A/N- Really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy reading it, hope you're all having a great week! Remember to like, follow and review! I'll see you all in Chapter 33! Bethany x
Chapter 32
Tris's POV- 1 day until the ball,
Free diving has always been peaceful to me. The small amount of time I had spent doing it reminded me how little time I ever spent with just myself. Dad used to take me and the boys down to the lake outside our home last year, wanting to teach us his favourite hobby. I only had a go a handful of times, but Dad would tell me I was a pro.
Familiarity bangs on the door, and I know it's trying to let itself in. But the door's locked, and I don't have the key.
And Tobias is still up there, so it isn't welcome.
I try to ignore the impending doom filling my stomach, needing the space to hold my one breath. My throat prompts me to swallow. I ignore it.
The rigidness of the water helps somewhat silence my mind, my repeated motions the only thing I allow myself to think about. Even with the deathening silence, it's louder down here than on land. I just need to go that bit deeper, then I can sink.
Pull after pull, the water's pressure around me starts to increase. It first starts in my ears, then I can feel it behind my open eyes. I shut them quickly, hoping to relieve some of the pain. They're useless down here anyway, no light penetrates this flooded cavern.
And then soon enough, my whole body feels like it's being pushed down by boulders.
Pushing through the tightening of my lungs, I delve deeper, feeling comfort in the confining pressure. It means I'm getting somewhere.
I pray for the contracting of my diaphragm to hold off, knowing that it'd be the beginning of the end. I'd either ignore the ever insistent contractions and pass out down here- or I'd resurface, without her page.
And then the lack of buoyancy sets in, and I know I'm around 20 metres deep. I let my sore limbs rest. With my lungs having halved in size, I can finally sink. I must have already been diving for over a minute, and I pray I can make it in time. The maximum I've ever held my breath is just over 5.
Could I do longer? Xav could always do a handful of seconds more than me, but I'm not Xavier- I'm never going to be Xavier.
But for Tobias I'll try anything.
When my gut tells me I'm closing in on the 30 mark, I feel my diaphragm contract. From this point on, I'm in unknown territory. I don't know what the pressure will be like on my body any deeper, and I don't know what the lasting effects will be if I do make it out of here.
I sink through the water like an anchor, the pressure pulling me down until I hit the bottom. It's still down here, eerily calm. It won't be long until I've reached the 40 metre mark-
A rush comes from my right, a powerful current moving my body, taking me as one of its own. I pull against it, pushing backwards to try and remove myself from its course. But it's useless. The current is stronger than I could ever be.
Panic rises, and I almost gasp, my body needing to control the situation. I'm going to slam into the side of this cavern at some-
And there it is, the wall. Unforgivingly hard, my hands hit first, then the left side of my face. I feel the sharp rock break skin, my cheek and forehead stinging, my hands and knees in pieces.
But I hold onto that breath, a miracle in itself. I want to breathe so hard, my body now screaming at me to resurface, shouting to survive. But the current is holding me against the rock, like it's pushing me, screaming at me-
And there it is. Something fragile, something that doesn't belong. My jittery hands scurry into the small indent to my left, grasping on to that stupid piece of paper for dear life. The relief that fills me almost feels like giving up. Now having completed the task, I can finally take a breath.
But I can't. And I know the hardest bit is to come.
And then my body is sinking again, and the current has stopped. My brows pull together, my now open eyes searching around aimlessly.
Leaving the mystery to stay unsolved, I grasp onto the small crevice, shoving the paper into my bra, and pulling myself up.
Holding my breath becomes harder with each second, my diaphragm painfully compulsing steadily.
I swim up when my fingers are too numb to pull me anymore, but my body isn't much use. The pressure so far down doubles my weight, the water sticking to me, keeping me in its grasp- almost like it doesn't want me to leave.
But it's not that. I keep going, knowing my mind is going to start playing tricks on me. I need to get out, but I know this is where I need to slow down. If I resurface too fast I could do some serious damage.
But with just 30 or so metres to go, it's so tempting to just put all my energy into swimming back up, swimming until my lungs decompress, until I become buoyant again.
But then there's that push again, a weaker whoosh against my side. But I have to ignore it. I can't search anymore.
It's a weak enough current that I force myself through it, my muscles screaming at my brain for a rest- but my consciousness wins out. If I stop now, I'm not getting to the top.
