Chapter 20

Riley's eyes fluttered open. The sun shining from the open window blinded her. Blinking a few times, she stretched her arms. Slowly, her eyes started to unblur, and she noticed the bed she was in. In an instant, Riley sat up, her heart racing when she noticed this wasn't her room. It was Eric's. The memories from the previous night began to play in her mind, and she glanced beside her. It was empty. Eric was nowhere to be found. There was no way to figure out the time. Eric didn't have a clock. 

Pulling the sheet over her partly exposed body, she searched for her clothes. They weren't anywhere to be found. But on the small table next to the bed were her pants and a shirt that were folded neatly. The shirt was undoubtedly one of his, and that made her smile. Next to them was a red apple, and that only made her smile bigger.

Slipping out from his bed, she quickly dressed herself. If she stayed here too long, people would question where she was. Her eyes found the bandage on her abdomen and winced as she touched it. Al had been one of the three who attacked her. He was her friend. Someone Riley trusted, and he had attempted to kill her.

Trying to push away the thoughts, she opened the door. Riley made sure there was no one around as she slipped out. Luckily the halls on this floor remained empty for most of the day. She tried to hurry back towards the rooms but froze as a familiar face stepped around the corner. It was Al. He had tear stains down his cheeks. But when his eyes found hers, there was a spark of hope. "Riley."

Riley began to back away, her heart racing with fear. "Stay away from me."

"I'm sorry," he continued getting closer. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me," she shouted. "You almost killed me." Al moved closer, "I said get back." The moment he stopped, she took the opportunity to run down a separate hallway. Al had a lot of audacity talking to her after he tried to murder her. And Tris. The one masked assailant said they had killed her. Could that be true? Riley had to find out and sprinted the rest of the way towards the rooms. "Tris?" There were only a few people left in the room. "Tris?"

"Riley," Christina waved her hand. "Where have you been?"

Riley glanced in her direction and noticed Tris sitting in the corner with Will. Relief filled her instantly, and she rushed over to them. "Tris." Riley observed the cut on her face and a bruise. "What happened?"

"Al attacked her," Christina explained. "Wait, what happened to you? Why is your face bruised."

"He attacked you?" It clicked in her mind. Last night they said Four had shown up, and they promised Al a Stiff. They must have attacked Tris first. That's what the fighting was. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," but Tris was far from okay. "I am now."

She sat down across from Tris and next to Will. "Seriously, Riley. What happened to you?"

Riley bit her lip, not wanting to get into the story. If she did, she would have to explain how she got out of it, and that would explain where she had been. "Some guys ran past me last night in masks and shoved me down the stairs as they ran."

"It must have been Al," Will gazed at them. "Right after-" his voice trailed off.

"I can't believe Al would do that," Christina sighed. "That isn't like him."

"Hey," someone from the hallway screamed. "Over here!"

Riley turned to see what was going on and noticed a few people running out of the room. "What's going on?"

The group of four stood up and followed the crowd towards the commotion. The voices grew louder and louder as they made it to the clearing. Riley's eyes caught sight of someone being pulled up from the water. They were clearly dead. "I guess he jumped."

They set the body down, and Riley gasped. It was Al. He was dead. He had jumped. Tris took a step forward, her eyes glazing over. Riley felt the same guilt inside of her but hadn't spoken to anyone about it. She looked up at the bridge and noticed Eric talking to one of the other leaders. He had yet to see her, and that was a good thing.

Tris moved away from the crowd, and that was probably for the better. Riley wiped the few tears and turned to Christina. "It's Al," she whispered.

"I know," Riley muttered.

"I need to sit down."

Will put an arm around her, "I got you." Riley watched them walk back towards the room, but she couldn't sit down. She had to get as far away from there as possible.

A part of her wanted to go back to Eric's room. Back to the comfort of his large warm bed. She wanted to go back to last night, and the memories replayed in her mind—the feeling of his hands on her body. The soft touches and whimpers that filled the air. The way his body moved against hers, and the feeling of his lips on her skin.

"Riley." The sound of her name caused her to freeze. "Hey," Tobias ran towards her. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Nothing," Riley brushed off his concern. "I'm fine."

Tobias gave her a pointed look, not believing her words for a second. But there wasn't time to argue. "I have an idea," he began. "I need you to wait in the fear landscape room. Okay?"

She tilted her head to the side, "why?"

"Just," he looked at something behind her. "Just wait there for me."

"Okay," Riley nodded. "I'll wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The wait was not long, roughly ten minutes. She had no idea what she was waiting for but never questioned Tobias. As he walked down the hallways, Riley stood up straighter. Behind her brother was Tris, who seemed surprised to see her. "Four?"

The two stepped into the room, and he pulled out a metal tray. "Shut the door." Tris, who was confused, closed the door. "You're going to practice." Riley glanced at Tris, starting to figure out what was going on.

"What do you mean?"

Tris looked at Riley, "in our fear landscape?"

