Chapter 48

Riley slept that night, which amazed her. She hadn't been expecting to sleep. She's the last one awake. Christina and Uriah were close by. They hadn't left for the day, but the others had.

When Riley decides to join the others in the compound, she is met by Tris. "Hey," the short-haired girl greets her. "I've been looking for you."

"Hey," Riley smiles. "You found me."

Tris doesn't waste a second. "Four and I are doing a genetic test. They're interested in you as well."

Riley crosses her arms. "Genetic test?"

"For research," she explained. "They want to see your genes compared to your brothers. I guess he's some sort of anomaly, but they want to see how your genes look compared to his because they believe you display true Divergent qualities, and he does not."

For some reason, that makes Riley uncomfortable. "No." Tris is surprised by her answer. "I'm not interested in any more experiments or being used in someone's research."

Tris blinks a few times. "Okay." She doesn't push the subject further, and Riley is thankful for that. She turns and walks away from Tris. The compound is still a new place for her, and she plans to explore it all.

Riley fails to see Eric, who had been observing her from afar. He didn't have a place at the Bureau. That was something he came to terms with. He also knew that if anything happened to Evelyn and someone of a more sound mind took over, he wouldn't have a place to go back to in Chicago. The most likely scenario, he would be imprisoned again. Right now, he was free. Eric had to enjoy that while he could.

"Eric," a voice said. The broad man turned around. He was surprised to see Four walking towards him. "I need your help."

Eric is shocked but hides it easily. "With?"

Four shifts uncomfortably. The last thing he wants to do is ask Eric for help, but he can't do everything on his own. "Riley." Four notices how Eric's body stiffens, as if he is ready to kill whoever he needs. For some reason, that comforts him. He's no longer worried about anything happening to his sister because of Eric. "Our father's trial is this morning. I need you to make sure she doesn't find out about it."

"Why?" Eric doesn't understand.

"It doesn't matter," Four snaps. "Can you do it?"

Eric nods, "sure."

"Great." And just like that, Four is walking away. Eric rubs a hand over his chin. The last thing he wants to do is take orders from Four, but he needs to earn his trust. They would never become friends, but they needed trust.

Riley walks down a flight of stairs but is nearly knocked off her feet as Uriah and Christina speed towards her. They collide into her, but none fall. "Riley," Christina all but screams. "You'll never guess what we are doing."

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Her two friends surprised her. "What?"

"We're flying," Uriah speaks with excitement in his tone. "They're letting us fly!"

Air travel, Riley remembers. The idea excites her as well. It sounded impossible, but the Bureau could do it. "Really?!" Since she was a child, the red-haired girl had loved heights. They made her feel alive. "When?"

"Two hours," Christina says. "We are meeting at gate B17." B17. Riley had to remember that. "It's exciting, right? I love this place."

Riley disagreed about loving the Bureau. It still didn't seem real. It was almost too good to be true. "Hey," a voice calls. "What are you guys talking about?" It's Peter.

"Nothing," Christina lies.

"Really? Because it sounds like you're making air travel plans." Walking down the corridor is Eric. Riley sees him first, and a smile appears on her face. She feels like a Dauntless initiate all over again. Peter follows her gaze and smirks. "Hey, Eric." That catches the man's attention. "Our friends over here were about to ditch us and experience air travel."

Riley groans, "are you five years old?"

"No," Peter responds. "I'm just being compassionate."

Christina snorts. "I'm pretty sure that's an emotion you can't feel."

"No, that's Eric." His words don't phase Eric. If anything, he's annoyed at being dragged into a conversation. "Gate B17, right?"

"Right." Riley knows there isn't any point in arguing. "Two hours." She holds up two fingers. "Leaving with or without you."

"We'll be there, right, Eric?" Peter pats his shoulder. They all know Peter's trying to get a reaction out of him. "Unless you're scared."

"Get your hand," Eric looks at him, "off of me. Now." Peter pulls his hand away.

