Rat (A Divergent Prequel and Eric Love Story)

Epilogue

The afterlife is strange, though pretty much how I had expected. I suppose it was strange to me because I had always envisioned myself being an older lady with grey hair and wrinkly skin, gladly going into the light after such a long life. I had also thought that I would be leaving behind children, grandchildren even, but my only child stayed with me, her spirit softly cooing in my arms. It's ironic, you know. I've fallen from pretty much every dangerous height in the city. I've almost been murdered more times than I can count. I've had knives thrown at my face by my husband. I've been though pretty much everything that I could possibly go through. But in the end, it was my sweet daughter that took my life.

We both avoided the light, and watched our loved ones live and even some walked past us as they moved on, anxiously approaching the light.

Four had fallen in love with an Abnegation transfer, just like himself. She reminded me of myself a lot, brave even when no one believed you would be. I loved to watch their forbidden love story, reminding myself of what Eric and I had once shared. Eric knew their secret but kept to himself. Once, however, he jokingly teased Four, "I see you're following in my footsteps." But this only reminded him of my time on earth, and he closed his mouth and his head hung down low.

So many things had changed, but stayed the same. I laughed in irony when Max chose to leave the bathroom door of the transfers' dorms broken and they were left with no privacy on my account. Zeke and Shauna had become official, and he loved her even when she lost her legs. I even watched Jeanine sometimes. She never cried over my death, but for pity, took a few days off from work to 'mourn'. I suppose some people just refuse to change no matter how hard you try.

The majority of my time, however, was spent watching Eric. He had tried to take his life, missing his heart by a mere centimeter. I remember screaming at him from the other side to stop as Anastasia cried, but of course he couldn't hear us. He spent the next few weeks weeping in an infirmary bed, where he had been stitched back together.

Before he knew it, it was time for the Choosing Ceremony again and he was left no more time to mourn. In his mind, he was left with no more choices. He had to harden himself, lock up his feelings. He cried no more, but inevitably became empty inside. He tattooed a red rose over the wound on his heart, to remind himself of our promise. He promised to play the villain so many months ago and that is exactly what he did. It started out simple. He was tough during my initiation, but it was just to better my fellow initiates and I.

Now, he was cruel and unloving. Four wanted to reach out to him, but the idea stayed only a thought and nothing became of it. People, not just initiates and Dauntless members, were afraid of him. Everywhere he went, he struck fear in those who passed him. Our old friends, such as the Kangs or the Priors, shook their heads at the thought of him. "What a shame," they would say. "Brought to madness by the death of his wife."

And it was true, what a shame. He resorted to horrible ways of punishments for those who crossed his path. He dangled a Candor girl from the edge of a chasm for giving up on a fight, something that I've even done before. But, while she screamed from the edge, he didn't pay attention because he was too busy staring at the corner of the wall where I used to lay my head during our frequent midnight chats. He even had Four throw knives at the girl Four loved. Eric wouldn't throw them though. He hated the thought after he had thrown them at me during a tantrum. He didn't want to do this. Hell, he didn't even want to leave the bed that we used to share. But he was going to get himself killed even if it meant being damned in the process.

But, his plan never worked. All this brought on was more and more hatred and fear. That is, until he was he called into Max's office. Max noticed how cruel Eric had become and wanted to play upon it. He let Eric into Jeanine's plan and after hesitating, Eric agreed.

They were going to storm Abnegation with an army of mind-controlled Dauntless and destroy Abnegation. Jeanine said that they hid Divergents and needed to pay, but I knew she just wanted them out of the way so she could rule the city.

He hated the idea of teaming with my sister, but it was his only shot at keeping our promise. That night, he wept in the floor of Anastasia's nursery. He held what would have been her toys in his hands and stroked the messy clouds on the wall that I painted. "I'm sorry," he cried to the clouds as if he were speaking to me.

He became Jeanine's lapdog and obeyed his every order like a zombie. He didn't allow himself to show emotion in front of people, but let them out every night in Ana's nursery, which he preserved all these months.

And now, he stood on his knees at Candor, smiling on the inside of what was yet to come. He insulted Four and Tris, internally begging them to take his life. Only Four knew what he was really doing.

Before this happened, he had visited Eric who laid in the floor of his Candor cell after being "captured".

"I know why you did all this. No one could have captured you that easily. You have a death wish, don't you?"

"The only wish I have is for the destruction of everything I hate, which is everything." Eric lied through his teeth.

Four shook his head, and then laid it against the bars of the cell. "How do you think life would be different if Rose was still alive?" He asked, after a short pause.

Eric sighed. "She would have blinked those big blue eyes at anyone who wanted to hurt her and melted their hearts, so there would have never been a war. I'd be a regular boring father and you... you'd probably be my best friend." Eric spoke to Four for the first time as if he were an old friend and not his constant rival.

"I guess you're right." Four laughed.

And now, Four stood over him, the weapon of Eric's demise glistening in his hand. He fired, but felt no remorse, for in his mind, he wasn't ridding the world of a bad person, but he was doing a favor for an old friend.

"Rose." Eric whispered, right before the light left his eyes. He saw me.

His spirit formed behind the fallen body of my husband. His eyes locked on Anastasia and I and he ran to us. "Rose!" he bellowed.

I ran into my arms, kissing my husband passionately as if it were for the very first time. Tears of joy flowed down his eyes as he held Anastasia, who giggled and cooed, excited to finally meet her Daddy, the man whose voice she craved for all these years.

"But, I don't understand." Eric said. "I've killed people... children even. I should have been swallowed up in a pit of fire by now, but here I am... in Heaven."

I smiled in his embrace, "Actions may speak louder than words, but intentions speak even louder than that."

"I guess you're right." He smiled.

In one hand, he held our daughter and in the other, our fingers intertwined. Together, we walked toward the light that I had hidden from for so long and we departed into the afterlife... as a family.

And this is the end of Rat. I thank you all for reading and for all the comments, votes, follows, etc. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I have. Hopefully, at least some message in this story will stick with you and guide you through some obstacle in your life. I love you all and have amazing lives.

<3 Sarah.