The Other Side of the War (Tobias Eaton X OC)

Chapter 14

"I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing. Just prayed to a god that I don't believe in."

THE LOUD RUMBLING OF THE TRAIN mixed with the harsh whistle of the wind gave Storm a massive headache. She gazed out of the cart into the dark night, waiting for the perfect moment to jump off. Her heavy eyelids made it difficult to make out the features of the city, but she had visited this place so many times it just became second nature.

Every other initiate was probably back at Dauntless celebrating, partying the night away. Afterall, it was their last to chance to celebrate without the dark cloud (otherwise known as stage 2) looming over them. Storm, who already knew what the infamous stage entailed, was just waiting for all of them to crack; waiting for them to slip up so she could complete her mission.

But just like them, Storm had things to take care of before the nightmare started.

When Storm was 13, her brother Drake had started to act out. He would sneak out whenever the sun went down, heading off to some mystery sanctuary. Though one night, after Storm had been severely beaten, he decided to take his sister along with him.

It was simple field, no bigger than an acre, but there weren't many grassy places in Chicago so it was something special. The view of the twinkling stars above was wonderous. That's what Drake loved most about the place; other than the absence of his mother.

Little did that naive boy know, that's where his sister would bury him a year later.

Storm looked up at the sky, tears brimming behind her eyes. The clouds covered the stars like a thick blanket. When the buildings of Chicago appeared to lessen, she knew it was time to jump off.

Over the years, the vibrancy of the once green grass lessened and lessened. The lucious nature seemed to die with her brother, or that's how Storm liked to think about it.

Despite her exhaustion, Storm traipsed to the middle of the field. When she reached the spot, marked by a small heart made of pebbles, the strength went out from under her. She wished she could have given him a proper headstone; he at least deserved that. But at the time she had already defied her mother's orders enough, she was supposed to burn his body. This was all that she could give him.

"I'm so sorry Drake," Storm placed her shaking hand in the center of the heart her younger self had created. "It's been two years. Two wretched fucking years without you."

A small, humorless laughed bubbled in her throat. "Would you believe me if I told you mother came to visit me? Shocker, I know. But I'm sure you could guess her intentions were anything but pure."

"I wonder what faction you would have chosen," her quiet voice could barely be heard over the roaring wind, "amity is my guess. You were always the exact opposite of me.

"I've uh, made a friend. Her name's Ember, sweet and kind like you. Oh and I got a tattoo," Storm pulled down her shift to reveal the art dedicated to him. Sometimes she found herself acting like he could actually see and hear her.

The dark-haired girl had never believed in god, or anything that accompanied him. It was considered illogical in Erudite and for the most part she agreed. God had never done anything to help her anyways. But when her brother died, she found herself praying to the man in the sky. Because if god did not exist, and neither did heaven or hell, then her brother was really gone and she would never be with him again. So she chose to believe that there was some form of afterlife, whether controlled by a god or not. That was the only thing keeping her sane over those two years.

Storm leaned forward and touched her forehead to the ground, a singular tear falling down her face. "I was never was strong as you Drake. I can't keep fighting them without you. I'm so sorry for the person I've become, and for what I've done to you and others."