Hey, it's me again... I know it's been a long time since I last posted, longer than usual anyway. I didn't feel much like writing for a while, three people of my family had to go into hospital, one by one... talk about coincidence... Well, luckily everyone's fine again, so I've gone back to writing. I hope you can understand why there was this longer break.
I hope you like the new chapter, even if it's not that long. 😊
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Tobias
I'm still shocked by the revelation about Erudite's serum while I make my way back to Dauntless through Chicago, and a part of me doubts Evelyn's words. I wouldn't put it past her to play with me, to use words as a weapon to make me accept more of her selfless offers.
That's the point: Nothing Evelyn does is ever selfless. There's always something she wants in return.
In this case, it's a weekly lunch with me, at least for three months. I accepted her conditions because we really depend on her serum, and the extra knowledge she can provide us with doesn't hurt either. It's all for Tris.
I tried to argue with Evelyn and told her how a series of lunch dates won't change what I think of her escape from Abnegation. But, stubborn as she is, she insisted on it - 'to explain her side of the story'.
I can't wait...
So that's why I don't fully believe those things about the death serum: I hope it's just her way of dramatizing the situation to make us ask her for more support, so she could ask me for more favors in return.
Zeke and I were of the same opinion quickly: There'd be no way we'd let Evelyn blackmail any poor members of her factionless faction to risk their lives for us. The thing is: If it comes down to fighting, we know what Tris, Lynn and Uriah are capable of. We know their moves and strengths. They know how to fight, whereas some malnourished factionless kids have probably no idea how to defend themselves properly.
There is only one person among the factionless that Zeke and I agreed to ask to join us - because we can offer him something real if we kick Max' and Eric's asses out of Dauntless leadership right into jail tonight. He's coming over to our meeting point outside the compound that we'll use to gather at before making our move against Jeanine.
Zeke and I separate for the way home in order to distract any possible followers who might be spying on us. I stop by the park I was training the initiates in two weeks ago. Walking among the trees full of colored leaves slows down my pulse. I go through each and every single step of our plan in a calm state of mind. This is at least something that I still have control over.
My rumbling stomach demands me to continue my path back to Dauntless. I haven't eaten much for lunch, sharing the table with Evelyn and her stories.
Upon entering the cafeteria, I see Zeke and Lauren eating together. I avoid the reproachful look Zeke gives me. I know I didn't make it home as fast as I could have. Fortunately he won't be able to reprimand me for being late while we're down here amid the crowd.
I load my plate with food, a little bit of everything, before I join my friends. I shrug in an attempt to answer Zeke's unspoken question and then start to eat. It's a rather silent meal, and afterwards we leave one by one, only to meet again minutes later in Zeke's apartment. It is the last time we do that before we start our mission, before things can turn either way, for better or worse.
None of us took a rest, everyone had their own work to do during the day, and Lauren's was to recruit a new member: Tori. She has now joined our team, and I think her experience will be very helpful. At least she's been a member for a while now, she's had a lot more time to develop her skills than all the new members in this room that have been initiates until just a few days ago. They've hardly had to go through demanding situations outside of training.
"So welcome to the Allegiant," I say and shake Tori's hand.
She nods and holds her fist up high. "We'll get them, we'll give them what they deserve! I've been waiting for a chance to pay Max back since my brother died."
"You think it wasn't an accident?" I ask, surprised.
"I'm sure it wasn't. My brother was Divergent, and he told me he thought they had discovered his secret during the simulations. So, no, I don't think he died by accident."
"Oh, I didn't know..."
I'm honestly shocked. I know Tori's brother died, but I never knew the circumstances of his death. Surely, now is not the time to talk about the details, but I feel a damn lot of sympathy for her. She knows how I feel about Tris, at least to a certain degree.
"Well, I can tell you more about what I think has happened another day. I've been told we have a mission today, and we should get it done. Lauren has already explained your plan to me. But we should take some time for a final briefing now, and after that we'll get started."
***
It is already dark as I hurry through the city towards our meeting point in an empty building close to the Erudite compound. The streets seem darker than usual, but that might just be my imagination. My mind must be playing tricks on me. Also, my footsteps on the concrete seem to be louder than usual, even though I'm trying to let them fall more quietly.
I take one last look around me before I turn into the alley that our meeting point is located in. I can't see anybody, so I sprint towards the brown door that permits me to enter the house in which once must have been a lot of offices. I take the stairs up to the third floor and turn left, then jog down the hall and around a corner, go through another door and then I'm there. And so is everyone else, except for Zeke.
Will is preparing the sleeping serum and does a last check of the equipment. Christina is assisting him. Lauren is talking to Edward, the only factionless who Zeke and I decided to allow to join our team tonight. He's explaining his perspective on what happened to him that horrible night in the initiate's dorm. Tori is doing some stretching. She's wearing earplugs, and I know it's typical for her to use music to help her prepare for a mission. We have ten minutes before we have to go.
