Chapter 56

There's a silence as Romit drives them towards the city. Riley tries to fight the nerves building inside her. By now, the pain medication had faded from her system. Her entire body ached in the most painful way imaginable. But at the same time. Her body survived a trauma. She was proud of herself. There may be long-term issues, but Riley was alive. That had to count for something.

Riley sits between Peter and Christina. She noticed Peter's odd behavior at the compound, but it's stranger now. He's rarely silent. She finds herself missing his voice. "No jokes from you, Peter?" Her voice is faint. "Starting to miss your crude comments."

Peter glanced at her. There's a trace of a smile, but it doesn't last long. "Give me a minute. It's hard to be clever on the spot."

She chuckles. They approach the city slowly. Riley feels her heart start to race in her chest. Tobias planned on wiping one of their parent's memories. She said it didn't bother her, but that was a lie.

It's snowing. A few flakes are falling from the sky. She had never been a fan of the cold. "I still can't believe we are going back," Peter mumbles. Riley couldn't believe it either, but she had missed the city. It felt more like home to her than the Bureau. Although, it still didn't really feel like home.

The vehicle is colder than Riley would like, but she seems to be the only person bothered by this. Romit leans over as he talks to Tobias, but she isn't listening. Riley's stuck inside her head. She's thankful she doesn't have to make the choice that Tobias does. Resetting one of their parents would mean that the person they were before would be gone.

They enter the city at a much faster speed. It feels weird to be back here. Riley stares at the buildings around her. "Romit," Christina speaks up. "I really needed to pee."

He glances back at her. "Right now?"

She crosses her arms. "Yes. Right now." Romit knows better to argue. He doesn't want to get into a discussion about the female anatomy. He pulls the truck over. "Stay here. No looking."

"I'll watch them, Chris." Christina isn't actually using the bathroom, but Romit doesn't know that. The short girl hops out of the truck and vanishes. The first part of their plan was slashing the tires. That had to split up from Romit, who didn't know about their plan. He was too dedicated to the Bureau to go against them. Still, Riley thought he was a good person.

A moment later, Christina gets back in the car. Romit starts driving again. Riley can feel a difference in the weight, but he doesn't. They sit in silence and wait. Luckily, they don't wait long. "No, no," Romit says as the back tires give out.

"I'll go look." Tobias volunteers himself for the job. He gets out quickly. Riley sits in the back of the car and waits. "Both tires are flat," he returns. "We will need to find a new truck."

"Shit," Romit yells. He's not happy about this. "There isn't time. We need to innoculate your families and friends before the serum."

"It's okay," Tobias comforts him. "I know where more vehicles are. Riley and I will go get one while you three continue on foot."

He smiles at him. "Great idea." Riley knows Tobias is lying but nods along.

"We have an hour, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good." Tobias puts a gun in his holster. "Find Uriah's family, but please don't tell them. I want to be the one to do it."

Romit smiles, "of course."

"Ready?" Tobias was speaking to Riley.

"Ready."

"I'm coming with you," Peter says.

"What?" That shocks Tobias. "Why?"

"You may need help. It is a big city."

Romit seems to agree. "Good idea." Tobias can't argue. He can't give away their plan.

From there, they split up. Riley follows Tobias into the city. He was the one choosing to erase one of their parent's memories. "I am not looking for a truck," Tobias says when they're far away. "You should know that."

Peter chuckled, "I figured. What are you doing?"

Tobias doesn't answer, but Riley wasn't expecting him to. What were they doing? She wasn't sure. This was a crappy plan formed in a 48-hour window. It was hanging on by a thread. Truthfully, Riley was surprised it hadn't failed yet.

There are Factionless walking around the area. In one direction, there is Evelyn and the death serum she collected. The other direction is Marcus and the Allegiant. "I'm preventing a revolution," he finally answers. Tobias walks towards the Factionless. He was going to see Evelyn.

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

Tobias breaks the silence first. "You didn't inoculate yourself."

"No," Peter says. "I didn't."

"Wait," that shocks her. "You didn't what?" He didn't protect himself against the memory serum. "Why?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Tobias glances at him. "I have the memory serum. You know that. If you want me to give it to you, I will need a reason."

Riley is still processing that Peter voluntarily wanted to wipe his memory. "I could just take it."

Tobias huffs. It almost seems like a laugh. "Please." Peter takes that as a challenge. He shoves Tobias onto the ground. If the situation had been different. She would have laughed, but they only had so much time. Tobias barely has time to process the blow before Peter yanks him from the ground.

"Hey!" Riley tries to break them apart. However, her weakened strength causes her to struggle.

They continue to fight. All Riley can do is watch as they fumble on the road. The ice from the snow causes their balance to falter. "You know why you always won your fights?" Peter hits him. "Because you enjoy hurting people. You're cruel." He stabbed Edward in the eye. He tried to kill Tris and then Riley. He never hesitated. He may be different now, but he was still the same Peter that sold them out in Amity. Tobias flips him over. "That doesn't make you special. I enjoy hurting people too. The difference between us is that I don't always, and you always do." Riley looks between them. Peter forces himself off the ground.

