PROGRESS REPORT
TRIS POV
I walk into the dormitory after finishing another simulation. It looks like most of the Dauntless-born and transfers are here, they are crowded around Peter. He is holding a piece of paper in both his hands.
"The mass exodus of the children of Abnegation leaders cannot be ignored or attributed to coincidence," he reads. "The recent transfer of Susan and Robert Black along with Beatrice and Caleb Prior, the children of Andrew Prior, calls into question the soundness of Abnegation's values and teachings."
Cold creeps up my spine. I look over to Suzy and can see that she looks as though she is in pain. I see Christina standing near the edge of the crowd; she has a worried look on her face. I can't move. I can't believe Erudite are now attacking my father.
"Why else would the children of such an important man decide that the lifestyle he has set out for them is not an admirable one?" Peter continues. "Molly Atwood, a fellow Dauntless transfer, suggests a disturbed and abusive upbringing might be to blame. 'I heard her talking in her sleep once,' Molly says. 'She was telling her father to stop doing something. I don't know what it was, but it gave her nightmares.'"
"What?" I demand. Well I try to but my voice comes out strangled and scratchy, and I have to clear my throat and say it again. "What?"
Peter stops reading, and a few people turn around. Christina gives me a pitying look along with some others standing near me. Most are smirking but the worst is Peter who has a wide smile on his face.
"Give me that," I say, holding out my hand. My face burns.
"But I'm not done reading," her replies. His eyes scan the paper again. "However, perhaps the answer lies not in a morally bereft man, but in the corrupted ideals of an entire faction. Perhaps the answer is that we have entrusted our city to a group of proselytrotising tyrants who do not know how to lead us out of poverty and into prosperity."
I storm up to Peter and try to snatch the paper from his hands, but he holds it up, high above my head so I can't reach it unless I jump, and I won't jump. I am about to stomp on his foot when Suzy comes up and kicks him in the crotch. He doubles over in pain.
I throw myself at Molly, hoping the force of the impact will surprise her and knock her down, but before I do any damage I feel hands grab around my waist.
"That's my father!" I scream. "My father, you coward!"
Uriah pulls me away from her, lifting me off the ground and dragging me out of the room. Suzy following behind us. Suzy slams the door and Uriah lets me go.
"What the hell Uriah? Didn't you think I could handle myself against that piece of trash Candor?"
"Tris calm down. It's not worth it. We have bigger problems to worry about. Come on let's get away from here," Uriah says.
Uriah, Suzy and I walk into the dining hall. There are only a few people in here as it is between meals. Uriah walks into the kitchen and talks to the staff. He comes out with three large pieces of Dauntless cake. Trust Uriah to know the right person to get the cake off between meals.
We find a table away from the other people in here and sit down and start eating our cake.
"Thanks Uriah, I needed this," I say.
"Cake is always the answer," says Uriah.
"How did your fear simulations go?" Suzy asks.
"I didn't have any problems. How about you two?" Uriah says.
"Fine," I say.
"No problems. But I'll be glad when it is all over," says Suzy.
"I'm glad it is Cara that is watching now and not Jeanine. It takes a bit of the pressure off," I say. Uriah and Suzy nod while stuffing their mouths with the last of their cakes.
"I just hope I pass initiation," Suzy says.
"We will all be okay," Uriah says. As always he is upbeat. I wonder how much that has to do with the cake he has just finished.
"What job would you like to pick?" I ask.
"I'm going to pick the control room. Then I can work with Zeke. I am also thinking of training the Dauntless-born," Uriah says.
"I would like Ambassador. What about you Tris?" Suzy says. That's what I was thinking of doing but I don't want to tell Suzy that. If I do she would probably tell me to take it instead of her and I think she would be good in the position.
"I'm not sure," I say.
"You could train the transfers with Four?" Uriah says with a big grin. "You could also become a leader with Four and Eric."
"You really want me to work with Four don't you Uriah?" I say.
"Well why not? It could be fun. Your times are fast in the simulations so you are going to go up the rankings. Hopefully you will be second after me and then you can choose whatever you want," Uriah says.
"You're funny Uriah. You better watch out, Tris and I could beat you," Suzy says.
