Finding The Courage

Part 31

The door opened again this time revealing Christina, who rushed to hug Tris before hugging me.

"It was horrible, I suddenly became aware of my surroundings and I couldn't find you or Will." I watched Tris's face twist in pain as Will was mentioned. "Oh Will, he's dead." Christina looked between Tris and I, my face reflected the shock I felt in my heart but Tris tried to maintain a blank face.

"I watched him die on one of the monitors in the control room." Tris responded, her voice breaking as she told the lie. I knew it was a lie because I had been in the room with them. Christina kept talking as she led us out of the room finally and down the hallways to our interrogations. I didn't follow the conversation as we went paying more attention to the landmarks in case I needed to find my way back. I tuned back in when I heard Zeke's name mentioned.

" What about Zeke?" I asked.

"He decided to go to Erudite." Christina snipped out. We approached a large room with a stage in the middle. Several people were sitting around it and Jack stood in the middle. Four approached Jack as Tris and I moved off to the side to sit down. Four was injected with the truth serum. I could see the pain on his face and he began to fight it, Jack began the interrogation by saying may the truth set you free before asking for his full name and what happened in Dauntless.

"My name is Tobias Eaton, Marcus Eaton is my father. I transferred out of Abnegation to escape my father's abuse. When the attack on Abnegation began I was not under the simulation. I knew Jeanine had been hunting divergents and I knew that allowing anyone to know I was not under influence would tip off Eric and Max. I did what I had to in order to make it out into the field. There Tris and Wren found me confirming my suspicions that the serum only worked on non divergents. Only divergents can resist simulations. However Tris and I split from Wren and got captured, Jeanine figured it out and took me back to Dauntless where she injected me with a serum for divergents. Tris and Wren broke into the room and fought with me to gain control of the simulation. Wren brought me out of it." Four paused, fighting it off once more.

"How did she break you out of the simulation?" Jack pushed.

"Wren and I have been friends since we were in Abnegation together, I had her pinned to the ground ready to choke her to death when her voice broke through to me. She said she forgave me and she still loved me." Four swallowed and Tris turned to me with a look of betrayal on her face.

"What is your biggest regret?" Jack asked.

"I regret ever leaving Abnegation, that is where I belonged and it was a coward's move to leave. If I hadn't been reunited with Wren and met Tris I would have left to become factionless. And..." He trailed off once more the serum forcing him to be honest. "And for playing with Wren's feelings when I wasn't sure of my own." He admitted.

"And what are your true feelings?" Jack prompted.

"I love both of them. Wren was the first girl I was ever in love with, my first kiss. I didn't lie to her when I said I wanted a future with her. But she's incredible, she is everything I always wanted to be and she has never pretended to be anything but herself. Tris was the obvious choice, the safe choice. Wren deserves more than I could give her." Four turned to look and Tris and I, I looked away as Tris stared at the two of us in disbelief.

"Thank you for your Candor." Jack said and I could hear the breath Four let out as the serum dissipated. Tris was in a hurry to escape from Four and I so she went next. She was injected with the serum and immediately I can tell she is in pain.

"May the truth set you free." Jack started "Please answer the same question Tobias was asked."

"My name is Beatrice Prior. I transferred from Abnegation to Dauntless because I was too selfish to stay. Wren and I woke up one night to the shuffling sounds of people getting ready. We followed them having been warned that if anyone found out about our divergence we would be killed. We found Four on the train and stuck together. Once we got captured we were separated. They knocked me out and I woke up in a glass box that was filled with water. My mother rescued me. We fought our way back to where the others were, people who had been saved by Wren. My mother was killed while covering me. The rest you know. We broke into the compound with my brother and Four's father. My father had been with us but sacrificed himself to save us."

"And what is your biggest regret"

"That I shot Will." The panic on her face as the words slipped from her mouth said it all. Beside me Christina burst into tears and Four was silent.

"Thank you for your candor." Came the reply from everyone else. I made my way to the center of the room this time. Injecting myself with the serum and feeling the burning sensation as it flowed through me.

"May the truth set you free." Jack's voice met my ears.

"My name is Gabby Dristen, I transferred from Abnegation because I knew that Dauntless was the only place I could get away with being myself. I had started preparing myself to be strong in any of the factions before the choosing ceremony. Everything the other two have said about me is true. Four and I did share a secret relationship while I was an initiate and I regret not being honest with Tris about it. I saved as many people as I could from the attack. I fought to pull Four from the simulation. I cried for Tris's parents. I didn't kill anyone, at least not that I'm aware of."

"And your biggest regret?" The serum shifted through my memories trying to pull one from the worst. Hearing Four confess to Tris played in my mind, Not being able to stop Al from jumping, leaving Wayne behind. One memory came to mind.

"I was in Eric's room a couple nights before the attack, he had a bunch of papers on the table. I started shifting through them when he wasn't looking. I focused on the personnel files but I did see the plans for the attack. I should have paid attention to those. I could have done more to stop this."

"Thank you for your candor" a chorus of voices called out around me and the serum seeped out of my system, leaving me to feel weak in the knees and groggy. Everyone began to leave the room. Uriah helped me off the stage and handed me off to Lynn and Marlene who led me to the large room the Dauntless had turned into a makeshift home. They sat me down on a bed and I closed my eyes for a little while. My nap was short but when I woke up Tris was still not in the room. I thought maybe the roof would be the way to go, I had shown her how nice it could be. I finally found my way up and opened the door while Tris was throwing a chair over the edge of the building. She let out a scream as she looked over the edge longingly.

"I don't think that's the best idea." I called out to her. She whirled around to face me, I saw the anger flash in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have backed off before I started crushing on him" She yelled at me. "Why didn't you tell me that Eric was letting you into his private life. God it's like I don't even know you." She kept going.

"And what about you? How can you be this upset with me when you never told me that you killed Will. Not telling Christina made sense but what about Four and I or even Caleb for that matter?" I yelled back at her. Before she could respond, Four stepped out onto the roof.

"Why didn't you tell us about Will, do you not trust me?" He asked, looking accusatory. I shuffled to move out of the middle of their conversation, not comfortable around them as a couple.

"It's not like you trusted me either, You didn't tell us about Evelyn," Tris turned her anger towards him.

"Four doesn't share his secrets but he expects everyone else to share theirs with him." I mumbled under my breath. They both turned to look at me, I simply shrugged.

"She has a point, why didn't you tell me about your feelings for her? That you were conflicted on who you wanted to be with." Tris had lowered her voice but the anger was still there.

"What I said was the truth. Wren deserves better and you were the safer option. I just didn't want to lose Wren when I chose you so I left her hanging. I couldn't stand watching other guys flirt with her. I couldn't bear to watch her get hurt." He grumbled. I rolled my eyes but Tris just nodded.

"I didn't tell you because I couldn't stand myself for doing it. I didn't want to hurt him but he was shooting at me and my mom, I didn't have a choice." Tris had quieted down now, the anger between the two had dissipated in the cool night air.

"I'm sorry." Tris said to Four as I started walking away, I headed back downstairs to the sleeping room. There I found Hector Lynn's little brother. He was playing with a bunch of other younger kids and I joined their game. I needed the distraction from the day, and of the fight between Tris and Four. As we ran around the room I let myself get lost in the game, laughing with the kids and enjoying myself.