Hey Divergenters! I felt very generous today, so here's chapter 24! next chapter around next week.
Please don't unfollow or unfavorite, I just don't want to lose readers because of a misunderstanding.
I just want to thank all of those loyal readers who reviewed, followed, and favorite my story! I joined FF thinking that no one would even read my stories and now I have so many readers that I am so grateful FOUR!
IMPORTANT: I decided not to write sequels, just continue on with the story.
So each book in the trilogy will be about 20-30 Switched chapters. So the whole trilogy of this story will just be called Switched, forget about the Twisted and Swapped, JUST SWITCHED.Please review, follow, favorite, and check out my other stories!
P.S. I got the Four books! :D and guys, I've been getting PMs that are saying how this story is not good and its irrational and how Four didn't do that.
Well, keep in mind that I wrote this BEFORE I even read the Four books. So don't expect this to be perfect!
1. I'm not Veronica Roth.
2. I'm not perfect.
3. THIS IS A FAN FIC. FANNNNNN FICCCCC. HENCE THE NAME FANNNNNN. FICTIONNNN.
Those confused about the repost, I just wanted to have a AN, AN alone is not allowed for chapters.
I GOT THE FOUR BOOK A DAY BEFORE IT CAME OUT :D
Chapter XXIV. A New Start
TRIS
"Tris, come on," a voice says anxiously. "We have to jump."
My eyes open and they adjust to the light of the train.
In front of me crouches Tobias.
I nod softly, and he helps me up and off of the train.
When we hit the ground, I hear him moan softly, and he bites down on his lip in pain; we ended up rolling and he hit his bandaged shoulder where he was shot.
He walks over to where Caleb flung himself off of the train and landed unsuccessfully.
"You okay?" he asks him, helping him up. He nods in response.
"There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here," says Marcus angrily. Damn it. I dreamed that his presence was gone. "Where could they be?"
"They were probably under the simulation," I respond angrily, "and are now…" I pause in confusion. "Who knows where, doing who knows what."
Tobias's hand flies to his back pocket and he touches the flash drive; making sure that it is still in his grasp.
"Let's hope the Erudite didn't think to change the combination," he says jokingly, typing in the code in a keypad next to the gate, which clicks open.
Caleb gapes. "How did you do that?" His voice wavers as if he had just seen a ghost.
I roll my eyes.
"Other than being an ambassador, I worked in the Dauntless control, monitoring the security system. We only changed the codes twice a year," he says matter-of-factly.
"How lucky," Caleb responds warily.
Tobias scoffs quietly. "Luck has nothing to do with it. I only worked there as a side job because I wanted to make sure I could get out," his voice is quiet, and it makes me shiver at the memory of the Dauntless guards locking the fence on the outside on the initiate trip to the fence.
Tobias wraps his arm around me.
Marcus holds Peter steady as Peter holds his bloody arm-that Tobias shot as he had told me-Caleb wipes his cheek every few seconds, probably crying. I see Tobias urging to comfort him continuously, but every time he pulls his hand back.
Gee, what a cheery group we are.
Up ahead, the shadows grow brighter and we have better eyesight as we approach Amity headquarters.
When we walk through the apple orchards, Marcus suddenly takes the lead.
"I know where to go," he says. I don't know how comfortable I feel about him leading us; because when I followed him years ago he pulled out the belt for the first time, but I doubt that will happen and no one objects; Peter is too injured to make a snide Candor remark.
He leads us to a building and pushes the door open.
Marcus stops us by an open room, and a woman stands by the window; short dark brown hair, pale skin.
A name comes to my mind immediately.
Johanna Reyes, Amity Representative.
I remember seeing her when all the faction leaders met together and Marcus made me go in fear of me running away.
Her face is hard to forget though. Especially the large scar that disfigures the left side of it.
"Oh, thank God," she says when her dark brown eyes lay on Marcus.
Oh no, not my dad. Not Marcus.
She walks toward him like she was going to embrace him. I nearly gag. Instead of using the traditional Amity greeting, she touches his shoulder, which is one of the fondest Abnegation gestures.
"The other members of your party got here a few hours ago, but they weren't sure if you had made it," she says quietly.
Oh, how I wish he hadn't.
Finally she takes her eyes off of Marcus and looks at the rest of us.
"Oh my," she whispers, eyes on Peter's blood-soaked shirt. "I'll send for a doctor. I can grant you all permission to stay the night, but tomorrow, our community must decide together. And the will likely not be enthusiastic about a Dauntless, two, in our compound." She says, eyeing Tobias and I suspiciously. I almost roll my eyes. "I of course have to ask you to turn over your weapons.
I hand over my gun suspiciously, but before Tobias gets his out of his waistband, I grab his hand to stop him. I cover up my actions by lacing my fingers with his.
After all of that terrible war, it feels comforting to hold his hand.
And sadly, I think that it was just the beginning.
"My name is Johanna Reyes," Johanna says softly, extending her hand to Tobias, and then to me; a more Dauntless gesture.
