Rat (A Divergent Prequel and Eric Love Story)

Alternate Ending

"Rat" astonished me when it gained such a high amount of readers and is one of my favorite stories I have written. Each person that has stuck with me through 25 chapters is insanely awesome. All of the sweet comments and e-mails have been so great. I appreciate every one of you for giving me the inspiration I needed to continue writing. So, I figured to show this immense appreciation, I would write one LAST bit of Eric and Rose as an early Christmas present to my readers.

Although this is not the ending I had in mind for Rose and Eric, because to me, the Epilogue was the right conclusion, I figured it could be up to you to decide which ending you prefer for 'Rat' and that will be your ending. The following is written in a different point-of-view, one that was not necessarily as literate as Rose and Eric, so the writing style is slightly less intelligent. (Don't get me wrong, I love this guy. But even Veronica Roth described him as thus.) My writing style has not diminished.

So, without further ado, I say good-bye to these characters a final time, but hopefully not to my amazing readers.

An Alternate Ending as told by Four

The new initiates piled in, one by one, talking, laughing, as if nothing had gone wrong. Well, of course nothing had gone wrong. Not to them. Their best friend hadn't just died in child birth.
But, I'm a man. A Dauntless man at that. I'm not supposed to be emotional, not in public. Eric apparently has decided not to heed to the expectations of society because he is a train wreck. Although the initiates only saw him as an unstable menace hell bent on breaking their spirit, which is basically what he does.
It's been over a year and I can tell that he's barely holding on, death's grip at his throat, not yet squeezing. She is the only one holding him to earth.
Training was supposed to start, and Eric... nowhere in sight. I was used to this. Who was I to critique him? The man had lost his wife.
The initiates were laughing loudly, disrespectful while they waited. I looked at the old clock on the stone wall, the minute hand barely hanging on. Training had to start now. Thirty minutes had already passed.
"Initiates!" I bellowed in my most intimidating voice. "Take your places in front of a punching bag. Practice until the fights begin." They hesitated. "Now!" I shouted.
They squirmed into place. But not before I heard the snarky Peter asshole's remark to another initiate.
"It's weird as hell. He has all these names tattooed on him, but look at him, he's always alone."
"Do you have something you'd like to ask me, initiate?" I asked.
Of course the asshole wasn't intimidated. "Eric's tattoos," he stated.
I came closer to his face, "and how is that any of your business?"
He ignored this. "Who is Rose and Anastasia?" he asked, unfazed.
"None of your concern," a voice that was not mine answered gravely from behind us.

Eric stood there, unshaven, dark circles beneath his eyes. This struck a fear in Peter who rushed to the punching bags. Eric looked at me as if pleading for my silence.

I stood watch in the security office, filling in for someone even though I was technically free until training was over. Normal night. Drunken Dauntless in the halls. Initiates sneaking out. Wait, initiates sneaking out? I sat on the edge of the swivel chair, trying to make out the culprits and where they were going. I unmuted the sound.
Though it was muffled, I was able to make out some words.
"Just go, ------- truth or dare says." The boy said.
"Eric will ------" said a girl.
Dauntless-borns. I recognized them. Why were they speaking of Eric in hushed tones? I noticed that they were in the Leader's hallways.
"Just take this," the boy said, pushing a metal object in her face. A key. They have a key in the Leaders' hallway.
"Promise you'll -------" the girl asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go," he answered.
Slowly she tiptoed to L4, Eric's apartment, and pushed the key into the lock and sneaked inside. Eric would be at Erudite now, for another one of their frequent meetings. They were breaking into Eric's apartment.
I did something that I had never done in this job. I switched on the emergency cameras installed in every apartment, which are turned off for privacy reasons.
The apartment was just as it had been a year ago when I had walked in on him and Rose, black couch, a monstrous array of books, everything completely tidy and tucked away. The girl seem astonished by the room. Probably remarking at the absence of torture devices hanging from the walls as Rose had once joked to me.
She walked through the kitchen, cautious not to touch anything. She slowly turned the knob of the small brown door at the end of the kitchen. She gasped aloud at the contents of the room. A crib stood pushed against a wall painted with white, fluffy clouds. The mobile overtop of it still slightly spinning as if it had just been touched. Teddy bears strewn across the floor. Teacups and teapots stood on a table, ready for a tea party. She covered her mouth and bolted out of the door.
"Did you get it?" the waiting boy asked.

