Emergent (Divergent: Book Four)

Chapter 1-Caleb

3 years after the Purity War

Look, Tris's death wasn't MY fault. She forced me to give her the stupid bag. She forced me to let her go. I mean, everyone blames me! Everyone practically wants to kill me!
Okay, I may not be selfless, like Tris, but I know one thing: I should have died that night. Not my brave, selfless, intelligent, rebellious sister. I betrayed her, and I should have payed for it. But no, she went ahead and got herself killed instead. I don't deserve to be a Prior.
I prefer to hide away from people; to avoid their icy, accusing glares. The cold glances I get just walking down the hallway are unbearable. Not to mention the cold shoulder I get from oh, say, everyone.That's at least how it was. Most people have made their peace by now, but I can tell I remind them to much of... her. I can tell that deep down, they still hate me.

I mean, do they think I wanted this!? Do they think I wanted my own sister dead!? No. I miss her. So much. I miss her blond hair that fell over her shoulders, normally pulled back in a bun by our mother in Abnegation, before she cut it. I miss her smile, which could light up a room, and her laugh, which could brighten someone's day. I miss her idiotic bravery and selflessness, but at the same time intelligence. Her rebellious and care-free spirit.

I miss our parents, too. My mother and father's selflessness and overwelming instinct to protect us. Gosh, I lost all my family. I lost everyone. And I guess that's what made me do it. That's what pushed me over the edge.

* * * * * * * *

The day before Tobias scattered Tris's ashes on the zipline, I switched out her ashes for ashes from a fire, a campfire. The day after the fake ashes were spread, I brought her ashes back to my lab, which the Bureau gave to me after Tris's death. I had to keep this a secret, to avoid complications. I had to steal supplies from the Bureau, and experiment with many trials, with plants, and even once a dead rabbit.

I mixed together different formulas and serums and tested them on the ashes of plants. Some blew up in my face, some disappeared, some exploded, some did nothing, and some started bubbling and popping. Needless to say, it was very diffucult to keep this hidden and I recieved many strange looks from people passing by. But then a miracle happened.

I decided to take a break from testing, mainly because I was just filthy and tired. I had pulled an all-nighter and had gone almost 36 hours working on this. I figured I could just relax and brainstorm for a while. That's when it hit me. The serums! But I had already tried that, I thought, slightly losing my wave of confidence. But I gained it back immediately when I thought of something I hadn't tried...

With confidence, anxiousness, and even a little giddiness, I mixed together the five serums; the truth serum, the peace serum, the simulation serum, the memory serum, and the death serum, along with my blood. My original plan was to test a combination on a plant, if that works, on an animal, if that works, on Tris. My new hypothesis is that you need the blood of the deceased to bring them back to life. Well, I'm blood-related to Tris, so maybe my blood will work. I have a shot here, so I better not screw it up. I'm taking a big risk. But it's a risk I'm willing to take to bring my sister back. First, though, there's someone who needs to be here to see it.