Chapter 16

Riley opened the door and felt her body hit a wooden wall. She tried to move back, but her body couldn't go anywhere. She struggled to raise her hands and push on the wood in front of her. It took her only moments to figure out that she was in a small wooden container, a coffin. "Hey," Riley slammed her hands on the wood. Distant voices and dirt were being thrown on top. "Hello?" The screaming was pointless. Riley took a deep breath and began banging her hands against the wood to try and break it open. After a moment, her entire body froze, and Riley let her hands rest on the wood. "This is a hallucination."

Her hands pushed on the wood like a door. And without any issues, it opened. Riley took a step out, still lying down. Walking out of the box, her legs crumbled, and she fell onto a metal object. Letting her hands rest against the cold metal, she looked around the room. Riley was on a metal table, and on the floor were hundreds of snakes. Taking a look around, Riley momentarily let the fear take over. But the reminder that this wasn't real set in once again. Swinging her legs over the table, she jumped to the floor. Walking straight past them was a struggle, but Riley knew they couldn't actually hurt her. Grabbing the door handle, she pushed it open.

Riley gasped as she sat up in the chair. Four glanced at her, an unimpressed look on his face. "How did you do that?"

"What," she looked at her older brother. "How did I do what?"

Four moved closer, "how did you get out of the coffin?"

Riley blinked once, not sure how to answer. "It just opened."

"Opened?" Four crossed his arms over his chest. "And how did you get around the snakes?"

"I just walked around them."

Four clearly didn't believe her. "What were your test results?"

"You asked me this the other day-"

"Well, I'm asking you again." The tone in his voice scared her, and she leaned away from him. At the motion, his face softened. "What were your test results?"

"Abnegation," Riley was torn. She wanted to tell him but was too scared to say the words.

"Riley," Four reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'm your brother." Riley looked at their hands and watched as he squeezed her palm in reassurance. "You can tell me." He was searching her face for any change in her expression. "What were your test results?"

"Abnegation." Four sighed, believing that Riley wasn't going to say more. But a moment of weakness caused her to continued. "And Dauntless and Amity."

Four didn't let go of her hand, taking in the information slowly. "Divergent." It wasn't a question.

"You can't tell anyone, Tobias. They're looking for me and-"

"Hey, hey," Four tried to calm her down. "It's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone." That didn't calm her fears. "I promise, okay?" She nodded, taking a shaky breath. "You can not tell anyone about this. Do you understand?"

"I know," Riley had already been told that. "I wanted to tell you the other day, but I was so scared."

"I know," Four said. "It's okay."

There was a moment of silence, and Riley could see the concern on his face. Four had managed to figure out she was Divergent quickly. That meant the others would also. "They're going to kill me, aren't they?"

Four's eyes snapped up to hers. He hesitated, which wasn't a good sign. "I will not let that happen." But he couldn't guarantee that, and they both knew it. "Don't worry. I'm going to figure something out." Riley couldn't find it in her to respond. "Go back out with the others. I'll find you at some point, okay?"

"Okay." Riley moved out of the chair and rubbed her sweaty hands on her pants. With one last look at her brother, she slipped out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Riley hadn't been this scared since living with her father. Divergent was a word she still didn't understand but knew it wasn't good. They believed she was dangerous, and Four only confirmed that. They would kill her if they found out.

Her fears were keeping her awake. Sleep was hard to find when her mind wouldn't shut off. Riley liked to walk. It was one of her favorite activities. It helped tire her out and allowed her to think. But Dauntless could be a little intimidating at night, and anyone else awake at this hour would stare. Tonight, the stares caused her to become fearful. As if they knew she was Divergent. Of course, the rational part of her knew that was ridiculous. But she still worried.

The darkness was something Riley had always feared, but the lights from the building and others around it allowed her to see. She enjoyed the views from Dauntless. They were much better than Abnegation.

Being outside and feeling the cool air against her skin was refreshing. There was no one around on the abandoned balcony, and Riley enjoyed being alone. She walked along the thin metal beam that remained. As a child, she used to balance on the roof of her house. It terrified her brother. He was convinced she would fall, but Riley never did. Balance was a gift she was born with. "Since I know you're not going to jump. I'm starting to wonder if you have a death wish." The voice was all too familiar.

Riley glanced over her shoulder to see Eric standing in the doorway. At this point, she knew the only person to find her would be him. Eric always seems to find her at night. It was as if he was searching for her. But that was unlikely. "Not a death wish," Riley assured him. "I'm just getting some air."

"On a ledge a hundred feet in the air?" Eric took a single step onto the platform.

"I'm not going to fall. I promise you that."

But what would it matter to him if she fell? Eric didn't care for the initiates. "I don't really care," but his voice told a different story. "Do you mind getting down while I speak to you?"

Riley sighed, "sure." As she went to step down, a childish thought appeared in her head. When Tobias used to ask her to come down, she would pretend to start falling. It drove him crazy. As she went to take a step down, Riley acted as if she was losing her balance. In an instant, Eric darted forward to reach for her. "Oh." Riley laughed as she straightened herself out. "What was that about not caring?"

Eric glared at her, realizing it was a joke. "Hilarious," he took a step back. "Now get down."

"Alright." Riley was still laughing as she jumped from the beam and onto the safety of the platform. "Sorry, I used to do that to my brother all the time. I couldn't help myself." 

The hard expression Eric had started to dissolve at the gentleness in her voice. "I'm sure he loved that," he muttered under his breath.

"He didn't," Riley glanced over the edge. "He's scared of heights." Tobias always hated heights. At least, she remembered him hating them. But that was a long time ago.

"And you're not?"

Riley didn't know why Eric was still talking to her, but she didn't care. Talking to him was nice. It was different than talking with her friends. "No. I don't mind heights." There was something peaceful about it.

Eric kept his distance from the edge. "I've never been a fan."

That caught her interest, "really? You're scared of heights?"

"Not scared," Eric corrected her. "Just not a fan. There's a difference."

Riley sighed and ran a hand through her frizzy hair. "Your fear landscapes must have been easy. You're not scared of anything."

Eric stayed silent for a moment as if he was debating on responding. Riley would understand if he didn't. "Everyone's afraid of something."

She wanted to change the topic. "How did you find me anyway?" A few weeks ago, Riley never would have asked him this question. She was too afraid of him, but now, things were different.

Eric coughed as he rubbed his jaw. "I was leaving a meeting down the hall. As I was passing, I caught sight of some red hair through the broken windows."

The response didn't make a lot of sense. It was the middle of the night. Riley wanted to ask who held meetings this late but knew that would be a bad idea. "Guess I gave myself away."

Eric chuckled, and Riley gaped at him in surprise. She had never heard him laugh before and didn't think he could. "Come on, initiate. You should get back before people notice you're missing."

Eric placed a hand on her back and began guiding her inside. To her surprise, he didn't drop his hand. He left it on the small of her back. "I don't think anyone would notice if I were missing."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

Riley bit her bottom life, forcing herself not to smile. Tobias had warned her that Eric was not a friend, and if he knew she was Divergent, he would turn her in. She had to remind herself of that, and that was becoming hard.