Chapter 19

Tobias

We jump off the train and walk toward Dauntless' compound. I think about what Natalie said. We're in danger? What does she mean? And what does my dad have to do with it? Why would he want to fix it? And how am I supposed to lie to Tris?

"Are you okay?" Tris says. "You haven't said much since we left Abnegation."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just many thoughts."

"Care to share some?"

"Not really. Just Marcus stuff."

"You sure?"

I'm not sure. I'm going to have to come up with a really good lie 'til Saturday. Lying to Tris is almost impossible, and I don't even know what I'm lying about. "Yeah."

We decide to meet at Zeke's place and get ready in our own apartments. I'm the first one to get there. "Hey man," Zeke says when he opens the door. He hands me a beer and we sit down across from each other on the couches. "So, how's everything with you and Tris. I thought you guys would come together?"

"It's good. We just decided to meet here."

"Alright." He still looks suspicious. I shouldn't tell him about what happened in Abnegation, even though he's my best friend. Someone knocks on the door and Zeke goes to open it. Shauna stands in the doorway smiling. "Hi." She leans in and kisses him. I look away. Never really got used to that. After a few minutes Will, Christina, Lynn, Uriah and Marlene are also here.

Christina sits down next to me. "Where's Tris?"

"I don't know. She should come any minute." I look at my watch. 5.11. She's late.

I start talking to the others and after almost thirty minutes someone knocks on the door. This time I get up and answer the door before Zeke gets a chance to. Outside Tris stands, with large cut on her cheek. "Tris! What happened to you?" I grab her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I tried to hurry."

I run my fingers over her nose and cheekbones. "I…"

"Oh my god, Tris!" Christina says from behind us. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," she says. "I just remember walking here, and then waking up on the street."

"We're you attacked?" Christina reaches for her hands.

"I don't know," Tris says. Now everyone is gathered around us. "I'm not badly injured. It's just a small cut."

"Nonsense. Let's get you cleaned up," I say and lead her into the bathroom.

What if this has something to do with what Natalie told me? She sits down on the chair and I sink to the floor in front of her. I grab some tissues and start cleaning her cut. She frowns a little when I use the rubbing alcohol, but she doesn't pull away. This is my fault. I should have gone with her. "I'm sorry," I say.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. If we would have gone together this wouldn't have happened."

"Listen to me." She turns my head so that I'm looking into her eyes. "I'm okay, I promise."

"But what if you weren't?" I pull away. This is my fault. I could have told her about Natalie's warning. It has to have something to do with that.

She stands up and grabs my wrists. The strength in her grip surprises me. She's not crying anymore. She looks almost, angry.

"Tobias don't you…" She sighs. "Don't you dare blame this on yourself." She pulls me closer and presses her forehead against mine. It's enough to calm me down. "We're going to go out there. We're going to be with our friends and we're going to have a great time. Okay?"

"Okay."

We walk back out and they all look concerned.

"Are you okay Tris," Uriah says.

"Yes, I'm good." She takes my hand and squeezes it. "Let's play."

"Four!" Zeke grabs my shoulder. Basically everyone is drunk by now, except for Tris since she doesn't drink. I've been trying to avoid alcohol tonight too because I can't loose my eye on Tris. "Truth or dare?"

Even though it's Zeke who's asking, and he's seeking revenge, I choose what I always do to avoid getting asked about my fears or my past. "Dare."

"I dare you to take 10 shots!" he almost screams.

"That's it? That's your big re…" I stop. He looks at me, but I'm not sure if he really sees me. He's too drunk to remember that he's been planning his revenge. I bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing. "Okay, fine. 10 shots."

I do them without anyone really paying attention, only Zeke and Tris. Everyone else is laughing and talking really loud. When I'm done Zeke raises his glass and cheers for me. "Nice work buddy. Your turn!"

I look around. No one is still paying attention.

"Tris," I say, since she's the only one listening.

She smirks at me. "Dare."

"I dare you to come with me." I reach out my hand.

She doesn't look surprised. "I'd love to." She takes my hand and we leave the apartment, full with laughter and screaming, still with no ones attention on us.

Tris

"Here you go." Christina sits down next to me on the floor and hands me a plate with Dauntless brownies. "I'm so tried!" she says and yawns. "Thank god today was our last." She and I have been volunteering these last two days to do some shipment work for Dauntless. "Oh, I forgot," Christina, says. "I brought some of my old shirts and pants. I know you don't like shopping and you're smaller than me so they'll probably fit you." She hands me a bag, full with black clothes. "If you don't like them you can throw them away. I've grown out of them."

I laugh a little. "Thanks, I guess."

"So, how do you feel about tomorrow?"

