"I am really worried about Tris." Four stated as he played with some of the kids they loved his strength and ability to play. Dres though well they didn't like her so much and tended to give her a wide space as she sat on the rocks to the left of Four. Four seemed to have this Amity thing down, Dres not so much. Not that she understood how Four could be so kind it wasn't like he'd been shown any kindness in his life.
"She still not talking to you?" Dres asked picking at long strands of grass growing around the rock she sat on. She'd noticed Tris wasn't getting any better in fact she was getting worse instead of dealing with her guilt she was letting it consume her. She was become rash and short tempered. What was worse was the unease it was causing in Amity. Soon they would grow fed up of her 'bad energy' and they would be out. Halston had already mentioned their presence was causing friction.
"Oh she talks to me about everything but what we need to talk about."
"Have you tried to force the subject?"
"She just shuts down blanks and tells me she's fine." That didn't surprise Dres, a few days ago Tris had cut her hair off. She'd done a terrible job of it too but Dres had managed to neaten it out. She'd read about that sort of thing in some of Eric's books on mental health, though why he'd had them Dres didn't have a clue she never saw him read them. She believed Tris was showing typical signs of post-traumatic stress cutting her hair was a desperate cry for help and attempt to destroy the girl that had once existed.
There wasn't really any treatment for post-traumatic stress before the war there had been drugs that helped the healing process but the books documented various cases each of them had different solutions and different out comes. It seemed a very hit and miss illness sometimes you could 'cure' it though really Dres doubted for the work it was cured merely the patient found a way to live with it. Talking though the one thing Tris wasn't doing was the only way that showed any great promise in curing this mental disease.
"Earth to Dresden…. Where did you go?" Four asked now crouching in front of her looking at her with concern.
"Eric used to have books on something called post-traumatic stress disorder I think it's what Tris is suffering from. I was trying to remember if there was another way to help her… but from what I remember talking was the only real thing that helped them."
"We have to go do chores, you are meant to be taking that horse out today to stretch its legs." The white horse she'd been grooming and nursing Dahlia. They'd been undergoing recovery together after Dahlia had to have surgery on her knee today was the first day she was going to be ridden since her surgery. And since they had formed some kind of bond Halston who was in charge of the horses agreed it should be Dres that rode her.
"She has a name Dahlia." Dres stated as she slid down the rock and landed just in front of Four. He looked down at her and saw a softness in her eyes he'd seldom seen before as she spoke of the horse.
"I know; you care for her well." He noted as they walked towards the stables as the bells to start morning chores began ringing.
Riding Dahlia nothing compared taking her out beyond the wall into the amity farms letting her run free. She felt free for the first time in a long time Dres didn't feel like she had the weight of a world on her shoulders. Slowing Dahlia back down to a walk Dres leant forward patting the horse's neck as a congratulations'. Running her hand through the glossy white coat affectionately Dres just stared mindlessly ahead. They said there were monsters out their waiting for them to venture to far from the wall. Could they really be any worse than the monsters inside the walls though? What would it be to just take Dahlia and keep riding off into the sunset.
Too easy… that's what it would be, cowardice. She made a vow to Four and Tris she would help them end this. She'd taken the cowards option before and run and all that had done was thrust her into a world of pain. It was time to face up to her problems and not run.
They always sat together at lunch tried to hide at the edge of the dome away from the Amity so no one would notice them whilst avoiding the bread like the plague. It wasn't a secret Amity drugged the bread with peace serum and none of them wanted to be drugged up. Halston sometimes came and sat with them, enjoying the company of his little sister again he would claim. But Dres was sure it was more to keep an eye on them. He'd changed so much since she had last seen him, he still looked like her big brother but he just wasn't the Halston she remembered.
Dres had barely finished picking her food when she heard it across the dome the sound of plates glittering and the gasp of the Amity. She didn't have to turn and look to know Tris had finally snapped, likely at Peter he'd been pushing every ones' buttons since they'd arrived in Amity. But Tris was running on a considerably shorter fuse. Putting her plate down Dres just stood there waiting for the inevitable. "MY OFFICE NOW!" and there it was Johanna's seemingly infinite patience had snapped.
Not saying a word Dres followed them over to the stables and up into Johanna's office. She didn't sit with the rest of them she wasn't the diplomatic one that was Four's job he'd also need to calm Tris down. And right now all Dres wanted to do was slap some sense into the idiot girl. She got that Tris was 'ill' she was suffering but her rash decisions were going to get all of them hurt. She needed to get it under control she needed to accept there was something wrong and fucking talk about it!