"This is B-" Marcus begins to introduce me, but I cut him off. He isn't my father anymore; he doesn't get the right to introduce me.
"My name is Four," I say quietly, hiding a smirk at Marcus's apparent anger. "This is Tobias, Caleb, and Peter."
Johanna gives me an approving look.
"Welcome to the Amity compound. Let us take care of you."
And they definitely keep their word.
They treat Peter's arm and Tobias's shoulder. Then we are lead to the cafeteria.
Abnegation members line up to greet my father with smiles on their faces. He smiles back and shakes every last person's hand.
There aren't that many survivors from Abnegation, sadly.
Caleb immediately goes to the side of a blond girl who I have never seen.
The whole time, I don't let go of Tobias's arm nor leave his side.
-o0o-
They gave us all a room to sleep in. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, disgusted with having to wear Amity apparel.
I hear soft knocking on my door and I already know who it is.
"Come in, it's unlocked," I say, my voice slightly hoarse.
I tug my deep red Amity shirt down, trying to ignore the brightness of it.
Tobias opens the door, still wearing the same clothing as yesterday, and leans against the doorframe.
"The Amity are meeting in half an hour," he says, his voice taking on a hint of melodrama. "To decide ourfate." He finishes dramatically, eyebrows quirking.
I shake my head in shame. "Never thought my fate would be in the hands of a bunch of Amity."
"Me either." He says, humor still residing on his face.
"Oh, I bought you something," I say, opening a bottle, and pulling out a dropper filled with a water-like liquid. "Pain medicine. Take a dropperful every six hours."
"Thanks," he says quietly. He squeezes the dropper into his throat and his face puckers up; probably because it's lemon flavored.
This is kind of awkward, I think, and hook my finger in my belt loop, teetering on my heels.
Tobias breaks the silence. "How are you, Beatrice?"
"Did you just call meBeatrice?" I say, my voice sounds incredulous.
Tobias smiles softly. Thought I would give it a try. Not good?"
I smile, disrupting my mock disgust. "Maybe on special occasions only," Tobias smiles wider. "Initiation days, Choosing days…" I trail off, remembering that there will be no more Initiation days, no more Choosing days.
Not anymore.
They are gone, and the factions are; will be at this state of corruption.
"It's a deal," he says, smile fading.
"How are you, Tobias?" I ask, almost afraid of the answer.
I see his muscles tense, and I'm not sure why, but guilt floods through my veins.
"I'm…" his voice trails off. He keeps shaking his head. His hair had grown a lot since initiation first started, and his dark brown curls move around as he shakes his head. "I don't know, Four." His use of my nickname frightens me a little. He knows that he has to call me that around the Amity since that's what they know me by, but we're currently alone. "I'm awake. I…"
He still shakes his head. Nervously, I slide my hand across his cheek, pressing my lips softly to his.
His eyes fill with guilt as I pull away.
"I know," I whisper. The fear in his eyes tells me that he did something horrible. And that scares me. There's no way I can pry it out of him without hurting him. I should've kept watching the camera screen instead of decoding that puzzle when Jeanine was controlling my mind. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
He closes his eyes, savoring something only she can see.
"I'll let you get ready," I whisper.
He nods, and leaves for the shower. I think it might do me good to take a shower.
-o0o-
After I get out of the shower, I find Caleb waiting outside my door for me. To make the Amity happy-when are they never-I still wear the clothes they had provided me.
We walk quietly down the hallway to Tobias's room.
When we arrive, I see a different person than the Dauntless boy with Abnegation accents I met a month ago.
"You cut your hair," Caleb says in shock.
"Yeah," he says softly. "It's…too hot for long hair."
"Fair enough," Caleb says.
His hair is back to the way when I first met him; the Abnegation cut.
Just like me, he cut his hair from Dauntless style to Abnegation.
I smile.
We walk down the hallway together, the only sound filling my ears is the squeaky creaking of the old wooden floorboards.
"Does everyone know that you're Marcus's daughter?" It takes me a minute or so to realize that Caleb is speaking to me. "The Abnegation, I mean?"
"I'm not sure. I mean they should know me since I just transferred, but I look completely different." I say softly. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it."
"Beatrice, I don't need to mention it." He says snottily. "Anyone with eyes can see it for themselves," he says, giving me a classic Erudite frown. "How old are you anyway?"
I glare at him. "My name is Four, and sixteen," I say, knowing exactly what's coming next.
"And you don't you're a little too young to be with my little brother?" he says jokingly, turning and facing me.
I let out a short laugh. "He isn't your little anything."
"Stop it," Tobias says sternly. "Both of you."
A crowd of Amity dressed in bright yellows and dull reds stand cautiously before us, staring in disapproval as we bicker.
We step through the wide open doors to the trial room, looking at the once-cheerful faces that have turned serious, that stare back at us warily.
I take in a gulp of air, a little nervous underneath their stares, and Tobias touches the small of back to comfort me.
