A/N Dear readers, I suggest rereading the rewritten version of Chapter One if you have not already read it since this may not make any sense to you. Chapter One up to this chapter is essentially an analepsis (flashback). I have also rewritten Chapter Two and Three but it is not essential for you to reread it. Italics means it was in Chapter One, except the line just below. Please review, I enjoy hearing what you say!

Tomorrow we adventure into the unknown. But for the rest of today, it's just us two, together and that's all matters.

Chapter 22-Goodbye Safe Haven

What is the worst thing I could have imagined? That the dull faction system we call our city is the only thing here? That outside is worst?

The ride to the gate had been silent and uneventful. The buzz of the truck travelling along the dirt track roads had awoken my senses and made me feel alert despite the early hour. It was a fairly dusty and old truck, considering Erudite new vehicles. But, for the most part it took Tobias, Zeke, Shauna, Marlene, Uriah, Christina, Will and me out of Dauntless and towards the gate. Now here we are.

The early hour of the morning-not too early to be ungodly, but enough to make a few yawns escape me, makes our mostly very sociable group fairly quiet, with the occasional chatter or small talk. I clasp Tobias hand and offer him a faint smile as I climb out of the rustic pick-up truck. We said our goodbyes to those that we knew in Dauntless a few hours ago before we set off, achieving a few good lucks on the way. A sombre experience, not knowing whether to say a final bye or to say 'I'll see you in a few months' bye, inevitably, saying goodbye is always going to be a sombre experience.

My nerves are tingling now, as if my body is only now registering that I am leaving my safe haven. Though my emotional tears are on the verge of breaking through, I strut through to the front with Tobias, my back facing the near and distant buildings of the factions. I can only imagine my mother. Sitting, on her old by Dauntless standards but not Abnegations, chair starring into the dancing flames of the fire, her grey shapeless clothes on and a stern but pleasant look on her face, wondering about my whereabouts, if I will be safe, if I will die. Life is unpredictable. I will never know, nor will she.

Tobias pulls my hand, and my thoughts resurface to the present. His beige and black shorts and white t-shirt makes him look like a Candor but I remember from school that white reflects the heat so it should keep him cooler. I advised everyone to wear something similar so I am wearing essentially the same as Tobias. Every one of us has a large backpack with a sleeping bag tied around them. We have packed essentials and food and water of course, but also some other things as we have only a minor clue as to what we are going to experience. Before the squad got into the truck, Tobias and I had a quick discussion with Louise, she said to be careful and also try and find out as much information as possible. She gave us a mobile phone, the same one Tobias used in the Candor or Dauntless game to phone Caleb and said to give her updates.

The sun is shining, not so hot that it's scorching, but if enough time is spent exposed to it, a tan is certain. The sky around us is bright and cloudless, to our sides the few trees sway discretely. As we glide further from the truck towards the towering metal fence, armed of course, Dauntless soldiers will always be armed, we are greeted by the main fence guard. An old man, despite his high stamina and muscle jogs towards us, he must be in his 50s, practically ancient in Dauntless.

'Good morning,' he says.

'Good morning,' Tobias replies, his Four mask on.

'I have been instructed to open the fence gate for you,' Tobias nods, the rest of our squad scramble around us. 'Your requested vehicle is just outside.'

'Thank you.' As Tobias words leave his lips, the rough, iron metal towering gates open with a slight creak from never been opened a lot previously. This is it.

I inhale deeply, letting the nerves evaporate from my body, the smell of uncut grass developing through the air. Tobias, Zeke, Uriah, William, Marlene, Shauna, Christina and I walk slowly forward, Tobias and me in head and Uriah and Marlene in the back and the rest in the middle. We hike over the fence line and continue straight in a line towards our silver much bigger and newer 4x4 8-seater Range Rover. Surrounding us is countless amounts of fields, filled with uncut grass and weeds and natural crops, spreading out from what looks like beyond our horizon. Thousands and thousands of kilometres lies in front of us.

Tobias squeezes my hand for support then gentle kisses my cheek.

'It's okay, we're together.' He whispers.

