All the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me." I can't help this awful energy. God damn right you should be scared of me. Who is in control? ~ Halsey, Control

CHAPTER 2

TRIS' POV:

Christina and Will's wedding weekend passes by in a blur of friends and alcohol. Kids were left at a small daycare center in the city and everyone was free to do what they pleased for the day. Which, for many, was indulging in everything their kids repressed. Its fun, but only for a day. To me, my real life is much more enjoyable than watching Zeke and Uriah dance together on a table.

Before we know it the weekend is over and we're all back to reality. I make a vow to make sure Tobias and I see our friends more regularly though. It has been nice seeing them so much in the past few days.

Later that week I lay in bed. Its late, or early depending on how you look at it, but I can't get back to sleep. A pit in my has woken me up and prevented me from getting back to sleep. It's a feeling like I should be worrying about something, but I can't remember what it is.

Slipping out from under Tobias' arm I sneak into Drew's room. I sit in the comfortable rocking chair we have in the corner and watch his peaceful slumber. Just keeping an eye on him eases the knot in my stomach slightly.

In the distance I hear Tobias' work phone ring, but I don't think much of it, lost in my own thoughts. It's when I hear his frantic, yet hushed shout of my name from down the hall that I stand to find him. We crash into each other in the doorway of Drew's room.

"What were you doing?" Tobias asks me.

"I couldn't sleep. I was just sitting with Drew. What's wrong?"

Tobias looks at me, his eyes dark and tired but his whole body tense and on edge. "Someone got through the fence. From the outside."

I stare at him like he's lost his mind for . . . I don't even know how long.

"What? How can that be possible?" I ask eventually.

"We don't know who, or what, it was. The power grid just went crazy and the fence went down for three minutes. Greyson said they need more eyes to go through all of the security footage," Tobias grabs my hand and pulls me with him to the closet while he gets dressed. "I don't want you or Drew leaving this house until I get back, okay?"

If Tobias had ordered me to stay home fifteen years ago I would have fought him tooth and nail, and done whatever I wanted anyway. But now . . . I look down the hall at the cracked door where our child is sleeping and nod my head.

"Drew and I'll have a day at home. I'll call Tori later."

Tobias pulls a shirt over his head and pauses, looking at me for a few seconds. Thinking. Then he grabs my hand, closes the closet door behind us, and flicks the light switch, casting us in a bright yellow haze. He pushes his clothes to the side, and dips his finger in a small gap in the back wall. With a flick of his finger it falls to the ground and a cluster of weapons hang before us.

My breath leaves me in a shaky huff.

"When did you - ?"

"I've had this here since the day we moved in," he whispers, stuffing one of the guns in the back of his jeans. Then he hands me one.

"Tobias I haven't shot a gun in – "

"You wont have to use it. Just in case. It'll make me feel better."

I take the gun from Tobias' outstretched hand and flinch at the heavy weight of the cool metal in my hand. Flashbacks of every other time I've had one of these in my hands run through my mind, but I work to keep them away. I have to focus.

"Okay."

"Okay," Tobias replies simply.

Tobias finishes getting ready quickly, not bothering to do much more than change his clothes. He stops beside me at the front door before pulling me into him, his lips crushed into mine. Pressing. Desperate. Scared.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't leave this house. I love you," he whispers, his forehead resting against mine for a short moment.

"I love you, too."

Then he's gone.

My morning, then afternoon, passes by in a blur. I seem to work on autopilot as I care for Drew and take care of little odds and ends to keep my mind busy. Every possible option for what could have happen run through my mind. For the first time since I lost my position as a city leader, I wish I were one again. I wish I were in the room with Tobias, Johanna, Greyson, and Aurora as they go through the security footage and try to formulate a theory or come up with a course of action.

But then I look at the little guy sitting next to me and hug him to me a little tighter.

The door swings open in the early afternoon and Tobias rushes in, looking around frantically before his eyes land on Drew and I sitting on the couch. His eyes motion to our bedroom and I put Drew in his playpen and meet him there.

Before I can say anything Tobias has a blurry photo in front of my face.

"Can you recognize this person?"

I squint my eyes and snatch the paper from him. I don't know how anyone would be able to recognize the person in the photo. It could be Tobias and I wouldn't be able to say for sure.

"Seriously? Of course not."

Tobias grumbles under his breath and snatches the paper back from me, crumpling it up in his hand.

"We don't even know if that's actually who got through. We just saw him on a camera near by around the same time when they were rebooting."

"The camera's went out, too?"

Tobias sits down on the edge of the bed and holds his head in his hands, his arms resting on his knees.

"The whole fence went out, and all of the surrounding cameras. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. It was planned."

I can feel Tobias' tension and anger bubbling over. His body is rigid and his hands are clenched in his lap. All clues that there is more to what he has to say to me.

"I shouldn't have looked into that laptop."

"You think that has something to do with this?" the laptop is not what I was expecting him to talk about now.

