Hi. Sorry for not updating more quickly. Just wanted to ask again though, would anyone want a sequel to this book? I have two different endings in mind and one of them depends on whether or not I do a sequel. Opinions? And thank you guys for getting this book over 20,000 reads. It blows my mind.
Corrine
I have nothing left to give.
I never thought I would have to watch one of my friends die right in front of me. It's a more tragic thing than anyone could ever imagine. It hurts. It's the most hurtful thing I've felt.
Now, we find ourselves just on the other side of the fence. We opened the gate and ran through and none of the gunmen followed. So we took a minute to collect ourselves. To let it sink in that Ricky would not be with us anymore.
"Take your time baby, breathe." Eric coos into my ear as he holds my exhausted body against him.
"This is my fault." I say.
"You can't blame yourself for this. He knew the risks when he came with us. We all do." He says into my hair.
"How long are you going to pretend like it isn't my fault Eric? That this isn't all happening because of me?" I push away from him a little, his hands still holding onto my shaking frame.
"I'm not pretending, Corrine. This isn't your damn fault." His voice gets a little louder.
"Stop it. Stop trying to make me feel better." I push away farther.
"No. You stop it, Corrine." I hear my brother say from behind me. "You don't get to feel guilty about this. I'm not giving you the satisfaction." Finn says.
"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.
"Feeling sorry for yourself isn't an option. So stop it. You can't be weak or you'll be the next one with bullet holes." Finns jaw is tense, almost frightening me a little.
"Calm down, Finn." Eric says.
"No. We came with you two because we trust you. We aren't idiots, we knew we could be killed. But she wants to stand here and feel sorry for herself because Ricky died then I won't follow you anymore. He died, he's the one we should be feeling sorry for!" Finn says angrily. He's so angry.
"Finn...I wasn't trying to make the attention on me...he was my friend too." I sob.
"Then act like it! Act like you want to do something about it instead of crying over something that has nothing to do with you!" Finn turns and walks away, Marie reaches for him but he pushes her hand away.
"Finn, wait!" I say, but Eric grabs my wrist and holds me back from going after him.
"Let him cool off. He won't go far." Eric looks at me with apologizing eyes.
"He's right. I'm being selfish." I shrug my shoulders.
"Everyone deals with death differently. But the only people we should blame for this are all those traitors back inside the fence. You can't blame yourself." Eric explains.
"Aren't we the traitors, Eric?" I say weakly.
"No. They are the ones who want to murder innocent people for pathetic reasons." He shakes his head in frustration.
The sun is starting to go down and we have no idea what lies ahead of us. We don't know what's out there. We don't know if there's anything out there at all. It could be more dangerous out here than it is inside the fence.
"We need to take cover. Stay out of sight so we can get some sleep." Eric says.
We walk where we saw Finn trudge off to earlier, finding him sitting just inside the tree line. Eric sits against a tree and holds his arms out for me.
"Give me a minute?" I say motioning towards my brother.
"Sure." Eric smiles weakly and leans his head back against the tree.
I slowly walk towards Finn, trying to calm my rapid heart beat. I've never been afraid to talk to my brother. Never. I've always talked to him about everything. Even when we were mad at each other. But I have a feeling that this situation is different than anything else we have ever dealt with.
"Finn?" I say quietly.
"I'm not talking to you." He huffs.
"You're acting like a child. Please talk to me." I walk over and stand in front of him, where he's sitting on the ground.
"Are you going to keep acting like you're the victim Corrine? Because I can't stand it anymore." He stands up to face me.
"I'm sorry, okay? The way I said things was wrong. This isn't about me, it's about Ricky. And I can't blame anyone but myself for what happened."
"It isn't your fault. That's just it. He came because he trusted you and he cared about you. And he died for you, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and get angry." Finn says.
"Get angry? Why do you want me to get angry?" I say with surprise in my voice.
"Because we all need to be. They killed our friend and I'm not going to let them win." His jaw is set and his eyes are serious as they bore into mine.
"Finn...you're talking about revenge. Revenge that will come with more death and more hurt. I don't know if.." But he cuts me off.
"I'm ready to be truly Dauntless now, aren't you Corrine? The ones we dreamed about being when we were young? The Dauntless that delivered justice? Ricky deserves justice. And if it's the last thing I do, I will get it for him."
I've never seen my brother like this. So determined. So set on something. So vengeful. It's like Ricky's death set off a switch inside him and he's become a different person all together.
"I'm with Finn on this, Corrine." Marie suddenly pipes up behind him.
"We can't just go marching back in there, we need a plan. We need to make sure we don't lose anyone else." I run my hands through my hair.
"So we make a plan. And we do it quick." Finn crosses his arms over his chest, getting very serious again.
"Fine. First thing in the morning we make a plan. We do it your way, Finn." I try to smile lightly at both my brother and Marie before I turn around and walk back towards Eric.
"That sounded like it went well." Eric says.
"I have no idea what just happened." I sit down between his legs, my back against his chest as he wraps his strong arms around me.
"You know he's going to get us all killed, don't you?" Eric says quietly in my ear.
"I don't know, Eric. Maybe we all get killed, maybe Finn comes up with a fool proof plan. But he's my brother, I have to trust him." I lay my head back against Eric's chest.
"Then I'll trust him not to put you in any danger. That's all I care about." Eric says, kissing my temple, my eyes closing at the feeling of his lips.
"I love you." I say, my voice drifting off with my extreme need for sleep.
"I love you." Is the last thing I hear before I'm sleeping soundly.
It literally feels like I've just fallen asleep when I'm startled awake. There are voices coming from every direction and when I peel my eyes open I can see people surround us, fun with lights on top in their hands.
"You're all coming with us." The muffled voice says.
I stand up. Anger coursing through my veins. I've had enough of this.
"I am tired of people telling me what to do." I say between clenched teeth, right as I use my foot to kick the closest gun out their hands, grabbing it in the air and pointing it towards the group of people with guns.
Eric walks up behind me, his hand on my lower back letting me know he's there, as I continue aiming the gun. Finn and Marie come stand behind me now as well.
"You're going to tell me who you are, and what the hell you want in ten seconds or I kill every single one of you." I say.
"You're not going to shoot us, Corrine Minor. You need our help." One of them says. Their faces are covered my masks, not allowing their faces to be seen. I pull back the trigger on the gun.
"Don't underestimate me." I say with a new found confidence.
"What are you doing, Corrine?" Eric says in my ear.
"Getting angry." I step forward and press my gun to the persons head nearest to me. "Drop your guns, and tell me who you are." I say.
One of them starts to walk towards me and Eric grabs him, kneeing him in the stomach and commandeering his gun quickly. They all start to put their guns on the ground, hands in the air.
"If you come with us, we can explain." One says.
"Come where?" Finn says.
"Our headquarters. We will tell you everything."
"We are taking your guns. That's the only way we are going with you." I say. Finn and Marie pick up the remaining guns from the ground.
"Fine. Just follow us." He says.
We follow them to some transport vehicles. Climbing into the back, guns still aimed at them.
I don't know where they are taking us, but I truly hope the can help us. I had no idea people even existed outside the fence. I've grown up not knowing anything close to the truth.
Nothing is what it seems anymore.