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Rae is Amity and with Choosing Day approaching it was time for her to start thinking about of her future. She had always thought Amity was where she belonged. Her parents were Amity so that must mean she had to be, right? She wished her parents were there to help her through the confusion. The only family she had now was her grandfather, Poppy. Everyone in Amity knew who Poppy was, being that he was one of the oldest Amity members. Which was certainly unusual throughout all of the five factions. Many of the elderly would end up becoming factionless if they became too fragile to work and could no longer provide for the factions. The faction system was meant to keep everything running smoothly and to provide to all of the factions and those who kept it running. The elderly were seen as a nuisance to the factions as they were just one more group to take care of and why? They didn’t provide anything to the factions even though they had in their youth. It didn’t matter they served their abled bodied time to give to the factions only to be thrown away like garbage, but this was to be expected. If an older member was severely ill, the absolute last resort was to take them to Erudite even though they had the best medical technology, one look from an erudite doctor and it was a smile and a helping hand out the door to the streets. As Erudite would say there’s no cure for old age. This wasn’t looked upon as cruel in their society, it was expected; it was everyone’s fate. At Amity, the best the healers could do was try to make them comfortable, with an extra dose of peace serum if they were close to death. It was rare for Amity to put anyone out on the streets. Amity was the peaceful faction and tried to keep elderly doing small jobs for the faction. Whether this was peeling potatoes or sewing up patches in clothes (which was constantly happening) it gave the older members a purpose and brought them happiness. Amity always tries to put the elderly out of sight when other factions came for evaluations. Rae never worried about Poppy during this time. Poppy was a very strong, fit man for as old as he was. Even when it would seem he was coming down with a cold, Rae would become concerned, but Poppy would assure her he would be fine and sure enough the next day he’d be in tip top shape. Poppy was definitely better off than most of the older men at Amity. He still had his strength, which could be said was just as much if not more than most younger men. Being as strong and healthy as he was allowed him to work the same job he’s had since he was a young initiate. He was the head of the livestock at Amity. He made sure all the animals were well taken care of. His favorite place in all of Amity was the stables. Poppy absolutely loved horses; he thought they were stunning and majestic creatures. When Rae was little she could remember her grandfather often saying how horses were smarter than people. Anytime Rae faced a problem, Poppy would always try to incorporate horses into his metaphors for her to better understand how to handle life. Many people looked up to poppy because of his wisdom. Even Johanna, Amity’s representative.Since Rae was little she could remember Johanna coming over to Poppy’s house for tea and cherry cobbler. Johanna usually went to Poppy’s house to discuss future plans, issues Amity was facing, or just to have a regular old chitchat. Johanna valued Poppy and saw him as a great and dear friend to her and Amity. Johanna also deeply loved and cared for Rae. Since Rae’s parents died in the fire, Johanna always made sure Rae was taken care of and treated her as if she was her own daughter. She had always protected Rae from the evil in the world, but can she protect Rae even when she’s the one running towards the evil.
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There were so many things going through Rae’s mind as she picked peaches and lightly tossed them in her bucket, never missing. With the Jovial Festival, her birthday, and choosing day approaching she could hardly focus on what Tibby was saying.“Rae?.... Rae. Hello? Are you in there” Tibby buzzed as she knocked on Rae’s head trying to get clarification that she was listening. “Sorry,” Rae uttered fluttering Tibby’s hand away from her forehead. “There’s just so much coming up, I’ve kind of been out of my zone lately.” She admitted while taking in a deep breath hoping it would help clear her mind. “I’ll say! Look at your bucket. It’s been over flooded with peaches for the past ten minutes.” She giggles as she points to the mountain of peaches tumbling down from Rae’s bucket. “Man!” She groaned in frustration. “Hey at least you met your ‘quota’ for today,” Tibby declared winking at Rae. “Look being that I am a good friend I’ll take half of your peaches off your hands,” she says giving Rae a mischievous smile. Rae could only laugh and shake her head. “Thanks. I do most of the work and you take half of the credit, yeah good friend you are.” She playfully sneered. Tibby proceeded to pluck a peach from Rae’s bucket and examined it for a second. She then continued to take a bite out of the perfectly, juicy peach, letting the juice drizzle down the sides of her mouth while smiling. “Yep, that’s how this friendship works. You work and I grace you with my company!” She dramatically proclaimed. “Okay lazy. Let's get these peaches to the warehouse before Daniel thinks we ate them all like we did the strawberries.” Rae nudged. Tibby stood up defiantly putting a finger in the air, “I regret nothing from that day! I felt so ‘Dauntless!’” She proudly proclaimed. The girls then evenly distributed the peaches into each of their buckets. Soon after Tibby swung her arm around Rae’s shoulder as they made their way back to the warehouse where Daniel would surely be waiting.Daniel was eight years older than Rae and Tibby. Being an Erudite transfer it was only natural to give him a job having to do with analyzing and recording data in Amity. He was one of the members in charge of overseeing the amount of crops that came into the warehouse and how to evenly distribute it to all of the factions.
He was a very scrawny fellow with short black hair and glasses. He didn’t look as intimidating as most Erudites did Rae thought, but he sure did act like one even being in Amity. But Amity was all about peace and acceptance, overlooking anyone’s past and looked to make a better future in harmony. Rae often wondered if Daniel’s aptitude test said Amity and that was why he transferred. A lot of Erudites trusted the aptitude test and would follow the test even though they had the choice to choose whichever faction they wanted. When a person transfers to another faction they’re suppose to drop their old faction’s way and accept their new faction’s way of life. Daniel, however, was still connected to his erudite roots. He would become very displeased when someone, specifically Rae and Tibby didn’t reach their “quota.” He would then insist adding extra hours to their shift as punishment. This new rule made everyone displeased because Amity usually tried to reframe from harsh punishment. More were shocked however when Johanna agreed to this new rule. No one understood why Johanna agreed to this new rule, no one but, Rae. She could see the Johanna was under a lot of stress because of the harvest not being fruitful as it has been in the past. Being the head of the faction that was to feed not only them, but also the rest of the factions. It was her face that would either be rewarded or blamed. As the girls approached Daniel and his clipboard, they were greeted in a very “Erudite” way. “Hello Ladies. Did we actually meet our quota today?” he asked not taking his eyes of his precious clipboard. “Yep! Tibby only ate one peach this time.” Rae answered smirking at Tibby who was giving her an irritated look. This was payback for the peaches. Daniel shot his head up from his clipboard glaring at Tibby. Push the rim of his glasses up his nose he started at Tibby, “Do I need to reiterate to you how vital it is to gather the correct amount of supplies to nourish all five of the factions. One of the most important essentials for human life is to have a proper amount of subsistence’s. Now let me put that on a large-scale problem. That peach could quite possibly be the reason one faction has a shortage of food putting Amity in a crisis….” Tibby stopped him before he could go any further explaining how one peach could cause the ending of the world, “It was one peach, Danny! Plus I reached your ‘quota’ so go suck on some peace serum why don’t ya!” She said walking off fatigued from listening to him. Rae shrugged her shoulders giggling as she followed after Tibby. “I just don’t understand. How can that be a member of Amity?” Tibby fumed. “I heard it was on his aptitude test and so that’s what he solemnly went by,” Rae answered while trying to keep up with Tibby’s pace. Tibby then slowed down her pace seeing how urgent she was moving, she then calmed herself before speaking “A true Erudite then. I wonder what our test will say? What do you think yours will say?” Rae could feel her worry flow back to her “I don’t know. Amity probably.” Tibby could see Rae didn’t want to talk any further of the future, so she quickly changed the subject, “So are you nervous about singing at the festival?” Rae shot a look at Tibby and gasped. “Please don’t remind me.” She begged. Tibby patted her on the back and tried to reassure her “Oh come on. You have such a beautiful voice even if you don’t let anyone hear it. You’ll do great!” Rae just stared at the ground kicking a rock, “I know it's just the song I plan on singing is different from the Amity vibe.” She confessed. Tibby just nudged at Rae, “I’m sure it’ll be great! Besides Amity needs to experience other emotions once in a while.” Rae smiled and felt reassured thanks to her friend, “Well get ready then. I have to go meet Joshua to practice. Ill see you later.” Tibby eyebrows raised and containing a huge grin on her face, “Hmmm Joshua I hope you’re getting a lot of practice time in if you know what I mean.” She said in a menacing way. Rae just rolled her eyes and began to walk in the opposite direction, “Shut up” she murmured._________________________________________________________________________________________________Rae had known Joshua since they were babies learning to walk. They used to make mud pies together while their parents worked in the fields. They played tag, stole cookies, and shared childish secrets as all little ones did. They were sweethearts, as most people would point out when watching the two stroll through the fields hand in hand with Rae carrying an array of wild flowers. The two shared a deep-seated bond as children. But all of that changed when Rae’s parents perished in the warehouse fire. After that night, Rae was never the same. She became closed off to almost everyone around her. It wasn’t until she was twelve that she started letting people back in her life, but by that point, she had built a barrier between her and Joshua. As they got older, they ran in different crowds only glancing a smile at each other from afar. Rae wanted things to be back the way they were before the fire, she wanted Joshua by her side, her true side. As the festival approached, it was Poppy who had volunteered Rae, against her will, to sing one of her songs. She didn’t want to sing in front of all Amity by herself, luckily for her, Joshua was skilled when it came to the guitar. She knew this would be her only opportunity to get closer to Joshua before Choosing Day. So she bucked up her courage and walked straight up to Joshua and asked if he would be willing to help her with the music for her song. Reluctantly, Joshua gave her an enthusiastic yes.Rae saw Joshua as the perfect man for her. Hell, he was the perfect man any Amity woman. He was tall, built with lean muscles giving him a masculine figure. His dark wavy hair, along with his well-groomed beard only complimented his features. It was Joshua’s eyes that made Rae go weak in the knees. Having golden brown allowed anyone to get lost in them. They were full of hope and kindness, which is what Rae needed. He was truly a divine specimen. Never showing an ounce of bitterness towards anyone in all his life. He was full of compassion and was gentle with everyone and everything. He worked in the fields usually doing more heavy lifting than most. Rae usually kept her distance, watching him in awe. She would watch as his muscles flexed while plowing the fields or as his sweat would soak the back of his shirt, allowing an outline of his back muscle to shine through. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about their first practice they had. She’d have to sing in front of him, the only people she’d let hear her sing were Poppy, Johann, and Tibby. Occasionally someone would catch her singing while walking past her, without her knowledge. Now she had to sing in front of the man who had the capability to take her breath away. This was harder than she initially thought. The very first time Rae tried to sing in front of Joshua, she opened her with no words circulating out. Embarrassed and disappointed, tears began to form. How was she supposed to sing in front of the whole faction and when she couldn’t even sing in front of Joshua? She was about to make a hasty getaway towards the exit when she felt Joshua's arms wrap around her waist. Her eyes soon met his as she felt the wind get knocked out of her. “Hey, it’s okay. Take a deep breath and let it out. I’m right here Rae. You can do it. I believe in you.” And that was all he had to say to her. From then on practices became easier for Rae. With Joshua’s guitar skills and Rae’s talented voice, the song was coming together quite nicely. She couldn’t help but smile when she thought of Joshua. They were rebuilding their friendship that she hoped to become something more. She began to fear with the festival approaching that would mean no more practices with Joshua. Rae wouldn’t have an excuse to spend time with Joshua. She began to wonder if he felt the same way about her as she did for him. Rae couldn’t tell with Joshua because he was very much Amity. He was always friendly and not afraid to give a caring touch to anyone. But there had to be deeper feelings with her she thought. To find out the truth Rae had put it on herself to make the first move at the festival. It couldn’t be a more perfect plan the festival would have a tranquil, romantic atmosphere for Rae to make her move. There would also be music, dancing and most importantly a shit ton of wine, along with a hefty supply of peace serum if need be.Rae smiled to herself before entering the assembly hall. She could already hear Joshua tuning his guitar, but instantly stop when she came into his view. Joshua’s smile was so warm and inviting Rae couldn’t help but blush. There was no real reason for Rae to be so nervous she was an absolutely beautiful girl.Many have said Rae strongly resembled her mother having warm ivory skin that was touched by the sun. Her soft golden brown waves framed her face well with her strong bone structure reaching all the way down to her waist. Rae’s eyes were probably the only physical trait she inherited from her father. They were piercing green, giving her the advantage when facing anyone if she would only realize it. She had always shied away because her figure. Much of Amity's women were small and petite not having much of a curve to their bodies. Thanks to her genetics and help from working in the fields, she acquired a strong hourglass figure. She had always been self-conscious about her hips, feel all eyes go to her lower region. Anything she wore only extenuated them, making her feel like a thing of meat around men. Except Joshua, he would always look straight into her emerald globes making her feel comfortable in her own skin. Walking up to the platform, the lighting from the windows hit Rae perfectly enhancing her features. “Rae, I thought you quit the band for a second.” He joked while lifting his arms. “You would have a sorry band,” she answered examining the empty stage with a grin. “Besides I would never leave you to fend for yourself with only your guitar. Plus we both know I’m the only real talent here.” She teased. “No argument there,” he winked. They soon finished practicing, establishing harmony with his guitar and her vocals. The day had turned to dusk and Joshua offered to walk Rae home to which she graciously accepted. The walk to Rae’s house was quiet, which made Rae anxious. She wanted to say something so she could stop the awkward silence, but when she looked to Joshua to speak he looked content with the silence so she kept forward in silence. Once the house was in view Rae couldn’t take it anymore. “Joshua, do you think people will like the song?” she asked nervously looking to him for consolation. “Of course! They’re going to love it, Rae.” He said. “You don’t think the songs too…I don’t know gloomy? It’s just not the Amity way. I don’t want to ruin the festival or anything. Maybe we should change the song and do something happier. Oh God, I don’t know ” She fretted covering her face with her hands in exhaustion. “Rae,” he spoke softly taking her hands into his, “Your song is beautiful, and everyone’s going to love it. I love it and I’ve been wanting to tell you how glad I am that you asked me to play with you, Rae.” Rae tried to control her breathing the best she could. “Thank you. I’m glad you wanted to play with me. I was nervous you’d say no, honestly.” She admitted. “I’d never say no to you Rae. I kind of wish we could have done this sooner.” He said. Rae felt her eyes swell with tears, but held them in. “I know. I was just nervous because I stopped talking to you or really everyone after my parents accident.” She said. Joshua took a step closer towards Rae closing any space between them and cupped Rae’s cheek. “Rae, I never stopped thinking about you after that day.” She felt her heart skip a beat, trying to find the words to say back and all she could say was “Goodnight.” Joshua smiled and leaned in kissing her cheek. “Goodnight Rae.” He said as he started walking backwards still looking at Rae. Rae turned to open the door when Joshua called out to her again. ”Hey Rae! Save me a dance?” Rae just bit her lip smiling and gave him a nod. He then winked at her and turned to walk away. Once Rae shut the door she could help but squeal with excitement. She kept rubbing her cheek trying to remember the sensation of Joshua’s lips. She wondered what it would’ve felt like if he had kissed her on the lips. She had never been kissed before and she now was planning on Joshua to be her first kiss and hopefully her first everything. The festival was her chance and she was going to take it. It took her a moment to snap back to reality when she heard voices coming from the kitchen. As she inched more and more towards the kitchen she recognized the voices as Poppy and Johanna. Of course, she thought to herself, as she was about to make her appearance known she stopped as she began to listen. “I just don’t know what to do Poppy. Everything feels like its all happening at once. I don’t know how much more we can take it.” She vented. “Don’t worry Jo. It’ll all work out in the end, it always does. We’ve faced hardships before and we’ll do it again.” Poppy tried to be encouraging as he always was, a true Amity. “It’s different this time. Poppy Daun…” Rae couldn’t take it anymore; she came bursting through the door stunning Poppy and Johanna. “Rae! Where have you been? We didn’t hear you come in.” Poppy said. “I just got back from rehearsing with Joshua. What’s going on?” she questioned with worry all over her face. “Oh rehearsing with Joshua. You two are getting pretty close.” Johanna was trying to defer Rae’s question, but before Rae could protest Poppy jumped in. “Joshua? Don’t tell me I need to start watching the fields more closely now.” Johanna laughed “It's not a bad idea with the two making googlie eyes at each other” “We don’t make ‘googlie’ eyes at each other.” She mumbled. “Is everything okay seriously.”Johanna stood up from her seat quickly, giving Rae a smile “Oh everything’s fine. We were just discussing the festival. Oh! my I should go it’s getting late.” She walked over to the doorway to where Rae was standing. She gently took Rae’s head bending it down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight Rae. Don’t worry everything’s fine. You should get some sleep as well. I can’t have you slacking in the orchard tomorrow.” Rae gave her a smile and nodded her head. Johanna laughed to herself taking Rae in a hug. “Oh my child, I love you. Goodnight and goodnight Poppy, you old mule.” She laughed turning to walk out the house. “Goodnight,” Rae called out watching as Johanna walked out the door. She then turned her attention to Poppy, who was leaning against the counter. Rae gave Poppy a concerning look to which he shrugged “What?” he said trying to push pass the subject. “You must be starving! Here! How about some fire roasted veggie soup.” He didn’t wait for her to answer moving swiftly through the kitchen pouring the steaming hot soup into a bowl gesturing her to sit. Rae moved into the chair with her eyebrow still raised knowing Poppy was avoiding her curiosity. He finally sat down with his own serving looking very pleased with himself. Without any hesitation, he took a spoonful of the scalding hot soup. After attempting to swallow the searing liquid, he quickly went looking for any type of beverage to take the heat away from his already burnt tongue. Rae burst out with laughter at the scene that was unfolding in front of her. “Poppy, why don’t you let the soup cool before you go and dive into it? You’ll burn your tongue then who else is Johanna going to gossip with!” Rae giggled. Poppy grinned at Rae as he swallowed the hot soup. “Sweet Pea you forget. I’m a great listener!” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Rae watched the old man continue to burn his mouth while still smiling at her. For a wise man he sure did act like a child Rae thought.With a mouthful of the roasted veggie soup, Poppy attempted to have a conversation with Rae. “So how are rehearsals going with…what is it James?” he muddled. “His name is Joshua and they're going quite well as a matter of fact.” She stated stirring her soup. “Well that’s good. I don’t have to worry about ole Joshie do I? I maybe an old Amity, but I could bring out my Dauntless side if need be.” He babbled. “Maybe you should take a double dose of peace serum. I have no doubt in your capabilities.” She cracked. “Hey my dauntless side comes in handy. Especially when breaking a stallion. That’s what all men are like and you remember that too. When you find Mr. Right, break him it’ll be better in the long run. All men think they’re better off running a muck being assholes…” “Poppy!” Rae gasped. “I’m serious Rae. Men are horrible only a good woman can straighten them out.” Poppy said sternly. “I’ll keep that in mind Poppy, but I don’t think I’m going to have to break him.” Rea gushed. “Well then where’s the fun, where’s the challenge? Let me tell you, your grandma got a hold on this stud and I thought I put up a good fight, though. But she broke me, broke me good too.” He reminisced while smiling. “Okay Poppy can we please talk about something else. Please. Anything.” She begged, feeling embarrassed. “I’m just telling you, Sweet Pea, the best love is the fighting kind.” Rae just looked off hoping to move on from the subject. “Oh alright! I’ve heard a lot of people are excited about you singing. Some people said they didn’t even know you could sing. Why don’t you sing more often, you have such a beautiful voice.” Not the subject Rae wanting to discuss, she stood up taking the empty bowls to the sink keep her back to Poppy. “Wow! I’m exhausted, aren’t you? I better get to bed.” “Before she could even try to wash the dishes, Poppy came up right beside her looking down at her. “Your parents would be extremely proud of the young lady you’ve become.” He spoke softly. Trying to keep the tears from forming she through her arms around him, placing her head gently on his broad chest. “I wish they were here,” she whispered. “Me too Sweet Pea. Me too.” “You go on. I’ll tidy up around here. Goodnight sweet heart, I love you.” He kissed her head before releasing her. Rae made her way through the kitchen before turning to Poppy. “Night Pop Pop.” Rae smiled. “Goodnight Sweet Pea.”Rae made her way through the house to her room. Once the door was closed she took down the rest of her hair, running her fingers through her soft waves. She walked to her bed stripping her clothes off, replacing them with her nightgown. As she crawled into her bed Rae snuggled herself between the soft cotton sheets. She looked out the window behind her bed to gaze at the stars. Rae usually stared at the stars to help her go to sleep. It's what her parents would do before tucking her in at night. Her father would point out all the different kinds of constellations and tell her stories. While her mother would point out falling stars so they could make wishes together. Her mother had a ritual for making wishes with Rae. You had to keep your eyes shut tight while holding your breath for five seconds. You had to think long and hard to focus on your wish or else it wouldn’t come true. After that five seconds, you had to take a deep breath in and then slowly let it out. Rae and her mother would do this every night. Shortly after her parents died, Rae stopped this ritual. As a child, being told a wish would come true by this ritual, only to have her hope crushed when she realized she couldn’t wish her parent’s backs. Rae wished every night for a month after the accident for her parents to walk through the door. Rae thought maybe if she were to hold her breath longer and think hard that would be the solution but all it did was turn her face blue and causes more migraines. She finally gave up feeling anger and resentment towards her parents for lying to her. They told her if she wished hard enough it would come true. When they died it killed Rae inside but when her hope was crushed it completely changed her. And so that anger inside of Rae grew uncontrollably. She began shutting everyone out. Most people thought that Rae was just grieving over her loss, but underneath her rage boiled. She hated everyone around her, she hated how happy and content everyone else was. She had felt that at one time and had it ripped away from her. She would wonder how everyone could go about their lives with what had happened. She wanted them to feel what she felt but knew that would be impossible as she was in Amity where everything was peaceful and loving. Their world kept turning as Rae’s stood still. A couple of months after her parents passing, Rae wondered off to the edge of Amity towards the fence. She stumbled upon an area that looked like a war zone; covered in broken bottles, scrap metal, and other dispensable junk. It was here where Rae would let herself go. She would break, kick, and punch anything that was in her way. And it would be dangerous for anyone to try and interrupt her. This was her hazardous zone. It was here where Rae saw the destruction she was capable of. After her outburst of rage was over she would walk back to Amity as if nothing had occurred. One day Rae decided to go purge herself, not knowing a pair of eyes were watching her. Once she had made it to her destruction site, she let the real Rae out. She found what look to be an old, rusted crow bar. She then came to an old broke down car covered in moss and roots. It looked like the car had tried to escape the destruction of the war that happened so long ago. It didn’t take her long to cause her own destruction to the old abandoned car. She wailed as she began pounding the car. Smashing the windows, diminishing the body of the old Junker. But using the crow bar wasn’t enough for Rae; she soon started using her fist to pummel rest of the car. She cried out with every punch she threw. Rae crouched down to the pounding her fist into broken glass bottles. Her hands became numb to the pain, which is the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted to feel the pain flow out of her. She picked up the shards of the shattered bottles and began clenching them in already damaged hands. This furthered the bottle fragments into her palms, being coated with her own blood and dirt. She finally felt the pain flow through her causing her bellow out her rage and cry clutching her broken palms to her chest. All the sudden, she felt arms loop around her small fragile body. Rae looked up with her tear burning eyes only to find Johanna’s caring face. Rae wept in Johanna's arms at what seemed to be hours before Johanna cradled her and took her back to the Amity compound. When they made it back to the Amity Johanna took her straight to her own cottage. She didn’t say a word to Rae; she just smiled softly and began cleaning and repairing Rae’s crippled hands. She gently wiped the blood from Rae’s little palms. Johanna then carefully wrapped her injuries in pure white gauze. She hoped Rae’s hands would heal over time, but she knew Rae would carry the scars on her hand for the rest of her life. Little Rae kept her head down, knowing that what she did wasn’t the Amity way. Johanna took Rae’s chin making her meet eye to eye. She only gave her a reassuring smile and held up a special cup of tea. Rae was hesitant but reluctantly took the cup sipping it little by little. She could feel the drowsiness come over her and soon drifted off. When she woke up she found herself in her bed. She crept out of her room to see if Johanna was there and sure enough she was with Poppy in the kitchen in deep discussion, no doubt about her. Rae kept herself quiet concentrate on what they were saying. “I don’t know what to do Johanna. I mean what can I do? I can’t stop her from feeling.” “If you only saw her today, Poppy. I’ve never witnessed anything like it from a child. It was petrifying. Poppy, I’m scared she’s going to hurt herself or… someone else.” Poppy looked up at Johanna with tears streaming down his face.