"That's why I want it," he whispers. They both stare at him. "I don't want to do bad things and like it. Not anymore. I want to stop questioning what's wrong with me."

Tobias shakes his head. "Isn't that the cowards way out?"

"I don't care."

Riley was stunned. She knew Peter was a brutal, heartless man, but there was some good in him. She had seen it. Like Eric, he could do better if he chose to. "Don't mess up the plan." Tobias begins walking away. "And I'll let you reset your memory." Peter follows after him, but Riley hesitates. She doesn't care if this is what Peter wants. She has to stop him.

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

They step into Factionless headquarters. It used to be Erudite. Riley isn't sure which one she prefers more. They needed to find Evelyn soon. There wasn't much time. The first person Riley recognizes is Edgar. "Well, well, well," he taunts. "If it isn't the Eaton siblings."

"We need to see Evelyn," Tobias says.

Edgar chuckles, "yeah. Not happening."

Tobias knows they don't have that much time. "We have a message from the people beyond the wall. She will want to hear it."

"Or you could turn us away." Riley steps closer. "But I don't think she will be pleased to learn that her most loyal servant turned away her children."

Edgar glares at her, but he knows she is right. Evelyn had wanted to find them for a while. "Come on." Edgar turns around. Riley smirks. She had always been better at reading people than her brother. 

Being back in the city doesn't feel the same. It's different than it was before. There's a war about to start. She can feel the tension in the air. They walk up three flights of stairs before venturing down a hallway. Rather than going into an office, Edgar brings them into a conference room.

Evelyn looks up when the four of them enter. She's stunned but hides it well. "Riley, Tobias," she seems relieved. "Hello."

"They have a message for you."

"You can go," Evelyn dismissed Edgar. "Thank you." He's reluctant but doesn't put up much of a fight.

Riley stares at her mother. Her auburn hair has brown/grey streaks throughout. She looks older than before and skinnier. "Will you give us a minute?" Tobias is asking Peter. The boy remains silent and walks out. It surprises both of them.

"Stay or go?"

Tobias looks at his sister. There's a fragileness to her words. Recently, her exterior had been hard. It reminded him of himself. Right now, that was gone. For the first time, Tobias sees her as his kid sister. He sees the face of the girl he helped blow up. "Stay." They were family. They needed to stick together.

Evelyn takes in Riley's appearance. The right side of her face is covered in bruises. There's a slowness in her responses and a tremble in her hands. "What happened-"

"We lied," Tobias said. "We have no message." Riley stays silent. "The people outside want to wipe everyone's memories. That we are beyond reason and need to be reset."

Evelyn crosses her arms. "Maybe they're right." Neither were expecting that. "What did you come here for?"

Tobias takes out a bottle of the memory serum. It looks small in his large hands. He steps into the white room. His dark blue clothing sticks out. "I planned to make you drink this." Evelyn would forget who she was. She wouldn't remember being their mother. Although, she wasn't much of a mother to begin with. "I thought it would stop everything. Johanna and Marcus have joined together and have a plan to attack." They wanted to start a war. "I know you have the death serum and plan to use it. Is that correct?"

"Yes," she admits. "The factions were an evil concept. They need to be destroyed."

"They're evil because there is no escaping," Riley found herself saying. "A person can not be contained in such a bubble. It isn't in our nature."

"We have no choices," Tobias adds. "No free will. That's what you are doing here. You are taking away our choices."

"Why didn't you tell me that?! Why did you betray me?" Evelyn blinks away her tears.

"I'm afraid of you," Tobias shouts. That shocks all of them. "You're like him." Like Marcus.

That cuts Evelyn deep. The words break something inside of her. "Don't," she can't stomach the thought. "Don't-"

"He was a tyrant in our home. You are a tyrant to this city."

"So, you brought the serum to fix things?"

Tobias is silent. Riley has so many things she wants to say. Evelyn forgetting wasn't the right choice. She was their mother. Riley loved her. There was still time for them to fix their relationship. "No," he utters. "I came here to give you a choice." Evelyn stiffens. "I planned to see Marcus, but I-" he stops, "we came here instead." Riley stares at him as he speaks. "I think there is still a chance we can fix things. Maybe not any time soon, but one day. There's no hope with him." Marcus wasn't worthy of their forgiveness. "This choice may not be entirely fair, but it's the only choice. Lead the Factionless into a fight with the Allegiant, and you lose us forever. Or you let all of this go and get your children back."

There's a silence that falls between them. Evelyn's eyes are watery. She's emotional, but her silence terrifies them. Riley fears Evelyn won't pick them. "They can have the city," she finally says. "And all that's in it." Evelyn picked them. She chose them.