Chapter 34

Tris

We hide behind a pillar as we watch Max, Eric and five others from Dauntless hurl themselves into the moving train. When all of them are inside we sprint side by side and we manage to catch up with the last train car. With help from Tobias I pull myself inside and he follows me shortly after. We slide down to the floor and I look out over the city.

"It's so dark," I say, knowing that this is a fact no one in Chicago has questioned.

"Yeah, it is," Tobias answers. "Now that Jeanine is no longer sneaking around with her research and plans, all the lights are out. Just light beams from the stars."

"Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

"That's beautiful. Is it a poem?"

"I don't know. Just something my mom used to say when I was little and we'd watch the stars from my window before I went to sleep."

Tobias puts his arm around me and pulls me closer. "Have you spoken to your parents since… Jeanine's murder?"

"No," I say and swallow hard. "They said they were going to be busy trying to find the person who killed her, so I decided not to bother them."

"I don't think they would see it in that way."

"In what way?"

"You bothering them."

"I guess so."

The train begins to slow down and Tobias helps me to my feet. "We need to jump as late as possible. Maybe even too late."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Past the landing platform. We can't risk being seen."

"Okay. Lead the way." I put my hand out to gesture him forward and he moves closer to the car door. He takes a few steps back and says: "Jump right after me. One, two, now!"

He disappears into the dark and I jump after him, letting my body be swallowed by nothingness. When I land it isn't on my feet. At first it just stings a little, but the pain grows more excruciating and I throw my body to the side. I bump into something hard and I wince. Then someone grabs my arms and pulls me to my feet.

"You okay?" Tobias asks and brushes something off my shoulders.

"Yeah." I look behind me and I realize what it was that had stung so badly. Growing several feet tall above me is a red rose bush with sharp thorns everywhere. "Ouch." I say.

"Look," Tobias says and lets me go.

I turn my head to see Max, Eric and the others walk fast toward the broken down building further down the road. "Let's go," I say and we slowly follow them.

We keep our distance and hide in the shadows while silently tracking them. I remember being taught tracking back when I was an initiate. They taught us the right strategies and methods and how to avoid being discovered and leave a trail. The most important lesson was to be silent and I close my eyes to improve my hearing. There is only the sound of the wind tearing in my hair and the pattering from Max and his follower's boots. Then something forces me to open my eyes. Before I get a chance to look down and see where the loud crack came from Tobias pulls me with him behind the building wall and presses me against the brick wall with his own body. It reminds me again of how small I am and how big he is. He covers my mouth with his hand and puts a finger against his lips.

"What was that?" I hear Max saying from a distance away. "I thought you said you checked if we were being followed Eric?"

"I did, every second since we left. No one followed us. It was probably just the wind knocking something over." Inaudibly I thank the wind for being blustery tonight.

"Let's keep going," Max says and mutters something I can't hear.

Tobias drops his hand from my mouth and glowers at me. "I'm sorry," I say. "I didn't see what I was stepping on."

"Maybe because you had your eyes closed," he says irritably and peeks around the corner.

"I was…" I begin but I better not get into it. "Whatever, let's just go."

Tobias nods and we continue following them.

When they finally stop in one of the alleys it is in front of a tall building that's growing four floors above them. It has multiple shattered windows and on the first floor is a dented steel door. When Max tries to open it nothing happens. Eric steps forward and gestures Max to move away. He grabs the door handle and yanks it hard. It opens to a small gap and with enough force the second time he manages to pull it open completely. Gunshots once made me jump, but not anymore. I've heard enough of them to only respond by reaching for my own gun in my holster. Tobias grabs my arms to prevent me from lunging forward. I watch Eric fall hard against the ground, then the other men one after one. I see Max trying to crawl behind the steel door for cover. His scream echoes through the alley way as a bullet buries itself into his leg.

"Hold your fire," a voice says loudly from inside the building, a female voice. A few seconds later two men emerge through the door opening. To my surprise they help Max to his feet and drag him with them inside the building. Tobias loosens his grip on my arms and I break free and run towards the building. I can hear his footsteps behind me as I reach Eric's and the other's bodies. Eric's eyes are open but still. The bloodstain on his chest is growing bigger, soaking his gear in a black-red color. I feel numb and I have to look away. After all the things he's put me through, I can't feel his death as a loss.

"Tris, we have to keep moving," Tobias says and gently takes my hand in his. I nod and we walk through the door opening. Maybe I should, to acknowledge what just happened, but I don't look back.

Tobias

Eric's dead. That is something I never thought I'd acknowledge as long as I lived. There was even a part of me that thought he might kill me someday. I posted no threat to him, but I always knew he felt like I did.

"Through that door," Tris says next to me. I remember walking here yesterday, through all the dank rooms filled with people. Now it's empty, not a single soul in sight. When we've walked through the last dark hallway we reach the door that has an E carved into it. "Evelyn?" Tris asks.

I nod. "They must be in here," I say.

"What do we do? Should we just burst in there?"

"Do you have any other suggestions?"

She doesn't say anything so I reach for the handle and open the door. I note the guns pointed at us when we step inside the room but I fix my eyes to Evelyn behind the desk, and Max on the chair across from her. "That's enough boys," Evelyn says, and the men behind the triggers lower their guns. "Tobias," she says. "What a surprise. I don't suspect Marcus is with you?"

I ignore her question. "What is going on here?" It is a stupid question and I hate asking it, but I don't know what else there is to say.

"Well, why don't you explain Max," Evelyn says and leans back in her chair. "After all, you are the one who came here an intruded my home."

"That's not what-" Max begins but falls silent when Evelyn shifts her eyes from him.

"I see you did bring a friend," she says and beckons toward Tris. "Who is she?"

"I'm Tris, Tris Prior," Tris says and steps forward.