“My poor little Rae.” He sobbed burying his face in his hands. Rae felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t know how much she could hurt someone, but after seeing Poppy she realized she didn’t want to hurt anyone. But along with that Rae didn’t know how to control it; she couldn’t help what she was feeling. “Poppy, I think there’s a way to help her. Make her drink this it’ll help control her rage.” She said slipping a bag to Poppy. Poppy inspected the bag unsure of its contents. “What is it?”“It’s a special type of peace serum.” “Peace serum? Johanna, she’s only a child,” he said hold the bag.“Trust me Poppy you don’t want to see the child I saw today, you don’t want it and I don’t want it. And you know Rae’s parents wouldn’t want it either.” She pleaded. Poppy took a deep breath, “You're right. It's what’s best for Rae.” Rae made a decision that she wouldn’t fight Poppy when he placed the peace tea in front of her. Johanna was right it was to keep her and most importantly other safe. Rae would drink it and experience a calming peace. She would mellow out and would be back to her bubbly self. Poppy would decrease her dosage, as she got older and only give her more when she felt that bubbling inside her.Rae never likes to think about her childhood, it was a dark part of her life. She’s tries to block it out and when she feels it creeping back in she’ll suppress it with some strong peace tea. Rae was dependent on her peace tea. Anytime she felt her rage boil inside of her she would run to her saving grace. Being in Amity, there was hardly a reason to become angry. Right? Rae didn’t think much of it and drifted to sleep._________________________________________________________________________________________________The next morning was like any other morning for Rae. Poppy was usually gone before Rae was up. She would take her time and shower. She would be working in the apple orchard today so she wanted to wear something light and loose. So she went with a cream colored tank top, with a long red skirt with a slit that ended at her thigh. She let her hair air dry into her signature loose curls. Poppy usually left Rae breakfast before he left along with her peace tea. Today he left her favorite, French toast with powdered sugar, drizzled with warm syrup. Unfortunately, Rae was running late, which wasn’t unusual, so she crammed a piece of French toast in her mouth and downed it with her peace tea. Then she was out the door. Tibby was waiting for her as usually, patiently leaning against a tree staring at her cuticles. As Rae approached Tibby looked up unsurprised. “I here by nominate you Amity’s new Miss Punctuality.” She smirked. “I know. I’m sorry it was a slow morning.” Rae apologized. “Hey! I’m not mad. Now I can’t say the same for our friend Mr. Daniel.” Tibby joked. The girls made there toward the warehouse dreading their encounter with Daniel.“So is there a reason for your lateness this time? Not getting enough sleep? Dreaming about a certain someone?” Tibby nudged. “No! I just have a lot on my mind.” Rae smiled.“Oh you’re a horrible liar, you know that.” Rae really was a horrible liar; she always wore the truth on her face.“Okay maybe I dreamt last night about a certain kiss I shared with a certain someone yesterday,” Rae said in a coy voice. “Holy fuck! Spill right now! What was it like? Did he use tongue? Did he grab your butt? Oh my God did you have sex with him last night?” Tibby yelled. “Shhh. Oh my God Tibby! No! We didn't have sex! It was just a peck on the cheek!”“Sorry I just like juicy details. I mean nothing interesting ever happens here. Excepted for that time someone put all the goats in Daniels house.” “Oh yeah! I forgot ab….” Rae wasn’t looking when she slammed into the back of a familiar form. She gasped a sorry as she stumbled back embarrassed to see that it was Joshua. “Careful there.” He said catching her by the arms. “I’m sorry it’s been a rough morning. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She said.“Me either.” He said smiling at Rae. She could feel herself blushing as she tried to avert from his eyes, which were stuck on hers like glue.“Hey I promised Cara I’d help her and a few others make decorations for the festival. I thought since we were doing so well we could take a break today. I still want to practice tomorrow, but Cara said they really needed a lot of help.”Rae tried to force a smile and hide her disappointment at the sound of Cara’s name. If there was any person far from being Amity it was Cara. She was obnoxious and egotistical. Her fiery red hair could symbolize her attitude. Cara was very manipulated and forceful always taking what she wanted. She always took the opportunity to point out someone’s flaws especially Rae’s. Cara tormented Rae when she re-entered the social scene letting her know who the alpha dog was. Rae usually tried to steer clear of Cara’s path avoiding her attention. But it would seem Joshua had her attention, probably because Rae was interested in him. This was just Cara showing her dominance over Rae. Rae could only hope come choosing day Cara would pick a different faction. “Oh yeah its fine. We can just practice tomorrow.” Rae forced out her mouth with a genuinely fake smile. “Thanks. I really can’t wait for the festival. You’re still saving me a dance right? I’m sure after your song there will be a line full of dancing partners.” “Oh I don’t think I’ll have a long line of dancing partners.” Rae gushed. “I wouldn’t doubt it, Rae.” He smiled. Rae hardly even noticed she was still holding his hands. She bit her bottom lip looking down feeling Joshua gaze down at her. She looked up to open her mouth but was stopped by the sound of nagging in her ear from Daniel.“Excuse me! We have five factions to feed, not to mention a festival! Let's move it, people. We have a quota to meet!”“I’ll see you later?” Joshua asked before taking her hand to kiss. Rae could only mutter out an “okay” while watching him leave. “Leave it to Daniel to kill a moment. Am I right? Come on Mrs. Joshua. Ole Dan-Dan’s right. Got to feed the five factions.” Tibby said while grabbing Rae who was still in a dreamy state._________________________________________________________________________________________________For most of the apple picking Rae was still imagining Joshua and drooling over his words to her. She couldn’t tell if it was the peace serum or the fact that she was love-struck. She could imagine a life with Joshua at Amity. A house, two dogs maybe a cat, and three kids, two boys, and a girl. They would raise them together and be one big happy Amity family. She thought of their future while trying to pick at a branch that clearly had no more apples left on it. Tibby of course, sat herself against the tree staring up at Rae in amusement.“God your twitter pated Rae.” “No, I’m not I’m just happy. I am Amity remember.”“Yeah, whatever you do please don’t choose Candor. Okay?” She laughed throwing her hands behind her head. “Oh god no I think I’d be a better Erudite honestly.” Rae gasped. “Nope couldn’t be Erudite. If they’re all like Daniel count me out. I’d rather be Abnegation.” Tibby stated. “You wouldn’t last a day in Abnegation. I mean look at you.” Rae yelled pointing towards Tibby’s barely full bucket.
“I’m a firm believer in breaks! They mentally prepare you” Tibby said in a matter of fact tone. “Oh really?” Rae questioned. “Yes and hey maybe I’m on guard duty.”“Guard duty? What are you Dauntless?”“Maybe I am. You never know. Amity could have danger lurking around every corner.” Tibby said sticking her nose in the air. “Well if you’re Dauntless then you’re probably the danger lurking around every corner.” Rae sneered. “Oh come on. What’s wrong with Dauntless?” Tibby asked.“They think they can just walk all over Amity just because they’re the Warrior faction and we’re the peaceful faction. And nine times out of ten its Dauntless that causes trouble for all the factions especially Amity.” Rae shot back.“I don’t know I think they’re kind of hot. Just imagine you’re walking home and all the sudden you’re surrounded by the factionless. You try to run but they corner you and just when you think all hope is lost. Bam! A big, muscular, tattooed Dauntless warrior swings into action, kicking ass! To which afterwards, the sexy dauntless man scoops you up to take you to a clearing in the fields. You're scared, but at the same time turned on. Wondering what he’ll do next. And then he rips both of your clothes off and goes full blown Dauntless on you if you know what I mean.” Tibby said breathlessly. Rae took a second to eye Tibby. She could tell Tibby was fanaticizing about her Dauntless sex hero. “Wow you’ve really thought long and hard about this haven’t you?”“Only when I’m alone in my bed.” She nonchalantly says with a wink. Rae could feel her cheeks turn a faint pink color from Tibby’s comment.“Well, I don’t see what’s so attractive about Dauntless men. I mean they’re barbaric beast with no sense of humanity. And all the tattoos and weird haircuts, oh and the piercings eww! No thank you. That’s just not attractive to me. And why the hell do they only wear black? It's like they’re going to a funeral everyday, which knowing them they probably are. They’re all muscle no brains. Just a bunch of meat heads.” Rae huffed.“Remind to never tell you if I got Dauntless on my aptitude test,” Tibby said stunned.
“Sorry. I know I shouldn’t be so judgmental it’s not very Amity.” Rae apologized. “Hey don’t let me stop you. Plus, it’s nice to see you get fired up about something. But I wouldn’t worry much about Dauntless, Amity is the last place they’d want be.” Tibby laughed. Rae attempted to laugh it off and clear her thoughts, but she could feel that little fire build inside her. She would definitely be having a cup of peace tea when she got home._________________________________________________________________________________________________It was almost noon when Rae looked off into the distance and noticed something strange. It almost looked like a mini sand storm heading towards Amity’s gate. Looking closer she could see that it was a cluster of black armored trucks. As the truck neared closer she could hear the rumbling engines become louder and louder. It was obviously Dauntless approaching the gate. They liked to make an intimidating entrance when they came to Amity. This was strange though, Amity usually knew when Dauntless or any faction for that matter were coming. It gave Amity time to prepare and get organized. Chatter began to go through the orchard about the surprise visit. “What the hell is going on? Why Dauntless at our Gates?” Tibby asked. Rae shrugged her shoulders wondering the same thing. “I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.”As they both pondered the situation, their attention was soon directed towards Nilly skipping through the orchard telling people to head to the Amity Tree. Nilly was a few years younger than Rae and was usually carrying around water for anyone in need of hydration. Rae reached out to stop Nilly, “Do you know what it's about? Why is Dauntless here?” Nilly just shrugged and looked just as confused as everyone else. Rae let go and watched as Nilly skip off alerting others of the emergency meeting. Soon a herd of Amity made their way to the towards the Amity tree. Rae wondered if Poppy was there, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was. Poppy never was ashamed of his age and made a point to be there and be seen by other visiting factions. In the back of Rae’s mind, she thought about Johanna and Poppy’s conversation last night. Was this what they were talking about? Why didn’t they tell anyone about the Dauntless visit? Soon all of Amity gathered in front of the Tree. Rae and Tibby were at the front of the gathering. Johanna was a few feet in front of the crowd waiting with a patient smile. The Dauntless trucks roared into faction causing a stir of dirt and dust into the air as they came to a complete halt. Over a dozen of Dauntless soldiers poured out of each truck. All dressed in their signature black attire along with their ammunition accessories. Tibby and Rae tried to examine each face as they filtered around them. It looked like Amity was being swallowed up by a dark, menacing shadow. Each Dauntless soldier was mesmerizing to the Amity girls. They were far more muscular than most of the Amity men. With all the variations of hairstyles, piercings, and tattoos. Tibby gawked at every soldier nudging at Rae. Rae felt an uneasy feeling come over her as the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. It was like there was a warning in the air for her not to look in the direction of the head truck but her curiosity got the better of her. And boy does she wish she wouldn’t have looked. She watched as the door flung open with a wondrous Dauntless specimen descend with grace and agility. As he began strolling towards Johanna and the crowd it was apparent that this was no ordinary Dauntless soldiers. He gave off the presence of having power and complete control of the bodies in front of him. His arrogance radiated off of him as he made his way over, analyzing the Amity herd of helpless sheep not overlooking a single one of them. Many looked in every other direction to avoid his overpowering eye contact. Rae watched every step he took as he inched closer towards her. With every step, she began to lower her head until she was staring at the dirt under her feet. Her breath hitched when two rather large black combat boots came into her view. If that wasn’t enough indication that he was directly in front of her the feeling of his hot breath roaming over her was. She tried shutting her eyes hoping he would move along, but when she peeked the same jet-black boots were still in front of her. Rae began to get annoyed, ‘what’s with this guy,’ she thought, ‘why can’t he just go move on away from me.’ Rae couldn’t help it if he wanted to intimidate her fine, but she would look her challenger in the eye. She took what little bravery and confidence she had left and lifted her head but was only met with a broad black chest. There went her confidence she thought. Not wanting to crane her neck to look anymore pathetic, she lifted her eyes instead. She was met with the deadly steel gray orbs that had the capability in that moment to destroy her. He was frightening, but spectacular all at once. He was a mountain towering over her, completely made of muscle. As she continued to bravely scan the God in front of her, she found what appeared to be a tattoo peeking out from under his nicely fitted long sleeve black shirt, which covered his thick, muscular neck. She resumed back to her examination, which led her to his perfect chiseled jawline and appetizingly plump lips. His dark blond hair was neatly shaved on the sides leaving the top of his hair longer in a perfectly gelled wave. He was no stranger to piercings, having both ears decorated and one above his perfectly shaped brow. Mesmerized by the living statue in front of her she had forgotten about the intense stare he was giving her. His steel gray eyes beamed her down, declaring dominance over her. It was too much for Rae, she felt something inside of her tingle and started to feel the heat hit her all at once. He gave her a menacing, victorious grin as she dropped her head looking to the ground for some type of comfort. “Eric, Amity welcomes you.” Johanna greeted all while forcing a smile.
Eric lazily glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge Johanna then drifted back to Rae who was still looking to the ground. And with that, he turned kicking a bit of dirt behind him sprinkling Rae while making his way to Johanna. Rae could finally catch her breath she had lost during her encounter with Eric.“Johanna.” He nods giving her a sarcastic grin. “This is a surprise we weren’t expecting our Dauntless checkup for another two weeks.” She laughed trying to ease the tension. A few of Amity and even some Dauntless joined in on the laughter, but that only added to the intensity in the air. Eric stood there unamused with his hands behind his back giving his posture an even more dominating look. He stared at Johanna with a composed, articulate look before speaking. “I think it's important to have these ‘Surprise Checkups’ it keeps everyone in line. Making sure no ones getting more than what they need and because as you probably already know there are some people who aren’t qualified to run things properly. So it’s our job to make sure the opposite of that happens, to weed out the weak that disrupt the system. But I’m sure Amity doesn’t have that problem. Right.” Eric took a jab at Johanna hoping she would show some sort of grimace towards his words, but she was Amity and only smiled at his cruel words.“Right you are and that is why we are grateful for Dauntless and their ‘checkups.’ Should we discuss some of these checkups in my office?” She pronounced. “That’d be great.” He answered sharply.“Alright everyone make sure our Dauntless friends feel welcomed. Now please get back to your duties and peace be with you.” She announced. The crowd then replied in unison “Peace be with you.” Eric only rolled his eyes at the hippy greeting. He also addressed his company of Dauntless soldiers “Dauntless stay put until I say otherwise. Anyone who decides to disobey my orders will face the consequences you’ve been warned.”His command was directed towards only dauntless but many felt like his command was to be taken in by everyone as a warning. And with that Amity dispersed leaving the Dauntless patrol, giving Tibby and Rae (mainly Tibby) the perfect opportunity to give them a good ole “Amity Welcome.” “It seems the harvest came early this year, huh? God just look at them, Rae! All those muscles!” “Calm down its not like you can take a basket and pick your favorites.” Rae nudged her to move towards the orchard, but Tibby was slick rolling her body back towards the Dauntless group. Before Rae protest Tibby’s decision, her curious friend picked up a basket of freshly picked apples. Looking satisfied with the basket of apples she through Rae a one last chance glance urging her to go with her. Rae didn’t want Tibby to be alone with them; worried they would take advantage of her curious Amity friend. Rae huffed and made her way to Tibby to continue with her towards the Dauntless brutes. Tibby spotted a good manly patch and walked right up to them smiling while batting her eyelashes. “Hi ya. Welcome to Amity.” Tibby greeted while offering the four colossal men in front of her a freshly picked apple. “Move the fuck along Amity.” One of the soldiers snapped but was quickly met with a loud smack to the back of the head by the rather larger Dauntless man beside him. “Damn it Jake! Don’t be so fucking rude. Sorry ladies he not yet professional when it comes to faction relations. However, I am.” the large Dauntless man said. “Names Zeke. That fucker’s name is Jake. Blane and that Lady killer’s name is Luke.” The best way to describe Zeke would be a grizzly bear. He was an immensely large man but seemed gentle with his curly dark hair. His lip ring almost went unnoticed due to the scruffiness of his thick beard.Jake looked much younger than the group of men he was around. Rae came to the conclusion that he must have just gone through initiation that year. Unlike the others, Jake had clean skin no trace of any tattoos or piercing. His hair was slicked back, almost as if he was trying to copy the look of his leader. Blane was terrifying to look at. He probably had more tattoos and piercings than all of Dauntless combined. He was a walking canvas. His scalp contained two symmetrical gun tattoos that appeared to be firing bullets that ended up on both of his temples. The bullets point to the word “Fatal” that was stretched across his forehead. Rae could tell he had many more; she examined every tattoo, piercing, and scar that was visible to her. After scanning Blane her eyes fell upon Luke whose eyes were staring at her with devious intentions.Luke’s eyes were ivy green and full of mischievous. His head was shaved giving all the focus to the nasty scar that ran over the top of his eyebrow to his cheek. Just as Rae examined Blane’s art, Luke had examined Rae. She could feel his eyes piercing her body as she tried to look anywhere to avoid his gaze. She finally met his eyes and as he smirked at her she moved closer towards Tibby invading her space. Tibby hardly noticed as her focus was on Zeke. “I’m Tibby and this is Rae. We’re so happy Dauntless is here. It's nice knowing Dauntless sends their best. I feel safer already.” She smirked. “You guys must be hungry. Apple?”Zeke, Jake, and Blane through their hands quickly in the basket grabbing at the apples. Rae turned her head to Luke who was standing there still staring with a content grin on his face. “Would you like an apple?” Rae asked in a quiet undertone. “No thanks sugar. I want a more juicier fruit,” he said licking his lips. Rae could feel her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. “Haha! You smug bastard! Honestly ladies, you’re probably in more danger with us here.” Zeke laughed. “ I like danger,” Tibby directed towards Zeke, inching closer to him. Zeke knew the game Tibby was playing to which he was happy to oblige her. “Oh you do don’t you. I’d be careful sweetheart, I’m a very dangerous man.” He leaned into Tibby begin inches from her face. Tibby’s breaths shorten as she bit her bottom lip. All the while Rae hesitated as she noticed Luke himself moving closer and closer to her. “Tibby I think we need to be getting back to the orchard.” She said tugging on Tibby’s arm. “Rae its fine.” Tibby snapped.“We should be getting back before…” The sound of Johanna’s office door swinging open caught everyone’s attention. Dauntless knew this was a warning and scrambled to get in line. Rae and Tibby watched the frenzy in confusion. Tibby began stepping backwards grabbing Rae in the process. When they felt safe, the girls decided to watch what was about to unfold. The fearless leader made long strides towards his troops with Johanna calmly following. As he made his way getting closer, Tibby and Rae continued to walk backwards in unison gazing at the fearless leader. Eric stood in front of his Dauntless soldiers inspecting them intently. Everything seemed to be in tiptop shape before an apple core rolled in front of the rookie Dauntless Jake. Eric eyed the apple and smirked. He wondered over to the apple core and bent down to pick it up. Jake tried to stay calm and kept his eyes straight forward but was still sweating profusely. Eric towered over Jake with a playful smirk on his face, but his eyes reveal something different. “Did you enjoy your apple?” Eric asked in a sarcastic tone. “N…no sir” Jake answered unsure of what he should say. He tried to not make direct eye contact with Eric, which was challenging considering the fact that Eric was glaring at him. “You didn’t? It sure looks like you did. Why didn’t you grab me one?” Jake wasn’t sure he heard him correctly and stared at Erin in confusion. “I’m sorry, sir?”“I said,” he violently grabbed Jakes jaw in a swift motion shoving the apple core mercilessly down his throat, “Why didn’t you grab me one? Don’t you fucking dare spit it out.” He commanded while holding Jake’s neck. Eric’s eyes narrowed at Jake with a slight smirk on his face, as Jake was turning blue with Eric’s hands still wrapped around his neck. Rae felt the color drain from her face as she became nauseous. She had never seen such cruelty inflicted on a person before. After Eric was satisfied with the shade of blue on Jake’s face he effortlessly shoved Jake to the ground, where he began to regurgitate chunks of apple. Eric walked around Jake, paying no mind to his heaving sounds, he was making to breathe. He stood in front of his Dauntless soldiers, emotionless, to address them. “Let me be clear, this is not a vacation. You are not here to relax. You are Dauntless. You follow my orders and I’ll say it again if anyone chooses to disobey my orders will face the fucking consequences.” He looked over his Dauntless troops and caught eyes with an Amity girl holding a basket full of apples, the same Amity girl that had tried to challenge him earlier that day. Eric then smirked at the horrified Amity girl and uttered “Ah the forbidden fruit… but not for long,” to himself. Rae could feel her heart beating in her chest. Her first instinct was to run, but something deep inside her told her not too. She slowly lowered herself to place the basket on the ground all while not breaking eye contact with the Dauntless leader. Eric furthered his stare at Rae letting her know that he was the one with the power and not her, but he was still intrigued. Rae rose and gave him one last challenging look before turning to go back to the orchard. Eric watched the young Amity walk away, back to the orchard. He watched her round hips sway from side to side as she walked wondering what it would be like the grab them and have them bend to his every whim. He smiled to himself and uttered, “Challenge accepted.