And so we begin, into the unknown. We dump our bags into the boot of the car. Tobias, always the leader, sits in the driver seat of the sleek car and I sit in the passenger seat while the rest file in the back. Inside the Range Rover are beautiful black and white leather seats, cup holders, radio-although I don't know how to use it, and more new and expensive gadgets. I wonder how Erudite could afford all this and not share it with the rest of the factions. Tobias switches the car keys in place and the engine roars with life. He then plays around with the steering wheel and chair, inclining it to his preferred position and adjusting the AC controls as a car full of 8 people, albeit seated comfortably can get quite hot. Out of us eight, Tobias, Zeke and Shauna know the most about driving although they have never driven in their life. Thankfully, Tobias took an interest in cars when he saw this booklet about them a year ago. Tobias relaxes himself and I whisper to him quietly.

'Nervous?'

'Of crashing? Yes. Of going outside the fence? No. I have you.'

'You will do fine, you need to tell us when you are tired.' I reply. I turn to the back and notice everyone is talking to each other so I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and kiss him chastely on the lips.

'You better put that seatbelt back on,' he smiles after we break from the kiss. I obey and put it back on. Tobias looks in the central mirror, an odd thing I thought to have on a car but then I comprehended they weren't for looking at yourself.

'Everyone put your seatbelt on!' Tobias barks. 'And enjoy the ride,' He smirks as nervous looks cross our friends' face.

He takes the hand break off, gently pushes his foot down on the accelerating paddle and the vehicle explodes with life. And soon we are setting off, cruising through the plain fields. No clear dirt road but something similar lies in front of us and we follow it. Tobias increases speed, the sound of engine accelerating simultaneously coming after and my heart begins to hammer but then I realize I don't need to worry. This is Tobias. The man I love.

Five mostly silent despite the roar of the engine, hours later the sun has begun to slowly move down towards the horizon, taking with it its heat. With only a few hours left of sunlight until remote darkness, we decide that we need to make camp. The faint breeze twirls my hair slightly as I open the heavy but defined metal door of the expensive vehicle. Everyone except Tobias and I falls out of the car, but Tobias and I stay behind a few seconds, the car engine still on. Although my door is open, I turn so that my legs are dangling out of the side but I can still see him. He hasn't opened the door yet; he places his rough hands onto the car keys and switches the engine off. All of sudden, complete silence forms around us. To replace the now silent car engine, I speak to him.

'How are you feeling?'

He lifts his head and smiles towards me, 'well I didn't crash, and so it's all good.'

I laugh. 'We should get out; everyone is going to be worried about us.'

He places the keys in his pocket and then opens the door the same time I get out, I wait for him, and then hand in hand we walk to our friends.

'Nice to see that you have stopped having your make out session!' Zeke exclaims.

'We weren't making out!' Tobias replies to his best friend. His mouth comes in contact with my ear and he whispers, 'although we could if you-' I playfully slap him on the shoulder as a blush comes over my cheeks.

Now huddled together with our friends, a few meters from the car, I examine our space. Around us, like there has been for the last five hours is an extreme amount of plain fields and a few trees. Where Tobias has parked luckily, the place is more secluded, although we stand in a field, the grass only reaches just below my ankles which are covered from my boots. Forming some sort of secluded semi-circle, is a line of olive trees, not towering in height but enough to provide shade. 15 meters to my right is a faint stream, filled with pebbles and running water.

'I say we set up camp here, we can use the small stream if needed and the trees provide us with a little bit of privacy.' Tobias advises.

'But what about all the animals and insects?' Christina nervously asks, twitching away her hand a little from the invisible insects.

'And don't forget the moths!' Will shouts, earning laughs from the rest of us but a slap from Christina.

'This is the nature Christina; we can hardly sleep in the car so we will have to make do.' I answer. Christina huffs.

'What about showers?' Marlene asks.

'Oh, don't worry about that I packed a portable shower in my bag!' Zeke announces.

'Really?' Marlene squeals.

'No you idiot!' Zeke laughs. 'Like Tris said we are going to have to make do. And besides, we have the stream if need be!' He wiggles his eyebrows and laughs.

'No skinny dipping!' Shauna replies laughing like the rest of us, 'Besides, that stream doesn't even look like it would come up to our knees.'