"What else could it be? Its been what . . . fifteen years since the war? Marcus has been dead for two. This isn't a coincidence, Tris."

I sit down next to Tobias and pull his hands into mine and squeeze.

"We don't know what this is. Not yet. Until we know what we're up against we can't go worrying about everything."

We sit in silence for a while. There is nothing calm or comforting about the quiet though. It is filled with worry and unanswered questions. Eventually Tobias pulls me into his lap, letting each of my legs fall on either side of his hips.

"Zeke told me he offered you a job with him at your party," Tobias says unexpectedly.

"Oh, uh, yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to do it. I like things how they are now, or how they were a few hours ago."

Tobias mulls over my words, indecision written all over his face. "I think you should do it."

"What? Why?" my surprise is evident in my voice. I have no clue why Tobias would want me to work with Zeke. He's always seemed to like the tattoo shop.

"Not permanently. Maybe working isn't the right word. I want you to train with them."

"Why – " Tobias' hand covers my mouth before I can finish my question.

"Us training a few times a week is good, but I want you prepared. Just in case. I already talked to Zeke about it. He actually seems pretty excited about having you there."

I look at the comforting blue eyes of my husband, and can see how much he is struggling with what is happening. I can see how scared he is behind his somewhat calm demeanor.

I haven't seen him this tormented since . . .

Three months after the war and we're still working on reorganizing the city. The old Erudite headquarters has been practically abandoned since the war. A few of the leaders, including Tobias and myself, have come to take a look at it to see if we can decide what to do with it.

We all split up, walking around the building to see what kind of infrastructure we have to work with. My legs seem to work on autopilot and the next thing I know I'm back in the room.

My room.

The small cot is still in the corner, the walls still pristine and white. It makes me nauseous.

I sit down in the center of the room and just . . . stop. Stop thinking, stop hurting, stop worrying about everything.

I don't know how much time passes, but I feel a warm hand rest on my shoulder and look to see Tobias standing next to me.

"What are you doing?" he asks softly. I know he probably suspects what this room is, but he needs me to confirm it.

"This is where I . . . stayed."

Tobias' eyes, his touch, his whole presence changes from comforting and confused to defeated. He tries to hide it, tries to be strong for me, but I can tell how much this hurts him, too.

He doesn't say anything. He just sits next to me.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Tobias exhales his bated breath and rests his head on my shoulder. He whispers his thanks over and over.

I guess I'm going back to Dauntless.

"Tori agreed to close the shop for a while. She'll be able to watch Drew for most of the time you're there. They converted a few of the apartments into a daycare center, he should be safe there for any time she can't watch him."

"You must have been pretty sure I would agree if you already asked Tori."

"I just wanted to make sure everything would work out before I asked."

"I have one condition."

"You already agreed, you can't go changing your mind now."

"You come with me, at least a few times. You're probably pretty rusty, too," I smirk, squeezing his bicep. My point would be better made if it weren't so solid.

"I'll go, at least a few times. I promise," he smirks at me.

The moment I nod Tobias crashes his lips to mine in a passionate but too quick kiss.

"Okay, let's go."

"Wh – now?"

"Yes. We can get Drew situated at the daycare. Get dressed," Tobias stands, lifting me with him, and carries me over to the closet. He plops me down on my feet, gives me a quick peck on the lips, and goes to get Drew ready to leave.

I'm in a pair of comfortable dark jeans, and a plain white t-shirt within a few minutes. Twenty minutes after that we're approaching the Dauntless compound. Zeke saunters out to greet us.

"You two just like causing trouble for everyone, don't you?" Zeke jokes.

"Oh yeah, its great to be everyone's number one target all the time," I snap back, but smirk so he knows I'm playing along with him.

"It's good to have you back here. Things are different . . . it's a better environment to learn in than you had before. No assholes to throw knives at your head."

Tobias and I give him matching eye rolls when a woman comes up, her eyes only for Drew. It's obvious she loves children by the way she gravitates towards him, and Drew is intrigued with her as well. She goes to reach for him, but I tighten my hold on him.

"What's your name?" I ask her.

"Alison. I've worked here for ten years, taking care of the guards' children whenever they're working or their spouses can't. I'll take care of him, I promise."

I look from her to Zeke to Tobias. The latter two are smirking at my over protectiveness, but Alison looks at me with kind, understanding eyes. I decide I can trust her so I let her lead Drew off, watching as his clumsy feet try to keep up with her. He's still trying to understand the whole walking thing.

Zeke leads us around the compound. I understand what he was saying about the environment now. It's the same compound I lived in for two years, but completely different at the same time. Everything is in the same place, but the people walking around aren't intimidating or threatening. People are smiling and laughing, they're working together for a greater good of the city. Not for the greater good of themselves.

There is no competition, no fear of becoming Factionless if you fail initiation or if you become too old and fragile to serve the Dauntless mission anymore.

It's amazing.

