Chapter 27: Tris – Train
I expect Tobias to climb onto the train right after me, but he doesn't. Instead, when I look back, I see that he and Amar are struggling to get Lisa on board. For a split second, I consider jumping off to help them, but I know there's not much I can do from the ground. Only two people can help her there, and Tobias and Amar are both taller and stronger than I am.
But that doesn't mean I can't help another way. I head toward the back of the train as quickly as possible, hoping that I can position myself where Lisa's trying to board and can grab her hand to pull her on.
Unfortunately, it turns out to be difficult to travel between cars on a moving freight train, particularly for someone short. The first car I have to pass is closed, and as I inch my way slowly along the outside, I realize I'll never get there in time to help at this rate. When I finally reach the end, I look around, evaluating my options, and notice a ladder that leads to the roof of the next car. It's probably much faster to move on top of the train….
I hesitate briefly, knowing that Tobias would call it an unnecessary risk, but that's mostly because he's afraid of heights. I'm not, and besides, it's not as if it's safe to be hanging from the side of these cars. Really, what have I got to lose?
The ladder is easy enough to climb, despite the bumpy motion, and then I'm on top, able to see the train stretched out before me. There's something utterly thrilling about being up here, with the wind ripping past me and the massive locomotive rumbling beneath my feet, and for a moment, I'm caught up in pure Dauntless euphoria.
I make my way to the other end of the car and realize I have two choices: I can climb down each car's ladder and up the next, or I can jump, letting the motion of the train carry it below my feet to a good landing spot. It's an Erudite versus Dauntless decision, but I don't even pause before taking the faster – and more exciting – option. It's all I can do not to crow with joy as I give myself a running start and make the first leap.
It seems to take no time at all to cover distance this way, and I quickly get back within sight of Tobias on the ground. He and Amar are now trying to swing Lisa between them, but I can see how she's resisting, and suddenly I understand the problem. She's afraid to climb on. That isn't good.
I'm very close to them when I'm forced to stop. The next few cars are flat beds with enormous piles of chopped down trees chained onto the metal beds. There's no roof to jump onto, but at least the chains should provide hand grips along the side, so I climb down the ladder and make my way carefully along the first car. I'm about to start on the second one when I notice a figure ahead, holding onto one of the chains and leaning out to the side. His back is to me, but there's no mistaking the tall, lean form and brutally short hair. Marcus. He climbed aboard before I did, but either he was more successful at moving along the sides of the cars than I was, or he crossed the roofs before I got up there. Either way, he's now between me and my goal.
I hesitate at the junction between the cars, watching him. I could just go to the other side of the car and cross on that side, avoiding him altogether, but there's something odd about the way he's positioned that catches my attention. He's staying still, keeping his arm extended…as if he's holding a gun.
I bite my lip, trying to figure out exactly what he's doing and what, if anything, I should do in response. Marcus is cruel – there's no doubt about that – but I've always observed him to stay focused when he's on a mission. That's why I let him come with us. And if he's covering the others, to protect them in case someone comes along on the ground, then I shouldn't interfere.
But some instinct tells me he isn't doing that. I look back to Tobias and the others, trying to figure out what's making me uncomfortable, just in time to see Tobias and Amar leap onto the last two cars of the train, barely making it aboard in time. My stomach twists as I realize they had to leave Lisa behind, and in that instant I know what Marcus is about to do.
"Stop!" I yell as I lunge forward, but the gunshot sounds before I can reach him. Behind him, I see Lisa crumple to the ground, and I know he didn't miss.
"What are you doing?" I shout, and when he turns toward me, I punch him hard in the jaw before he has time to react.
"She was on our team!" I scream at him in outrage.
Marcus' face contorts with fury, and he grabs my wrist in a perfect joint lock, knocking me off balance as my body drops instinctively to avoid breaking my arm. My feet scramble for a hold, and my free hand clutches at one of the chains to prevent me from falling off the train, but I can't get my wrist loose. He twists harder, sending fierce pain through me. It's difficult to breathe.
"Listen carefully, Beatrice," he spits at me. "This mission is more important than any one person. If Lisa had stayed behind, she would have endangered everything. You know that."
