Chapter 11: Tris – Breaking In

The Dauntless are being housed in the north end of the Erudite compound, so our closest option is a building on the other side of Garland Court. We slip quietly past the large supports under the train tracks and into the Wabash Avenue entrance just as the sun is starting to light the sky. The building is silent and empty as we make our way cautiously to the back of the eighth floor.

The windows don't line up well, so it takes several tries to find a spot where we can see the broken window next to Zeke's room. We're above and to the right of a straight view, but it's as near as we can get – some forty feet away. A ladder clearly wouldn't have worked from here.

We watch the street below for factionless patrols and time the guards as they pass. There's almost an eight-minute interval between rounds. It's long enough to work with.

A minute after the third patrol, Tobias pries the window to the fire escape open, positions himself where he has a clear shot, and begins throwing pebbles carefully at Zeke's window. He hits it every time, and I can't help but smile a little at his aim.

"He's a heavy sleeper," Uriah says with a shrug after the tenth pebble. At least we have a bucket full of them.

Tobias stops a minute before the next patrol is due, stepping back from the window and next to me. We wait in silence, but after a moment, he turns to look at me, a little smile on his face. I can't prevent a return smile from forming. In some ways, today feels awkward, after last night, but I've also never felt closer to him. He places his hands on my hips and leans down, kissing me slowly. It feels like electricity is pulsing through every part of my body.

"You know, there are other rooms you two could go to if you really need one," Cara says eventually, and I realize the guard must be well past by now. Tobias pulls away, his eyes on mine for a moment longer before he turns to the others.

"Just filling the time," he answers calmly as he resumes his place by the window, tossing pebbles again.

I clear my throat and turn to Christina. "How did the test go?"

She grimaces in annoyance. "I'm resistant, but not as much as they'd like. Between that and my leg injury, they basically put me on the bottom of the list. If they get enough other people, I'm out. Otherwise, maybe I can go." She shrugs as if to say who needs them anyway. Then she adds, "Cara did better."

"Yes," Cara answers in her precise manner. "It seems that betraying Jeanine from within Erudite took a high level of resistance. And helping you took even more. They said I tested almost as high as the Divergent."

She purses her lips thoughtfully and then adds, "I don't quite trust them, though. They don't seem to be telling us everything."

"What do you mean?" Tobias asks, an edge to his voice.

"Well, some of their explanations didn't make sense, and they didn't answer when I pressed them on it." She looks at us like she's trying to figure out how to explain it in simple enough terms and then says, "For instance, they said that Jeanine isolated the serum by comparing unfiltered water from outside the city with the water after it's been filtered. But if the point of founding this city was to breed a resistant population, they wouldn't do that by filtering out the serum. It's a basic principle of science that more exposure leads to more resistance, not the other way around."

"So, they've been adding the serum to our water?" I say, my voice tight.

"That's the most logical explanation," Cara answers. "Assuming they started with a naturally resistant population, the best way to make us more resistant would be to keep us constantly exposed to higher and higher doses. It's like an alcoholic needing to drink larger and larger quantities to get drunk."

She pauses thoughtfully and then adds, "That would also fit with the way they set up our society. If the serum makes us embrace what we're taught, we would stay in the faction we were raised in unless we're resistant enough to choose another. And it's well known that faction transfers tend to marry other transfers, because they have that common background, so it's a good way of ensuring that the most resistant people have children together, and those children would probably be even more resistant. It's very effective."

For a moment, we all stare at Cara. "What?" she asks. "I didn't say I agree with it, just that it meets their goals."

"Yay," Christina says bitterly. "We're prize cows…."

I laugh, but only briefly. I don't like the thought that these people have been manipulating us all our lives, the same way they said the outside government was. But I have to admit that Cara's probably right. It's consistent with what Amanda Ritter said in the video.

"Do you think there's anything else they haven't told us?" I ask Cara, but Uriah waves his hands frantically, and Tobias steps back from the window again, and I realize the factionless guard must be making another round. Just how soundly does Zeke sleep?

We're quiet for the next minute, and then Tobias resumes throwing pebbles. This time, there's a flutter of curtains at Zeke's window, and we can see his face peering out. Tobias immediately tosses another pebble, and Zeke turns directly toward us. His mouth forms an "o" of surprise, and then he grins as he pushes his window open to see us better.

