When the Sky Begins to Fall

Four's POV:

I am fucking depressed.
Eric has made me fucking depressed.
Shit, what the fuck is it that makes me feel like this?
I don't fucking know.

I think the worst part was when, in his desperation, Eric dropped to his hands and knees, to the ground, and attempted to lick up, what he affectionately calls, Red. Or, maybe, the worst part was that he was telling the truth, about how he can die without the drug in his system; he could have a fucking heart attack, or something.

No, I think the worst part, is the fact that I know he will do whatever it takes to get his fix. Unfortunately, for him, that means basically selling his body to a woman old enough to be his mother.

Jeanine Matthews is one, sick, perverted and twisted woman.

Eric is barely 18; I mean, fuck.
There is something seriously wrong with that woman.

I'm currently sitting on the roof, watching as the Erudite trucks drive in, and out, several more pallets of the orange serum, and several more servers that go to computers.

I don't know what this all is for, but, I know it can't be good.
Not with Jeanine Matthews heading up the operation.
There's no telling what that power-hungry bitch could be capable of.

Tris has joined me.
She stayed with me, last night.
I slept on the floor, and I let her take my bed.
Peter, Al and Drew attacked her last night, after seeing her ranking jump from 22, to 14, placing her above all three of them.
They tried to throw her over the rail, and into the Chasm.

Luckily, I saw them dragging her off from the control room, so, I was able to intervene, just in time.
She was shaken up, to say the least.

Peter and Drew's rankings have been dropped, but Peter is still ranked high enough to pass initiation, as long he does well in stage three.
Drew will be leaving us, for good, no matter what.

Al threw himself over the rail, and into the Chasm.
We pulled his body out this morning; his corpse blue, and bloated.
It was sad, and disgusting.

"So, what are we gonna do, now?" Tris asks, softly, standing close by my side.
God, I wish she were much, much closer.
"We practice," I tell her.

***************************************************************************************

We enter one of the fear simulation rooms, and I start the computer up, as I place an electrode to her temple, and one to mine.
"What are we doing?" Tris asks, curiosity in her voice.
"We're gonna practice," I reply, as I prepare two needles.
"In my fear landscape?" she inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"No, in mine," I answer, tapping the needles to make sure there are no air bubbles.
"You're not afraid of that?" she asks, in confusion. I turn my head to look at her, now. I think back to when I saw Eric do this with Stormy, and there is a sharp pain in my chest, momentarily.

I can do this; I passed all my simulations.
I can do this.

"No," I tell her, honestly. "Are you?"
"It's just-, you've barely told me anything about yourself, and now you want to let me inside your head?" I smile at the expression on her face; it's adorable.

I inject myself first, and then Tris, seating myself beside her on the metal chair.
"Remember, we do everything the way a Dauntless would do it; and we do it as quickly as possible. Be brave."

I feel as though as I've said the last part more for myself, than for Tris, though.

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Stormy's POV:

Caleb came to see me again, today.
He was quieter than usual.
Something was up with him; I could tell.

He never did tell me what was bothering him, though.
Marcus came to "visit" me again, today, too.
I'm now nursing a bruised cheekbone, and a swollen, and split, lip.

Don't get me started on how sore I am, between my legs.
A girl can only take so much.

Jeanine left me a note again, on the table.
But, I can't force myself to watch, anymore.
Every time I see Eric on the security footage, it gets worse, and he's done something even more horrible, and vile, than the previous.
I'm not watching.

I think I'm just going to go to sleep...

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Jeanine's POV:

I can't stop myself from grinning, when I see the footage from last night.
Eric's entire supply was ruined.
I watched as he got down on his hands and knees, like a dog, and lapped at the red substance on the dirty floor.

He'll be by, today.
I know he will.
He has too.

And I won't give it to him, unless he gives it to me.
I really can't stop smiling.

I hear a knock on the door, and I call out, "Come in!"
It's Eric; it has to be.
I'm expecting him.
It's not Eric.

"Hello Caleb," I greet the Abnegation transfer, in disappointment. "How may I help you, today?"
Damn.

