Soulmates

Chapter 20: Fire

Eric, Tris, and Tobias settle into a comfortable routine. Every morning, Tobias goes for a run. Sometimes Tris, Eric, or both of them join him. The three meet in the cafeteria for breakfast, often joined by their other friends. Eric and the other faction leaders work with Tris on her training during the day, and the soulmate trio have lunch together when they can. At the end of the weekdays, they have dinner together either in the cafeteria or in Tris or Eric’s apartments. They often get together in the evenings for movies, board games, or just to hang out and talk.

Tris and Eric’s leadership responsibilities keep them busy, too. Some evenings they have duties or crises to attend to. Sometimes Tobias has to work the late shift in the Control Room. But as often as possible, two or three of them spend their evenings together.

Rumors fly around the Dauntless compound. Some say that Tris slept with both trainers during initiation, and that her first place finish wasn’t deserved. Some believe that she is dating Four but cheating on him with Eric, or vice versa. Some think that she is stringing along both men, and that she’ll break their hearts. The kinder Dauntless believe that the three of them are just good friends. But no one even guesses that the three of them are all soulmates. Truth, as they say, can be stranger than fiction.

One night, about six months after Tris finished initiation, the three are snuggled up on Tris’ sofa, watching another movie, when shrill alarms pierce the relative quiet. Tris slaps her hands over her ears, and the three of them hurry to put their boots on. Eric’s comm device goes off, adding to the noise. Tris feels hers vibrate in her pocket and pulls it out to look at it.

“Fire,” Eric says. “In the south housing wing.”

“Are we evacuating the whole compound?” Tobias asks.

“Not yet,” Tris says, reading off her comm. “Just the south wing for now. Fire crews are on their way. We gotta get over there.”

“I’ll head to the Control Room,” Tobias says as he opens the door. “Be careful out there.”

Tris gives him a quick peck on the lips and a hug, and she’s surprised when the two men share a quick bro hug. “Let’s go,” Eric says, reaching for Tris’ hand as they begin running toward the south housing wing of the compound.

xxxx

Fortunately, no one was killed in the fire, and the damage was contained to three floors of the south wing. Several people were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, but everyone recovered quickly. The cause of the fire was believed to be an old space heater that had been running in the apartment that sustained the most damage.

The biggest challenge Dauntless leadership faced after the fire was where to house the forty-some people who had been displaced by the damage. Two-thirds of them would need a temporary solution, such as staying with family or friends until crews could clean up the smoke and water damage to their homes and possessions. But one-third of the fire victims would need a more long-term solution. A single guy in his twenties, a young couple with a baby, and a family of five had lost nearly everything in the fire, and an equal number had suffered enough damage that they would need a place to stay for several months.

The compound was filled to capacity, which is why leadership had instituted the limits on the number of initiates who achieved membership. But that rule hadn’t been in place long enough to fix the problem, and the compound was full. For the first several days, those who had someone to stay with went home with family and friends. The others were housed in the initiate dorms. It was a temporary solution at best.

“I have two extra bedrooms!” Tris complains to Eric and Tobias over dinner at her apartment. “I feel terrible that families are being crammed in the crappy dorms while my bedrooms sit empty. It’s especially hard on the kids!”