Lynn pull me out of the net, a goofy grin on her face.
It's odd, seeing her smile. But, I smile too. We are Dauntless again.
When I am out, we wait a second, and Tris comes down silently, a wide smile on her face. I pull her out of the net gently, careful not to grab her fabric to roughly.
She gave me a silent 'thanks' and stands with me and Lynn, waiting for Uriah to come down.
When he does, he makes a big entrance. He falls forward, then belly flops onto his back with a smile, laughing lightly.
None of us make much noise on the way down, we know that there are people down here working on the Headquarters, and we could get caught at any moment. We pull Uriah out, and once he is on his feet, we are moving.
The compound smells like burnt air and ash. The walls around us are black and falling of around us- it is barely standing.
It looked better, though. The floor was a deeper shade of black; it was recently repainted. The group makes a turn where a hallway should be, but we only find a wall. It was clear; as Dauntless was being repaired, it was also being redesigned. The hallway to the Pit was there, and we silently walk there, careful not to make any noise.
When we got, there, it was beautiful.
The Pit had white lights shining down at us from the glass ceiling, making it light even when it was dark outside. The air was easier to breath in, and there was no railing to protect us from the chasm.
It was blocked off by glass; you could literally walk on the chasm.
We couldn't step any further into the Pit, there were construction men and women working on it. It would be odd seeing four Erudite at Dauntless Headquarters while it was being fixed up. We took in as much of the Pit as we could, grinning like fools.
One of the men dressed in black noticed us staring.
"Hey!" He called.
Uh-oh. We were in trouble.
"Are you guys here to fix the control room?"
His question shocks us. We didn't expect him to think that we were real Erudite. Lynn nods furiously.
I clear my throat. "The new design is quite confusing. If you could lead us to the control room...that would be excellent!" I try to mimic how the Erudite speak, and position themselves. I stand up straight and fold my hands together, just as Uriah did, our first dinner at Erudite.
The man points to the hallway where the dorms would be, and we are off. When we are in the hall, Tris whispers excitedly. I knew what she was thinking. We shouldn't head into the actual control rooms, we should explore more of the compound.
We look run around the headquarters for a while, smiling like idiots. It is beautiful.
We find the training room. The smell of dusty air and sweat is gone. The floor is replaced with quartz, and the equipment is new. The punching bags seem...cleaner somehow. I am sure that it is the best room yet. That is, until we find the new dorms.
It is bigger, and the walls are repainted. There are people inside of the dorms, it is still being worked on. We tell them that we would be in the control room in a second, so that they suspect nothing. They continue to work.
The side of the room that is partially finished is beautiful. It smells of paint fumes, but the design is amazing.
For the rest of the morning, we run around the new Dauntless Headquarters, giggling and smiling like maniacs.
It is lunchtime, and we are still at Dauntless, acting fools.
The truth is, I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back to Erudite. I wanted to stay here, even if all of my memories were wiped away by a fire. I couldn't leave. Not now.
Uriah feels the same because when he checks his watch, and sighs.
"I don't want to leave yet." Tris says, sticking her bottom lip out.
I nod, agreeing with her. "Can't we just eat here?" I ask, but I know we can't. I was pushing it.
Lynn shakes her head. "Shauna and Hector would wonder where I am." She says. "We have to go."
Uriah nods. "Lynn's right," He says. "We have too."
I click my tongue and sigh. "Okay."
We get soaked as we stand on the train track, waiting for the train to come. It is raining. While we wait, I think of how severe the punishments will be for leaving Erudite without permission. I couldn't think of any, but I knew there would be one, or quite a few. The combination of the wind and rain makes my back cold. When the train comes, we run to catch up with it. The track is slippery, so I stumble a few times. Tris is falling behind, but I only run quicker. I knew that she didn't want my pity. I jump onto the train right after Lynn does, and Uriah falls behind, so he jumps into the last car.
The only person that needed to get on was Tris. On instinct, I hold out my hand, but I immediately pull it back, knowing that she wouldn't want me to do so. I watch as she runs faster, and I have a hard time not holding my arm out. She slips on the wet track, and I gasp when she almost falls. I instantly pull her in, not caring about what she says earlier.
"I'm sorry." I say, after pulling her into the train.
She doesn't respond. She folds her arms across her chest and presses her lips together in a line.
We don't speak for the rest of the ride.
What was wrong with her today?
On her period, maybe.
I didn't question it any further.
When it is time to jump, I shiver as the rain hits my body, the warmth of the train gone. The grass is wet when we jump into it, and it leaves stains on our Erudite clothing. We walk to Erudite Headquarters slowly, none of us in a hurry to get scolded.
When we reach Erudite Headquarters, we are wet and dirty. But the trip to Dauntless was worth it.
Four stands up from a blue bench, his eyes wide. He walks to us quickly, and looks at me even though he addresses all four of us.
"Where have you been?"