Uriah starts laughing. "No way. I am going to come in first. Then I have bragging rights over Zeke. He only came in fourth in his year."
"There you all are," says Christina. "We have been looking everywhere for you." She has walked into the dining hall with Will and Al following behind.
"We are going to get new tattoos," Christina says.
"You're getting a new tattoo Christina, Will and I aren't," says Al.
"I'll get another one," I say.
"Well let's go then," says Christina.
"Are you coming with us Uriah?" I ask.
"No. I better go and find Marlene and Lynn. I want to see how they are after the simulation today," he says.
We all get up and leave the dining hall.
Ahead of me, Al gives Christina a piggyback ride. She shrieks as he charges through he crowd. People give him a wide birth, when they can.
My shoulder still burns. Christina and I both got a tattoo of the Dauntless seal. Will, Suzy and I walk behind Christina and Al.
Al almost drops Christina, and she slaps her hands around the first thing she can grab, which just happens to be his face. He cringes and adjusts his grip on her legs. At a glance, Al seems happy, but there is something heavy about even his smiles. I am worried about him.
I see Tobias standing by the chasm, a group of people around him. He laughs so hard he has to grab the railing for balance. Judging by the bottle in his hand and the brightness of his face, he's intoxicated, or on his way there. I keep forgetting that he has had a life here for the last two years without me. It's good to see him this happy but it also makes me feel slightly jealous.
"Uh-oh," says Will. "Instructor alert."
"At least it's not Eric," I say. "He'd probably make us play chicken or something."
"Sure, but Four is scary. Remember when he put the gun to Peter's head? I think Peter wet himself."
"Peter deserved it," I say firmly. I forget that only Suzy and I have seen Tobias as anything other than Four.
"Tris!" Tobias calls out. Will and I exchange a look, half surprise and half apprehension. Although I think we are thinking very differently about what is happening. Will has no idea about Tobias and I. Tobias pulls away from the railing and walks up to me. Ahead of us, Al and Christina stop running, and Christina slides to the ground. I don't blame them for staring. They don't know about our relationship either.
"You look different." His words, normally crisp, are now sluggish.
"So do you," I say. "What are you doing?"
"Flirting with death," he replies with a laugh. "Drinking near the chasm. Probably not a good idea."
"No, it isn't." I'm not sure I like Tobias this way. I'm afraid he is going to say something that could out our relationship. I am staring at him, trying to let him know he needs to be careful with what he says.
"I'd ask you to hang out with us, but you're not supposed to see me this way."
I am trying not to laugh. Drinking doesn't suit him at all.
"What way?" I ask. "Drunk?"
"Yeah . . . well, no." His voice softens. "I can't wait until initiation is over," he says. I hope I am the only one who can hear what he has said.
"Not long to go now," I say. I'm trying to stay calm, unaffected by what he has said.
"I'm counting the days down."He puts his lips next to my ear and says, "You look good, Tris."
His breath on my ear makes me shiver. I laugh, knowing he won't remember any of this tomorrow. "Do me a favour and stay away from the chasm, okay?"
"Of course." He winks at me.
I can't help but smile. Will clears his throat, but I don't want to turn away from Tobias, as he walks back to his friends I am wishing I could walk over and hang with them. But I can't, not yet anyway.
Then Al rushes at me like a rolling boulder and throws me over his shoulder. I shriek, my face hot.
"Come on, little girl," he says. "I'm taking you to dinner."
I rest my elbows on Al's back and wave at Tobias as he carries me away.
"I thought I would rescue you," Al says as we walk away. He sets me down. "What was that all about?"
He is trying to sound lighthearted, but he asks the question almost sadly. He still cares too much about me.
"Yeah, I think we'd all like to know the answer to that question," says Christina in a singsong voice. "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing."I shake my head. "He was drunk. He didn't even know what he was saying." I clear my throat. "That's why I was grinning. It's . . . funny to see him that way."
"Right," says Will. "Couldn't possibly be because—"
I elbow Will hard in the ribs before he can finish his sentence. He obviously could hear our conversation. I don't need him telling everyone about it, especially not Al. I don't want to make him feel worse. I see Suzy laughing next to me.
