Revelation | ✓

Chapter 17

FOR YOUR INFORMATION!!!: Lauren, the other Dauntless instructor- who, in my story But Then I Met Her, is friends with Four- is not in this story because I believe that she was killed off in the original simulation attack on Abnegation. Therefore, Lauren will not be in this story AT ALL unless she is mentioned by Four, Uriah, Zeke, Marlene, Shauna, Lynn, or any others that were Dauntless before Tris transferred there.

As I said before, this will eventually lead on to being like ALLEGIANT. The story is not ending soon. In fact, this is only the beginning.

Okay, on with the story.

Ryde gets some brown icing onto his finger and looks at it for a minute. Then he swipes it onto my nose and goes back to eating his cake as if he did nothing.

"RYDER PEDRAD!" I shout. We're the only ones in the cafeteria. My voice echoes off of the walls.

"Sheesh, calm down. You act like I just killed someone."

"You killed my happiness."

He rolls his eyes. "More like your pride."

"Shut up, murderer."

He gives me a look. "How about this- if you don't sit down, shut up, and eat your cake, I'll eat it for you. Deal?"

"No deal. My cake." I slide the plate away from him and narrow my eyes playfully.

He slides it back over. "Not anymore."

I kick him. "Nope. Mine. Still mine. It's my cake. I deserve it fair and square after boring Stiff food."

He laughs. "True. You deserve a whole cake for that.

He goes up and gets a third piece from Josh, a guy who helps back the cakes around here. He drops his plate onto the table when he returns and moves to sit down.

"You know, you should really lay off the cake. You might get out of shape."

He lifts up the hem of his dark T-shirt and looks at his perfectly flat stomach. Well, perfectly flat except the six-pack that comes with training since you were four. "Eh. I think I'm good." He drops his shirt back down.

I hold up my hands in a calm down there gesture. "Dude, is puberty making you a bit more outgoing with lifting up your shirt?"

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Is puberty making you a bit timid?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm talking about it, aren't I?"

"But you haven't worn tank tops since you were like, eleven." At this I blush. Okay, so maybe I am getting a bit modest, but that was only after Shauna and Lynn started teasing me about looking more grown up, and not just in the face. Not my fault I hate my "perfect figure", which is weird for a thirteen-year-old.

"Shut up." I mumble. "You know how I feel about myself."

He rolls his eyes. "Come on, Vae. Your looks are what most girls would kill for."

I guess that's true- most girls would fry themselves to get a tan and kill to have skin as naturally tan as mine.

"Wait- what did you just say?"

He grins. "You know what I said."

"Yeah, but I-" The door opens, cutting me off. Ryde's eyes darken.

I turn and see Jack walking up the rows of tables to where Ryde and I sit. He's in black jeans and black boots with a red and black flannel shirt thrown on over it, the sleeves ripped off and only half of the buttons done up. Under it he's wearing a black shirt. A black bandana is tied around his sweat-soaked head, holding his hair back, and there's another tied around his left bicep.

"Vae." He says, nodding towards me. When he sees Ryde, he narrows his eyes. "Pedrad."

Ryde stands up. "Cain. What the hell do you want?"

They both cross their arms over their chests, and the whole scene is so ironic I almost laugh.

Instead, I decide to avoid a fight now rather than break one up later. The tension between the two is so thick that you couldn't cut it with a chainsaw.

My God, what is with these two?

I stand up and get between them. "Okay, calm down, alpha male." I direct the last part towards Ryde. I turn to look at Jack. "First, I thought you didn't have a last name. Second, what did you come here for?"

"The answer to your first question is that they searched through Erudite records and found it. Turns out I have Dauntless roots. The answer to your second question...well, you'll have to see it to believe it."

Ryde opens his mouth to reply, but I give him a hard glare and he shuts his mouth. I see Jack smirk from the corner of my eye and glare at him too. "Okay, whatever game you two are playing, knock it off. I don't have time for little kid drama. Just shut up and talk it out or whatever. Because I swear to freaking God, if you two get into a fight I don't care how screwed up you are, I will beat the living shit out of both of you. Understood?"

They both roll their eyes at me but nod.

"Are you going to come and see it?"

I nod. "Might as well. Ryde? You wanna come?" They both clench their jaws.

"Fine." He growls.  "But only because you're going." I doubt the last part I was supposed to hear, but whatever.

"Alright, Jack. Lead the way."

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

There's a trail of blood on the training room floor. And I don't just mean like a few drops, I mean it looks like someone was bleeding a lot and was dragged across the floor, smearing it into a thick red line. Jack reaches down and takes my hand, squeezing it once before letting go.

Most of the lights flicker, only a few remaining on. The wires from several are hanging down and sparking. Overall, it looks scary. Like, holy-crap-I-just-shit-my-pants scary.

"You okay?" Ryde asks. "You can go back outside if you want to."

I shake my head. "I'm fine."

When we get to the back of the room, there's a black-clad figure hanging from the ceiling by its neck, only a rope holding it up. Its head is bent forward, long, dark hair covering its face. Blood runs down it, soaking the dark fabric of its clothes. The extra runs to the bottom of the person's sneakers, dripping off at the tips of their shoes.

"Who...?" I tilt my head to the side. Then it hits me. "Vienna." She used to bully me in school. She'd been bullied herself about her red hair, which she'd dyed black to stop the teasing and had then joined the people that had bullied her to attack me...for literally no reason.

Jack taps my shoulder once and points at the one wall. Written something red- blood, I subconsciously realize- is a message that I'm pretty sure is meant for me.

This girl is the first of many to die.

You can't escape us.

We will find you.

And when we do, we will kill whoever stands in our way of getting to you.

Congratulations- everyone will suffer thanks to you.