A/N: Hello guys! I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Eyyyy, I updated in two weeks. That must be a record for time between updates since the school year started. Although a big part of that was due to Thanksgiving break. I had a lot of time to work on this chapter.
Sure, I guess I could have found the time to post two chapters over the break, but I was more worried about chilling and enjoying my precious time off than updating. Plus, I was simultaneously working on two other short stories, completely unrelated to Divergent, for writing contests. I'm not the kind of person to rush through writing; I will post nothing but my best work, and enter my absolute best into contests. So, I hope it's plausible that life + other stories to work on gave me time for only one update throughout the break.
Also, I should probably let you know, my All-region auditions are coming up fast. So it might be a while before you see me again. Got to practice, you know. (I'm already screwed tomorrow - I didn't practice much over the break and the directors want to hear some cuts as soon as we get back)
Anyways, excuses over. Enjoy the chapter!
Believe it or not, a knife flying past your head isn't a very good wake-up call.
My daily nightmares hadn't stopped, and last night they were worse than ever. And I don't even know why. After all, I didn't face any major triggers during last night's game. Maybe it was my post-game hyperactive mind conjuring them up. But then why wouldn't it conjure me some good dreams? Like of Tobias and I, laughing in one of our stolen moments of happiness in Abnegation, or Rowan, catching me after I-
Woah. Where was my sleep-deprived brain going?
But anyways, I then checked the clock. It was six-thirty. Maybe I could get ready, grab some breakfast, and spend some time in the training room.
So I did. My eyes half-closed, chewing on a muffin, I opened the training room door... and was met by a knife flying at me.
I was definitely wide awake then. I froze, not knowing what to do. If this person was good, then maybe their knife wouldn't hit me. But what if they were aiming for me, thinking I was an intruder? Then their knife would be piercing my skin any second now, and not in a pretty spot.
And if this person was bad at knife-throwing... well, I didn't want to think about it.
I heard the knife hit the wall behind me, and let out a sigh of relief.
Yeah, not the greatest alarm clock in the world.
I whip my head around, scanning the room for my attacker. And my eyes fall on...
Tobias. My pig-headed brother with the IQ of a cockroach. Who's currently laughing his head off.
"TOBIAS!" I screech, charging at him. His laughter quickly stops, turned into an expression of amusement. I don't see what is there to be amused of, given that I am currently running at him, livid.
I ram into him, and I feel him wobble, but he doesn't lose his balance. Damn him and his tall self. He has more body mass than me, and he was clearly expecting the collision, which meant he didn't fall over.
And then it gets worse. He wraps his arms around me, entrapping me in a human-made cage. I squirm, trying to get out of his grip, but he just starts laughing again and grips me tighter.
"Don't try things you know you can't accomplish, Cam. You'll just spin the same web you get caught in." He says, his lips next to my ear.
"Words for the wise." I tease back. "Which you aren't."
"And you are?" He counters.
"Never said that. I just said that you aren't."
"Well, I'm definitely wiser than you, little insect."
I shudder at the mention of bugs, but quickly regain my composure, hoping Tobias doesn't notice. He'll never let me hear the end of it if he knows I'm afraid of something like insects. Creatures so small that they could never harm you... except for when they bite you, not only puncturing your skin but passing on any diseases they may carry. And when they... enough of that.
"Insect?" I demand, turning my head to meet his eyes.
He laughs again. "Yeah. You got yourself caught in the spiderweb that you made for yourself. Therefore, you're an insect."
"Technically, spiders are arachnids, not insects."
"Oh, Miss Smarty-Pants over here." He wiggles his eyebrows, pretending to look impressed. "I'm surprised you're dressed in black, not blue."
I knock my head against his chest, since my arms are pinned. "Shut up. And never call me a little insect again."
"Of course, little arach-" He's cut off by my deadliest glare. He raises his eyebrows, looking unfazed. "Fine, you look like you mean business. Although I can confidently say my glare is better than yours."
