Chapter 6: Tobias – Meeting
We reach the Hancock building about ten minutes after eleven and watch from a quiet spot for a while. No flashlights or voices break the night air, so we approach the building cautiously, guns ready. The lobby is completely dark, without even a faint glow from the emergency lights or the elevators. The generator must still be off.
"What do we do now?" Tris whispers to me, like I have any idea what I'm doing. But we shouldn't stay here, so I lead them into the back stairwell and partway down toward the basement. Whoever turns the generator on, assuming they do, is likely to use the other staircase, so we're probably safe here. And from this spot we should be able to hear people as they arrive.
It's a long wait. The others eventually sit on the stairs, letting their legs rest, but Tris and I stand together a little apart from them. This isn't the time or place to talk, so we wait in silence, leaning against the wall, our sides pressed together. Neither of us has had a chance to bathe in the last two days, but Tris' hair still has a sweet smell that tantalizes me as I lean close to her. It's always hard to focus around her, though at the same time I notice more when she's near. It's when I'm most awake.
I finally begin hearing movements and voices around eleven-thirty. Someone shouts a question I can't quite make out, but I catch the word "generator." Another ten minutes pass, and then the emergency lights flicker on. Many of the bulbs have burned out over the years, despite the sporadic use they get, but a few still burn feebly.
Tris pulls my arm, and I lean down so my ear is right by her mouth. "If they're turning on the generator, that means they're going to the roof, right?" she whispers. "Maybe we should climb a couple of flights and catch the elevator from there."
"Good idea," I whisper back, and we quietly collect the others.
We're the first people on the hundredth floor, so we have time to decide if we should stay here or climb the ladder to the roof. Where the meeting is held will depend largely on who's conducting it, and how many Dauntless attend. That triggers a short debate, with Christina and Uriah convinced that we should climb to the roof, and me determined not to. I'm pretty sure Tris only sides with me because she knows how much the height terrifies me, but I appreciate the support anyway. Cara ends up being the deciding vote when she comments that we could easily be trapped on the roof if someone simply removes the ladder.
So, we move away from the elevators to a more shielded area and wait again. Occasionally, I whisper a scenario to Tris, and she practices aiming. Even if she can't pull the trigger here, it seems to help her think about targets.
After a while, Christina begins leaning on Uriah for support. Her leg is undoubtedly bothering her, but I have to give her credit for holding on this long without complaint.
Finally, people begin arriving. I hear voices I don't recognize, conducting the same debate we just did and coming to the same conclusion – that they should hold the meeting on this floor. A smile tugs at my mouth, and Tris gives my hand a squeeze of amusement. Behind me, I can almost hear the annoyance in Christina's breathing, but I don't turn around or say anything. We need to stay focused.
The voices launch into another debate, about whether or not to use floodlights, and it's all I can do not to join in. They'd be crazy to draw that kind of attention to a building you can see from miles away, particularly when the moon is already so bright tonight. It casts enough light to manage, and fortunately they eventually come to that conclusion.
As it gets closer to midnight, more and more people arrive, mingling and speaking in loud voices. I recognize some of them, especially Tori. Perhaps I should have taken the time to warn the others about her, though I don't think she's a threat to anyone except me. And she may have gotten the worst of it out of her system today. I can hope so, anyway.
Feet start stomping rhythmically, and I know they're getting ready to begin. That technique always catches the Dauntless' attention. Tori calls for silence, her voice getting louder with each repetition until the crowd finally quiets enough to hear.
"Thank you! I'm glad to see so many of you came. Most of you know that we're here to figure out a new plan. We successfully overcame our own traitors, plus the Erudite, but we're now in a position we didn't expect. Evelyn thinks we'll lie down quietly and let her end our factions, but I don't think you'll do that. Will you?"
The crowd roars its anger toward my mother, with shouts of "Dauntless, Dauntless, Dauntless" echoing through the floor. Intermixed, I hear loud cries of "Candor," some voices singing "Amity," and even a few quiet calls of "Abnegation." Someone shouts, "All the factions, even Erudite!" and there's a smattering of applause. I can see why Zeke suggested we bring guns.