"Ah, Prior," Evelyn says. "You're Natalie and Andrew's daughter."

"I am yes. But that's not relevant."

Unable to stop myself, I say: "Why are you here Max?"

He sighs. "I needed to see your mother."

"Why would you-" I begin but something loud and sudden stop me.

"What was that?" Evelyn says and gets up from behind her desk. "Who else is with you?"

"No one," Max says and he looks afraid. I've never seen Max afraid before. "I called for backup. I thought you were going to kill me. I- I didn't know."

"What, that she killed Jeanine?" Tris says.

Max's eyes widen and Evelyn puts a hand to her mouth. "What did you just say?" Max says but before Tris can answer him, a group of Dauntless men bursts through the doors.

"Evelyn Eaton!" one of them calls out. I recognize him from the patrol group. "You are under arrest for the murder of Dauntless Leader Eric and five of his men."

Evelyn doesn't protest. She just looks tired. "You can add Jeanine Matthews to that," she says.

"Evelyn?" Max says but she doesn't look at him. She walks over to the Dauntless men and put her hand together in front of her. "I surrender."

Never in my life I expected that I'd see my mother get arrested. When I was younger I used to have a dream about my father getting arrested in front of our Abnegation house, and me and my mother standing on the front steps, watching him be taken away. In the dream I felt no sorrow. It surprises me that now, I do. "Mom," I say, but I don't know why. I don't have anything to say.

"I'm so sorry Tobias," she says. Then two of the men lead her out of the office and she's gone. I feel Tris' hand slip into mine and I squeeze it gently. It is our way to see if the other one is okay. I'm not, but I squeeze her hand anyway.

Two of the Dauntless men walk over to Max and one of them checks his wounded leg. "Sir, is there anyone else we need to arrest?"

But Max doesn't answer him. He's staring into the opposite wall, his eyes fixed on one spot. I walk over to them. "Guys, can we have a moment alone with him."

"I don't-" one of them says but Max interrupts them.

"It's okay Luke. Clear out. I need to talk to Four and Tris."

"Sir-"

"Now," Max says and I'm surprised by the roughness in his voice.

When everyone has cleared out and it's just me, Tris and Max, Max finally faces us.

"You both know that Marcus abused Evelyn, just like he did to you Four. I knew that when you came to us almost three years ago. Evelyn and I knew each other from when we were younger and over the course of the years she lived with Marcus, the two of us used to meet up in secret places and we'd talk about everything. She'd tell me about how Marcus was hitting her and I desperately tried to convince her to leave him. But she didn't think anyone would believe her if she told people what a monster he was. Then we fell in love. I cared about Evelyn so much and I knew her better than anyone. We had spoken about her faking her death before so when I heard that she was dead, I didn't believe it. But when I didn't hear from her I tried to convince myself that she was actually dead. I really tried to but I just couldn't and I searched for her everywhere. The years went by and eventually I had to give up and accept that she was gone. It wasn't until Jeanine Matthews came into the picture and told me Evelyn was alive that I regained my hope. She had the location of Evelyn in a disk that she had hidden somewhere in Erudite headquarters. She told me that she'd tell me where it was but of course, it came with a price. She wanted my help to take down all Divergents and the entire faction of Abnegation. I told myself that Evelyn wasn't worth it, no matter how much I loved her. But I failed myself and I agreed to Jeanine's demands. A day before the operation I realized what I had gotten myself into, but it was too late to stop Jeanine's plan. I could only stop her, but I needed her alive. I arranged a lockdown in Dauntless to keep everyone in place and I sent a group of my men to Erudite in disguise to capture Jeanine and bring her to me. But something went wrong and they failed the mission. At the time I didn't know that Natalie Prior and Marcus Eaton were planning on capturing her too. I learned that when an insider from Erudite told me that a trial for Jeanine's crimes was going to be held. And then she was murdered. I didn't care about Jeanine at all, she deserved what she got, but she knew where Evelyn was and so I had nothing, no hope of finding her. Eric had reasons to believe she was hiding in factionless, and I agreed to look into it. If it wasn't for him I may not have found her, and now he's dead and Evelyn is gone. Again, I have nothing."

A million questions are spinning around in my head, but there is only one I manage to get out. "So you had no idea Evelyn was the one who killed Jeanine? Or why?"

"No. Did you?"

"Yes she told me when I confronted her about it."

"You knew where Evelyn was hiding all this time?"

"Yes, she contacted me when I came to Dauntless," I say. For some reason I feel guilty. Guilty that I knew where my mother was but Max didn't. He did love her after all. "Maybe she didn't reach out to you because it was the safest choice."

"Maybe," Max says and looks away. "So, why did she do it?"

"She said she had to do it, to protect our city."

Max smiles. "She's selfless like that."

I don't believe my mother did this out of selflessness, but telling Max that would be unnecessary. "Well, we should go now," I say. "We'll see you back at Dauntless I suppose?"

"I suppose so," Max says. Finally he looks at me, then at Tris. "Do you remember our conversation in the training room? I said that I accepted your relationship, but I did not approve it." Tris and I look sideway at each other but say nothing. "Well, that's changed now. I can see a bright future for the two of you. A future you both have declined from me once."

At that the door opens and a man, Luke, enters the room. "We should get you to the infirmary now sir, before you lose too much blood."

Max nods and the rest of the Dauntless team enters the room with a stretcher. It's odd to see Dauntless taking care of someone in this way. Usually it's just: Keep going no matter how injured you are. I suppose it's different when you're a leader.

Tris and I watch them take Max away and then it's just the two of us.

"What now?" Tris says.

I pull her closer by the elbows and touch my lips gently to hers. Then we part just enough for me to say: "We go home."

See ya'll soon. Be brave! -s