Zeke Quotes

Do the elevators work?" I ask Uriah, as quietly as I can. "Sure they do." says Zeke, rolling his eyes, "You think I'm stupid enough not to come here early and turn on the emergency generator?" "Yeah," says Uriah. "I kinda do.

Then his eyes focus on something over my shoulder, and he starts walking. I turn to see Uriah jogging from the elevator bank. He is grinning. “Heard a rumor you were a dirty traitor,” Uriah says. “Yeah, whatever,” says Zeke. They collide in an embrace that looks almost painful to me, slapping each other’s backs and laughing with their fists clasped between them.

Oh, don't mind me," came an extremely sarcastic voice near the wall. “You two go ahead and make out–I'll just sit here and bleed quietly.

I wasn't thinking of his blood, rushing just below the skin. I wasn't thinking of his heartbeat or his touch or the pulse at his throat. Right now, all I was thinking of was Zeke.

Only death will take me away from you, vampire girl," he whispered. "And even then, I'll watch over you from wherever I end up.

For the rest of my existence, if I lived to see the end of this world, there would never be another Ezekiel Crosse. There would never be another soul as bright as his. And that both terrified me and made me savagely - and maybe selfishly - determined to keep him. Zeke was mine now. Forever.

Next time you two decide to go on a bloody killing spree, at least send me an invitation so I know that you care.

He smiled, a real one this time, though his voice remained teasing. “So, what do you think I am?” Naive, I thought at once. Naive, brave, selfless, incredible and much too kind to survive this world. It’ll break you in the end, if you keep going like this. Good things never last.

I got you here, like I promised I would. I wish...I wish I could've seen your Eden, but this place isn't for me. It never was. I have to find my own place in the world." Bending down, I brushed my lips to his. "Goodbye, Ezekiel,

(Zeke) finally did what I'd been fearing and hoping and dreaming he'd do from the very start.

He paused, gasping for breath, but continued in a soft, steady voice. "Allie, I...I love you.

And the most ironic thing? If Kanin hadn't Turned me, I would never have met Zeke. But being a vampire meant I could never be with him either.

Well," I ventured as we left Salazar's office, stepping back into the long hallway. I glanced over at Kanin, Zeke and Jackal, and shrugged. "What now?" Jackal rolled his eyes and stepped away from us. "What now is that I am going to relax for a few hours without listening to the lot of you whine at me. 'Ohhh, don't hurt the humans, ohhh, we have to save refugees from mole men, ohhh, Kanin's dying.' Ugh." He made a disgusted gesture with both hands. "It's enough to make me puke. I am going to the bar to get this taste out of my mouth. You all can do whatever you want.

I put my hands on his chest, splaying my fingers, feeling his heart beat under my palm. Funny how such a simple thing like a heartbeat could fascinate me now that I didn't have one. Or maybe it was just Zeke's heart that I was fascinated with.

You have no idea how hard this is for me, but...maybe, this isn't the right time. Not now, in a vampire tower...with them all around." He opened his eyes, giving me a pleading look. "Do you understand...what I'm trying to say?" I smiled. "You're turning red, did you know that?" "Allie!" Zeke blew out his breath in a huff. I laughed, released him and stepped back.

Let's just hug already," he says. Keeping one hand firm on Caleb's arm, I wrapped my free arm around Zeke, and he does the same. When we break apart, I pull Caleb down the alley, and can't resist calling back, "I'll miss you." "You too, sweetie!" He grins, and his teeth are white in the twilight. They are the last thing I see of him before I have to turn and set out at a trot for the train.

I believe I also said I would kill you if I ever saw you again.” “Yeah, well…” Jackal shrugged and nodded to Zeke. “Get in line behind the little bloodsack over there. Although, really, you should be the one at the top of his list. It’s kind of amusing, really. That he has no idea who you are, what you’ve done.

Zeke?" He turned back, eyes questioning. And before I lost my nerve, in full view of my sire, I stepped up to him, put my hands on the sides of his face and kissed him one more time. I know you're watching, Kanin. And yes, this is my answer.

You’re not evil," Zeke said with absolute conviction. "I might have believed that once, but not now." His hand framed my cheek, brushing my skin. "No one who fights so hard to do the right thing is evil.

Fine." I glared at him and shook my head. Stubborn idiot. "But at least try to look a little more raider-ish, okay? We don't want to attract attention." Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me." I didn't answer as we crossed the flimsy, creaking bridge into the lair of the vampire king. If Zeke had asked, I would've said that I was thinking of how to find everyone, but that wasn't entirely true. I was thinking of the others and how I was going to get them out alive...but I kept being distracted by the thought that Zeke had called me beautiful.