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Johanna watched the whole problematic scene unfold in front of her. Her eyes fell on Eric as he stared at Rae like a hungry, rabid dog. She was worried about Amity before, but now there was Eric and on top of that Rae caught his attention. She knew what type of person Eric was. He took pleasure in demolishing other people’s happiness. Max would bring him to meetings even before he became a leader. Johanna could feel the malice radiate off of him when he would walk into the room. She was thankful that Dauntless had sent the other leaders in the past. Max always had a soft spot for Johanna and was merciful in keeping Eric away from Amity. But now he could no longer ignore the issues that were steadily rising from the factions specifically Amity. Eric had proven to be an exceptional leader. He would effectively and efficiently execute any difficult task Dauntless threw at him. Max chose Eric to go into Amity to assess the problems because he knew Eric wouldn’t put up with any type of bullshit. Johanna knew her ties with Max were wearing thin, but she thought she had more time to get the situation under control. Her only hope was that the young Dauntless leader wouldn’t go digging too deep into Amity, especially into Rae. Johanna knew if anyone could break Rae it would be him. She truly hoped the leader would move on from the fragile Amity girl.“Shall I give you a tour of Amity?” Johanna spoke.Eric stood there with his hands firmly behind his back watching the Amity girl fade into the distance. “Yes. I’m curious to see what all Amity has to offer.” He said slyly. _________________________________________________________________________________________________Rae made her way back to the orchard, despite still being in shock. The visions of Eric choking the life out of the soldier kept replaying in her head the only difference was that she kept seeing herself as his victim. What if she was his next victim? She did challenge him not once, but twice. Did she now have a big red target on her back? Rae decided the best strategy for her was to steer clear away from Eric. Besides, he’s probably already forgotten about the little Amity girl, she hoped.Rae finally made it to the orchard where Tibby was already yapping on about what had happened. Rae hadn’t even noticed Tibby had left her, but she couldn’t blame her for running not with the way Eric was giving her his deathly glare. “Rae! Holy shit you're okay! I thought for sure he was going to strangle you next!” “So you just ran away? You wouldn’t have even tried to help me?” questioned Rae.Tibby felt guilty for leaving her friend behind, but was quick to defend herself. “Well what was I supposed to do? You saw what he did to that guy. What good would I have done?” “I know I would have probably done the same thing, if I’m being honest.” Rae confessed. “So what happened after I left? Did he kill that guy? That’s what I’ve been telling people.” Tibby whispered to Rae all red-faced. Rae didn’t want to tell Tibby about her and Eric’s stand off, so she just shook her head to move on from the subject. She was already having trouble dismissing Eric from her thoughts. She just kept thinking back to his face as he was choking the life out of the poor young Dauntless soldier. How cold his eyes were during the whole ordeal. Not a bit of sympathy or mercy lingered in those stormy captivating orbs. Johanna and Eric made their way through the compound. Johanna explained every little detail of Amity’s farming layout as they walked passed the fields and Eric as always ignored every little detail she was explaining. He didn’t really give a shit were the beets and the carrots grew. He was there for one reason and one reason only. To find out what Amity was hiding. Even before he arrived at Amity he had his suspicions. He continuously checked their online records comparing them with the other four factions’. Their population had grown significantly over the last fifteen years. Amity had always gotten a big bulk of initiates each year and rarely cut anyone. But the number of initiates they got every year weren’t adding up. That wasn’t the only thing that caught his attention. The food supplies were slowly declining. It wasn’t drastic but very noticeable to him. He wanted to look at Amity’s provision logs from their own files because he had a hunch they would be different from the reports the other factions were getting. Johanna was going on and on about some new plowing machine they were working on, Eric didn’t bother looking interested in what she was saying. He was tired of walking around looking at dirt. He finally interrupted her to get the information he really wanted. “How many initiates does Amity get every year?” he asked already knowing the answer. Johanna knew Eric was testing her, she was expecting it to happen sooner or later. “Eric, I’m sure you already know the answer to that question.” Johanna said bluntly. “Amity has always taken in a large portion of initiates every year because of obvious reasons.” He spouted.“And what reasons are those?” “I don’t think I have to tell you your faction is basically a charity. Taking in anyone who obviously has no business being in Amity. It’s a free pass for anyone, safe from cuts and becoming factionless. You keep the useless safe, wasting all of our resources. It’s the weak ones that bring down the system we’ve worked so hard to maintain. That’s why we cut people to weed out the defective. If you had any sense you’d do the same.” He vented. Johanna just smiled taking every word with a grain of salt. “Eric, everyone here knows what’s at stake. We all work together here, lending a hand to anyone in need. Everyone has a purpose in life it just might take them a little longer than others. Even the defectives have a purpose. It's kindness that helps a person grow and reach their full potential and that’s what we do here. We are the peaceful faction after all.” Eric grunted at her overlooking every word she had said except when she spoke of kindness. “There’s no more room for your pathetic kindness. You should know I sent in a request to have your initiation process to be review and revitalized. And there are others backing me on that.” Johanna stood her ground never faltering. She couldn’t do that especially in front of him. “Shall we continue?” she quipped.“I’m warning you, Johanna. I know Amity is hiding something and I’ll tear your whole goddamn faction apart to find out what. Just think all your little hippies running around all frantic, wanting answers from you when everything goes to hell. They would be so upset and dare I say it angry, to know their most trusted representative was hiding something from them. I’ve always wondered what an enraged hippy looks like. I guess I’ll know it soon enough.” He threatened, looking down at Johanna. Eric abruptly moved to Johanna’s side with his arm extended in the direction they were walking in. “Please continue. Now what is this about a new plowing machine?” he teased._________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rae was thankful the day was coming to an end as everyone headed back to the warehouse. As they neared, Tibby and Rae noticed some of the Dauntless were filtering through the warehouse. Rae wondered what business Dauntless had being in the warehouse. It occurred to her that this was no regular evaluation. Usually, when other factions came they weren’t there for more than a day. It also seemed unusual for Dauntless to bring a whole platoon along. What were they looking for, Rae wondered as her and Tibby got in line for Daniel’s judgment. “Ladies I’m sure today's activities didn’t keep us from performing at our very best,” Daniel questioned before his eyes left his clipboard. “They most certainly did not, I assure you.” Tibby declared dropping her bucket before Daniel.Daniel took a second, examining her load and quickly jotted his recordings. “Now Tabitha I hope with Dauntless being here you’ll strive for better production value. Because what I’m seeing here is not Amity worthy. You might want to take some overtime to acquire a better supply. ” “What the hell Daniel! I met your freaking quota, didn’t I? What do you want me to do? Bring the whole damn tree next time?” She snarled.“You barely met the quota and I know you and Rae split your produce before getting checked. That is unacceptable and I for one can no longer tolerate your laziness. I think some extra time in the fields will do you some good and come to think of it I think increasing your amount is also a good idea. You know to make up for all those other times.” He smirked. “Why you little rat. I ought to…” Tibby was about to continue when all the sudden Zeke stepped into the conversation.“Is there a problem here?” Zeke questioned. “This prick is trying to send me back to the orchard to do double the work. When I obviously reached the requirements for his stupid quota,” Tibby whined looking at Zeke with an innocent look in her eyes. “Is that so? Now that’s not very Amity of you. Why don’t you just let her off this time.” Zeke suggested with a friendly demeanor.“She did the minimal requirements and I know she’s been cheating with her haul every time. This is no concern of yours. You have no authority here so I suggest you go back to patrolling.” Daniel argued. Zeke’s friendly demeanor changed in a matter of seconds. He swiftly reached for Daniel’s collar and pulled him up to his eye level. You could tell Daniel was struggling as he started kicking his feet that were hovering the ground. “You know what I don’t like your tone and I for one think you need to apologize to the little lady and graciously accept her offering with open arms before they get broken.” Zeke said viciously. Daniel struggled in Zeke’s clutch and panicked. “Yes! Yes, you’re right! I’m sorry! How could I have been so rude of course her load is acceptable!” Daniel gasped.Zeke threw Daniel to the ground and leered over him. “That’s more like it now why don’t you thank the lady.” He commanded.“Oh yes! Thank you, Tibby. You’ve done exceptional work today.” He graveled at Tibby, Who was in a sort of shock at what Zeke had done. Tibby then smiled at Zeke batting her flirtatious eyelashes. “You're welcome Danny boy! I’m glad I could contribute to my faction.” She sneered. Daniel quickly grabbed his clipboard and scurried away from Tibby. Rae was dumbfounded at the display before her watching Tibby and Zeke’s interaction.“Thanks for your help. He can be a real asshole sometimes.” Tibby said.“It's no problem. I don’t think he’ll be giving you any hell any time soon.” Zeke assured her. “How can I ever thank you.” She cooed. “Well you wouldn’t happen to know where we can get some grub around here?” He asked moving closer to Tibby. “Sure they’re probably about to serve dinner in a bit. Me and Rae were probably about to head that way.” She gushed.“Well me and the boys are starving. Mind if we join you two?”“Not at all” Tibby quickly answered. Rae wanted to smack Tibby for inviting them to dinner. She wanted nothing to do with Tibby and her Dauntless fantasies. Zeke’s Dauntless friends approached them looking wide-eyed at the two girls. This group included Jake, Blane, and to Rae’s horror Luke. As they made their way to dinner, the girls got some very concerning looks from some of the other Amity members as they lead the herd of big bulky dangerous looking men to the food line. Once they got in line Rae could feel Luke’s body closely behind her. She turned her head to say something but kept quiet when she saw Luke grinning widely at her. Rae focused on gathering her meal as she went down the long table full of food. When she reached the dessert excitement came to her. Cherry cobbler was one of Amity’s specialties. She licked her lips when she saw she was going to get the last plate of it. As she reached for the plate she was stopped by a dark figure that swiftly came in and grabbed the dessert from her. She was about to argue for the cobbler before she saw that it was Eric. She froze right in front of him holding her plate of food in her hands. Eric grinned before dipping his finger in the oozing red cobbler and began sucking on it with pure delight. “I’ve heard so many people talk about how good the cherry cobbler is here. I had to check it out myself. It’s good, but I can think of another dessert I’d like to devour.” He purred. She felt her cheeks turn red and quickly made the decision to brush pass him. Eric watched the petrified Amity girl rush to a table that he assumed was with her friends. He watched her place herself at a table with another Amity girl and some of his Dauntless soldiers. Eric decided to place himself in view of the young girl that caught his eye. He wanted to examine her further to see how she behaved. He wanted to see what he was dealing with.Rae sat next to Tibby who was already in deep conversation with Zeke over something she didn’t really care to get converse in. She began picking at her food now that she had lost her appetite. She tried to focus on moving her food around when she noticed Luke had plopped down in front of her. She ignored the way he was eyeing her as he continued to seductively lick his spoon.She turned her attention to Jake who was sitting next to him hovering over his food. Rae felt like she needed to apologize to him for what had happened. The young man hadn’t lifted his head since Eric’s assault.“I’m sorry about what happened,” Rae said with an apologetic look on her face. “It's fine. It comes with being Dauntless. I disobeyed my leader’s orders, so I rightfully deserved the punishment.” He stated.“No one deserves that kind of treatment,” Rae said reaching for Jake’s hand. Jake looked up and Rae almost gasped at the bruising’s along his neck. She gulped down some water and then continued playing with her food trying not to stare at Jake’s neck. “If you think that’s the worst Eric’s done think again.” Declared Luke. Rae looked up from her plate to see Luke gliding his finger over his scare. “Call it one Eric’s disciplinary action if you will.” Rae was astonished by the way Eric treated his men. She looked past Luke and saw Eric staring at her. She was curious about all the monstrous acts Eric had inflicted on others. “Why did he do that to you?” Rae asked curiously still watching Eric, who continued eating.“I got a little too friendly with one of Eric’s concubines.” He grinned. “She needed some satisfaction that Eric wasn’t giving her. I, of course, being a giving guy gave it to her.” Rae started blushing at Luke’s confession and became mortified when she felt his foot moving up her leg.“It got a little rough, but I like it a little rough. Don’t you?” Rae looked passed him to see that Eric was no longer there. Rae looked back to Luke who was still smiling. She quickly jumped up from her seat looking to Tibby who was looking at her in confusion.“Well I think I should be getting home,” Rae said before turning to walk away.Rae needed to talk to Johanna now. She needed to know why Dauntless was really in Amity. She knew this wasn’t an evaluation anymore with the army Eric brought along. He was up to something and she needed to make her thoughts known to Johanna. She swiftly made her way to Johanna’s office where she was sure Johanna would still be. She reached Johanna’s office and swung the door open with her agenda set in her mind. “Johanna, I need to talk to you. It’s about Eric. I’ve heard terrible things about him.” She confessed to the quiet, dark room. “What might those things be?” A sly voice asked. It was familiar, but not Johanna’s voice. Eric stepped out of the darkness into the light that came from outside the room. Rae’s breath hitched in her throat when she met Eric’s malicious gaze. She turned to run, but Eric was faster, slamming the door. He was determined not to let the little Amity get away this time. He had her pinned against the wall with his muscular arms blocking her in. The look of panic in her eyes gave him immense pleasure. He wanted to play with his prey for a little bit before consuming her. “Now what terrible things have you heard about me?” He questioned as he moved a bit of hair out of her face causing her to flinch. He enjoyed the effect he had on her.“Wh…Where’s Johanna?” Rae stuttered. “Ah, she speaks! I’m not sure, probably picking flowers or some shit. I’m thinking about plucking some right now.” He said as he was playing with some of her soft waves. “What are you doing in here? This is Johanna’s office.” Rae sneered. She tried wiggling away from him but wasn’t getting anywhere in doing that. Eric was the one in control here, this was his game, not hers.“Yeah. I know that’s why I’m here. Perks of being a Dauntless leader.” He articulated. Confident that she wouldn’t run Eric moved away from her to the desk looking through papers. Rae watched him attentively, wondering what he was snooping around for.“You shouldn’t be in here. You need to leave right now.”Eric’s eye drifted up to meet her intense stare. “Or what? You’re going to tell on me.” He mocked. “Yes. I’m sure the counsel wouldn’t be too happy to find out that a Dauntless leader was caught stealing Amity files.” She stated with the little bit of confidence she had.“Careful Amity. You’ve already caused enough trouble today.” “What are you talking about?”“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Causing trouble for my men.”“That wasn’t my fault. I didn’t even want to be there, honestly. I was just being friendly. You’re the one who tried to choke the life out of that poor guy.” She defended. Eric swiftly moved and blocked Rae in a corner. He roughly took her chin in his hand to peer down at her. “Oh no that’s on you sweetheart. You shouldn’t be prancing around big boys like that. We Dauntless men are known for losing control.”“I’ve heard all about you losing control.” She said daringly. Eric took a deep breath in, peering down at the brave little Amity before him. He could still see the fear in her eyes, but was amused by her bravery. “What’s your name, Amity?”“Rae.” She answered coldly.His grin became bigger and caused shivers down her spine. “Ah like a ray of sunshine.” He joked. Rae huffed at his remark. “Tell me Sunshine, have you ever lost control? I bet that would be a beautiful site to see.” He cooed moving his massive hand down to her neck, holding it in a firm grasp. Rae thought back to what had happened earlier that day, causing her body to go into a fight or flight mode. Without any hesitation, she quickly kneed him in the groin causing him to wince in pain. She took that as an opportunity to push him into the desk so she could make a getaway. She didn’t look back to see if he was behind her. She was pretty confident the kick she inflicted on him would keep him down for a while.Once Rae was as far as she could get from Johanna’s office she pulled off the road to take a breather. As she was bent over catching her breath, she felt a hand on her back. She was ready to defend herself, whether this was Eric or Luke. She came up swinging and screaming to ward whomever off. “Rae! Rae! It’s me. It’s me, Joshua.” Rae looked up at Joshua in horror and collapsed in his arms crying. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She sniffled in his chest. Joshua held her close to him to help her calm down. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I got you. You're okay I’m here.” He cooed. Once Rae had calmed down, Joshua took it upon himself to walk her home. He had heard about what had happened to the soldier and thought that was what Rae was so upset about because Amity wasn’t used to anything like that happening. “It’s okay Rae. Dauntless will be out of here in no time. They never stay for more than a day. I bet they leave tomorrow afternoon.” He tried comforting her the best he could. Rae tried holding her smile knowing he was trying to help. She hoped they would be gone tomorrow before something bad happened. “I hope your right, Joshua. You didn’t see it today. It was cruel and inhumane.” She said. Joshua took her hands holding them gently in his. “Rae, I would never let any of them hurt you.” Rae pulled her hands from his and grabbed the sides of his head bring his forehead to hers while closing her eyes. “I know you wouldn’t, but please be careful around them.” Joshua took in a deep breath, “I will.”It then struck Rae that now Eric knew her name. He could easily find out about Joshua or Poppy. She was marked now and no one she was close to was safe. She needed to steer clear of Eric as much as possible and avoid being with Joshua in front of him. Rae knew Eric was the type of person to torture someone by hurting their loved ones. She couldn’t let him hurt Joshua; she would never forgive herself if something were to happen to him. She pulled away from Joshua backing up to the house. “Goodnight Joshua.”“Goodnight Rae.”_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rae shut the door and leaned against it trying to clear her thoughts. She was in desperate need of her peace tea. When she walked into the kitchen Poppy was positioned at the table wearing his thick bifocals trying to thread a needle to patch up a large tear in the side of one of his shirts. Her tea was already made for her, placed right in front of Poppy. Rae rushed to retrieve her tea, gulping it down as fast as she could. Poppy watched intently with a calming look on his face. When Rae finished she took in deep breaths with her eyes shut trying to erase the day she had had. “Rough day Sweet pea?” Poppy smiled. “You have no idea. Dauntless has to be the most vicious, licentious, brutish faction in all five. They’re terrible and they have no business being here.” Rae huffed. “Well, it seems they just need a little Amity pat on the back, don’t they? We’ll have to show them some hospitality while they’re here in hopes they’ll pick up on our character.” Poppy motioned while trying to thread his needle and accidently stabbing himself. “Ouch damn it! Well, I probably don’t need to show them how to prepare a needle.” He said taking his pricked thumb into his mouth. Rae could only laugh at her poor grandfather. “Here let me help.” She offered while already taking the needle and thread away from him.“It seems I have contained my strength, but have forfeited my eyesight in old age. I guess we can’t have everything.” He chuckled. Rae laughed as she began repairing Poppy’s torn shirt. She started thinking about Eric and Poppy. Her worry came back to her fearing for Poppy and what would become of him if Eric were to ever to see him. “Poppy, the Dauntless leader he’s…he’s dangerous I watched him almost choke the life out of someone today. I want to you to be careful and to try to stay out of sight from him or any Dauntless for that matter.” “Sweet Pea I’m seventy-five years old and I’ll be damned if I have to hide from anyone. I’ve seen it all and been around all types of people, even people like him. I’ve learned that with people like this dauntless leader, is that they only exert violence on others because they don’t understand themselves, making them feel weak on the inside. But if they can make a connection with someone to help them see who they truly are then maybe they could put some good into the world.” He spoke with his gentle, soothing voice. It was conversations like this that Rae understood why so many people looked up to Poppy. She took in his words, smiling at how at peace he was with his life. She loved Poppy so much not knowing what she would do without him. Rae finished mending his shirt and placed it in front of him. Looking satisfied, he picked up the shirt examining it. “Good as new! Thank you Sweet pea.”“Your welcome. Poppy, I understand what you're saying, but please just be careful. Okay?” Poppy only smiled “Oh alright. I’m going to retire to bed now. I love you, Sweet Pea.”“Love you too Pop-Pop.”After Rae prepared for bed, she settled into her sheets. Her mind was running over everything that had happened. She thought of Poppy, Johanna, Joshua, Tibby, Jake Luke, Zeke, and Eric. Her mind stayed on Eric and the way he had gripped her neck. She thought of the way his hands had roamed over her body and shivered at the thought. His hands were to be feared she thought. She needed to stay out of his grasp to survive. Rae couldn’t let Eric take her because she knew if he did he would be her reckoning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The compound looked ghostly at night. Empty of all its happy go lucky worker bees and the sound of all their buzzing. The only sounds that could be heard now were the chirpings of the pesky grasshoppers and crickets that roamed around in the fields. The chirping seemed to grow louder and louder until it suddenly ceased. Almost like something had interrupted them while rustling through the thick lush of grass. A dark shadowy figure glided through the fields, heading in the direct of the wall that kept the unknown out. The silhouette moved through the thick forest where it stopped at a very familiar spot. Rae's old demolition site that had been abandon many years ago. It still contained all the shattered remnants of Rae's soul, along with the old beat up car. The hooded figure stepped further into the opening of the location, unveiling her hood. "Lovely night for a stroll isn't it Johanna?"Johanna was startled by the voice that came up from behind, causing her to suddenly jerk away from the hot breath on her neck. She peered into the glowing eyes staring back at her in anticipation for her to speak. "Yes, it is. I'm glad it was nice enough for us to have our meeting you so urgently demanded. Now, what is it you want Kent?" Johanna said while straightening her back up."Oh come on Johanna. Don't you like our little chats we have? Okay fine I'll get to the point. He's not happy with Amity lately. First the shortage of food, now Dauntless patrolling around Amity. He's starting to become very displeased with your performance and feels like maybe Amity needs a little reminder." He threatened."No! No please! We're doing the best we can, but we have to have enough food for all the other factions, not just the Factionless. It's been hard reach your demands. As for Dauntless, there's nothing I can do. Their leader is growing suspicious. Please just give us more time. We gave you more than enough food last time.""Johanna, he's been more than generous to Amity. I mean he's made sure to keep the chaos out of your compound. Remember he's the one keeping Amity from burning to the ground. And the only way to keep him satisfied is to give him your contribution to our cause. The more time given the more desperate our people become and you should know desperate people do desperate things." He warned. "I know. I know what your people are capable of. Please just tell me what I need to do.""It's simple. Get rid of Dauntless. Give us our food you owe and then wait until your services are needed again. See easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. That is unless you decide to be uncooperative or Dauntless starts to cause us problems. Then we'll have to take some affirmative action people will start to get hurt, go missing, burn, but you already know that don't you?"Johanna swallowed the malice of his words, knowing his threats we're real. "I understand. I'll have your supplies ready." She declared.Kent smiled at her submission and chuckled. "Well, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that. See the five factions have their system of operations and we have ours. You have a goodnight, Johanna. I can't wait till our next meet." He said slipping into the darkness of the forest. Johanna narrowed her eyes as he disappeared into the murky woodland. Her mind was running in a million different directions. How was she going to get enough food together in time for the factionless on top of everyone else Amity had to feed? How was she going to get Eric and his Dauntless regime out of Amity? Did she just make a deal with the Devil?