Second Chances (Eric and Tris)

Secrets and Death: Part 18

"Excuse me?" Tris whispered. "Murdered? Oh God Eric. I am so sorry." Eric gave a weak smile and a slight shrug. Tris reached over to put her hand on his hand. Eric shifted so that they were facing each other. He grasped her hands.

"When I was 14, I came home on afternoon from school and my mother and I were at home just doing our every day stuff, I was doing school work and she was a teacher so she was working on her lessons for the next day. We heard a commotion down the hall in our apartment building. There was word going around the faction that there were factionless that were causing problems and everyone was kind of on alert. Anyways, there was a lot of yelling and stuff and a bunch of slamming of doors. It was getting pretty intense. My mother told me to grab my stuff and hide in the closet. We had a hide-e-hole in the wall for emergencies. I used to play in it as a kid." Eric's voice broke a bit. He looked down and started to play with Tris's fingers. "Well I got into the closet, but I was able to see out of a small vent. That was the problem. I saw the whole thing. And I couldn't do anything. I was helpless. And I swore I would never be helpless again." Eric's voice found its strength again. "I watched as those savages broke into our house, yelled at and beat my mother, unprovoked. They then searched our home. Looking for something. I still don't know what. When they didn't find what they were looking for, they left. But not before the leader took a knife out, knelt down and taking my mom's hair in his hand and said 'There is no way to stop the divergent. Stop trying.' And he slit her throat. She died within seconds." Eric ended with tears streaming down his face, unable or unwilling to stop them. Tris was dying inside. She was unsure of what to do. Her heart was breaking for the man in front of her. To have experienced what he had, no person, no child should have had to seen such a thing. But she knew she was a divergent. As soon as he found out about her he would hate her. She reached up to his face and wiped the tears away. While she could, she wanted to be as close to him as she could. She knelt up and pulled his face towards her. He did not fight her but buried his face in her neck and allowed her to comfort him.

"I am so sorry Eric. I don't know how you have made it this far with having gone through that. Who have you had to talk to? Tell me you have had a support system..." Eric shook his head.

"They put me into therapy when I was in Erudite but that did not do anything for me. It is not natural for me to open up to people. So I just closed myself off. I made up my mind to come to Dauntless to seek justice. My main goal was to find the man that killed my mother and to kill him. In the process I guess I got the reputation for hunting divergents. But that was not my goal." Eric shifted against Tris's neck. Tris pulled away a bit to look at Eric. "The man that killed my mother was a fanatic. He was mentally ill, I believe. He led a group of divergents that went after leadership of all factions. He started with Candor and moved to Erudite. After he attacked my mother, the group seemed to go underground. They disappeared. I have made it my goal to find them, flush them out and kill them."

"So none of them have ever been found?"

"No." Tris shook her head slightly, trying to understand.

"So, let me see if I understand. Your goal is to hunt down and find this group of divergents. These extremists. Your goal is not to hunt down and kill or turn in all divergents?" Eric looked at Tris silently for a minute. Tris was afraid she had said too much.

"That's right." He said quietly. "However if a divergent gives me any reason to think they are a danger, I will not hesitate to take that step. But it is not my belief that all divergents are bad. I believe that there are just some, like in any group of people that are bad. These ones are taking their beliefs to the extreme." Eric again paused before continuing. He seemed to be weighing whether he should continue or not.

"Go ahead. We agreed to say anything." Tris said.

"Like with Four. I see that fanaticism in Four, Tris. I am not sure if he is part of the group or not, and if he is he is a newer member, not an original. But the same fanaticism is there. The paranoia, the anger. I have seen it since we were initiates together. I really think that he might be the key for me to finding this group. I need you to be okay with this. I don't want to lose you over this, but I will not let this go." Eric looked at Tris in a bit of a pleading way. Their eyes locked for a few long moments, their faces only inches apart. Tris was the first to break the contact. But as she did so she nodded her head.

" I understand. But Eric, please, just promise me that whatever you do, you go about it in the safest way. The most logical way. Make sure you have your facts before you act. If the facts point to Four then I will be that last to stand in your way. I will be at your side. I promise you that. As long as you want me there, I will be there to fight this out with you." Tris grabbed a hold of Eric's hands and held on tight. Fearing that they would be gone all too soon.

"Tris, trust me when I tell you that there is nothing that you could tell me that would make me not want you by my side." At his words, tears swarmed in Tris's eyes. Lacing his fingers with hers, he squeezed trying to reassure her without words. Tris took a deep breath. It was now or never. Eric had bared his soul to her, now it was her turn. It was time for all secrets to come out. Tris's stomach flipped. Looking up at Eric, he raised his eyebrows and gave her a gentle smile. Just as she was opening her mouth, there was an urgent banging on her door. Eric jumped up and opened it. Jeremy stood there.

"Let's go, both of you. The prisoner just killed himself." Tris was pulling on her shoes as Eric ran to the bedroom to change his shirt shouting questions as he did so.

"What happened? Wasn't he being watched? Have you seen the security footage?" Jeremy held up his hands.

"Don't get your panties all in a twist. Ask Max the questions. I am just the messenger. I don't have the answers yet either. I know as much as you do. Let's go." With that the three of them set off for the cell block.

Entering the chaotic scene was not what Tris wanted to do, but at least it was allowing her time to gather her thoughts about what Eric had told her and for her to figure out how she wanted to tell him about herself. Max was barking orders in every direction, medical staff were exiting the cell with a body bag that was dripping blood and other bodily fluids, further causing Max to swear. "STOP! JUST STOP!!" Everyone froze and silence ensued. Max pointed to the medical team. "Keep that in the cell until you can find a decent body bag and find someone to clean that shit up! Barb, bring me Four, keep him separate from EVERYONE!! I want him talking to no one! I don't want him to have any clue as to why I want to see him. Got it." Barb nodded. Max noticed Jeremy, Eric and Tris. "Good, you three, in Cell 2. There are no devices there. We need a debrief." They all followed Max and everyone else went back to their duties. Sitting down around the interrogation table they all sat silently as they waited for Max to have a minute to gather his thoughts.

"So, as you can see, somehow the prisoner was able to kill himself. We are still not sure exactly how. Eric once Barb gets back with Four, I want you to go to the security office and gather all footage for the last 4 hours for that cell and if there is nothing look at the hallway for the same time frame. If still nothing, look back further for both." Eric nodded. "Tris, I want you to oversee the autopsy. I trust that you won't let anyone near the body that is not authorized. Once the official cause of death is determined, I want to know ASAP. Bring the report directly to me." Tris nodded. "Jeremy, you will stay here and oversee the investigation. I will be in my office, sorting all of this out on paper. Trying to figure out how the hell this happened. Dismissed. Tris, do NOT leave that body! Once cause of death is determined, make sure that it is put into the cremator, then bring me the report. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir." Tris said. Nodding in satisfaction, Max got up and led the way out of the cell block. Jeremy and Tris stayed behind as Eric and Max left. Covering her face with a face mask to hide the smell, Tris sighed. It was going to be a long night.