So this is my first ever Eris fanfic. It is just the prologue. If this story gets a lot of positive feeback, I will continue updating. I expect myself to write a lemon after this chapter, so the rating will change to M.
I am re-reading Allegiant and it inspired me to write this. Also, the story 'My Cell' has inspired me as well. Check that one out if you want. Really good fanfic.
I am trying to take a few breaks from New Endings as it is really repetitive to write the same story but from another person's view. I fear that I will get bored of it, and to prevent that from happening, I am letting myself to get lost in this story instead. Don't worry, New Endings is still going to be updated :)
I look around in wonder as Zoe leads our group down a long hallway. After meeting David, my internal organs have been left feeling queasy. I am not sure if the brand new information is to blame, or the fact that David always acts so Amity. He cannot be Amity. He knows a lot of secrets and there is something odd about him. Not that he was living in Chicago to be categorized into a faction. It's just my habit: categorizing people.
I feel Tobias' fingers squeeze mine as we follow our tour guide. He is just as enlightened as I am. We have been living a lie. And in the space of two minutes, all the secrets have been peeled away by the scientific facts.
The scientists here would be Erudite. I can't find them acquiring any other trait than being intelligent. Intelligent but vain.
Christina and Uriah stop abruptly in front of me and I nearly slam into their backs. Tobias pulls me back just in time. I peek over their shoulders to see Zoe with her hands neatly folded at her stomach, smiling warmly at us all.
"This is our exceedingly secured prison," she points behind her to a black door, "We keep fugitives here. Most of them are from the Bureau, but some- you will recognize- are from inside the fence. Due to their murderous characteristics, a serum was put in place in each of the cells. The serum makes you comply with orders one doesn't usually agree with. So if for example, I was to enter the cell, the murderer would probably jump on me and try to kill me. With the serum, the resist that urge. No harm is done to the individual. If anything, it is for their own good."
From my peripheral vision, Peter stares at her blankly.
"Why would they need that serum if they are secure in their cells?" Cara asks from my right.
Zoe furrows her eyebrows as if the information she provided us with is no enough to take us out of our puzzled state.
"Obviously, the criminals in the cells are highly dangerous. I'm not saying that they have a chance of escaping these cells, but with the murderous genes they have, this serum might actually be good for them. It's like therapy. It makes them calmer."
Christina nods to herself more than to Zoe. And Uriah tilts his chin up, indicating that he understands everything.
Tobias squeezes my hand harder.
"Can we see?" Peter folds his arms. I tense up when Zoe nods and opens the black door with a loud clang. For some reason, I am afraid of seeing these prisoners.
I follow the group into a different atmosphere. He air is cooler here and it feels good against my skin. When I look down, I see that the floor is white. To my left, the first prison cell has nothing but a glass door to protect us from the murderous person inside. I squint to see the face. He has black hair that is tied into a bun. He sits on the edge of his bed. I don't recognize him.
To my right, I see more glass doors separating us from the killers. They all look surprisingly calm. When I walk past one of the cells, a woman inside it laughs. I wonder if the serum they use is from Amity.
"Makes them calmer?" Tobias drops his voice so that only I can hear him, "Drives them to insanity more like."
A smirk spreads over my mouth.
"Of course," Zoe begins, "Divergents are known to manipulate the serums. Which is why one of our prisoners is being tested. The serum doesn't make him calmer. His body accepts it, he breathes it like air. No matter how high the dosage goes, he still manages to maintain his usual self. Some of our workers don't think he is Divergent. They think he has more murderous genes than any other subject we know of. His state goes to our advantage. We are trying to overcome his violence by re-making this serum."
I look up and see that the ceiling is brightly white. These surroundings remind me too much of Erudite. When I was being escorted to my execution.
"Eric Coulter. You should be familiar with him."
My heart almost stops. It takes me a while to let that name sink into my brain. Did she just say Eric Coulter?
"Eric is dead. Four killed-"
Uriah gets cut off by Zoe.
"Amar was dead too," from this angle I can see the corner of her mouth twitch up into a grin.
Zoe is right. Amar was dead too. But so were my parents. So was Will and Marlene and Al. Are they here too?
I barely feel Four's arm when it wraps around my back to support me. He is finding all of this hard to believe too. But we saw Eric die. He collapsed in front of us. He was bleeding out. He died.
Zoe answers that too, as if reading my mind.
"The bullets in the gun Four was using were artificial. The Bureau set it all up. We needed Eric in order to experiment. We have to learn how to eradicate the murder genes."
Eric is alive. He could be Divergent. He could not be Divergent.
Why the hell the bullets that killed my parents were not artificial too?
I am about to yell at that bitch, but we all halt. I turn to stand next to Uriah who wears a dubious expression. All the faces in the group are turned to one particular glass door.
Eric.
I see him sitting on his rock-hard cot. His wrists are linked with cuffs which are attached to two heavy chains. He didn't change at all. The only change is that he is in a cell.
When he tilts his head up at us, an unreadable smile crosses his face. His eyes jump from Peter to Cara to Christina to Uriah, Zoe and Tobias. And then they linger on me for a second too long.
"Finally got out, have you?" His voice is deep. His piercings are still in place.
And when he stands up, the chains attached to his handcuffs rattle against the cold floor.
I let my eyes scan over his body. The prison uniform he was given is plain. It reminds me of Abnegation. Only that particular colour looks humorous on him. Eric? Abnegation?
Zoe touches a few buttons on as keypad installed into the wall next to the cell. When she finishes tapping at the screen, she looks over at us, stepping aside to let us see the monitor.
"As you can probably observe, the serum level is extremely high at this point. We will decrease the dosage to zero percent later this week and start again with the new and improved version of this serum. Hopefully, it will begin to make the subject somewhat… different."
I look back at Eric once Zoe finishes talking. He never took his eyes off of me. Under his glare, I feel small. He sends chills down my spine. And when Four touches my back, I visibly shudder.
"Let's not hang around then," Zoe's voice becomes more cheerful and she skips before starting to lead us back to the exit.
Everybody walks in front of me except from Tobias. I still feel traces of his hand pinching at my back, as if he does not trust me to be in this environment without him.
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder.
Eric is smirking.
Review and tell me what you think :)