Uriah begins signaling, holding up his open hand for a dash and a closed fist for a dot. Zeke signals back, the two of them flying through their Morse code so fast I have no idea what they're saying. I feel a twinge watching them. We're here to rescue my brother, but Caleb and I were never anywhere near as close as these two. It feels wrong to put them at risk to help him.

After a moment, Uriah says, "Caleb's trial was yesterday, and they found him guilty. His execution is scheduled for next Tuesday." His words bring the reality home, and I know that I can't let Caleb die. My parents would never approve, no matter what he did, especially if he really was under some form of mind control. I try to believe he was. It's not enough to make me forgive him, but it's easier not to hate him so much that way.

Uriah continues signaling and then asks, "Where do we want to try crossing to the other building, and when?"

"The windows don't line up well enough," I say, "so it has to be the roof, doesn't it?"

I glance at Tobias, knowing how he hates heights, but he just nods. "We can't all make it within the six minutes between patrols, and we can't risk having someone spot the rope during the day, so it'll have to be after dark. But the sooner after the sun goes down, the better. We still have a lot to do tonight."

Uriah nods and finishes the Morse conversation. "Okay," he says eventually. "Zeke will make it work." He smiles a little and then adds, "But he says you owe him big time. Something about Tris having to kiss him…."

I look up, startled, at the same time Tobias says, "I didn't realize Zeke had such a death wish."

Uriah smiles. "It's the Dauntless in him. He can't help himself. But feel free to tell Shauna he said that."

Tobias grins. "I'm pretty sure we can work that into the plan."

We stake out the roof well in advance. I don't know where Zeke will attach the rope on his side, but there are stone pillars we can wrap it around on ours. The bigger problem will be the actual passage. It's a slight climb to the other roof, but there's not a huge height difference, so it won't be an easy passage in either direction. We'll have to haul ourselves with our hands and legs.

Cara looks downright scared as she evaluates the drop. "I don't think I can do this," she says shakily. "I'm not as strong as the rest of you."

Tobias presses his mouth into a line. "No, you're not, but we need you to guide us once we're there."

I look behind us. We're standing on a roof, but part of the building continues above us into a tower. It's even farther away from the other building, probably fifty to sixty feet away in total, but the extra height could make the trip easier in some ways.

"What if we go up higher?" I ask. "And use one of those windows? If we get enough of a height difference, we could slide down the rope to that roof easily."

"Kind of like zip-lining," Uriah agrees, "but without a harness."

Tobias thinks about that and then says, "We can't come back that way – it would be too steep a climb and too far. And we don't have enough rope to make two paths. Besides, it's harder to get on the rope from a window than a roof."

I nod. "Okay, then maybe we can form a safety harness of some kind and tie that over the rope. So, if anyone loses their grip, there's something to catch them."

Cara still looks scared, but I can tell the idea is reassuring to her. I doubt it will make a difference to Tobias, though. His fear is of the height itself, and perhaps of the rope breaking – not of his ability to hold his own weight across the gap. He's too strong to worry about that part.

"That's a good idea," Christina says, and to my surprise, she looks almost as hesitant as Cara. I don't know why, since Christina held herself over the chasm with just her fingertips. She's certainly strong enough and fearless enough to manage this. But then I remember her leg. There's no way for her to avoid using it for this particular task, and I don't know how she can carry her crutch, either.

Abruptly, I remember Fernando's glasses falling as he crossed on the ladder, and how he died for that mistake, and a stab of fear goes through me.

"You're going to have to stay here," I say quietly. "You know that, don't you?"

Christina's mouth pulls into a sour expression, but she nods. "Yeah, I'm not dumb." She sighs and adds, "It's okay. I probably would have slowed you guys down, anyway. I'll just…stay here and help you climb onto the roof when you come back."

We spend the day making safety harnesses. The design takes some thought, since none of us has made anything like it before, and then actually making the harnesses proves to be quite a process. It takes ages to cut through the rope to form each piece. But we have them done an hour before dark, in time to head back to the roof for the other preparations.

