Divergent: Before We Chose

Page Twenty Five

Tobias and I train all day until the sunlight coming through the dusty windows of the warehouse turns orange. I'm exhausted and covered in sweat, and I know tomorrow I will feel the screams of every muscle in my body, even ones I didn't know I had.

I have not known Tobias Eaton long, but I know him well enough that when he says "Good job today", he means it, and it's probably the most praise he'd ever give, so I take it with a gracious nod.

He leads me silently back into the warehouse we came from. I see the factionless gathered around in the centre, huddled around a low fire that is heating the contents of some label-less cans. Tobias doesn't explain to me what exactly this is and moves through the crowd silently but with enough purpose that makes me think he has done this many times before. I wonder if he used to come here regularly, even before the Choosing Ceremony, even before he left and re-joined Abnegation. Again I realise, there's a lot I don't know about this boy.

He finds a space near the fire and takes a seat on the hard ground. I sit beside him, though he doesn't indicate for me to do so. I still feel wary about the factionless community, and being next to him makes me feel safe.

I look around and see these mismatched people in mismatched clothes and I am in awe of the utter harmony that seems to be between them. They pass cans to each others' gloved hands, smiling and laughing and sharing forks and smiles. It strikes me as odd as these people were once Erudite, Candor, or even Dauntless. It's strange, because even though though they don't belong to any faction, they all have an element of every faction in them.

I see their selflessness through the passing of the food, the way no one takes a bigger bite than the last person. I see their intelligence in the way they cook and ration the supplies. I see their peace and harmony in the way they communicate. I see their honesty in how they present themselves as who they are. I see their bravery in the way that, even though they don't belong anymore, they are still surviving. I can see now what  Evelyn and Theo and even Tobias meant by abolishing the faction system - what bothers me is how they might go about it.

"Here," Tobias hands me a can. It's contents are some sort of dried fruit in a sugary syrup. Part of me is hesistant at eating this strange food that doesn't look appetising at all. A pang of homesickness hits me as I think of my mother's roast dinners and the way the smell of warm food would fill the house even as Caleb and I washed the dishes. But I am hungry after my intensive training, and I feel the need to do this - to fit in.

"I have something I need to talk to you about," Tobias says lowly next to me as I eat. He pokes the fire with a stick, the embers glowing in his eyes. He doesn't make eye contact, as if what he's about to tell me is secret, or even dangerous. "But I can't tell you around Evelyn."

I scan the room slowly, looking for the domineering woman, but I cannot see her. I feel her though; feel her prescence, her eyes lurking in the shadows.

"Tell me now."

"You're safe here," he starts off, his tone emotionless and detached. "Your parents will realise you're missing soon, no doubt. They know you're not the type of girl to run away."

"They'll think I'm lost or something," I say, but he shakes his head slightly.

"They may have thought that before - Beatrice Prior, the innocent little Abengation girl, lost in the factionless area of town - but not now."

"Why not?"

"Because of me."

The way he says it sends a shiver down my spine. It's dark and ominous, as if he is some sort of threat towards me. But I trust him -  I do.

"They might think we ran away together," I suggest, though my throat is dry. A hand taps my shoulder and I pass the can back, no longer hungry.

"Like two lovesick puppies? Please." Now he sounds angrier, but his keeps his composure. "My father is going to know we're up to something, and whether he decides to share that with your parents is irrelevant." I think of my parents crying, wondering where I am, and then I hear my mother's words: I'm proud of you.

"He can't afford to look bad right now, not with Jeanine Matthews on his back. He'll keep this quiet for as long as he can," Tobias continues. "He knows I was snooping during my work placement. He knows I was flirting with that secretary to get inside the system. He was on to me the entire time."

Despite the serious nature of the conversation, my stomach still drops unexpectantly at the word 'flirting'. I remember the night he told my parents he'd 'met a girl', and how my senses had dissolved and jealously had taken hold. I'm still not sure why.

"I have to go back," he says, but he speaks so lowly that I'm not sure if he said it or not.

"What?"

"I have to go home. Just for a couple of days. My father knows I'm up to something, and I'll have to deal with the.... repercussions, but I'm willing to do that."

I'm not sure what he means, and I don't want to ask. I'm afraid of being alone here with the factionless. "What about training?" I ask, and immediately realise how petty it sounds.

"Theo will help with that." Something about the way he says it sounds liek he is not does not entirely comfortable with it, and frankly, neither am I.

"When are you going?" I whisper. We're both staring into the fire now, and the factionless are beginning to sing a song, something that sounds like a chant, but I block them out until all I can hear is his breathing.

"Tonight." The word is tight and my stomach drops. I'm not sure when I'll see him again, and I'm not sure how I'll survive here without him. It's strange how much I rely on him now, this strange boy I met only a few weeks ago. I look around me and I'm daunted by the mass of factionless people, a community I will never fit into in my grey robes.

"Goodbye, Beatrice," he says quietly, getting up, but not entirely. He leans in and whispers in my ear, and I know that I have to follow this advice. "Be brave."