The Other One

Chapter Six

We quickly walk back the way we came, dodging Dauntless as they pass us. We end up at a tattoo parlor. Amity don't get tattoos, but we do appreciate that dauntless have at least a little bit of creativity in them. The parlor is small, but not as uncomfortable as the rest of Dauntless.
We walk to the back of the building and Lucas whispers something to a lady with bright purple hair who stands behind the cash register. The girl he whispers to nods, looks at Marie and I, and goes to through a door next to her. She comes back seconds later with another tattoo artist. This one is tall and buff, with rich, dark skin. He takes us over to a table in the corner of the room where we all take seats.
"These are your divergents?" He asks Lucas.
"Yes, they came to me right after their tests."
"Alright." The man sighs. "My name is Michael. That's all you'll need to know about me. Now both of you, listen. People are looking for you. Nowhere is safe for either of you. You'll have to leave the city, run and hide behind the buildings 'till you get to the fence. When you make it to the wall that borders the city, you'll have to take out the guards. I'm sure that Lucas can supply you with guns." Michael glances at Lucas. "But in the mean time, you'll need to train your fighting skills as well as your shooting ones. You will get started today."
I let what he says soak in.
"Wait." I say before we get up.
"Yes?" Michael asks.
"I want a tattoo. Of Amity. Before we leave, as a kind of souvenir."
I don't want the tattoo to show them that I'm brave, or to prove that I am dauntless. I want it so that when we leave, I'll have something to remember my family by. Something to hold on to.

Michael looks at Lucas, and Lucas looks at me. After a party of multiple looks at each other, Michael finally says
"Okay."

I sit in a rubbery chair that Michael put me in. My whole body shakes, partly from excitement and partly from fear. Michael comes towards me with a pair of gloves on and what looks like an oversized pen. He sits in the chair next to me and fiddles with a box that has multiple wires and needle tips and other odd looking pen-like things. Michael pulls out a glass plate with the Amity tree imprinted in it.
"You sure this is the one you want?" He asks holding the glass plate up.
"Yes, I'm sure. And on my..." I think of an area where everyone can see it. Where everyone can appraise my tattoo, and know my pride for Amity.

"...On my neck."

The needle hurts, a lot, but I bite the inside of my cheek and push my toes against the souls of my shoes. When he finishes about 45 minutes later, the left side of my neck is sore and red. I look at myself in a mirror that stands next to the rubbery chair. I look incredulously different. It's as if the tattoo changed the shape of my face, and the look of my face, too.
I've changed lightyears in a single morning.

Marie sits with Lucas on the table I left them at. When I walk over to them, their heads perk up and examine my tattoo.
"Nice, James." Marie says to me.
Lucas opens his mouth and looks into both of our eyes.

"Now you two need to train."