All rights to Veronica Roth…I own nothing.
I haven't eaten in a while, and I'm starting to feel sick. Needless to say Zeke attempts to cook for me again, but all I want is bread. I want a simple meal. Abnegation food. I sit in my kitchen gnawing on a full loaf of bread when there is a knock on my door. I jump up to get it.
" Hey!" I say, opening the door to greet Christina.
" Hey!" she says. She still doesn't know how to act around me. I think a part of her will always see me as an instructor.
She walks in and sees Zeke, walking to him they embrace in a short hug. There are a few casuals thrown around. She appears to be in good health. I hate lying when I tell her I'm great, but I can't just jump into it. She sits down at one of the stools near my table and accepts a cup of tea from me.
" So what's new? What's with the ridiculously late night call?" She asks, blowing on her hot tea. " I was worried when you contacted me."
" With good reason." Zeke mumbles, meeting my eyes.
I watch Christina's eyebrows squinch together in confusion and I take a seat next to her. Her hands rest on the table and I very slowly and look her in the eyes. And I repeat what Matthew said to me.
" What I'm going to tell you won't be easy to hear or take in. And you probably are going to want to believe it at first. But you will. You need to listen to everything I say. Everything! Okay?" I tell her.
She gives me a wary look and nods. And I start from the beginning. I tell her about the weird letters and from her reaction I have ruled her out as the person who sent them. When I tell her about what Matthew had found out she nearly falls out of her seat.
" WHAT?!" she screams. Her eyes immediately begin to tear up and her face flashes red, " NO! NO YOU CAN'T BE TELLING ME THIS! SHE'S DEAD! I SAW HER! HER BODY WAS COLD! SHE WAS GONE! " She begins to sob openly. " NO! NO!"
I watch as her little body crumples and slides off the stool onto the floor. I give her a moment. I let her grieve. Some time later her cries have stopped and her breathing has slowed. I bend down to her now and touch her back.
" Christina. There's more! " I tell her, " She's here. She's so close to us and we didn't even know it!"
Christina lifts her head to me. Her face is as red as an Amity flag and her face is drenched in tears. She sits up and wipes her eyes with her sleeves and looks at me with attention.
" I need your help! Tris needs you! Can you still shoot?" I ask her, raising us to our feet.
" I practice every week." She says flatly and standing, " I'm going to ruin those fuckers!"
I had never heard Christina swear, but her Candor self is still fairly strong in her, and I know she means it. She wipes her eyes again and takes my beer from the table top, drinking it down. Letting her Dauntless flag fly.
I lead them into the other room, my bedroom, our bedroom. As I walk to the closet by the window I look to her pillow. Soon, I tell myself. I grab the handle to the closet and, throwing a look over my shoulder, wrench it open. I've stock piled about 30 guns varying in caliber and size. I grab a large gun with a strap and slide it over my shoulder. Stepping aside I watch as both Zeke and Christina move into the closet and pull out their own weapons.
" Are you coming with us?" I ask Matthew, who's standing in the corner watching us. " You're welcomed to!"
" Not sure what good I would do!" He says, running his hands through his hair, " I don't shoot."
" You ever used a fork?" Zeke asks, smiling
"What sort of question is that? Of course I have!" Matthew says to him, looking confused.
" Good!" Zeke laughs, " Then you can handle a knife!" and he hands him a large boot knife.
Matthew turns the knife over in his hands a few times before he slips it into his belt. " Alright" he exhales, " I'm in!"
" We storm in! Guns high! Maybe no one will fight back and we won't have to shoot. Far as we are aware there aren't many guards since no one knows about this place. Everybody ready?"
I look around the room and everyone stands at attention.
I turn to Christina and she cheers, " let's go get our girl!"
On the way out the door, walking in a line, I watch as Christina and Zeke both reach up and touch Beatrice's portrait. When I pass her I stop.
" I'm coming Beatrice! I hear you! " I kiss my hand and touch her face. I don't know how I am going to handle any of this.
I sort of black out for a little while. When I come back to reality I realize I'm standing in front of the buildings side entrance with Christina and Zeke. Christina is checking her gun and Zeke is tying his shoe.
" Are we ready?" Zeke asks, standing up straight.
" I'm good!" Christina says, dropping her gun to her side. Seeing them like this brings back bad memories. It gives me a sour taste in my mouth.
