Inextricable: A Divergent FanFiction (Book Three) ©

Chapter 1

My mother, Mara, Dan, and my father's face flashed before me in quick succession. Memory upon memory of a time when everything had been easy. My friends, old and new, they were all there. As each recollection stacked up, a powerful sense of love -almost vicious in nature- grew until it was all I could do not to howl in defiance; death had a hold of me, but not for long.

Another shock of electricity ran through my body, my limbs, my very core.

"Again, damn you, try again!" I heard a muffled voice snarl somewhere beside me; Dan, it was undoubtedly him.

The flood of memories didn't stop; some were sweet in nature while others were horrifying. I remembered Randi, our first exchange of words, and I remembered Banks, his uttered threats and foul misdoings.

Then... I remembered Ally.

Not the way I had before -with a knife in her hand, her eyes demanding blood, and her face twisted into a snarl- but the way I had when she'd first dropped down into the net. She'd jumped into an abyss of uncertainly, not with fear, but with utter confidence and bravery; no screams or nervous laughter, but the faintest smile of accomplishment.

I'd thought her beautiful, breathtaking even, but beyond that I'd sensed an aura of kindness and honesty that called to me on a deeper level. I'd understood her in a way I'd never understood anything before. Unbeknownst to her, or even myself at the time; she'd utterly bound herself to my heart in a way that not even death could pry apart.

In the subsequent chaos that had followed Ally's attack, I'd finally grasped the truth I'd been subconsciously trying to ignore. Lying in a warm pool of my own blood, feeling it cool beneath my fingertips with each passing second, I had known that if I was to die, I couldn't go without voicing it.

"It's okay... I know all of this -it wasn't you." I'd choked out through a gurgled of blood. "It's okay."

"No, stay, stay with me!" Ally had cried, though already I could see the second wave of the RAGE serum beginning to take effect. "Don't go!"

"Ally," I'd mumbled as her face began to waiver. "I love you."

I'd never heard her response. The black spots that had previously clouded my vision had merged until I'd seen and known nothing. But now I was back with a second wind, ready to fight. I wanted to go back. Wanted to live. Had to put things right.

All at once, I turned away from the light. I stopped fighting the foreign pull, instead using its unbreakable hold to slingshot back into my body faster. I could feel myself growing heavier; no longer an ectoplasmic entity that existed in a state of being and not-being.

Another shot of artificial energy sang throughout my body, and again I heard the muted beat of my heart as it tried to restart, but would then ultimately fail. The zaps began to come in waves, faster, one after the other, each more agonizing than the last. Until finally-

Like a cannon going off right beside my ear, I suddenly heard the thunderous crack of life. It reverberated all around me. Unlike the others, this one rang true; I was once again secured into existence. It was my heart, my pulse, my life energy surging back into my veins and body. This wasn't over, I wasn't through kicking. Like a gentle lull, I let myself finally relax when the tempo of my heart began to even out.

"It's done," I heard a somewhat fatigued voice say.

Banks? I was utterly bewildered. Why try to murder me if he only intended to bring me back?

"You did it, I can't believe it. You actually brought him back," Dan's voice was both awed, and filled with obvious relief. "He's alive." After a long pause, he added. "That favor you asked for, what was it that you wanted me to do?"