"Like my social skills are better than yours." I shoot back.
He rolls his eyes. "Who needs to talk to people, anyways?"
I fake pout. "So you don't need to talk to me?"
He smirks at me, squeezing me a little tighter. "No, Cam, how could you ever consider such a thing?"
I gasp dramatically. "I'm offended!"
"I'd be offended if you weren't."
"Anyways," I choose to ignore his last comment. "Back to the purpose of me running at you. Why the HECK did you throw a knife at me?!"
Tobias starts laughing, AGAIN. I'm less amused now and more frustrated. "Could you please explain, O Knife Wielder?"
"I like that title." And I have the urge to smack that smirk off your face, if I could ever get out of your death grip. "But I saw you coming in, looking like you were sleepwalking. And you do not want to walk into training today sleepy. So, I decided to... wake you up a little."
My brother's antics... "There were better ways to do that, you know. Like, come up to me and shake my shoulder?"
Tobias grins. "What's the fun in that?"
"You're insufferable."
"Thank you. It's my life goal, to be unbearable." I roll my eyes again. My typical brother; quiet and serious on the outside, but a playful, witty person once you get to know him. "But, Cam." His face sobers instantly, and I find mine doing the same. "Why did you look like a walking zombie? Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
I look at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes as I admit to my weakness. "The nightmares. They were the worst since the Choosing Ceremony."
"And they were about...?" He prods gently, his grip around me looser now.
I squeeze my eyes shut. "You know who."
I can feel his chin moving against my hair as he nods. I inhale and exhale slowly, taking in the smell of dust and sweat that makes up the training room, and the smell of Tobias, which is made up of a mixture of the Dauntless soap and something else that I can't quite identify. The two smells collide in my nostrils and, somehow, calm me.
We stand there in silence for a few seconds, before he breaks it. "Cam." I turn my head to look at him, giving him my attention. His deep blue eyes meet mine, and I see no trace of humor in them. "If the nightmares get any worse... please talk to me. We can talk about last night's, too, if you want. But you can't bottle it all up. It will destroy you from the inside."
"Who do you talk to about your nightmares?" The question comes out of my mouth before I can stop it.
He sighs, and takes one of his hands off my waist to run it through his hair. "I don't talk to anyone, not anymore, at least. I used to open up a little to Amar, though. You know, my instructor? He saw my fear landscapes, he saw what Marcus did to me, to us. He knew that I didn't want to talk about it, and left me alone for the most part. But one night he found me at the Chasm railing, staring at the water."
I tense. He catches my horrified expression and shakes his head vehemently. "No, Cam, I wasn't going to... to jump. I was just thinking." His words let me relax. "Don't worry, Cam, I wouldn't leave you like that. But anyways," He clears his throat and continues. "He knew something was on my mind, and he just sat beside me. We didn't say anything, just stared at the water together. And then I found myself spilling to him. I talked about anything and everything. My mother. Marcus. The daily abuse. But you, most of all. And he just listened. He never once looked at me with any sympathy."
If Amar was still alive, I would find him and thank him profusely for being there for my older brother when I couldn't. Tobias may look indestructible and strong on the outside, but on the inside, he's really just a hurt boy looking for love of any kind; sisterly, motherly, fatherly, brotherly, friendly, or otherwise.
And Amar gave him the love of more than a mentor; by being there for him, Amar became somewhat of a father figure to Tobias. I couldn't be more grateful.
"That was the only time I talked to him about my past, but after I told him, I felt so free. That someone besides you and me knew the whole story. And after he died..." Tobias takes a deep breath before continuing. "Well, he took those secrets to the grave. I haven't told anybody since. I just didn't trust anyone enough, not even Zeke or Shauna."
I nod. I understand the feeling, of being cautious of everyone around you. After all, we've already had too many betrayals in our lives. Our mother died and left us, even though she didn't mean to, and our father... his betrayal was probably the one that hurt us both the most, both physically and emotionally.