Riley chuckles at his reaction. "See you in two hours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours went by faster than she expected. In that time, she took a shower and styled her hair in a long braid. It was a common style she saw here at the Bureau. It took a few tries, but she managed to do it. Riley liked how it made her look. She felt confident, even brave. It was silly that something as meaningless as a hairstyle could do that.

She arrives at gate B17 with Christina. Since arriving at the Bureau, she felt as if she was getting her friend back. After losing Will, there was a rift between them. That was entirely gone now.

To her surprise, everyone was there, besides Tobias. He was the only person missing. That seemed to be how things worked now. She hadn't spoken to him since the previous day when they arrived. It was as if he was keeping his distance.

They all board the aircraft in silence. Riley's amazed by everything she sees. Soon, she will experience air travel. The idea is crazy to her, but she's thrilled. Christina is jumping up and down the entire time. The girl can't contain her excitement.

They get on the plane. The object that will take them into the sky. It's bigger than she expected. Riley doesn't understand how something that big can stay in the sky. The others seem to think the same thing. They're all trying to understand how the process works.

Riley's eyes find Eric. Against her better judgment, she walks towards him. He is sitting in the second to last row, a rigid look on his face. "Hey," she smiles at him. "Can I sit?" All he does is nod. Riley slips past him and takes the spot beside him. Peter and Caleb sit a row behind him. Uriah is near the front with Christina, and Tris is somewhere in the middle.

"My name is Karen," a voice says. "And I am going to be your pilot. I know this can be scary, but the odds of crashing are significantly lower than a car accident."

"What are the odds of survival," Uriah asks.

There is no response. Riley looks out the window. The plane moves backward slowly. It's smooth, which surprise's her. "Buckle your seatbelts," Zoe says. "You can't get up until we are at cruising altitude."

"Prepare for take-off." The plane turns, and suddenly they're moving fast. There's a great amount of pressure, but she's thrilled. Riley's hand is on the armrest. 

A warm hand rests on hers, clutching tightly. It's almost painful. The plane pushes off the ground, and suddenly she's flying. The world below them gets smaller and smaller. Riley can't breathe, but in a good way. This is the most amazing thing she has ever done.

She glances to her left and is surprised to see that Eric doesn't have the same reaction. His face is pale, and his lips are parted. He's scared. His hand is clutching hers tightly as if he was grounding himself.

The plane goes higher and higher before the roads and the world below vanishes. It's truly an amazing feeling. Eric's eyelids are tightly pressed together. "Eric," her voice is light and airy. He doesn't hear her. "Eric."

"We are now at our cruising altitude at 32,500 feet in the air."

Eric grips her hand tighter at the woman's words. "Hey, are you okay?" His eyes are closed as the plane shifts in the air. His grip becomes even tighter. "Are you scared?" Riley looks around to make sure the others aren't listening, but a few are watching. Eric's silence gives her the answer. "It's okay," she finds herself saying. "Is it the confined space?" Tobias has a fear of that.

"No," Eric says. "We are in a metal coffin thousands of feet in the air."

Riley stares at him. "So, the fear of dying?"

"The fear of falling to my fucking death."

She thinks for a minute. "Wait, you're afraid of heights?" He glares at her. "But all those times-" her voice trails off. "All those times you were scared?"

"Stop-"

"Why did you go onto the ledge if you were scared?" Why would he follow her to places like that if he was scared of heights?

Eric doesn't think about his answer. "Because you were there."

The plane turns again and he slams his head back against the chair. His lips are pulled into a thin line. Riley flipped over her hand, intertwining their fingers. Eric's eyes are shut, his breathing heavy. She once thought Eric wasn't scared of anything. It turns out he was. He had been scared of heights the entire time but never once showed it. It was also clear he was scared of dying. "What else are you afraid of?"

"Don't push it."

She laughs at his words. Eric smiles slightly but doesn't calm down. Riley looks forward, her eyes locking with Christina. The girl winks at her before turning around. The action is so simple, but it comforts her. Their friendship was established on choosing day and has grown since. Riley could always count on Christina to make her feel normal.