Tobias attaches the main rope firmly around one of the stone pillars and tests it repeatedly to ensure it's solid. He has the rest of us double-check it, too, just in case. There can't be any mistakes.

Then, we stand there waiting, Tobias' fingers laced through mine, as the worry grows stronger and stronger inside me. The first part of the plan doesn't bother me – I've always loved heights – but I'm increasingly nervous about the rest of it. How can I risk my friends' lives for Caleb? How can I possibly risk Tobias' life for someone who betrayed me?

Tobias must sense my thoughts, because he begins sliding his thumb in gentle circles on the back of my hand. I know he means it as a soothing gesture, but it reminds me of being in a train full of Dauntless under the simulation, headed to Abnegation to murder their leaders. I went there to save my parents…. But Caleb got there first.

And suddenly it occurs to me that they would have died before I reached them if he hadn't been there. I wouldn't have been able to see them that last time. For that matter, I would have died, too, without my mother there to save me from Jeanine's water tank. It's still not enough to make me forgive my brother, but it does make me feel a little better about what we're doing.

A movement catches my attention, and I see that Zeke is on the other roof. Tobias sees him, too, and immediately throws the weighted rope across the long gap between the buildings. Zeke catches it neatly and secures it. I'm not sure where, but he's the one who attached me to the zip-lining harness a thousand years ago, so I have to trust that he can tie a good knot.

Uriah is the first to cross. It's hard to see him well in the growing darkness, but I don't hear any problems, and after a while, I feel him tug the rope in the pattern that indicates he's safe.

"Cara, you're next," Tobias says firmly, and without waiting for a response, he begins connecting her safety harness. I can feel, rather than see, how much Cara is shaking, but she doesn't complain, and she begins crossing wordlessly. It takes her far longer than it took Uriah, but eventually we feel the same tug saying she got there.

"Tris, you're up," he says tightly, his hands on my shoulders as he guides me to the right spot. He secures the harness carefully, checking it four times, though he must know that it's really just a formality. The harness concept was for Cara. The rest of us aren't likely to need them at all.

Halfway across, I realize I was wrong about that. It's much harder to hold onto the rope than I expected, particularly since my shoulder hasn't entirely healed from the gunshot wound weeks ago. I slip twice, barely catching myself both times. The adrenaline pounds through me, and I'm very glad to have the harness holding me in place.

By the time I get to the other side, my palms are moist with sweat, and they burn from holding the rope so tightly. Uriah and Zeke pull me up, each of them holding an arm. My legs are wobbly when I'm finally standing again, and I step back enough to hide the shakiness in the darkness.

"Thanks," I mutter.

"Are you okay?" Uriah asks with concern, and I suspect my voice must be shaking a little too.

"I'm fine," I say firmly. And then I add, "But I'm not kissing either of you."

Zeke laughs. "Now, how can you possibly resist this?" he says, and even in the dark, I can see him waving his hands grandly across his front. I don't answer. There's really not much I can say to that.

Tobias crosses much more quickly than I expected. Perhaps it's easier for him to move fast so he has less time to think about the height. When Zeke and Uriah pull him up, Zeke gives him a quick hug. It's a Dauntless gesture that probably makes Tobias uncomfortable, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he joins me immediately, giving my hand a squeeze. His body still feels stiff from suppressed fear.

"Your girlfriend reneged on the kiss," Zeke says after a moment, "so I guess you owe me one."

Tobias gives a slightly strangled laugh and says, "Later. Right now, we have a different unpleasant task to complete."

"Right," Zeke comments. "I brought you some less suspicious shirts. They've got everyone wearing mixed colors now, to 'help eliminate our attachment to the former factions.'" He does a surprisingly good imitation of Evelyn as he says that. In his normal voice, he adds, "And then hopefully Cara knows the quietest route to the prison section."

We change shirts in the dark. It takes a few tries to figure out which ones are the right size for each of us, but eventually we're all wearing something appropriate. Zeke must have brought one of Shauna's shirts for me, because it actually fits fairly well. I leave it loose so it will hide the gun stuck in the waist of my pants, and we all leave our coats here. They'll attract unwanted attention inside. I just hope we take this route back, or it will be a very cold walk to the apartment.

