Pit

Chapter 10

TRIS POV

As the Candor guards haul me to my feet, and the Dauntless watch the scene unfold, I am strangely calm; I comply and stand with my hands behind my back.

But expectedly, Tobias isn't.

Only because he is outnumbered, he resorts to rounding on Tori, his expression livid. "I used to respect you," he deadpans. "And I may have given you the benefit of the doubt with your actions within the last year. But I will never forgive you for this."

"This is bullshit," Uriah chimes in.

Tori crosses her arms challengingly. "Actually, this wasn't my doing," she snarks. "I was made aware of this by a faction member who expressed her concern about a fugitive living within the compound."

He sets his jaw. I can't help but feel partly responsible for the antagonism between them. Tori gave Tobias his tattoos and some incentive to fit in, and I am not aware of any problems between them before I came along.

Those rather trivial thoughts are wiped from my mind a second later. Handcuffs click around my wrists as my gun is taken, and a lump settles in my throat when it dawns on me that this is really happening.

My hands shake, but when I see Tobias ready to do something we will both regret, I have to be brave.

"Tobias," I say, not bothering to use his public name. His panicked eyes flick to mine. "It's okay. Just get the hard drive."

The meaning behind my words is received. He nods stiffly. If there is any chance that the Candor will let me go, then it lies on the hard drive where we have proof of the crimes that the several factions have committed by producing and using the suicide serum.

"It's okay," I repeat as I am led away. I don't know if I am trying to convince him or myself.

Finally, I am aware of why this is so jarring to us. It is not because I am being arrested; the worst the Candor could do is imprison me with an actual sentence, and I don't trust their justice system to stay under complete control within the next while with the city is pulled taut with tension.

It is because this is reminiscent of Erudite.

At that realization, my stomach turns. Thankfully a distraction comes swiftly, when Dauntless members begin dissenting my arrest.

Some mutter, some talk loudly, some stay silent because they don't know me well. But I do hear someone shout, "Why are we arresting our own people when the factionless are running rampant?!"

The Dauntless yell their agreement. In the chaos, I twist my head and thrash, trying to get another glimpse at Tobias. I need him to stabilize me, to reassure me, because I am going to need it for however long it takes him to get me back.

He watches me like his own nightmare has come to life before his eyes. Helplessly, he stands as I am dragged away, similar to how I abandoned him to turn myself into Jeanine.

It only makes me want to vomit.

"Let's go," a guard barks at me, hauling me more forcefully.

I shake my head and clench my fingers. "You have no idea what you're arresting me for," I snap back. At least with experience I finally have a backbone. "When this is over, you'll be thanking me."

They don't reply. We follow a pair of Dauntless soldiers into an elevator that takes us up to ground level. Then, I am escorted to a car that will take me to Candor.

In the backseat, I clutch at the door handle. The road is bumpy and slippery with the snow, so I close my eyes to ward off the sick feeling that still inhabits my stomach. Some part of me—the part that is still a seventeen-year-old girl—wants to cry, but I don't want to give them that satisfaction.