I never heard her answer, but I did see her horror-stricken face. They don't even understand.

The last day of stage one. Oh, how they grow up so fast. Eric made a point to be here on time today. He was cleanly shaven today, although his attitude had not changed in the slightest.
I never told him about the disturbance. I'd rather let those kids live in shock without him telling them. Serves them right.
Eric was just in the middle of yelling at an initiate for trying to give up the fight, when a soft banging struck the metal double-doors. His yelling stopped.
"Stiff, go see what is at the door," he barked.
She cautiously strode over to the door, paint peeling off of it. The banging continued. She pushed open the door, slowly and gently.
And in she ran, her black curls bouncing around her face, her black dress flapping in the wind, and her mother's blue eyes catching the eyes of everyone in the room.
"Daddy!" she cried, running to Eric. Gasps rang out across the room. I failed to hide my smirk of amusement at the initiates. Yes, even a monster like Eric bends over backwards for this little girl.
"Ana, what are you doing here?" he asked, panicked.
So smart for her age. She was already partially talking, able to make out coherent sentences. Intelligent like her mother.
"Daddy!" she wailed again, jumping into Eric's arms as he bent down on his knees in the floor for her.
"Where is Emma?" he asked, still panicking.
"Dwank her sleepy juice, duh Daddy." She replied.
"She drank her sleepy juice and you walked all this way by yourself?" Eric asked.
"Uh-huh!" she said proudly.
All of the initiates were awe-struck by this display.
Eric gritted his teeth in anger, but swallowed it for Anastasia. He took her by the hand, leading her to the door.
"I'll be right back," he said to me. "I have to find another baby sitter for Ana, and punish the last one."
"No!" she shrieked with a stubbornness and willfulness that screamed Rose. "I dun want another!"
"Sweetie," Eric said, getting on his knees to face her, "Daddy can't bring you here with him. Someone has to take care of you while I'm away."
"I want my mommy!" she said, tapping her foot.
"Wha-" Eric stuttered, taken aback.
"Why dun I have a mommy?" She said, seeming actually upset at this fact.
Eric glanced up at me and then at each initiate, not knowing what to do and as if he were pleading for help.
"You do have a mommy, sweetheart." He finally said.
Anastasia instantly perked up. "Where?" she shouted with glee.
He swallowed, nervous. "She went away, sweetie."
"Why?" she asked, solemnly.
"Mommy was very sick," he began. After a while he continued, "So, she had to go to a place. It's called Heaven and it's so wonderful and pretty. You can play tea party all day there if you want. And there, Mommy will never be sick again."
The faces of the Dauntless transformed from shock to utter grief. As did mine.
Anastasia, on the other hand, was completely blown away. "Daddy, can I go?!" she said, begging Eric.
"Oh, no, sweetheart. Daddy needs you here. You have to take care of me and make sure we have enough teddy bears and eat enough peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
Anastasia's eyebrows furrowed. "That's right," she said, stroking her chin.
He touched her face with the palm of his hand. "Hey, we'll go there someday, when we're really old and wrinkly."
She laughed, "Like Max?"
Eric chuckled, "Even older than that. And then we'll be a family again. But until then, me and you are gonna have all kinds of adventures." He choked a little at the word 'adventure', so slightly that I was probably the only one to notice.
He took her by the hand, and started to lead her out the door.
"What's Mommy like?" she asked.
"Funny you mention it," he responded. "Exactly like you, except for that hair. That's from me. She loved adventures too, but she was so clumsy. And beautiful, just like you. There was this one time..." he said as they walked out the door, leaving behind a dozen awestruck Dauntless whose hearts had been melted.