Reawakening

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Tris

The longer I am on this train, the faster my heart races. I press myself closer against Tobias. "It'll be okay, Tris," he murmurs into my ear. "We'll get him back."

Soon the train will reach Erudite, and we will jump out. Then we'll just have to get to their headquarters undetected, sneak in without anyone seeing us, make it up to the ninth floor, and find Uriah. Oh, and deal with any traitors we find, of course. We know that Eric left the Dauntless compound on the train twenty minutes before ours.

"It's not just that." My voice trembles. "It was horrible there. I'm afraid I'll panic. What if I freak out and mess everything up? What if I put everyone in danger?"

Tobias is silent for a while before he answers. "Tris, I've noticed something about you. Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up. I think you'll know what to do and you'll do it. But I've always got your back. I promise. Just don't leave me again, okay?"

I pull him in for a kiss. What we're doing tonight is dangerous. Something could happen to one of us, and this could be our last time together. Tobias pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. "Promise me, Tris." His voice is rough and thick.

The night I left for Erudite last time flashes in my memory, his desperate pleading for me to choose him. I didn't think of it as choosing him at the time; all I saw was that my life was not worth all the lives that could be lost. My eyes sting and I squeeze them shut tight to hold back the tears-- tears of guilt for how I have hurt him. No more lies, no more secrets, no more broken promises, I vow to myself.

"I promise," I breathe, and I seal it with one last kiss before we jump.

The five of us-- Four, Zeke, Marlene and Edward-- have somehow managed to circle around the alleys of the Erudite sector, eventually ending behind Erudite headquarters. Zeke, Tobias and I decided to include Marlene before she even had a chance to wake up and notice Uriah's untouched bed. There was no way she would let us go without her, and Edward was a part of the deal-- not only is he an excellent fighter and marksman, he grew up in Erudite and knows his way around and how things work here.

Marlene tests the door that she and Uriah had entered to pull a prank not even two weeks ago, and once again, it opens. Glancing both ways, she waves us toward her. One by one we sprint across the alley and into the service entrance. Tobias shuts the door gently and we all huddle together.

Tobias seems to search my face for a moment as I bite my lip and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants leg. His eyes meet mine, and I see trust and certainty in them-- he doesn't even need words to tell me that he believes in me, that I can do this, that the fear will wake me up, make me braver, stronger. He nods at me, and suddenly this mission is in my hands. "Ninth floor," I whisper. "Stay quiet."

We creep up the stairs single file, quietly but swiftly. At some point, they'll see us on their monitors. They will know we are here. But it will take some time to get anyone here from Dauntless, and we can take the guards they have on site. We still have Eric to go up against, though, and he won't be an easy opponent.

Every step I climb, I grow more nervous, expecting a door to fly open and a guard to come running at us. But the guard never comes. Everyone must be at dinner. I would have expected the Erudite to be smarter than this.

At the door to the ninth floor, I turn. "Okay, this place is like a maze. It's big, and all the hallways look the same. I say we split up. Four comes with me, Zeke goes with Marlene and Edward." Marlene is the most emotional of us all right now; I want her in the largest group, with people she trusts.

I lead Four the best I can remember toward the labs Jeanine used when she held me captive. I think I'm going the right way, but it's hard to tell for sure.