The Divergents, part twelve

"Why am I here again?" Yawning, Trix rubbed her eyes as Nash led her and the other enhanced women into the gym.

She hadn't appreciated him storming into her unit earlier this morning and practically dragging her out of bed away from her medic. Thank God he'd let her change into workout clothes.

Callum hadn't seemed pleased either, yet had put on his medic outfit.

But Trix was also too mentally tired at the moment to really fight with Nash about his rude behavior. So, she'd leave that to Ava. Or Nola. Whichever heard about it first.

He glanced at her, his brow raised, "Because all of you need to train."

Bethany huffed, arms crossed, "You can't just boss us around."

"As the commander's second, I actually can." Nash opened the door for them, satisfaction flooding his face. "Now go inside."

Bethany flipped him off but complied, the other women following.

Trix's mouth dropped when she stepped inside.

While the gym on the mother ship was nice, this gym surpassed her expectations. Human and Wanderer training devices were strategically placed, and a boxing ring was at one end.

"Holy shit," Kassie stared, "you guys are serious."

"I'd hope so." Nola approached them, her arms behind her back. "The commander takes your safety with the highest importance."

Kassie snorted, and Trix couldn't help but snicker. It seemed that Kassie's feelings for the commander hadn't softened.

The twins ignored Kassie's response.

Nash guided them to the weights, summarizing the different exercises they would be doing.

Despite having done hundreds of push-ups and crunches during her solitary confinement, Trix wasn't confident she'd be able to walk by the time she was finished.

"For now, we're going to work on basic strength." Nash smirked, eyes wickedly twinkling, "and you are all going to hate me for a while."

"Some of us already do," Bethany muttered.

Trix raised a brow at him, "And why are you smiling?"

"Nostalgia."

He and Ava were making more sense to her now.

Nola rolled her eyes. "And we're going to help you test and control your new abilities."

Trix grinned, electrical arcs appearing on her hands. She'd been waiting for this, although she'd prefer to do hers outside and away from the technology.

"Most of us already have done that," The redhead stepped forward, shrugging. "Just saying."

Nash tilted his head. "What's your name?'

"Harlow."

He grinned, "Well, Harlow, I know they didn't teach you how to use them in combat."

Harlow didn't disagree, shrugging.

"Also, a few of us don't know what we can do," another interjected.

Trix lifted a hand, "And I didn't get much at all."

Bethany gave her a look, "Because you would've destroyed the ship and killed us all."

"No one asked your opinion." She clenched her fists, the electricity surging to the surface. "Now, shut up, or I'll singe your pretty hair beyond repair."

Bethany shuffled away, stroking those blonde strands.

Grinning, Trix puffed her chest out.

"Does anyone else have commentary?" Nola glared at them, clearly irritated by the drama.

Nash only looked amused, although he had spent a lot more time around human females than his sister.

No one made a peep.

"Good," Nola grabbed a wooden staff. "Now, let's get to work."

***

Sitting in the back of the medical tent, Callum tinkered with some of the equipment. He was still having trouble calibrating the scanners so they would work for both humans and Wanderers.

He knew his brother had fixed several, but with the medical shuttle at the base, there was a lot more to tweak, and even with Trix's help, Bram could only go so fast.

And Callum prided himself in knowing how to repair his equipment.

Two of the frightened nurses hovered at the tent's entrance, tending to a group of human males. The males occasionally glanced at him but didn't mind his presence.

Callum didn't like being an asshole toward the other medics, but when it came to the well-being of anyone, fire flowed in his veins. And fear was the enemy of most things.

"Whatcha working on?"

Callum turned his head, smirking, "One of the scanners."

Skye hovered over his work table, resting her hand on it. "What's the issue?"

"Making it work for both of us."

Grinning, she pulled something out of a bag. "Use mine for comparison."

Callum held both scanners, "My brother made this for you."

She lifted a brow, "Yeah, so?"

He matched her expression, sitting straighter. "You do know he has romantic and sexual feelings for you, right?"

"Uh, no." Her cheeks heated, but she wasn't put off by that. "How would you know that?"

Callum shrugged, "He talked about you a lot."

"So?"

"He never does that, not even about me, and we're siblings." He compared the two scanners, making adjustments to his. "And he made you something."

"That Galen gave to me as a gift." Skye crossed her arms.

Callum narrowed his eyes, tempted to grab her hand and feel her emotions. "It doesn't matter."

"Whatever."

He chuckled, "Wow, you and Kassie really are twins."

"Yeah, we are." Skye frowned. "Not that she counts me as a sister."

Callum stopped what he was doing, swiveling his chair to face her. "What happened?"

Sighing, she sat on an empty bed, "We were separated at the age of ten, and our relationship never really recovered." She played with the blanket. "Our father wasn't a good man, and our mother finally had enough, but she only took Kassie with her."

Callum understood the feeling of being abandoned by a parent. "I am sorry." He knitted his brows, "But why is she so angry with you?"

"I honestly don't know, considering Mom had basically turned her against me by the time I found her again."

He didn't need to touch her to know the pain she felt

"I'm not surprised, though. Our mother hated me." Skye turned away, wiping her face. "Then Kassie said some pretty shitty things to me the last time we spoke before you guys showed."

No wonder Skye hadn't told anyone about Kassie.

"And now, everyone is mad at me." She eyed him, "Well, almost everyone."

Callum had no reason to be upset with her. "For the record, I understand what it's like."

"Really?"

"Yes." This time, he took her hands into his.

The surge of emotions caused a few tears to fall down his face. He quickly pulled away, his emotions returning to the foreground. He hadn't hers to hit him so intensely, accustomed to Wanderer emotions.

Skye smiled, "Wow, are you a counselor too?"

He laughed, wiping his face, "No, I'm what humans call an empath."

She blinked.

He smiled at her. "I can feel what others feel when I make skin-to-skin contact with them."

"Well, anything seems possible these days, so I believe you." She gave him a sheepish chuckle.

Callum laughed again. Most people didn't take him seriously whenever he mentioned his abilities, but he understood her point of view.

"But thanks for listening." Skye stood, exhaling loudly.

"No problem."

As soon as she left, Callum returned his focus to the scanners, using Skye's to help him fix the others.

But if all humans were that emotional, he needed to strengthen his ability to separate theirs from his. Or he would lose his mind.