To Change a City (Divergent/Eric) 3 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 5

(Hosanna's POV)

Eric and I take our assigned seats in the stadium style conference room. Our names are placed on the table with a stack of papers. A large screen and podium is before us in the front of the room. Some of the other Dauntless leaders come over and join us. Lydia sits beside me for a moment. "I... I just want to thank you for what you've done for Diane and Jude," she says. She looks to be tearing up. I've never seen her like this.
"Don't mention it. As soon as I realized it was cancer, I sent my friend, Matthew, a message to find out if they could help. I was so grateful that they got here in time. Jude said she only had a couple of weeks," I explain.
"I know," she says hugging me. I pat her back frowning.
When she gets up, Max takes the seat beside me. "You do realize that Diane was Lydia's best friend, right?" he tells me.
"What? No. I had no idea," I say breathlessly. I look over to Eric and he shrugs. I guess he didn't know either. He told me once that she was never at the table while he was a leader.
"Diane had been sick for so long. She stopped coming to meals with us and never left their apartment. She stopped taking visitors soon after that and it hit Lydia pretty hard. She's glad to have all of you girls at the table now, though. She hadn't quite been herself for the last couple years until you joined us," Max explains.
I frown and nod. He kisses my head, stands up, and goes to his assigned seat. Tobias takes his seat beside mine. "What's going on?" he asks.
"Weren't you at breakfast?" I inquire.
"Tris and I ate early. We went for a walk together after that," he shrugs.
"You missed out. Jude and Diane had breakfast with us," I tell him.
"What?" he questions shocked.
I explain about them coming here and how she's healed. His expression doesn't change. "Did you send anyone else here?"
I nod. He stares at me expectantly. "Edward and Myra," I say.
"You said they were in Amity," he responds harshly.
"Actually, I was the one to say they were outside of the fence. You were the one to draw the conclusion of Amity. The same thing with Jude. I said he was gone and you assumed he was in Factionless," Eric chimes in.
"Hosanna, no more lying to me," my brother says sternly pointing a finger in my face.
I laugh. "You know I can't lie. You're the one making silly assumptions," I grin.
David taps a microphone to get everyone's attention. My brother purses his lips signifying that this conversation is not over for him. I smile at Tris as she takes her seat beside him.
"Welcome citizens of Chicago," David begins to address us. Everyone in the room nods in response, accepting who they are now that they know. "I would like to begin with some information about the wars and what led up to the experiments in the cities. If anyone feels overwhelmed at any point during the week, feel free to excuse yourself or take a moment, go to the infirmary, anything you might need."
He gives me a small smile and a nod before he starts a recording on the screen about what led to the tampering of genetic material and the wars that soon followed. The video explains the project in the Midwest and shows the cities cleared out and used for the experiment. Some of our ancestors are shown being injected with the serum to heal what was tampered with. Then, they're taken to the city and voluntarily given the Abnegation memory serum. I see Amanda Ritter among them, or Edith Prior, as she changed her name to be. Tris gasps beside my brother. He holds her hand and she smiles at him.
David returns to the podium at the conclusion of the video.  He vaguely explains the difference between those damaged and pure—the behavioral patterns that led up to the wars.  He shows us charts and statistics on where our ancestors' genes were in comparison to that of pures.  He then proceeds to show us a chart with our test results from yesterday and where we are to where we're intended. 
"I don't want to single anyone out, but there are three of you present that are almost where we were hoping to reach for your genes, almost completely healed.  Two, in fact, that register as completely pure.  The rest of you have varying degrees of healed genes, higher than what we expected considering your individual aptitude tests, which is promising," David explains.  He pauses allowing that to sink in. 
"You may all look at the results in the packets before you.  I will give you some time to look them over as Matthew readies to speak," he says.
I look at mine to see that I'm listed as pure. Eric is very close at 99.9%. I glance over to see Tris is registering as pure, as well. Tobias, however is hiding his. "What'd you get big brother?" I ask.
"I don't know," he says fumbling with his papers. I help him straighten them out to see that his percentage is a little bit lower than Eric's.
"It's okay," I tell him. "The test doesn't necessarily mean as much as you might think," I try to explain.
"Oh yeah?" he questions. "What'd you get?" He snatches the papers out of my hands and looks at my results. "It doesn't matter, huh?" he questions tossing my paperwork down. I tidy them up and see that Tris is hiding hers from him as well.
"I really don't think it matters that much," Tris says soothingly. "Your sister is right," she tells him comfortingly.
"What'd you get then?" he questions.
Tris grudgingly sets her papers down for him to see the results. My brother purses his lips again, now irritated with his girlfriend. 'I'm sorry,' I mouth to her. She frowns and nods. This is going to be a problem.