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rae's mornings usually ran the same. She'd typically give herself an extra five minutes of sleep, which would result in her tardiness. She was lucky it was her day off considering the amount of sleep she got last night. The events from yesterday had her head spinning all night long. Rae wiped the sleep from her eyes and rolled out of bed. She needed to get ready for rehearsals with Joshua. Rae ran through her closet before settling on her favorite yellow sundress. She moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth and quickly ran her fingers through her loose curls. Stepping into the kitchen she could already smell the sweet apple cinnamon aroma in the air. Two apple turnovers and her peace tea were appropriately waiting for her along with her tea. After devouring her breakfast, she threw on her sandals and was on her way out the door. Walking through Amity, Rae noticed a change in the atmosphere. The genuine smiles that walked around the compound seemed a lower than usual. This was probably due to the fact that Dauntless were hovering through the crowd. While most Dauntless moved swiftly to their assigned sentry duty. Some packs lingered around the dome, taunting any Amity that walked by. As Rae neared the dome, she knew she wouldn't go unscathed from their crude comments."Fuck! The guys back at home were right on one thing about Amity. The women here look fucking delicious. I mean look at those hips! Hey baby where you going?" one called out.Some whistling followed suit but Rae just ignored their comment and moved to walk in before being stopped by a familiar face."Well Goodmorning Sugar. I've been thinking about you I wanted to get to know you a little better but you left in such a hurry last night I didn't get to. How about tonight we meet up for some cherry picking? Hmm, what do you say?" Luke proposed as he blocks her access. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer as Dauntless should be gone by this afternoon and I wouldn't want to cause you anymore insoluble feelings that I can't and would never return. Now if you'll excuse me." Rae quipped as she pushed passed Luke. She didn't bother looking back at his face as she pretty much had a good visual of what it probably looked liked. As Rae entered she was astonished by all the decorations that were already up. There were elegant paper lanterns streaming all around. She could envision how beautiful it was going to look at night lite up. She noticed an array of ribbons and flowers that also adorned the walls. It probably was a good thing that Joshua was helping out with the decoration as it looked like a lot of work was put into decorating the dome. Rae snapped out of her mesmerized state when she heard the loud banging of hammers. She looks over to the center where the tree stood and saw Joshua and another man working on the stage. Rae started walking towards the stage before being stopped by Cara."Oh, my gosh Rae. How are you? What do you think of the decorations? They were all my ideas. Their way better than last years don't you think?" Cara jabbered."Oh yeah. It looks really good Cara, you guys did a great job. I just came to see if Joshua wanted to go rehearse for a little bit.""I don't know about that, we still have a lot to do. I'm sure your little song can wait." Cara said. Rae raised her eyebrow at Cara's comment. She knew Cara expected for her to roll over but Rae wasn't about to let that happen not when she and Joshua were finally starting to reignite their relationship. "Well, why don't we just go ask Joshua what he wants to do." Rae declared as she brushed passed Cara. Cara trailed not far behind Rae. Joshua looked up from hammering to see Rae smiling at him. "Rae, what are you doing here?" Joshua said surprised. "I thought we could rehearse a little since we didn't yesterday. Is that okay?" Rae questioned innocently. Cara was behind her with her hand firmly on her hips not looking too pleased with Rae."Of course! I'd love to. Besides we're almost done here anyway, I'll grab my guitar and we can go practice." Joshua declared while jumping off the half finished stage.Rae smiled at the victory she just won against Cara, "Great!" ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rae enjoyed warming up with Joshua it gave them time to joke around and laugh. It was blissful to Rae, she felt like Joshua was the only one to make her feel truly happy. That's all she wanted with Joshua to be happy with herself and her life. "The decorations look really great Joshua. That collar Cara has on you must be working." Rae giggled as he tuned his guitar. "Collar? What collar? All I did was help decorate." Joshua stated."Oh come on. It's obvious Cara wants you. That's why she pulled you away from me. To keep you all to herself." "Rae, no one could ever pull me away from you.""Do you really mean that?" Rae asked as Joshua leaned in inches from her face still smiling. "I do." He said. Their lips were millimeters apart when the doors suddenly burst open."Well well well. What do we have here?" Luke said with a pack of soldiers behind him. Rae turn blood shot red from the intrusion. First embarrassment came over her but was quickly turned into anger, but she knew she needed to contain it for Joshua's sake."We're rehearsing if you don't mind. Please leave we need to practice." Rae defended."Well if that's how you practicing mind if I chime in," Luke said walking towards the two of them. Joshua stood up in front of Rae coaxing her behind him. Joshua puffed out his chest to try to intimidate Luke but his efforts were futile as Luke met his stance. "Look we don't want any problems," Joshua stated. Luke grabbed Joshua by the collar of his shirt pulling him dangerously close. "Well, then you should be causing any." Luke barked. "Let him go!" Rae yelled as she tried to pry Luke's hands from Joshua's shirt. Without any effort at all Luke's pushed Rae away with more force than he should have, causing her to hit the floor. She hesitated for a split second and then grabbed Joshua's guitar."You know what really bugs me about Amity? Hmmm? Pussy men like you." Luke spat as he reared his fist back ready to inflict pain. His actions were prevented when a guitar bashed the back of his head. Luke doubled back holding his head with his hands in pain. "Motherfucker! You bitch!" he screamed.Everyone in the room was in shock by the little Amity's actions even Rae, herself. The look of terror came over her face when she realized what she had done. Before she could even run the dauntless soldiers were already restraining her arms. She screamed and struggled in their firm hold. A stream of tears started staining her face as she looked to Joshua who was mortified by the scene. She kept screaming his name as they dragged her out of the room wondering what their plans were for her next.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ She was placed in Johanna's office, which was unoccupied when they got there. Rae was still trembling, thinking about her punishment she would face for striking a soldier. ‘What would they do to her? What would Eric do to her?' She thought. Rae regretted not being able to control her rage but she couldn't just stand by watch Luke pummel Joshua like that. ‘Oh god! Joshua! He saw everything she did. What was she going to do now?' she thought. Rae was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door behind her fly open. She didn't look back to see who it was she wanted to make as little eye contact as possible. By the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor, she already knew who it was. Eric was silent as he made his way to the desk. As he sat down he kept quiet and only grinned at Rae. After a minute or two he finally began to speak. "Well sunshine it seems you just can't stay out of trouble, can you? But I must say I was rather surprised when I heard you assaulted one of my men."Rae didn't say anything, she couldn't even look at him after hearing his words. She thought back to last night and what had happened between them. Rae came to the conclusion that, that probably didn't help her situation. "You know, I knew you were different from the others. I could sense it, anyone in a five hundred mile radius could. You can act like your all about peace and harmony, but face it Sunshine you're just like me, full of rage and violence." He sneered."I am nothing like you!" she cried. "One of your men attacked my friend.""And who was this friend?""It doesn't matter, the point is he was about to attack my friend and so my instincts just kicked in and I hit him with a guitar!"Eric couldn't help but laugh, "If that's not a Hippie attack I don't know what is. Did you at least try to stop him with your ‘flower power'?""I did! He pushed me causing me to crash to the floor. I probably have bruises now!" Rae defended.Eric demeanor changed after he heard about Luke pushing Rae. More importantly, he thought about how Luke had his hands on Rae. He was the only one who could touch. She didn't know this but she would soon enough. Before Eric could further his interrogation Johanna burst through the door."Rae! Oh, my goodness are you okay? Joshua came and got me and told me what happened." Johanna breathlessly said."Joshua is it?" Eric said getting confirmation on Rae's ‘friend.' He would be watching Joshua very closely now. Rae kept her head down and fiddled with her hands."Eric! What is the meaning of this interrogation? She has done nothing wrong. You have no authority when it comes to Amity and our punishments." Johanna claimed."I never said she was being interrogated. I just needed to get her side of the story and she has assaulted one of my soldiers. So since this involves Dauntless I have the authority to choose how to deal with this." He stated."Eric they were just getting ready for the festival coming up this won't happen again. Besides Dauntless is leaving today you have more important things to deal with than a small Amity incident." Johanna said hoping he would drop the punishment and leave with his Dauntless army."As it turns out Dauntless will be extending their stay here in Amity." He answered.Rae felt her stomach flip, that meant more Dauntless, more Luke, More Eric. Her tears silently ran down her face as she looked to Johanna for some type of comfort."Under who's orders?" she asked. "Mine. Is that a problem?" he question. "Of course not everyone is welcomed here," Johanna said trying to seem calm by his answer."Good. I'm so glad I'll be able to attend the festival. You know how much Dauntless loves a good party." He said cheerfully as he got up to exit the room. "Oh and don't think you won't face any type of punishment Sunshine. You will, I just want to give the type of punishment you deserve. And don't worry about Luke I'll take care of him." He promised as he left the room.Rae felt her whole world crashing around her. Johanna kneeled down in front of her and tried to stop her tears that kept pouring down her cheeks. "Calm down Rae. It's okay everything will be okay." Johanna hummed. "No, it won't! Dauntless won't leave. I can't take much more of this. Johanna, I need a stronger peace remedy. Please! I won't survive without it. The real me will come out and I can't have that happen. I might hurt someone like I did today. Please, I need it! Please" She begged."Shhh. Okay. Okay, I'll get you more. Don't worry I'll take care of it." Johanna said holding Rae trembling hands.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eric stalked his way to the medical station to see Luke. He was infuriated that he thought he had the right to touch Rae after what had happened back at Dauntless. He needed to send Luke a clear message stating to never ever touch what is his. He found Luke doubled over hold an ice pack to the back of his head. He stood in front of Luke looking down at him like he was the lowest of the lows."You know I don't know what's more disappointing. The fact that you got taken down by a little Amity, a girl for that matter or that you still haven't learned your lesson from last time.""Last time?"Eric swiftly grabbed Luke's head bring him down making contact with Eric's knee. A burst of sheer pain went through Luke as his nose connected to Eric's knee. Eric then brought him up to his level shoving him against the hall. Blood trickled from Luke's nose splattering on Eric's hands. As it was Eric's style, he wrapped his hands around Luke's neck cutting off his air supply. "I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully. If you ever touch her again, I'll fucking cut off your hands and make you wear them as a necklace." He threatened. "Do I make myself clear or do you need a little help understanding?" "No! No! I understand I'll stay away from her! I swear!" Luke screamed. Eric threw Luke to the ground and continued to wipe his blood on the sides of his pants. "Good. Someone come clean this fucker up!" he commanded as he walked away.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ After Johanna promised to get Rae a stronger peace remedy. Rae made her way home and was met by Joshua who was waiting for her. He ran to her and took her into his arms. She didn't cry and embraced his warm, caring arms. "Rae I'm so glad you're okay. What happened? Will you be punished? I wish I could have stopped them. I'm so sorry, Rae." "I'm okay. Eric hasn't made his decision on my punishment yet. Did you tell Poppy what happened?""No I've only told Johanna, but I can't say the same for the other Dauntless soldiers that were there." He exclaimed. Rae looked defeated in that moment word traveled fast through the factions it didn't matter which one you belonged to everyone knew everyone's business. "Look, Joshua, what you saw today it… Well, it…" "It doesn't matter. I should have stepped up more. Maybe if I had you wouldn't have had to do that. I promised you I would protect you and the first sign of danger I failed." He confessed. "No Joshua you didn't fail. You could never fail. Your one of the most important person in my life." Rae said. Her words warmed him. Her brought her in putting his forehead against hers. They stayed like that for a while until they were interrupted by a dominating voice."Move along Amity," Eric commanded causing Rae to step back in fear. He knows who Joshua is now, his name, his face. Rae's worse nightmare was now a reality. Joshua stood there and looked at Rae. He knew who Eric was and knew his words shouldn't be taken lightly, but he also didn't want to leave Rae. "It's okay Joshua. You should go. Don't worry about me, I'll see you tomorrow to practice." Rae assured him.Eric stepped closer to Joshua, "Move along flower boy." Joshua swallowed whatever he was feeling and stepped away from Eric moving towards Rae. In fear of what Eric would do she stepped back a yelp "Goodnight Joshua. Please just go." Defeated Joshua said goodnight and turned away from Rae. He walked passed Eric who was grinning at the rejection. "Goodnight Joshua." Eric sneered. Joshua ignored Eric's sarcasm and made his way down the road. "You don't have to be so mean you know. He wasn't doing anything wrong." She snide."Oh but he was. He was touching you and he should know he shouldn't touch things that don't belong to him.""Fuck you! I don't belong to you. I'm not your property." "You need to watch your mouth sunshine get this through your head sunshine you belong to me and I don't like other people touching what's mine. And if you don't understand that yet, understand this, if I see him touching you again well use your imagination." He warned as he caressed her cheek. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. She flinched at his touch and tried to move away but his hold on her jaw was too strong that when she tried to move she was in pain. "God I'm going to have so much fun with your punishment." He said calmly as he dropped his hand from her face. "What are you going to do to me?" Rae asked quivering.Eric only smiled and turned to walk off leaving her to her own horrific thoughts. She almost couldn't hear him but it was clear what he said."Break you."
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Tibby had asked Rae if she wanted to go make flower halos with her and a couple of the other girls. The Festival was in two days and the women had already started on preparing their attire for the event. Rae was thankful for Tibby’s invite, she needed some girl time and she had always enjoyed halo making. It was custom for the women to wear flower halos as a sign unity and love. After their shift, most of the women headed to the greenhouse to start the halo proceedings. The greenhouse was absolutely spectacular around festival time. The florist paid extra attention to their supply of flowers knowing this was their busiest time of the year. Not a lot of the other factions called for flowers that often. Usually only Erudite made frequent orders to Amity’s greenhouse, but only for foliage plants, they claim that flowers are a distraction to the human brain. As Rae and Tibby entered the greenhouse they were astonished by the array of flowers that cluttered the walls and shelves. The greenhouse was compacted full of Amity women running around gather roses, lilies, and daisies to adorn their halos. The girls were thankful some of their other friends had saved them seats at their table when they entered. Alyssa, Fay, Melony and Nilly were gossiping over some Amity boys, when Rae and Tibby arrived at their table. “It’s about time you two showed up we’ve been waiting for hours.” Fay giggled. “Sorry got caught up talking about my new Dauntless boyfriend.” Tibby teased. The squealing that came from the group of girls was so loud it was deafening. Once they had calmed down the girls started roaming around the room to obtain the perfect array of flowers to decorate their halos. Amity has never been physically competitive, but when it came to halos, the women go all out. Many would embellish their headpieces with huge hydrangeas, orchids, sunflowers, and roses. There was no prize for the most mesmerizing halo but everyone pretty much gave their opinion on which halo they think is the best. The women flocked to the brightest colored flowers in hopes of getting the prominent flower that was in that year. This year the more exotic the flower, the more notice you would get.Rae never gave much thought into her halo, while others stressed over theirs year round. She liked not planning and being spontaneous in picking her flowers. She had eyed the orchids when they had walked in and thought they would suit her well this year. As Rae made her way through the flower-crazed mob she was arms length from the chosen flower when a hand swooped in snatched the orchids from their vase. Rae looked up to see whom the culprit was only to be faced with Cara’s wicked smile. “I just love orchids. Don’t you? Oops did I… Did I just take the last one? Well, I probably did you a favor, orchids just don’t seem like your type of flower. So you're welcome.” She boasted, throwing Rae a vile grin. Rae watched Cara walk away towards other flamboyant flowers. Rae grazed over all the other popular flowers that were quickly disappearing.Once the crowd of women had demolished the assortment of flowers, Rae was left with only a few choices. She looked throughout the whole greenhouse before settling on tiny white flowers. She liked the simplicity of them, and the calmness they brought when looking at them deeply. “Baby’s breath a personal favorite of mine. It means everlasting and undying love.” A soft voice said from behind her. Rae turned to see the sweet voice belonged to one of the oldest florist named Mabel. “Ms. Mabel, how are you?” Rae said cheerfully. “I’m wonderful, dear. How are you?” she asked.“I’m great just getting ready for the festival you know ‘halo time’” Rae joked.“Oh yes I know one of our busiest time of the year. How your grandfather? Will he be at the festival?” Mabel asked. “Yes he’ll be there I’ll mention to him you asked about him.” Rae said with a knowing smile. “Oh don’t bug him about little old me. But tell him I do expect a dance or two. I want to see if the old man still has some moves left in him.” She surmised. “I will let him know his duties for that night.” Rae smiled trying to contain her laughter.“It will be a night to remember. Oh! I’m very excited to hear you sing. Your mother used to sing all the time.” Rae’s smile softened at the mention of her mother. “I think baby’s breath is perfect for you, you’re already so radiant why try to overshadow that with some dull flowers.”“Thank you. I think they’re absolutely lovely.” Rae added. Mabel nodded and moseyed towards a table full of overly excited adolescent girls.When Rae made it back to her table, Tibby was already spilling about her twenty-four hour relationship with Zeke. The other girls were captivated with Tibby’s story on how Zeke had found out where she had lived and took her on a “walk.” “He has two piercings.” Tibby cooed. “I only saw one.” Rae claimed. “I know he told me he’d show me the other at the festival.” Tibby articulated with a sly grin. The girls around the table squealed with giddiness. Rae groaned in disgusted at the proclamation.“So what about you and Joshua? Will the festival be a “big night” for the two of you?” Alyssa asked.Rae smiled at the question and continued to work on her halo. “Oh come on Rae don’t leave us without the details!” Nilly begged. “It’s not Joshua you should be asking about.” The whole table jerked to Cara who was leaning on the table fiddling with her halo. “You should be asking about a certain Dauntless leader. I heard he got pretty hands on with a certain Amity girl. Rumors of course. Unless you have a confession to make.”Rae was fuming and wanted to reach across the table a sling Cara across the room. “There’s nothing going on between me and Eric.” Rae defended. “Already on a first name basis. Rae I never took you for the type, but then again there’s probably a lot of things we don’t know about you.” Cara asserted. “I mean I don’t blame you for wanting something a little more adventurous. Joshua was pretty adventurous with me so I understand where you're coming from. Anyway do you like my halo?” She then added, pointing to her flamboyant array of flowers. Rae felt her eyes water at Cara’s words. She knew Joshua and Cara were a couple at one point in time but she didn’t think he would ever sleep with her. Tibby knew the comments had hurt Rae deeply and decided she wouldn’t let it stand. “Oh yeah! I love your halo! Maybe if you add a banana you make your own ecosystem on your big fat head.” Tibby barked. Cara just grinned, “I love how plain you went with your's Rae. It matches you perfectly.” She then sauntered away from the table leaving Rae on the verge of tears and Tibby fuming.“She’s lying. We all know she’s lying. You okay? She just said that to be a bitch. Joshua would never touch her Rae.” Tibby assured her.“I think your halo is really pretty, Rae.” Nilly confessed, giving Rae a comforting smile. “Thank you, Nilly.” Rae said pushing back her tears._________________________________________________________________________________________________After the girls completed their halos, Mabel had them put their halos in a special room to preserve the flowers until the festival. Rae needed to get to Joshua and ask him about Cara. Tibby walked with her towards the dome so they could talk about their plans for the day of the festival.“So you’re still coming over to get ready right?” Tibby asked. “Yeah of course.” Rae said quietly still thinking about Cara and Joshua.“Rae stop! She’s a bitch and just said that to upset you. You know Joshua, he would never do something like that, especially with Cara. He'd been crazy about you for years he would fuck that up for Cara.” Tibby proclaimed. “I know and your probably right but I need to hear him say that.” Rae said. Once they made it to the Dome Tibby met up with Zeke who was waiting for her. Rae left her friend to her own demise to go find Joshua. She went to where they usually rehearsed to find him playing his guitar.“Rae I’m glad you came I thought about sending a search party.” He said with a warm smile. Rae couldn’t help but feel light at his greeting it was like Cara’s words had melted away. It was now just Joshua and her playing their music. Rae felt whole with Joshua and Cara couldn’t change that. After their short rehearsal, Joshua started messing with Rae’s hair running his fingers through her hair. The feeling was sensational but then Rae remembered Eric’s warning and jerked away. “What’s wrong?” he questioned at her sudden reaction. “Nothing its just I have to go.” She poorly lied. “Is this about Eric? Did he tell you not to come near me?” He asked. “Not necessarily.” Rae said. “Look I just don’t want him to hurt you because of me. It’s only temporary, once he’s gone everything will go back to normal.” Rae added.“I just don’t see why he thinks he has the right to control you. We shouldn’t have to hide.” Joshua said pulling Rae into him with her pushing against him. “Joshua please. Not here, not now. Not while he’s roaming around. You’re not safe with me. Please just try to keep your distance from me. I can’t see you hurt.” Rae begged. “We still have a song to play Rae.” He objected. “I know that’s why we’ll sing the song then go our separate ways after. Stay away from me at the festival Joshua. Please.” Rae commanded. “Alright.” Joshua answered shortly and made his way out the room leaving Rae cold and alone. Walking out of the building Rae felt drained of all energy. She kept telling herself that Joshua understood what was at stake, not only his life, but also her happiness. She could never forgive herself if something were to happen to him on her account. As she neared the warehouse, she heard a sudden commotion and what sounded like gunshots followed by screaming. Rae ran as fast as she could to the crowd of people that formed a thick wall from the scene she so eagerly wanted to see. After pushing through the crowd, her eyes rested on a starved, frightened man. The Dauntless soldiers held him on the ground at gunpoint. The man was so dirty and tattered he looked to be older, but behind the grime and unkempt hair was a younger man, who was barely twenty-five.Rae watched on at the brutality that was being put on display for all to see. The soldiers aimed millimeters from the poor man’s foot causing him to move in a frantically. They laughed at his movement yelling at him to “dance” for them. The battered man fell to the ground from exhaustion. Rae watched as two apples roll from his tattered rags. The man scattered to grab the two pieces of fruit that meant life or death to him, but was stopped by a big black boot that crushed his hand. The screech that came from the man’s throat made Rae cringe.