Marlene is pacing up and down the side of the room while Caleb is studying the maps he and Will have drawn. They are all arranged on the floor and show a small version of Erudite. Parts of the compound look like a maze, especially the upper floors. There are so many hallways and corridors. I'm glad we have the walkie-talkies to keep in touch with Caleb, so he can lead us and tell us where to go. But if everything works the way we've planned, we won't need to go up there at all. The main labs are not so deep inside, and we won't use the official route through the main entrance anyway.
I hope Zeke will make it here soon, within the next seven minutes before our departure. I'd hate if he would be the one to get caught on the way to meet us. He showed us two secret exits out of Dauntless that are hardly known within the faction. I wasn't very surprised when he told us that he and Uriah discovered them when they were still children, constantly sneaking around in areas where nobody usually went. But of course it was still crucial to shake off potential followers before directing ourselves to one of those, or they wouldn't be a secret any longer, and neither would be our meeting point.
We're slowly running out of time: Five minutes before we have to go. The room gets thicker and thicker with hopes and fears, with the excitement to finally strike mingled with nervousness.
Finally, we hear footsteps fall in the hall. But they're not coming from only one person. There have to at least be two.
Everyone stares at the door. I see Tori cover the weapon in her belt with her pale hand and I immediately take on a fighting position next to the door. What if someone has followed us all along?
Relief floods through me as Zeke stumbles inside, with Shauna in his wake. He made it.
I don't know what to think about Shauna being here, though, and she probably can tell from the cold glare I shoot at her after I've greeted Zeke.
"Guys, we don't have much time now. I just... I need to tell you that I'm sorry for what I said and for how I behaved. I... couldn't think straight and I needed someone to blame, or I would have had to admit that I partly blame myself for bringing Lynn into the Allegiant. I won't insult you even more by asking you to forgive me right away, but I hope you'll give me the chance to talk to you tomorrow, after we're through with this mission," she says.
Her voice sounds as strained and tense as she looks. I believe her, but I also remember the nasty things she said about Divergent. I will have to talk to Tris before I can face a conversation with Shauna, I'm still way too angry at her.
Oh Tris, I hope I'll have the chance to talk to you soon - although I don't know if I want to just hold you as close to me as I can or simply shout at you for leaving me behind and putting yourself in the danger you're still in.
"You're still familiar with the plan?" Lauren asks Shauna. I keep forgetting that she must be as hurt by Shauna's words as I am, with the difference that she hasn't publicly confessed her Divergence yet. Maybe she won't. I'd understand.
"Yes, of course," Shauna answers firmly.
Lauren nods at her, "Okay, then you'll come with us. We need everyone's help."
"I went to the infirmary earlier to hide in the storeroom, to be alone. Hardly anyone ever goes there, you know? I overheard Eric talking to one of the doctors while I was there," Shauna says. She's talking fast, she knows the timing of our plan. "They were next door, in a small consultation room. There's a small window that connects both rooms, to pass through supplies quickly in case of an emergency. Anyway, I heard how Eric asked for sedatives. The doctor didn't want to hand him any because he'd - and that's a quote - 'already given him enough to keep someone sedated for a week just yesterday'."
I gasp at that. So that's what they've been doing to the captives?
"You all know Eric, he threatened the guy. Apparently he's had an affair with one of the bartenders, which his wife doesn't know about, so in the end, Eric got what he wanted and left with another week's dosage. It won't last that long, though, since they're holding three people in their control."
"So, you've all heard Shauna, we have to expect to find Tris, Uriah and Lynn sleeping and powerless. Could be possible that we'll have to carry them out," Lauren sums up the information.
"No, listen to her," Zeke objects.
Shauna continues, "I stole a few syringes of stimulants, so we can share them out between us. We don't know who finds the hostages first, so we should make sure each team takes at least two. I don't know if this medicine will be strong enough to wake them up entirely. It might also take a few minutes until they've regained control over their bodies after being injected, but they should at least wake up enough to be able to walk with someone supporting them."
"Wow, that's a good idea," I admit, glad that Shauna is at least smart in general, even if her attitude towards us earlier was shitty as hell.
"Yeah, so they won't get stabbed in the eye while they are sleeping and helpless," Edward throws in dryly.
Shauna cuts the awkward silence, and I'm thankful that we don't have much time now. "I also gathered some first aid equipment for us. It's all here in this box. We can leave it here with Caleb, and in case anyone needs medical attention, we have some supplies close by. There are band-aids and bandages, needles if anyone needs stitches, some painkillers, stuff like that," she explains while she rummages in the big red box she's carried in with her, pulling out syringes that she hands us. "Go for the vein if you inject them, don't stab into the muscles. It'll take the medicine longer to spread from there, and we want the stimulant to work fast."
I shove two syringes into my pockets, one on each side, so I won't accidentally lose both at the same time if I have to do an unexpected move.
And then we stand there in this cold, dimly lit room, collecting ourselves before we go. It's the calm before the storm.
I breathe. In and out, in and out.
We'll make it.
In and out, in and out.
I straighten my shoulders and shut down my feelings.
In and out.
"Let's go!"
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DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Divergent world nor the characters, they belong to Veronica Roth.