'Way to kill the fun Shauna!' Uriah complains. 'I was all up for skinny dipping! I mean If Marlene was up for it, then…'

Marlene steps on Uriah toe. Uriah cries out, holding his toe while everyone else cries from laughter.

'So what's the plan?' I ask, after the laughter has died down.

'I think we should set up camp, then 4 of us should stay here and get the fire going while the other 4 should expand outwards and see what is around us on foot.' Tobias commands.

We all murmur an agreement and we go and get our bags from the car.

'We have four tents, so I'm sure you will all be fine if we just pair up with your boyfriends/girlfriends.' Tobias says.

'I will be fine with that,' Uriah smirks.

Tobias and I set up our tent around the olive tree, near the central fire but a little bit far away that we have a space to ourselves. It takes approximately half an hour to set up our tent, considering we have never set up one before and then Tobias and I grab our bags and enter our makeshift bedroom for the night. Or for many nights, who knows.

We unroll our warm, black sleeping bag and place them next to each other, the end of them near the entrance of the tent and then we lie down. Above me, is the black almost navy blue tent roof a fine but strong material laced over metal rods.

Tobias sits up and faces me, his legs crossed and I mirror him.

'How are you feeling sweetheart?' he whispers.

'Nervous, excited, I'm not sure. How about you?' I ask.

'I'm not sure either; relieved I suppose that we made it the first 6 hours.' I laugh. His arms wraps around my waist.

'It feels like more than 6 hours.' I say. 'What if we don't ever go back Tobias,' I whisper, 'what if I never see my parents again, or my brother?'

'I made a promise with your parents Tris, the last time we saw them, to keep you alive, even if it means risking my life, and to keep you safe and make sure we return. I intend to keep my promises.'

'You always keep your promises, I know that.' I smile and pull him close to me. Before his lips meet mine, I whisper: 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' He responds and pulls his lips to mine.

We kiss for eternity. My hand wraps around his neck and his hand moves more tightly around my waist and another one slowly moves down my exposed thigh. My hand moves down his neck, towards his back and I trace all his tattoos with his shirt on.

'Come on lovebirds, we are going to go explore!' Zeke screams from outside our tent.

I jump from Tobias and bite my lip unconsciously. He pulls me into one quick kiss grinning, before we both get out of our tent.

I smooth down my hair and clothes unconsciously after I walk out of the tent and Zeke who is standing just outside my tent, laughs at my embarrassment.

'Shauna, me, Four and you are going to go explore while the rest stays here.' Zeke informs us.

Four gives a deathly glare to Zeke, presumably because he interrupted us. Then we take one bag with a few things in but not our big bags and head in the direction of north.

Our walk seemed to last for years but nothing was actually accomplished. An hour has passed since we departed our 'camp' and since then we have drifted past dozen of trees and fields adjacent to the stream and yet we have found nothing but nothingness.

An intermittent ache in my entire leg has gradually formed in my calves and my breathing has become significantly heavier. During our hike, we picked some olives from the olive trees around us as well as some edible blackberries. Although we have got enough food, tins, energy bars etc. we do need to make do with what the wild will bring us as well.

After a non-verbal discussion we decide to turn around and head back to the camp before the darkness fall around us.

My hair blows in the deafening wind; I clutch Tobias' arm tight thinking if I don't: the warm humid wind will pin me down and pull me away.

'Are you okay sweetheart?' Tobias whispers into my ear, his hot breath making me shiver. I chuckle at my nickname he loves to call me so much.

'Yes, it may be warm, but I wish this hike will be finished soon.'

'I agree, I don't think my legs can take my body weight anymore, we are going to go back to camp now thankfully,' he replies softly. I snuggle up to him as much as possible. He drapes his defined arms around my shoulders.

'We are nearly there!' Zeke screams pointing, while holding Shauna's hand. His excited demeanour suffocates us. Happiness flushes over me as I realize we will soon be sitting down. It's been a long day.

Back at the camp we unravel to the others what we found out during our hour long hike. Now, with the burning flames in front of us and matt black darkness around us we sit in a circle preparing for dinner.

Christina and Marlene with the smallest amount of help from Uriah and Will has made dinner: Campfire chili, cooked in a large saucepan over the fire. We each grab a red bowl and serve ourselves, enough to not suffer from undernourishment but not a greedy amount. We must reserve our resources.