“Please! Please! I have a family! They need to eat or they’ll starve! Please!” he screamed. “Now you know the five factions have set a side enough rations for you and the rest of the Factionless.” One soldier sneered.“You mean scraps! You leave us so little! We barely have enough strength to fight over the rubbish you call food. There are people dying out there, women and children starving to death!” the man preached.“Well it’s not my fault you guys decided to reproduce.” The soldier laughed. Rae could hardly contain herself. She wanted to stop this. It wasn’t right, all the man was trying to do was feed his family.Before Rae could voice her opinion Eric, along with two other men, were marching towards the crowd. “Ah Eric look what we have here.” The soldier called out to him before kicking the already battered man. “A thief! He’s already confessed to his crimes and we took it upon ourselves to demonstrate what happens to thieves.” He said proudly.Eric’s face was blank to the emotions that were coming in every direction. He whispered to the man that stood beside him. The man then began walking over to the factionless prisoner with the other man following. Both of the men bent down and took the poor creature by the arms carrying him away from the buzzing crowd.“Hey! Where are they taking him he hasn’t gotten his deserved punishment!” the soldier yelled and began to follow until Eric stepped in front of him blocking his way.“I’m going to suggest that you not follow suit and return to your duties.” Eric said calmly while looking deep into the soldier’s eyes. The soldier complied with Eric’s demands by nodding his head slowly and began to step around him. Eric reached out to the man’s shoulder pulling him roughly into him. “If you ever pull a stunt like that in front of other civilians again, you’re going to regret the day you ever stepped foot into Dauntless. Do I make myself clear?”“Yes sir! It won’t happen again, sir!” the soldier answered. “Good now get back to work.” Eric commanded. As the terrified soldier walked off the crowd dispersed with him. Rae stared at Eric and was surprised he didn’t continue the cruelty with his fellow comrades like he usually did. Eric gave Rae a nod causing her to continue in her direction she was heading before stumbling on the unfortunate mishap. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ It was nice to be back in the stables with Poppy. It had been a while since Rae had enjoyed the company of the thorough breeds that stood around her. The smell of hay and manure tickled her nose as she furthered into the stables in search of Poppy.“Poppy? Are you in here?” Rae called out gazing upon the magnificent creatures that rested in each box stall. “Over here Sweet pea.” Poppy hollered from one of the last stalls. Rae peered into the stall to find a very pregnant mare and Poppy feeling around her swollen womb.“Wow is that Daisy? She’s huge! When is she due?” Rae asked, stepping into the stall cooing at Daisy, while gently stroking her neck.“It should be in the next two weeks. I’m amazed she hasn’t popped yet, honestly, she’s as big as a whale!” Poppy said making Daisy snort to his comment. “A pretty whale,” Poppy assured her, letting her relax. After feeding Daisy they left her to eat and moved on to one of Rae’s favorite riding horse, Luna. Rae first learned how to ride Luna when she was little and has since then had a special bond with her. She had always loved her porcelain white coat contrasting with her gray muzzle and legs. Rae entered her stall cooing at her, slowly approaching her from the side. She began stroking Luna’s neck just as she did Daisy. Once Luna had recognized Rae, she started nudging Rae with her nose allowing Rae to caress the bridge of her nose. “I missed you too, girl.” She whispered getting a gentle nickering sound from Luna in return. Rae smiled as she continued petting her beloved Luna. “It’s been a while since you two went riding. Want to take her out for a spin?” Poppy asked. Rae looked to Luna and smiled. “What do you say, girl? Want to go for a ride?” Rae asked getting an approving sound from Luna.It was nice to go riding again for Rae. She hadn’t done it in so long she forgot the feeling of freedom she got when riding. The faster Luna went the more Rae felt like she was escaping from all her problems with Cara, Joshua, Dauntless and Eric. She could tell Luna was enjoying the fresh air and the freedom to roam around the compound. As the fresh air filled their lungs, they kept going, letting out all the worries and struggles they were facing. After a successful ride, Rae and Luna made their way back to the stables.When they got back, Poppy was gone and left a note for Rae saying ‘There was an emergency out on the cow pasture. Seems that some old bull is having his own rodeo with some of the heifers. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Rae decided she would brush and feed Luna while waiting for Poppy’s return. After removing all of the riding gear, Rae brought Luna over to a water trough and began brushing her. In a soft soothing voice, Rae began to sing as she brushed Luna. *Once there was a way,To get back homeward.Once there was a wayTo get back home.Sleep, pretty darling,Dot not cryAnd I will sing a lullaby.Golden slumbers,Fill your eyesSmiles await you when you riseSleep pretty darlingDo not cryAnd I will sing a lullaby.*Rae came to an abrupt stop when Luna started to become skittish and snort. Rae did the best to calm her, but Rae became aware that she wasn’t the only person in the stable. She turned to who she knew was already there. “Eric.”“Hello Sunshine.”Rae rolled her eyes at his chosen nickname for her and turned back to Luna who had calmed down when seeing that Rae wasn’t scared of the new intruder. Eric watched with extreme supervision as Rae she handled Luna, leading her back to her stall. “What are you doing here? You know horses are extremely good judges of character, right?” Rae sneered at him. “Oh Sunshine, you don’t know me well enough.” He rejected. “Oh I think I know you well enough.” Rae said. Eric started walking closer to where Rae was but stopped when a copper-colored horse poked its head out of its stall curious of the new intruder. He obliged the horse and began caressing under its jaw. The horse seemed to be enjoying the attention and for a split second so did Eric, Rae noticed. Eric then directed his attention to Rae, “They are good judges of character.” “What are you doing here Eric?” Rae questioned. “I saw you riding earlier. I didn’t know you could ride.” He said in an interested tone. Rae was surprised Eric had taken an interest in her hobbies. “I’ve been riding ever since I was little it’s like walking for me now.” She stated. “Interesting. I also didn’t know you could sing that good.” He mused, as he kept getting closer to her. Rae felt her cheeks turn red from his comment, he had heard her sing the very last thing she wanted. “You’re good really good not shit like the other Amity girls who seem to think they can carry a tune.” Rae couldn’t help but let out a small laugh and realized what she had done. Eric stepped closer, she knew where this was going. “You have a nice laugh.” He said seductively. Rae could feel the riding crop behind her and went to grab it. As Eric tried to close the space between them Rae stopped him by hitting him in the chest. Eric looked down at the riding whip and grinned. “Now how did you know that’s my favorite toy.” He smiled. Eric leaned in close to Rae’s neck moving his face along her skin taking in her scent. Rae was frozen to the sensation he was causing her. She focused on keeping her breathing deep and slow trying to keep her heartbeat down. “I can feel you. Your heartbeat. You can’t hide from me sunshine.” He whispered. Rae grabbed his bicep not knowing to bring him closer or to push him away. She gripped his solid, hard as stone muscles and was amazed by the fitness of his body. He was straight up muscle, a wall of hard solid tissue. Rae looked up meeting Eric’s gaze, wondering what he was going to do next.“Well, I’ll tell you what! If those idiots down at the cow pasture could learn how to properly barb-wire a fence then maybe we wouldn’t be having cow orgies every night!” Poppy yelled as he entered the stables. Rae slide away from Eric to make it seem like what just transpired did not happen. Poppy entered the stables looking at the two faces staring back at him. There was an awkward silence that stood for a couple of minutes until Eric was annoyed.“You must be Poppy. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Eric one of the leaders at Dauntless.”“Ah yes. You the one everyone’s buzzing about. Well nice to meet you, Eric.” Poppy greeted sticking his hand out. Eric accepted the friendly gesture and reached out to shake Poppy’s hand. Eric had heard of Poppy from numerous amounts of people. Poppy wasn’t quite what Eric expected, when he was told Poppy was one of the oldest Amity members, he pictured an older, frailer looking man. But the handshake he received said other wise. Although Poppy could match Eric’s strength fully he could keep up, the handshake was strong and unwavering just how Eric liked it. “Well, I hope my Rae has been helpful showing you around the stable.”“Oh yes. She has she was just showing me the riding crop.” Eric said smiling at Rae. Rae was still gripping the crop tightly, embarrassed by the whole meet and greet. Poppy was about to continue the conversation when a raucous came from one of the stalls. “Damn it! Let me tell you that stud has caused me more problems than he’s worth.” Poppy confessed.They all moved the stall where the stallion was held. He was a beautiful creature jet black with a small white diamond on his forehead. “He’s a beautiful animal.” Eric complimented. “Oh he beautiful and strong too. The type of horse a man could only dream of, but he so god damn stubborn and reckless.” Poppy huffed.“Sounds like someone I know.” Rae chimed while getting a glare from Eric.After Poppy had calmed down the black beaut he told Rae to head home because he would be working late. “If you don’t mind I’d like to escort Rae home if that’s alright with you?” Eric asked out of courtesy even though he really didn’t care for Poppy’s answer.“Of course! I’ll feel quite relaxed knowing my Sweet pea is being escorted home by a Dauntless leader!” Poppy answered making Rae feel even more embarrassed. Eric smiled at the nickname, which Rae knew she would hear about later. Rae said goodnight to Poppy and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek. “Well, Goodnight Poppy.” Eric said shaking Poppy’s hand again.“Goodnight and thanks again for taking Rae home.”As Rae and Eric walked out, Poppy couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.“Nice guy. Hmm well, I like him.” Poppy said to himself._________________________________________________________________________________________________ The walk home was mostly silent until Rae’s house came into view. She wanted to ask Eric about the Factionless man and what would become of him.“So what happen to that man you arrested this afternoon?”“He was taken in for questioning and to receive his appropriate punishment,” Eric said not looking at her.“It wasn’t right what your men did. He was only trying to feed his family.”“Do you even know how many times that cards been pulled? A lot and when you excuse them to steal they continue to do it, making them think they can get away with more harmful crimes like murder or rape. You can’t give these people an inch, they just use it and abuse it. That’s why Amities full of bullshit. You all are so naïve when it comes to people. You let anyone walk all over you.”“That’s not true! People need help but can’t get any because of people like you! You and your men just want to cause pain because it entertains you! You're sick! All you cause is violence and chaos! You don’t help anyone out!” She yelled as she ran to the door. Rae opened the door halfway before it was shut by Eric’s massive hand.“Hey! Do you actually think I want a rebellion on my hands because of what those idiots did today? No. I don’t have the patience for it. I want control. I have control. I keep the order that’s needed for everyone to survive. Because as hard as this is for your pretty little head to believe, not all people are nice. Amity needs Dauntless around so that when someone does walk all over you, we’re here to stop it. Face it Sunshine we control everything.”“You don’t control me!” Rae said defiantly.“That’s what you think. Why don’t you go to bed sunshine, you look a little frazzled.” Eric said grinning as he turned and walked away. Rae turned to open the door once again before hearing Eric call out to her again. “Oh and Sunshine! I’m really excited about the Festival. I have a feeling it’ll be a night to remember!” he yelled making Rae cringe.
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Just Two DropsRae stared out the window, watching Eric disappear into the distance. Once she felt he was no longer a threat, she quickly made her way to kitchen to fix her remedy. Walking into the kitchen, Rae hadn’t noticed the body sitting at her kitchen table.“Hello Rae.”Rae jumped at the unexpected voice, turning to see Johanna sit at the table holding a cup of tea. “Johanna? You scared me. I was just about to make some tea.” Rae said. She fumbled through the cupboard to find a mug that would suit her needs. “Was that Eric I heard outside with you?” Johanna asked. Rae started biting at her cheek, she knew what type of conversation they were about to have. “Umm yes. Poppy let him walk me back from the stable.” Rae answered as she filled the kettle with water. “You should try to keep your distance from him.”“I know.”“He’s very dangerous and has no remorse for being so.”“I know.”“It's not good for you to be around him. He has a way of coaxing people into doing things. Horrible things they wouldn’t normally do and you don’t need that Rae.”“I know.” “If he were to find out about your past, he could use it against you making you a part of his little game. Nothing brings him more pleasure than to watch someone crumble. He’s capable of that Rae. He would crush you into a million little pieces, pieces that can’t be put back together after.”“I know. I know. I know. I fucking know!” Rae yelled while slamming the delicate teacup on the counter, breaking it instantly. Johanna’s eye instantly went wide at Rae. Rae was shocked by her actions that came about just by talking about Eric. She immediately scrambled to pick up the broken pieces of the tiny teacup.“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… Its just I can’t stop him from finding me. No matter how hard I try, he’s always right around the corner. It’s like I’m his prey and he just keeps stalking me waiting to attack. When he’s around me I feel things I know I shouldn’t be feeling. Like the old me will come bursting out, at any minute. The scary thing is he already knows, Johanna.”“What do you mean he knows?”“In your office, after the soldier incident. He said he knew I was different and that he could sense my aggression. He told me… I was just like him.”“Rae you’re nothing like him. You’ve come so far from where you were back then. That Rae is gone and she’ll never resurface again. I’ll make sure of that.”“How can you be so sure? One more little thing from Eric can make me come undone and I don’t think I can control myself much longer.”Johanna pulled out a small brown bottle and placed it in Rae’s hands. “I called in a special request to Erudite.”“Erudite? Doesn’t Amity make their own peace serums?”“Yes, we do but this isn’t peace serum. This is stronger, more effective in shutting down any inclination of violent rage. Those thoughts and feelings will fade away allowing you to enjoy the world in balance and harmony.”“It won’t change how I act will it or the choices I make”“It will only make you better Rae. This is what you wanted right? I just want you to be happy and at peace with your life. All it takes is two little drops.” Johanna said holding out her cup. Rae was hesitant at first but she knew Johanna had her best interest. Before Rae took the cup in her hands she looked Johanna in the eye. “Poppy doesn’t need to know about this. It stays between us. Okay?”“Okay.”Rae took the small cup to her lips letting the warm liquid slip through. At first, she felt nothing, but then a feeling of emotions flooding out of her hit. It was like she could feel herself being drained. Her breathing became deeper and it felt like time had slowed down. When she tried to move, it was like she was stumbling. Looking around the kitchen was like seeing things in a new light. Everything was glowing making her feel like she was in settling into a Euphoria state. “It’ll probably feel hazy the first couple times you take it, but you’ll get used to it. Be sure only to do two droplets, once a day. No more and no less. We should get you to bed before Poppy gets home. Come on I’ll help you.”It was easy for Rae to comply to Johanna with the new state she was in. Johanna helped Rae to her room and led Rae to sit on her bed. Johanna then grabbed her nightgown and motioned for Rae to take off her day clothes. Johanna slipped the nightgown over Rae’s head, then continued to adjust it around her curves. Johanna went to find Rae brush to smooth out the tangles in her hair from her ride with Luna. After running the brush through Rae’s now smoothed over waves, Johanna ran her fingers through her long locks. When Rae was little, Johanna would massage her scalp to help put her to sleep and as expected Rae dozed off within seconds. Johanna looked over Rae as she slept making sure she was properly tucked in. She kissed her forehead before whispering, “Peace be with you.” Johanna crept out of the room slowly closing the door to not make any noise. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t feeling guilty about giving Rae her new medication. She knew what the side effects were, but she also knew the good it could do for Rae. Johanna had watched Rae grow up in pain. She had done and would do anything in her power to protect her even if that meant protecting her from herself. As Johanna exited the house all was quiet and peaceful, making Johanna unaware of the pair of gray eyes watching her. Rae felt more groggy when she awoke from her heavy sleeping. It took her a second to remember what happened last night, but the small brown bottle that sat on her nightstand explained it all. Rae sat up grabbing the bottle, examining it closely. The bottle didn’t contain a label and the smell was quite pungent. She wondered how the serum worked and if it was the ultimate cure for her. It didn’t matter how the serum worked as long as it kept her rage at bay. Rae got dressed and walked to the kitchen clutching the small brown bottle in her hand. Poppy had scrambled eggs with strips of honey-smoked bacon waiting for her. Rae was pleased with the hardy breakfast Poppy had made for her. She munched on the crispy pieces of bacon, thinking about the festival tomorrow. All the games and activities that would be held had her smiling.She hoped Poppy would have the horses come out so that the kids could ride them around. Their reactions to the horses were always priceless as Rae remembered. She was really excited thinking about the grape stomping. It was one of her favorite activities that everyone enjoyed participating in. Feeling the grapes being smushed between her toes, making a mess, laughing with her friends in the mass of playful chaos, why wouldn’t it be her favorite? All the games and races would be enjoyable to watch, just seeing everyone together would be enjoyable. Everyone except Dauntless, which will be a sight to see. Seeing Dauntless at the Jovial Festival was a joke in itself to Rae. Seeing Eric amongst flower power tribe was on a whole other level. Rae wondered if the soldiers would participate in any activities, though she couldn’t imagine Eric being a part of the grape stomping. She couldn’t even imagine him barefoot. He would probably skip out on that part, he didn’t seem like the jovial type.Rae realized she needed to get a move on to the warehouse and made her tea in a swift motion. She stared at the brown bottle that held her artificial feelings. “Two drops that’s all it takes, just two little drops,” she said to herself. She took the droplet in her hand and dispensed two small drops in the tea. Taking her mug, she looked at the hot liquid, “Well bottoms up, I guess.” Walking to the Warehouse was a bit of a challenge for Rae. With everything seeming to be in slow motion, the details in everything came out so suddenly. The colors were more vibrant, the motion of the air blowing had a different sensation, and the smell of everything was stronger. It was like nature was new again. The plastered smile on Rae’s face was noticeable to her friend when she came up to her.“Are you okay this morning Mrs. Smiley?”“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”“I don’t know you just seem different?”“I’m just happy, I mean look at how beautiful it is.”Tibby looked around at the usual area they had walked ever since they could walk, trying to figure out what was so magnificent about it. She shook off Rae weird behavior, as she wanted to talk about Zeke.“So last night things got a little steamy with my soldier.”“What happened?”“Well I decided he needed to see the greenhouse and all its qualities. So as I was showing him around I accidentally slipped and fell bringing him down with me. Well with him on top of me I told him that I think I hurt my hip and asked him to massage it. Let's say he didn’t just massage my hip. And could let him go without thanking him so I gave him a little massage.”“Oh my.”“Oh my? That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say. I was expecting a big blow up and ‘Dauntless are nothing but brutes’ but not an ‘oh my’ what’s gotten into you Rae?”“Nothing everything’s fine. If you happy, I’m happy. God just look at how beautiful everything is today Tibby!”“Yeah okay?”_________________________________________________________________________________________________“Tell me why the hell Amity is taking the whole fucking day off tomorrow?”“Now Eric its not just a party it’s a festival that goes on all day its tradition. Surely you have traditions back at Dauntless. Plus I think it would be good for Dauntless and yourself to experience our traditions here you might enjoy it.”“Which part the flower picking or interpretive dancing?”“Oh I think you’d enjoy the flower picking it involves a bit of fitness you know.” Johanna joked. Eric leaned dangerously close over Johanna’s desk making her straighten up. “Don’t play around with me Johanna. I know Amity is slowly falling behind on the harvest I’ve checked the numbers. No one else would’ve noticed but I did and if you think this hippy fest is going to distract me from that your wrong.” Eric stated.“Eric I didn’t mean to upset you. Please. the festival allows the people to enjoy Amity making them want to work harder to keep it running as it is to keep having these types of events. It’s not a distraction it’s an award. Think of it like that you deserve an award for how hard you’ve work.” Johanna pleaded.“Please Johanna kissing my ass won’t help your situation. I’ve also taken the initiative to look at your population your over crowded so you either need to start cutting people out of Amity or build.”“Well that’s a simple solution, let's just build.”“I thought you might say that so I’ve already taken a look at the grounds of the compound.”“I’m not surprised,” Johanna said rolling her eyes.“Good I’ve chosen lot 14 as the new building ground. I was puzzled to look up that, that was where the old warehouse was built before.”“Yes, there was a fire. We lost two lives that night.” Johanna choked. “I know I saw it was filed under as an accident. But it's funny the details just don’t seem to add up. You mind explaining?” He questioned.“Erudite was coming out to Amity to put in electrical wiring. Somehow the wires made a spark, which caused the fire. The couple in the warehouse were taking inventory that night and were trapped. It was a very hard night for all of us.” Johanna said with a stone cold voice.“I’m sure it was, but hey it probably fertilized the land right?”Johanna’s face was stone to his crude joke.“Oh come on I thought that was a good one? Well anyways I’ve already approved it as the new building spot.” Eric articulated.“Well maybe we could find another area once perhaps in lot 34?” Johanna questioned.“No to far, I think lot 14 will do quite nicely.”“Eric that’s a resting place to the two lives we lost that night.” She begged“It's either this or you start cutting. I mean I can do it if you want. Look just save us both some headaches and sign the damn paper.” He commandedEric held slid the document over to Johanna watching her expressions closely. His lips started curling up when he saw her reaching for a pen. Pleased with her compliance he grabbed the paper and moseyed to the door, but stopped when Johanna spoke up.“Eric, have you ever felt sympathetic towards anything at all?”Eric looked back at her, puzzled by the question. He then chuckled to himself and left Johanna to her thoughts, thinking about how she was going to tell Rae. Rae kept humming to herself, as they were finishing up in the orchard. She was content with how her day was going. The medicine had calmed down and Rae felt normal after a while, she wondered how exactly this stuff worked but she honestly didn’t care. She had no fits of rage or fear of breaking out into a tantrum, but she also hadn’t seen Eric that day either. “Rae, Rae! Let’s go! And will you stop humming you’re bugging me.”“Sorry.” She giggled lugging her basket to catch up with Tibby.“Don’t forget tomorrow you’re coming over to my house to get ready for the festival.” “Right! Are you going to the Day Fest?” Rae asked Tibby.“Of course I told Zeke I’d show him around. You don’t mind do you? You could always tag along. I’m sure one of his buddies will be there.”“Oh thanks, but no thanks. I’m sure Joshua will accompany me tomorrow or at least I hope.” Rae said. “What happened? You two get in a fight? It wasn’t about Cara was it?” Tibby asked.“No it was about well, Eric. I told him it wasn’t safe for him to be around me with Eric lurking about. He didn’t take it well I don’t think.”“Oh so he’s jealous.” Tibby said.“Joshua jealous no. Why would he be jealous? It's not like I’m ‘in love’ with Eric how could I be?” Rae reassured. “Come on Rae! A strong, dashing Dauntless leader that’s had his sights set on you the moment he rolled into Amity. Why wouldn’t Joshua be jealous? Hell I’d be jealous too!”