The silence after his story stretches out, until I decide to break it. "I'll talk to you if they get worse. Just not now."
He sighs, and his other arm drops from my waist as I shift. "Alright, Cam."
"So, what are we doing today?"
He grins, and it's like our serious discussion never happened at all. "You got a hint of that when you walked in the door."
My eyes widen as the knife-throwing incident from earlier rushes back into my mind. "We're-"
"Yeah." He cuts me off. "Yeah, we are. I don't really like it, but the leaders insist."
I roll my eyes. "Leaders and their cryptic agendas."
He chuckles at that. "I agree. Just don't let them hear that."
"Of course not. I wouldn't dare do such a thing."
That gets another chuckle out of him. "So, you couldn't sleep, and you came to the training room to...?" He trails off, letting me fill in the rest.
"See you, obviously." I deadpan, watching as he rolls his eyes at me. "No, actually, you're not that special. Plus, I didn't know you were here. I came to train."
"Ah. Technically, that's not allowed, but I'll let it slide. You can go to the punching bags and punch for a while. I'm going to go get breakfast."
I just nod, and turn, heading towards the same punching bag I used yesterday.
As I'm reaching it, Tobias' voice makes me turn around. "And I am special! Very much so, in fact."
"Not!" I retort, but he just smirks and continues walking out of the room. At the last second, he turns and throws something across the room. I realize that it's my dropped, forgotten muffin. I watch it sail across the room and land neatly in the trash can.
"Show-off." I mumble under my breath, watching the door shut behind my brother, before I spin on my heels and reach the punching bags.
And I throw the first punch.
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By the time Tobias comes back in, about forty-five minutes after he left, I'm thoroughly sweaty, and my arm muscles burn from the exertion.
It feels good though. I feel powerful.
"Hey, Cam."
"Hey, Toby." I turn to face him. He's leaning against the doorframe, chewing on the last bites of his breakfast. "I didn't know that you're such a slow eater."
He rolls his eyes. "You didn't really think that I only got breakfast, right?"
"Actually, that's exactly what I thought."
Tobias groans. "Well then, no, I was actually off doing instructor and control room operator and best friend duties, as well as brother duties."
I arch my eyebrow. "Let me guess; you were unwillingly caught up talking to Eric about initiation, you had to fix some sort of urgent computer problem, and Zeke got ahold of you, all before you could eat your breakfast." I make an exaggerated pouty face. "Poor Toby."
He chooses to ignore my last statement, and instead looks slightly impressed. "You've picked up on my part in the Dauntless chaos quickly."
"Yeah, I have. But brother duties... I've been punching away in here for nearly the last hour. Something you need to tell me?" I stare at him, trying to get him to give it away, but his face stays as stoic as stone.
"Nope. Nothing to tell. By the way, you should shower before the rest of the initiates get in here. You stink."
I wrinkle my nose at him. "Thanks a lot. But aren't we going to be sweating all day anyway?"
"Yeah. But you have no reason to be sweaty before training. It'll be a dead giveaway."
"Point taken."
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Eric is clearly not in a good mood today.
When I walk back into the training room after my shower, hair wet, my friends at my side, his intimidating form is the first thing I notice. Instead of standing against the wall as he normally does, he is standing in the center of the room, arms crossed over his chest, his posture as stiff as a statue.
The second thing I notice is a table, laid out with knives. Tobias wasn't just messing with me, then. We're actually throwing knives today.
The last few initiates file into the room, and once everyone is inside, Eric crosses the room and pulls the doors shut.
And, with the slam of the doors, it feels like our fate is sealed. A horrible one.
"Tomorrow will be the last day of Stage 1." Eric starts, stalking back to the center of the room. "It will also be the day of your last fight. Today, though, you'll be learning how to aim. Everyone pick up three knives."