"Miss Matthews," he nods his head, in formality. "I was just wondering... say, hypothetically, if I were to scratch your back, would you scratch mine?"

I'm taken aback a bit, by his "hypothetical" question. He is Erudite, through and through. How Natalie and Andrew managed to push that one out, is beyond me.

I decide to humor him.

"Hypothetically, that would depend on how deeply you were willing to scratch my back," I reply, grinning at the analogy. "What would you be willing to do for me?"

"Whatever you need me to," he answers, quickly. He must really want me to scratch his back.

"And what would you have me do for you, in return?" I inquire of him.

He hesitates a moment.
"I want Kaitlynn."

There is another knock at the door, and I feel my stomach do a flip.
Now, I know that is Eric.

"We'll talk in a bit, I have an appointment, right now, alright?" I tell him, and he excuses himself and exits my apartment, bumping shoulders with youngest Dauntless leader on his way out.

"I thought I told you to watch were you're going?" Eric glares down at him, and Caleb's eyes go wide, and he hurries away, muttering apologies.

That's my boy, Eric.

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Eric's POV:

I hope she'll take my points; I brought my entire last two weeks salary. I can deal with having to ration myself out, if I need to.

I'm on edge; I haven't had my medicine since yesterday morning, and I'm currently feeling rather ill.

"Eric, what a lovely, unexpected surprise," Jeanine exclaims; she looks too excited to see me. I honestly don't know if this will work.

"Yeah," I begin, as I sit in the blue chair that I have claimed as my own. "I just-, uh... I had a little accident yesterday, and it's all gone."

"Oh, what a shame!" Jeanine feigns sympathy. I'm starting to see her for the fake that she is. But, if i can just get my Red, then it will all be worth it; I think.

I really don't want to have to do, what she wants me to do...

"Yeah," I begin again, clearing my throat. "I, uh, I brought two weeks worth of points, and I was won-."

"No, Eric," Jeanine says, firmly.

Shit.

"But, I really thi-."

"No."

Fuck.

"I think I made myself clear, yesterday, didn't I?" she asks, with a smirk.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

I really don't want to do this.

Fuck.

I don't have a choice.

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Caleb's POV:

I shouldn't have waited outside Jeanine's door.
I heard awful things.
Kaitlynn's... uh, whatever he was to her, went into Jeanine's office when I left.

She told me she would talk with me about my request.
So, I just thought I would wait outside the door, and that it would only take a short while.

I heard them talking, and I admit, something about what they were saying didn't feel right, even though they hadn't said anything particularly specific.

But, I could hear Eric pleading, through the door, to let him pay for something with points, and Jeanine refused, explaining that she had already made herself clear about whatever it was he was trying to get.

The next thing I knew, I heard Jeanine laughing, and what sounded like furniture being slid across the floor.
And dull, steady thumping sounds.
And Jeanine moaning.
And Eric whimpering.

They were having sex in there, I realized.
Eric didn't want to do it.
What did she have over his head, to make him to do that?
He couldn't be much older than me...

I move away from the door, down the hall a bit, and eventually, the door opens.
Eric walks out, with his head hung low, and his hands in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his face.

I stare at him as he walks past me, and Eric doesn't even turn to glare at me.
I stand to my feet, and call out to him.
"Hey! Excuse me!" I say, running to tap him on the shoulder.
He jumps at the contact, and I see that his eyes are red.

Oh, my.
That's a change.

"The fuck do you want, Nose?" he asks, in apparent annoyance, his voice thick.
"I just... uh, you're Eric, aren't you?" I inquire, not sure what to say exactly.
I'm scared.

"And?" he asks, rolling his eyes, and glaring at me.

"I just-, I just thought you were," I say, turning around quickly, and heading back into Jeanine's office.

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Eric's POV:

Stupid, fucking Nose.
Some Erudite, the little fucker can't even form a coherant phrase.

No, that was definitely not worth it.
I think I would have rather died.
I will not do that again; I can't.

I hang my head again, in shame, and exit the building with my single 5 ML dose of Hyperopium tucked safely in my pocket.