But Then I Met Her | ✓

Chapter 26

A/N: I'll be using the book now, so the chapters will be longer. I'm still not sure if I'll be doing Insurgent yet. I kinda want to write the scene where Tobias wakes up and Tris had left for Erudite.........

"I came to find out what you think you're doing."

"I'm seeking higher ground," she says without turning around. "I don't think I'm doing anything."

I smile, even though she probably can't see it in the darkness. "All right. I'm coming."

She pauses for a second, thinking about something. I hope she realizes that I'm not doubting her ability. "I'll be fine." She says after a minute.

"Undoubtedly," I reply. She's probably searching for a note of sarcasm in my tone. That would make sense. She then starts to climb, and I wait until she's a few feet off the ground before I start up. I move fast, and soon my hands move to the rungs that her feet leave.

"So tell me...," I say quietly as we climb. I sound breathless, even to myself. Get a grip, Four. "What do you think the purpose of this exercize is? The game, I mean, not the climbing." She stares down at the pavement. We're barely a third of the way up and the height is still dizzying. The wind that was a light breeze on the ground now presses against us, trying to make us fall to our deaths.

"Learning about strategy," She says, sounding sure of her answer. "Teamwork, maybe."

"Teamwork," I repeat. I let out what sounds like a hitched laugh and a panicked breath combined.

"Maybe not," She says. "Teamwork doesn't seem to be a Dauntless priority."

The wind gets stronger. She presses closer to the white supports to keep from falling, but it must make it hard to climb. The carousel looks small, like a toy, and I'm pretty sure that some of the team is missing. Maybe a search party left.

"It's supposed to be a priority. It used to be."

I can tell that she's not really listening. Her legs are shaking. I wonder if it's from the height, but she doesn't seem to be afraid of heights. She's braver than I am. I notice that her hand almost misses the next rung.

"Now tell me....," I say through a loud breath, "what do you think learning strategy has to do with...bravery?" A cloud passes over the moon.

"It...it prepares you to act," She says finally. "You learn strategy so you can use it." My breaths are becoming loud pants. "Are you all right, Four?"

"Are you human, Tris? Being up this high..." I suck in a breath. "It doesn't scare you at all?" 

She looks over her shoulder at the ground. I try not to cringe, not knowing how high up we are and definitely not wanting to know.

A gust of wind presses against her left side, throwing her weight to the right. She gasps and clings to the rungs, her balance getting thrown off. Without thinking, I reach up and clamp my hand down on her waist, steadying her and helping her find her balance. My skin tingles where it touches a strip of bare skin under the hem of her shirt.

"You okay?" I ask quietly.

"Yes," She says, her voice strained. 

She then keeps climbing without another word, until we reach a platform above us. It seems as though it used to have railings, but doesn't anymore. Tris sits on the platform and scoots to the end so that I have room to sit. She puts her legs over the side.

Tris is definitely braver than me. I crouch and press my back to a metal support, trying desperately to catch my breath.

"You're afraid of heights." She observes. "How do you survive in the Dauntless compound?"