Tobias gives Zeke the extra gun he brought, and Zeke hides it deftly before heading back into the building. A moment later, he signals that the coast is clear, and the rest of us follow quietly.

By now, I know how long the hallways of Erudite are, but it still seems like Cara leads us on the longest possible route. I swear it takes us days to get there. Several times, we pass other people, but Zeke greets them boisterously, drawing their attention to him, and they barely glance at the rest of us. I begin to appreciate Zeke's talent for focusing people on him. It's so different from everything I learned in Abnegation, but it definitely has its place.

Finally, Cara stops and whispers, "We turn left at this corner, and we'll be in the prison section."

Tobias nods and starts forward, but Zeke catches him by the arm. "Are you nuts?" he whispers. "Everyone knows who you are. Let me go first, or they'll call for help before you even get there."

But Tobias shakes his head firmly. "You can't. If they know you helped us, you'll get in trouble too, and then what will Shauna do?" An uneasy look crosses Zeke's face, and it's clear he has no answer for that.

For a moment, we all look at each other, and then Uriah steps forward. "They don't know me well, and I can handle a gun. It's got to be me." I can tell Zeke and Tobias both hate the idea, but it makes sense, and eventually they stand to the side to let him pass.

The rest of us stand rooted in place, listening to Uriah's footsteps move down the hallway. Zeke and Tobias both look tense, their hands fidgeting on their guns. I wrap my fingers around mine, glad that I can touch it again now, but I don't draw it yet. If someone walks by, we already look way too suspicious.

Uriah's voice travels down the hall as he talks with someone, presumably the guards. I can't tell what he's saying, but I hear laughter. He must be working his charm. And then the laughter ends, and the voices are tense – but not loud. As a guess, he's got them at gunpoint and has warned them against yelling.

"Hey, give me a hand," he calls, and we're around the corner so fast it's almost funny.

The guards are kneeling on the floor, facing away from us, their guns undrawn at their sides. I walk around to face them, so they can see me clearly as I point my gun at them. Their eyes are wide as Uriah and Tobias take their weapons and bind their hands with the plastic ties we brought.

"Quietly now," Tobias warns them coldly, as he pulls the guard in front of him to his feet. Beside him, Uriah does the same, and we begin walking to Caleb's cell. My old cell. My hands get clammy at the thought, and I can feel my heart starting to race. I'm not here to die, I try to remind myself. I'm not I'm not I'm not. But it feels like I am.

As we round the last corner, I immediately know something is wrong. There are two more guards standing outside Caleb's cell, weapons already in their hands. And the guns are instantly trained on us. My heart leaps into my throat as I recognize one of them. Peter. For a moment, I'm a prisoner again, and he's leading me back to this cell, and my heart is pounding so hard it feels like it will burst out of my chest at any moment.

How can he possibly be here again? How does he manage to worm his way into this position with everyone who's ever in charge?

Peter aims his gun squarely at Tobias' head and says calmly, "I'm pretty sure none of you want me to shoot him." The guard who is standing beside him starts and glances quickly at Peter.

"What are you doing?" he asks, and Peter smiles. It's the same smirk he wore when he taunted me on the rooftop at Dauntless, the same one on his face during our first fight, as he turned my entire body black and blue, the same one he's worn every time he's hurt me or insulted me. And suddenly I don't feel anything except hatred for him. I don't even feel fear. I point my gun directly at him.

"Oh, relax," he says dismissively, rolling his eyes at me. "I'm just returning a favor I owe your brother." And he speaks to the guard beside him. "If you think Evelyn wants her son dead, go ahead and do something dumb. Otherwise, I'd suggest you put your weapon down and open that door."

My jaw drops, and I stand there staring stupidly. I feel like I did when Peter saved my life, in almost this same location. Once again, I have absolutely no idea what to think about him. Beside me, I'm aware of Tobias standing rigidly, and I think he must be as confused as I am. But the guard sets his gun on the floor and fumbles with the door lock. And then we're pulling Caleb out wordlessly and locking the guards into the cell and moving swiftly back the way we came, with Peter following us, and all I can think is "not again."

I don't want to travel with Peter. I don't want to be anywhere near him. I don't want to trust him or help him. But somehow, I'm here again with Peter and Caleb both beside me as we head into an uncertain future. Not again.