DIVERGENT: Tobias (Watty Award Winner 2013)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I grab her shoulders hard as I pull her body close to mine. A cry escapes her lips at the sudden contact. For a second I’m confused. But then I remember all that happened before. The simulation. Tris. Eric. Tris shooting Eric. Tris getting shot. Jeanine. I pull Tris away from me, checking to make sure she’s really here.

“Tris,” The whisper escapes my lips as I stare down at her. Oh god. She’s here…she’s safe. Oh what would I have done if I shot her? The thought sends shudders down my spine. I bend my head down quickly and capture her lips in mine. I wrap my arms around her once more and lift her off the ground, successfully bringing her face level to mine. With her body, warm against mine, I know she is safe. I hold her tightly, too tightly and not tightly enough at the same time.

I set her down and break the kiss, but I don’t let her go. I’m afraid of what will happen when I do. Will she disappear? Is this all a dream? My hand caresses her face, trailing over her forehead, her eyebrows, her cheeks, her lips. I feel the tears prick at the back of my eyes as I gaze into her face, trying to rememorize it. My hand, still lingering on her lips, moves to cup her cheek. An unfamiliar emotion invades my mind and a sound resembling somewhere between a sob and a moan escapes my lips just as I press my lips against hers again.

My eyes fill with tears right then as I process my emotions. Relief. Tris is here in my arms…we are together. Anger. How did I let this happen? I vowed to protect Tris. How is it that I almost killed her myself? Love. Tris. I would do anything for her.

She rests her head against my chest and stains my shirt with her tears. I bury my head in her hair. The smell of her intoxicates me. She shifts slightly and I can feel how weak she is. She leans against me and I hold her weight, supporting her.

“How did you do it?” She asks me, her voice full of concern.

“I don’t know,” I tell her, and try to come up with a better answer. “I just heard your voice.” I say honestly. And for a few more seconds, I hold her against me and forget about the world around us.

Then she pulls away from me, wipes away any remaining tears and turns toward the screens. Reluctantly, my eyes leave her and focus on the screens as well. Most of them show violence and chaos. All caused by the Dauntless soldiers, or should I say Dauntless zombies? Zombies that are controlled by a single serum… but who was giving the commands? Something in my mind clicks.

“Was I running the simulation?” I ask Tris, horrified.

“I don’t know if you were running it so much as monitoring it. It’s already complete. I have no idea how, but Jeanine made it so it could work on its own.” She tells me and I feel a little better about it. I wasn’t the one responsible for so many innocent deaths. No…not me. Jeanine. Jeanine who managed to create a program so powerful, that it stripped people of their will… and their consciousness.

“It’s…” I shake my head slightly. “incredible. Terrible, evil…but incredible.” I murmur. Just then I see Tris move her head to stare at one of the screens, obviously attracted by some movement. I copy her and stare at the screen, taking in the scene displayed. There are three people surrounded by Dauntless soldiers.

“Tobias, now!” Tris says abruptly. And in that second, I know that she recognizes those three people. I don’t hesitate. I run to the computer screen, trying to think of any code that will help me shut down the simulation. Long sequences of letters and numbers run through my mind and I begin typing away, hoping that one of them will be able to override the system and stop the simulation.

I’m typing as fast as I can and trying my hardest to figure out which codes to use. Slowly the system begins to unravel at my fingertips and I’m so close to shutting it down.