The Number of Fear

Prompt: The words "fear God alone" are painted in Four's room. What's the story there? by lithiumlaughter. Prompt Me Some Fiction at Ficlet O'Clock

Divergent and all characters belong to Veronica Roth and not me. Author has stated approval of fanwork.

Amar is a character from Free Four, a scene from Four’s perspective. The initial four lines quoted are from the end of chapter 22 of Divergent. I recommend reading that entire chapter in relation to this fic.

the scribbler

The scribbler writes fanfiction and fandom/readerly meta at Fanfiction.net and her LiveJournal. Favorite fandoms include the Divergent Trilogy, Marvel, The Secret Garden, Take the Lead, and Roswell.

Series Listing

00. Before and During Divergent

Bravery

00. Before and During Divergent

The Number of Fear

01.00 Four - Choosing

Another Way

01.01 Four - after Choosing

Tears

He must stay brave to keep the name.

Fear is something Tobias cannot afford to have—not fear of those who tear away what means the most to him, not fear of those who would destroy him.

00. Before and During Divergent
Selfish Divergent Trilogy
Fanfic

“You’re a little scary, Four.”

“Do me a favor and don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you then.”

“Nothing. Yet.”

2

My eyes move upward to the painted words on the plain white wall of his room. “What does that mean?”

He freezes, muscles tensing suddenly. He does not even have to glance over his shoulder to know exactly what I’m talking about. He quirks his mouth. “Are you afraid of them?”

I stare at him, breath caught for a moment, realizing that I’m not, he’s not—but something dark hides behind his question, something he doesn’t want to tell me, so I shrug and answer simply, “No.”

1

Four stares down at the body on the tracks. His mind refuses to process that this is his mentor, his friend, Amar, but everything he is refuses to allow his mind that recoil. He stands where he can see and force himself to understand what just happened. No one is safe, no one immune.

When he gets back to his room, he sits down on his bed and stares at a blank white wall. Four fears and yet today, a fifth threatens—Amar warned him that what they were was dangerous.

A pause, a breath, and Four is up and pulling out some paint he had previously planned for something different. Fear God Alone.

0

Tobias was genuinely startled when the fearscape faded around him, and it hit him, like a smack in the gut. Four fears. Nobody has only four fears.

Then it starts.

He does not understand when they first clap him on the back and name him, but when he does understand, he takes it, owns it, smiles faintly at the approving grin Amar sends him.

With one word, he is a new person, separate from Abnegation and his father and all that has gone before, and he knows he must stay brave to keep the name. Four.