CHAPTER 74
TRIS POV

What I see makes my stomach drop. It's the testing room I was in a short while ago. Except now, instead of me on the room, Tobias is in the room. Being strapped to the table by Eric. Marcus and Jeanine are whispering ferociously to each other about something and I see that behind his emotionless face, Tobias is nervous. He doesn't know what they are going to do. He doesn't know what they did to me.

I stare for what feels like hours before they finally stop testing Tobias. I have tears in my eyes and my knuckles are red from punching the unbreakable glass that I am staring through. It's a good thing that I am slightly above the room, looking down at everything otherwise Marcus, Jeanine, and Eric would spot me for sure.

Tobias is shaking as Eric roughly pushes him from the table and my heart clenches. He's in pain because of me. Our group is in this terrible situation because of me. Me. It's all my fault.

I quickly begin to crawl through the vents again, to get back to our cell before Eric or Marcus notice that I am gone.

I place the stone back over the hole in the wall, just in time. Marcus walks into our cell, holding a weak, tired looking Tobias. I jump up and Tobias' eyes widen. He thinks that I should pretend to be unconscious so Marcus will leave me alone. That's cowardly and I will not let Marcus hurt anyone else.

"Why don't you just leave everybody else alone? We all know the only person you want is me, so just let everyone else go. They did nothing wrong!" I yell at Marcus and he smirks at me. He throws Tobias aside and lunges towards me, grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me close to him.

"You see, Beatrice, I want to break you. I know that if I torture all of your friends, then that will have an effect on you. I'm just waiting to see which one. I mean I have basically already broken you physically, but you know.... I haven't had my time for that specialty in a vey long time. I would love for our guests to watch the fun!" Marcus exclaims with a laugh and I shake with anger. I want myself and my friends to be left alone. I do not need a beating. I never did need a beating. I never want another beating.

Before I realize what I am doing, my fist clenches and I have punched Marcus across the face. He stumbles backwards, taken completely off guard. That punch only infuriates him. That wasn't wise of me. I back away from the heavy-breathing Marcus and he runs at me full force.

"That's how you treat your superiors!" Marcus roars in my face. He grabs my shirt and yanks it off my head, leaving my upper half clearly exposed, me being in only my bra. He quickly unloops his belt and begins to slap it against my back as hard as he can. I let out a blood-curdling scream and I hear everyone's yells for Marcus to stop. And suddenly he does. I glance upwards and see that Tobias has tackled Marcus to the ground and is punching him as hard as he can.

Suddenly, ten people all dressed in white, run into our cell and begin to press rags over everybody's mouth and nose. What are they doing?! They're on Jeanine's side. They must be! And that is the last thought I have before a black rag is placed roughly over my face.

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I awake to my pounding head and aching back. Events from before the blackout rush into my brain and it takes a moment to process. I punched Marcus. But, those people. The ones who came in and made everyone pass out. They must be some of Jeanine's minions. I mean, that's the only logical explanation.

I look around the room I'm in and realize two things immediately. One being, I'm alone and two being, that I'm in a different cell than usual. Crap. Where is everybody else?

I glance down at myself and see that I am wearing different clothes now. I'm in a white, short paper dress. The kind they give you to wear at your physicals. This is fun. Really, really fantastic.

"Tris! Tris! Where are you!" I hear someone yell.

"Christina! Is that you?" I call out.

"Oh Tris! Thank the Lord, you're okay! We were all worried sick!" Christina exclaims.

"Are you all in the same cell?" I ask.

"Yeah, except you. Why are you separated from us?" She wonders out loud.

No. No, no, no, no. I know what Marcus is planning. He's going to hurt every one of them. To make me hear their screams to punish me. I'm about to scream obscenities when a dark shadow falls over the door. Marcus. The big ogre.

I look angrily up at him. "I'm so happy you had a nice rest. Time for testing! I hope you're ready because I sure am!" He says happily, unlocking the cell I am in. He grabs me by the arm and leads me down the hall. Back to where I was before. In the room with the white walls with the metal table in the middle.

Jeanine walks in, scribbling notes in her notebook and doesn't look up until I scoff at her. "A bit rude not to greet your guests when they come in, isn't it?" I say, changing the tone of my voice to make it sound like Jeanine's.

"We need to weaken this one. Give it your all Marcus. But make sure that she is still conscious when you're done with her," Jeanine states in a monotone voice.

"Gladly," Marcus laughs and unbuckles his belt from across his waist.

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"That's enough!" I hear Jeanine's shrill voice state loudly from across the room.

Marcus grunts in reply and pulls me up. My head spins with pain and Eric shoves me onto the metal table.

"Eric.... Please--not again," I whisper weakly, tears coming to my eyes as I watch Jeanine fill up the syringe.

Something flashes in his eyes for a moment, something I've never seen in him. Compassion. But then it's gone and I wonder if in my delusional state, I imagined it.

Jeanine walks over to me and offers me a fake smile. "I'm so glad you decided to help us with this project Beatrice." She sticks the needle into the vein in my neck and I let out a scream. A scream of anger, fear, sadness, and a million other emotions coursing throughout my veins. I just want everything to stop.

I feel the serum begin to enter my bloodstream and I feel as if my mind is being cracked open. I let out another scream and from far away I hear Jeanine's panicked voice saying that "the serum should have gotten to my brain already."

And then, I watch as memories from my past, the good, the bad, the happy times, the depressed times, all flash in front of my eyes. "We're in." I hear someone state. I just want to scream. Scream for someone to help. Scream for the pain to stop. Scream for everything and anything. But I'm no longer in control of my body. In fact, I can barely feel my body. The only thing I'm completely aware of is the pain of people invading my memories and watching them. Taking them from me.

It takes a few moments, which really felt like ten thousand agonizing years, but I begin to feel myself again. Feel like I have the power to rid Marcus and Jeanine from my head. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and think of how to calm down and not feel pain. I think of the wonderful times I've had and I relieve the serum from my body. I force it out of my system.

I breathe heavily as Marcus and Jeanine angrily argue about how I did that. How I stopped their experiment without their permission. Jeanine looks as if she is on the brink of hysteria.

"Get her out of here!" Jeanine screams, spit flying from her mouth and Eric grabs me by the arm, taking me back to my cell area.

Something's different about him. He's not being as mean to me as he normally is. "Eric, I... Could you maybe get me some sort of clothes?" I ask softly.

He rolls his eyes and stomps his foot angrily, but says, "I'll see what I can do."

He locks the door to my cell after pushing me in and I slowly make my way to the ground. I lay on my stomach, my head resting against the cool concrete. I'm pathetically weak. Between Marcus's beatings, the stupid 'tests',' and the whole 'no food' policy, I have no energy.

"Tris!" I hear someone shout. It was Tobias. I know it was.

I let out a loud groan in acknowledgment and I hear him begin shouting questions at me asking if 'I was okay' and 'how I felt.'

I just ignore all the questions. My brain begins to shut down without my permission. And the worst part is, I can't even fight it off. I have no strength left. Unable to do anything else, I let my mind float away to the darkness that awaits.

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