Divergent: A Retelling

I am not Safe

I grunt with each stab of pain, I hear commotion, loud. I gasp, trying to sit up and see what it is. Their movement makes the lights turn on in the hallway, and I see Will. My arms give out, and fall back to the dirt covered floor, grunting as I do. "What was that?" I hear Peter's voice. "Shine that light over here." Says Will, and I see the light shine on me as I struggle to sit back up, "What the hell," I hear him say as multiple pairs of feet run towards me. "Take him to the infirmary, we'll get her!" I hear Christina shout. Who's going to the infirmary? Who's getting me? I hear the other party leave as two pairs of hurried footsteps run to me, kicking up dust. Their flashlight bounces around as they run, making my head hurt. I push my arms underneath me as they reach me. 'They' being Will and Christina. They fall to their knees, hooking their arms underneath me. "What happened?" "Who did this to you?" Their questions bombard me, and I cry out and groan as they get me to my feet. I'm suspended between them, unable to keep the pain out of my voice. "Two. . . people. . .gone. . . throw me. . .chasm" It's all I can say before I completely lose consciousness and my head falls forward.

I wake up with a gasp and sit up, panicking. Immediately I grasp my waist in pain. "Hey! Hey it's okay!" Says Christina, as she and Tris grab my shoulder, pushing me back down. I groan as they do, and I realize one of my eyes is almost swollen shut. "I'll go get Four." Says Will, who I realize was sitting at the end of my bed next to Al. I swallow with pain, and I put a hand to my neck. "It's a little swollen, but the healer said you should be able to talk." Says Christina, putting a damp cloth on my head. I watch as Will leaves, and then I look at Tris. "What happened?" I croak, leaning my head against the pillow. "We should be asking you." Says Al as Christina sits back down on her stool. "We were taking care of Edward, when we heard you, remember? Will and I brought you here, and you passed out on the way." Says Christina, and I look up. "Four said to come get him when you woke up." "What's wrong with Edward?" My voice is hoarse, so I talk slowly. "Someone stabbed him in the eye last night. It was really gross." Says Christina, nodding to the bed next to me. I look over and Edward is lying there, sleeping with a bandage over his eye, Myra sleeping next to him in a chair. "Who stabbed him? Why?" I ask, looking away, straining past the subtle but chronic pain in my throat and neck. Christina makes an "I don't know sound". Tris bites her lip and looks at me. "We think that's probably why what happened to you, happened. We assume, I mean, since you got third rank." "Do you know who did it?" I ask, voice scratchy. They all shake their heads. "There's no way to know, everyone looks beat up from training. I bet it was Molly though." Says Al, and I nod. It makes sense. She would remember my moves, use them against me. I stare at the ceiling, hand resting on my ribs. "They're back." Says Tris, standing up as Will walks in with Four. He walks powerfully, straight to my bed. "What happened." It's not a question, but a demand. "We found her-" "I wasn't talking to you." Says Four, cutting off Christina, clenching his jaw. He folds his arms and looks down at me. "What happened." He repeats. "I got jumped. They tried to throw me in the chasm." I say, almost embarrassed. "And you're alive?" I look up and the sarcasm drips from my voice. "Clearly." I say, leaning back and staring up. "I wasn't going to let them take me down." "Leave." Says Four suddenly, and I look up. He's still looking at me, but not talking to me. "I need to talk to her alone." Will, Tris, Christina and Al quietly leave, and Four walks around to the side of my bed and pulls back a chair with a loud scrape.

