Aberrant

Forty-Two: Brooke/Dex

Brooke:

Phoebe and Isaac stare at Amar in shock, and then, as one, they attack. Amar grabs Phoebe and throws her to one side, just as Isaac reaches him at the same time. The pair of them begin to exchange punches. Phoebe races over and grabs Amar from behind. They begin to lead him to the Chasm.

I scramble to my feet. I have to do something. I must.

I lunge forward and jerk Phoebe away from Amar by the cuff of her neck. She coughs and turns to face me, her dark eyes blazing angrily. I throw some punches at her, but, regardless of the training Amar and Isaac gave me, I'm no match for her. She makes a noise like a growling animal, and forces me onto the ground. She grabs me by my neck and I begin to choke.

My vision begins to blur and try to push her weakly away, but it's no use. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amar send Isaac flying, and suddenly Phoebe is pulled off me. Gasping, I get onto my knees and watch as Amar ruthlessly shoves Phoebe into the Chasm. There's a single scream, cut off by a splash from the waters below.

"No!" Isaac roars, his face dark with anger, and he launches himself at me and Amar. But his anger has made him careless, and a single spinning hook kick from Amar sends him tumbling over the edge.

I race to the side of the Chasm.

Isaac and Phoebe are gone. 

Dex:

I sit there in shock. The sound of the train moving along the tracks is the only noise I can hear. Callum is lying on his front, breathing heavily, but even that is drowned out by the rumble of the train as it carries us away from Dauntless. I glance at Callum. His blond hair is all tangled and windswept and his feet are just centimetres from the car doors. He must have only just got on in time. 

I shift my position and wince. 

"My leg hurts." I state. 

There's an empty silence, and I realise that I'm waiting for a sarcastic quip from Lyra or a comforting remark from Plato. But I'm not going to get one. 

Instead, Callum glances up from his position and shows me his arm, "Yeah. They hit me too."

The response is so different from the one that I was expecting that I lose whatever integral part of me has been keeping me strong. Images of Lyra falling into the Chasm and Plato slumping to the ground rush in front of me and, all of a sudden, I burst into tears. 

"Lyra...Plato..." I can't get the words out. Callum looks up at me suddenly, and I twist myself away. What am I doing, crying in front of someone who I barely know? 

"Don't look at me," I say, roughly, "Leave me alone."

But Callum doesn't leave me alone. Instead, I hear him move over to me and feel his hand on my shoulder. 

"It's ok to cry, Dex," He says gently, "It helps let everything out."

I bury my head in my hands. 

"This is all my fault," I blurt out. And I realise that it's true. Lyra died for me. Plato died for me. Callum got shot trying to get me to the train. I glare at Callum, whose blue eyes are staring at me intensely, "Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't lie."

Callum doesn't respond, but instead he pulls me into a hug. The gesture is so natural, so Amity that I respond to it instinctively. I twist myself round and bury my face into his arm. He winces but doesn't move. 

I listen to the rumbling of the train, before I glance up at Callum and say, "Your family...my friends-Sam, Amy, Jo-what will they think happened?"