So what was your favourite song?" "Um...the one about the sun sizzling into the ocean." He laughed hard. "What?" "Zeke wrote that song about his cat." "His cat," I repeated blandly. "Yep, Peaches, she ran away." "I'd run away too," I muttered under my breath, making him laugh harder.

I didn't hear the exact moment Sarren ended Zeke's life. I was just aware of his breathing, tagged at first, then seizing up, as if he could no longer gasp for her. And then, a long, agonizingly slow exhale, the last gulp departing his lungs, as Ezekiel's tortured breaths finally, irreversibly, stopped altogether. "Good night, sweet prince." Sarren crooned, a velvet whisper. The recording clicked off.

He looked like he always did. Jeans and a black Foo Fighters t-shirt, his hair lay over his forehead and around his ears. I pushed my hand through it. "It's perfect. It's you." He grinned, shaking his head. "Zeke told me to wear leather, lots of it." "And you're rebelling?" I said through a laugh. "I'm telling him to subtly screw himself.

Zeke and I struggled to get to the dressing room so we could get changed. But we were mobbed by people who wanted to congratulate us and tell us how talented and terrific we were.

But at least try to look a little more raider-ish, okay? We don't want to attract attention." Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me.

Ready,Stiff?" Zeke smirks down at me. "I have to say,I'm impressed that you aren't screaming and crying right now." "I told you," Uriah says. "She's Dauntless through and through. Now get on with it." "Careful,brother,or I might not tighten your straps enough," Zeke says. He smacks his knee. "And then,splat!" "Yeah,yeah," Uriah says. "And then our mother would boil you alive.

I watched him depart, steeled myself and then walked over to Kanin, who hadn't moved from his place in the corner. "That was interesting." he mused in a toneless voice as I joined him along the wall. "I assume that last display was solely for my benefit?

He looked... very alone then, a single human in a monster-infested world, a fading bright spot surrounded by shadow. And despite my best intentions, my determination not to be a monster, I was part of the world that he feared. Part of the darkness that would drag him down and tear him apart. "I'm sorry Zeke

Do it fast, you pansycake.

Puppy, I am getting so tired of listening to you whine about this,” he snarled at Zeke. “This isn’t rocket science. If you don’t want to be a monster, don’t be a bloody monster! Be an uptight stick in the mud like Kanin. Be a self-righteous bleeding heart like Allison. Or you can stop agonizing about it and be a fucking monster.

She'll have to get over it, then. Are you going to let her drop out of Dauntless for a stupid reason like not being able to walk?" Zeke is quiet for a few seconds. His eyes shift over my face, and he squints, as if weighing and measuring me. Then he turns and bends and wraps his arms around me. it's been so long since someone hugged me that I stiffen. Then I relax, and let the gesture force warmth over my body...

'Hubba-Hubba' never slips out," Zeke said. "You selected those words with deliberate intent, and I question your commitment to the respectable use of the English language.

We watched the humans in silence, two vampires standing in the darkness on the outskirts of humanity, always looking in.

Who the hell are you? (Zeke) Wrong direction, actually. But my name is Gabriel. (Gabriel)

Because he’s an idiot.” Zeke offers me a black jacket with a factionless symbol stitched into the collar. “I didn’t know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose.” I wrap the jacket around Caleb’s shoulders and fasten one of the buttons over his chest. He avoids my eyes. “I think it’s a new phenomenon,” I say.

Listen Zeke, i have to go. There's something i have to do, someone i have to find. i owe him a lot, and he's in trouble now. i just wanted to say goodbye." Zeke slept on. i put my hand on his uninjured arm, squeezing gently. My eyes burned, but i ignored them. "you probably won't see me again," i murmured, feeling something hot slide down my cheek. "i got you here, like i promised i would. i wish... i wish i could've seen your Eden, but this place isn't for me. it never was. i have to find my own place in the world.

You think any of this crap could be possessed? (Zeke) No. I think you’re possessed of the spirit of creepiness. (Mary)

And there’s one more thing. (Gabriel) Neutering? (Zeke)

Zeke embodied the contradiction of his generation: jaded about the fate of the world, idealistic about personal prospects.

His name was Zeke, short for Ezekiel. She asked him if he was religious, he said only about certain things.

Is this Prior?" "In the flesh." "Why's he bleeding?" "Because he's an idiot." Zeke offers me a black jacket with a factionless symbol stitched into the collar. "I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose." I wrap the jacket around Caleb's shoulders and fasten one of the buttons over his chest. He avoids my eyes. "I think it's a new phenomenon.", I say.

I gave him a challenging half smirk. “You were the one who traveled halfway across the country to find me, Zeke Crosse. Now that you have, and now that you insist that something brought us together, I’m afraid you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Or, maybe I should say, I’m not letting you go. Vampires are possessive like that.