Tomorrow I'll go and see Max about another job. I haven't taken the time to look into what positions are available. "So so. Hope something good is available."

"I'm sure there is. Otherwise, they always hire people in the control room, probably at the tattoo parlor as well. That's where I'll be working."

"Really? Since when?"

"Since this morning. I asked Tori and she hired me. I'm sure you'd get a job there too if you ask."

"Yeah, we'll see."

We continue talking for hours. When you're having fun and laughing, it's hard to keep track on time. "Where is Four by the way? Haven't seen him much lately," Christina says while trying on a black dress she bought a few days ago.

"He's just been working a lot in the control room. Two guys were fired because they did something, breaking the rules, and now he has to work extra shifts. What about Will? He works there now too."

"Yeah, but since you dragged me along on this volunteer thing, I haven't had any time to talk to him."

"Are you two okay?"

"Yeah? Why would you ask that?"

"No reason, just checking." I smile and continue to go through Christina's old clothes. I do wonder where Tobias is. It's almost 5 pm and I haven't seen him since breakfast.

Tobias

Before I knock, I stand there for a while. When I walk through this door, I'll know the truth. I'm scared that it'll change things. That it will be too much information for me to handle. I know I've had trouble with that in the past. Just then, the door opens. Standing in front of me, is Marcus. Memories immediately flash by and I have to look away to prevent myself from doing something I will regret.

"Tobias," he says. "I'm sorry." He touches my arm carefully. I remain still, not reacting to his words in any way. Then he leaves.

"Good, you're here." Natalie waves at me from the living room and I walk in, closing the door behind me. "Sit down."

"Why am I here Natalie?" I say, still standing.

"I'll explain everything, just please, sit down." I sit down on the couch. "I'm not sure where to start. I don't even know when it started, but I know it's been going on for a while. Do you know who Jeanine Matthews is?"

"Of course I do. I've been investigating her for a while."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, she's up to something. I've seen her in Dauntless headquarters a few times."

"Exactly. What she is doing…" she pauses. "She's planning on taking down all the Divergents." She places her hand on my leg. "I know you're Divergent Tobias and Beatrice is too. That's why you're in danger."

"What do you mean she's planning on taking us down?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I just didn't know how to reach you. When you and Beatrice came and visited, I knew that was my only chance. She's planning to kill every single Divergent. For her, they're a threat to the system. You can't be controlled, and that frightens her."

"But she's not in the leading faction?"

"I know. That's why she's also planning to overthrow Abnegation. She's planning a war Tobias. Targeting Abnegation and the Divergents."

I'm too shocked to speak, so I just stare at her. War? This can't be happening.

"Your father has been working on getting more information. He's been in touch with Erudite and a lot of them are on our side. No one wants war, but you can't stand up against Jeanine. She'll kill you in cold blood. She shows no compassion."

My body shivers. How can this woman be the leader of a faction? "What did Marcus have to say about it?" I stiffen. It's still strange to say his name.

"He had good news. He thinks if someone on the inside could find out more details about Jeanine's plan, for example when she's planning on doing it, we could take her down together. She's more powerful than everyone realizes. She uses a control serum on her people to make them follow her orders and when they wake up from it, they have no memory of what happened."

I frown. "How do you know all of this?"

"Marcus. I don't know how he knows but I do know he's telling the truth." She fixes her eyes to mine. "I know you don't trust him, but I can tell when someone is lying and he is not."

"So what do we do?"

"You have to go back to Dauntless and keep Beatrice safe. She can not know about this."

"I don't think I will be able to keep this from her. She always knows when something is wrong."

"You have no choice. If you can't keep quiet, you'll have to stay away from her until this is all over and I know you don't want to do that."

I shake my head. "Dauntless could help."

"No. This will be done quietly, no war. We can't worry our citizens."

"Then why did you tell me all of this? Why even bother?"

"Because I needed to warn you. Jeanine is sending out people to look for Divergents. They attack innocent people, and while they're unconscious, they do a test to see if they're Divergent, done very quickly. It's something new Jeanine made. She's evil, but smart. She knows what she is doing."

That's what happened to Tris. She said she'd just woken up on the street, not knowing what have happened. My heart thumping in my ears, I stand up. She is not safe. They know she's Divergent now. "I'm helping you." She puts up her hand to protest but I continue. "Tris is in danger and there is no way you're gonna prevent me from helping you. I'm coming."

She sighs. "Okay, I guess I can't stop you."

"I have to go."

"Tobias, I don't want you to mention this to Beatrice, but if she somehow finds out, you need to stop her from coming here. Promise me?"

"I'll try." Then I leave her, I leave the house, and I leave Abnegation. I have to see Tris.

See ya'll soon. Be brave! -s