We Are Divergent

Chapter Thirty-Six

*Tobias’s Point of View*

I pace back and forth in the empty hallways in the bureau of Genetic Welfare, agonized by the situation between me and Tris. I have been horrible to her. I haven’t been talking to her about anything, but how could she understand what it’s like to be told you can never succeed because of your DNA? I can’t burden her with any of this. I shouldn’t have said what I said, and I don’t know how to make it any better. How can I make us better if I can’t even make myself better?

I’ve been sneaking around with Nita because she had so many things she needed to show me. She took me to the fringe, and showed me how the United States treats almost all of the damaged people, and it set something off in me. I agreed to join whatever plan they had. They needed me to shut off some security cameras a few minutes ago, since I am skilled with computers.

What Tris told me was true apparently; the bureau wants to use a memory serum to erase everyone in the city. The only way that I could help out was to turn off some cameras so Nita and her group could steal the memory serum, and I am okay with that if it means getting back at the bureau for discriminating against all of the damaged people in the world.

Suddenly I hear what sounds like an explosion. It comes from the other side of the building, but it still nearly knocks me off of my feet. I start running, confused why a bomb went off inside the bureau. My mind immediately starts thinking about Tris. I know she is upset about what I said to her, but I need to make sure she is okay. I hear people screaming and I can already tell the destruction of this bomb was massive. Serious lives lost.

I jog up to a random man. “Where did the explosion go off?” I yelled over the screaming.

“The entrance!”

“Thank you,” I keep running around, not sure who I will find. I do not know what happened, but all I know is that I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I cannot explain nor shake.

I eventually see Uriah run by and I grab his arm, stopping him. “Uriah, have you seen Tris?”

“She was near the entrance a couple minutes ago!” He said, his eyes darting around nervously.

I froze, my eyes glazing over. “Was she by the entrance right before the explosion? This is important! Do you remember?”

“Yeah, I was talking with her right before it happened by that water statue. Why? Four, what’s wrong?”

I ignore him and immediately start sprinting in the direction that everyone was running away from, my heart pounding. I tried to push out the thoughts of Tris being dead, and pushed myself to run faster. She can’t be dead. She can’t be! Not after I told her that damaged people should just be erased, including me. Not after I have hidden so much from her… But she was right there, where the explosion apparently went off. She was right there!

I stopped in my tracks as I observed the demolition. The room was completely in ruins, and doctors and people were all running through, but I didn’t see Tris. I stared at the statue that once stood alone in the center of this room, which was now on the floor, almost completely a pile of dust. ‘I was talking with her right before, by that water statue.’ I felt tears form in my eyes. Where is she? Did somebody grab her and take her to the hospital? Or did she leave right before. Even if she was a couple halls down she could still be injured.

I felt something smash into my jaw and when I turned my head back, I saw that it was a guard who had hit me with the barrel of his gun. “Hands in front of you!”

“What? Why?” He hit me again.

I obeyed this time and put my hands in front of me, infuriated that I had to waste time when I could be finding out if Tris… made it. A plastic tie was squeezed around my wrist and he grabbed my arm, pulling me along with him. “You are the one who shut off security. You’re involved in this.” He spoke.