Flower Child

Chapter Thirty Five

The world unfolds around me, the landscape room. I look at it through blurry tears that I try to force back. The room itself isn't cold but it's like the blood in my veins has turned to ice and I can't stop shivering.
I made it, I'm done, it's over. It was the worst experience of my life, but I survived.
The door opens and Tobias walks through it, Eric, Max, and a few other people follow. They stand before me in a small crowd and Tobias smiles warmly at me.
"Congratulations, Mor," Eric says with a smile, "you have competed you final evaluation."
I give them the weakest smile I've ever given, it's all I can achieve after what I just went through.
"Thank you," I say, my voice stronger than I thought it would be.
"Now, before you go and get ready for the welcoming banquet, there's one more thing you have to do," Eric says.
He beckons over his shoulder and a girl with blue hair steps forward with a black box in her hands. Eric takes the box from her hands and opens it, pulling out a syringe.
My body tenses up at the sight of it. A brown-orange liquid is inside it, it looks remarkably similar to the sim serum, which I'm supposed to be done with.
"This is a tracking device that will only ever be activated if you go missing," Eric explains, "Just a precautionary measure."
"How often do people go missing?" I ask.
Eric smiles like I've said something he likes, "Not often, this is new, curtesy of Erudite, to help us be prepared, just in case."
   Erudite. My heart jumps and I have to fight to keep my eyes from finding Tobias. Whatever this is, it isn't good and I don't want that needle anywhere near me, but I can't refuse. I can't refuse because I'll end up in chasm if they think I'm not loyal.
"Okay," I breathe out.
Eric smiles and walks over to me with syringe in his hand. I tilt my head to the side and pull my hair back so my neck is exposed to him. I train my eyes on the wall as Eric cleans the skin with an antiseptic wipe and plunges the needle into my neck. It sends an familiar ache through my throat, but I don't wince.
Eric pulls the needle out and places the syringe back in the box. He places a bandage on the wound, his fingers trailing over my skin.
I don't look at him until his hand is off me, and, when I do, I am met by his eyes, lit with pride and hunger. I want to back away from him, put any space between us that I can, but I don't.
"The banquet is in two hours. Your rankings will be announced then," he says, then adds with a quieter voice, "good luck, Mor."
He leads the crowd out of the room and I let out a breathe that makes my tense muscles unclench.
   Tobias lingers by the door and when our eyes meet he motions for me to follow him. I do. The glass room is still packed full of people, but it's gone down since we got up here. They climb around on different obstacles, they talk and laugh in large groups.
Tobias smiles at me, his eyes saying all the things I need to hear.
"So, I heard a rumor that you only had three fears," he says with a smirk, "guess you beat my record."
I shrug, "it wasn't that hard."
It was, we both know that, but it feels good to joke about it.
"You weren't watching the sim?" I ask.
He shakes his head, "Only on the screens, Dauntless leaders are the only ones that get to watch the sim, they seemed impressed."
I chuckle, "I mean, who wouldn't be impressed by me?"
He laughs, "I don't know, Mor. I think there's a very good chance that you'll be ranked first."
We walk through the door and out into the open glass room. It only takes a moment before people see me, before cheers ring out and people clap my shoulder. The smile that had been so hard to find earlier comes out against my will. These people, so strange and crazy, they would seem so alien to my friends and family in Amity, but to me, they are familiar and comforting.
Tobias and I descend into the pit, it's not as crowded down here, but there are enough people to make it warm.
"I have a question," I say, suddenly stopping, "Did they tell you anything about my landscape?"
He stops, "No, not really. Why?"
I glance around me, "No reason."
The look he gives me is one that says he doesn't believe a word I'm saying but I don't say anything.
When he realizes that I'm not going to budge he sighs, "do you want to go to my place and wait there for the banquet? Or do you want to go back to the dorms?"
I look into his eyes, trying to force my mind away from the sim version of them that had held me captive, "Yeah, let's go."