It would take a fool to not see what a bad mood Eric is in. And, clearly, none of the initiates want to get on his bad side. So, we all shuffle towards the table, grabbing a set of throwing knives for ourselves.
When it's my turn, I take a moment to weigh the knives in my hands. They are lighter than guns, but somehow seem heavier in my hands.
I stare at the razor-edged piece of metal and leather in my hands. Knife training will definitely be harder than gun training - at least there are no bad memories associated with guns. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for knives. Maybe Marcus never cut us with knives, but that certainly didn't stop him from making threats-
"Cammi." I'm startled out of my memories by Lavender's soft, slightly concerned gaze. "You zoned out. You should probably get out of line before Eric yells at you."
I just nod mutely. I don't know how I'm going to focus today, with a weapon that he used in my hand.
I walk out of the line and take my place in front of the same target I used for gun training. Eric didn't instruct us to do that, it seemed to be an unspoken direction between the initiates.
"Now, Four is going to demonstrate the proper technique for throwing them." Eric continues. "Pay attention, he's only going to do it once."
And all eyes turn to my brother as he readies himself to throw his knives. I analyze him carefully, watching his arm, his stance, his breathing, and everything in between. His knives pierce the center of the target each and every time, the next one landing millimeters away from the last. In order to throw like him, I have to imitate him well.
After Tobias' knives are gone, everyone just stands there in silence for a moment, staring at either Tobias, the target, or their shoes.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Eric breaks the stunned silence. "Throw them already!"
Instantly, everyone turns to the target and begins setting themselves up to throw.
"Well, it looks like Eric can't handle losing a little." Julia mutters in my ear, before she turns her attention back to her knives.
She's right - his defeat at Capture the Flag must be really irking him, if he's so cranky, despite how cool he looks. I guess it makes sense; Eric's ego got a good punch in the gut, and the Dauntless seem to be very prideful, Eric especially so.
I set my legs into the best imitation of Tobias' stance I can do, straighten my shoulders, lift my arms, and take a deep breath. With my exhale, I release my first knife.
I don't know what I expected, but I'm thoroughly disappointed when it lands on the ground in front of the target with a clatter.
More force, then.
I draw my arm back again, inhale, and release.
This time, it hits the wall behind the target.
I huff and turn to watch the other initiates. Nobody looks like they're doing particularly well. There is not a single knife embedded in the boards. Instead, initiates are collecting theirs from the floor.
What are we all doing wrong?
I think back to Tobias' demonstration. His knives... were spinning. That's it.
None of the initiates' knives are spinning, but Tobias' was.
So make it spin, Camilla.
With a newfound enthusiasm, I try again. The knife leaves my hand, cuts through the air, and...
Hits the wall. Again.
At least it was closer to the target than before.
More spin.
The next knife still hits the wall, but I smile anyways. Because the knife is getting closer each time.
I try again. Wall. I'm bringing my arm back for a sixth throw when a thump turns all eyes to the target next to mine.
Julia's knife was the first to hit the target. It didn't stick, but she's smirking in triumph. It is, after all, still a great accomplishment.
I turn back to my target and throw the knife in my hand. Once again, it hits the concrete wall and clatters to the ground.
I go to retrieve my knives, mildly annoyed with myself and how slow my progress is.
I think back to gun training. Despite all the differences between knives and guns, the core skill - aiming - is still the same. How did I get my bullet to pierce the bullseye in gun training?
By imagining the person I hated the most.
Where would I want my knife to hit, if it were Marcus I were aiming at instead of a wooden target?
That's easy. As sadistic as it sounds, I would want it to hit him right in the heart.
I bring my arm back, ready, myself, and throw.
The knife sails through the air, and the satisfying thump of wood meeting metal makes me smile.
I was the second one to hit the target. Maybe my knife, like Julia's, didn't stick, but I'm getting there.
But the smile is instantly wiped off my face when a familiar voice invades my head. Seriously, Camilla, just above my shoulder? You're too much of a coward to even hit me.