"You didn't kill." I look at him, registering the look on his face. Sympathy? "You defended yourself. Drew killed himself." My lip trembles. "It was Drew? I killed Drew?" Tears brim on my eyelids. I hated Drew, but he didn't deserve to die. "You defended yourself, he was going to kill you." Four says Firmly. "With that kind of thinking, you could justify anything. Genocide, rape-" I say and Four cuts me off. "You're not a murderer." I nod slightly, and I realize I'm shaking. "Townes," He says, seriously. "Did they sexually assault you?" He says flatly. My lips part. "Way to be straight forward," I say. The corner of my lip rises a little, but his face doesn't move. I sigh. "They didn't. And if they tried, I would've killed both of them." Four nods slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching. "There's been talk about you. Around Dauntless." "What talk?" I ask, sitting up and then wincing, desperate to know. "Talk. How you were in school, in Amity." My cheeks burn. "Lots of books, lots of suspensions," Oh no. He's figuring it out. Or already has. "You need to be careful," He says, looking me in the eye. I freeze, nodding slightly. So he does know. "I- I know," I say, trying to keep the shaking out of my voice. He clenches his jaw and sits back. "Who knows?"
I can't stop my hands from shaking. The tightness in my chest and the barbed wire around my throat grows, constricting me, like a snake.

"My brother." I say, as steadily as possible. He gives a slight nod.

I try to swallow and sit as still as possible. "I'm not going to turn you in." Says Four, noticing my stature. My posture relaxes a little with relief, and I wince again. I feel heat behind my eyes. "You're not?" He shakes his head.

"Erudite believes Divergence will be the end of us." I nod, flinching when he says the word. "You haven't told Christina, or Tris, or Will, or Al?" I take a breath, to regain my ground. "No-" My voice breaks and I clear my throat, which takes more effort than I thought it would. "No." I repeat, somewhat steadier. "Good. People may suspect that's why they tried to send you to the bottom of the chasm." When he says this, a chill runs through me. I'm ice. "Townes, I don't want to lose another initiate." "Another." I say glumly. "How did you know I'm-" My sentence cuts out, but Four understands my question. "I read it in a book." He says, quoting me. I turn red and look at my hands in my lap. I'm glad my retort to Peter didn't lose me any points with Four. "You're exempt from the last day of training." Says Four, standing up. "Stay here, rest. You're second rank now." "Why?" I ask as he begins walking towards the door. "Because Edward's quitting, and Myra's going with him." I stare as he walks out, and then I look over at them. They sleep peacefully. They'll sleep peacefully forever, now that they're out of Dauntless. I am second rank. It looms in my brain, and I begin to absorb the weight of those words. My attention is drawn away by Al, Tris, Christina and Will walking back in. "How do you feel?" Asks Tris as they reach my bed. I shake my head, rubbing my eye. This seems to suffice for an answer. "I'm sorry, Em, I should've been there." Says Christina. I shake my head. "I shouldn't've been out in the first place." "Don't think like that," Says Will, and I look up at him. "If you think like that, you could justify almost anything." I nod and look down at my lap, my hands clutching the crisp white sheets. That's almost exactly like what I said

I register my own anger. Someone tried to kill me. Molly and Drew. Unconsciously, I bring my legs back up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees. "Em?" Asks Tris, placing a hand on me. I jump and wince. "What?" I ask, and she looks between me and the others. "If I find out who did this, I'll throw them in the chasm." I say, hoarsely, emptily, flattening my legs and laying back down. "Are you gonna be okay if we go get lunch?" Asks Al. I look up and nod, sighing heavily. They leave, and I stare at the ceiling. I think and think until I start to get emotional and I feel hot tears behind my eyes. My nose starts to run and my throat tightens. My lips tremble as I suppress my sobs, and I put my hands over my face, letting out a slow, drawn out sob. I shake my head, but the feeling doesn't go away. The feeling of betrayal, fear, deep, deep pain, both physical and emotional. Am I ever going to really recover from this? Despite my attempts to drown it, another sob comes. I turn on my side, burying my throbbing face into the pillow and curling up in a fetal position, holding my waist. One by one, my emotions over power me and sobs rack my body painfully. I can't hold it in anymore. My glass jar has broken. I am divergent. Someone tried to kill me. I'm being hunted. I am not safe, and I may never be.