You guys are going to hate me. That's all I have to say.
~Caruscus
------------------------------------------------------
I desperately wanted to go check in on Eric before we went to the cafeteria, but Hendricks dragged me away before I could do so. Now we're standing on the landing that overlooks the inhabitants currently gathered in the room. It's packed but more and more people continue to filter in.
"We will wait until 8:00 exactly and then we will begin." Hendricks instructs us, looking at the watch on his wrist. We nod in affirmation. The clock on the wall says 7:54 so that gives people a few more minutes to come here.
A hand lands lightly on my shoulder. I turn around and look at Lauren. Her face is smiling at me but I can see the worry clearly displayed in her eyes. "I know this is a lot that we're asking of you, but we all believe you can do this. You're what we need in order to change."
I feel slightly like vomiting from all the nerves currently jumping around in my stomach, but her words do reassure me a little bit. I give her a tight lipped smile and turn back around. The voices in the cafeteria mix and mingle, creating a single roar that floods the room. There's so much life here in this one area it's incredible.
"Alright," Hendricks says before clapping his hands together, "it's show time." He steps forward to the banister along the landing and places two fingers in his mouth before letting out a loud whistle. Silence kills the roar that once filled the room, all heads turning to look up at us. Some people are determined, others confused, but most just look downright frightened. I spot Tris and Tobias standing by the doors, both of them sending me positive looks.
"Attention members of Dauntless," Hendricks starts, his voice bouncing off the walls, "usually we don't call meetings like this, do we?" People grumble in response. He holds his hand up until it's silent once more. "I know you all must be wondering what it is that happened yesterday. To be completely honest with you all: we aren't entirely sure."
Now voices rise in volume, yelling and screaming. Hendricks whistles again, gaining the attention of the people. Ange shoves me forward until I'm standing beside Hendricks. I send her a panicked look over my shoulder but she just smiles at me. Hendricks places his large hand on my shoulder.
"I would like to introduce to you Crystal Eaton, an initiate-turned member, and also you're newest leader of Dauntless."
Silence.
"We were planning on keeping it secret for a while, but given recent events, figured it would be a good time to introduce her." Hendricks removes his hand and starts clapping. Slowly other people join in and clap, but one man speaks up which causes them to stop.
"What the hell does she have to do with us almost killing a bunch of people?" The man appears to be in his late 30's, with brown hair and thick muscles. He's covered in tattoo's and doesn't look like someone you would want to mess with.
"I'm glad you asked." Hendricks responds calmly. He turns to me and nods his head. "Tell them."
"Everything?" I ask quietly so they can't hear me.
"Everything."
I let out a large sigh through my nose and close my eyes, turning and gripping the banister with my hands tightly. I inhale deeply and open my eyes, looking down at the hundreds of eyes currently staring at me. I start to feel my breath catch in my throat but just one glance at Tobias staring confidently at me and I feel myself relax just enough.
"My name is Crystal Eaton, as you were just told. I just recently finished initiation and was picked to become one of your new leaders, as you... were... also just told." I finish lamely, hating how I'm speaking right now. I was always bad at public speeches. Hendricks waves his hand at me in a 'go on' sort of gesture.
"One thing that may surprise most of you, however, is the knowledge that I'm also Divergent."
This time gasps fill the room. Some people stare at me in hatred, which, I'm not going to lie, frightens me.
"Divergent!" The man from before shouts up in anger.
"Shut the hell up, Cameron." Hendricks yells down at him calmly. Cameron seethes but says no more.
"Yes, I'm Divergent. I'm the type of person that everyone is out to kill for some reason that I don't quite understand. Once I tell you what I know, hopefully you won't feel so hostile anymore." I take a deep breath. "Yesterday morning, I woke up, and realized I was alone. Completely alone." I wasn't going to tell them I was sleeping in Eric's apartment; they didn't need to know that. "Confused, I went to the pit only to find all of you, standing in lines and getting ready to load trains. You were all armed and seemed to be completely under the control of one of our own: Max. He and someone named Riley were preparing you to go to Abnegation and kill every one of the people there. Your friends, your classmates, even some of your families." Tobias and I lock eyes. He tightens his arms around Tris's waist.
"I watched as someone who was in the same position as I, who appeared to be Divergent was confused and asking what was wrong. I then proceeded to see Max order one of our own to murder the man in cold blood."
More silence. Even Cameron down below appears sickened.
"I knew something had to be done. If Max and Riley were going to take all of you to Abnegation and do to the residents there what he had just done to one of our own, then he had to be stopped. So I lied my way to the headquarters here in Dauntless where everything was being controlled. I saw all of you rounding up Abnegation members and hauling them outside, ready to act like firing squads. That's when I met the brains behind this operation: Jeanine Matthews."
People start talking. Voices rise and so many things are being said at once that I can't distinguish one thing. Hendricks claps his hands together.
"Pay attention!" He scolds. Once it's quiet he turns to me. "Continue."
