Reawakening

Chapter Fourteen

Tobias

I have never enjoyed watching fear simulations, but they usually don't really get to me too badly. Uriah's first sim, however, leaves me with a sense of dread. He comes out of the simulation, panting and crying. I know this isn't just a symbolic fear. This is something that really happened... and will happen again, if we don't change the events that will lead up to it.

I just watched Marlene's death.

I am a little confused about what exactly happened, but I know that it's probably an actual memory, at least mostly. Three young Dauntless- Marlene, Shauna's little brother Hector, and a young girl with green hair- stood on the roof. Their faces were blank, and their eyes looked dead. Marlene was the one who spoke. "I have a message for the Divergent." Her voice was monotone, nothing like the Marlene I have known for the past two years. Nothing like the Marlene that Uriah is in love with, the Marlene who is so perky and flirty I can barely tolerate her. "This is not a negotiation. It is a warning. Every two days until one of you delivers yourself to Erudite headquarters... this will happen again."

Uriah was desperately trying to reach her, but an invisible wall stopped him. I felt helpless watching as he kicked and pounded his fists on the glass. The words Marlene so emotionlessly just spoke echoed in my mind, along with Uriah's mention the other day about how upset I apparently was when Tris went to Erudite. This is why. She turned herself in, didn't she?

In unison, the three dead-eyed young Dauntless stepped off the roof. Uriah screamed out as Marlene fell to her death. But only Marlene. Tris was there holding Hector in place, as Christina was nearby holding onto the little green-haired girl.

I can't shake the sick feeling in my stomach as I sit stunned, unable to speak or move to offer Uriah any sort of comfort. I hear my own voice after a moment, but I don't even feel like it came from my mouth, or that the words were formed by my own mind. "It was just a simulation. It wasn't real."

Uriah looks at me, his eyes turning from heartbroken to angry. "But it is  real. It was  real," he whispers.

I grab hold of his arm and pull him out the back door. I can't think straight, but somewhere it is registering that this is what Uriah and Tris actually  went through... and I know there had to be so much more than just this. Uriah has every reason to truly fear all of it happening again. "Were you there when it happened?" I ask.

"No," he sniffles, "but I saw the security footage afterward. Tris and Christina were there. Just like what you saw."

I know the answer, but I ask anyway. My voice shakes. "Is this why Tris turned herself over to Erudite?"

Uriah nods. "She's too damn selfless. She promised you she wouldn't, then she went anyway. She barely made it out alive."

The scene plays over and over in my mind. It finally hits me. "Were they in a simulation?" Uriah only nods, tears still streaming down his face. "Go back to the dorm," I order him. "I'll call Tris next, and when she's through I'll send her to find you, okay?" He nods and mumbles a thank you before turning and shuffling away, then pauses and turns back to me.

"I know you have to delete that. With... what Marlene said in it." Shit, he's right. I am not sure whether Uriah is divergent, but he certainly doesn't need the attention on him either way. "Can you save it? On a flash drive or something, before you delete it? I might need to show it to Marlene. I'll need to tell her eventually."

I nod. "Yeah, of course, Uriah." I know first hand just how crazy the whole story sounds and just how hard it might be for Marlene to believe it.

When I return to the simulation room, I dig my keys out of my pocket; I have a flash drive right there on my keychain. I work quickly, finding the recording of Uriah's fear simulation and as soon as it has finished transferring, I pull out the flash drive and shove my keys back in my pocket before deleting the recording, then double checking to be sure it's completely removed from our faction's network before moving on to the next initiate.