I don't think she would find it funny if they found out about her spending time with Eric. I give her a glare and she stops.
Another day is ending and it won't be long until we have finished stage two of initiation. I can't wait for it to be over. I have had enough of facing my fears. With the added stress of having Cara here watching over us I will be glad when I don't have to worry about whether Erudite find me out or not. I walk out of the Pit and start to head towards the place where this journey had started.
I reach the net and climb the stairs of the wooden platform. I pull myself up onto the net and I lie in the middle looking up at the night sky. Glad to be away from the constant chatter of my friends. Everyone's trying to take their minds of their simulations which means lots and lots of chatter. Especially Christina, I can't believe how much that girl can talk.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Tobias says.
"Well you found me," I say. "How's your head?"
He gets up onto the net with me and laughs. "It's fine. I'm sorry about last night," he says.
"I didn't have a problem with what you were saying. It was where you were saying it that concerned me," I say.
"Yeah, I think I need to be a little more careful," he says. He lies down next to me and I move over so that my head is lying on his chest and he has his arm around me. "What are you doing here Tris?"
"I just needed a break. Christina won't stop talking; I think she is trying to take her mind off the simulations. I just needed some quiet time."
"It's almost over," he says.
"I know," I say. We just lie here for a long time not saying anything. I'm just enjoying being in his company. I can't wait for it all to be over then we will be able to spend as much time as we want together, we won't have to hide.
ERIC POV
I sit down on my couch glad that my day is over. I have been watching the fear simulations from the control room. I can't see what is happening on the screens in the room and it is boring as all hell. What makes it worse is Gus bitching about me being there.
There is a knock at my door. I wish it was Suzy but I know she is with Tris and their friends, I saw them walking though the pit earlier. I open the door and Cara is standing there.
"Come in and sit," I say. We walk into my living room and sit on the couches.
"I don't really know what to do with myself," Cara says. "It's not like I can walk around here. People don't like seeing someone from Erudite here."
This makes me laugh. "I wouldn't want to walk around here if I was from a different faction either," I say.
"I would like to spend some time with my brother but I know that would be detrimental to him, especially while he is still an initiate."
"I can get you some time with him if you like. We just have to be careful about it. Will you be leaving now that the simulations are over?"
"Yes. I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I have a lot to do between now and Jeanine's plan."
"I really appreciate what you are doing for me and my mother," I say.
"I think that is the easiest part of our plans. I hope we can get this done. I don't like to think of Will being under mind control, killing people."
"I just hope we can stop it. I am still going to have to inject everyone. So if anything goes wrong on our end we could still have everyone under simulation."
"I think we should be alright. Even if we fail in one area we should have enough done to stop it from happening."
"I hope so Cara. I really hope so."
Fear simulations are finally over. Suzy, Tris and Uriah were all able to get through without showing they are divergent. It is such a relief. Now I have to go to the transfer's dormitory and give them their progress report.
I walk inside and go straight to the chalkboard. I flip it round so the initiates who are in the room can't see what I am writing. I know there will be a few upset initiates once they see where they are now ranked. I just hope we don't have any trouble like we did at the end of stage one.
Once I am finished I look up to see that the eight initiates are all standing around waiting to see what is written on the board. I flip the board around and wait to see the reactions.
Tris's name is in first spot and everyone has turned to look at her. Peter is in second position but only just. Suzy's times were faster but Peter had done just enough from stage one to stay in front of her. I'm sure that will change once we get to stage three. Peter is the type of person who will have a lot of fears. Where I think Suzy won't have many at all, she could even outrank Tris if she can beat her time to get out of the fear landscape. I will just have to wait and see what happens.
I start to walk towards the door when I see Peter having a go at Tris. I can't step in; she is going to have to fight her own battle on this one. Peter is dangerous and I can't show favouritism here or it will only be worse for her.
I see Will step in and I watch from the doorway, just in case we have a brawl on our hands. It is soon over with some harsh words coming from Peter's mouth. But that is all it really is, just words. I go to leave but I can hear Tris and Suzy's friends now questioning her rank. I would like to say something but they all need to work this out for themselves. I walk away, we only have a few more days before the Erudite attack and I need to make sure I have everything planned out correctly. I can't afford any mistakes.