That's it," I whispered, feeling Zeke gently take my hand. "That's all we can do. I hope it works." Zeke pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. "He's strong," he murmured into my hair. "If anyone can pull through this, it will be him." "You two do realize I can hear you, right?" I felt like laughing and crying at the same time.

What was it Grandpa used to say? ‘You may pawn your soul to the devil, but the good Lord will always bail you out?' (Zeke)

. “Everyone has a dark side, Zeke; the key is not to let it make you its bitch.

They say the bigger the man, the harder they fall. Well this is me letting you fall, Zeke. I can’t be there to catch you; I’m not strong enough to catch us both.

Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me.

Yes, I knew how to keep a secret since I was a girl and saw my uncle murder Zeke. I had learned to act like nothing had ever happened, how to walk across the crime scene and smile against my fears.

Wouldn’t it be freaky if the two of us exchanged places? You’d have to go home to my house and make out with Duncan. (Mary) Ah, gah! Eye bleach. Don’t put that shit in my head. You’re my sister, for Pete’s sake. Now I’m going to have to beat your husband the next time I see him for defiling you. (Zeke) Oh, pooh. You always overreact to everything. (Mary)

Told ya you were special.

Everyone heals in their own time and in their own way. The path isn't always a straight line, and you don't need to go it alone.

You’re not evil,” he had whispered, those bright, solemn blue eyes staring into me, peeling away every defense. “No one who fights so hard to do the right thing is evil.

a dark-skinned boy who beckons cheers from his friends with his hands. “Go, Zeke!” one of the girls shouts.

Why’s he bleeding?” “Because he’s an idiot.” Zeke offers me a black jacket with a factionless symbol stitched into the collar. “I didn’t know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose.” I wrap the jacket around Caleb’s shoulders and fasten one of the buttons over his chest. He avoids my eyes. “I think it’s a new phenomenon,” I say.

He stared at his dog, his beautiful ugly dog who was soaking wet and covered with dirt and grime, whose tongue was hanging out of his mouth. Where had he come from? Zeke licked Dex again. Dex

Surprisingly, it was Jackal who finally smiled and stepped back, raising his hands. "Okay, bloodbag," he said, looking past me to Zeke. "Fine. I can be civil. For now. Observe." He made a great show of looking around the chamber. "Nice place you got here. Love what you've done with it. If I'd known, I would've brought a housewarming gift. A shag rug to go with the lovely piles of garbage.

They say you know it’s love when someone offers to drive you to LAX, and right now I’m feeling the love. Most relationships would fall apart if you put them through the high-performance stress test that is currently my life, but for some reason all this tension only serves to make Zeke step up even more. Do I deserve it? Probably not.

Fingering those strings and watching ride that speaker like it was a vibrating cock was the highlight of my life.

Even apocalypse looks less dire when viewed over a plate of bacon.

You just couldn't give it a rest, could you, Sue? Had to keep badgering me. Snooping and poking around. I hope you're satisfied, now that you've ripped my guts out.

We all change, and we all feel rudderless at times. there is nothing wrong in allowing yourself to drift. ~Zeke

I've found that when someone is beautiful on the outside, but spiritually dark inside, all that outer beauty is just lipstick on a pig. ~Zeke

Zeke doesn’t talk,” said Lena. “Why not?” asked Arlo. Lena shrugged. “He never said.” She pointed to the front of the crowd. “Brice is about to start.

You got to face your evil, Hoodoo," Zeke said. "If people don't face the danger that's seeking them, evil will find them first.

Maybe I trust you to be a man and handle the gray reality of truth better than all these kids who still think in black-and-white.” Commander Zeke Waters from The Only Way Out Is In

Life had been difficult for Zeke and me. There were hard times that we almost didn't make it through. But then we found each other and held each other together. Not everyone meets their other half. Not everyone has the chance to feel the kind of love that Zeke and I have for each other, but I'd like to think that after everything I went through in my life, Zeke was my happy ending.

Look who's talking,' Darren repeated, angrier this time. 'I might've welcomed her along in hunts, but I wasn't tripping over myself to talk to her every night. Everyone could see the way you looked at the girl. You weren't exactly subtle, you know. Ruth nearly had kittens every time the two of you went off to do something. So don't lecture me about getting attached, Zeke. You were falling for that vampire - we all knew it. Maybe you'd better check your own neck before you go pointing fingers at other people. Seems to me the vampire could've bitten you anytime she wanted -

Fine." I glared at him and shook my head. Stubborn idiot. "But at least try to look a little more raider-ish, okay? We don't want to attract attention." Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me.

what a beautiful day it is...if only i realized that sooner. well, with all the killing i have done...that's asking too much

