......

Seven years earlier...

Marcus raised his belt. Even though I'm only six, I am bulletproof. I am titanium. I always will be.

"Don't touch her!" Mom screams through the hallways.

"Don't you dare, Evelyn!" Marcus roars.

I run off to someone I need to see. Marcus chases after me, belt in hand through the halls of our Abnegation house. Marcus is close to me. I do a flip in the air and run. I need to warn Tobias. I ran to my older brother's room. I knocked on the door. Tobias opened it.

"Catherine?" He asked in astonishment.

"I need to warn you. Marcus beat me." I said.

"I don't believe you." Tobias replied selfishly.

"I'm not lying." I said firmly.

"Father would never do that." Tobias replied.

"Yes, Tobias. Yes, Marcus would beat me. And you. Escape!" I yelled.

"Catherine, you just had a hallucination." Tobias said.

"No!" I yelled firmly.

"You're six." Tobias said.

"I thought I trusted you." I mumbled to myself.

"Catherine!" Tobias yelled.

I didn't listen. I saw Mom jump out the window. I followed her.

Mom looked at me.

"Catherine," Mom cooed, "Remember to rebel."

I nodded.

She sang,

"Are you, are you,

Coming to the tree,

They strung up a man,

They say who murdered three,

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we met at midnight,

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you,

Coming to the tree,

The dead man called out,

For his love to flee,

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we met at midnight,

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you,

Coming to the tree,

It told you to run,

So we both be free,

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we met at midnight,

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you,

Coming to the tree,

They strung up a man,

They say who murdered three,

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we met at midnight,

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you,

Coming to the tree,

The dead man called out,

For his love to flee,

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we met at midnight,

In the hanging tree."

......

2 hours later...

I wake up in a hospital-like place. It smells like training room and it looks pristine. I see Nathan at my bedside with a few bruises on his legs and an ice pack pressed against his forehead.

"You got hurt pretty bad," I mutter.

I also see Daniel, Jo, Becky, and Natalia at my bedside. Nathan's jaw drops, along with everyone else's.

"You're so bruised," Becky says with sorrow.

"Oh my gosh yeah!" Jo exclaims so loudly, I cover my ears with my palms.

The door swings open. Four, Uriah, and Tris walk in the door.

"Are you alright?" Tris asks, walking towards me.

Four shakes his head.

Uriah stares at Nathan, then me. "What kind of trouble did you two get into?"

"It was nothing," I say confidently, but slightly wincing at the end of my sentence.

Nathan glares at me, with a look that says, 'Everything but nothing'.

"Nathan?" Uriah asks, "Honest answer please?"

"Ummm...," Nathan starts uncomfortably, "It was.... Nothing... Our memories are a little fuzzy. We don't remember everything.

"It would be wrong to accuse someone of wrongdoing when it might not be them." I pitch in, covering for Nathan.

Daniel looks at me weirdly. I look at Uriah. I carefully study the imprint of a snake on his right ear. It's hard to see, because of his dark skin, but it's still there. And still noticeable. Then, I look at Nathan. He has no tattoos on his body whatsoever. Well, maybe one, but that's none compared to Uriah. There's a sudden weird moment of awkward so silence, filling the rooms. Everyone looks at everybody else around them. They count everyone's tattoos with their fingers. Daniel clears his throat, to try to break the awkward silence between us, but nothing works.

"Where's Christina?" Four demands.

"Christina's watching the others," Tris mutters.

"Four?" Uriah asks.

"Yea," he replies with no enthusiasm.

"Can Nathan get arrested?" Uriah asks.

Nathan shakes his head, slightly chuckling.

"Why?" Tris interrupts.

"He's creepy!" Uriah yells like it's obvious.

Tris bursts into laughter along with Four. This is the first time over ever seen him laugh in the time I've lived in Dauntless. His laugh is soft and slight, but there.

"Nathan will be fine for the field trip. Kat, you're staying," Uriah mutters.

The instructors leave the room all at once, along with Nathan and the others. As soon as the door closes, I tip toe behind them. I put on the nearest jacket I can find a zip it, so only my hair is visible from the front. I take a look at the dried blood from my nose and shrug it off. My hands are covered in bruises and dried blood. As soon as they're at least 50 feet away from me, I start jogging. I wince slightly on occasion, but I can't afford to miss this. They run and jump onto the train. I sprint at full speed, bringing every broken rib and muscle into this effort. My body feels like a burning pit, but I keep sprinting. As soon as I get to the edge of the platform I leap onto the train. I might fall, but honestly, I don't care. I put all my weights onto the handle as the train car shakes. Nathan looks out the door of the train car alarmingly. I jump into the car. I wipe the sweat from my forehead with my palm. Uriah glares at me. He shakes Four by his shoulders.

"Look!" Uriah yells alarmingly.

Four glares at me with his dark brown pits. "What made you think you can come?"

"I came, because I said so," I reply with confidence, crossing my arms across my chest.