"I believe Jeanine saw through me from the beginning. I had forced an Erudite member to change the orders so that you would not kill the people you rounded up, just make sure they went where you directed them. It was the best I could do in the time I had. Then Jeanine brought in a Divergent from our ranks, and one of your leaders, Eric." I swallow uncomfortably. "He's not here right now because he's healing." I lock eyes with Tris. She gives me a sad look. I know she was trying to save her and Tobias, but she didn't need to shoot him. She couldn't have just knocked him unconscious?
I bring myself back to the group of people staring at me. They're hanging onto my every word. "I was captured and forced to watch as she injected the other Divergent with a serum that would control him." I look at Tobias. He nods his head at me, his silent way of saying it's okay. I take a breath. "That other Divergent is my brother, who most of you know as Four."
People whirl around and stare at Tobias. His face is solid and steely, and just briefly nods his head at them. He and Tris interlock fingers.
"The serum worked," I say, getting everyone's attention back on me. "Or, at least for a while there Jeanine thought it did. It wasn't until Tris Prior barged in did he break out of its control. Had he not, we wouldn't be standing here right now, and Abnegation would no longer be standing."
People start talking again, but they quiet down quickly when I hold up my hand. It's weird to have that much power. "We over powered the Erudite and forced Jeanine to shut down the program. That's when I'm guessing all of you broke out of the trance."
"Where's Jeanine now? I want to give her a piece of my mind." Some person shouts from down below. Cheers erupt, everybody wanting to give the former Erudite leader a piece of their mind.
I look at Hendricks nervously. He nods at me encouragingly.
"I am not sorry to inform all of you that she is now dead."
Silence falls again.
"What happened to her?" Someone yells up at me.
"I killed her." I stare passively out at all of them. "She lunged and I had a gun. It wasn't hard to decide what to do to a bitch like her."
More silence follows, but then cheering erupts again. This time people are raising their fists and praising me for killing someone. Dauntless is a messed up faction.
"But wait," I say, waving my hands at them. I need to get a point across here while they're listening to me. I may want to vomit at the thought of talking to them about this, but it needs done. "Don't you understand? Divergent people are not bad. All of this was started because Jeanine believed majority of Divergent's come from Abnegation. That's ridiculous. They come from everywhere. I'm Divergent, my brother is Divergent, and my friend is Divergent. Just in the past twenty-four hours I have met three other Divergent people. And you know what? They helped to save you people."
"Divergent's can't be controlled." Cameron calls up to me. His words aren't vicious, he's stating facts. "The fact that we all can be controlled but you can't is terrifying."
"Why should you have to be controlled in the first place?" People start to murmur among themselves. "Why do any of us have to be controlled? So what, there was a war that happened before any of our grandparents were born. We aren't them. We will not make the same mistakes as them."
"Divergent's have an unfair advantage." Someone else yells up to me. A couple of people agree, but not many.
"How so?" I question.
"Initiation--you went through it. You had to face your fears but you got through them impossibly fast."
I nod. "I understand what you're saying. Yes, I finished going through my fears in less than eight minutes, and had only six fears. Being Divergent has nothing to do with how many fears one person can have. I only advanced through the simulation so quickly because my brain registered that it wasn't real. That won't make a lick of difference in the real world if faced with one of my fears."
I hear clapping behind me. Ange, Lauren, and Hendricks are encouraging me, all smiling at my words. People down below join in. I guess I must be doing a pretty good job.
"Any other worries?" I ask, looking around at the mix of people below me. No one says anything. "I was also told recently that when I took my aptitude test, I was not only Dauntless but also Abnegation and Erudite." I look over at Hendricks he didn't know this part. His eyebrow is raised in question but he doesn't make a move to stop me.
"Who's to stop any of you from going where you want to go, not based off where you're told you fit, but where you want to go? Why shouldn't we be given that choice?"
"She's right." Cameron turns around and yells at the people. Some look at him like he's crazy.
"Yo, man, you're going to start letting a sixteen-year old tell you what to do? We've lived by this way for so long and you just want to start changing everything?" A man in the corner of the room shouts over to Cameron. He's surrounded by people who all look disgusted.
"Yes." He says to them. He waves a hand up towards me. "Don't you see? She's not telling us to bow down before her--she's telling us to become equals."
I'm stunned that this man who was once yelling at me to shut up is now defending me. It's touching, really.
"I just want you to have a chance--all of you. Your kids, your grandchildren; I want them all to grow up in a place where they don't have to feel intimidated or pressured to be what they're not. I don't want them to feel unsafe and hunted if they find out they're Divergent. I hope for a time when there won't be any reason to be called Divergent, where serums won't be used to control us."
People start cheering again. Others are hesitant to join in, but the mood is infectious and others start yelling along. The image of all these people praising my words makes my chest feel light.
Hendricks steps forward and claps his hand on my shoulder. "We picked a good leader, didn't we?" He shouts, and the cheers turn into a roar. A blush rises on my cheeks.
I step back and beside Ange. Her and Lauren give me praising looks, like they're proud mothers and I'm the child who just got a good grade on a test that's worthy of being on the fridge.