Standing on the balcony looking over the horses Dres just waited, barely listening to the conversation it was more just background noise. It was drowning the conversation out that mean she was able to hear the trucks before anyone else. Stepping away from the balcony she walked over to the window and saw the Dauntless trucks taking out the fences as they barged their way into Amity.
"We've got a problem." Dres stated walking back to the group as the trucks started to pull up around Amity and Dauntless soldiers began climbing out the backs. This was a small invading force.
"Stay here." Johanna told them before heading down from her office to create the truck that had just pulled up in front of the stables.
Dres walked back to the window followed by Four whilst Tris stayed with Caleb and Peter. Trying to remain far enough back they couldn't be seen but get a good enough view of bellow Four used his height whilst Dres crouched low and close to the wall using the lower half of the window.
He was there on the other side of the glass Dres' fingers traced the profile of his body on to the glass no longer caring what was been said just captivated by him. But it had been like that from the start, Eric had just affected her in ways she'd never felt before. What was the phrase, he'd 'stolen her breath'.
"Dresden?!" Lauren shouted at her as she stopped paying attention to the knives been thrown her interest had been peaked by the transfer using the closest punching bag. She'd stopped throwing and turned her full attention to watching him. He was the Erudite transfer Eric Coulter currently ranked 1st. A big physical guy it was easy to see why stage one of initiation was benefitting him. Dres could have sworn as she watched his body move, his tank top so tight it left nothing to the imagination, that his muscles had muscles.
"Earth calling Dresden!" Lauren had stepped in front of her now knocking Dres back to earth with an embraced bump. She could have sworn she could see the Erudite smirk as she turned back to the targets. Dres couldn't believe she'd been caught mooning over a guy she was supposed to be Dauntless, strong and fearless. Strong and fearless women didn't just stand there staring at guys they thought where hot they did something about it. She prided herself in doing something about it never before had she been shy around a guy if she found someone attractive she went for them and usually got what she wanted.
Picking up a knife Dres could feel Eric's gaze on her back as she aimed for the target. It was the worse miss she'd ever thrown sure the throw was aggressive with a lot of force behind it but it was lodged into the wooden surround. In her anger Dres threw three knives in quick succession each of them this time lodging themselves deep in the target but none of them hitting that elusive centre. His presence, his gaze and she was crumbling her usual form and composure slipping. Missing wasn't uncommon she wasn't the best shot but losing her temper was. She always had the tightest grip on her emotions.
"You're not taking gravity into account." Eric stated as he walked over to her. The rest of the initiates had already left for the evening but Eric had stayed behind stood watching as Dres kept throwing blades at the target never hitting her mark. "You have to throw in an arc to counter act the effects of gravity. Your stance as well it's all wrong."
Eric didn't give her chance to come back or to tell him to fuck off before he was pressing his body against his. Kicking her legs apart to give her a stronger stance placing his hand on her stomach pulling her up. Running his hands up her arms her pulled her shoulders back opening up her chest before running his right hand back down her arm taking her hand which held the knife in his hand. Letting his left hand slip back down to her stomach her turned them so she was angled from the target.
Lifting her arm to the throwing stance Eric bent his lips to her ear, "aim above where you want it. Pick the spot and focus on it, you're going to get your body behind the knife as well turn yourself into the throw." Taking the blade from her and slipping it in her belt Eric made her move through the throwing motion a few times.
Dres was trying to take in what he was saying but his smell, the warmth of his body it was all intoxicating. It was going in one ear and out of the other, he could have been saying anything she wasn't listening to the words just the deep soothing timber of his voice. The cool metal slipping back in her hand and the warmth of Eric's body leaving her should have bought her back to Earth but she was so intoxicated on him so relaxed she just threw the knife without thinking. Bang! The blade hit dead center of the circle. "Wow." Dres breathed out dropping the stance and turning to find Eric was gone. The training room was empty as though he had never been there at all.
"You know you're awfully stuck in that doorway Lady." This at least registered in Dres' brain as a threat as Eric stepped around Johanna and into the stable. Four was straight into pushing the rest of the group towards the window.
"What's up there?" They all froze at the sound of Eric's voice at the bottom of the stairwell directly below them. He was going to come up the stairs and Dres knew this was it. He was going to find her, the fairy tales told to Amity kids would have them believing that Eric would change back to the man he knew at the first sight of her. Fall to his knees weeping with joy at the sight of his dead wife alive and well in front of him. Dres didn't hold that much hope, she knew he'd likely be angry.
