Divergent

Tris’s father, Caleb, and Marcus have volunteered to accompany Tris, while the other Abnegation members head to Amity. After boarding a train, Marcus asks Tris whether she regrets having joined Dauntless, but she shakes her head and says that there were things she needed to learn; namely, how selflessness and bravery can often be the same thing.

When she sees the glass building above the Pit, Tris instructs the others to jump from the train onto a roof. They manage to make the jump but Tris is preoccupied with the next stage, which entails jumping from the roof into the hole far below as she had done when she joined Dauntless. She tells them that there is a net, and that they should jump quickly without thinking. She goes first and the others follow, shaken but unharmed.

They walk down the hallway that leads to the Pit but gunfire signals that they have been spotted. Tris tells the others to hide, and she creeps through the shadowy hallway into the room from which the sound emanated. As she gets closer, she recognizes Peter, though his tense expression shows that he is not a sleepwalker.

Propelled by nervous energy, Tris tackles Peter and manages to grab the gun. She directs it at him and demands to know why he is awake. He claims that the Dauntless leaders evaluated his records and removed him from the simulation, and Tris says that that makes sense—since he is willing to murder without being rendered a zombie. Peter is confident that she will not shoot him, but she replies that people often underestimate her. She shoots him in the arm and then raises the gun, telling him that he has another chance to reveal what he knows. He replies that they are being monitored and that if Tris does not kill him then the leaders will. The only way that he will tell her what he knows is if she takes him with her. She is aghast at the thought of helping someone who has tried to kill her, but she realizes that it is her only hope.

When Tris’s father asks if it was necessary to shoot Peter, Marcus comments that pain is sometimes required for the greater good. Tris imagines him standing before Tobias with a belt in his hand and wonders if he believes this statement, which sounds like something the Dauntless would say. Tris then orders Peter to guide them, and they head to the eighth floor. As they make their way to the control room, Tris’s father asks her why she thinks she has the right to shoot someone, and she says that now is not the time to debate ethics. He maintains, however, that she will soon have another opportunity to shoot someone and needs to realize that there is a right way to do things. Caleb tells them to stop fighting, and Tris observes that she probably would not have snapped at her father a few hours ago. When her mother was shot and Tobias was captured, something changed.

Tris spots some guards and dodges their bullets while shooting in return. One of the guards, however, gestures for her to go, indicating that he is Divergent. They are now clear of the guards, and Tris tells Caleb to keep watch while she goes on. He says that he cannot stay put while she risks her life, but she wants to keep him safe. Caleb finally nods and remains with Marcus and Peter, while Tris and her father board an elevator. Tris’s father thanks her for protecting Caleb, and the doors open on the eighth floor to the sight of two guards. Tris drops to the floor as they shoot and then hears glass shatter. She sees the guards slump to the ground and looks up at her father, who is wielding a gun.

Tris’s father runs down the hallway, shooting at the guards until there are none left. However, he has also been shot and slumps to the ground. As she watches him die, Tris feels as though she wants to fall asleep and never wake up. Nevertheless, she knows that, for every second she wastes, another Abnegation member dies. Her only purpose now is to destroy the simulation. She forces herself to get up and head into the room ahead, which is made up of dozens of screens showing different areas of the city. One of the screens, however, features a code rather than an image. Sitting in front of it is Tobias.

Tobias is poised to shoot Tris, but she tackles him and they start to fight. In the same way that Tris could not kill her parents in the simulation, she knows that she cannot kill Tobias, and she remembers the power of self-sacrifice. She pushes the gun back into Tobias’s palm and he presses the barrel to her forehead.

Tobias stares at Tris but does not shoot her, and Tris remembers that he is Divergent too and can therefore fight this simulation. As Tris wraps her arms around him, he drops the gun and returns her embrace.

Tobias asks if he was running the simulation, and Tris replies that he was most likely monitoring it. Tris then looks at one of the screens, which shows Caleb, Peter, and Marcus surrounded by Dauntless soldiers. She gestures to Tobias and he starts tapping the computer screen, causing the soldiers to drop their guns and sink to their knees. Tobias retrieves data from the computer that will prevent the simulation from restarting, and Tris sees from the other screens that there is chaos in the Abnegation sector of the city, with Dauntless soldiers shooting one another.

Tris and Tobias return to Caleb, Peter, and Marcus, but Tobias freezes at the sight of his father. Marcus tries to speak but Tris hisses at him to stay away, saying that she knows what a tyrant he is. Marcus looks away and Tobias remains shaken but says that they need make their way to the train.

As they wait for the train, Caleb asks how Candor will respond to the attack, but Tris is not sure. She knows that they will not side with Erudite but they may not fight them either. She also wonders about the cruel fate that has resulted in her losing the people she loves and being left with the likes of Peter and Marcus. She wonders where Christina and Tori are now: are they wracked with guilt? Have they turned their guns on their oppressors? Or are they dead? Tris would rather not see Christina again given what happened to Will.

After boarding the train, Tris thinks of the kindness and comfort of Amity. However, she knows that they cannot stay there forever, as the Dauntless and Erudite will be looking for them. She reveals to Tobias that her parents died for her that day, and Tobias reminds her that she nearly died as well. He asks why she did not kill him when he was poised to shoot her, and she replies that that would be like shooting herself. He then says that he might be in love with her but is waiting until he is sure before he tells her. He adds that maybe he is sure but does not want to frighten her. She laughs and tells him that he should know better, and he admits that he loves her.

Tris looks at the hard drive containing the simulation data and notices Marcus watching her. His presence reminds her that she is still not safe, but, for the moment, she tries to sleep. With Dauntless and Abnegation in disarray, she and the others are like the factionless. They have no home and no certainty about the future. Tris concludes that she is no longer Tris the brave or Tris the selfless but must become more than either of these roles.