Becoming Determinant - Tobias' Story

Insurgent Chapter 7 - Flight

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie! Thank you also to Savanah Rose on the fanfiction net site, who let me borrow an idea of hers for this chapter. :-)

"Insurgent" Chapter 7 – Flight

I finally resort to shutting Tris in her room, unable to take her serum-induced inanity any longer. And then I pace the hallways, letting my mind wander along with my feet.

They drug their bread. Every single meal that I've eaten here, I've been part of their experiment, without my knowledge or consent. It's better than being sent to Abnegation to murder people, but it's still a violation of my free will. It's still a betrayal, and it's still wrong.

The worst part is that some portion of me liked the effect. It made me feel less guilty about everything that's happened. About failing to warn my former faction. About running the simulation when I thought I was stopping it. About almost killing Tris....

The thought takes me back to her room, and I peek in just long enough to see her expression. I don't know what I'm expecting, really, but I close the door the moment she gives me a big, goofy smile. It's too hard to see her acting like this – as if she doesn't have a brain, when she's the smartest person I know.

I'll check on her every hour, I decide, knowing that once she's herself again, she'll be glad that she spent most of the time alone. It will minimize her embarrassment over what she said and did while under the influence.

My stomach rumbles, and I can't help giving it a disgusted look, annoyed that my instinct is still to fill myself up with fresh food and let it clear my head of all bad thoughts. Still, I do need to eat, and it occurs to me that I should warn Caleb about the serum. He'll need his Erudite reasoning skills for when we leave tomorrow.

So, I head to the cafeteria, making a point of dumping everything except the bread onto my tray before marching over to where Caleb is sitting – with Peter, of all people.

"Four!" Peter greets me loudly as I take a wary seat opposite them. "I'm sorry I took that drive thingy." His eyes pass over me, looking utterly spaced out, and abruptly I realize that the Amity must have treated him the same way they did Tris. They were both in the same fight, after all.

Perhaps it's wrong of me to take advantage of his current state, but when will I get another chance to talk to him while he's feeling helpful? So, I face him calmly as I say, "You violated our trust, you know. You should at least tell us why you did that."

He hesitates, frowning briefly at the tabletop. "I'm not really sure," he admits after a moment. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

He cocks his head thoughtfully as he takes a large bite of his sandwich. Beside him, Caleb reaches for his own, but I place my hand firmly on his arm, holding it down. At his startled glance, I murmur, "There's peace serum in the bread."

For a second, he just stares at me, and then his eyes go wide as he turns his gaze to Peter and then back to me. "Is that what they gave him?" he whispers.

I'm not sure why either of us bothers to keep our volume low – Peter seems to be oblivious to our exchange. But I'm quiet anyway as I nod and reply, "That's why it's so hard to think here."

Caleb gives his plate a look of disgust before pushing it determinedly to the side, reaching instead for a piece of fruit.

Returning my attention to Peter, I ask, "Were you planning to give the drive to the Erudite, so they'd forgive you?"