"I figured today you could just watch a training session. We'll ease you into things. This is our newest group of trainees. They're all around sixteen to eighteen, but I'm sure you guys will be able to keep up," Zeke says as we approach one of the old training rooms.

We enter and I see a row of about twenty teenage boys and girls sitting in a cluster of plastic chairs. They're circled around their instructor, listening to him talk, but his back is to me so I don't know if I know him or not. As I look at the new recruits I start to feel very old. I was sixteen when I went through initiation. That was sixteen years ago.

Zeke enters the room, and Tobias moves to follow him, but I pull his hand back. "I can't do this," I whisper to him.

"Why?"

"I'm not sixteen anymore, Tobias. I could barely keep up then. Now? I – "

"That's why we're doing this. We both need to get back in shape in case something happens. I give you a week before you're taking all of them down," he smirks at me and pulls me into the room.

Zeke approaches the instructor, whispers something to him, and he turns around and smiles at Tobias and I. Hector! I guess this won't be so bad after all.

"You're a lucky class. It looks like we'll have a few special recruits working with us. Trainees, I'm sure you all know Tobias and Tris Eaton," Hector says, motioning towards us.

As Tobias and I approach, I watch the reactions of the trainees sitting before us. I'm surprised to see a mixture of awe among most of their faces. Odd.

Even more odd is when one of the girls stands as we approach and starts to clap. The rest of them quickly join.

My brows furrow and I look at Zeke in question.

"Before physical training, all of the recruits go through a two week brief on the war. You guys are our greatest case study."

"What exactly do you tell them?" I question. This is the first I'm hearing of any case study. I don't know how I feel about everyone knowing what I did during the war.

"So what really happened at Amity when you guys –" a boy with bright blond hair and dark eyes asks. He is interrupted when a girl with black hair and a sweet face smacks him on the back of the head.

"You get to ask them a question and that's what you ask? Get to the good stuff. Like Erudite . . . did you really die?" she questions.

"This isn't an interview. She's here to re-acclimate herself to the environment. I'm trying to convince her to come back to the dark side. Don't scare her off with questions you already know the answers too," Zeke scolds. It's a serious side I rarely see of him, but I know he has if he's the head of the security force.

"But – " the blond boy protests, but I cut him off this time.

"One question a day. Choose wisely."

A few of them huddle together, trying to come up with a good question if they only get one today, and I start to regret letting them ask any.

"Erudite. You were really dead, dead?"

"I'm not really sure," I answer truthfully. "I assume I was, I think they had me hooked up to a monitor so they could know when . . . and I woke up in an empty room. They thought I was dead."

"And then it was me to the rescue," Zeke boasts, throwing an arm over my shoulder.

"Please, if I remember correctly I almost shot you," I scoff.

There's a collective mummer of amazement among the group. I look at them and realize most of them would have been infants during the war, some not even born yet. I feel a rare sense of pride run through me at the thought that I had any hand in these kids growing up in a safe, functioning city where they could grow up to make their own choices.

Hector claps his hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, now to the fun stuff. You two staying?" he asks Tobias and Zeke. They both nod.

The afternoon is interesting. Tobias, Zeke and I all stay back and watch as Hector talks to the trainees. The day is mostly about knowing what is expected of them as future city security officers, and explaining to them the stages of their training. It is much the same as the training we did for the Dauntless initiates with a focus on weaponry and hand-to-hand combat.

Tobias has to leave about twenty minutes into the session. He's called back to the City Council building, and I try not to think too much about what it could be.

Zeke keeps me company as Hector shows the trainees around the compound. We walk with them, but keep to the back of the group. A door catches my eye, and I branch off from everyone as we pass by some of the apartments a few of the trainees are staying in.

I wander down the hall, remembering the few times I walked this very space years ago. I pause when I come to the door, my hand freezing on the handle.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and stare at the large room with a chair in the center.

The old fear landscape room.

It is obvious the place has been vacant for too long, dust and debris cover the area. I approach the chair and touch it with just the tips of my fingers, but quickly pull my hand back. There are too many bad memories in chairs like this; I don't have time to open that emotional door.

I make my way home with Drew a little while later. We didn't do much in the way of training, for me at least, but I do feel a little more prepared to go back tomorrow. Just getting used to being back in the old compound was enough of a mental challenge for me today.

Drew and I run into Tobias as we're walking down the street, a few blocks away from home. Tobias swings Drew up on his shoulders to carry him the rest of the way.

That night, once Drew is fast asleep, and Tobias and I are lying in bed in the dark, I ask him about what has been on my mind since I entered the fear landscape room this afternoon.

"Did the city get rid of all of the serums? The simulations . . . the fear landscapes?"

Tobias thinks for a moment. "Yes. All of the factions agreed to get rid of any specialty serums they had, and we trashed everything at Erudite. Why?"

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. Knowing you guys are out there reading this keeps me writing. So . . . what do you think? I'm dying to know! – DR13