«Zeke forse ti ha chiesto una mano perché eri l’unico gay, ma credo si fidi di te. Altrimenti non saresti qui ora. Zeke ha scelto te, non un amico che conosce da quasi dieci anni. Io mi fido del giudizio di mio figlio, e di conseguenza mi fido di te. »

O.K., then, all right, they would adopt a white-trash dog. Ha ha. They could name it Zeke, buy it a little corncob pipe and a straw hat. She imagined the puppy, having crapped on the rug, looking up at her, going, Cain’t hep it. But no. Had she come from a perfect place? Everything was transmutable. She imagined the puppy grown up, entertaining some friends, speaking to them in a British accent: My family of origin was, um, rather not, shall we say, of the most respectable... Ha ha, wow, the mind was amazing, always cranking out these—

And for the glorious honor of being bitched at constantly and the esteemed title of Claims Investigator, he’d given up five years of his life as he went to college, created a debt his great-grandkids would curse him over, and got the holy honor of MBA. More Bullshit Allowed. (Zeke)

You came into my life when I needed you the most. I didn’t even know I was capable of being the man I am when I’m with you. I was dark and broken, and you lit up my world and put me back together piece by piece. I can’t breathe when I’m not with you. I can’t think of anything but your smile and the way you make me feel when we’re apart. I’ve decided that I never want to be away from you again, and if you’ll have me, I’d like to be yours until there’s nothing left of me.

Zeke stood up. He held the Tater Tot up to the sunlight streaming in through the cafeteria window. Some kids sitting at tables nearby took notice. They listened in as Zeke began to recite: "Oh, Tater Tot, oh, Tater Tot, so tiny and round, What an amazing potato taste in you I have found! Crispy on the outside, soft and mushy inside - What kind of mysterious potato do you hide? Russet, white, Yukon gold or Idaho? Are you mashed or baked or fried - I really don't know! Mystery spud so tasty and round, What an amazing lunchtime treat in you I have found." Everyone at the table applauded, and Zeke bowed. The kids around him clapped and whooped and laughed.

He looked up at the rain and closed his eyes, his hands still wrapped around her back. Mattie knew with an acute awareness that she would always remember this moment: both of them nude in the falling twilight of a mountain summer, sated and yet still hungry, Zeke’s strong face tipped to received the gift of rain, his broad hands warm on her.

Why are you looking at me like that?" Like I want to push you to the floor and lick every inch of your pretty skin? Can't imagine.

Are you ready?" "To strip that dress off you." God, he was good for her self-esteem. This guy would never choose TV and beer over her.

Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyoneis going to attract attention, it's not going to me." I didn't answer as we crossed the flimsy, creaking bridge into the lair of the vampire king. We didn't talk to each other for several minutes. If Zeke asked, I would've said that I was thinking of how to fing everyone, but that wasn't entirely true. I was thinking of the others and how i was going to get them out alive...but I kept being distracted by the thougth that Zeke had called me beautiful.

The man was in his late thirties, with coarse black hair and a powerfully angled face. The horse with him made a sudden noise, a high whining sound, and its graceful head tossed, jerked. The man let the reins go, and the horse galloped to the fence where Zeke stood waiting. Mattie glanced at him. He’d climbed onto the fence and leaned over the top, softly whistling a series of notes. On his face was an expression Mattie had never seen—equal parts joy and sorrow.

Boys, I'm probably sleeping, but hopefully y'all got up on time. You need to be down at the factory by 9. Ask for Zeke.I listened to your interview with Starnes-it's good work, but I've changed my mind about some things. At six hours per person, we'll never get through the whole town. I'd like you only to ask the following four questions: Where would you live if you could live anywhere? What would you do for a living if you didn't work for the factory? When did your people come to the country? And What do you think makes Gutshot special? I think that'll move things along nicely. They're expecting you at the factory. Lindsey will accompany you. See you tonight.Hollis. PS.I'm writing this note at 5:30., SO don't wake me up.

It struck me that almost any of the companies I’d heard about would be good fodder for an investigative story. But the thought of methodically gathering facts to disprove their ridiculous promises was exhausting. It reminded me of a maxim called the “bullshit asymmetry principle,” coined by an Italian programmer. He was describing the challenge of debunking falsehoods in the internet age. “The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it,” the programmer, Alberto Brandolini, wrote in 2013.

