Infallible

Chapter 27

  Rae could not sleep. She lay awake, staring up at the dark ceiling, thoughts running wildly through her mind. If Eric weren't such a light sleeper, she would have snuck out of bed and found Four. Tomorrow was the final day of initiate training. Those who passed would be mandatorily injected before they would be allowed to leave. The rest of the faction had received the injection already. They were told that the injection contained a tracking device that would locate them in case they ever went missing.
Her anxiety came in waves as the night wore on. She kept trying to think of how she could warn Four, yet what good would it do if she did? How could he stop them? Their numbers were too great.
It wasn't until the first rays of early morning sun began to shine through the windows that Rae finally crept as quietly as possible out of bed. Just as she turned, thinking she had been successful in her endeavor, she heard Eric groan behind her.
"That's a view I don't mind waking up to." He said groggily. She turned to see his eyes raking over her barely covered backside. Sighing heavily, she approached the bed once more.
"I wasn't trying to wake you." She said, crawling back under the blankets and entwining her now-cold limbs with his warm ones. "I just had to use the restroom."
It was a lie and she only hoped that he was still too tired to notice. He said nothing, only pulling her closer to him. His smell washed over her as the heat from his body warmed her all the way to her fingertips. Sighing happily, she smiled as he trailed a few kisses up the back of her neck and along her jawline.
"I love you." He murmured, the kisses continuing.
"I love you too, Eric." She replied breathlessly.
"I'm proud of you Rae."
She rolled over in his arms, turning to meet his eye.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I remember the little Amity girl that showed up here over a year ago. I remember how I doubted your success here, wondering why I even cared."
"Why did you care?" She asked.
"I don't know. You looked so small and weak in that ridiculous red dress you wore. But when you took off your sweater and I saw the marks on your skin, I knew there was something more to you. I knew that you hadn't lived the usual carefree Amity life."
"He gave me those marks just to ensure that I would choose Abnegation." She told him for the first time. "He knew that I didn't like to call attention to myself, and Abnigation clothing is as modest as it gets. He figured that, if anything, I would be ashamed enough to choose abnigation for that reason alone."
"He obviously didn't take the time to get to know you very well." Eric said.
Rae only shook her head, a weak smile on her lips. Her husband then kissed her deeply, and for a moment the rest of the world was lost. For a moment, all she knew was his lips on hers, and his hands traveling down her body until they found what they searched for. She gasped as a thrilling sensation rushed through her core. Leaning in to his hard body, she responded to every move that he made. He continued to touch her until the trembling of her body informed him of her climax, then he climbed up until he straddled her small figure.
"I will never get over how beautiful you are." He breathed. She inhaled deeply, his scent intoxicating her. Interlocking her fingers around his neck, she pulled him down to her lips as he moved inside her. She gasped for air as he met his gaze, his fiery eyes signaling the start of the inferno to come.
***
The time passed too quickly for Rae. As magical as the hours behind her had been, she knew that the next morning brought only bloodshed and pain. Coaxing her thoughts awake as quickly as she could, she thought through the day ahead, trying to formulate a plan. Eric got up with her, and they got ready for the day in silence. They walked together to Max's office.
"Good morning you two! It's a big day today. You ready?" He was looking at Eric, who nodded.
"Yes sir. Got my speech prepared, the lab is prepared, and the initiates are scared shitless."
  Both men laughed, and Rae cracked a weak smile so as not to draw suspicion. Mac turned to her.
"Rae, I hate to be he bearer of bad news, but while your husband gets to have all the fun today, you'll be handling all the information sent to you from each initiates fear landscape. The judges will send over the scores and I need to you get it all organized before the initiation ceremony this evening. Think you can handle all that?"
"Absolutely." She nodded, smiling again. In her head, she was trying to figure out where Four might be.
  The two men left, Eric kissing her quickly. Rae waited a few minutes, to be safe, then left as well. She headed toward the Pit. It was crowded, the impending initiation ceremony creating a buzz of excitement through the old faction members. Dauntless never needed an excuse to party, but the initiation of the new members of their faction was definitely a reason. Already she encountered more than one intoxicated person while fighting her way across the floor. She headed toward the tattoo shop. Just a few yards from it, a young man bumped her arm. Surprised, she paused a moment. She recognized him as one of the initiates, and wondered vaguely if he would till be here at the end of the day.
"'Scuse me Mrs. Eric." He nodded, making her laugh as she continued on her way.
  Entering the tattoo parlor, the smell of ink and buzzing of needles excited her. She needed new ink one of these days. Looking around, she saw the person she was looking for.
"Hey!" Deidra greeted as she approached, stacking a bunch of drawings on top of her desk. "What's up? Missed me?"
"I did actually." Rae smiled. "And I really wish I had time for you to draw something beautiful on me... I'm craving a new tattoo."
"I am all for it. What are you going to get?" Her friend leaned forward interestedly.
"Not sure yet. Maybe you could surprise me." Rae winked mischievously at her, causing her to laugh.
"Now I'm really all for it."
They talked and laughed for a few minutes before Rae casually asked her friend if she had seen Four around the Pit that morning.
"Four? Um... no I haven't seen him. Why are you looking for Four?"
"Initiation stuff. I'm going to go check the control room now. Book me an appointment early next week, I'm coming in to get something done."
"You got it girl." She waved before she exited the parlor.
  Sighing, she scanned the Pit one more time before heading off toward the control room. It took her a few minutes to get there, and she was disappointed when she arrived.
"Sorry." She mumbled to the guys working behind the screens. They looked up at her momentarily as she entered, then back down after her apology. She thought a moment about where else to look. She checked the training room, the chasm, the net. She looked around to the Pit again. Afternoon was approaching and she was supposed to be working. She didn't have any more time to waste. She returned to her office and got to work. She didn't have to wait long before the final test began, and the first initiate's scores were sent to her computer.