Revelation | ✓

Chapter 18

"How did you find her?" I ask Jack later that night. I can't get those words out of my head, the ones painted on the wall. They're there every time I close my eyes. They echo in my mind. It makes me want to brutally murder most of the factionless.

And yes, I am very aware of how insane I sound.

He shrugs. "Your dad's been making me train daily. I figured I'd go in and practice a bit, and there was a dead body hanging in there. A girl was coming in behind me, she screamed and passed out, and someone went and got some Dauntless leaders."

"Why did you come for me?"

He shrugs. "Just figured that you'd want to see it, in case you knew the girl. They needed an I.D."

Of course I knew her. She'd been one of the girls that bullied me in school.

"So of course you go to Vae." Ryde retorts.

"She knows more people in this place than anyone else I know. And I could've gone to you, but you're a total ass with no self-control, so..."

Ryde stands up suddenly, his chair crashing to the floor. He leans towards Jack, eyes burning. "Say anything like that to me again, and see if I don't kill you in your sleep. Or maybe when you're awake, so that that way I can watch your pain."

I've never heard Ryde make such a serious threat. Never. Not once in my entire life. He's usually calm, level-headed. The exact opposite of what he is now.

Jack leans back and smirks. I would find it oddly attractive any other time, but right now Ryde is next to me looking half-ready to kill anything that moves.

I shoot Jack a don't-you-say-another-word-mister look and put my hand on Ryde's forearm, squeezing it tightly. "You need to either sit down and control yourself or go take a walk." I tell him. I'm not taking their crap right now, not when there's a killer running around.

He scowls at me and picks up his chair, sitting back down slowly. He leans back with his arms crossed. The position reminds me of when we were younger and he'd mouth off to his parents and he'd get put in time-out.

I look at Jack. "Do you know who did this?"

He shakes his head. "Not the exact person, no. But I do know that it was the factionless behind it."

I shoot a glare at Ryde, who looks ready to make a smart comment. "I don't need your comments right now, Ryde. I just want to know why the hell that message was on the wall and if it was actually addressed to me."

"It was." They both say at the same time. They narrow their eyes at each other.

I sigh. "Okay, that's two people besides me that have that opinion. Now we need a plan."

"Why don't we figure it out with the Dauntless leaders?" Ryde suggests, rubbing his eyes.

"Why don't we not and take action ourselves?" One corner of Jack's mouth twitches. "That is, unless you're scared."

Ryde shoots him a dark look. "I'm not scared, not of you or the damned factionless. But if we're going to retaliate, we need solid proof so that we don't go throwing the blame where it doesn't belong, and we're going to need all of Dauntless and the city behind us."

While they bicker back and forth, I stare hard at the table, thinking. Finally it hits me.

"I've got it." I say, looking up at the two of them with wide eyes. They stop in their argument. I laugh. "How didn't I see it before? We might have other allies besides the Dauntless and the rest of the city." I get up and start to run out.

"Wait, where are you going?" 

I turn, grinning. Both of them give each other confused looks. "To find my parents. They'll know exactly what I'm talking about."

A/N: Any ideas on what she's going to do?