Revelation | ✓

Chapter 9

I have never made a more difficult choice. I have never gone against my parents' wishes. But I am Divergent. I am not just brave- I have to be everything that I am.

Even if this means risking my life to save others- it might be stupid, but it's better than nothing.

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I sneak out of my family's apartment around midnight. My dad is asleep. Ryde is with his parents and younger brother, probably sleeping too. Maiya and Milla are with their parents and siblings.

The Pit is empty and quiet. Only orange and blue lights illuminate it, stopping just before the chasm. I can hear the roaring water, but I can't see it.

I sneak out a back way, crouching in the shadows with my black hood pulled up, sneaking around to the tracks. I've memorized the train schedule- I get there exactly on time. And sure enough, the train comes through, like always. I get a running start and throw myself into the train, landing on my back. I've been yelled at by my dad, Uriah, Zeke, and pretty much every other adult male Dauntless that I've ever ridden a train with for getting on like that, but it's easier when I have to go fast.

Ryde yelled at me the most for it. I feel a hollow ache in my chest and stomach when I think of this, but I shake it off. Now is not the time for sadness.

I ride until I reach the Abnegation section of the city. I jump off and land in a crouch on my feet, using the tips of all ten fingers to steady me. A small bit of hair falls from my hood as I stare at the ground, a few rocks pressing into the soles of my shoes.

After a minute I stand up. My way is lit by a half moon. All of the Abnegation are asleep- this I know for a fact, so there is no need for me to sneak around. 

I know where my grandmother should be- or at least where I can find a factionless that is willing to take me to her. As I run, I reach up and touch the cool metal of the gun at my waist. It was my parents that taught me how to shoot one, when I was six. Ryde had learned when he was six as well, and he stood there watching me and laughing when I messed up.

This only makes me run faster, as if the quicker I get there the faster I can escape what would be a terrible world that dawn would bring. Today- tomorrow, whatever it would be- is the second day that my mom's missing, meaning that the tortures would get worse.

I almost run straight into a boy in a red shirt and black jeans. Factionless, obviously.

I stop running and skid to a stop in back of him. He doesn't seem to notice. I walk the few steps towards him. "Hey. You."

He turns and raises his eyebrows. He has a mess of dark blonde hair on his head, his eyes a dark brown. Or maybe there blue? I don't know. He looks about Ryde's age, maybe a little older. "Are you talkin' to me?"

"Well, you're the only person out here." I roll my eyes. "Listen, I need to you take me to see someone. You know of an Evelyn Johnson?"

"Depends." He shrugs. "You got an appointment."

"I think who I am is enough."

"And who would that be."

"Her granddaughter. Vayna Eaton."

He doesn't seem impressed. "I might be able to arrange that..."

I pull out my gun and point it at him. Usually I don't like senselessly aiming loaded weapons at people, but now he's just trying to piss me off. "How about this. You take me to her, and I won't shoot you. You refuse, and I put a bullet in your head, hide you in some abandoned store house, and find someone else. Simple choice, right?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"I don't miss. Ever."

"Fine. I'll take you to her." He spins on his heel and walks away. I shove the gun into the waistband of my jeans and jog after him.

"What's your name?" I ask him.

"So we go from death threats to pleasantries?" He smirks.

"Just answer the question."

"The name's Jack, Vayna. I'm almost sixteen. Bit too old for you, eh?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm almost fourteen, jackass. And don't call me Vayna." I wrinkle my nose. "Everyone calls me Vae."

He opens the door to some run-down storehouse. A few factionless men stand with some long, rusted swords and knives. I have a gun, but I still can't help feeling intimidated.

Jack whispers something to one of them, who nods and runs off. Jack grabs my elbow and pulls me into a room.

It's dark, lit by a few dying candles. The wood coffee table is scratched up with one leg missing and a quarter of it hacked off. There are two ugly moth-eaten gray couches and a cream, pink, and green floral chair that is also moth-eaten. They make a U around the table. I wrinkle my nose by say nothing at the sewage smell of the place.

"You can sit down and wait for the boss." He says. "I'll be out here."

"And how do I know this isn't some setup?" I raise my eyebrows. "No. You're staying in here, at least until she comes."

He rolls his eyes and leans against the wall.

I sit down on one of the couches. I can imagine an Abnegation family sitting down on this couch in the evening, the mother knitting something while the father reads the newspaper and the children work on homework. It makes me smile.

The door opens, and butterflies rise up in my stomach. "Vayna. It's so good to see you."