As I make it back to 20 metres, I feel the water surprisingly warm up. And it feels wrong, but I won't complain.
My skin begins to tingle, and my head becomes fuzzy. My stinging eyes look down, and there's something down there- some sort of light?
Am I heading the wrong way? Have I been swimming downwards instead of upwards this entire time?
I push against the water holding me back, turning around. My head feels worse this way, but it'll all be over soon.
My concentration goes for a second, and a slight bit of air leaves my mouth. My eyes widen, alarm bells ringing. I'm going to kill myself if I do that again.
And then the bubbles disappear, my eyes having lost sight of them completely. I move around, looking for the bubbles. The bubbles will help me make sure I'm heading the right-
But it's pitch black, Tris. A voice. My voice? It's coming from someone.
Make the decision and swim up. But which way is up?
I switch course, pushing up those few metres until I know I can't swim any more.
You're shutting down. That doesn't sound like me. My heavy eyes open. When did they shut? And he's in the water with me. His arms wrap around me, and I try to wrap mine back, but I can't move them. Relax, he says. So clear, so unusual. Why is he in the water?
But I do as he says, my body aching for someone to take care of it, to give the effort of surviving to somebody else.
He swims so smoothly up and up and up. It's surprising, it's almost like he's not swimming at all.
And then he's gone, but my body is still moving. My heart rate picks up. He can't have- he was right here-
I swim, and swim and swim, trying to grab hold of him, trying to save him. That's all I want to do. It's such a simple thought, saving Tobias. But I keep swimming down, and he's nowhere to be found-
My head breaks the surface, the air I've held onto for hours now expelling from my body without thought. I choke on a breath in, feeling myself go back under. I can't be at the surface- not without-
But my body doesn't let me sink back down, my arms pushing my head back up.
I gasp in a shaky breath, feeling the rock besides me for a place to hold onto. After a few failed attempts, I found a hole just big enough for two fingers.
I squeeze my eyes shut, the pounding in my head the harshest thing I've ever felt. Drummers play against my eyeballs, a stone pounding against my skull.
Each gasp I take in burns my lungs, and ends with a coughing fit.
"Tris!"
That voice, that enchanting, painful voice. I look up, but my blurry eyes only see orange shapes. Fire?
It can't be him. He's down in the water somewhere, he pulled me up and he's down there and I didn't-
"Beatrice, have you retrieved the page?"
Another booming voice. And I remember what I was doing. Some sense re enters my head, my free hand weakly pulling the paper out of my securest spot.
I squeeze my eyes shut again, hoping when I open them, they'll be of better use. I should know what the page says, she wants it so I should-
"We're going to throw a basket down, and you're going to place the paper into it." Her voice seeps into every corner of the steep cavern.
My eyes are shut again, my head shaking, "no, no…" My voice is weak, travelling not even a metre in front of me. I cough, and something wet touches my lips.
"Where's Four?" I try to shout out, but my voice breaks on his name. I cough again, something is sitting in my throat. "Four?"
"Your Prince is up here, Princess. Just do as I say and you can heal him when you get back up."
My achy fingers fall off of their perch, and I grasp it with my other hand, dropping the page in the process. I splash through the water, grasping onto it like the lifeline it is.
The basket is before me in no time, but even with my head still full with water, that primal instinct lays at the forefront of it.
I yank on the basket, not placing the paper inside, "you heal him now," I weakly shout, "then I give you your page." She won't, I know she won't let me do it. She's not going to let me near him.
There's silence for a few beats, and I start to wonder where Tobias went. My mind is slowly settling, my pulse beginning to disappear from my banging head.
"Fine." Is the last thing I hear. One minute, maybe two passes.
"Tris, just- just do what she wants. It's not safe down there, you need to-"
He's cut off, and the page is in the wicker basket in no time. Like they could feel the weight change, it's out of my sight.
I lean my head against my weakening hand, my mind feeling fuzzy again.
We come across a truck full of diving gear, but it's not the stuff I'm used to.
There's gear on the other side of the lake, gear that would have promised her my safe return with her precious page. But I was given nothing.
I'm not getting out of here.
"Thank you for that, Beatrice." I hear Celia say from above. I don't bother looking, knowing what's coming next. "I would have been just as satisfied with you not making it out, my lost piece of paper still out of reach; but this is even better." She makes the effort to shout down the gaping hole, like I'm important enough to hear the whole story. "But now I have the paper, and you are stuck down there. You'll finally stop draining me of my powers."