He glares at me, twisting even harder as he leans closer. The pain is excruciating, and I'm sure my wrist is about to snap at any second. I feel as if this single point of contact has rendered the rest of my body incapable of movement, but of course that's the purpose of joint locks – they force the body to follow. I think briefly of how no one else was able to use the locks properly on me during practice, because of my small size, but it shouldn't surprise me that Marcus can. He spent decades harming those smaller than he is.
"If Tobias had done his job, I wouldn't have been forced to act," he hisses directly into my face. He's barely inches away now. "But he left her behind when he knew he couldn't. I did what he was too weak to do."
He leans down, pushing me further off balance, and I can feel blood on my other hand as the chain digs into my flesh.
"If you are wise," he says directly into my ear, "you will keep your mouth shut about this little conversation. Because you know this was necessary, don't you?" When I don't respond, he adds, "It's why you brought me along, isn't it? To do what no one else wants to do, to ensure we succeed. To keep Tobias alive despite his weaknesses." He twists one more time, and my feet slip, so I'm hanging by the hand entangled in the chain and the wrist he's holding. The pain is blinding.
"And to keep you alive despite yours," he says as he pulls me up to my feet and finally releases me. I stand there, shaking, clutching the chain with my bloody hand and hugging my throbbing wrist to my chest. My eyes are wide as I stare at him, and for the first time, I see him the way Tobias does, and I understand why Marcus stayed in his fear landscape for two years.
He gives me a small, triumphant smirk and then says quietly, as if nothing just happened, "It is time to join the others. There is a mostly empty car a little ways ahead of us. We should gather there."
He reaches a hand toward my shoulder, as if planning to help me, but I move quickly away from him, forcing my fingers to grab supports as I go despite the pain. I don't dare climb to the roof at this point, not with my hands like this, and not when I'd have to jump against the motion of the train in this direction. So, I make my way painfully along the sides of the cars until I come to one that is open and, as Marcus said, mostly empty. I clamber into it, moving to the end where there's a wall to lean against, and I stand there eyeing my torturer warily. At least from here I can use my legs to kick if I need to.
But he does nothing but look at me with that cold triumph, and it locks the fear into me even further. And with that fear comes the thought that maybe what he said is true. I let him come with us because I knew he would keep everyone focused on the mission, and I knew that would increase our odds of succeeding.
I even said it to Tobias – that I'd rather risk Marcus' life than his. Maybe I am to blame for this, for what he did to Lisa, for what he threatened to do to Lauren, for the stress he's been putting on Tobias, and even for what he did to me. Maybe it's all my fault….
As I stand there thinking, Caleb and Cara stagger into the car, and I remember they boarded just before Marcus did. Like him, they must have been making their way toward the back of the train since they climbed on. They're pale, clearly frightened by the experience of maneuvering along a moving freight train, and they sit down against the back wall in silence. I'm glad to have their company, or perhaps just glad to have witnesses to keep Marcus in check, but I don't join them. I'm not sure what I'd say right now.
Christina and Margot arrive shortly afterwards, sagging to the floor in relief as soon as they climb into the open car. I'm not sure how long they were walking, or possibly running, to reach us in time for the train, but Christina's leg has undoubtedly had quite the workout at this point. She smiles at me in greeting, and I give her a quick nod before looking out the side of the car, pretending to be fascinated by the passing scenery.
Less than a minute later, Tobias and Amar swing in. It's a relief to see Tobias, but I also feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. How can I explain what happened with his father? But before I can react, he makes his way over to me, pulling me into his arms and gripping me close with a mixture of emotions. He must be reacting to Lisa's death, probably all the more so because he doesn't know who caused it. I'm not sure I should tell him.
My teeth find the familiar spot on my lip, biting hard as I remember how Tobias reacted in the truck, and that was just to the threat of Marcus hurting someone, not to any actual harm. It doesn't seem safe to give him information like this, but I promised not to keep secrets anymore, and I don't want to break that promise for Marcus.
