he would not allow it to happen. He was exhausted and looked like hell, but he was strong and determined enough to see it done. And I couldn't deny that if Evelyn planned on letting loose the death serum, he wouldn't be the only one who would be looking to stop it.

"It's time to use the memory serum virus for a mass reset." He went on. "And I think we should use it against all four experiments."

"Reset them?" Tris said, beating me to the same question. All eyes moved to her at exactly the same moment. Then they glance to me. It was as if they had forgotten we were there.

"She asked you a question." I told David, leaning forward, wrapping one hand around the other.

He met my eyes and for just a moment he frowned, then his hard yet kind demeanor returned to his face as he looked at Tris. "'Resetting' is our word for widespread memory erasure." He finally explained. "It is what we do when the experiments that incorporate behavioral modification are in danger of falling apart. We did it when we first created each experiment that had a behavioral modification component, and the last one in Chicago was done a few generations before yours." He was still looking at Tris, giving her an odd smile. "Why did you think there was so much physical devastation in the factionless sector? There was an uprising, and we had to quell it as cleanly as possible."

Shaking started to take me over and I just hoped it wasn't as noticeable as I felt it was. The factionless sector was in ruins with broken roads and shattered windows and toppled streetlights. I'd never really asked why it was the way it was when it was the only section of the city that destruction had touched. North of the bridge was empty and yet it still appeared as if it was done peacefully. Like all children, we were told it was what happened to those without community, destroying itself because they had no faction to tell them what to do and to believe.

Now being told that it was done as a result of an uprising, covered up by being reset, it was just one more reason to hate these people. All they cared about what saving their experiments. It had nothing to do with saving lives. If they did this then everyone within the city would forget everything about themselves. Claude, Terra, Simmy, my parents…none of them would know me anymore. Or each other. To me they're my family. To these people they are nothing more than containers of genetic material. Just GDs left to breed to pass on their genes until they're pure, not caring an ounce for the brains in their heads or the hearts in their chests.

"When?" One of the council members asked.

"Within the next forty-eight hours." David replied.

Everyone started to nod as if this is completely sensible.

The more I thought about it the angrier I got, my shaking was worse and I could feel my breaking point boiling, ready to come out. Tris gripped my wrist, telling me softly to calm down. But I couldn't calm down. What they were talking about was the same as murdering them. It was worse. They would be alive but wouldn't remember what mattered to them. The people they loved and couldn't live without would be strangers passing in the street. My parents' memories of me growing up. Claude's memories of when we met and how we became so close. Terra knowing her accomplishments and how far she had come. Worst of all was that they would all forget those that had been lost to this fight. My parents would never remember that they had a daughter named Maggie. Claude would never remember Henry and Tori. Andrew and Natalie and everything they fought to accomplish would be lost forever.

"What right do you think you have to take people's minds away from them?" I said calmly.

"Pen, don't." Tris told me.

"It's what needs to be done." David replied.

"Bullshit!" I yelled, slamming my hands against the table as I shot to my feet. "The only thing you care about is your damn experiments! You're not even taking into consideration what memories you'd be taking!"

"It's a sacrifice that needs to be made." David told me with a hard tone, raising his voice.

"You can't do this." I told him, pointing my finger at him. "I won't let you do this."

Turning, I moved to the door, throwing them open to be met by two soldiers.

"Detain her!" David told them quickly.

They gripped me, only to have me fight against them, dropping both of them before I started to run down the halls. Having stolen one of their guns, I had no idea what I was going to do, but I had to do something. Rushing toward the labs, I fought two more sets of soldiers before I finally reached them. They were the first thing I could think of. I'd destroy as much equipment as I could. It probably wouldn't even slow them down, but it was something. Only as soon as I got there, I was confronted by four soldiers, being hit and forced to the ground, chocking on my own blood.

"You can't do this!" I yelled, blood dripping from my mouth.

"Pen!" Tris's voice reached me.

My hands were cuffed behind my back and I was lifted back onto my feet. "Tris." I said as she came into view. "You can't let them do this." She just looked at me. "Tris, you have to stop it."

Then David and Zoe came into view. "I wasn't expecting that." David frowned at me. "What were you planning on doing?"

"Anything." I spat at him.

"Tris, I don't think she should come to any more meetings."

"Agreed." Tris nodded at him. "But the news was surprising to me as well. I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt."

He looked at her before me, keeping my eyes for a long moment, "I'll take that into consideration."

"Thank you." Tris told him.

"Take her away." He told the soldiers and I'm being pushed down the hall.

Struggling, we passed other soldiers, Heath among them. He stopped when he saw me, getting a shrug in response from me. Eric was going to be pissed. I didn't know how long it would take for him to be told, but once he did he'd either end up in a cell next to mine, or he'd leave a string of destruction in his wake when he came for me.

Being shoved into a small room, it wasn't a cell at all, but it felt the same. It had white walls and a single metal rectangular table with a chair on either side. My anger had yet to subside, making me grip it, tossing it at the door as I let out a feral yell. Breathing hard, I moved to the opposite side of the room, sitting down against the wall.

As the minutes ticked by, my mind kept repeating David's words over and over again. Within two days, all the men, women, and children in the city that I was born and raised in, would have their entire memories erased. If they didn't go through with it then Evelyn had the power to not only erase memories but kill however many people she wanted. What if she lost control of it and it was released through the entire city? What if she killed everybody? Would that be worse?

"What are we gonna do?" I asked aloud, the weight of it all crashing down on top of me.