Dedicated to issymac and @other_worlds
Last Chapter before the epilogue.
*Cassie's Point of View
They're alive. My mom and dad, I mean. They're alive and ,as soon as this is all over, I'm going to find them again. We're going to be a family. My mom told me. I'm going to find my parents as soon as this is all over. You can count on it.
Surprisingly, my mom is Judith. The abnegation woman who administered my test? The woman who urged me to keep my divergent identity a secret? She's my mother. She rescued me from the place and told me the truth. She's not from abnegation. It was a disguise and she did all of it to protect me.We saw my dad too. He was looking at me in complete shock and awe. Like he was so glad I'm alive. Like I shouldn't be alive. Which is true. The fact that I'm alive right now is a miracle.
I've been through too much. And right now, I wish I was dead almost as much as Jeanine Matthews does. As I've recently learned, that's quite a lot. It's crazy that I got out of the place she was holding me in. But I did, and I've been beating up (and in some cases, almost killing) dauntless with whatever strength I have left, hoping I save at least one abnegation life.
I walk as quickly as I can towards the center of town with my friends. I just have to stop what I know is going on down there. I saw it on the computers at the building I was held in. The dauntless have tied up at least a dozen members of abnegation and are getting ready to fire their weapons. I would run there, but I'm not sure if my friends can run.
"Cassie, what happened to you?" Nevaeh asks quietly.
I know I should say something back but I honestly don't know. And we have other things to worry about. So I ignore her question and keep going.
"Are you okay?" Edward tries, putting a hand on my shoulder. Him and Nevaeh are worried about me,but for some reason this barely phases me. I don't stop moving.
I push it off, ignoring the stinging pain in my shoulder. Just keep moving. After I ignore him, everyone just sort of gives up on trying to talk to me. It's no use, at least for right now. I'm just so tired of all of this.
When we finally reach Town Square, it's exactly like I thought it would be; the selfless ones tied to poles while the "brave" ones hold guns pointed at them.
"What's our battle strategy?" Uriah asks, sticking a hand out just as we're about to turn the corner into the dauntless's line of sight. Slightly annoyed, I shove his arm out of the way and proceed to attack the dauntless. Attack first, question later. I'm tired of the waiting. The suspense has drove me past my breaking point.
I walk out to where they can see me and take out my own gun.(Don't ask where I got it.) I'm done with this nonsense. I'm finishing this. We've wasted enough time trying to reason with the hypnotized freaks. I'm aimed at the back of one of their heads when I'm pushed to the ground. In the struggle, I'm not sure who tackled me. But I'm suddenly more aware of what I'm about to do.
"Stop it, you're not like them!" Kaylie screams. I'm on my back and she sits on top of my stomach, forcing me down. "Wake up, Cassandra. Wake up! I'm not sure what they have on you or what happened but this isn't you. You don't kill people; you want to help people. You're the most selfless girl I've ever met. So stop it."
She takes the gun like she's scared I'll shoot her and considering my mental state right now I'm not entirely sure what I'd do. I might just shoot her. She might have the gun,but theres a lot of guns here. Surely I'll be able to find one. She's irritating me.
"She didn't escape; They let her go. They broke her mentally and then sent her back so she could go on a killing spree and get herself put away. She could be admitted to the mental hospital in this state." Sam figures out.
"And now no one will believe her when she says that Jeanine was behind all this." Robbie concludes.
"Gosh, I will freaking kill them." Nevaeh mutters angrily.
I sit on the ground, dazed, and somehow feeling numb. Numb from everything. Even Nevaeh's voice sounds far away.
The sound of a gun firing gets us going again. But there's no gun in sight. The dauntless have dropped their weapons and are now looking as confused as I feel.
The simulation seems to have stopped. Tris and Four must've did it.
Then I realize where the sound came from.
I've been shot in the stomach, to add to the bullet in my shoulder. To add to all the other pain and torture I've endured these past few days. I start to panic. Suddenly, I don't feel numb anymore and I freak out because there's a possibility I could die.
"Guys.." I croak, falling to the ground.
"Cassie!" Edward catches me just in time.