“He has nothing to be jealous about. I don’t like Eric! He hasn’t tried to hold one conversation without touching me. He doesn’t want to get to know me. Not like Joshua. He’s only after one thing and I don’t plan on giving it to him!”“Do you find him attractive? And be honest.”Rae bit at her cheek at Tibby’s question. She couldn’t deny that Eric was definitely something to look at, but that was as far as it went. Looks erode, but who a person is on the inside remains. And so far, Rae didn’t see anything about Eric on the inside that she liked. “He is handsome, but looks can only go so far. I need someone who can carry me emotionally to be there to make me laugh or to comfort me when I cry. I need to feel safe with someone physically and emotionally. I need someone like Joshua. I need Joshua.” Rae declared.“Well maybe you just need to get to know him. I’m not going to lie I’d want to get to know him. He’s seems interesting. I feel like maybe you have more in common with him than you think.” Before Rae could protest, they arrived at the warehouse and were greeted by the ever-calculating Daniel. “Good afternoon Ladies, Tibby I hope your day has gone well.” Daniel said with a distasteful tone. “Why it has Dan- Dan thanks for asking!” Tibby cheerfully said.Daniel huffed and went on to check Rae’s bucket of produce, then moved on to Tibby’s. Surprisingly, Tibby actually reached the quota and without Rae’s help, but how could she when Rae was in la la land the whole time they were picking. Nilly came running up towards the warehouse in a frantic mode, Tibby and Rae grew concerned and stopped her to make sure everything was okay. Nilly’s eyes were streaming with tears when the girls asked what was wrong.“It’s my Nana she fell while we were picking. She said she felt a little fatigued, but said she would be fine. I should’ve stopped her right there. When she fell we had to get help from some of the Dauntless patrol to help carry her. I’m so scared, what if they make her factionless. Oh my god!” Nilly cried.“Calm down it’ll be okay. Nana’s a tough old bird, she’s been here for seventy-two years, best fielder we have in fact!” Tibby said hoping to comfort Nilly.“What are you doing here Nilly? You should be with your Nana.” Rae said softly. “When she fell we left everything back in the orchard, her bucket, my water sack. Daniels going to have a cow if he doesn’t log in her work.” Nilly sniffled. Rae and Tibby looked at each other for a moment, thinking the same thing. Everyone knew Nana, she was a hard worker even for her age. The girls loved Nana and her sweet remarks she would make.“I’ll go get your water sack and Nana’s bucket. Don’t you worry about it. You just go be with your Nana.” Rae said. “I’ll walk you back to your Nana’s” Tibby added.“Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me and my Nana.” Nilly said crying even more than before. Rae walked for a while before stumbling on Nilly’s water sack and her Nana’s bucket. They weren’t lying when they said Nana was one of the best fielders Amity has ever had. The bucket had to more than double what Rae would bring in. Rae tried lugging the bucket but because of the new peace serum she couldn’t concentrate which frustrated her. Rae continued with her miserable attempts, failing each time. Her finale attempted ended with almost all of the apples scattering all over the ground. A dark, menacing chuckle was heard from behind her causing her to whip her head around. There leaning against the large shady tree stood the fearless Dauntless leader curving pieces of apple with a sharp blade. “What? What are you doing here?” Rae asked scrambling to pick up all the scattered apples. “Enjoying the view Sunshine.” He said taking a bite out of a piece of apple. “The question is what are you doing here?” he countered.“There was an accident Nilly asked me to get her stuff.” Rae said quickly on her feet. Eric walked towards her examine her. “This accident wouldn’t happen to involve Nilly’s sweet dear old ‘Nana’ now would it?” Eric asked in a sly voice. “Maybe.” Rae said sharply. Where Rae would usually feel anger was dismissed. A wave of calm washed over her face causing her to soften, Eric immediately noticing a change in her demeanor. “You alright Sunshine?”Rae only smiled and nodded at him then went back to gathering the apples. For the next couple of minutes, nothing was said which annoyed Eric. Rae continued to pick up the scattered apples while smiling. Eric felt as if she was ignoring him on purpose, so he decide he was going to try to rile up the little Amity as he had done it before and thoroughly enjoyed it.“So Sunshine I’ve finally decided what your punishment will be.” Eric mused. Rae didn’t even flinch and was still in her own little world. Eric took notice that she didn’t give him the reaction he wanted so he would try another tactic. As she bent down to retrieve one of the last couple of apples, she felt a something zoom past her leaving her with a pinch of pain by her ear. When the knife struck the tree, she felt a small trickle of blood run down her ear. Her mouth dropped at the shock of what Eric had done. She looked over at him with fear in her eyes, which put a smile on his face.“Do I have your attention now, Sunshine?” He asked walking towards her. Rae only nodded, as that was all she could do. “Good. I’ve decided for your punishment, which this is more like a honor if you think about it. Is to be my escort to the festival tomorrow. I really want to get a sense of what Amity is and what better way than to have you show me?”“I. Umm.” Rae muttered trying to find the words to say. The serum was keeping her from voicing her true opinion she almost felt like she was going to faint. Eric closed the space between two of them grinning down at Rae’s confused face.“Here let me help you with that.” He said as he grabbed the bucket of apples as if it weighed nothing. Eric started walking towards the warehouse before calling out to Rae, “Come along Sunshine I haven’t got all day.”Rae without questioned grabbed Nilly’s water sack and caught up with Eric. It was amazing how obedient Rae was being which was what scared her the most.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once they made it back to the warehouse, Eric was called off for some matter pertaining to Dauntless security. This gave Rae the opportunity to find Joshua. She made her way to the dome hoping to find him. As she suspected, there he was readjusting a string of paper lantern. Rae stopped to admire Joshua’s form and tranquility. He was so calm, so patient, something she could only dream of having yet the only way for her was artificial. Joshua turned to see Rae with an apologetic smile. “Rae, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the other day. Look, I’m sorry about how I acted. I just don’t like how he’s…”“I know. I don’t blame you. I’m sorry for everything, Joshua.” She said looking up to him. “For what, Rae? You’ve done nothing. It’s him.” He pointed out. Rae shook her head agreeing with Joshua’s statement. She knew telling Joshua that her punishment was to accompany Eric to the festival would upset him, but she hoped he would understand. She decided to wait and tell him after they rehearsed. Rehearsing didn’t exactly go as planned, Rae had determined it was the serum that had caused her lack of concentration. Joshua had also taken notice in Rae’s behavior during their rehearsal. It was like the very first rehearsal they had ever had, but both shook it off and continued to try and fix the newly found kinks. Rae enjoyed laugh shared between them, she had almost forgotten everything that had happened so far. It all came flooding back to her when Joshua had asked her about the festival.“So will I see you stomping grapes tomorrow?” Joshua asked playfully. “Umm yeah, something like that,” Rae mumbled, trying to avoid what she had to say next.“Look, Joshua, I have to tell you something. Its… It’s about the festival tomorrow. It seems my punishment is to accompany Eric to the festival tomorrow.” She said trying to avert her gaze from him. Joshua didn’t say anything at first; Rae could tell he was trying to process everything. She was surprised when he spoke up moments later.“Well, I’m sure you two will have a pleasant time.” He said harshly.“Joshua please, I promise tomorrow night it’ll just be us,” Rae assured.“Oh, you really think so? Rae, he’s pulling you and he’s not going to let go until he’s had all of you and you know that.” Joshua argued. “That’s not going to happen! Joshua, I want you. I always have and I always will. I promise tomorrow night I’m yours and Eric’s not going to get in the way of that.” Joshua embraced her as soon as the words fell from her mouth. “Don’t let him poison you, Rae.” Rae cringed at his words, knowing she was already full of poison but tried to push past it and enjoy the warmth coming off of him. A moment had passed and Rae realized she needed to get home to cook supper for Poppy. After Joshua released her from his firm hold, a smile laced her face. They said nothing as Rae slipped away still eyeing Joshua with her dazed smile. The warehouse was full of fresh produce ready to be shipped out to the other factions. Johanna and Daniel through the numbers one more time to be sure they had everything prepared for the coming days delivery. They walked along the containers making sure they were all sealed tightly to avoid rotting. “Looks like everything’s packed in and ready to go,” Daniel confirmed.“Yes. Good work Daniel, your Erudite roots have certainly come in handy for Amity.” Johanna thanked. Daniel couldn’t help but grin at the recognition and sneak in a comment or two. “Well, its all analytical thinking and precision. Making sure everything runs smoothly, oh and meet our quota every day.” He spouted.Johanna held a smile and let him continue with his triumph for a few minutes. “Well good work Daniel. Now, why don’t you go get some rest? We have a big, exciting day tomorrow.” With that, Daniel acknowledged Johanna’s command and headed out. Johanna lingered in the warehouse for a while before being greeted by an unwanted visitor. “Johanna why don’t you look radiant tonight. Wow looks like Amity’s about to make a big delivery. I can only hope we’re on that delivery list.”“What are you doing here? The rules are you don’t step foot in the compound! There are dauntless patrols everywhere! What if someone saw you?”“Hey, Hey now calm down. No one saw me. And the rules are you make deliveries on time or have you forgotten?”“No I haven’t you’ll have your delivery, but not tonight.” “And why the hell not tonight? Hmmm.”“There are Dauntless patrols everywhere. Tomorrow is our Jovial Festival, everyone will be distracted and if I know Dauntless they’ll be too drunk to stand. Here come at this time, its important you follow the directions precisely and I’ll handle the rest.” She explained handing and folded piece of paper to Kent.Kent took the paper and inspected it thoroughly. “Damn woman you’ve got it all figured out don’t you. You know if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re an evil mastermind.”“I’m not I’m just a woman protecting her family. Something you know nothing about.”“Yeah. Whatever I’ll let Him know about the scheduled pickup order. Oh and Johanna enjoy the Jovial Festival I always did. Especially the grape stomping, it always reminded me of crushing all the kindness and peace out of Amity.”“Maybe that’s why you were asked to leave, Kent. Did you ever think about that?”“Asked to leave? You're really minimizing the fact that you kicked me out of Amity? Ha typical Amity.” He said walking off into the distance disappearing right before Johanna’s very eyes. Johanna took a deep breath, knowing what had to be done wasn’t going to be easy, especially with Dauntless there or more specifically, Eric. How was she going to keep him distracted long enough to deal with the Factionless? Poppy had watched Rae push the same pile of green beans across her plate for the past fifteen minutes and about had enough. “Sweet pea I don’t think moving those green beans around your plate is going to make them taste better.” He suggested.“Oh, I’m sorry.”“Is something on your mind? It's not boy problems, I hope.”Rae lightly chuckled to his guess. “Something like that. Eric has commanded that I be the one to accompany him to the festival tomorrow.”“Well, that’s wonderful. I’m sure you two will have a wonderful time. I knew I could sense something going on between you two.” “Poppy! He commanded me! And why on Earth would you think I would actually enjoy being with someone like him?” “Now listen to me young lady I maybe old but I’m not blind. I can sense an attraction between you two. You just have to get to know each other better. I’m sure you’ll find you have more in common than you think.”Before Rae could even argue a knock came from the front door. Poppy smiled at the interruption and went to the door to greet their unexpected guests. No surprise that it was Johanna.“My, my, it smells delicious in here.” Johanna smiled. “Please let me fix you a plate. Go ahead and take a seat, me and Rae were just talking about the festival.” Poppy offered.“Ah yes, everyone seems to be excited about this year festivities. Aren’t you Rae?”“Ecstatic,” Rae said sarcastically, still fiddling with a green bean stuck on her fork. Johanna's eyebrow arched to Rae tone. Poppy then placed a steamy plate in front of Johanna and plopped down in a seat next to her. “Rae has offered to accompany the Dauntless leader to the festival tomorrow.” Poppy chimed, shocking Johanna causing her to choke on her partially eaten green bean. “Excuse me?” Johanna asked. “Eric has decided that my punishment is to escort him to the festival tomorrow,” Rae spoke bluntly. “Oh Rae I’m so sorry, I know he’s awful. Don’t let him get to you, okay.” “Poppy seems to think we’re a match made in heaven, right Poppy. He’s right! Two monsters falling in love. How fucking romantic.” She said pushing herself away from the table. “Rae!” Poppy yelled trying to stop her as she headed towards her room slamming the door behind her. Johanna and Poppy sat there in silence for a few minutes. “Well, I should go. Goodnight Poppy, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Johanna said to Poppy who was still thinking about Rae’s outburst.“Goodnight Jo see you at the festival.”As Johanna neared the door she couldn’t help but think of the advantage of having Eric be with Rae tomorrow. She knew she should be disgusted with the thought of Eric and Rae together but that would give her the distraction she would need for tomorrow. Guilt crept up on her, she knew she was using Rae as a pawn in a very dangerous game. The slamming of the door shook the whole house, but that in no way had its effects on how Rae was feeling. She couldn’t believe Poppy would approve or even be overjoyed at the fact she had to accompany him to the festival tomorrow. How was she supposed to function tomorrow with Eric right beside her? Tomorrow was supposed to be her day but instead, it’ll be Eric’s day. She needed to be fully aware tomorrow. It's what would be best, no serum, no drinking, she needed to be on guard at all times. Even if it meant the chance of losing control she would just have to be able to calm herself. She nodded to herself determined to follow through with her decision.Rae stripped off her clothes as she made her way to bed. Snuggling deep within the sheets she wondered what tomorrow would bring. What Eric would bring? Little did she know the two gray eyes looking in through the window that knew exactly what to bring. She promptly woke up on her own time, her nerves were too wired to let her get a full night’s rest. Moving through the house, she felt on edge because of the day ahead of her. Hoping a shower would help settle her nerves she hopped in and was sadly disappointed. For the Day-Time festival, she decided to go with her dark red wrap she promptly tied around her hip to make an uneven skirt and threw on her yellow tank top. Poppy must have felt sorry for what he said last night as he left her favorite, French toast. Rae smiled at the apology, he always knew how to give a great apology. She almost went against eating any, in fear of her nerves not allowing her to keep it down. She went against the feeling and shoved two pieces in her mouth feeling the warm maple syrup seep down the back of her throat. She made her way to the door she wondered when or where she would meet Eric, they never talked about meeting before. As she opened her front door the back of a familiar dark figure was stood before her, immediately turning to greet her. “Good morning Sunshine. I was about to break down the door to see if you were still alive in there. Let's go we’re late.” Eric informed. “We’re not late the festival doesn’t start until 9:00. It's 8:55 we have five minutes.”“In my world, five minutes is five minutes too late. Now come on and stop dragging. And by the way, you got a little…” he gestured to her face before stepping forward running his thumb over the side of her mouth and then bringing it to his mouth sucking the sticky substance off. “Syrup.” He grinned.Rae was fuming but shook it off, quickly brushing passed him still hearing him chuckle.They were lucky that they got to the festival when they had. All of Amity came out to celebrate the Jovial festival. The crowd was full of yellows and reds, but also a little bit of black, Eric being one of them. Rae and Eric were at the back of the crowd that was waiting on the commencement speech. Eric was not having it being in the back of the crowds and decided it would better suit him being at the front of the crowd. Without warning, he tugged Rae's arm and pushed through the crowd causing all eyes on him and Rae. His hold was hard and firm on Rae’s arm warning her not to fight or struggle. Rae watched all the pairs of eyes on her and Eric, feeling highly uncomfortable. They finally made it to the front of the crowd, to which no one question with the look on Eric’s face. Rae looked around to see if she could find any of her friends or more importantly Joshua. She was kind of thankful Eric had pushed to the front of the crowd even if was an asshole about it. Rae found Tibby waving frantically and then pointing to Zeke, who was looking elsewhere, Tibby smiled and then gestured to the other side of Rae. Rae turned to look over at Joshua, who had already spotted her in the crowd, which wasn’t hard when she was with Eric. Rae smiled to greet him to which he smiled back but then was tugged by a familiar devious smile, Cara. Rae brow furrowed to which Eric noticed and then looked in the same direction to connect the dots. He grinned at the transaction.“Seems like flower boy is doing all right don’t you think?” he smiled looking down at Rae pouty face.Rae looked up to say something but was interrupted by Johanna who was starting the Commencement speech. “Welcome all. It overjoys me that we get to celebrate all our hard work, love and support of each other today. We welcome our friends from Dauntless, thankful we get to share today with you. We are the faction of peace. Together we grow and give life to a better tomorrow. We leave the past behind us and look to the future full of love and prosperity. My friends, we are here to celebrate the growth of our community. Please go forth and as always peace be with you.”“Peace be with you.” The crowd replied.And with that, the festival had begun. The crowd soon scattered throughout the area, running to different games and activities. Rae watched them buzz with joyous screams and laughter. Eric and Rae hadn’t moved a muscle, they just watched the crowd for the first couple of minutes. Rae looked to Eric and wondered why they were just standing there. She thought he might be watching the crowd to see what joy and happiness actually looked like. She was growing irritated of just standing there. She didn’t want to just watch the festival even if she was with Eric.“Well, what would you like to do first?” She asked. “You tell me, Amity.” He quickly answered back.“How about Apple chunkin? I think you’ll like that game. I think it’ll be right up your alley.” Rae suggested. She thought that maybe if they did activities Eric might like they would have a better time. She didn’t want to hear him complaining or insulting the Festival all day. Rae started towards the direction of the Apple Chunkin game as Eric just watched her lead. She turned to look at him, “You’re the one who wanted to get the full Amity experience.” She sarcastically stated.Eric rolled his eyes at her smart-mouthed comment and followed suit. “You better hope you impress me today, Sunshine.” He warned.“Somehow I think that’s impossible to do.” She mumbled.“Oh don’t worry, Sunshine. There are ways.” He assured her with a grin.When they made it to where Apple Chunkin was being held the line miraculously dispersed. Rae did see one positive thing with being with Eric at the festival, no lines. Apple Chunkin was actually a pretty simple game, but a lot of the games they had were. Amity only had a few competitive games as Amity believed being too competitive disrupted peace. The object of the game was to toss the apples in the furthest of the three buckets. Eric apparently wasn’t intimidated or impressed by the challenge. “Seriously this is up my alley?” he asked.“I thought this might be fun to start with. It's more difficult than you think.” She replied.Rae stepped up to the table grabbing one of the three red shiny apples. The first apple she tossed, she tried to get in the furthest bucket but missed by a hair. She could hear Eric snickering behind her but didn’t let it faze her. The second and third time she made it in the second bucket. She could hear all the clapping and cheering around as they did that with everyone because everyone was a winner. Eric looked unimpressed by Rae’s victory and a little annoyed at “the everyone’s a winner concept.”“Your turn.” “I’m not about to play some stupid apple game.”“Come on! It's really fun you might enjoy it and the first one to get it in the third bucket wins a prize!”Eric rolled his eyes and stepped up to the table. It's no surprise Eric made everyone in the third bucket. The crowd whooped and hollered, being impressed by Eric’s apple throwing precision. They presented him with the prize of a pinecone reef.“Are you fucking serious? Fucking pinecones?”“What? It’s scented.”Eric stomped off throwing the reef to the ground, Rae picked it up giving it a sniff and followed after Eric. After playing the other small festival games, which Eric had conquered and won at, they stopped in to see what events were taking place in the center of the field. Rae had forgotten about smash ball. It was definitely one of the most competitive games in Amity. The game originated in Erudite believe it or not, it was designed for quick strategy thinking with a little twist of Dauntless play. The leaders of Amity saw it fit to allow Amity members to play to learn about of factions even if it met getting competitive. A lot of Amity’s members liked the game, especially all of the men, they said it was something different from what Amity’s games were usually like. The object of the game was to work with your teammates to get to the other side of the field. Points were acquired by whoever could hit their teams’ pole. The poles were at least 15 feet high and the higher you hit the pole the more points your team got. Eric looked intrigued, he had to have known how to play because of his Erudite and Dauntless background. He became more intrigued when he saw Joshua in line to play.“Now this is up my alley Sunshine.”“Why don’t we go over there and play Cobb the corn?” She said trying to sound convincing. Eric was already half way to the front before she could turn around to look at him.“Eric!” she yelled.Eric grinned at all the nervous looks he was getting from his opponents. His team, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier with their final addition. Joshua stare towards his opponent was cold. Eric appreciated the look, it let him know that the game was on. He loved the thought of pummeling Joshua in front of everyone especially Rae. Rae decided to watch from under a tree that was a few paces away from the crowd.Rae was already on edge. She worried about the damage Eric would cause. She feared for Joshua, although he was one of the strongest men in Amity he was no match for Eric. No one was.“Is the show about to start?” Tibby asked coming up from behind with Zeke at her side. “They’re going to kill each other.” Rae blurted out.“Who’s killing who?” Zeke asked “Eric and Joshua.” Tibby elbowed to him. “Oh. Nope only Joshua’s dying today nothing can stop Eric last time we played he put a guy in a comma. But don’t worry he woke up… two months later.”“Oh God!” Rae shouted.The sound of the whistle pulled Rae’s attention to the field. She quickly watched as the teams scattered around the field. Her eye quickly fell on Joshua making sure he was still alive. She looked around for Eric but could find him in all the chaos. “Where’s Eric? Do you see him anywhere?” Rae asked.“Yeah. He’s already at the goal post. Yay! Look at that not even a minute and he’s already scored!” Zeke roared.Rae was surprised by the way Eric was playing. He was actually following the rules. He wasn’t being a brute like he usually was. Rae was impressed by his agility and sportsmanship. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him and found herself cheering for him. Rae had never found the game enjoyable to watch until this. She would remember to check on Joshua, but that was easy as he was also the one making the majority of his team's points. Both men were equally athletic which was a problem and the most challenging thing about the game. Anytime they would get close enough to each other to tackle or steal, they would just run parallel unable to catch one another. The game was tied up with a minute left. Eric’s team had the ball so it all landed on Eric for the winning point. He didn’t seem the least bit nervous. Instead, he looked over to Rae grinning at her. She couldn’t help but reciprocate. Eric moved to his position without taking his eyes off of her. It just so happened that his position was right in front of Joshua. Knowing this, he made sure Joshua saw their interaction and even wink at him. Joshua was fuming with hatred; he wanted to take Eric down in front of everyone no matter what it took. The final whistle blew, putting the play in motion. Eric was already heading towards the goal post. With no one behind him, not even Joshua he saw an easy win. But his instincts told him something was wrong. Joshua wasn’t behind him like he had been the entire game. He got ready to throw the ball as he was running but for a split second looked back to check for Joshua. Not seeing any sign of Joshua, he turned to look forward ready to throw the ball. Out of nowhere, Joshua came running towards him full speed. Eric knew he was about to go down so he decided to throw the ball earlier than he had previously planned but there wasn’t enough time. He threw the ball hoping it would reach the post. He didn’t have enough time to stop before Joshua threw the whole left side of his body on him. With that much force, Eric went down along with Joshua. Everyone gasped from the dirty play. Joshua quickly got up showing no signs of injury, while Eric was still on the ground. Rae ran as fast as her legs could carry her to Eric. When she got there a group had already surrounded him to assess the damage. She pushed her way through, falling to her knees to see if he was okay. There was a bad gash above his eyebrow, but that wasn’t as important because he hadn’t moved.