Draining her? I almost let my fingers slip then. I'm not getting out of here.
A bowl enters my mind. A bunch of spoons greedily taking their share, until only a swish of liquid remains.
"Don't hang on for too long down there, sweetheart. I wouldn't want you wasting any more of my time!" She ends her spiel with a laugh, and then she stops talking.
And I can hardly listen for anything else, my brain feeling like it's shutting down.
I want to think, want to scream. But there's already a voice in the back of my skull doing it. Shouting harshly, but I can't concentrate. This is it.
But there's something else down there.
Something's lodged in my throat. I cough hard, my palm covering my mouth thoughtlessly. It's too dark to see down here, but as the lump dislodges, the thick liquid stays put in my hand. My palm closes, as do my eyes.
Wiping my mouth, I shove my sticky hand into the water. I feel the warm ripples beneath my skin, and thank the water for heating up for me.
The current, Tris.
"Shut up," I mumble, wanting that insistent voice to leave it. I'm too tired to go back down.
My fingers fall again, and I swap, my stiff right hand not reading to bear weight again. But it's fine, it'll be the last switch.
I kick my feet for hours, days, until I can't anymore. It's then that I relax myself, letting the water do the work.
I face the stars, watching as they wave at me, sparkling with delight. My mouth pulls upwards, my fingers twitching to reach out, to feel for just one second how hot they burn.
But my fingers stay put, and then she's squeezing my hand.
"Are you going to help me out?" I whisper to her, my throat clogged with something- what was it?
"Not this time, Bea." She whispers back, squeezing my hand gently. I close my eyes slowly, enjoying the feeling of my best friend's warmth against me. "But I'm going to stay with you."
"Thank you," I say back, my voice as thin as a stand of hair.
We float together, the banging in my head slowly disappearing. My body sways, but the moments are few and far between, with me sometimes not feeling anything.
"You'll talk to my family, right?"
She lifts my hand, and I feel her gentle lips pressing against my numb skin. I turn my head just enough to look into her homely brown eyes. She smiles warmly, and I know I have nothing to worry about. My eyes close again.
It's just a few metres down…
"Tris!"
"Shut up," I repeat.
There's some sort of commotion, and my brows pull together. Opening my heavy eyes, I look back into the stars. They must be arguing, planets and suns. The spaces in between too far for them to ever consolidate.
The current!
I flip upright, a large wave taking my perfected balance. It smacks me in the face, and I'm underwater again.
Keep going.
I tell myself to pull up, flail around, do something, but my body isn't listening to those voices, those meaningless words.
And then there's hands on me, weird, large hands that don't feel like Christinas- don't feel like Tobias's. These are rough and tight, unlike the gentleness of Christina's, the softness of Tobias's-
Their hands grasp my painful skin, pulling me back up. My head hangs as the water disappears from me, my skull too heavy for my neck to hold it up.
But then they're holding it up, and his mouth is moving, his eyes are wide-
"-okay! You're okay! I'm going to get you-"
Uriah. Why… When did…
His mouth's moving, but nothing is coming out. He's frantic, so why is he not making any noise?
My eyes move around the cavern, wondering where he came from. This doesn't feel right…
"Tris! Come on, focus on me!"
My attention filters back to him. Warm Uriah, cooling Uriah…
"You shouldn't be down here, Uri," I whisper weakly.
He laughs, just as weakly as I feel, "nor should you! Now, just hold onto me whilst I grab the rope-"
There's something just to his right, something shining, something lighter than the blackness of the water, something a jewelled blue.
Just a few more metres…
"I'm okay, Uri," I whisper, "Grab the rope, I'm right behind you."
He's shaking his head, his many heads, "no, no I don't think that's a smart idea."
My hand travels over to that sparkling blue, something drawing me in. I only touch it for a split second before I'm yanking my hand back, the freezing temperature too sharp to handle.
And then I feel it. All over my body, the frigid temperature. My warmth has disappeared, the only bit of heat I get coming off Uriah. My head clears, and the shivering starts.
"Come on, we need to get you out."
Screaming thoughts run through my mind. What just happened? Did I just heal myself? But that's not right, this isn't how it works…
"I feel better now, Uri." I respond strongly, pushing away from him. I glance at my skin, it's turning blue.
He looks at me, confused, "did you just…"
"I guess so," I cut in, "grab the rope, I'm right behind you."
