A Different Divergent: A Better Tomorrow

~fourty~

Chapter 40

I grab ahold of Tobias' arm to steady myself physically and emotionally. I can't believe I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing. Faith is dead. Sam killed her? No, that's impossible. She is ... was our strongest female fighter, the best female transfer. Hell, she beat Alec and gave Brody a run for his money so categorizing her as just another female is completely unfair. I look up into Tobias' eyes, realizing that I have to say the words I don't want to, and his expression goes from concerned to horrified in a split second. I don't know what my face is betraying but it must be bad.

"Tris, are you still there?" Zander asks after he rendered me speechless.

"Yeah," I choke out.

"I'm getting ready to do an autopsy to determine exactly what the cause of death is. Is there anything you can share with me about her fight?"

"Sam hit her in the jaw and knocked her out. When she fell, she hit her head on the edge of the mat," I say.

"Was it a hard blow?"

"It didn't seem like it was," I say. "It seemed more like a lucky punch."

"When she fell, did her head hit the wooden floor?"

"The way it looked to me, it hit on the very edge of the mat but it's possible," I say.

"Okay," he says. "Thanks, Tris."

"Thanks for calling, Zander." I turn my phone off and look at Brody who's still sparring with Grant. This is going to be very hard on him. Hell it's going to be hard on everyone.

"What is it, love?" Tobias asks, full-fledge panic setting in.

"Faith," I whisper, trying not to alarm the initiates. "She died."

"What?" he says much too loudly, stunned by the news. Everyone stops what they're doing and looks at us. It's obvious by the looks on our faces that something's wrong.

"Zander doesn't know why but she never regained consciousness and died a few minutes ago," I say. "He's getting ready to do an autopsy." I turn my back to block out the stares of the misfits, especially Brody's. "I don't know what to do, Tobias. How are we supposed to tell them?" He transforms into Four, eliminating all visible emotion and steadies himself for what he needs to do.

"Transfers, gather round," he says, his voice deceptively calm and cold. The ones who are still in the training room gather around us. "We just got some information from the infirmary, and I'm afraid that I have some bad news. We don't have any details but Dr. Parrish just called and informed us that Faith died." Confusion dominates the expressions on the transfers' faces, and they all look toward Brody who starts slowly shaking his head.

"This is some sort of sick joke, right?" he says. Grant puts his hand on his shoulder in a show of support but he shakes it off. "This has to be a joke. She can't be gone. She just can't. She's all I have left in this godforsaken world." He runs both his hands through his hair and falls to his knees, an anguished look contorting his face. "No, not my sister." Sister? A hushed gasp sounds in the room. I didn't know they were related. I look at Tobias to see if this is news to him but he's staring at the transfers with his Four mask firmly in place, and I can't get a read on him.

"You can all go for the evening," Tobias says. "We'll have additional details first thing in the morning. Sam, Brody, please give us a minute."

"I killed her?" she whispers. I can tell she is desperately trying to hold back tears. "Oh, my God! What have I done?"

"Sam, you didn't do anything wrong," I say.

"What do you mean she didn't do anything wrong?" Brody wails. "She killed her." He gets up off his knees and charges toward her but Tobias steps between them. His hard look stops Brody in his tracks.