All for You.

Chapter 13 - Dauntless Again

Chapter 13 - Dauntless Again

— Tris

In a cliché world, a crowd of people would've been waiting for me the first time I had walked back into the Dauntless compound in almost four years. People would've been cheering, hollering, and a clear path would be made through the crowd for me as if the sea of people had parted.

I'm glad that when I look back on this moment, the scenario was the complete opposite of that.

Quarter past two in the afternoon, the compound was all at work, either making a living for themselves, or planning their nightly festivities.

Tobias brought me to his apartment, a larger, more livable of a style than the loft he had had four and a half years prior.

He had Indy stay with his mother the first time I arrived, but as the months go on I learn to get use to the large dog's excitement when one enters the apartment.

I get around with the help of my crutches. I was released from the hospital early in the warm month of August over a year ago. I have been on crutches since, having two surgeries to stitch more muscles since then.

I haven't walked for real for over two years now. Crutches are my transportation, along with the elevator in the compound and my friends as guidance. Sometimes I wonder what I have done to deserve all of this; to deserve this life.

Then I remember I would do the same for them if they were in my situation.

For the firsts few months, I sat around Tobias's apartment all day, every day. He so badly wanted me to get out, but I could not bring myself the comfort level to leave the door other than for occasional trips to the now underpopulated cafeteria or a stroll to the pit for groceries. It all made me feel like everyone's attention was poured onto me as I noisily maneuvered my way along on my crutches.

It still makes me feel vulnerable, and is a feeling, I'm convinced, will never leave me.

After a trip to the cafeteria one time where a woman younger woman than me remarked, 'When will you ever stop galavanting around on those crutches, Beatrice, it's obviously a joke at this point', I refused to leave the apartment for three months. I ate all my meals in the house, attended to my needs, and made a grocery list for Tobias weekly.

I still live my life mentally sheltering myself like this.

Once that phase in my life only slightly passed, Tobias was begging me to go to work with him. He promised I didn't have to leave his office or his side unless I wanted to, and he would keep me safe.

I denied him for weeks until finally giving in, on the requirement that Indy had to come with.

It wasn't a hard requirement to meet.

Now, every day is more interesting.

I venture out to the Main Building of Dauntless with Tobias and Indy just about every other day. It took a while to get use to, but now it's comforting to see the familiar faces that greet him and I each day as they pass.

As I grew more comfortable, I would leave Tobias's apartment and follow Amar, who works in the same building, and meet even more people.

Amar works in the ambassador section of the Main Building; a separate hallway from Tobias's leader section.

I grew to enjoy meeting the people on that section of the building, for there is always something going on, or someone yelling at someone while they pull them down the hall in their wheeled office chair.

The leader section of the building is not as interesting.

I never thought that one day I would be among them, yet alone in charge of them.

A few of them are just like me; people who were rescued. Evelyn works among them twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. She files papers involving meetings between the factions and such.

Indy tends to follow me when I venture over to the Ambassadors side whenever Tobias has a meeting. He knows to bring a ball or some kind of toy with him when he goes, for there is lots of bored souls that will give it a toss for him.

However, one day it is not Tobias that is brought into the meeting. Josh, the no longer new leader of Dauntless who I have grown to know over time, asks to chat with me in his office before I leave.

"First off, happy two years," he says smiling.

I thank him.

Today has been two years since I was rescued. All of the people rescued celebrated yesterday for I was brought back a day behind the rest.

The day that almost cost me my life.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in any kind of position..." Josh starts.

I don't reply and he continues.

"I think you would make a great Ambassador, Tris. I know you never got the choice to choose after your initiation, but I would love to see you on our team of ambassadors. You already seem to get along great with them and—"

"I signed saying I would never take such a position," I reflect back to the papers I signed to keep peace with Candor at my release from the hospital. The papers saying how I wouldn't become an ambassador or leader.

"Technically those papers meant head ambassador or a leader, and I'm not asking either of those to you. I'm just talking a general ambassador. Don't let those papers sway your decision, please, I will deal with any idea someone has to use them against you."

"I don't know..." I contemplate, not really interested.

"I just feel that it's convenient for you. I mean, you're already down here just about every day, and general ambassadors are only here every other day, and you'd get your own office in the section. If you're not interested, I'm not offended one bit. I know you've been through so much, Tris, and I applaud you for how much you've moved on with your life. If there's anything I can do to help you further, you know where to find me."

"I guess I'll take it," I say without thinking.

"Good, because I might have already spilled the beans to the ambassador hall."

For the first time, I felt like I had a home.

I was finally Dauntless again.