Redemption

Chapter One

Tell Tobias I didn't want to leave him.

I rub my hands together to create friction. This time of year, the Fringe is freezing. I have been living here for the past two years. A crackle from the fire reaches out to touch my hair. I flip it back over my shoulder. "I like your hair this way," Tobias said. I remember how he tucked it behind my ear in the Amity farms. It has since then grown to my ribcage. I grab my knife from its place beside last night's kill. When I came here, I didn't know how to hunt. Now, I can easily shoot prey from a far distance. I saw away at my hair, clearly making no progress. Only a few single strands fall to the floor of my aluminum tent home. I don't bother trying again. I can cut my hair back in Chicago. Or, maybe I won't. I like it long.
I get up, stomping my shoe on whatever is left of the dying fire. This eliminates any light I once had. It is midnight and pitch black. I am small enough to not have to crouch down after exiting the tent. I shake my neighbor's tent.
"Joan," I whisper. I would like the chance to say goodbye to her. She took me in once I entered the Fringe. I was scared, crying, and tired. She stayed with me for months to help my condition.
"Joan," I say again. No response. I sigh and turn away. I will just have to face the fact that I will not get to say goodbye to her. I would have picked a more convenient time frame, but traveling at night seemed less suspicious. The dark will conceal my bright red shirt to incoming Dauntless, anyway. I don't bother glancing back at my home. I have left numerous places before. This one should be the easiest to let go of.
On my way to Chicago, I recite what I am to tell Tobias.

Shortly after I entered the Weapons Lab and survived the death serum, I was confronted and shot by David. All according to the plan that was supposedly being formed. However, I was not shot in the neck, like everyone was told. The bullet only grazed my arm. Nina sacrificed herself and pushed me out of the way seconds earlier. She was supposed to die, also according to the plan that I didn't know was being formed. The next few moments were a blur. Nina dropped dead to the ground. The memory serum went off. David went unconscious, and so did I. I woke up in Matthew's office where I was told everything that I currently know. The Bureau, apparently, was interested in my genetic anomaly, and wanted me for information and testing. But late one night, Matthew overheard David plotting to kill me since I was a threat to their genetic restoration and was too perfect to be real. No one from Chicago was to be informed, only for the sake of everything working out.  Matthew thought, if they truly believed I was dead, so would the Bureau.  He wanted to save me from the evil inside of David, inside of the rest of the Bureau. Nina was broken out of her jail cell and agreed, only if I forgave her for Uriah. Of course, if she asked for my forgiveness earlier, I would have, instead of killing her. But, no matter, the plan worked, and while David was exposed to the serum for too long and his memory ceased to exist, since I was a genetic marvel, I was inoculated and brought into safety. Matthew managed to stop the serum before many other people in the Bureau lost their memory. Caleb was told Nina died trying to save my life, and that I didn't make it. The others were told the same, and my body was planted with a fake one. Back in Chicago, the factions were restored shortly after a little less than two years without them. I was taken to the Fringe, where the Bureau wouldn't find me. David's memory was being recreated, and if I didn't hurry soon, they would kill me.
I wondered how Tobias would react. I imagine he would be happy. Perhaps he's changed in the past two years. Maybe he has a new girlfriend. I try to imagine Tobias with someone else, and stifle a laugh. He once told me he upset his date while out with Zeke. I know he can't have gotten better in two short years. What about Christina? I am sure my death will have pushed her over the edge. Is she dead too? "Christina, you'll always have me." I blink back tears. If only I knew, if only I could have told them. I never wanted things to be like this. I am certain Uriah is dead now, since they couldn't find brain waves within him. But what about Cara? Or Caleb? Or Peter? It is strange how such a short number of us is left. Perhaps Tobias died, too. Perhaps he couldn't imagine a life without me. It is a selfish thought, but I can see it to be true. I hope he is still living. I hope Christina helped keep him alive. It seems like something she would do, use her honesty to shape him up. Are they together? I try to shake the thought from my brain. I doubt Tobias would want to be with anyone else. But, a lot can change in two years.
I pass the unguarded Amity gates and laugh. I suppose the Dauntless don't have night guards anymore. It has been a surprisingly easy journey from the Fringe to here. The wall, when I walked into what was left of it, has been destroyed. Both were wide open. I suppose they are either getting more careless about incoming travelers, or they no longer care who enters the city at all. I walk past a sleeping Dauntless guard and freeze. Can he detect my movement? I stomp the ground hard, looking for a reaction, and get none. I let out a sigh of relief. He is sound asleep. Behind my hand, I giggle. He looks like he fell asleep reattaching the lock, which is probably true. It's my lucky night. I race past him, away from the Amity farms that kept us safe for mere days, past Erudite headquarters, where my brother probably still is. Whenever I think of him in Erudite, I think of how he led me to my death. I look away and keep sprinting.
I run away from the Abnegation sector, pausing only to look at a man who looks a great deal like Tobias. Could Tobias have gone to Abnegation again? I keep running. It does sound like something he would do, but I knew Christina would persuade him. He will be there when I get there.
I find the above ground entrance to Dauntless and silently cheer. I have made it, and it is only the break of dawn. Nobody will be up yet. I breath a sigh of relief as I try to push open the door. It doesn't move. I open my eyes and frown. It is held in place by a steel pipe. I aim a kick high, trying to get it off. I haven't fought in years, so my foot stings. I ignore the pain and keep trying. On my fifth try, it springs free, almost hitting my nose, but I jump back. I push open the door, and enter the dark Dauntless compound. My home.
Like I suspected, not many people are in the Pit. A few drunken friends, a girl in a wheelchair being pushed around by her friend. I stop. Is that Shauna? And Zeke, it certainly looks like them. Is Christina among them?
I can visit them once I change my look. I head into the same outfitting store where Christina bought me my first dress. I find a tight, sleeveless V-neck that shows off all of my tattoos. My pants are already black, so I see no need to change them. I do find a pair of scissors next to a display of nose rings. I grab them, turn towards the full length mirror, and use my jawline as a guide to cut my hair, even shorter, so it stops just below my ears. I look in the mirror. I am definitely recognizable in this outfit, with my hair cut, ever so slightly shorter. I ignore the glares of the man behind the counter.
"I'm not paying for the scissors," I call to him on my way out.
Tris Prior is back.