Secrets (O/C x TMR)

The Night

*Tris's POV*

It's been nearly two years since I woke up in the cage. The girl who arrived a month after me is named Ximena, she became the leader of the Spring when I denied the offer. Harriet, the third to arrive, she also has dark skin, not as dark as Ximena's. Her hair is dark brown, fairly long, and pulled into dreads, parted mostly to one side of her head. She became our second in command.

It's been 27 months since my arrival today, there's 25 of us. A new Fledgling is due to arrive in an hour, making our population 26. Something bad happened 3 months ago, a girl named Alyssa, she became a Runner. She entered the maze every morning with either myself, Harriet, or Sonya, another runner who arrived in the early months of the Spring. Alyssa and I were running the maze, mapping it, and Alyssa had a bad fall. She had tripped on some overgrown vines along the walls, and hit her head really hard, she was bleeding.

The doors were closing soon but I had to get her back to the Spring. We have a rule that prevents anyone from coming to look for us if we are out for to long, we can't lose anyone else. I made this rule while we were establishing order. I was unlucky enough to not make it back before the doors closed before. I know what's out here now, I know I can't keep her alive all night if she doesn't wake up soon. I grabbed her arms pulling her up into a sitting position, then moved to grab her waist with one hand, the other still firmly holding her wrist. I hoisted her up across my shoulders, holding her up by her arm and leg. I started making my way back, she wasn't exactly hard to carry, but I was no longer able to run. We rounded the final corner to the Spring and the doors were a ready closing, just a few feet from sealed. I stopped in my tracks and set Alyssa down leaning her against the wall, she started to stir in her sleep. I knew what was going to happen.

So did Ximena, she prepared a small sack for us.

"TRIS!" she exclaimed, her voice piercing through the other girls frantic cries of worry. It was hard to imagine this was the same timid girl who could barely speak when we first met. I stood up and stepped away from the semi-unconscious runner next to me. Ximena threw the sack through the small gap as hard as she could, I had to step forward a bit to catch it. Then the doors closed, when Alyssa finally awoke 10 minutes later, she was looking around frantically until she spotted me. I had dressed her wound with the supplies we had gotten in the sack, I was looking around the corner, keeping witched until she could walk again. I heard her gasp, my head snapped back to her, she was freaking out. I closed the distance between up with five long strides and cupped my hand over her mouth, attempting to quiet her sobs and tear fell down her face like roaring waterfalls.

"Shh.." I shushed so quiet I don't think she heard, but I raised my finger to be pressed to my lips, to show her she needed to be quiet. I moved to whisper in her ear, "I'll get us out of here, we will make it but you have to be quiet, not a peep, even if you hear a Night Crawler approaching, or you see one, you can not scream. Understand?" I moved to look at her face and she responded with a slight, quick nod. I removed my hand from her mouth, gesturing for her to follow me.

In the morning we made it back to the Spring, I was carrying Alyssa again, holding her up by her arm pulled around my shoulder. She had been stung and lost control of herself, I had to knock her out again, for both our sakes.

I was stung, too.

I have now officially spend four nights in the maze, I've been stung twice now. I've gone through the changing before, I knew what was in store. I couldn't afford to lose myself until I was locked away in the brig.

Alyssa was going through the changing when it happened, she attacked Harriet in the med hut, she was trying to kill her. I was still going through the changing when Ximena came to me with all the other work leaders. I refused to lose myself, to the Founders have their way, to watch me break from their horrific guard dogs. No matter the memories I had returning to me, I never told the others, I didn't want to tell them what I was before I was sent here.