"No," Tobias sighed. "In mine." He slipped off his jacket and turned on the monitor. "We will all go in together."

"Tobias," the name slipped out before she could catch herself. "Is this a good idea?"

He smirked at her, and she moved closer to speak with him. Nobody knew of their blood connection, and this could expose them to Tris. "When have I ever steered you wrong?"

There were many times Tobias had been wrong, but now was not the time to name them. "Have you guys done this before?"

"No," Riley glanced at her friend.

"I haven't." Tobias pulled out the needles and the serum.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Tris tried to hide her discomfort. "I don't know. You haven't told me anything about you, and now you want me to look inside your head?"

Riley didn't know how close the two were, but it seemed as if they knew each other very well. "Are you afraid of that?"

"Aren't you?"

Tobias glanced at Riley and smiled slightly. "No." He put the needle in his neck. "Rye." It was her turn, and he slowly put the needle in her neck. After he finished, he did the same to Tris. "Take a seat." Tris moved first and sat down on the chair. There were two others, and Riley sat closest to her. Riley started growing nervous as Tobias placed the bands on her head. Once everyone had theirs on, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them next, everything was different. The sun was out. When Riley looked to her side, she noticed they were hundreds of feet in the air. "Fear of heights."

Tobias looked up and locked eyes with Riley, who had a smile on her face. He glared at her and nervously pushed up on the ledge. "You're still afraid of heights?"

"Shut up," he muttered under his breath.

Riley stood up and studied the area. It was an illusion, and they could easily jump off. "This isn't real. We can jump."

"No," he stopped Tris. "Divergent would jump. Dauntless would get to that building." His thinking was brilliant, and it was clear how he made it past his initiation year. "To pass, you need to avoid discovery. You have to do everything a Dauntless would do." The three began walking down the small metal ledge. "You need to find some tool to survive."

Riley was behind Tris and used her arms to keep her balance. Tobias was in a rush to get off, and she understood why. He was afraid. They got to the building and crawled through a window.

The next room was a small metal box, and once Riley got inside, it sealed. Tobias crawled past her and attempted to push it back open. He struggled, but nothing changed. "Fear of confinement." Riley tried to help push it open, but it wasn't budging. "You have to find a way of stopping it. What would a Dauntless do?"

The wall behind her shifted, and slowly the room got smaller. If this were real, they would be smashed. But it wasn't. However, it had to seem real for them to pass. Tris moved first and grabbed a few nails. "Smart," Riley mumbled and grabbed a few more. 

They attempted to shove them under the wall. "Take your time. I'm enjoying myself in this shrinking box." The space in the box was slim now, and she felt uncomfortable.

Tris shoved another nail in, and the box stopped moving. Riley looked up again and noticed that, like last time, the room was different. They were in a larger room, with a table and a woman tied to a chair. Tobias, who had done this before, shuffled towards the table. "As a Dauntless soldier, you have to follow orders you don't always agree with."

Riley crossed her arms and watched her brother closely. "Who is she?"

"She's innocent, but I have to kill her." As she glanced back at the person, she realized it was now Tris. Or a clone of her. "But I can never do it unless I look away."

He closed his eyes and turned his head. She flinched as the gunshot echoed and spun away from Tris's dead body. Riley didn't want the sight of her dead friend in her mind. When Tobias walked towards them, the familiar walls made Riley's stomach twist. She knew where they were. They were back home. "Why are we in Abnegation?"

"Your last fear is your worst fear." Tobias led them through their childhood home. "It lives in the deepest part of your mind."

Riley stepped back and into Tris at the sight of her father marching down the stairs with a belt. Tris knew that Riley was Marcus's daughter, but now, she started to figure the rest out. How they knew each other without ever speaking. "Marcus also had a son."

"Tobias," Marcus spoke. This was Tobias's worst fear, but it was an illusion. That's why their father didn't pay attention to Riley. This wasn't her fear landscape. "Tobias." Tobias looked around at the many versions of their father. It was clear he was terrified of him. "Tobias, I was trying to help you get better."

He moved his arm back to punch him, but Tris got in the way. "No." Marcus grabbed Tris and threw her back. Riley couldn't move. This version of her father seemed so real. Tobias reacted quickly and punched Marcus in the face.

Riley gasped and sat up in her chair. "Rye." Tobias placed a hand on her back. She brushed him off and took the headpiece off her head. The fear landscapes were tomorrow, and her fear landscape would most certainly have her father.

"You're siblings," Tris almost seemed relieved. "Why didn't you tell me?"

It wasn't clear who the question was directed at. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she stood up. "Thank you, Tobias." He followed her to the door. His eyes were full of concern. "I think I need to sleep. Please."

"Of course," he nodded at her. "Get some rest. I'll look for you tomorrow." Riley sighed and glanced at Tris. She showed no signs of leaving, and Riley knew she didn't want to know what was happening between the two. Without anything said further, she walked away.