Becoming Determinant - Tobias' Story

Divergent Chapter 19 - Drinking

A/N: Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter! Your reward is another chapter... :-) Thank you also to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie!

"Divergent" Chapter 19 – Drinking

By the time I finish lugging the equipment back to the simulation room, I'm utterly drained from this day. I seriously consider collapsing on the bed and taking a nap before dinner, but I know I'd only dream about all the fears I just witnessed. So, I decide to go looking for Zeke instead. He's always happy to spend an evening drinking, and right now I think I'll take him up on that.

"Did Uri really get out in six minutes?" he asks the moment I open the door to the control room.

"Did you rewatch the footage and time him?" I shoot back, lifting an eyebrow.

"Damn, no," Zeke says as if he can't believe he didn't think of that. He turns toward the computer, obviously planning to rectify his mistake, but I don't want him watching that scene again. He clearly isn't suspicious right now, and there's no point in giving him the chance to become that way.

"Don't bother," I tell him as I sag into the chair next to him. "It really was that quick." As he turns back to me, I add, "Unlike the rest of my day."

For a moment, Zeke just looks at me, sympathy clear in his expression. He's never monitored the simulations, but he must realize how difficult it is.

"I need beer," I add tiredly. "Lots and lots of beer. Can you make that happen, Zeke?"

"Of course," he says, a grin emerging. "You know me, Four. I'm always here for you on that one."

------------------------------------------------

I'm barely halfway through my first bottle when I notice the paper on Zeke's coffee table. It's clearly a new article from Erudite, and I know I should ignore it. I'm already tired and in a bad mood – there's nothing to be gained from adding to that – but I pick the paper up and scan it anyway. Part of me feels the need to stay abreast of what they're saying, to gauge how far away the war is.

"The mass exodus of the children of Abnegation leaders cannot be ignored or attributed to coincidence," the article begins, and I feel a weight sink into the pit of my stomach. They wrote about Tris after all.

"The recent transfers of Beatrice and Caleb Prior, the children of Andrew Prior, calls into question the soundness of Abnegation's values and teachings. Why else would the children of such an important man decide that the lifestyle he has set out for them is not an admirable one?" I sigh, looking away for a moment. I hadn't realized that Tris' brother transferred too. I wonder where he went.

"Molly Atwood, a fellow Dauntless transfer, suggests a disturbed and abusive upbringing might be to blame." The weight in my stomach doubles, making it difficult to breathe. "'I heard her talking in her sleep once," Molly says. 'She was telling her father to stop doing something. I don't know what it was, but it gave her nightmares.'"

It's as if the paper burns my fingers, and I drop it on the table, staring at it as I try to calm the pounding in my chest and try to force air in and out of my lungs. It's not true. I'm sure it's not. Andrew would have been in Tris' fear today if there were any truth to the accusation.

But if it's false, why did both of the Prior children transfer? In particular, why did Tris transfer if she really is Divergent? It makes no sense to come to this place – the most dangerous faction – if you have another choice.

I take a long swig of my beer, ignoring the way Zeke is looking at me. At least some of the Erudite articles are false. That I know for certain. But I also know that at least one is true…and that not all of the Abnegation leaders are innocent.