Shut up! I snarl at Marcus' voice, which mocks my attempts at knife throwing.
Deep breaths. In and out. Inhale, lift my knife. Exhale, release.
And this time, my knife connects, and it stays.
I'm the first one to hit the target and stick. Everyone is staring, either at me or my knife in the board. I catch Tobias' eye, and he smiles, a small, proud smile. I smile back.
Still not perfect, Camilla.
I sober instantly, and turn to try again.
I furrow my eyebrows as I clutch my knife. If I squint hard enough, I can almost see Marcus crouched against the far wall of the Dauntless training room, even though that would never happen.
The image of him, generated by my brain, is enough, though.
I release the knife in my hand, and it pierces his skin exactly where I wanted it to.
I blink, and Marcus is suddenly gone, replaced by a room full of gaping initiates and a knife stuck on the center circle of my target.
First one to make a bullseye with a knife. On the ninth try.
I smile, proud of myself. I did it. I belong here. I'm not just a stiff who thought she was good enough for Dauntless.
I'm suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on me, and I blush crimson at the attention.
The silence is broken by Eric. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get back to throwing!"
I move to retrieve my knives, but Eric's cold hand on my shoulder stops me. I tense up. Eric is never good news.
"You're doing exceptionally well in all aspects of initiation so far." Eric says, almost whispering. I shift slightly, trying to get his hand off my shoulder, but he just grips harder.
My skin feels cold where he's touching it. His voice sounds bored, maybe a little thoughtful. And wrong. Eric wouldn't make idle conversation. He is stopping me for a very specific purpose.
I force myself to meet his eyes, so I look confident. "Thank you, Eric."
"Your strategy in last night's game was very... ingenious."
I can feel a bead of sweat rolling down my forehead. He suspects. He suspects that I'm Divergent, otherwise he wouldn't have brought up his loss from last night and my ingenious plan.
The only good part is, he thinks I have an Erudite aptitude, which couldn't be further from the truth. I'm not that smart.
I wonder, who told him about my strategy? It had to be someone from my team, but who? Ethan and Julia loathe Eric as much as I do. And Sadie seems terrified of him.
Could it be one of the Dauntless-borns? I can't imagine Rowan, Kian, or Chloe talking to him about it, but the other Dauntless-borns - Amara, Freya, and Callan - they're fair game.
Of course, Tobias or one of my friends might have let it slip by accident. Or maybe one of the members that were playing with us.
But, in the end, it doesn't matter who told him about my strategy. Now he knows, and suspects me.
"I should keep a close eye on you, stiff."
Just then, my brother appears behind Eric. "If you two are done with your conversation." He says, betraying no emotion, "Then Cammi should really get back to knife-throwing."
"Of course. Our conversation is finished." Eric smirks at me, but I keep my face emotionless. And then, he stalks off.
I go to collect my knives, when I get back, I ready myself for more throwing.
Tobias stands near me, observing my stance. "What did he want, Cam?" He asks, so low that even I can barely hear him.
"Complimented me on my skills in initiation, told me my Capture the Flag strategy was smart."
"He suspects."
I just nod, and throw my knife. It doesn't hit the bullseye, but it does stick to the target, and that was more than I could say five minutes ago.
I get ready to throw my knife again, but Tobias stops me with a gentle touch, nothing like Eric's cold hands that felt almost possessive.
"You're doing good, but remember to flick your wrist a little more to make the knife stick all the time. You're getting the hang of the technique, but it's not quite there yet."
I raise my arm, knife in hand, and release, doing as Tobias said. The knife firmly embeds itself in the wood, slightly closer to the center than the last one.
"Good." I turn so my eyes connect with Tobias'. "If Eric suspects, it's not good. When you meet me by the Chasm tonight, be ready. I won't let you get caught, no matter what it takes."
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I walk towards the Chasm, Tobias' words rolling around in my mind.
