Veronica Roth - Insurgent

To Nelson,
who was worth every risk

Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.

From the Candor faction manifesto

I WAKE WITH his name in my mouth.

Will .

Before I open my eyes, I watch him crumple to the pavement again. Dead.

My doing.

Tobias crouches in front of me, his hand on my left shoulder. The train car bumps over the rails, and Marcus, Peter, and Caleb stand by the doorway. I take a deep breath and hold it in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure that is building in my chest.

An hour ago, nothing that happened felt real to me. Now it does.

I breathe out, and the pressure is still there.

Tris, come on, Tobias says, his eyes searching mine. We have to jump.

It is too dark to see where we are, but if we are getting off, we are probably close to the fence. Tobias helps me to my feet and guides me toward the doorway.

The others jump off one by one: Peter first, then Marcus, then Caleb. I take Tobiass hand. The wind picks up as we stand at the edge of the car opening, like a hand pushing me back, toward safety.

But we launch ourselves into darkness and land hard on the ground. The impact hurts the bullet wound in my shoulder. I bite my lip to keep from crying out, and search for my brother.

Okay? I say when I see him sitting in the grass a few feet away, rubbing his knee.

He nods. I hear him sniff like hes fending off tears, and I have to turn away.

We landed in the grass near the fence, several yards away from the worn path that the Amity trucks travel to deliver food to the city, and the gate that lets them outthe gate that is currently shut, locking us in. The fence towers over us, too high and flexible to climb over, too sturdy to knock down.

There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here, says Marcus. Where are they?

They were probably under the simulation, Tobias says, and are now He pauses. Who knows where, doing who knows what.

We stopped the simulationthe weight of the hard drive in my back pocket reminds mebut we didnt pause to see the aftermath. What happened to our friends, our peers, our leaders, our factions? There is no way to know.

Tobias approaches a small metal box on the right side of the gate and opens it, revealing a keypad.

Lets hope the Erudite didnt think to change this combination, he says as he types in a series of numbers. He stops at the eighth one, and the gate clicks open.

How did you know that? says Caleb. His voice sounds thick with emotion, so thick I am surprised it does not choke him on the way out.

I worked in the Dauntless control room, monitoring the security system. We only change the codes twice a year, Tobias says.

How lucky, says Caleb. He gives Tobias a wary look.

Luck has nothing to do with it, Tobias says. I only worked there because I wanted to make sure I could get out.

I shiver. The way he talks about getting outits like he thinks were trapped. I never thought about it that way before, and now that seems foolish.

We walk in a small pack, Peter cradling his bloody arm to his chestthe arm that I shotand Marcus with his hand on Peters shoulder, keeping him stable. Caleb wipes his cheeks every few seconds, and I know hes crying but I dont know how to comfort him, or why I am not crying myself.

Instead I take the lead, Tobias silent at my side, and though he does not touch me, he steadies me.

Pinpricks of light are the first sign that we are nearing Amity headquarters. Then squares of light that turn into glowing windows. A cluster of wooden and glass buildings.

Before we can reach them, we have to walk through an orchard. My feet sink into the ground, and above me, the branches grow into one another, forming a kind of tunnel. Dark fruit hangs among the leaves, ready to drop. The sharp, sweet smell of rotting apples mixes with the scent of wet earth in my nose.

When we get close, Marcus leaves Peters side and walks in front. I know where to go, he says.

He leads us past the first building to the second one on the left. All the buildings except the greenhouses are made of the same dark wood, unpainted, rough. I hear laughter through an open window. The contrast between the laughter and the stone stillness within me is jarring.

Marcus opens one of the doors. I would be shocked by the lack of security if we were not at Amity headquarters. They often straddle the line between trust and stupidity.

In this building the only sound is of our squeaking shoes. I dont hear Caleb crying anymore, but then, he was quiet about it before.

Marcus stops before an open room, where Johanna Reyes, representative of Amity, sits, staring out the window. I recognize her because it is hard to forget Johannas face, whether youve seen her once or a thousand times. A scar stretches in a thick line from just above her right eyebrow to her lip, rendering her blind in one eye and giving her a lisp when she talks. I have only heard her speak once, but I remember. She would have been a beautiful woman if not for that scar.

Oh, thank God, she says when she sees Marcus. She walks toward him with her arms open. Instead of embracing him, she just touches his shoulders, like she remembers the Abnegations distaste for casual physical contact.

The other members of your party got here a few hours ago, but they werent sure if you had made it, she says. She is referring to the group of Abnegation who were with my father and Marcus in the safe house. I didnt even think to worry about them.

She looks over Marcuss shoulder, first at Tobias and Caleb, then at me, then at Peter.

Oh my, she says, her eyes lingering on the blood soaking Peters shirt. Ill send for a doctor. I can grant you all permission to stay the night, but tomorrow, our community must decide together. Andshe eyes Tobias and methey will likely not be enthusiastic about a Dauntless presence in our compound. I of course ask you to turn over any weapons you might have.

I wonder, suddenly, how she knows that I am Dauntless. I am still wearing a gray shirt. My fathers shirt.

At that moment, his smell, which is an even mixture of soap and sweat, wafts upward, and it fills my nose, fills my entire head with him. I clench my hands so hard into fists that my fingernails cut into my skin. Not here. Not here.

Tobias hands over his gun, but when I reach behind me to take out my own concealed weapon, he grabs my hand, guiding it away from my back. Then he laces his fingers with mine to cover up what he just did.

I know its smart to keep one of our guns. But it would have been a relief to hand it over.

My name is Johanna Reyes, she says, extending her hand to me, and then Tobias. A Dauntless greeting. I am impressed by her awareness of the customs of other factions. I always forget how considerate the Amity are until I see it for myself.

This is T Marcus starts, but Tobias interrupts him.

My name is Four, he says. This is Tris, Caleb, and Peter.

A few days ago, Tobias was a name only I knew, among the Dauntless; it was the piece of himself that he gave me. Outside Dauntless headquarters, I remember why he hid that name from the world. It binds him to Marcus.

Welcome to the Amity compound. Johannas eyes fix on my face, and she smiles crookedly. Let us take care of you.

We do let them. An Amity nurse gives me a salvedeveloped by Erudite to speed healingto put on my shoulder, and then escorts Peter to the hospital ward to mend his arm. Johanna takes us to the cafeteria, where we find some of the Abnegation who were in the safe house with Caleb and my father. Susan is there, and some of our old neighbors, and rows of wooden tables as long as the room itself. They greet usespecially Marcuswith held-in tears and suppressed smiles.