Resurgent: How Allegiant Should Have Ended

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Tris

"That's what I didn't want to tell you," Matthew begins. "Jeanine and Eric were the other people who blackmailed me. I'm sorry Tris, they've both been regenerated."

My heart skips a beat and my stomach is in my throat as soon as the words leave Matthew's mouth. My chest tightens and it becomes hard for me to breath. She can't be alive, Jeanine can't be alive. A sudden rush of anger courses through my stiff body and I clench my fists. I can hear Tobias' breath hitch and Tori scoff behind me.

All of a sudden, my body feels frozen and I can't move or hear anything around me. There's a loud ringing in my ears and it feels like my pulse has shot up because of the adrenaline now coursing through my veins.

I feel Tobias shaking my shoulders and can see on his lips that he is repeatedly saying my name. I am completely unaware of everything else that is going on around me. My mind feels like it has been replaced with a cloud of smoke and that the only information in it is the fact that Jeanine is alive.

Every muscle in my body tenses as the thought goes over my mind, again and again. Who brought her back to life? Aggression overcomes my body and I begin to shuffle over to where Matthew is. I feel a pair of arms try to pull me back, but I'm too fast.

As soon as I reach Matthew, I press my forearm into his neck pressing him up against the wall. Although my height isn't in my favor, my strength is.

"Who regenerated Jeanine?" I shout at him. He tries to remove my arm from his neck, but I only press harder. I can now feel his racing pulse against my arm.

"I don't know," he struggles to say. This causes me to press even harder against his neck.

"Tris, stop," Tobias pleads behind me.

"Not until I get the answer I need," I say through gritted teeth.

"Fine, but Tris, before I tell you, can I talk to you alone?" Matthew asks, his voice strained and muffled by my forearm crushing his vocal cords. I remove my arm from his neck and Matthew gasps for air. He puts his hands on his knees to regain his balance and stumbles against the wall.

"No, Tris, I'm staying," Tobias says behind me, his voice making it clear that it's not up for discussion.

"Tobias, please, I'll be fine. I know how to take care of myself." I tell him.

"Tris, I'm not leaving, " he says as he makes he way over to me and cups my face in his calloused hand.

"Tobias, I'll be fine," I say quietly, so that only he will hear.

"Fine, but I'll be right outside." Tobias assures me.

"Thank you," I whispers back.

Tori and George leave the room together, followed by Tobias, who reluctantly closes the door to the Genetic's lab.

Matthew is still heaving against the wall when Tobias closes the door.

"Matthew, who brought Jeanine back to life?" I ask him, my voice high pitched and nothing like it usually is.

"Tris, I need to talk to you first," he says, through heavy breaths.

"What?" I hiss.

"Tris, you have to believe me when I say I wanted to tell you and all my friends, but I couldn't let any one else get hurt." Matthew says, his voice sounding normal again.

"Matthew, I understand, I do." I tell him. I'm lying because if I were him, I would have found a way to stop it, and I wouldn't of been sitting around waiting for something to happen. But, if that will get him to tell me what I need to know, then I don't care. I was never cut out for Candor anyways.