If Eric suspects, it's not good.
Well, yeah, I know that much. I could be dead in the Chasm by a flick of Eric's hand, just like Amar, Tobias' initiation instructor.
When you meet me by the Chasm tonight, be ready.
For what? What is my brother planning?
I won't let you get caught, no matter what it takes.
It's probably those words that scare me the most. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid to keep me safe. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Tobias while he was covering my divergence. He's the only family I have left. Well, the only family I have left that I wouldn't tell to go die in a hole.
I finally reach the railing, and there he is. Tobias is leaning on the rail, like he did on my first night in Dauntless.
"Tobias."
He turns. "Hey, Cam." My brother walks towards me and gathers me in his embrace. I return the embrace willingly, burying my head in his chest.
He places his hands on my back gently. "I haven't checked on your wounds for a while. How's your back healing?"
"It's doing okay." I'm not lying like I sometimes would in Abnegation when the wounds hurt worse than I wanted my brother to know. "I've been changing the dressing everyday, and the wounds are slowly closing up. I think that I'll be able to take off the bandages for good by the end of stage one." My voice is muffled by his shirt.
"Hmm. You're lucky that falling on your back during fights hasn't opened your wounds." He murmurs thoughtfully. "They would have taken a lot longer to heal if they had."
"You're right. Now, are we heading down to the rocks, or what?"
"No. I actually have something different planned for tonight."
I glance up at my brother, my questions instantly coming to the forefront of my mind.
I guess he sees the questions on my face, because he speaks again. "I'm going to teach you how to hide your divergence in the fear simulations."
"Oh." Tobias removes his arms from around me and starts walking. I walk beside him. "Where are we going?"
"We're going to the fear landscape room."
I remember Tobias mentioning the fear landscapes in one of our earlier nighttime discussions. But didn't he say that was stage three of initiation? And that all of us are aware in it?
"Uh, Tobias? I thought that the fear landscape was stage three... and that we're all aware in it." I ask, hesitantly.
"That's true, but I don't have any extra syringes of fear serum. So this is going to have to do. We'll both go in together, so I can show you what to do."
The gears have started turning in my head. "Wait. Don't we have to go through someone's fears? Whose are we going through?" I have a strong suspicion, but I need him to confirm it.
"Mine."
I catch my brother's arm, stopping him. He turns to me, puzzled. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
His face softens. "Of course I am. You need to learn to hide somehow, Cam, especially now that Eric is beginning to suspect."
"But... you'd have to go through your worst fears."
"You'll get me through them. I know you will." He turns back to the path. "Now let's go."
As I walk beside him, I can't help but look up at him and smile softly. He's about to go through his worst fears, for me. It's just a testament to what a great brother, and overall person, he is.
Tobias leads us up one of the paths that hugs the Pit's walls. We eventually come out on the roof.
I gaze up at the night sky. Stars are speckled across the dark blue blanket above us, and they twinkle and wink at us.
The sky is familiar, so familiar. It's the one I saw every night from my bedroom window in Abnegation, the one I used to gaze at on sleepless nights, when I was deep in thought, before I went to Tobias' room for the night.
I came out here just last night, but I was so caught up in our game that I didn't take notice of the stars. At least I get to look at it now.
My eyes skim over Ursa Major, the Great Bear constellation. I remember reading about it in one of my science classes. Sometimes, when I couldn't sleep, I would seek it out.
I wonder if my mother is up there. Maybe she is a star.
I know that kind of thinking is more folklore than fact, but it's a nice thought.
"Here we are." I tear my eyes away from the stars to Tobias. We had been walking across the roof as I watched the stars. Now, we are standing in front of a cylindrical room with glass walls.
Tobias walks in, and I follow. He walks through the room, pushing another door open and holding it for me.
"Why, thank you, sir." I try to adopt a funny accent, while simultaneously trying to lighten the solemn mood that has settled over us.
Tobias smirks. "No problem, my good lady."