Matthew approaches the podium a bit nervously. He connects his computer to the system in the auditorium. He shows us several slides as he discusses the differences in pure and damaged genes in more detail. He talks about some of the behavioral patterns, referring to strengths and weaknesses of different traits, hence the factions and the reasons behind their beginnings. He tries to explain that having not quite pure genes is not a detriment, that each person does have control over their own choices in life, that they can lead good, full lives.
My brother yawns beside me and I elbow him as he starts to fall asleep. I look over the audience to see the Erudite and some others—including Tris and my husband—listening intently while the rest of the room is clearly not following.
Matthew concludes and David approaches again. "Thank you Matthew," David says. "He's much better at relaying some of the technical breakdowns than I am. Although, we do have differing opinions on some things," he adds. "At this point in time, I'd like to ask the room if you have any questions about what we've explained or anything else."
Several people raise their hands. David answers them quite easily. Caleb asks a question I wasn't exactly expecting from him, "Eric mentioned yesterday about maps. I'm wondering about the size of this world and if we could view it," he says.
David looks to Matthew. My good friend appears to be cueing up something on his phone. He connects with the screen and shows an image of the city before joining David at the podium.
"This is an arial view of Chicago, your city," David explains. Matthew backs the image out. "Now this is the surrounding area, including the airport in red."
"What's that black section?" a man from Abnegation asks.
"That's the Fringe," David responds. "That area is similar to your Factionless sections. There are several places like that throughout the country."
The man nods slowly in understanding—that area being larger in size than the entirety of Chicago. Matthew backs the image out again, showing the state. "Now this is Illinois, the state we live in along with the surrounding states. That little black dot is Chicago," David explains and everyone gasps. David looks surprised at everyone's reaction. "Should I continue?" he asks confused. That's about the size of the map shown earlier of the Midwest. I guess they all hadn't realized what they were looking at.
"Yes, please," Caleb says after clearing his throat.
Matthew then shows a map of the country and everyone gasps again. "There's one more. If you feel overwhelmed, perhaps you can step out or look away if it's too much," he says understandingly.
A few people from Amity, Abnegation, and Candor step away and out of the doors. I guess this is too much for them, too fast. David nods when the doors are closed. Matthew switches to an image of the planet. "We live on the planet Earth. There are numerous land masses, oceans, and lakes. They all vary across the globe with different countries, languages, and culture. The climate is also different in one area compared to another. The north and south poles are freezing cold while the middle—the equator—is quite hot," he explains.
I glance at the room to see even those who stayed appear a bit overwhelmed, including my brother. I reach out and hold his hand, realizing that Tris is holding the other.
"This would probably be a good time to break for lunch," David suggests. "In the paperwork you've been given, there is an itinerary of events for the remainder of your time here. You may choose what you would like to attend in the afternoons but we all will meet every morning to talk about issues within the city—past and present. As long as there is one person from each faction at every workshop, there is no need for everyone to attend all of them. Sunday will be a free day since we have some present who wish to attend Sunday church services. I'd hate to cross their God," David chuckles. A few others in the room laugh as well.
We're excused and I grab Tobias's paperwork that he left on the table before running out of the door after him. "Toby," I whisper.
"What?" he says irritatedly. He stops and looks to me in question, folding his arms over his chest.
"You forgot this," I tell him sadly. I don't know why he's being so cranky about everything.
"Does it matter? I thought you said it's not that important," he says turning back around and heading for the dining hall.
"It has your medical information on it, like your checkup. They did blood work on you, too," I point out following him inside to the line. I continue to read everything they found out when I stop at some alarming side notes. "Toby, this doesn't look good."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he questions loading up his tray with sweets.
"It means your sugar levels are high. Do you want to end up being diabetic?" I ask putting some sweets back with the tongs provided.
He looks at me in question. "It says here that you should cut back on your sugar intake. It's going to make you sick," I tell him.
He sighs, "Fine." He drops the tray and grabs a healthier selection. I smile and kiss his cheek before grabbing the same. We sit at the table with Max and Lydia. Eric and Tris join us after a minute, sitting on either side of us. "What were you two doing?" I ask as he puts his phone in his pocket.
"I was showing her some of those three dimensional maps," he explains.
"Oh, well you both have an aptitude for Erudite," I say nodding.
"How about you?" he says gesturing to my brother.
"Um, he's still a little mad about his percentage. I also discovered his sugar levels are really high," I whisper.
"That doesn't surprise me. At least he's eating better for this meal," Eric says.
"I'll have to keep an eye on him," I tell myself.
"Me, too," Eric agrees. I grin that he'll continue to help me with this.
