Dreaming

Chapter 18

Tris's POV

After sparring with Uriah and Christina, throwing knives with Marlene and Lynn, going at punching bags with Tobias, Zeke and Shauna, and practice shooting with Will and Al, I feel completely drained; not to mention the fact that we did all that in about an hour.

My whole body sags against Tobias as everyone takes a break to cool down and rehydrate. He hands me a water bottle and I quickly drink more than half of it.

"I forgot what it felt like to work out like this." I voice my thoughts aloud.

"Tris, It hasn't been that long since initiation ended," Tobias laughs.

Shoving him hard, I reply, "Yeah, well last time I worked my body this hard was the first part of initiation, which, was a long time ago." I take a sip of my water.

"Then I guess this is going to become a daily thing if your already this exhausted. I'm sure you can endure a little while longer," he nudges me a little.

Before I have the chance to say something back, Zeke stands in the middle of the room, getting everyone's attention.

"Alright, we don't need an hour long break. We need to work on the sim. I don't think Tris needs much more work in that aspect, but Uriah certainly does."

I can't help but remember the way my doubles face morphed into Will just before I pulled the trigger. Why him? Why not Tobias or my family? The longer it plays in my mind, I suddenly realize that the others didn't notice the sudden change in my sim. Neither did Tobias.

'Her'.

He told me to shoot 'her'. The sim must've been too dark for them to notice that it was Will I shot instead.

"...Tris?" Shaking my head slightly, I realize that everyone's eyes are on me. "Are you okay?" Tobias eyes flicker between mine, probably trying to read something, anything.

"I," my voice comes out weakly, too weak for my liking. Clearing my throat, I speak up, firmer this time, "I'm fine. Come on, Uriah's not going to get any help down here."

Not letting any of them, especially Tobias, push on the subject, I stand and as calm as possible, make my way to the double doors. My eyes come in contact with Will for a split second as I push the doors and make my way towards the fear landscape room.

I know they're following because of the sound of the doors reopening and then shutting as their footsteps echo nearby.

Taking slow, deep breaths, I manage not to attract anymore unwanted attention to myself as Zeke and Tobias set up the sim for us.

"Hey, Tris," Uriah sit next to me on the floor, against the wall. His arms hang loosely around his pulled-up knees. He seems so relaxed, like we aren't about to literally go on a suicide mission.

"What's up?" I turn my body the slightest bit to face him with out having to turn my neck in an uncomfortable position.

"I was wondering if you had any suggestions, comments, or anything, really, to help me with the sim." His voice tells me something completely different than his body language. While he looks relaxed, he sounded mortified to even ask me what he just did.

I hadn't really thought about how I could help Uriah. The past few days have felt pretty intense for me and not once have I stopped to think about how it's affecting the others. Looking around at the group, I notice how tired and beat everyone looks.

I feel a sharp, stinging sensation on my lip along with the taste of iron on my tongue. I didn't even realize that I was bitting my lip.

Remembering that I never answered Uriah, I turn my whole body towards him and say, "You know what, something just came to mind. I don't know for sure if it'll work, but I gotta give it a try." I stand, the idea burning a hole in my mind the longer I wait to act on it. I extend my hand out for him to take and pull him up.

He follows me to the computer that Zeke is currently typing on.

"Hey, I have an idea." I tap impatiently on the table.

• • •

"Zeke, are you sure this will work? I mean, it's not gonna fry our brains, is it? Or could we could get stuck-"

"Uriah! Could you shut up already?" Lynn aggressively runs both hands through her growing short hair, pulling on her roots.

"Man, I know you're talkative and all, but damn! Lynn's right," Marlene manages to say before completely losing it in a bit fit of laughter.

"All of you shut up," Zeke grumbles as he works furiously on both computers.

My eyes find Tobias in time to see him struggling to keep a straight face. The sight warms my heart, making it impossible not to smile.

I watch everyone else, too. Christina and Will are almost in a completely different dimension, talking quietly to each other and smiling. They seem oblivious to what's going on around them as they move even closer to each other. I smile when I see their hands brushing lightly against each other. Seeing two of my closest friend from initiation finding something as amazing as each other makes me unbelievably happy.

Al is kind of just hanging around, watching everyone like me. He wears a small smile when our eyes meet. I smile back and continue my observations.

While Uriah is in the seat next to me, completely panicking over nothing, Zeke working on the computers with a straight face I've almost never seen him wear, and Tobias next to him helping, I watch Lynn and Marlene.

I've noticed that Lynn has been more laid back and herself when she's with Marlene. She's smiling and talking freely.

Thinking back to initiation, she always had this mask on. It was composed of her short hair, baggy clothes that hid her figure, and hasty and stubborn way of being. She never really took well to meeting new people, I realized, when I met her. She has this tough attitude that goes along with her sly and mischievous sense of humor. I know she did this to let the guys know that she wasn't a silly girl looking for trouble. She was serious about passing initiation and she meant it when she said that did not want to be seen as weak because was a girl. She wanted to seem as intimidating and a threat to the guys, to everyone.

"Done!" Zeke yells out a bit exasperated. He begins pulling and plugging in cords everywhere. He signals me and Uriah to come over. Hastily, he sticks the electrodes on his brothers forehead and temples while Tobias carefully does mine. He kisses my fore head before handing me my ear piece and backing away.

Zeke presses a few more keys and then I'm swept into the program along with Uriah.

• • •

N/A: it's been bricks sorry lol