Our family was starting. We kept on moving with our young lives, shortly afterward and took Ben Young with us everywhere. But pretty soon Pegi started noticing that Ben was not doing the things some other babies were doing. Pegi was wondering if something was wrong. She was young, and nothing had ever gone wrong in her life. People told us kids grow at different rates and do things at different times. But as Ben reached six months old, we found ourselves sitting in a doctor's office. He glanced at us and offhandedly said, "Of course. Ben has cerebral palsy." I was in shock. I walked around in a for for weeks. I couldn't fathom how I had fathered two children with a rare condition that was not supposed to be hereditary, with tow different mothers. I was so angry and confused inside, projecting scenarios in my mind where people said something bad about Ben or Zeke and I would just attack them, going wild. Luckily that never did happen, but there was a root of instability inside me for a while. Although it mellowed with time, I carried that feeling around for years. Eventually Pegi and I, wanting to have another child after Ben, went to se an expert of the subject. That was Pegi's idea. Always organized and methodical in her approach to problems, Pegi planned an approach to our dilemma with her very high intelligence. We both loved children but were a little gun-shy about having another, to say the least. After evaluating our situation and our children, the doctor told us that probably Zeke dis not actually have CP-he likely had suffered a stroke in utero. The symptoms are very similar. Pegi and I weighed this information. To know someone like her and to make a decision about a subject as important as this with her was a gift beyond anything I have ever experienced. It was her idea, and she had guided us to this point. We made a decision together to go forward and have another child.

Zeke started forward, but I grabbed his arm. "No," I told him urgently. "Don't go near him, he's lost a lot of blood. He might not be able to stop himself from biting you." "I'm run through, not deaf," Jackal remarked from the floor. Honestly, he was the loudest mortally wounded vampire I'd ever heard. I figured that if he could make this much noise, he was in no danger of dying. "Although..." He grimaced, and his voice became lower, more like a growl. "You might want to get the meatsack out of here if you want his blood to stay on the inside. His inside, not mine.

Jessica gli baciò una delle mani, sopra un piccolo sbaffo di sangue, e continuò: «Però ricordati che qui avrai sempre un pasto caldo e un letto se ti serviranno.» Fece un sorriso buffo. «Magari non il letto di mio figlio, dovreste dormire in camere separate. Potrei chiudere a chiave Zeke di notte, per essere sicura che non sgattaioli da te. Oppure potrei comprare dei tappi per le orecchie. Sì, i tappi per le orecchie mi sembrano una buona soluzione. Che ne dici?» Gabe sentì le lacrime che gli scorrevano sulle guance, il petto che doleva. Sì, era un’ottima soluzione. Essere amato. Essere voluto.

It reminded me of a maxim called the “bullshit asymmetry principle,” coined by an Italian programmer. He was describing the challenge of debunking falsehoods in the internet age. “The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it,” the programmer, Alberto Brandolini, wrote in 2013.

Dos gruesos gerontes de las heladas tierras del norte sostienen sus cartas de vinos desde una de las atiborradas terrazas del Sinatra. Están inquietos porque piensan que, como comensales europeos, tienen derecho a decir lo que les dé la gana o bien a guardar silencio. Porque saben que todo lo que coman puede ser cargado en su cuenta y que tienen derecho a una sangría y a un plato de calamares, y que, de no poder pagarla, el hormiguero común pangeico de los soldados de Cristo puede proporcionarles una paella de oficio

«Come hai fatto a non accorgerti del pomo d'Adamo?» chiese Zeke, schiarendosi la voce. «Quando hai scoperto che è un ragazzo?» «Il pomo d'Adamo? Credi davvero che io le abbia guardato la gola?» Mason scosse la testa, incredulo. «Dopo la nuotata, la maglietta le si è attaccata al corpo. Ho visto la sagoma del... del suo...» «Cazzo,» lo aiutò Gabe. «Si chiama cazzo, Mason. Anche tu ne hai uno.» «Piantala, principessina!» gli abbaiò contro. «Non parlare così al mio ragazzo!» «Non parlare così a mio fratello!» «Volete smetterla, tutti e tre?» sbottò Mason. «Sono nella merda!» «Perché hai baciato un ragazzo?» chiese Gabe. «Non mi sembra così terribile: io lo faccio da una vita e non sono morto.»

Qualcosa gli sfiorò la mano: dita sottili e delicate si infilarono fra le sue, stringendogli la mano in una morsa calda e gentile. «Vorrei questo da te,» gli disse Gabe. «Se tu puoi.» Non vuoi: puoi. Aveva proprio usato quella parola, come se non fosse certo di Zeke. Non dei suoi sentimenti, ma della volontà di esternarli. Di dire a tutto il mondo che non amava un maschio. Che amava Gabe. Zeke non poté fare a meno di sorridere. «Io pensavo che preferissi questo.» Gli posò un bacio sulle labbra. Talmente rapido e delicato che più che un bacio sembrò il battito di ciglia di un bimbo, ma sufficiente a trasformare l’espressione di Gabe da esitante a esultante. Con tanto di coriandoli e trombette, almeno nella mente di Zeke

Where’s Shauna?” I say. “Still in the hospital?” “No, she’s over there,” says Zeke, nodding to the table Lynn walked back to. I see her there, so pale she might as well be translucent, sitting in a wheelchair. “Shana shouldn’t be up, but Lynn’s pretty messed up, so she’s keeping her company.” “But if you’re wondering why they’re all the way over there…Shauna found out I’m Divergent,” says Uriah sluggishly. “And she doesn’t want to catch it.” “Oh.” “She got all weird with me, too,” says Zeke, sighing. “’How do you know your brother isn’t working against us? Have you been watching him?’ What I wouldn’t give to punch whoever poisoned her mind.” “You don’t have to give anything,” says Uriah. “Her mother’s sitting right there. Go ahead and hit her.