Zeke stands up to the door and leans on it, pulling on the handle. With a nod he backs up and throws his shoulder into it.
There is a breaking sound and we barge in. There is a big empty room ahead of us. In the center sits a round high desk. I look over and see a singular guard standing in the middle of it. He keeps looking down, to what I assume is a gun of some sort. We approach him cautiously, our guns lifted.
" I don't want to hurt you. " I tell him, " But you have to tell me how to get into the lab."
He stares at me for a second and then with a blink he says, "What lab? This is an abandoned warehouse. Ain't nothing here but me, and I'm just here to make sure no one breaks in."
" If it's just you," Christina ask, " then why are you armed?"
The man stands straight but the corner of his mouth twists up a little. " Maybe if I knew what you were looking for, I could direct you."
" A big lab" Zeke speaks up, " big tank of water."
The man shifts his eyes between the three of us. I watch him as he studies our faces and without another thought, lifts a hand to the left side of the room. " Take the elevator on the left down to the 6th floor."
I give him one final look and we run to the elevator bank. I push the button on the far left and the doors open immediately.
" He said DOWN" Christina looks at me sideways, and the doors shut. There is a faint piano playing from speakers above us.
I press the 6 and something strange happens. We start dropping, instead of raising. I tilt my head up and stare into the lights above me. My adrenaline is so high! I have to concentrate on breathing, if I don't I may pass out.
I watch as Christina and Zeke both fidget. We're all nervous. I have no idea what we're getting ourselves into. As we pass the fourth floor I notice the coldness in their eyes. I feel it within myself as well. Our anger has reached its peak.
The little number six above the door lights up and with a bell like noise, the doors open. I raise my gun as I step out. There are only a few people in the hallway but no one seems to notice me. For a hidden lab, their security is fairly lax. We scuttle down the hall to the right and wind up running to a group of several lab techs. When they see us they all gasp. I am assuming they are all low-paid worker like Abe and they probably have never seen a gun up close before. As we walk closer I notice them all scattering to get out of the way. They cower from us. I wonder if they too know us from watching videos, or if they are from the time of factions. We walk down the hall in a cluster formation. Keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Christina turns around and walks backwards most of the time.
I don't have time to wonder these halls, and there is no telling how big this place is since it's underground. I grab the next person in a lab coat that I see. It's a middle aged dark skinned man with thick glasses. I grab him as kindly as I can, and push him to the wall so I can whisper to him.
" Where is D1 held?"" I ask looking directly into his eyes, clenching my jaw. I watch Zeke and Christina take position behind me. It makes me slightly light hearted to see them still using their skills.
The man looks at me and I can tell from his eyes, he honestly doesn't know.
With a grunt I speak up a little, " Where are you high level security labs?"
He's already sweating and grabbing for his freedom when he points us further to the right. I drop the man, apologize, and break into a run. These hallways feel never ending as we race past room after room. We come to a new section of halls that are painted a different color, gray and murky. Christina shuffles ahead of me and catches a glimpse around the corner we can't easily see. She quickly snaps her head back to us.
" A dozen guards, maybe more." She says. Her mouth frowns with fear but her eyes, her eyes are alive with excitement. She was always meant for Dauntless.
"There is no way we can get around that many guards and expect to make it out of here alive, let alone with Tris!" Zeke says. He's right. There's too many for three of us. There's a loud noise and I hear what sounds like a whole lot of people. Christina peeks again and her face grows grave.
" They're coming!"
I look around and see there is literally nowhere to go.
" Psst!" I hear. We turn around and we see a door cracked open behind us. And a hand gesturing to follow. With no other option we crouch down and head into the dark room. The light flicks on and we see a young woman standing against the wall. She's sort of tall, dark brown hair with a lot of yellow in it. Before I can do anything Zeke charges on her. He lays his arm over her throat and holds the gun to her temple.
" Who are you?" Zeke demands in a hushed voice.
The girl shutters against the barrel, and she gasps for air.
" WHO ARE YOU?" he says a little louder.
" Please, I'm here to help!" she says through her gulps. She looks directly at me, " Four! It's me!"
Writers notes: sorry for not updating yesterday, still not feeling 100%. Hard to get things done with a strained rib muscle. Anywho…i hope you're all enjoying my story :D