Variance [A Percy Jackson/Divergent Crossover]

Chapter 16

Piper's P.O.V.

I shut the door behind me as quickly as possible, and exhale through my nose.

In one hand, I held a hunk of poisoned bread, and in the other, a handful of cyphrus flowers.

I'd thankfully gotten past Amity's security, which wasn't hard to do. No member of Amity would rebel, of course.

Except me.

I walk toward a computer in the lab and turn it on. I use the scanner attached to it to scan the bread. The scanner flashes red and beeps, and an overload of data overtakes the computer. I read the screen.

PEACE SERUM

Project #00257

Use: When injected into an organic life form, the serum travels into their nervous system and triggers an emotion, causing the one injected to have abstract thoughts and peace with oneself. The bigger the dosage, the longer the effect lasts. The maximum is two days.

Ingredients: 3 cyphrus flowers, 1 pint of water, 2 grams of sugar, 4 cups of soil.

Instructions: Extract pollen from cyphrus flowers and place in a vial. Pour 1 pint of pure, uncontaminated water over pollen. Place 2 grams of sugar in vial. Pour 4 cups of soil in vial. Stir ingredients and heat vial for two minutes. The serum should be a bright yellow color after heating. 

I finish reading and put my cyphrus flowers on the table. I snatch a beaker labeled 'water' and two cups labeled 'sugar' and 'soil'. I pray I get this right. I'm not the best scientist, but I'll make do.

I follow the instructions as well as I can, and stand before a vial of bubbling yellow liquid. Maybe I could be a scientist. Then again, the instructions were pretty basic.

I'll see my friends tomorrow night at the wall. I can show them then.

Leo's P.O.V.

It's dark outside, and everyone appears to be sleeping.

I can't seem to fall asleep, though. There are too many thoughts swirling in my head.

I blink as an initiate-Peter-leaves the room. I get up and follow him, keeping along the dank cave walls.

Peter slips into Dauntless' kitchens, and I pause. What if he just wants to sneak some food? I don't have anything against that anyway.

But he emerges with a knife.

It's only a butter knife, but I know it can still do damage. As initiates, we aren't allowed to use weapons outside training. I've been in the forges long enough to know the hazards of a butter knife. He could still stab someone in the eye with it.

Stab someone in the eye.

I mutter a curse under my breath and continue to follow Peter. He plans on inflicting harm on one of the initiates so they drop out of Dauntless. Possibly taking out their eye.

But who is he targeting?

And then it all clicks. The strongest initiate, the top dog. 

Percy.

I walk faster and enter the room just as Peter's knife is poised over Percy's bed.

I slam into Peter, and we wrestle for the knife. The commotion wakes everyone up, and the lights click on. 

Percy punches Peter in the face and snatches the knife from him. He twirls it between his thumb and index finger. "Let me guess. You sneaked into the kitchens and stole this knife. Then you tried to stab me in the eye, and Leo fought you. Correct?"

Peter's eyes fill with pure hate. 

"Correct," I say. Percy drives his fist into Peter's face again.

"What's going on here?" A voice demands.

It's Eric. He takes in the scene and frowns.

"This idiot-" Percy points at Peter. "-tried to stab me in the eye with a butter knife from the kitchens. Leo stopped him."

Eric's scowl deepens. "So?"

My jaw drops. "So kick him out of Dauntless! He broke your rules!"

Eric scowls further, and I think if he scowls any deeper, he'll break his face. "This is Peter's only warning. Now get back to sleep."

I stare at him in disbelief. "You're not concerned at all?"

He smirks. "Why should I be?"

"You didn't let me off with a warning for something simple, but you're giving him a break?"

"Yes." He exits the room and swings the door shut with a bang.

"What a great guy," Christina says.

I'm going to push him in the chasm one of these days," Nico hisses. "Then send his soul to Punishment."

"Soul?" Tris asks.

"It's a metaphor," Nico says quickly.