Initiate [ERIC/JAI]

14

I felt the wind blowing through my hair, feeling as though there was some hope of freedom one day. The moment was broken when I rested my eyes onto Four, he had persuaded me to take a walk with him. I couldn't blame him however, he'd found me sobbing on the ground. What do I do? I didn't know whether to mention it to Four or not, for all I knew he was lying to me. He watched me spin around in the field, losing myself. From afar it looked as though he was smiling, I just couldn't believe anyone anymore.

"What was wrong, Cassia?" He paused, coming closer to me and snapping me out of my daze. "Did Eric do something? You seemed broken and it wasn't a nice sight." He seemed so genuine, so trustworthy.

"Eric's done nothing, nothing at all actually." I paused, sighing to myself. "Four, I want to know I can trust you. You know something that can kill me.." I trail him, cutting me off.

"Us. That can kill us, Cassia. I get it, you don't know much about me at all and vise versa. It's hard to trust people you've only known for a few weeks, especially at Dauntless. Trust me Cassia, there's nothing more I want in this world than to live in peace." His tone was genuine, he hadn't broken eye contact with me once.

"Why can't we? What's so wrong about us? We're still human, we just belong to too many places." I state, throwing my arms up in defeat.

"They're threatened by us, Cassia, especially Jeanine. She believes we harm the system, that we're out of order." I didn't understand, we are the same people born into the exact same system. "Jeanine is the one that's out of order."

"I trust you Four but I don't think I'm the one you need to be helping." I pause. "Apollo came to me today, absolutely distraught. He told me that they'd found out about him and he only had a short time left. Four, he told me to run. He thinks they're going to kill him." His expression changes, the fear taking over.

"We need to get to him, now. Get on the train." He motions to the oncoming train behind us. Apollo was in danger. Everything morphed into a giant blur, my legs carried me without my mind thinking. Jumping onto the train seemed easy for once, though I believed it was my urge to find Apollo. If Four seemed this concerned I knew he had to be divergent, there wasn't a chance in hell he'd act this way otherwise.

The train slowed until it came to a gradual stop. Four looked at me with confusion, we'd stopped at the closest station to Dauntless which the train normally never stops at. Four got off, I followed close behind. He pulled a conductor to the side. "Why has the train stopped here? It never stops here." As Four was busy, I squinted down towards the Dauntless building. I could spot around five people standing around somebody on the floor. Why were they on the floor? I clicked.

"Four." I squealed, I was hoping for the best. Again my feet carried me as I ran along the train tracks, hearing Four follow close behind me. I felt the pain in my legs rise from the running but pushed myself to where they were standing. Eric's familiar face turned to look at me, his expression was weak. My eyes flicked to the person on the ground, blood covering the floor around them. I'd notice that hair anywhere..

Apollo.

I held back the vomit rising from my stomach, clutching my mouth and collapsing to the ground. Four's arms were the first to wrap around me. I let out a sob, knowing one of the only friends I had here was gone. If only I had listened to him, helped him. The tears flowed down my cheeks, I felt alone once again. "W-why..?" I choked, Four hugging me tighter. "I could've done something, I could've helped him but I left him Four. What kind of sick monster am I?" I question, the tears rolling my cheeks consistently.

"What do you mean you could've helped him?" It was Max's voice that spoke, gaining a glare from me.

"He came to me yesterday scared, I didn't help him." I scoffed at the leader, his face was blank. He didn't care about Apollo, neither did Eric. "Although I'm not the one who should be looking after the initiates." I spit, pushing myself off of the ground. Eric looked at me with a questioning expression.

"Cassia. We are looking after the initiates, poor Apollo here was divergent." Max's statement pierced my ears. My heart stopped beating. "We have to protect our initiates, no matter the cost." His eyes motioned to the lifeless Apollo on the ground. I felt Four's hand on my back attempting to comfort me yet I pulled away.

"You're sick and twisted, Apollo was an amazing guy that did absolutely nothing wrong. I don't understand how you look at yourself in the mirror every morning without throwing up." I spat at Max, a smile curved on his lips which infuriated me even more. Eric steps in between the leader and I, attempting to calm me down. "Did you have a part in this?" I question him, his silence proving my worst fear. "And to think I thought I had feelings for you. You're the worst there is. Never talk to me again." The tears began again as I turned to walk off, joined by Four. I felt a hand grasp my wrist, pulling me back to face them. Eric.

"I know you're going to blame yourself for this but please Cassia, don't. None of this is your fault and you shouldn't have a burden on your shoulders. I would do anything to make you happy." My mind ponders for a second before stepping closer towards him, bringing my lips to his ear.

"I want to see my brother." I pause. "At Amity." His facial expression doesn't change, the same frown he was already wearing. "That's what will make me happy." I pull away from him, stepping back and turning to walk away with Four.