Divergent: A Retelling

Dealing With Death

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.