Behind me, I can feel Christina and Cara almost straining toward the others, and I know they agree with the general sentiment. Even Tris feels tense, like part of her is drawn there too. Uriah, oddly, seems content where he is.
Tori shouts over the noise, "Then we need a plan!" Another roar greets the words, but the voices quickly grow quiet again. I can feel the anticipation thick in the air even from here.
"And it needs to be a smart one! Because we have no weapons, and our oppressors do." She lets those words sink in for a moment and then continues, "We need ideas! If you have any, step forward. Unlike Evelyn, we'll listen to you."
Tris turns toward me, mixed emotions on her face, and I know she has an idea. Of course she does…. But she bites her lip and stays where she is.
Someone calls out, "We can overpower them! If we all act at the same time, every one of us can grab a weapon. Let's just pick a time and do it!"
There's a general shout of agreement, but I shake my head automatically. It's a bad plan.
Apparently, Tori realizes that too, because she answers, "No! Most of the factionless came from Dauntless. They'll notice if we gather next to them, and they know how to use those weapons. Don't underestimate them!" I guess she heard part of what I said earlier.
"What if we bring them back into Dauntless?" someone suggests. "They might turn on Evelyn for the chance to come home again." That suggestion must elicit some thought, because it's greeted by silence, followed by a sudden burst of mutters all around the room.
"This isn't right," a tremulous voice finally calls out. "The factionless are people too." Someone must object because the speaker continues, "Well, you thought they were when they were Dauntless, and then when they were your allies. What's different now?"
"Yeah," someone else shouts. "It's as bad as what you did to Amity!" The accusation draws some hisses, but loud voices shout, "Truth," and I know at least some of the Candor agree.
I'm curious now, so I lean close to Tris' ear and whisper, "What's your idea?"
She smiles and shifts to respond only to me. "Pellet guns." I have to think about that for a moment, and then I grin too. Dauntless is filled with those, scattered in every kid's bedroom and in some of the stores. The factionless wouldn't have gathered them, because they're not real weapons, but they certainly look real – real enough to create a stand-off with the factionless and give Tori some bargaining power. For a moment, I just shake my head in wonder. Tris could certainly have succeeded in Erudite.
The crowd continues with suggestions, but they're all rejected for various reasons. I'm getting tempted to let Tris step forward with her idea, when everyone falls unexpectedly silent. Footsteps move through the crowd, and I lean forward just a little, just enough to see. The sight freezes me in place.
My father walks through the crowd with Johanna Reyes and three people I don't recognize. Except that I do know one of them, somehow. He looks exactly like Amar, right down to his body language as he walks. But Amar is dead. I attended his funeral. Just like I attended my mother's….
"What's the matter?" he asks someone he's passing. "You look like you've seen a ghost." The voice and the words remove all doubt, and suddenly I'm angry. I mourned him. I made decisions about my life based on his murder. And the whole time it was fake? It's what my mother did, and somehow having it happen a second time makes it even worse. How could they do that? What is wrong with them?
And my father is involved. He's always involved in things that hurt me. Even when I came out of the simulation, after almost killing Tris, he was there.
Tris' hands press into my chest, and I realize I've moved toward Amar without meaning to. Tris is looking at me with concern, her eyes wide, trying to figure out what's wrong. I shake my head. Even if I could talk safely here, there are no words to express how I feel right now. All I can do is stare.
I'm standing in plain sight of the crowd, but it doesn't matter. They're too focused on the newcomers to look our way. Murmurs and exclamations of surprise fill the room. And then Tori's strangled voice cuts through them, filled with the same emotions running through me.
"George…."
She knows Amar, but she's not even looking at him. Instead, she steps toward one of the others, a man I don't know, and takes him by the shoulders. People shift around the group, giving me a glimpse of his face. I see the resemblance immediately, and I remember that Tori's brother was named George. Is, it seems.
For a moment, Tori simply stares at her brother in disbelief. Then, she pulls back and hits him hard across the face. And then she's yelling incoherently, and people are pulling her away, and George is crying and trying to apologize or explain or maybe both, and the whole room turns to chaos.