«Mi dispiace. Zeke non era certo del perché fossero uscite proprio quelle parole dalla sua bocca. Voleva chiedergli come stesse, anche se era una domanda stupida. Voleva giurargli che sarebbe sempre stato presente per lui. Che lo amava con una tale profondità da soffrire. Voleva dirgli che avrebbe ucciso suo padre. Che non avrebbe mai più permesso che succedesse qualcosa del genere. Ma non disse nulla di tutto ciò. Solo quelle due parole di scuse continuavano a risuonare nella stanza. Le ripeteva senza interruzioni, senza quasi prendere fiato, perché erano vere. Era colpa sua se tutto ciò era accaduto. Sua e di Mery e di Jessica. Sapevano cosa faceva Lance Scott. Conoscevano la barbarie che riservava al figlio. L’avevano vista con i loro occhi e toccata. Vi avevano convissuto e non avevano fatto assolutamente nulla. Erano loro i colpevoli.

Zeke was cleared by the Candor an hour ago, in a short interrogation on the eighteenth floor. It was not as somber an occasion as Tobias’s and my interrogation, partly because there was no suspicious video footage implicating Zeke, and partly because Zeke is funny even when under truth serum. Maybe especially so. In any case, we came to the Gathering Place “for a ‘Hey, you’re not a dirty traitor!’ celebration,” as Uriah put it. “Yeah, but we’ve been insulting you since the simulation attack,” Lynn says. “And now I feel like a jerk about it.” Zeke puts his arm around Shauna. “You are a jerk, Lynn. It’s part of your charm.” Lynn launches a plastic cup at him, which he deflects. Water sprays over the table, hitting him in the eye. “Anyway, as I was saying,” says Zeke, rubbing his eye, “I was mostly working on getting Erudite defectors out safely.

«È orribile. Non voglio doverlo fare di nuovo,» mormorò. «Una volta mi è bastata.» Mery ripeté: «Non sei costretto. Zimmermann non è neppure un tuo amico. Se non te la senti, non lo fare. Lascia che si arrangi.» Gabe riusciva quasi a immaginarsi la scena: al centro della stanza Zeke, con lo sguardo puntato a terra e le mani tremanti. Davanti a lui sua madre, il volto paralizzato in una smorfia che era in pari misura disgusto e odio. «Devi venire anche tu, Mery. Devi aiutarmi.» «Cosa? Vuoi davvero aiutarlo?» «Sì.» «Perché?» «Forse c’è una possibilità. Un modo per far sì che la cosa funzioni. Zeke e sua madre, intendo. Forse, se lo aiuto, lui non finirà…» «Come te?» concluse Mery con la tristezza negli occhi. «Non vuoi che affronti quello che affronti tu ogni giorno.» Lui annuì. «Tu devi esserci, Mery.» «Io odio Zimmermann.» «Lo so. Ma ami me. Non è solo Zeke ad avere bisogno di aiuto.»

«Tu non sai chi io sia. Non mi conosci e mi hai appiccicato addosso un’etichetta.» «Più o meno come hai fatto tu con la storia del ragazzo d’oro.» Gabe aprì la bocca, poi la richiuse di scatto e uscì dall’auto, allontanandosi lungo il marciapiede. I lacci slacciati degli anfibi rischiavano di farlo inciampare a ogni passo, specie quando si voltò ritornando rapido sui suoi passi. Zeke abbassò il finestrino, rassegnato a ricevere una sequela di insulti. «Hai ragione.» Quando sentì quelle parole uscire dalla bocca di Gabe, quasi non le capì. «Hai ragione. Ti ho attaccato un’etichetta e non avrei dovuto. Non ti farò le mie scuse, perché tu ti sei comportato allo stesso modo. Ma cercherò di conoscerti meglio, se tu farai lo stesso.» «D’accordo.» «E continuerò a chiamarti ragazzo d’oro.» Zeke sorrise. «D’accordo.» In qualche modo anche Gabe si ritrovò a rivolgergli un sorrisino. «Buonanotte, ragazzo d’oro. »