“Eric! Eric! Are you all right? Can you hear me? God Damn it! Wake up you asshole!” Rae yelled.Eric let out a grunt, probably because she called him an asshole. But that didn’t matter she was relieved he was showing some type of life. He opened his eyes and looked at all the people around him but then focused on Rae.“Did we win?”“Seriously you could have died and you're asking if you won some stupid game?” She questioned angrily.“It would have been worth it,” he chuckled.It turns out they did win with Eric sacrifice, that and Joshua fouled out because of his play. Rae couldn’t even look at Joshua after what he did. Rae decided to get Eric to the stables where she could properly address the gash on his head. She sat him on a hay bell that was facing all the horses giving the kids a ride around the fence. Rae first wanted to clean the wound before anything.“This might sting a little.” She said dabbing some alcohol on the cloth. At first, Eric flinched which was odd for Rae to see, as he always seemed on guard in front of her. She smiled to herself thinking about it as Eric had an annoyed look on his face. “What are you smiling about?”“Nothing. It's just a Dauntless leader sitting on a hay bell is kind of comical if you think about it” she giggled.“I wouldn’t be sitting here if your psycho boyfriend wouldn’t have played dirty.” He argued.“Please can we not talk about that, I’m just as upset as you are.” She begged.“So you're upset I got hurt? Sunshine? Were you worried about me?” He questioned, grinning.“No. I mean I just…it just was right what Joshua did.” She tried to explain.“That’s not what it sounds like to me, Sunshine. I think you care about me because you have feelings for me.”“I do not! Honestly, you’re so arrogant you know that? Now hold still.” She snapped.Rae carefully started stitching him up and tried to only focus on the task at hand but Eric wasn’t done with the conversation. “You can deny it all you want Sunshine, but I feel it and you feel it too.” He said grabbing her wrist, making her look him in the eye. “Stop fighting it and let it happen. You know you want it too.”Rae buckled under his stare. He wasn’t tricking her about how he felt, she could see it in his eyes. “Ahh your stitched are done.” She said standing quickly to put some distance between them. “Perfect now what’s next?” he asked standing up. “Eric you don’t need to do anything but sit and rest,” Rae said.“Oh come there’s not one thing you’ve been dying to do all day at the stupid festival?” he questioned.“Well…”“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. This is your favorite thing?” he said looking at the ankle deep pool of mashed grapes.“Oh come on I swear this is the best thing at the festival.” She said.“I rather get hit again.” He confessed.“Please, it’ll be fun I swear!” She begged.“I’m not doing that, I might have gotten knocked in the head but I didn’t lose my dignity.”“Are you scared?” Rae laughed. “The big bad Dauntless leader scared of a kiddy pool full of grapes. Or is it the fact I get to see your feet? Are they that ugly?” She giggled.Out of frustration Eric furiously kicked off his shoes. Rae watched, laughing at how much of a child he was acting. Rae took off her shoes and grabbed at her skirt hiking it up to not get it too dirty. Eric watched with gleeful eyes. “Don’t get too excited.” She said. “Are you ready?” she questioned.“I’m getting you back for this later. You know that right.” He threatened.“Oh come on.” She gestured to him.They both stepped in the pool feeling the squishiness under their feet. Rae immediately smiled at the sensation while Eric frowned. “Well now what?” Eric asked with a disgusted tone. “Now we stomp!” Rae said as she started stomping making Grape juice fly everywhere. Eric was very timid with his stomping, which only made Rae laugh harder. “So what happens after they’re all smashed up?” he asked. “Oh, you don’t know? this is the wine for tonight.” She answered.Eric’s facial expression was full of disgust and astonishment. “I’m kidding. We usually dump it in the fields it helps fertilize the land. Why are you only doing baby stomps? Come on you’re a Dauntless leader you can do better than that.” Rae pushed.“Exactly! I’m a fucking Dauntless leader, not a fucking child. This is ridiculous it’s fucking gross and it’s fucking slippery!”“No this is fun something you know nothing about I bet. What do you guys punch each other in the face to have a good time?” Rae argued.“No! We have the pit. It’s a club and we occasionally have a couple of fighting matching each night. It's better than this shit.” “I should have known Dauntless had a place called the “pit” and this isn’t stupid asshole this is fun,” Rae said kicking grape juice at Eric. “Hey, fucking stop that shit what are you a child?” He said kicking back at her. They continued their grape splashing until Eric missed his footing and fell. His whole body was covered in grape juice. His hair was no longer cropped neatly on top of his head but instead dripping purple juice along his face, covering his forehead.Rae couldn’t breathe because of she was laughing so hard. Seeing Eric, the fearless Dauntless leader in a kiddy pool covered in grape juice was priceless. But Eric wasn’t about to suffer alone, he quickly yanked at Rae skirt pulling her down towards him. She was now a purple tint and was stunned by his actions. Eric roared with laughter, which only continued their grape fight. They were actually having fun together, rolling around, wrestling in the grape kiddy pool. As they rolled around, Rae was suddenly on top of him. Noticing this she tried to move but Eric had her to pin to his lap not letting her get away from him. Rae stopped fighting him after a while and began wiping pieces of grape from his face, smiling. Maybe Eric could actually be a nice guy she thought. Her fingers traced over his soft lips. Eric gently moved strands of hair from her face caressing her. The look between them made Rae feel dizzy and confused. She felt something hard against her, at first she didn’t know what it was but the grin on Eric’s face said it all. She gasped and looked up to see if anyone was around them and noticed they were the only ones left in the pool and realized she was supposed to be at Tibby’s a while ago. Eric tried to keep her there but she quickly stumbled off of his lap. She looked like a deranged lunatic getting out of the pool. Covered in grape juice she tried to straighten herself out as best as she could and turned to look at Eric who was still relaxing in the pool enjoying the view. She thought about saying something but decided to just walk away. As she turned Eric called out to her.“See you tonight, Sunshine. I expect you to meet me at the front of the Dome before the party starts. Oh and don’t be late.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Rae arrived at Tibby’s house, Tibby and her mother were already frantically moving through the house getting ready. Tibby was wearing a short green dress that brought out her eyes perfectly. Her mother was in the process of doing her hair and putting on her halo. “Rae, I’m so glad you’re here! When Tibby told me you were coming over I almost jumped over the moon.”“Hi Mrs. Petunia, I’m sorry I’m late. I got held up.”“Held up by Eric no doubt. Mom, you should have seen this guy today on the field he was unstoppable! Well until Joshua knocked him out.”“Oh my! Why would Joshua do such a thing?”“He’s jealous. They’re both fighting over Rae’s affection.” She gawked.“Oh, how romantic.”“Can we please not talk about this besides I’m with Joshua,” Rae said. “Yeah right! Look I have to go for Eric on this one. I mean come on Rae everyone saw you running to him when he hit the ground today.” Tibby arguedRae hoped Tibby was exaggerating, she didn’t want people getting the wrong idea, most important Eric. But with what transpired between Rae and Eric in the grape pool today that probably wasn’t possible. “I was just worried he got a concussion or something. I mean I’m not cruel, I’m not just going to let him lay there and die.” Rae defended. “Sure, all I’m saying is when a man like Eric wants you he’ll get you.” Tibby declared.Rae rolled her eyes and moved to sit down in front of the vanity. Petunia moved over to Rae, she began to run her fingers through Rae’s soft, golden brown waves. “I’m not surprised by the whole thing at all. Now show about we give those boys a show tonight?” Petunia smiled and looked down at Rae. Rae nodded and let Petunia work her magic.The reflection staring back at her was hardly recognizable. Petunia had really put her talents to good use. Rae soft waves were now curled loosely and shaped her face perfectly like a frame falling just right over her shoulders. The makeup added to Rae’s face amplified her features astoundingly. Her plumped red lips would be a showstopper for anyone. The dark red dress was, of course, flattering to her curves, shaping her round hips just right. The top of the dress made Rae feel a bit self-conscious, as it was deeply low-cut and was only held by tiny thin straps. The two slits that stopped just below mid thigh were also a little uncomforting to her but Tibby was having none of it when Rae tried to pass on the dress.“Rae you look absolutely stunning.” Petunia praised.“You look fucking hot is what she means!” Tibby added getting a shooting look from her mother. “Thank you. You both look absolutely beautiful too.” Rae replied smiling.“Oh wait! Can’t forget your haloes!” Petunia remembered.The haloes seem to tie everything together for the girls’ attire. Give them the Amity touch. Rae soon remembered she needed to get to the Dome to get ready with Joshua. But then she thought of Eric’s burning command ‘I expect you to meet me at the front of the Dome before the party starts. Oh and don’t be late.’ Maybe it was more of a request than demand she thought, but then she remembered this was Eric. But her number one priority was to rehearse with Joshua once before they went on so they would nail it perfectly. She wasn’t about to let Eric dictate her song. She wrote the song herself and worked hard the past couple of months perfecting it. He wasn’t about to get in the way of that. Rae’s plan was simple, sneak around to the back of the Dome to meet Joshua.“Come on Rae,” Tibby called out. “Coming!” Rae said getting one last look at herself. Rae was lucky all of Amity decided to get to the Dome early, it kept her almost camouflaged. As she neared the Dome she didn’t see Eric anywhere, which made her paranoid. She still decided to walk around to the back just to be safe. As she entered there was Joshua tuning his guitar as always. Rae then remembered what had happened earlier that day and wasn’t sure exactly how to talk to Joshua. As she came closer to him, he looked up in awe at the sight of Rae nearly jumping to his feet.“God, Rae You look beautiful.” He said almost speechless.“Thank you. You look nice too.” She replied. Joshua only stared at Rae, looking her up and down as if she was a new discovery.“Rae, look what happen today that well that…”Rae stopped him before he could begin. “What you did today was horrible and cruel. It wasn’t like you at all. How could you do something like that?”“I know. I know. It's just he got in my head and made me…”“No don’t blame that on him. He played fair and never once did anything malicious. You have your own free will, Joshua. That was all you out there.” She argued.“You’re right. I shouldn’t have acted the way I acted. But Rae I would never hurt you and that guy you saw today I don’t know who that guy was but it wasn’t me Rae honest. I’m sorry Rae, please that’ll never happen again because when I’m with you, I’m the best person I can be. You bring out the good in me.” He said reaching out, taking her hand.Rae could tell he was sincere but couldn’t help thinking about Eric and how she just defended him. She wondered if he was looking for her right now and thought about how grand it would be for him to find her talking to Joshua of all people. What would he do to Joshua? What would he do to her?“I know everything’s been a little on edge so let's just move on from this okay? We need to focus on the song and the performance. You want to rehearse it one last time?” She asked.“I’d love to.”He already knew where she was, and with who she was with. Eric didn’t need to worry about Rae, but he did need to make it clear to her that she was his and was planning on doing that tonight.He waited by the big oak tree for his request to be delivered. He started to become anxious because of the time, he didn’t like people being late to, especially at his request. He looked down the dirt road and saw a stumbling old Amity man heading in his direction. ‘This must be the guy’ he thought ‘a fucking drugged up amity hippie.’ The man somehow managed to make it over to Eric, which amazed him.“You’re late,” Eric said to the scraggly hair man.“Hey, man do you know how many big oak trees there are in Amity? I went around the entire compound looking for you, okay?” the old man replied “Whatever. Did you bring it or not?” Eric asked“Sure did. Took a little bit of it myself.”“Wow, really I couldn’t tell? Are you sure this will work?” Eric said sarcastically.“Yep. Man, just put a little in your drink and its smooth sailing from here. Enjoy the ride man but be sure not to use the whole bottle.” The man warned, handing the small bottle over.“Why what happens then?” Eric asked snatching the bottle from him.“Man you go crazy and start seeing things, I mean you see things anyway but this shit fucking spooky man you through like all these types of phases and stuff, do things you wouldn’t normally do, the whole nine yards, man.” The old man explained.“Hmm perfect. Alright I’ll see to it you get extra points, but remember tell anyone of this and you’ll fucking wish sober once I’m done with your old hippie drugged up ass.” Eric warned, eying the old man“Hey man, it's all about love here okay. Besides who's gonna listen to my old hippie drugged up ass anyway?” the old man said sarcastically.“Good point. Now scram before someone sees.” Eric sneered“Man, if there's one thing I've learned, is someone’s always watching.” The old man warned stumbling away. Eric watched as the old hippie made his way down the road thinking about his warning. ‘The only person always watching is me, I’m always watching,’ he thought to himself. Eric looked down at the bottle and smiled to himself. “Looks like someone’s about to have an amazing night.” He said to himself, thinking about the person he planned on giving an amazing night too. Eric made his way towards the Dome with his plan set in motion, little did he know of the pair of eyes watching his every move. The Dome was full of people dancing, drinking, eating, it was a large affair. The Dome looked beautiful all decorated and lit up. The food was placed before everyone to enjoy, the wine and other drinks were everywhere for people to grab. The crowd was an array of colors ranging from reds, yellows, greens, and even a few black thanks to Dauntless. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Johanna moved through the crowd, greeting and chatting with everyone. She looked for one person, in particular, Eric. She herself became paranoid of where he was but snapped out of it quickly when she saw Rae.“Oh, Rae you look stunning.” “Thank you. I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot tonight.”“Well, you look beautiful. Are you ready to sing?”“I’m honestly a little nervous. Have you seen Eric anywhere?”“Eric? I thought he was with you? He’s not? Wait. Why do you want to know where Eric is?”“I kind of skipped out on him when he told me to meet him before. I just want to be prepared for my “punishment” that’s all. Are you okay you seem a bit…”“I’m fine dear. Look I have to greet a few more people. Then I’ll announce you on stage. Good luck! I know you’ll do great.” Johanna said quickly kissing Rae on the cheek. Rae watched Johanna sliver through the crowd. She wondered what was up with her and her mood. She turned to look through the crowd to see if she could spot Eric. She instead saw Poppy standing by himself admiring the area around him. She approached him, wanting to talk about last night.“I’ve been to more than twenty of these things and I’m still amazed.” He said looking around and then settling on Rae. “You look beautiful Rae, Just like your mother.” Rae couldn’t help but tear up “Poppy I’m sorry how I spoke to you last night it wasn’t right of me.”“Oh don’t worry about it, Sweet Pea. I shouldn’t have kept on about Eric. It’s your life you decide your future. And Sweetheart I’m so proud of you, through all of this. You really are a strong woman your parents would be so proud to see you today.”Rae embraced Poppy holding him tight as if he would blow away. She couldn’t stay mad at him, he was the only person that had been through it all with her and understood her. Rae pulled away from him when she heard her name called out by Johanna’s announcement. Rae then pushed her way through the crowd to the side of the stage as Johanna was explaining how hard she and Joshua had worked. Rae kept inspecting the crowd looking for Eric but couldn’t find him. ‘Was he not here? Is he going to miss my song? Did I do something wrong? Why am I concerned with Eric and what he thinks?’ she thought. “Please welcome to the stage, Rae and Joshua.”Rae quickly snapped out of her thoughts and walked up the stairs. All of Amity was there tonight. All eyes on her, well almost all eyes. Once she got to the mic she scanned over crowd realizing how big it was. She almost choked when she opened her mouth and sounded a bit fragile and frail.“I’d like to dedicate this song to my parents.” She stated to the crowd. She looked down at her feet realizing she was about to start. She quickly looked up to prepare herself and right when she did two gray eyes were piercing right through her. There he was in the crowd watching, waiting for her. His face was like stone, she wasn’t really sure what he was thinking about. She knew he was observing her critically making her heart flutter, praying she wasn’t turning red. Rae heard Joshua start playing and immediately prepared herself. She soon closed her eyes and thought of her parents, letting the music take her to them.I had a dream about a burning houseYou were stuck insideI couldn't get you outI lay beside you and pulled you closeAnd the two of us went up in smokeLove isn't all that it seemsI did you wrongI'll stay here with youUntil this dream is goneI've been sleepwalkingBeen wondering all nightTrying to take what's lost and brokeAnd make it rightI've been sleepwalkingToo close to the fireBut it's the only place that I can hold you tightIn this burning houseI see you at a party and you look the sameI could take you backBut people don't really changeWish that we could go back in timeI'd be the one you thought you'd findLove isn't all that it seemsI did you wrongI'll stay here with youTill this dream is goneI've been sleepwalkingBeen wondering all nightTrying to take what's lost and brokeAnd make it rightI've been sleepwalkingToo close to the fireBut it's the only place that I can hold you tightIn this burning houseFlames are getting bigger nowIn this burning houseI can hold on to you somehowIn this burning houseOh and I don't wanna wake upIn this burning houseAnd I've been sleepwalkingBeen wandering all nightTrying to take what's lost and brokeAnd make it rightI've been sleep walkingToo close to the fireBut it's the only place that I can hold you tightIn this burning houseAs she opened her eyes she was greeted by applause. There wasn’t a dry eye in sight, except for Eric. His face never changed as the crowd around him cheered. In that moment it was as if only her and Eric were in the room. In that moment Rae wanted to know more about Eric and felt some type of pull towards him. She was taken out of her trance when she felt Joshua come up behind her for a hug. She smiled and said thank you to him, he, in turn, said she was amazing. Rae looked back out into the crowd to find Eric but he was gone. As Rae exited the stage everyone praised her song and her voice. Tibby and Zeke said she fucking rocked and Poppy said she sounded like an angel. Rae, however, couldn’t find Johanna. She wanted to know what she thought. She wondered where Johanna had run off to but looked on.The party continued with dancing and drinking. Joshua was right Rae had a long line of dance partners. Rae could never really say no to anyone especially cute old men and adorable little boys. She moved through the crowd bumped into Joshua. “Told you you’d have a line.”“You know I can never say no”“Well, then it's my lucky day! Care to dance?”“I’d love too.”As soon as they started a slower song came on. Joshua held Rae closer making her feel safe and secure. She could feel his heart beating, making her relax. She looked over and saw Eric standing in the corner watching her. She stared at him each time she would turn back around wondering why he wasn’t making a scene or stomping Joshua’s face in? He just watched her with that same stone cold face. “Rae? Rae?”“Hmmm?”“Will you meet me by the fence in twenty minutes. There’s something I want to ask you.”“Oh yes! I will!”“Perfect! I’ll be right back. They need help!”Joshua walked off towards Cara who was already grinning at Rae. Rae watched as Cara dragged Joshua over to the drinks making him pour some more for the people, something she obviously could have done herself. Rae wasn’t worried Joshua wanted to meet her in twenty minutes to ask her something. She wondered what I could be. Was he going to ask her to be his girlfriend? Was he finally going to really kiss her? Could it be possible he was going to ask her to promise herself to him? She began to get excited picturing it but every time she tried Eric popped up. Eric. “Nice Party Sunshine,” Eric said sneaking up behind her making her jump.“Eric! Don’t frighten me like that.” “You look very Dauntless tonight you know that,” He said.She rolled her eyes at him and saw he had brought her a drink.“Thought you’d be thirsty after your performance.”She inspected the glass to make sure there were no tricks.“Where did you get this?” she questioned.“From flower boy over there. We had a truce believe it or not. We even toasted to it”“You did what was the truce?” She questioned intriguingly. “I told him that you two deserve to be together and that I wouldn’t stand in the way.” He answered, taking a sip from his glass.“Oh,” Rae said a little disappointed.“I’d thought you’d be happy seeing me as a stand-up guy. I’m not as mean as everyone says I am.”“No you’re worse,” Rae said giggling. Eric smiled at her comment looking at her more intuitively. Eric dropped his hand to grip her hip tight causing a hitch in her breathing. “He’ll never truly make you happy. He doesn’t understand people like you and me. Your song, I understood that, where everyone else listened and cried, I watched you, I felt you and I know you want to feel me too.” He said whispering in her eye. Rae melted to his words and felt restless. She realized she needed to meet Joshua who was probably waiting for her. She squirmed out of his grip. “You’re wrong.” She said walking off.As she exited the Dome she felt her heart beat speed up. Eric was wrong, Joshua could make her happy. He understood her, sort of. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for. Rounding the corner she could hear heavy breathing and wild grunting. Turning the corner she saw Joshua and Cara together. Cara was holding onto the fence moaning loudly with her dress hiked up almost covering her head Joshua was speedily thrusting into her from behind grunting like a wild animal with his pants down around his ankles. Rae felt the tears streaming down her face. Cara looked back to her grinning and moaned louder and more enthusiastically. Joshua looked back to see Rae completely broken but quickly reverted back to fucking Cara from behind it was like there was no human remorse in him at all. Rae couldn’t stand to watch another minute and ran back to the Dome where she knew she could drown her sorrows. She heard Cara laugh as she began running only making it worse, she suddenly slipped and scuffed up her knee while also dirtying her dress. She didn’t care to she was so angry and hurt all she wanted to do was numb the pain.Entering the Dome she headed straight for the drinks throwing back anything she could get her hands on. Rae slumped down onto the stool that was placed in front of the bar, wine, vodka, tequila, you name it, she was consuming it. Rae could still see images of Joshua and the way he looked at her in that moment, heartless. She looked around taking another sip of what was probably her seventh glass of wine, but she didn’t know, she lost count after the vodka. She watched the crowd move and dance in a slow motion it seemed. They were all smiling have a great time while she was fighting the demon inside of her, that’s when she reached into the small pocket of her dress and pulled out the small brown vial. Rae must have put it in there before she left the house with how she was feeling, she needed it more than ever. Johanna said two drops no more, no less. Rae wanted her feeling to be numb, she didn’t want to exist in this reality at least not tonight. She went against Johanna’s instructions and added five drops to her cocktail. Chugging back the drink she could already feel light, the alcohol added to her sensation. She swayed to the rhythm of the music and was somehow pulled into the crowd. Looking at who it was, she saw Tibby smiling. Tibby was also intoxicated, as was Zeke. Rae moved as if she was in water, her movements were fluid. She kept touching the people around her, which was reciprocated making her crave it more. She was suddenly jolted out of the crowd by extreme force. The dizziness made it hard to focus on the solid body in front of her. As her sight final focused in on the person in front of her, she smiled seeing that it was Eric. He looked upset, more upset than usual. Yanking her by the arm he pulled her through the crowd with her stumbling behind him. She limped from her slip she had earlier, Eric noticed and swooped her up throwing her over his shoulder. No one noticed, as most of the people were too drunk to care. Eric made his way out of the Dome with Rae in his hold.Eric had brought her to the greenhouse, as it was the only place close enough and quiet enough. He set her on one of the tables and quickly left her to go find a first aid kit. Rae looked at her surroundings realizing she had left the party and was nowhere, with Eric. He came back not saying a word and focus on cleaning Rae’s damaged knee. He gently pushed Rae’s muddy red dress above her thighs still concealing her private area, but still making her blush. It was lucky Eric cleaned the wound when he did as it was covered in mud and now sweat from her dancing. As he dabbed the alcohol soaked cloth to Rae’s knee, she flinched as the stinging sensation hit her. After a while, the stinging became tolerable, as she watched Eric continued to clean the wound in a precise manner.