~~~~~~~
7 hours later
"There you are!" Tris walks into my hospital room and smiles warmly at me. Four stands beside her and he's got a bouquet of daisies. Along with them are Nevaeh and Uriah.
I smile back, despite how much pain I'm in "You guys did it."
"We couldn't have saved so many people without you,Cassie." Four confesses, handing me the flowers. I try to lean up and get them, but it hurts too much, so Edward gets them. Edward's been with me since I got here.
"I'm just glad I got to help." I admit.
Getting shot again might've actually been a good thing. It got me out of whatever trance I was in. I'm back to me, mostly. My body is pretty broken but my mental state is better. The doctors really are amazing. I'm not wanting to kill people, and I'm not done with life anymore, so that's good. I want to help people.
"You did more than just help, Cassie." Uriah answers. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have saved so many lives. But you told me and your friends, no matter how dangerous it was. So we were able to help. You weren't the only one fighting, but you were the one who started this. You lead us." He takes a deep breath and I think he's pushing back tears. Yes, Uriah. The brave Uriah. I have made him cry. "When we thought you were dead that pushed us even harder to get the job done. We fought not just to save people, but because we know that's what you wanted."
By the time he's done talking, I've got tears in my eyes and so does everyone else in the room.
"You're the erudite who turned against her faction and fought to save another. You're the nicest and most caring person I've ever met, but you came from the cruelest faction. You were bullied and abused, yet you don't let that define you. How you still have faith in humanity surprises me. You're the erudite who stepped up when you needed to and saved a lot of people. You did that. You're the erudite that did that." Edward announces, looking me in the eyes. I start crying. That was so beautiful, I just-
"I mean, you're beating this and you're smiling again. And even though one of your best friends died, you still-"
"Wait what?" I feel my face go pale and my pulse quickens. Which one of my best friends died?
Immediately after Edward says it, Nevaeh and Uriah smack/punch his arm.
I look around the room, trying to figure out who's missing. Let's see, there's only Four,Tris, Nevaeh, Uriah, and Edward here. There's no telling who's dead. Everyone else was putting the town back together, or so I thought. That's why Uriah, Nevaeh, Tris, and Four are just now getting here.
"Edward," I speak calmly, trying not to freak out. "Who died today?"
He tenses up, getting nervous. "Ask Uriah." He blurts before rushing out of my hospital room. Wimp.
"It's okay, guys. You can tell me." I lie. I know I'll flip out over whoever died. All of my friends mean the world to me. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle hearing who died died. But I need to know. I've got to know who didn't make it out of all this.
They all look at each other like 'I ain't telling her' until they start playing paper rock scissors.
"Seriously?" I snap. "Just tell me."
Vaeh gets pushed forward,but instead of arguing, she sighs and looks down.
"Cassie, " she stammers, probably trying not to cry again. She stops and chokes, finally looking up at me. She starts her sentence again. "Cassie, Will got shot. We don't know by who,but he was under the simulation and I guess one of the people trying to stop the simulation shot him."
I can't stop the tears from running down my face like a water faucet. My best friend Will. My Will. The one who was always there for me will never be there for me again. And I wasn't there to save him. I could save everyone else, but I couldn't get to someone who loved me the most.
"How did he-" I try to get out.
"We don't know." Four tells me, reading my mind.
"We just found him in the alley, a bullet through his chest." Tris quickly says. She seems nervous, but I'm going to ignore it.
All I can think about is Will, and how I'll never see his beautiful green eyes again. Never hear his voice. Never hear his laugh. It's all over, and my Will is gone for good.
I turn in my hospital bed and cry into my pillow. Everyone leaves to give me some alone time. Not too much long later, Edward comes in and gets in the bed with me. He strokes my hair and tries to comfort me. I respond by cuddling up to him and burying my face in his chest. I try to block out the world around me.
My best friend is dead, after all of this, and I wasn't there to save him. I saved so many people, but not him. Not one of the most important people in my life. Will, my only friend from my home faction, is gone. The one who told off and beat up so many of my bullies is gone.
And I'm left here, trying to pick up the pieces from the mess Jeanine's made.