Contents
Chapter 39: Tris
Overview
Tris rides a train back to the Museum with factionless allies Sly and Gretchen, helping deliver a heavy crate to the Makers. She confirms Christina made it home safely. After unloading, Tris finds a fallen bullet from the crate, implying weapon supplies and deflating her hope after seeing Eric with a gun.
Summary
Tris boards a train back to the Museum barefoot, rejecting her Erudite shoes. In the dark car she recognizes factionless allies—Sly, Gretchen, and an older Fox man—transporting a large crate. They banter about her route back and Christina’s status, and Tris learns Christina returned safely by hiding in an Erudite courtyard.
The train makes a rare full stop to unload. Tris helps carry the cumbersome crate off the train, down the stairs, and across the quiet streets near the marsh toward the Museum. As they weave through the old train yard, Sly warns about poisonous hemlock by the tunnel. During the trek, a small shiny object falls from the crate unnoticed by the others and rolls into the weeds.
After delivering the crate and changing back into her own clothes, Tris returns outside to the tracks to retrieve the fallen item. In the moonlight she realizes it is a bullet, likely from the crate labeled as equipment bound for the Makers. The discovery suggests weapons are being moved or produced, and after recently seeing Eric with a gun, Tris’s brief hope that such arms were limited collapses.
Who Appears
- TrisReturns to the Museum with factionless, helps unload a crate, confirms Christina’s safety, and secretly discovers a bullet from the shipment.
- SlyFactionless ally who jokes with Tris, coordinates unloading the crate, and warns about poisonous hemlock.
- GretchenFactionless companion who helps transport the crate and updates Tris on Christina’s uneventful return.
- Unnamed Fox manOlder Fox with silver hair assisting with the crate; largely quiet, present during the delivery.