The room we walk into is huge, but humid, filled with exposed pipes and covered with graffiti. The room is lit by older-style bulbs, not the newer ones that light the rest of the compound.
Tobias turns to me with a wry smile. "Welcome to the fear landscape room. It's already programmed to go through my landscape, we just need to inject ourselves with the serum."
He walks over to a small closet I didn't notice earlier, and comes back with two syringes filled with an orangish-brown liquid.
"Since I'm probably going to be paralyzed with fear during the actual landscape." Tobias starts, "I should probably go over the basics now."
I flinch slightly at his words. I don't want to be the reason my normally strong, fearless brother is afraid, but there's no other solution. Tobias made that clear. I nod.
"The only way you can get out of a fear simulation is by calming your heart rate and breathing. In a fear landscape, you can also try and face the fear head on, but that won't work in the simulations, because it would be a dead giveaway that you were conscious and aware that it was only a simulation."
I nod again, absorbing his words.
"You'll see for yourself when you're in. Are you ready?"
I take a deep breath. Am I ready to see my big brother's worst fears? "Yes." No.
"Alright." Tobias holds up a syringe, and I tilt my neck so it's more exposed to him. He positions the syringe above my neck, and connects his dark blue orbs with my green ones. I nod slightly. And he pushes the plunger.
The first thing I register is a sharp pain. I'm used to pain by now, but I must still jerk or something, because Tobias' face becomes apologetic as he pulls out the needle. "Sorry. The first few times may hurt a little."
"It's alright." And then, Tobias picks up the other needle and hands it to me. I take it uncertainly.
"You want me to inject you?" I raise my eyebrow at him.
He shrugs. "You may not have done it before, but I trust you. You've got good instincts."
"Okay." It's my turn to hold the syringe above his neck.
"Right here." He taps a part of his throat with his finger, and I push the needle in. The serum disappears into his bloodstream.
I put the empty syringe down beside the second one, and then grab my brother's hand.
"Here we go." Tobias says.
And the world goes dark.
A/N: And there we go!
Tune in next time for... Visiting day! Ha, no, I'm kidding. Next time will be Tobias' fear landscape. Is the order switched around a little? Maybe. But Tobias trusts Camilla more than he initially trusted Tris, due to Camilla being his sister.
If you're wondering why I include so many brotherly/sisterly moments between Tobias and Camilla (which you probably aren't, but I'll rant about it anyways), then my answer would be I'm trying to portray how close they are. I mean, they're siblings; of course they'll fight occasionally, and of course they'll tease each other like normal siblings, but their shared experience of abuse brings them closer than, say, Tris and Caleb. I will also admit I love making them tease each other - their quick-witted banter is fun to write.
And my book recommendation for the chapter...
Night Witches! (By Kathryn Lasky)
It's been a while since I read this book, but I really do like it, a lot. It offers a unique perspective on World War II; that of a member of the Night Witches, a group of young female pilots fighting against Nazi Germany. I didn't even know this group existed until I read this book. Historical fiction, as I have mentioned in my bio, is one of my favorite genres, because it combines the thrill of fiction with actual history. And this book does it well. I got absorbed in the world the author wove while also learning about these unsung heroes.
Quick summary: The main character, 16-year old Valya, loves to fly. But she's forced to stay on the ground when the Germans surround Stalingrad, her home.
When her mother is killed in the siege, Valya makes it her goal to join her older sister, who is a part of the famed Night Witches, a group of young female pilots fighting the Germans in the sky. She manages to pass the German blockade and find the Night Witches' hidden base, but the danger is only just beginning. While on a critical mission with the power to seriously damage the Nazis, Valya is forced to choose between her duty and unwavering loyalty to her country, and the person she loves with all her heart.
Link to the author's page: https://www.kathrynlasky.com/books/book/night-witches
As far as I know, there are no sequels to this story. I might be wrong, though!
Have an incredible rest of your day!