Ryan and Mia join our table.  "So what percentage did everybody get?" Mia asks.  Ryan coughs, choking on his food.  She pats his back and when it's cleared, she looks to everyone expectantly. 
Max shrugs and says, "Fifty-two."
"Sixty-four," Lydia says next. 
"Seventy-one," Mia tells us waiting for her husband to finally speak.  She raises her eyebrows at him expectantly. 
"Seventy-six," Ryan mumbles before taking another bite. 
"You got higher than me?" she questions jealously. 
He just shrugs in response.  She looks irritated.  "What about you four?" she inquires gesturing to us. 
My brother clears his throat, "Ninety-three."
"What?  Oh my goodness.  That's ridiculously high.  How did you get that high?" Mia pushes. 
My brother just smirks proudly, finally content in his number.  She blinks a few times before looking to the three remaining people at the table.
"Ninety-nine and nine tenths," Eric shrugs. 
"Are you serious?" Ryan questions eagerly, sitting up in his chair.  Eric holds his paperwork up and shows the large number beside his name. 
"I thought you didn't have your test done yesterday," Max questions. 
"We had it done on our honeymoon," I explain. 
"Romantic," Ryan mocks. 
"So are you two going to spill it already or what?" Mia asks practically jumping out of her seat. 
Tris and I look at each other and lift our papers for them to see the one hundred percent on each. 
"You three were who David was talking about?" Lydia asks. I shrug but nod. 
"And you're a close Four," Ryan says chuckling.  I can't help but laugh at the silly pun. 
We decide what we're all attending for the day since there are a couple places to go. Eric and I probably already know most of the information presented today or we can look it up on our phones. Besides, the others will talk to us about what they learned later on.
Mia oddly decides to join Eric and me.  We're going to listen to more information about the planet and solar system.  I know Eric is really interested in space so I chose this one.  Ryan and Eric talk behind us as we walk to the auditorium. 
"So you got one hundred percent, huh?" she asks. 
"Yeah," I respond.  I guess I don't think it's as important as the rest of them. 
"So, I heard that David friend of yours talking to someone else—a board member I think," she says. 
"Oh?" I question.  Since when did she become such an eavesdropper?  I know she's former Candor but I didn't think she was that nosy. 
"He was saying that the only reason we're all here is because of the hundred percent and the other closer rating," she says.
"Oh, I hadn't realized," I say quietly.
"He also said the second hundred was a shock but when they found out it was from a second generation, they weren't as surprised?" she says it like a question. 
"Tris's mom is from the outside.  We're the first generation, she's the second I guess in this instance since we're all original descendants," I try to explain, or at least make my best assumption. 
"That makes sense," she nods. 
"So... is this what you were trying to tell me before?  About how you received every faction for your test," she asks. 
I remember how she struggled with the pills she took before and how her emotions were everywhere.  I tried to explain that I received Candor for my test but then revealed that I actually got all of them.  "Yeah, I guess," I say.  I assume that they correlate in a way.  "So how have you been feeling lately, you know, with your pills?"
"Oh, I've been getting the shot," she says biting her lip. 
"Really?" I question.  I find that surprising. 
"Ryan has to go with me and hold me down," she explains.  "It's actually not so bad when he's there.  He holds me on his lap and Pam gave me the shot when I wasn't looking.  I'm feeling much better actually."
"I was thinking of going to the infirmary while we're here.  I thought I might have them look into my allergies.  Eric and Max want to do some new training next year with a serum.  I'm curious as to what my reaction would be or if they have something better for me than what we've been doing," I say.  "You could come, too, if you want to ask about the pills you took before."
"Maybe," she nods. 
We enter the venue to see it's like a small movie theater.  "Oh wow, it's like pictures I've seen of movie theatres," Mia says in awe.  I smile and pull her to the middle.  Eric and Ryan sit on either sides of us.  "Wouldn't it be great if movies still existed?" she says turning to me.
I give her a knowing smirk.  "Oh my goodness.  They do exist, don't they?" she questions excitedly bouncing in her seat.  She's almost as ecstatic as when I told her Eric proposed. 
"Maybe we could have a movie night at our place," Eric comments.  Mia claps, bouncing in her seat and reaches over to hug my husband.  We both laugh at her silliness. 
I notice Alan, Matthew's supervisor, walk to the front of the room.  I wave to him and he smiles.  He introduces that we'll be watching two short films, one on the world, the other on space.  It begins to play and it's absolutely beautiful.  I'd love to travel and see more of this planet someday.  The next one plays and it's just as breathtaking, but in a different way.  There are pictures of the Moon and Mars.  Others are taken by satellite.  I'm just blown away by how breathtaking all of creation is.  The fact that they haven't discovered life on other planets is just surprising.  It makes me feel small but special, minuscule but important.