Free Four: Insurgent [Book 2] (ON HOLD)

1.

TOBIAS

   1.

    TRIS SLEEPS SILENTLY NEXT TO ME, and for that I am thankful. I know when she wakes all there will be is a strange silence and an emptiness inside her no matter how much noise surrounds her or how much we will all try to distract her. At least now she may be able to enjoy some peace before all the events of today really hit her. I know she is strong, but a protective part of me is angry for her, because this will make her more fragile and vulnerable than she has been before. I can't even imagine how she's made it this far without completely breaking down.

I look out the large gap in the side of the train, where the scenery whips past, and I know we are close to the Amity compound, where I hope there is solace and safety for us- if only for a little while.

"Time to go," I say, my low voice rumbling louder than I expected, and it simulates the tone of the train below, the rumbling of the tracks below us in constant chatter. Tris doesn't hear me, and I squat in front of her, placing one hand on the ground in front of me to hold my balance. I place my other hand on her uninjured shoulder.

She opens her eyes quickly, not the fatigued fluttering of her eyelids I suspected. Her bright eyes are scared and large, something dark reflecting against the background which was pure light only days ago. She takes a deep breath and won't let it out for a long time. My eyes look for an explanation, but can't find one that exactly seems to hit what she's thinking about.

"Tris, come on," I say, my eyes still glued to hers. "We have to jump."

I know we are close to the fence because of how long we spent on the train, though I can't quite make out its shadow in the distance. I pull Tris to her feet, both of my hands clasping around one of hers. I lead her over to the door, where the world whizzes by in one black, airy mass.

Peter jumps off first, followed by my father, and Tris's brother. Tris slides her hand into mine and we walk towards the edge. My toes hang off the edge, the border clearly pressing against the soles of my sneakers. The wind flows hard against my chest and I breathe in a long, fresh breath, savoring the feeling. I've always loved the speed that being on a train provides, the slight sense of danger, the relief of noise and movement.

Too soon, we jump off and hit the ground. I hear a long breath coming out of Tris, and I look down to her, biting her lip until the skin is turning so white I can see it in the darkness.

"Okay?" she asks her brother Caleb, her Abnegation side shining through her, even when she has a bullet wound in her shoulder, and her brother is only rubbing his knee from falling on the ground.

He nods, trying to stop the crying that was persistent all the way here. I don't blame him though, if I had lost two family members I actually loved, I would probably have been in the same emotional state. However, I do not know the feeling of that kind of loss, and now that I have Tris, I hope I never will.

I can see the path clearly now, illuminated by the slight moonlight in the ink black sky. We walk over to the path, and the fence is at the end, not very far away at all.

"There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here," my father Marcus says slightly accusingly to me and Tris. "Where are they?"

"They were probably under the simulation," I counter him, "and are now..." I scan my brain but stop quickly because I don't even want to think about all the possibilities. "Who knows where, doing who knows what."

I think about my initiates, my friends back in Dauntless. Where are they? I shake the thought away, focusing on what now needs to be done, and refusing to assume the worst until the evidence presents itself.