Never knew that I would be intimidated by a bunch of Amity.
Uriah would be crying in this position with his fear. I frown, hoping that he's still alive.
Every waiting second burns into my skin, and by the time the trial starts, it feels like my entire body is on fire, fueled by anticipation.
"We have before us today an urgent question," Johanna announces, loud and clear, "which is: How will we conduct ourselves in this time of conflict as people who pursue peace?"
Then the room explodes into a roar of chatter; filled with the voices of every single Amity present.
Every Amity in the room sits in small circles, discussing together. I only catch a few words from each group within my hearing, but Dauntless and Erudite seems to be repeated often throughout them.
"How do they even get anything done?" Tobias asks me, as minutes of chatter wear on.
I shrug. "They don't care about efficiency," I respond softly, so that only he can hear me. "They care about agreement. Just watch."
All around the room, the smaller crowds grow and expand, and less and less voices fill the room, until there are only three or four. I can only hear pieces of what they say: "Peace—Dauntless—Erudite—safe house—involvement—"
"This is bizarre," says Tobias.
"I think it's beautiful," I respond with integrity.
That's the one good thing about the Amity, they are kind and caring; I don't have to keep up the act of being a tough, intimidating Dauntless with only four fears anymore.
He gives me a look.
"What?" I ask, with a small laugh. "They each have an equal role in government; they feel equally responsible. And it makes them care; it makes them kind. I think that's beautiful."
Tobias scoffs. "I think it's unsustainable, he says grumpily. "Sure, it works for the Amity. But what happens when not everyone wants to strum banjos and grow crops? What happens when someone does something terrible and talking about it doesn't solve the problem?"
A little, tiny piece of me dies in his words. Tobias Prior is many things, smart, deadly, cunning, handsome, but he isn't kind. I may not be the kindest person either, but at least I try. At least I value peace; I touch the tattoo of the tree with a circle around it on my lower back.
But all I can do is just shrug. "I guess we'll find out."
We keep our eyes trained on the Amity, and eventually someone from the large groups stand and approaches Johanna, carefully making their way over the roots of the big tree.
I expect them to address the rest of us, but instead they stand in a circle with Johanna and the other spokespeople and talk quietly.
I start get the feeling that we'll never know what they're saying.
"They're not going to let us argue with them, are they," Tobias says, speaking my mind.
"I doubt it," I whisper back.
The same thought that flashes across his dark blue eyes is in my mind.
We arescrewed.
After a long time of waiting, everyone has spoken his or her piece. They sit down again, leaving Johanna alone in the center of the room. She angles her body toward us and folds her hands in front of her.
I worry about where we might end up if Amity won't allow us to stay.
We can't go back into the city, where nothing is safe.
We have no more Dauntless.
We have no more Abnegation.
Erudite; why would we even think of that as a suggestion?
There's Candor, but I highly doubt that they'll let us stay in fear of being attacked by Erudite and Dauntless traitors.
"Our faction has had a close relationship with Erudite for as long as we can remember. We need each other to survive, and we have always cooperated with each other." I frown.
"But, we have also had a strong relationship with Abnegation in the past, and we do not think it is right to revoke the hand of friendship when it has for so long been extended," she says, voice honey-sweet, also in the movement of honey; slow and careful. I wipe the sweat from my forehead in nervousness with the back of my hand.
"We feel that the only way to preserve our relationships with both factions is to remain impartial and uninvolved. Your presence here, though welcome, complicates that."
I brace myself for her final words; the words deciding about our fate.
"We have arrived at the conclusion that we will establish our faction headquarters as a safe house for members of all factions," she says, "under a set of conditions. The first if that no weaponry of any kind is allowed in the compound. The second, is that if any serious conflict arises, whether verbal or physical, all involved parties will be asked to leave."
"The third is that the conflict may not be discussed, even privately, within the confines of this entire compound. And the fourth is that everyone who stays here must contribute to the welfare of this environment by working. We will report this to Erudite, Candor, and Dauntless as soon as we can."
Her stare drifts to Tobias and I, and stays there.
"You are welcome to stay here if, and only if, you abide by our rules." She says. "This is our decision."
The memory of Tobias's gun hidden underneath his mattress, the tension between me and Marcus, and me and Peter, and that Tobias might get involved with that tension, pops into my head.
I am not that good at avoiding conflict with the two.
My mouth feels dry.
"We won't be able to stay long," Tobias says to me under his breath. I can tell that he was thinking the same.
A moment ago, I was still faintly smiling.
Now the corners of my mouth have disappeared into a frown.
"No," I respond, frowning. "We won't."
So again, forget about Twisted and Swapped, it's JUST SWITCHED!
Good 3000 word starter chapter of Insurgent, right?
Goal: 530-550 reviews, 300 followers, 217 favs!
You all know that I will always update, but I would love if you made the goal!
BTW, Every two or three chapters in the book is one chapter in this story, depending on how much of an appearance Four (Tobias) makes in that book chapter.
~TrissyPoo