Holding On||Peter Hayes (Divergent)

Chapter 20

The world outside drowns in darkness. I only had a few minutes of sleep before I woke up, my head too much of a mess to let me have a good hour of slumber. I end up shuffling over to the door of the train and sitting on the edge, my legs dangling out of the train - as usual. I'd enjoy it even more if I wasn't in agony due to being shot twice previously. I watched the sun sink below the walls and the darkness fill up the city.

Not long later we're made to jump. I go first, rolling over the floor instead of onto my feet. It's too dark to see where we've jumped off, but I feel long grass tickling me. Nearer to the fence the grass is uncut and most of it dead. We're near the path the Amity trucks use to deliver food to the city and the gate that allows them to exit. The only way to Amity is through the gate, which requires a combination to unlock. Peter, who jumped after me, hauls me up. I manage to find the outline of his face and look at him with exhaustion. I can't walk like this, but when we get to Amity it will all be okay.

"There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here," Marcus points out, "where are they?"

"They were probably under the simulation." Four tells his father. "Who knows where they are, doing who knows what." He walks over to a small box on the side of the gate, clicking a few buttons. "Let's hope the Erudite didn't change the combination." With a small click the gate unlocks. We walk through in a cluster then break away once we're walking through the land near to the Amity headquarters. Peter, Marcus and I are at the back. Marcus is helping me to walk while Peter's cradling his arm. The blood has soaked his makeshift bandage and is no longer doing it's job. Tris, Four and Caleb are leading us, silence lingering between us all.

Doubts circle my mind. They won't let us in. They'll call the Erudite. We'll be kept prisoners or possibly killed. Amity would never let a group of on the run Dauntless and Divergents into their facility. We'd be lucky to stay the night - it even to be tended to. I'm just hoping someone has a way to make the give us the help we desperately seek.

***

Light. Small bursts of light, almost like stars. They belong to Amity, meaning we're nearing their headquarters. As we grow closer, the lights expand, revealing more: wooden buildings gathered together, glass greenhouses and an orchard in front of it all. My boots sink into the wet earth around me as we enter the orchard. The trees are decorated with fruits emitting scents ranging from sweet and crisp to rotting and dead. The branches above intertwine and create a tunnel, nothing like the ones in Dauntless.

It's so foreign. In Dauntless it's dark, mysterious and exiting. I spent most of my life in the caverns of Dauntless, hearing people's voices echo off the walls as well as the roaring chasm. Amity and Dauntless life contrast greatly - it's brutally obvious. I'm not going to enjoy the amount of time I am to spend here (if we're granted with any). Marcus then hands me over to Caleb, who keeps putting a hand to his face. I can sense he's silently crying. I would comfort him, but he needs to grow up and accept the fact there are going to be a lot of things upsetting us. Weakness won't help when you have a gun to your head.

Marcus takes lead and we follow him past the first wooden structure to another on the left. All the wooden buildings are identical, made out of the same, dark rugged wood. He opens one of the doors and leads us in. The lack of security is appalling. Amity tend to give out their trust freely. I guess they're too optimistic to think there will ever be a threat. We stop in front of an empty room. A woman sits peacefully in front of a window. I recognise her when she turns and addresses Marcus as Johanna Reyes, the representative of Amity. She has a thick scar stretching from a over her right eye to to her lip, causing one of her eyes blind and a lisp when she speaks.

Johanna looks over the rest of us, noticing how beat up we look, especially the blood upon Peter's shirt and dripping down my leg. "Oh my, I'll send for a doctor." She says. "I can grant you all permission to stay the night, but tomorrow our community must decide together. And they will likely not be enthusiastic about a Dauntless presence in our compound." We're then asked to hand over any weapons. I still have the knife Peter gave me, but there's no way I'm giving up my weapons that easily.

I notice Four hold Tris's hand back, stopping her from retracting her gun. A gun and a knife... not much, but enough to make us feel safe. "I am Johanna Reyes," she says as she shakes hands with Tris and Four.

"This is T-" Marcus starts, however Four speaks over him.

"I'm Four, and this is Tris, Caleb, Peter and Piper." I give a small wave, smiling at Johanna. She beams back, her lips crooked yet sweet.

Addressing us all with her smile, she welcomes us. "Welcome to Amity. Let us take care of you."

***

Peter and I were taken to the hospital ward to be stitched up. Our beds were next to each other, the only thing separating us a white curtain. A nurse cuts my jean leg from the knee and removes the bundled of fabric I tied around my leg. When she reveals my bullet wounds I see the two holes splattered with blood. She cleans my whole leg and stitches up the holes carefully. I wince and hiss as the needle pricks at my leg, grabbing ahold of the bed sheets to stop me from swearing aloud.

"Are you finished yet?" I ask as kindly as possible.

"I'm just stitching up your second wound," the nurse tells me. "I haven't had to deal with many bullet wounds at all."

"You don't see many Amity getting shot now, do we?" I say, peering at my leg. The nurse laughed, the sound like warm honey. She then finished stitching me up, running a salve across my wounds. The salve had been made by the Erudite to speed up the healing process. She gave me a tub to keep for myself. The nurse finally wrapped my leg up in a bandage and handed me a pair of wooden sticks. Crutches.

"You'll need these to take the weight off your leg," the nurse informs me. I sit up at the end if the bed and take hold of the crutches, hopping down from the bed. I remember one of my old Dauntless friends had crutches after she broke her leg from falling off a wall. She would put the crutches forward, then swing herself forward. I copy the pattern all the way to Peter's bed. He's got his arm in a sling tied around his neck.

"Crutches, huh?" He stands up and lightly taps them with his foot.

"Watch out Hayes, I'm armed and dangerous," I raise my right crutch and gently hit Peter's hip. We both follow one of the nurses to our rooms. I make my way over slowly, adjusting to my crutches.

"What are you thinking of it so far, then?" Peter whispers.

"It's not Dauntless and I don't think I'll ever like it." I mutter. "Apparently their bread is injected with a serum to make them all stay hippie. These guys are literally high."

"I'm definitely trying the bread." Peter smirked.

"I can't see the serum doing anything to you. I don't think it works on jackasses." Peter playfully glares at me. The nurse then opens a door, nodding at me.

"This is your room." She grins. I lean against the door frame and look to Peter.

"Stay with me," I sigh.

"I though I was a jackass..." he tapped his chin, faking confusion.

"Please, baby," I pout, using my best puppy dog eyes. He shook his head, walking off with the nurse. I huffed in defeat, slamming my door and walked to my bed. I throw my crutches aside and flopped upon the bed, instantly falling asleep.