♘ Be Brave ♘

LXXXVIII

My mind is racing. Already? This is so sudden, even I don't know what to make of it. "What? Why?" Lauren looks away. "He... killed someone. The nurse."

I shake my head. "No. He wouldn't do that. I know him!" Lauren is shaking. "We know him, but... everyone else doesn't. He's been taken to Candor. The trial will be this afternoon."

I clench my fists. This is all my fault. If only I hadn't approached Robin, hadn't been so weak. "We need to be there!" Lauren nods and jogs to the hallway. "Obviously. Everyone's going. Come on, we need to go or we'll miss the train!"

I follow her and we exit the compound, then make our way out to the tracks. Sure enough, it seems like most, if not all Dauntless members and initiates are lined up, waiting for the oncoming train. We find Zeke among the crowd, and he walks over to put his arm around Lauren.

"Can you believe it?" Zeke looks distraught. "And to think he was the one who said that learning to master violence doesn't encourage unnecessary violence." I stare at him. "Maybe... maybe he did it in self-defense." I want to take the words back as soon as they leave my mouth. If I draw attention to myself, they'll want to interrogate me too, make me tell them everything I know.

"How would you know?" Before I'm able to come up with a believable excuse, the train whistles in the distance, and we prepare to jump. I shrug. "Just a thought." Note to self: Shut the heck up from now on. We throw ourselves into the nearest car, and wait as the train takes us to Candor. Everyone is silent, still shocked by this recent "tragedy."

We get to Candor in no time, and jump off as soon as we pass by Candor Headquarters. We walk into the large building, where a crowd has already gathered. The place is entirely black and white. No other colors are visible, and there is a huge version of their faction symbol on the ground.

We form a line at the edge of the room, and Jack Kang comes in minutes later. "Today, we seek to bring justice to deceased Dauntless member Robin Reynolds. Bring in the defendant." A door opens and Matthew appears, flanked by two Candor officials.

He catches my eye, stares at me for a long minute, and nods. Perhaps he's trying to calm me, but it's not helping. Another Candor stands beside Jack, holding a small black pillow. I squint and just barely make out the shape of a syringe. The truth serum.

They're gonna put him under! I can do nothing but stare helplessly as Jack pushes the needle in and forces the liquid into Matthew's veins. His eyes immediately glaze over and he stares off into the distance.

"I am going to ask you a series of questions. Please respond as truthfully as possible." Matthew nods. "What is your name?" He blinks. "Matthew." Jack crosses his arms. "Matthew what?" Matthew flinches, and I know he doesn't want to say anything. "Eaton."

I hear murmurs all around me and hope that no one here knows who I really am. "Did you, or did you not, kill Robyn Reynolds several hours ago?" Matthew sighs. "Yes. I did." Jack nods.

"Was this a premeditated murder, Mr. Eaton?" Matthew shakes his head. "I didn't... I didn't like her, but I didn't hate her either." Jack raises an eyebrow. "Then why did you do it?" Matthew grits his teeth in an attempt to keep quiet. Jack frowns.

"Resisting the serum is futile, I assure you." Matthew groans. "I did it because... because she was assaulting Four. One of this year's Dauntless transfers." Jack looks over at the crowd. "Could you point him out, please?" Matthew complies, and his eyes find mine. "I see. And why were you so intent on defending this student of yours?"

Matthew squirms as he once again tries to fight the serum. "Mr. Eaton, why did you defend him?" Matthew closes his eyes. "Because...Four...is...my son."