I do not know how I could leave the office.
I do not know how I managed to find the way back to the dorm.
Jeanine's screams still resounded in my mind, so that I had wanted to scream too.
I threw myself on my bed, panting. Hot tears rolled down my face as I tried to calm my breathing.
I not even realized that my brother had followed me and entered the room with me.
- It was horrible, Caleb. - I sobbed between the arms of my brother, who stroked my hair continuously. - Her cries ...
I closed my eyes, feeling the horror fill my mind again. Caleb hugged me tighter.
- All right, Beatrice. You do not need to remember if it makes you so badly. Honestly, even without having heard the recording, I'm in shock. How can a father do that to his own daughter? What kind of monster he was?
- Someone who could never be called a father.
- Do you think he suspects something between you and Jeanine?
I lifted my head from his shoulder and dried the tears. Caleb just looked at me scared.
- I do not know, but the way he did it, as if to test my reaction to her suffering... Well, it seems so.
He nodded.
- We need to reach our goals as quickly as possible and leave this place. Four said he has something to tell us tonight. Something that can shorten our quest in hundred times.
I thought about Tobias and his manic look at breakfast.
- I knew there was something going on with him. But what is? By chance he found out where is the weapons room?
- I do not know. He did not tell us anything explicitly for reasons to security, of course. But he gave us much hope. Maybe we do not have to stay here for much longer. Speaking of secrets, you told me something in the cafeteria, something like withholding important information. What exactly was you referring to?
I looked at him and sighed. After my meeting with David, the question of my parents had stayed in a hidden part of my brain. Suddenly, it not even bothered me so much.
- It's about our parents. Our mother, specifically. Our mother was not born in our city, like us. She came from here. From The Bureau.
At that moment, I saw the color to vanish from Caleb's face.
- H... how?
- Jeanine told me last night, but she did not elaborate. All I know is that she came from here and was included in the experiment. And that's not all: our parents, both of them, they found the place where Jeanine is, and we joined to her and Angela. They are involved in the plan.
Caleb took a deep breath, clenching his fists.
- Genial.
Then he buried his face in his hands and did not speak for a long time.
- We're screwed. - Caleb said after a long silence.
- Be more explicit, if you do not mind.
- Our mother came from The Bureau. Why David did not mention anything to us about that? - my brother looked at me. - They suspect of us.
Caleb rose.
- I have to go talk to Cara. See you tonight.
That night, I connected a little later than normal.
I took my time to breathe deep and erase the screams in my mind. When I was sure I would not have a fit of rage or something, I took off my clothes and went to bed. Then I put my glasses.
To my surprise, I found in the Erudite headquarters.
Well, not entirely perfect. It looked much like, but Tobias, obviously, made some changes. The libraries were gone, and Jeanine's portrait had a pair of small horns and glasses drawn with black marker.
I looked accusing Tobias and Uriah.
- It was him. - Tobias said.
His voice was so indifferent as if he was talking about the weather.
- Do not believe! It was him. - Uriah said.
- Tobias is not so childish. - I said seriously.
- Who says it was not someone else?
- Please, Uriah. Only erase this.
Uriah sighed and focused to remove the picture. Instead, there appeared a picture of a hamburger.
- What? I'm hungry.
Caleb and Cara, along with Peter and Lynn were the last to arrive. Tobias stood.
- Okay, I need to talk to you about something very important.
- We all know, Tobias. - said Lynn - It was hard to ignore your psychopath look all day.
Tori snapped her fingers and gave rise to a huge couch, where we all sit.
- Right. Last night, when I entered my bedroom, soon after finding out that I am not divergent, I found a note on my bed. It was from Nita, the girl who showed us to our rooms the first day we were here.
- Nita? - Peter raised an eyebrow - That strange girl? What she has to do with it?
Tobias glared at him.
- Have more respect for her. - he said, through clenched teeth - She may be the key to all of our goals.
- Excuse me, but I still do not understand.
- Okay, Tris. - he sighed - I will explain at once. Nita witnessed my reaction when I was told that I was "deficient" and she became interested in it. She is a kind of revolutionary, and she wants, like us, take the power from the Bureau.
- Nita? A revolutionary? - Christina moved on the couch beside Will - It's a little hard to believe.
- But she is. And more than that, she know where the weapons lab.
My throat closed at this time. I looked at Tobias, incredulously.
- Weapons Lab? Wait, you told our plans to a stranger?
- Of course not. - He said - But, coincidentally, she seems to have the same plans we. I mean, a plan very similar to ours. Nita also wants the memory serum.
