Revelation | ✓

Chapter 8

A/N: Alright, so I guess I'll only keep it in Vae's POV.

The other Dauntless scream at each other. I can hear them, split on whether or not to give me up. My dad looks pissed, his eyes lit with fury. Tori hands him a microphone, and he holds it near one of the speakers. The microphone squeals in protest, and lots of people clap their hands over their ears. I grind my teeth together, clenching my hands into tight fists.

I will go down fighting. It's my choice if I want to be a sacrifice or not, not theirs.

"Alright!" My dad's voice booms across the room. "We all saw the exact same thing, and we all have our own opinions. We're not the damned Amity, which means that this is not a democracy! And you know what that means, right? The leaders decide, not everyone!"

I stand up on the bench, making myself tall. "That's wrong." I say, my voice a shout compared to the mutters and whispers of the Dauntless. "It's not up to the leaders. It's up to me, or at least half of it."

Tori and Harrison give me incredulous looks. My dad just looks irritated. "It is not you choice, Vae. None of this is. Last time I checked, you're under the age of sixteen, and therefore you're not an adult."

"I might not be an adult, but at least I know something called self sacrifice!" I yell. "Maybe if I go, then she'll call off this whole thing. What happens then? If this becomes a war, we're screwed. Plain and simple. We're the only soldiers. The Abnegation aren't. The Erudite might help, and Amity definitely wouldn't. And Candor would split in half. We wouldn't even come close to the numbers the factionless have."

I can tell that my dad is torn- he knows I'm right, but his fatherly instincts are kicking in, and they're telling him to protect me. And anyway, better me than Mom. "If I go, they won't torture me. I can convince them to not try and take over the government."

Tori whispers something to my dad, who sighs and nods. He hands Harrison the microphone. "It seems as though we leaders can't exactly be trusted, since we all personally know Vae. Therefore, we're going to have a vote. Whichever has the loudest amount of noise in response wins. Who's in favor of Vae going?"

Everyone looks at me, still standing up on a bench. Not one person cheers.

Harrison hands the microphone to Tori. "Well then, it's been decided. Vae is not going to the factionless."

"What about my mom? Are we really going to let her be tortured? And don't give me some bullshitted reply like 'oh, they'll let her go.' If Evelyn really is my grandmother, then I know that she's as stubborn as my dad. She'll make good on her promise."

"And we'll think of something for your mother, Vae. As of now, you all are dismissed."

As everyone is leaving, I slip under a table, laying on my back on the cold tile. A chill seeps through my clothes and skin, into my bones. I shudder.

"Do you think she's angry?" My dad asks.

A woman- Tori- sighs. "Yes. But she'll get over it."

"That's a lie. If I know Vae, she'll hold this over your head for forever." I don't know why Ryde is still here. Doesn't he have somewhere to be?

"She'll be fine." Harrison insists. "We'll get Tris out and everything will be alright."

No it won't. Something hard presses against the back of my eyes, willing me to cry.

"Whatever you say." Ryde sounds doubtful. "I'm going to go look for her. Make sure that she's not doing anything stupid."

"We need to go too. I need to help Bud at the tattoo parlor and you two-" -I know that she's pointing at Harrison and my father- "-are needed in the control room. Now."

Four sets of footsteps go to the door, which opens and closes with a clanging sound. I slide myself out from under the table and sprint out of the room. I know exactly where I'm headed- a place that not even Ryde will be able to find me.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This part of the chasm is barely-lit. No one knows about it- no one even remembers building the railing. It's places like these in Dauntless that I love more than anything- the quiet, unknown ones. The ones with all of the secrets and stories to tell.

The railing here is in really good condition. The metal is cold and a little wet from the spray of the roaring waters. You wouldn't be able to hear someone if they were shouting in your ear.

I love it.

Whenever I need to come and clear my head, I walk down here and come to the railing, directly in between two of the support posts. I press my hands against the railing and raise myself up, balancing on my hands and pushing up as high as I can go. Sometimes, when I really hate the world and myself, I imagine slipping and falling into the rushing waters, taking me and my pain with it.

Other times I imagine something more violent- slipping, smacking my head on a railing and being pummled by rocks as I'm swept away by the water. Then I usually laugh and have to get back on my feet so that I don't actually slip.

The darkness is like pulling the blankets over your head at night- stifling, suffocating, and yet somehow protective, like nothing can happen to you so long as you keep under.

My arms tremble with the effort to hold myself up. Spray from the water hits my face, the wind from it whipping my ponytail into my face. I love this place. Besides the little places that I go to with Ryde, I love this place. It's the one part of Dauntless that I can call my own- the one place that will never go to anyone else.

I move my arms over to either side a little more and balance on my stomach, the bar hurting. Yet it feels amazing, half of my body dangling over danger, the other over safety.

I let myself tip a little towards the danger, then back to safety. In a way, this is like my situation- if I take one step this way, I fall into a dangerous and potentially fatal situation. If I step the other way, I will be under a blanket of safety.

But can I do that? Can I be sheltered forever?

My choice has been made.