I shift awkwardly, trying to return my boyfriend's hug, but my hands are still in too much pain. Finally, I bring them to his chest, knotting them into his shirt a little as I bury my face against him. Behind him, I can hear Amar talking to the others, getting a status report of sorts and probably trying to determine who shot Lisa. I can't help but stiffen at the thought.
Tobias pulls back, looking at me with a worried expression. It's no wonder – I'm sure my body language feels completely off. But I drop my gaze to the floor, unable to face him. There's a lull where I swear the entire world goes silent, and then his hands grip my elbows, hard, and he pulls away a little farther to see me better.
"What happened?" he asks tensely, and I look up enough to see that he's staring at my swollen wrist and bloody hand. I can see bruises already forming where Marcus gripped me, the markings from his fingers clear on my pale skin.
"Who did this?" Tobias' voice is fierce, vicious, angrier than I've ever heard it, even when he yelled at Jeanine. And I know he suspects the answer.
I can't find my own voice to respond and don't even know what I would say if I could, but my eyes flit to Marcus before I can stop them. Tobias' eyes widen, and I'm sure I can hear the pounding of his heart. And then he moves. Tobias has always been fast, but when he crosses the car it's as if everyone else is frozen in place and he's the only one whose body is capable of motion.
He slams into his father, knocking him to the floor in a single blow and then pulling back just far enough to kick him hard and repeatedly. The violence roots me in place.
"I thought," he snarls as he punctuates his words with a kick, "I made it clear," and he kicks again, "what would happen," another kick, "if you harmed her." He crouches down to deliver a punch directly to Marcus' nose, his fist coming away bloody. "But I guess," he continues, his hands on his father's throat now, "you want to die!"
I'm vaguely aware of the shocked reactions of the others, of Caleb scrambling away from the commotion and Cara staring at the damage she's going to have to fix afterwards, and Peter, who just arrived, shrinking back against the wall with wide eyes. But all I can do is stare. Part of me is glad to see Marcus suffering like this, the way I was glad to hear how Tobias beat Drew for attacking me. But part of me is afraid of my boyfriend right now. I have never seen him lose control like this.
And then Amar intervenes, grabbing Tobias in the same wristlock Marcus used on me, and forcing him away from his father. "Stop it!" he says firmly.
But Tobias doesn't. He turns into the lock, using the movement to pull himself free, and does a perfect back-kick into Marcus' leg as he faces Amar. The impact is audible even over the noise of the train.
"No!" Tobias growls. "He went too far this time."
The two of them face each other, both in ready stances, as Marcus curls up in pain against the wall. And suddenly I can move again.
"Tobias!" I say firmly, walking toward him. "You did enough." His eyes lock with mine, and I can see the resistance in them. He doesn't think anything is enough to pay for this.
"Let Amar take care of it now," I plead. I can't stand the thought of Tobias fighting his former instructor, his friend, over the right to kill his father. I can't let him do this to himself. "Please."
"She's right," Amar states in his most solid instructor voice, his gaze boring into Tobias. "I will handle this. Go."
Tobias stares for one more moment, his breathing harsh, and then he kicks Marcus a final time and stalks away. He doesn't look at me as he passes. Instead, he goes to the front of the car, away from the rest of us, and begins pacing back and forth, stopping occasionally to slam his fists into the wall. Fury radiates off him so strongly I can feel it like heat in the air.
"Let me see," Amar says softly, reaching for my hands. He turns them in his, examining them carefully. I wince as he runs his fingers over the swollen wrist to check for broken bones.
"You'll be okay," he finally says in a quiet voice. "We don't have any ice, but you can rest it against the metal wall. It's cold, so that should help a bit. And Margot should have some water to wash the cuts." He releases me, and I back away, still stunned by everything that has occurred.
"Thanks," I mutter.
He nods, and then his face goes icy as he turns his attention back to Marcus. I watch as he walks over and crouches by the bloody form on the floor, but I can't hear what he says. My eyes are still on them, so I jump a little when Christina wraps her arm around my shoulders.
"Come on," she says gently, leading me toward Cara. "Let's take care of those hands." And I go with her, not sure what else to do, feeling for the first time some of the stress and panic that have probably been running through Tobias this entire trip. I should never have let Marcus come with us.