Hendricks claps his hands together to get everyone's attention. "Now, here's what is going to happen. I want all of you to continue on your daily routines. Until further notice, people positioned on the wall are off duty. The other leaders and I will be scheduling a meeting with the leaders of the other factions to see what is going to happen after the shit that occurred yesterday. Stay tuned, and don't be too rowdy." He adds with a wink. People go nuts and start filing out of the cafeteria.
"Well," Hendricks says, turning to face us and resting his back along the banister, "I think that went quite well."
------------------------------------------------------
It was decided that Hendricks was going to contact the other factions today and have us gather here in three days time. He dismissed us with a chuckle, saying to go enjoy ourselves while the spirits were so high. Before I left he surprised me by pulling me into a hug and kissing me on the forehead. I blushed on my way out.
"Would you like to come join us at the bar? You may be underage but we can sneak you some stuff." Lauren says with a wink.
I hide the grimace with a smile. They don't know I made a vow to never drink alcohol, especially after seeing how it affected Marcus. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think all I want to do right now is go and see how Eric is doing."
Lauren and Ange share a knowing look. "Alright, have fun, but not too much fun--he's still healing."
I blush and scoff at their suggestive remarks. "Shut up," I mumble and start walking away from them, hearing them laugh the entire time.
The walk to the sixth floor is quiet, especially since everybody seems to be celebrating in the bars or in the Pit. I get up to the door and knock, waiting only a minute until Mary opens the door with a smile.
"I'm going to guess it went well?" She holds her chuckle back.
"How can you tell?"
"You seem happier."
I smile at her. "I am. Changes are going to start happening around here, for the better."
She smiles back. "That's good. I always knew you'd do something big."
I roll my eyes. "People have got to stop saying that."
"Why don't you go check on the boy and I'll fix you a lunch?" Mary offers, already heading into the kitchen.
"Sounds good," I call back.
I head into the room, shrugging off my jacket and laying it on top of the dresser. I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed by Eric. He still hasn't changed position. His blankets are as tight around his body as they were when I left this morning, and it's already eleven. I place a hand delicately on the side of his face, my thumb caressing the soft skin underneath his eye. I let out a sigh.
"It's ready!" Mary calls. Damn, that was fast. She must have just made a simple sandwich or something.
I stand and go to walk out the door when I hear it. If I had called back to Mary I wouldn't have heard it, but since no one was making a sound I know I didn't make things up. When the sound happened again I whirl around quickly.
Soft grunts are falling out of Eric's mouth, his mouth slightly open and nose scrunching up on his face. His arms move beneath the blanket, trying to wiggle their way out.
I rush over to the place I had just vacated, sitting down and pulling the blanket down to his waist, freeing his arms and taking his face in my hands. His breaths come out fast and tickle the skin of my palms.
"Mary, he's waking up!" I shout.
That's when his eyes open. They pupils are large and take a second to adjust to the sudden light. His gray eyes look around the room frantically until finally settling on me. I feel a smile fall on my face and I can't help myself when I lean in and press my lips against his--
--only to have two hands wrap around my throat and throw me onto the floor. I land on my ass with a thud, confused and bewildered as to what just happened. I stand up beside the bed to see Eric struggling to sit up.
I shake off my confusion and reach my hands out to help him. "Eric, stop, let me help--"
"Don't fucking touch me!" He yells, his voice bouncing off the walls. My hands freeze in the air.
All the blood drains from my face and I feel a rock drop into my stomach. What the hell is going on?
"Eric?" I whisper quietly, causing him to freeze once he's sitting up. He whips his head to look at me, his eyes cold and angry.
"What the fuck are you doing in my apartment, Initiate?"
I nearly pass out.
"What are you talking about?" I choke out, stumbling back a step.
Mary comes into the room at that moment, taking one glance between the two of us and instantly knowing something is terribly wrong.
"Mary? Why are you here? What's going on? Why is she in my apartment!" Eric is hysterical, looking like he's ready to kill someone with his bare hands.
"Shh, Eric, you were shot. You were in a coma for a little over a day. Crystal is here helping you. Don't you remember?"
"Remember? Shot? Crystal? The last thing I remember is throwing knives at the two initiates and having a meeting with Jeanine."
I'm definitely going to pass out.
Mary gives me a shocked look. She gapes at me, unsure of how to respond. Then she calmly lays a hand on Eric's leg on the bed. "I don't want you to freak out, but that happened nearly four weeks ago."
Four weeks. Four weeks of memories that he doesn't have. All he remembers of me is wanting to lodge a knife in my head, and me talking back. He doesn't remember capture the flag, Marcus, the kiss, none of it. Nothing.
"Why the fuck is she still in here? Get out!" He yells at me, obviously restraining himself from reaching out and throttling me.
I grab my jacket off the dresser and stumble out the door.
"Crystal--" I hear Mary call after me but I ignore her, instead making my way down the stairs to where my apartment is. Probably not a good idea when I have black spots dancing in my vision, but oh well. I just need to get away. I need to get away from that floor, that apartment, but most of all him.
I shakily reach into my pockets for my keys, not knowing what to do when I realize they're still in Eric's apartment. I turn around and place my back against the door, sliding down until I'm sitting on the floor.
A door opens a few doors down. "Crys?"
"Tobias-" I squeak out, and then the darkness consumes me.