Zeke posò la mano sulla guancia di Gabe, cercando di capire se stesse piangendo in silenzio. Ma trovò la pelle liscia e asciutta, in alcuni punti bollente per le botte, e d’istinto tolse la mano. Non voleva ferire Gabe, in nessun modo. Però il ragazzo gli riprese la mano, intrecciando le dita insieme, e se la posò nuovamente sulla guancia. Le loro dita intrecciate, calde quelle di Gabe e fresche quelle di Zeke, sembrarono confortare entrambi. Gabe aveva già fatto quel gesto, la sera di Halloween, quando Zeke era fuori di sé, e anche in quell’occasione il contatto lo aveva placato, calmato. Non dappertutto: c’erano parti del suo corpo che erano sembrate in fiamme per quel semplice tocco, la notte di Halloween così come in quel frangente. Zeke si mosse a disagio nel letto, grato che il buio nascondesse le guance arrossate, e Gabe sciolse le loro dita, lasciando tuttavia la mano di Zeke sulla sua guancia Gabe gli catturò le labbra. Un bacio gentile, quasi timoroso.

«Sono triste. Non voglio essere triste.» Il cuore di Zeke si strinse nel suo petto. Non voleva vedere Gabe triste. Non poteva. Si allungò verso il ragazzo, cercando di attirarlo a sé senza fargli male o toccare qualche zona dolorante, e si ritrovò a stringergli le spalle, i corpi stretti l’uno sull’altro. Una luce si spense nel corridoio, togliendogli quel poco di visibilità che avevano. Alla cieca si avvicinò al volto di Gabe, sfiorandogli il naso con il suo. Ogni volta che si abbassava gli carezzava piano le labbra, delicato come un soffio «Non voglio usarti.» Il sussurro di Gabe lo fece sorridere, e la carezza successiva fu più lunga delle precedenti, più decisa e umida. «Non mi stai usando. Cerco solo di renderti felice.» «Non sei costretto.» Un altro bacio, e una piccola spinta dell’inguine contro quello di Gabe, tanto per fargli capire che non vi era costrizione, quanto desiderio. Determinazione. Voglia sfrenata di stargli accanto, stringerlo e non lasciarlo più andare.

«Sai cosa infastidirebbe Mason un casino?» sussurrò il quarterback all’orecchio di Gabe. «Se tu ora mi baciassi.» In un’altra vita Gabe si sarebbe comportato diversamente. Magari avrebbe riso in faccia a Zeke, dicendogli che lui valeva di più di uno stupido quarterback sotto steroidi. O magari avrebbe sfoderato un sorriso seducente, ammaliante. Invece il quel momento, stretto in un abito luccicante, con il culo a ghiacciarsi su un gradino di marmo e davanti allo sguardo incattivito del coglione più coglione del pianeta, Gabe riuscì solo a sgranare gli occhi come un cervo investito dai fari di un camion. Zeke posò le labbra sulle sue, accarezzandole con lentezza e forzandole delicatamente con la lingua. Da qualche parte una ciotola di caramelle cadde a terra, e Gabe rabbrividì per la delicata presa delle mani ghiacciate di Zeke sul suo collo. Il suo alito sapeva di caramella alla frutta e per qualche motivo gli parve il sapore più buono che avesse mai assaggiato. Quando infine Zeke si staccò da lui, con un mezzo sorrisino sulle labbra e il fiato corto, dall’altra parte della strada era rimasta una bottiglia di birra solitaria.

Ember looked up when he walked in, and when he saw her face, he felt like he’d been gut shot. Heavy bruising discolored the right side up to her eye, and she seemed to be in pain. Her mouth was pinched and her eyes squinted. When she realized he wasn’t one of the wait staff, she immediately turned away. “No customers allowed back here,” she called. She moved down the cook line and motioned to a Hispanic man she was working with to take her place at the grill. Zeke prowled down the parallel aisle until he was right behind her. “L-look at me.” She shook her head stubbornly. “You can’t be back here, Zeke.” “Look at me, please.” After a long pause, she turned her body toward him, but kept her face turned away. Bending his knees enough to peer into her eyes, he waited until she looked at him. Fury rolled through him as he realized he could see finger marks within the bruise. “Who d-did this to you?” She shook her head and refused to answer. Tears glinted in her eyes. “It’s no big deal, okay? Accidents happen. I was just in the wrong place at the right time. It happens when you own a bar.” Her eyes slid away and he thought there was something she wasn’t telling him, but he had a feeling if he called her on it she’d clam up completely. He reached out to touch a length of her dark hair that had escaped from her braid. Her eyes flickered and a single tear rolled down her cheek. He groaned. “D-d-don’t cry. I didn’t come in here to…up-upset you. Just had to check on you.” *****

