Finding The Courage

Part 68

I never made it back to the dorms that night. I found myself on the hard ground of the atrium as the first light of day shone into the room. I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach before pushing myself up and heading back to the dorms. I moved stiffly through the hallways as I tried to stretch my body out but I was still sore by the time I managed to drag myself into the shower. The warm water felt great on my skin and sore muscles. I was so relaxed that I didn't hear anyone else enter the room or join me in my stall. I gasped when I felt someone's hands travel up my back and to my shoulders, rubbing the muscles as they went helping me to relax. When they reached my neck and head they began to wash my hair for me, I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or not so I let them continue. A hard strong body pressed itself against my back and light kisses were peppered across my shoulders and back. I groaned lightly and relaxed against him. Once my hair was washed I finally decided to turn around, I was fully expecting Peter to be standing behind me with a lust filled gaze looking down at me.

I was faced with Four.

"You can't keep doing things like this." I whispered fiercely at him.

"You know this was all I ever dreamed about before I left?"

"Four!" I groaned as I pushed him away so his hands were no longer on my body. "This can't happen."

"I know but I couldn't resist living out a dream I never thought would happen. When you fell into that net in Dauntless every single thought I ever had of us together came rushing back to me. If we had been the same age I would have stayed in Abnegation to be with you if that's what you had wanted."

"Four this isn't okay. What about Tris?"

"We aren't together anymore, you were there." Four had stopped trying to caress me now that I had thrown Tris's name out in the open.

"I also know that you guys are going to end up getting back together, you always do." I turned from him beach into the warm stream as I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Why can't you just let me have this Wren? Why do you always have to be the voice of reason?"

"Because." I whipped around to face him and my eyes flashed with anger. "I am no one's second choice and I will not let you rip me apart. I won't share my most intimate experience with you just for you to go back to someone else. To have a life with someone else." The tears started to burn as I fought them.

"What if I ended things with her? Would you have me then?" I shook my head as I shoved him closer to the edge of the shower.

"Get out. Get out and stop trying to have us both. You only get one and you made your choice very clear." Four stepped out of the shower as I let myself fall to the ground. I leaned against the side of the shower until I heard another set of footsteps this time accompanied by a voice.

"Wren?" Peter called out softly. I rinsed my face of any tears and shut the water off quickly.

"Can you hand me my towel?" I called as I stuck out a hand. I was met with the soft fabric and quickly wrapped myself in it. I stepped out to meet Peter who was half dressed and still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"You didn't come back last night with the others. I was worried until Four told me he had passed you on the way to the shower." He wrapped a heavy arm around me as I leaned into him. I buried my face into his chest and took a deep inhale. He wasn't Four, he didn't share the same past as I did, but he smelled like home. "You okay?" He rested a hand on my wet hair and started rubbing my head.

"Yea just didn't sleep well."

"Let's get you dressed and in bed, you can grab a few more hours of sleep before anyone else is awake." I slipped on a large t-shirt and twisted my hair off the back of my neck before following Peter back into the room. I laid down and he curled himself around me, I closed my eyes and fell asleep to the sounds of my friends sleeping around me. When I woke up again it was probably close to the evening, the curtains in the room had been opened and the sun looked like it was setting. No one was around, Tris had gone to the fringe today but I had declined an invitation since I had secretly already been. 

Peter was sure to be studying the larger world somewhere, Caleb and Cara were probably off with Matthew working on the new serum while Four and Christina were off playing detective with Reggie. I wasn't needed, at least not in this moment, I was well and truly useless. I got up and slipped on black pants that were on the floor next to my bed and a hoodie I had stolen from Wayne. It smelled faintly like him as I zipped it up over the tank top I had also thrown on. My eyes watered and I decided I would see if I could spot Wayne on the cameras in the control room. I silently made my way to the control room, I plopped myself down in the closest empty spot that I could switch through camera feeds. The sky was getting darker as I kept searching for a hint of my brother. I knew when Four came into the control room, I heard Cara poke fun at him as he kept searching the camera feeds for his parents. We both paused on the feed from camera 24.

"They're doing it, the Allegiant are attacking." Cara gasped.

"Hey!" Four shouted "Camera 24 hurry!" My eyes were locked on the screen as Cara rushed to get the others. The feed was blurry and the people were not wearing any type of uniform.I couldn't make out any faces but I watched them wave each other on into the dark with their guns. I began to fiddle with the rings on my fingers, the ones Wayne gave me that I never seem to take off anymore, as we all waited with baited breath for something to happen.

"Excuse me?!" I heard Peter yell as he tried to get through the group. By now Four had made his way over to me and Peter joined us.

"What's up?" He asked.

"The Allegiant." I started to explain.

"They formed an army. People from every faction, Amity and Erudite too." Four finished. That part I hadn't known but could have guessed.

"Erudite?" Caleb asked in disbelief.

"The Allegiant are the enemies of the factionless, giving them a common goal." Cara reasoned.

"Did you know about Amity?" Christina asked Four.

"They're not really part of the violence but they are making an effort."

"The Allegiant raided a weapons storehouse a few days ago. This is their second time where they got the guns. Evelyn made them change locations but this one wasn't fast enough." A young woman at one of the control desks informed us.

"What's their goal?" Caleb brought out attention back to the screen in front of us.

"They want to return the city to its original purpose, by whatever means necessary. They're planning an attack on the factionless stronghold. At least that's what Johanna and I had discussed before we left. We weren't going to involve Marcus." Cara said, giving Four a pointed look. The gun fire drew our attention back to the screens once again, Four fiddled with the screen in front of me and switched to one of the cameras inside the building. The only thing of value we could see was a table covered in boxes of ammunition. We watched as the factionless fell, they were greatly outnumbered by the Allegiant. The first clear face we could make out was Zeke's. We watched as the factionless fell and finally I saw Wayne appear on the screen. I knew he wouldn't have joined Evelyn not after everything I had told him. Zeke and Wayne pile things up to move them out before any more factionless show up and my heart aches for him. He had no Idea that Uriah was not waking up. I watched Wayne for as long as I could before the lady at the desk switched the image. Johanna and Marcus filled the screen and to my surprise Johanna held a gun in her hands.

"They managed to rally most of the loyal faction members to the cause. Surprisingly though they're still outnumbered. There are far more factionless than we ever accounted for, hard to keep tabs on a scattered population." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Johanna, leading a rebellion with a weapon? That makes no sense?" Caleb said.

"Makes more sense than you think." Four replied.

We watched in silence as they cleared the room of any more supplies before taking off. I knew the city was close to destruction, closer than it had been before with Jeanine in charge. This was our city, our home and it was time we took it back. I was ready to go home.