- And who assures us that she is not a David's spy? She's taking us into a trap and then report everything to him?
Tobias sighed, somewhat irritated.
- You need to trust more on people.
- Trusting someone of the Bureau? Someone with whom I never had a word directly?
- Hey! - Tori was manifested for the first time - You both will not waste our time fighting, right?
- Tobias is fascinated by a beautiful girl and decided to risk all of us trusting her without even knowing who she is. - I said sarcastically.
- For the last time, Tris. I did not say anything to her. Nita is who told me a lot about her life. She took me to the border and introduced me to some of her friends. She showed me the conditions in which the impure live out of the Center. And believe me, it is not something nice to see. I did not say anything about who we are and what we are doing here. Obviously I would not do it without consulting all of you. And that's exactly what I'm doing now.
Silence reigned in the environment.
- Well ... - said Cara - She know where the weapon lab ... and this is exactly the information we are looking for, and frankly? We're not even close to find out. If this girl give us this information, 90% of our path will be traveled.
- She wants to steal the memory serum and for this she asked for my help. - Tobias insisted - Nita has a great thirst for justice, and she wants to see the Bureau defeated. If she knows that our plan is even better ... Well, let's say that there will be absolutely nothing in which she will not help us.
If she is an Impure, it makes no sense she be working for the Bureau. - Peter said with arms crossed.
- So it is that I am sure she will want to help us.
Tobias looked so sure that maybe he was right. But honestly, how know if Nita would not betray us?
But then, time was running out to us, and the options as well.
I clenched my fists. Although it was a simulation, I felt the tension build up in my hand anyway.
- Tomorrow I'll talk to her in person, Tobias. - I answered. - If she's really an ally, no problem. But if in the end she is only deceiving us...
In that case, we were screwed.
Cristina stayed with me when everyone were turned off. I did appear a blue sky with clouds and a beach, with waves beating against the sand.
She and I were in a green blanket, on the floor, one next to the other.
- I love this. - Christina said - It must be great. I mean, to manipulate the world to your will.
- Well, you can see for yourself. Come on, try something!
Christina looked at her hands and focused. And then, she was holding a chocolate cake. The dauntless chocolate cake.
- Genial!
Excited, she began to eat it.
I laced my hands behind my head and watched the artificial sky.
The clouds became gray like Jeanine's eyes.
- Tris?
I pulled the clouds away as fast as I could.
- I'm sorry.
- I think we need a friend's conversation. - Christina began - A good and long friend's conversation. Here there is nobody to watch us.
- Do not count on it for long. Maybe Jeanine connect.
- Why she always connect when we're gone?
- Have you seen the picture that Uriah did. I do not deceive myself, most of my friends hate her and it can be ever so. It would be terribly uncomfortable being all together at the same time.
Christina did not speak immediately.
- Tris ... Will wants to have sex.
I must have transformed my face because Christina became totally red. And it was not easy with her skin tone.
- God, do not make that face!
- I .. I'm sorry. - I shook my head slightly. - That's ... You want?
- I do not know. - she bit her lip. - Sometimes yes. But I do not want to do something wrong. It's just ... Arg! Blondes are so desperate.
She was absolutely right.
- You want me to give you some advice? - I asked almost incredulously. I had no idea what to say.
- Actually, no. I just wanted to ask you ... - she got even redder - What ... what did you felt when you lost your virginity?
Oh no. She was not asking me that.
A fierce storm began on the beach. As I sensed I could not stop it, I created a huge umbrella over us.
Christina looked embarrassed but curious, suddenly sitting with legs crossed.
I remembered the time when I had no friends. Beautiful time.
- I do not feel comfortable talking about it. - I said, shivering a little and not with cold.
- Come on, Tris!
- No!
- Just tell me! Please.
- What you want to know, anyway? - I answered grumbling.
- It was good?
I bit my lip and tried to find some useless salvation in the sand.
- I...I suppose so.
- Was she delicate or rude?
Oh my God.
- A mixture of both.
Why the hell the universe put me in this situation?
- Did you had an orgasm?
- Christina!
- What?
- I will not answer that!
- That means if you had it!
I hit her on the shoulder while she began to laugh.
- I'm not surprised. Today I saw an article that said that the cooler people are the best in the bed.
- Shut up now!
- There's nothing wrong, Tris. Besides, you've helped me overcome my concerns.
- And how to know that Jeanine is excellent in the bed can help, if I may ask?
Christina was about to answer, but suddenly her face went blank and she looked behind my shoulder.
- What?
I looked back ... and there was Jeanine.