Fractured | Tobias Eaton ✓

36 | You're Sick, Al

Four leads us to the pit and onto one of the many narrow paths along the edges. I have to stick my eyes on the wall beside me just to cross without panicking. I keep a hand on the same wall and stick to it like a fly.

"Pick up the pace, Drew!" I glance back at Tris and there's an understanding between us. When Drew showed up in the cafeteria he was still swollen and bruised. And I swear I saw Four smiling at the sight.

Tendrils of my baby hairs are framing my face, the scarf is just pinned at the sides and thrown over my shoulder. I've been getting a bit tired of the cap 24/7 anyway. It seems to be ruining the quality of my curls.

I focus on my hair as we walk up an even narrower set of stairs. I groan under my breath but keep up with Christina. "Where is he taking us?" She asks.

"Hopefully somewhere that's not sitting above the chasm–"

"Are you afraid of heights?"

My face pales as I get a glimpse of the blackness below us, "Uh... a little." The stairs creak under the weight of everyone and it only worsens my anxiety. We make it up to the level with the glass floor that I ran up to during the first simulation and I imagine it cracking and falling through it to my death–

The image is so vivid in my head that I stare at anything but the floor. We pass through what seems to be a gym of sorts and into a decrepit warehouse. It's even got old-fashioned fluorescent lights lining the entirety of the large room.

"This," Four turns around to face us as we fill the room. "is a different kind of simulation known as the fear landscape." That sounds just delightful. "It has been disabled for our purposes, so this isn't what it will be like the next time you see it. Through your simulations, we have stored data about your worst fears."

I notice there are all kinds of graffiti on the walls behind him, "It accesses that data and presents you with a series of virtual obstacles. Some of these will be fears you previously faced in your simulations. Some may be new fears. The difference–is that you are aware that it is a simulation, so you will have all your wits about you as you go through it."

Huh, that's new. Maybe now Four won't try and tack that silly word 'Divergent' onto me again.

"The number of fears you have in your landscape varies according to how many you have. I told you before that the third stage of initiation focuses on mental preparation. That's because it requires you to control both your emotions and your body–to combine the physical abilities you learned in stage one with the emotional mastery you should have learned in stage two."

He explains how we're going to be running through these landscapes in a week, the only catch is that it will be in front of the Dauntless leaders. "Will they be able to see what we see?" I ask.

Four nods, "They will but your fellow initiates will not." That still unsettles a lot of us. "This last stage is weighted the heaviest of all three, so if you perform poorly–you're most likely going to be cut, understood?" We all nod.

"So I suggest that you take the next week to consider your fears and develop strategies to face them."

Peter decides to open his annoying mouth, "That doesn't sound fair, what if one person only has seven fears and someone else has 20? That's not their fault?"

I immediately sense the change within Four. Peter directly speaking to him has finally given Four a reason to say something. The laugh he lets out is dryer than the air in the room. "Do you really want to talk to me about what's fair?" Four asks, walking through us to stand in front of Peter.

The sight reminds me of the first day when Four put the end of his pistol right up against Peter's temple. Maybe he should have shot him that day–would have saved everyone a whole lot of trouble.

"I understand why you're worried, Peter. The events of last night certainly proved that you're a miserable coward." Four's tone is so condescending it makes me openly grin, "So now we all know that you're afraid of a short, skinny girl from Abnegation." The smile he wears is deadly and my heart clenches at the sight.

I saw his genuine smile after the Ferris wheel but now it seems he's got a mischievous one. There's something so beautiful about watching Peter get knocked down a few pegs.

—

For the rest of the day, I'm practically glued to Tris' side. She said she needed support from someone who had been there and Four was MIA (as if he isn't always), so here I am. "I could go in there for you, we could find somewhere and camp for a few days. I know how to make a killer tent."

"You and that word 'killer'." She says.

"Christina kept saying it and it rubbed off on me." I say with a shrug.

Tris shakes her head, "And no, it's alright. I think it'll be good for me to go in. Show some kind of strength."

"We'll be right here," Says Will, I'd almost forgotten for a second how he was also glued to Tris. "All three of us." He nods at me and I force a smile.

We walk in right behind Tris and I see Al from over her shoulder–she doesn't really react but I do. I saw his face on the bridge and the look of terror from what Four did to the rest of them. He's been crying, I can tell that much.

Tris stops short in front of me and Will squeezes her shoulder.

Al looks up, eyes red and swollen. "Tris, can I talk to you?"

"Are you kidding? You don't get to come near her ever again." Will spits out, squeezing her shoulder once more.

"I won't hurt you. I never wanted to... I just want to say that I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I don't know what's wrong with me, I... please forgive me, please..." His sadness chokes me. It's sickening seeing him beg for her forgiveness after doing that.

My upper lip curls, "You're sick, Al. How could you do that to her?" The words stumble out before I can stop them.

Tris has her fists tightened by her sides, "Stay away from me. Never come near me again." Al's face falls, "If you do. I swear to God, I will kill you." She pauses, "You coward."