Once I’m at the bottom, I knock on the exit door. Zeke opens it, a stupid grin on his face. “No trouble with the guard?” “No.” “I figured Drea would be easy to get by. She doesn’t care about anything.” “It sounded like she had looked the other way before.” “That doesn’t surprise me. Is this Prior?” “In the flesh.” “Why’s he bleeding?” “Because he’s an idiot.” Zeke offers me a black jacket with a factionless symbol stitched into the collar. “I didn’t know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose.” I wrap the jacket around Caleb’s shoulders and fasten one of the buttons over his chest. He avoids my eyes. “I think it’s a new phenomenon,” I say. “The alley’s clear?” “Made sure of it.” Zeke holds out his gun, handle first. “Careful, it’s loaded. Now it would be great if you would hit me so I’m more convincing when I tell the factionless you stole it from me.” “You want me to hit you?” “Oh, like you’ve never wanted to. Just do it, Four.” I do like to hit people--I like the explosion of power and energy, and the feeling that I am untouchable because I can hurt people. But I hate that part of myself, because it is the part of me that is the most broken. Zeke braces himself and I curl my hand into a fist. “Do it fast, you pansycake,” he says. I decide to aim for the jaw, which is too strong to break but will still show a good bruise. I swing, hitting him right where I mean to. Zeke groans, clutching his face with both hands. Pain shoots up my arm, and I shake my hand out. “Great.” Zeke spits at the side of the building. “Well, I guess that’s it.” “Guess so.

Tobias emerges from a door hidden behind a length of white cloth. He flicks the cloth out of the way irritably before coming toward us and sitting beside me at the table in the Gathering Place. “Kang is going to meet with a representative of Jeanine Matthews at seven in the morning,” he says. “A representative?” Zeke says. “She’s not going herself?” “Yeah, and stand out in the open where a bunch of angry people with guns can take aim?” Uriah smirks a little. “I’d like to see her try. No, really, I would.” “Is Kang the Brilliant taking a Dauntless escort, at least?” Lynn says. “Yes,” Tobias says. “Some of the older members volunteered. Bud said he would keep his ears open and report back.” I frown at him. How does he know all this information? And why, after two years of avoiding becoming a Dauntless leader at all costs, is he suddenly acting like one? “So I guess the real question is,” says Zeke, folding his hands on the table, “if you were Erudite, what would you say at this meeting?” They all look at me. Expectantly. “What?” I say. “You’re Divergent,” Zeke replies. “So is Tobias.” “Yeah, but he doesn’t have aptitude for Erudite.” “And how do you know I do?” Zeke lifts his shoulder. “Seems likely. Doesn’t it seem likely?” Uriah and Lynn nod. Tobias’s mouth twitches, as if in a smile, but if that’s what it is, he suppresses it. I feel like a stone just dropped into my stomach. “You all have functional brains, last time I checked,” I say. “You can think like the Erudite, too.” “But we don’t have special Divergent brains!” says Marlene. She touches her fingertips to my scalp and squeezes lightly. “Come on, do your magic.” “There’s no such thing as Divergent magic, Mar,” says Lynn.

Not many of us will be able to go, because a crowd that large would draw too much attention. Evelyn won’t let us leave without a fight, so I thought it would be best to recruit people who I know to be experienced with surviving danger.” I glance at Tobias. We certainly are experienced with danger. “Christina, Tris, Tobias, Tori, Zeke, and Peter are my selections,” Cara says. “You have all proven your skills to me in one way or another, and it’s for that reason that I’d like to ask you to come with me outside the city. You are under no obligation to agree, of course.” “Peter?” I demand, without thinking. I can’t imagine what Peter could have done to “prove his skills” to Cara. “He kept the Erudite from killing you,” Cara says mildly. “Who do you think provided him with the technology to fake your death?” I raise my eyebrows. I had never thought about it before--too much happened after my failed execution for me to dwell on the details of my rescue. But of course, Cara was the only well-known defector from Erudite at that time, the only person Peter would have known to ask for help. Who else could have helped him? Who else would have known how? I don’t raise another objection. I don’t want to leave this city with Peter, but I’m too desperate to leave to make a fuss about it. “That’s a lot of Dauntless,” a girl at the side of the room says, looking skeptical. She has thick eyebrows that don’t stop growing in the middle, and pale skin. When she turns her head, I see black ink right behind her ear. A Dauntless transfer to Erudite, no doubt. “True,” Cara says. “But what we need right now are people with the skills to get out of the city unscathed, and I think Dauntless training makes them highly qualified for that task.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go,” Zeke says. “I couldn’t leave Shauna here. Not after her sister just…well, you know.” “I’ll go,” Uriah says, his hand popping up. “I’m Dauntless. I’m a good shot. And I provide much-needed eye candy.” I laugh. Cara does not seem to be amused, but she nods. “Thank you.