The bottom step creaked when Dahlia snorted and started moving restlessly around in her stall. Halston had told her horses were intelligent they could sense the discomfort of their carer. Was this what this was, could Dahlia sense her discomfort and so was acting out. The step creaked again as Eric moved off it and started down the stable. Dres turned to watch Eric.
Whilst the other started for the window Dresden stepped closer to the edge of the balcony watching Eric. As he looked around seeing no one before his attention turned to Dahlia, he looked so sad and yet as though he where in a rare moment of peace as he stroked his hand over the horses' neck. Dres found a bitter irony in how it was this horse that had caught his attention, Dahlia. She'd once told him as they'd been curled up in bed reading, her an old novel him various reports, that she dream of owning a white horse she could take out beyond the wall and just ride, be free. He'd merely kissed the top of her head and called her his little Dauntless. God what she would have done in that moment to go to him to hold him, to have him hold her, just one last time. Watching him, seeing him, her life began to seem worth it to feel those lips one last time get lost in the blue of his eyes one last time.
"DRESDEN!" Four's hissed whisper caught her attention pulling her back to the now and the understanding she had to run. If she didn't Eric would be forced to choose between his family and her – his wife. Stepping back from the edge Dresden stole one last look at Eric before running over to the window just as Peter ran past her and started shouting for Eric.
Frantically Four had pushed Tris and Caleb through the window first before pulling Dres through as well who had frozen at the sound of the footsteps running for them. She'd never been crippled by fear before in her life previously it had always woken her up, that shot of adrenaline through her body. Her favorite sensation so much so she used to crave it seek it out anyway possible everything came clearer as the high hit. But as the footsteps made it to the bottom of the stares the fear of Eric's reaction should he see her was crippling her.
Tris and Four had already taken care of the guards picking up their guns by the time Caleb Prior was pulling at her arm to get her to jump down and run. Shaking her head Dresden forced herself to run following Tris, Four and Caleb without looking back. From this angle she could just be a dark skinned brunette Amity or hell factionless caught in the cross fire. Eric wouldn't be able to recognize her not from such a distant she just had to keep that distance.
"The Window!" Peter, the initiate, told him pointing to the window but it was too late they were gone turning he caught sight of four of them one of them defiantly Four running towards the dome.
"Alright I got four on foot making a break toward the dome!" Eric radioed over, "I repeat four on foot towards the dome." Finally, he heard the gun shots he was waiting for and took off down the stairs calling back for the other two Dauntless with him to detain Peter. Running from the building he jumped up onto the side of one of the trucks. Following the four runners up towards the woods, the truck couldn't follow them in there he knew that's why Four was leading them that way but the trucks would help close the distance.
Breaking into the woods Dres slowed dramatically and pulled her knife from her boot. Tris and Four had to move there was no chance anyone would protect them in Erudite but she had a chance. It was tiny but there was a chance she could survive this. "Dres!" Four called back to her slowing his run as he noticed she'd stopped and was now standing behind a tree.
"RUN!" She mouthed at him and was grateful when Caleb who'd caught up to him pushed him forward and he took off running the sound of the train growing louder as it grew closer.
Closing her eyes Dres focused on the sound of boots hitting the ground behind her letting it fill her as she focused on the lead set growing closer she knew it would be Eric. Adjusting her grip on her tiny knife she dropped it back into her boot unable to actually hurt him before she took off running to the left diving at him from a side tackling him down to the ground. Catching him by surprise had been her greatest asset attacking him at speed had not only taken him to the ground but cause a few of the other closest Dauntless at least to stop. Putting more valuable space between the Dauntless attackers and Tris, Four and Caleb.
Rolling over him but staying crouched to ensure she could use her weight in another strike if required. Dresden watched Eric shake off the pain of the hit plant his hands on the ground either side of him and push up. She could feel the eyes of the other Dauntless on her trained with guns as Eric began to move. But they didn't matter the fact they could shoot her at any second didn't matter all that mattered was the reaction of the man in front of her and she had never been more terrified in her life.
The hit had come out of nowhere he could just see the color of their clothing through the tree's when pain had come crashing into his side sending him down. The attack had been so fast he hadn't been able to brace himself and his head went cracking into the ground he felt sick and dizzy at the contact. His body naturally rolled on to its front curling to protect himself from any further attack whilst he screwed his eyes and focused his breathing trying to push the pain and fuzziness from his head.
Vaguely he could hear gun shots up a head, he knew by instinct there were other Dauntless surround him and whoever had attacked him he was guessing he was about to find out who the mystery brunette running with them was. Pushing his hands into the dirt he managed to get on to his hands and knees blinking a couple of times his vision cleared up and he was able to look up at his attacker.