“You look very upset. Is everything okay?” Rae said in a drunken haze.“What the fuck do you think? And what the hell was that back we’re you trying to start the fucking largest orgy Amity’s ever had?” He sneered.“And I would think you’d like that.” Rae giggled.“I don’t share. What fuck is wrong with you?”Rae felt the tears forming as she looked down to her lap. She covered her face with her hands so that he wouldn’t see her so vulnerable. She couldn’t let him see her like this, but she also wanted him too she needed to breathe and let everything out. “You were right! You were right! I’m not happy, no one understands, no one sees me. I feel so hidden all the time and I hate it! I hate how everyone’s happy all the time and content because they don’t know. It’s like I’m the only one awake in this nightmare. I want the crawl out of my skin every day, but I can’t because of who I am and what I’m capable of. I just want others to feel how I feel sometimes!” She cried, burying her face into his chest.Her hands gripped his chest, she felt all of his muscles, his heart was beating at a calming pace. This was different from Joshua, this was safe or security, this was unknown. She moved her hands to his shoulder gripping them tightly. This is what she wanted to lose herself in something so unknown but at the same time so familiar. Looking up she stared into the grey orbs before. Eric’s hands lingered up around her thighs stopping at her hips. The movement caused her to sigh, the sound caused Eric to grip her jaw. “I want to feel you,” Rae said breathlessly.Without another word, Eric pulled Rae into him crushing her lips with his. The kiss was so controlled so powerful. Rae had never kissed anyone in her life, the rush of the sensation consumed her. Eric pushed his tongue into her mouth which she did not protest to. Rae let Eric’s tongue linger in her mouth before wanted to venture into his territory. Rae’s hands were moving all over Eric body, though she did not venture below the belt, scared of what she would find. Eric moved his hands back down to Rae’s bottom squeezing her aggressively. Rae gasped from the touch causing her to breaking the kiss. Eric quickly moved to her neck assaulting it as Rae relished in the sensation but she wanted more. “More. Please, I want more.” She begged.Eric groaned at her request, sliding his hands over to top of her thighs. His fingertips danced over them creating a sensation of anticipation. Rae quickly went back to Eric’s mouth sucking on his lips, trying to mimic his motion from before. Grasping her legs Eric eased them apart giving him better access. Eric reached between Rae’s legs and gripped her underwear yanking them off or rather ripping them off. Rae yelped at his actions making Eric grin at Rae sex-infused facial expression. He went back to consuming her lips. The loose fitting strap on Rae dress fell off her shoulder with all of the movement exposing her breast to him. Eric slowly inched his hand up to her breast squeezing it causing Rae to moan in his mouth. He decided to increase the sensation by pinching her soft innocent nipple. Rae jerked away, quivering. Eric leaned into her kissing her jawline and then continuing down her sternum to the abused bud. He gently kissed the mound taking it into his mouth, running his tongue in a circular motion all while sucking it. Rae arched her back allowing him a better angle. Moaning to his every movement, she slid her bottom closer to the edge of the table unconscious aware of what she was doing. Eric made his way back up to Rae’s neck nipping at it all while his hands were playing a different game. He wasted no time and slipped his hand between her legs cupping her sex. Eric could feel how hot and slick she was for him making him moan.“God, you’re so fucking wet for me.” He gasped. Rae pouted and nodded her head, yes wanting him to continue. She was aching for him, throbbing with intensity on the inside that needed to be released. He ran his fingers over her lips teasing her, frustrating her. “Please stop teasing me.” She begged arching more for him, letting her head fall back. He smiled at her plea and dipped one digit into her slick, wet heat. Rae moaned at the unfamiliar invasion as it ventured around until finally reaching her clit. Her breath hitched at the discovery. Eric slowly moved his finger back and forth over the sensitive clit causing Rae’s body to surge with pleasure. She had touched herself before but having someone else touch her heightened the sensation. Eric finger traveled down to her open feeling her wetness and then returned to the clit moving his finger in a circular motion. Rae was losing herself to him with every touch he made petting her sensitive clit. “Fuck. Eric ahh.” She whimpered as she started grinding against his hand. Eric stopped his motion making Rae whimper. He lightly dragged his finger down to Rae opening curious of how she would feel around him. Rae bit her bottom lip wanting to continue with their erotic play. She was about to ask why he had stopped when all the sudden she felt an unfamiliar pressure entering her. She squirmed at the strange feeling as Eric moaned to the feeling of her tight walls clenching his finger.“Awe fuck! So tight.” He murmured in ecstasy. Rae kept squirming, as the pressure became unbearable pulling herself away from him. “That hurts.” She whimpered looking at him with innocent eyes. “I’ll go slower but it's not going to get any better unless we keep doing it.” He said being sincere as he could be. Rae accepted his answer and knew he was right. He leaned into her taking her lips again this time with more tender passion. Rae threw her arms around his neck deepening the kiss wanting him all over her. Eric went back to pleasuring her slick bundle of nerves. Rae wanted to lift her hips up to him for a reason unknown to her. Eric would alternate between the tip to the flat surface of his finger mixing the sensation, which was sending Rae on edge. He enjoyed watching her succumb to his touch. He enjoyed watching the pleasure on her face and hearing her moan his name. Eric ventured down to Rae’s opening again taking a second to look Rae dead in the eye. Rae nodded at his silent request to enter her once more. As he slid his finger inside of her, he never lost eye contact. She groaned while looking at him with hazy eyes full of pleasure. Her walls clenched around his finger as he went deeper building more pressure inside of her. He soon pulled the digit more than half way out before pushing back into Rae again. She moaned at the friction he was causing as he continued to do this. Arching her back allowed her to lift her hips a little more for him letting him go deeper. Rae was taking in the new sensation when she felt Eric add another digit. He began stretching her, causing more pleasure and a little pain but Rae let him continue, as the combination was stimulating. Eric started curling his fingers as he thrust into her hitting a spot inside of her, she didn’t know was there. As he continued curling his fingers something inside of her was building and she felt it coming. To create more stimulation Eric started rubbing his thumb over her clit. “Oh God! Eric!” she cried out. Eric moaned and roughly grabbed the back of her head forcefully crushing her onto his lips. It was aggressive, as she became a slave to him. She wanted his everything his mouth, tongue, body, everything he had to offer she wanted. Rae felt her climax nearing as she started bucking her hips against Eric’s touch. She was moaning in his mouth and tried to release herself from his lips but Eric wasn’t having that. He kept a firm grip on Rae’s hair and also began biting her bottom lip. It was all too much, the control he had, the consent she gave him to make her feel this way. Rae was definitely lost to him now. Her release was mesmerizing as Eric watched her body vibrate with pleasure, the moans she released. She was breathing heavily as she came down from her erotic high leaning against his shoulder for support as her body went limp. Eric cupped her face, looking at her in all primal state and began kissing her pecking at her soft yet damage lips thanks to his doing. Rae relished in his touch and his tenderness amazed that it was Eric. Both were silent in that moment when they heard a ruckus outside. There was no denying what happened between them. There was also no hiding especially when looking at Rae. She was completely out of it. Her hair knotted up due to Eric’s handling, her dress nearly falling off with her dress bunched up above her thighs. Her lips had been brutally bitten and ferociously sucked on. She couldn’t be seen like this with Eric. They heard voice getting closer and closer. Eric directed his attention to the front door waiting for what was about to reveal itself. The voice began sounding familiar, like Dauntless soldiers. They were looking for Eric, sounding urgent. Eric stood in front of Rae to help cover her. Her fears were coming to life as the voices came to the door. Rae scrambled to get off the table and to the back door. She tripped catching herself by grabbing the handle on the door. Rae looked back at the gray eyes piercing her soul. She quickly turned the knob and ran out just as the men came barging in. She faded into the night with the memory of her unexpected time with Eric, the Dauntless Leader.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Under ControlRae’s morning was definitely not a pleasant one. Her body was aching from the previous night’s adventures. The throbbing in her head was consistent and not letting up anytime soon. The taste in her mouth indicated that she must have gotten sick before she collapsed on her bed. Throwing the covers off of her, she struggled to stand from the searing pain running through her body. With very slow movements, she made her way to the bathroom.As she ran the bath water, she decided to examine the rest of her body. After removing her clothes the first thing she noticed was her scuffed knee. Joshua’s image would always be tainted in her mind after last night. Her head was pulsating with anger at the thought of Joshua and Cara. Her eyes continued up her body, stopping at her thighs. Seeing the bruises along her thighs and hips, a flash of Eric came to her mind. Rae became dizzy as images of her and Eric’s night started replaying in her head. She started trembling, bringing her fingertips to her swollen, bruised lips. The memory of Eric’s hands played in her mind as she ran her fingers over her body. Sinking into the scalding hot water gave Rae the sense that she was cleansing herself from what had happened between her and Eric. Her mind floated off into nothingness, letting her body rejuvenate. She took a deep breath before slipping under the water. Holding herself under the water, she felt weightless and calm. As she opened her eyes, she was frightened to see what looked to be like a dark figure. In an act of fear, she submerged only to find the bathroom empty. The thought of Eric plagued her mind. She was troubled with mixed emotions. Eric had shown her a deeper side last night, one she was not expecting. He was still rough and controlling but somewhat gentle and very attentive. He was able to read her mind and body, never going too far and giving her just enough. Rae was surprised, Eric had the perfect opportunity to take full advantage of her. No one saw her leave with him and she was not only highly intoxicated but also extremely high from the serum. Who would have believed her then? Eric had the perfect chance to take what he wanted from her. So, why didn’t he? She laid there watching the steam roam around her. The images of last nights were playing in her head. She could envision Eric’s movements and how they felt against her skin. Her hands started moving along her body as she tried to mimic Eric’s touch. The feeling she had felt from his touch was pure adrenaline. It was ecstasy, it was something that she feared but wanted. Her fingers danced along her thighs before she opened herself up. Scenes of last night were screening in her mind. Every touch, sight, and sound was remembered. She remembered every sound Eric made, how he groaned in her ear as she begged him for more. Visions of Eric brought her closer as she ran her finger back and forth over her clit. She tried slipping her fingers inside of her and tried to recreate Eric’s touch, but it wasn’t enough. She stopped out of frustration. Eric was the only one who could make Rae feel like that no matter how hard she tried. Rae hated him for it too. He confused her, she had had a perception of him in her mind but now she didn’t know what to think. Was he even capable of being genuine in a relationship? Rae needed to talk to Eric about what happened between them. She needed to know why he didn’t take advantage of her. And what did it mean for them? And what did it mean for her future? Once Rae arrived at the warehouse, it was utter chaos. She had never seen Amity in the state it was in before. There were people running around frantically with Dauntless patrols not far behind. Rae found Tibby peeping from behind one of the oak trees.“What’s going on with everyone? What happened?” Rae asked.“How have you not heard? One of the containers was left open last night. All of the produce just decayed overnight. Causing one big shit storm.” “How does something like that happens just happen overnight? We were supposed to deliver today.”“That’s what everyone’s trying to figure out right now. Well, that and a couple of other things like what fuck we’re going to do now. Like I said, its one big shit storm. And the day after Jovial, no one is in any shape to deal with this today.” Tibby explained. “What the hell are we going to do?”“I don’t know, but I do know one thing, whoever left the container open last night, it doesn’t look good for them.”“Where’s Johanna?” Rae asked.“Probably trying to ration out the food for the other Factions,” Tibby answered.“What about Eric?”“You may want to stay out of his way for a while. He’s on the warpath and out for blood.” Tibby warned.Rae had no doubt that Tibby’s warning shouldn’t be taken lightly. She headed towards the warehouse preparing herself for what she was about to face. Eric was on a rampage throughout all of Amity, and God helps whoever got in his way. He was out for blood, more importantly, Johanna’s blood. As he made his way to Johanna’s office, everyone made sure to clear a path for him; afraid of the repercussions they would face at the hands of Eric. Eric knew Johanna had a hand in this and wanted to find out how and why. Johanna’s office was straight ahead and Eric was focused and ready to do whatever he had to do to get answers. He was only ten steps away with a clear path in view when Rae stepped in front of him.“Eric, I need to talk to you,” Rae said urgently.“Not now.” He grunted, pushing forward to Johanna’s door.“But it’s about last night. Please, we really need to talk about what happened.” Rae said stepping in front of him again.“I said not now.”“Please it's important.”“Important! More important than figuring out how we’re going to feed thousands of people?” He paused looking at her waiting for a response he knew he wouldn’t get. “Now move the fuck out of my way.” He said pushing her aside“But last night you… I thought…” Rae stuttered.“You thought what? That last night meant something? You knew what last night meant. Last night was a chance to catch me off guard, now look what’s happened. Over half of the population may go hungry, all because I was screwing around with some hippie. Now move.” Eric snapped.Eric pushed Rae out of the way, making her stumble little. She watched him walk away from her, leaving her feeling alone and ignorant. How could she ever think that last night was anything more? Rae was the last thing on his mind that day and yet she still lingered heavily. Last night caught him off guard, which was a first. Last night was something even Eric couldn’t explain. At first it was just an attraction but soon Rae became an interest to him. There was chemistry between them and last night was proof of that. That morning he replayed what she had confessed. “No one understands, no one sees me,” Is what she said, the words kept running through his head. He understood Eric himself had a dark past, one he had used to his own advantage to make him the Dauntless leader he was today. By Eric being a Dauntless Leader, the job had always come first and he was angry about how easily Rae distracted him as it put everything a risk. Pushing Rae away was what was best for the factions. He could not let his desires lead to the demolishment of the five factions.Eric would have no mercy once he’d enter Johanna’s office. He knew she had something to do with the rotten food and he was determined to get an answer one way or another. He didn’t even bother knocking; he knew she was probably expecting him. Eric was lucky, he didn’t take off the door hinges as he barged in. He was a bit surprised to find Max and Johanna already in conversation. “Eric, glad you could join us,” Max said “No one informed me, you would be coming to Amity today,” Eric said.“I wasn’t expecting to be in Amity today but Johanna called and informed me about what happened. In fact, she was the only person to inform me of what happened. Can you please explain to me why I didn’t hear this coming from you?” Max demanded.“I have it under control, I was just about to come and question Johanna. I wanted to gather all the details before calling you.” Eric defended.“Well no need, I’ve got all the information I need. Johanna explained everything.” Max replied.“I’m sure she did.”“The containers are able to keep our produce nice and fresh for an extended period of time until delivery day. It appears one of the containers has a faulty seal that has gone unnoticed. We’ve always had some trouble with this particular one so I guess last night whoever was on duty thought they had closed it.” Johanna explained.“You expect me to believe that bullshit. Food doesn’t just rot like that overnight and if there was a problem with the container in the past then why not get Erudite Techs out here to fix it? Amity is supposed to do an inspection every two weeks why wasn’t this in the report? And don’t lie, I’ve gone through all of Amity’s records from over the past decade.” Eric said relentlessly. “You can believe whatever you want Eric, but that’s what happened. It was an accident and with a drastic change in temperature and air pressure, it is possible. And as I said before it had gone unnoticed and there were no damages that I or anyone else could see before. It was an accident Eric, so now let's move past this and start figuring out a way to get out of this mess.”“This was no accident. I know there’s more to this and that you’re involved somehow.” Eric said.“How could I have done this Eric? Why would I? I was at the festival the entire night, but you weren’t Eric. Would you care to explain where you ran off to or more importantly who you ran off with?” Johanna accused. Eric was now literally in raged. He started striding over to where Johanna was sitting. He was ready to ring the truth out of her before but now he didn’t even care if he got the truth out of her or not. Max quickly stood up to block Eric from stepping any further. “That’s enough! Eric sit down! Over there, now. Johanna, I think it would be wise for you to keep quiet. Now listen up we have yet to inform the other faction but word has probably reached everyone by now. We need a solution for the council so that no one loses their shit.” Max dominantly stated.“My workers will work very hard but we need time. We need at least another two months.” Johanna answered.“No one has enough food to ration out for that long trust me I’ve checked and Amity is the most populated leaving them with the most food,” Eric stated.“Well, we can give more of our rations to the other factions,” Johanna replied back to Eric.“And starve your own people? I don’t think they’ll like that very much. Even the most flower loving hippie gets mad when they’re starving.” Eric said sarcastically. “We can manage,” Johanna answered.“No, you can’t. Look every faction has enough food to last them a month so a month is what we have.” Eric said dominantly.“What are you proposing Eric?” Max inquired. “Longer shifts, every abled body in Amity in the fields, and triple what they usually bring in,” Eric answered.“And you think it can be accomplished?” Max asked curiously. “With the right leadership behind it. No more going easy on everyone, no more letting things slide, no more playing around this is serious and if we don’t get it together we could have a mutiny on our hands.” Eric said.“Max please there has to be another way my people won’t be able to keep up and it’s getting hotter and…” Johanna pleaded.“We might not be in this mess if Amity didn’t celebrate all the time and actually saw that what they were doing wasn’t about peace and harmony, but survival for everyone. You’re a good leader Johanna but Eric’s right, things need to change and sooner rather than later. Eric, I leave you in charge of operations here, I’ll inform the council about our situation. I’ll see the both of you at the council meeting, hopefully by then there will have been progress.” Max said walking out the door.Johanna was left confounded by Max’s decision. Max had always had a soft spot for Johanna, but after that Johanna realized she was losing her ties to him. As Max started towards the door Eric grinned at Johanna rubbing in his victory. Johanna glared at him in return. Before Max exited he asked Eric to walk with him to the trucks. “I’m trusting you with this Eric. You’re right we don’t want a mutiny on our hands, a war between the factions is the last thing we want. There’s also another subject I wanted to speak about. The past couple of week’s factionless sightings have receded drastically over all the factions.” Max said.“The factionless don’t just disappear,” Eric said.“My thoughts exactly. We sent in teams to sweep through some of their known hideouts. All were abandoned, clean, no trace of the factionless or any type of living. In the past, we’ve been successful in tracking them but our Intel has informed us of a new factionless head.” Max explained.“The factionless have had leaders before and we’ve always been successful in exterminating any type of leadership,” Eric replied.“This one is different, he’s intelligent and more organized than any of the others we’ve encountered. The bastards so smart, he doesn’t even have a name. No one has ever seen him before, it’s like he’s some kind of ghost. We’ve checked every factionless record in the system and none of them match the strategic thinking of this guy. If he’s able to move a whole herd of factionless throughout the city without being detected we have a serious problem on our hands.” Max explained.“The only place they could have gone is here. Amity doesn’t have any type of security system. It covers the most acres out of all the factions, easy to hide, easy for any type of aid.” Eric stated.“You think Amity’s supplying aid to the factionless?” Max asked.“Amity’s definitely hiding something, I’d like to request more Dauntless patrols. I’ll need them for the next couple of weeks here in Amity, I have a feeling, we’re going to have a couple of pretty angry hippies on our hands. And I don’t know about you but I have never seen an enraged hippie before. I’ll also want to do a sweep through all of Amity, if this is where the factionless are hiding we’ll flush them out.” “You got it. Keep me updated and please try to work with Johanna you’ll need her on your side to help you and your angry hippies.”Eric rolled his eyes at Max’s comment as he climbed into the armored truck. The sad truth was Eric would need Johanna to cooperate with him if they were going to have the food supplies ready within the next month. It will be difficult and he’ll probably be the most hated man in all of Amity, maybe even the first ever hated man in Amity but he didn’t mind. He thought about the factionless leader, he tried to figure out how in hell he’s was able to move a herd of people that big right out from under Dauntless patrols and erudite security technology. He kind of admired the man, whoever he was, Eric would’ve chosen Amity as well to move his flock. A meeting was immediately called by Eric for Amity to meet at the Dome later on that evening. Johanna could do nothing but comply with Eric’s demands from now on. Her submission to Eric was a reassurance that all of Amity would comply with the new workload they would be taking on for the next month. Everyone knew the meeting would pertain to the food shortage that was for sure. Many members of the peaceful faction noticed an increase in Dauntless patrols as they made their way to the dome. The last thing Rae wanted to do was to go to the meeting, knowing who would be leading it. Poppy, of course, made it a big deal to go to the meeting, to show support for Johanna who he knew was having a tough time. Rae stuck by Poppy never leaving his side as they made their way through the crowd to get closer to the platform. Poppy wanted Johanna to see that they were there to support her. The crowd murmured with anticipation to see what would be done about the food shortage and why the increase in Dauntless patrols. When Eric and Johanna came out on the platform with a few soldiers behind them, the crowd went silent. Eric stepped up to the front of the platform to speak leaving Johanna in his shadow. Johanna looked ahead to the crowd with a somber expression knowing what was about to happen. Eric’s face was stone cold, the sound of his black boots hitting the wooden platform were agonizing to everyone in the crowd. It was like he was walking over everyone’s neck, crushing them as if they were nothing. He stopped in the dead center of the stage, placing his hands behind his back making his frame bigger and broader. Eric glared over the crowd establishing his authority, as they kept quiet and waited for him to speak. Eric’s glaring grey eyes did not pass over the piercing green ones staring back at him. Just like when they first met, Rae was the only one out of the crowd to challenge him. A sheer moment of anger came gleaming over Eric’s eyes before he started to address the crowd.“As most of you may already know the factions are now in a state of crisis. The food shortage has put everyone’s survival at stake. Each faction has enough food to last them a month with that being said Amity has one month to gather enough food for all the factions.”Panic blew over the crowd as people started gasping and yelling how that would even be possible. Questions were thrown left and right, for the first time there was a sea of anger in Amity. Rae was in shock at such a rash decision and was even more shocked when Johanna kept silent. Poppy never flinched, he just observed everyone around him.Eric couldn’t help but smirk at the chaos unfolding in front of him, all the little angry hippies running around. All of the little angry hippies were now under the control of Eric.