Gathering around the fire, Uriah and Marlene share a joke while they eat and Marlene laughs. Shauna and Zeke talk to Tobias, pondering on light subjects and laughing occasionally. Will and Christina are in their own bubble sharing a light kiss.

I smile to myself. I'm so glad I can share this adventure with my closest friends. As I focus on the dancing flames, my limbs barely pick up the silver metal fork and eat the quite delicious chili.

Tobias turns to me a smile on his face.

'You're very quiet,' he says.

'I don't mean to be,' I smile. I lift the last spoonful of my delicious chili to my mouth and devour it. Today's journey has made me work up an appetite. When I look up, I see Tobias still staring at me.

'Why are you looking at me like that?' I ask, blushing.

'Because you're beautiful, and I love you.' Tobias whispers, bringing his lips to mine. I grin into the kiss, my hand in his hair and his hand around my waist. When we break from the kiss breathless, I kiss the crook of his neck.

'I love you too,' I mumble.

Once I reluctantly take my hands of him, and I pull back, I turn around to the whole squad staring at us in complete silence.

'Oh my god!' I scream in embarrassment and hide behind Tobias as I see their laughing faces. Tobias looks straight at them.

'Seriously? You guys are all together and yet you always interrupt us?' Tobias asks, his Four mask on giving the guys a stern look.

'You guys can't keep your hands off each other!' Zeke bursts out. 'And besides we wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice us starring at you.'

Tobias laughs. 'We can keep our hands off each other!' I exclaim, coming out from behind Tobias. Embarrassment is still written on my face.

'Oh really?' Zeke challenges, 'okay then, I bet you can't go without touching each other for the whole night!'

'We can!' I reply, laughing as well.

'Fine then, we will see who wins.' Zeke smirks.

Exhaustion sweeping over us, Tobias and I walk back towards our tent, bending over the few trees that are in our way and watching our step as the floor is covered with not just grass but rocks and sticks. Two hours or perhaps three have passed since we last kissed each other, let alone touched. Even after all these loathsome hours, we are still wound up around Zeke's dare since we can't touch each other until we reach our tents. I am craving his contact. Despite the endless amount of times where I had to fight against every single urging in my body, and I'm sure Tobias experienced the same thing; we managed to win the dare. I have to admit, I'm completely blown away about how we did it and I'm sure the rest of the squad is too.

As I unzip our tent and climb in, the dare vanishing off us, now with darkness except a small torch and no interruptions from anyone I tackle Tobias into a gigantic hug.

'Don't ever make me do a dare like that again!' He moans once my lips break from his.

'I agree, that was punishment,' I huff.

His hands move down my sides, tracing a line through my curves and down to my thigh. I kiss him with extreme force that I almost tumble over. My hands go to the bottom of his back and I push his shirt over his head. I trace over his tattoos and I place a delicate kiss on his neck. Moving my way down to his heart, I keep placing kisses.

His hands move to my waist and with my help lift my t-shirt up. A slight breeze drifts through the tent and makes me shiver as my lips continue to kiss his. His hands once again move to my bra and quickly tug it off. Now I feel exposed, but once I feel his defined body inches from my mostly naked body I cherish the feeling. With increasing breath, I kiss him and my hands move down to his trousers where I start to unbuckle his belt.

'Tris,' Tobias breathlessly moans. 'Wait, I want to do it right, not like this, not in a tent, not with our friends meters away.'

I sigh as I open and close my eyes, 'you're right Tobias.' I whisper in his ear. His hot body still lies close to mine. 'I am on pill just so you know.'

'Are you trying to encourage me?' he hastily deeply says, chuckling a little.

I laugh. 'Not entirely.'

'Come on let's get some sleep, another big day tomorrow.'

'Okay, cuddle me Tobias.'

I quickly slip a top on and Tobias lies behind me, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist but not his second half. He waits a few minutes, for reason beyond me, and then slips off his trousers, leaving him in his boxers.

'Are you trying to encourage me?' I mimic him, wiggling my eyebrows at his boxers, once he switches off the torch. He laughs gently.

'Not entirely.' He replies. His eyes shut close the same time as mine do and we fall asleep, welcoming the beauty and the evil darkness that sleeping with holds.