He doesn't move right away, his arms almost twitching to grab a hold of me again. But then he's nodding his head, and turns around.
The paper.
20, maybe 30 metres down. That weak current. I breathe in, then out, then in.
Eric's POV
"What's taking you so long, Uriah?" I shout down, unable to see anything from the top. Nerves eat at my bones. The longer she's down there…
When I don't get a response, I look over to Zeke. He's biting his nail as he's standing on the rope, his eyes scanning the pit like he could pick the two of them out of there with his bare hands.
"Uriah!" I try again. Still nothing. How long has it been now? Uriah's only been down there pushing 5 minutes, but Tris? Closing in on 20.
We watched it all go down, from Scarlet's arrival with Tobias, Tris, and their Dauntless friend Lauren, to Scarlet's departure with my brother, leaving the princess behind.
And then we had to wait until it was all clear. Scarlet wants Tris dead, we all heard what she had to say.
From our viewpoint a good 20 or so metres behind, at the beginning of the forest, we could only catch bits and pieces of the conversation between Tris and Scarlet. Before Tris jumped into the hole, I got nothing- but as soon as Scarlet started shouting…
"How long are we going to leave it until one of us goes down there?" I question, looking at Zeke to take lead on this. I'm way out of my depth. The closest I've ever come to life or death situations is a pathetic game of chess.
He shakes his head, attention still transfixed on the gaping hole at our toes.
I look back down, glancing at my watch every few seconds. Another minute passes. Then two.
"That's it." I state, jumping up from my kneeling stance, "I'm going in."
But Zeke's hand is on my arm in seconds, "no, you're not." His stare is harsh, and all my heroics fall through me, "Uri's fine, Tris is fine. Just give them a few more seconds." How secure he sounds in himself makes me almost believe his words. But I know he's also trying to reassure himself, make him believe his own words.
I don't crouch back down, my jittery legs too unstable to hold that position. Instead, I pace back and forth, moving away from the hole, then back towards it.
What would have happened if I never agreed to retrieve this journal? What could Arthur really have done?
Those past few days with Tris, the handful of ones without her, have made me question everything Arthur has ever fed to me.
Or not fed to me. Always being left in the dark, never knowing the truth about what my faction is being led into. My faction. And I'm out here, doing Arthur's dirty work- Tris is doing his dirty work whilst he sits on his pedestal, high on his soon to be prize.
And look where my compliance has led us. Four's been taken by that factionless group and their crazed leader, Uriah unresponsive in that dark hole, and Tris…
I cut off my thoughts, unable to allow that to enter my mind. She's going to be fine. If anyone can defy death, it's her.
"Uri! Uri, what's going on? Are you alright?"
I hurry back over, hope leaping into my chest. I look at my watch as I get back to the edge. He was unresponsive for 2 minutes.
Zeke's now on his knees, grasping the edge so hard that his knuckles have lost colour.
I copy his position, leaning over the edge, and then remember it's useless. The cavern sucks in light and eats it up like a black hole.
"She's gone back under!" He shouts back, and my heart stops, "she said she was feeling better, and when I turned around she was gone!"
If I know anything about near death…
I stare into the gaping hole, and swallow. She can't be? There's no way.
I can feel Zeke penetrating gaze on me, burning his own hole into my head. But I can't look. I'm stuck, stuck staring into that black abyss. Stuck trying to find that blonde head, those piercing blue eyes.
"I'm going to pull you up, Uri!" Zeke shouts down, and my head whips to him. If he's pulling him up…
"She's still down there." I press, grabbing the rope that he's holding, "how will she get back up if one of us isn't there?"
Zeke's hard eyes are on me again, and I know his words are going to be a punch in the stomach. "If any of us know anything about the final stages of hypothermia, it would be you, Eric."
"Four will never forgive you for this," I hit back. It's harsh and mean, but what else can I say?
He shakes his head in disgust, looking over the side "and I'd never forgive myself if my little brother died." His sharp gaze back on me, "so I'm pulling him up."
"If you're pulling him up, then I'm going down-"
"Zeke!" Uriah yells. I shut up, "I've got her!"
I drag my hands down my face in relief, letting out a huge breath.
Moving behind Zeke without a word, I grab onto the rope.
He looks behind him, his lips pulling to one side, "you sure you can anchor?"
I nod, already pulling as I feel weight from the other side, "I've got it."