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"I’ anything"

I see his s"

I pause a second He doesn’t look at me the way Will, Christina, and Al sometimes do--like I am too small and too weak to be of any use, and they pitywith me, it is probably because he doubts me

"I’ll be fine," I say

"Undoubtedly," he replies I don’t hear the sarcasm, but I know it’s there It has to be

I cliround, he comes after me He s that my feet leave

"So tell me…," he says quietly as we climb He sounds breathless "What do you think the purpose of this exercise is? The ga"

I stare down at the pavement It seems far away now, but I’m not even a third of the way up Above me is a platform, just below the center of the wheel That’s my destination I don’t even think about hoill climb back down The breeze that brushed o, the stronger it will get I need to be ready

"Learning about strategy," I say "Teah hitches in his throat It sounds like a panicked breath

"Maybe not," I say "Teamwork doesn’t seeer now I press closer to the white support so I don’t fall, but that makes it hard to climb Below me the carousel looks s So--a search party must have left

Four says, "It’s supposed to be a priority It used to be"

But I’ My hands ache fro, but I’ht an and vessel andat the same pitch

Then I realize what it is It’s hi about him makes me feel like I am about to fall Or turn to liquid Or burst into fla

"Now tellbreath, "what do you think learning strategy has to do with…bravery?"

The question reminds me that he isfroht shifts across my hands

"It…it prepares you to act," I say finally "You learn strategy so you can use it" I hear hiht, Four?"

"Are you huulps for air "It doesn’t scare you at all?"

I look over round If I fall noill die But I don’t think I will fall

A gust of air presses against asp and cling to the rungs,Four’s cold hand cla a strip of bare skin just under the heently to the left, restoringat host of where his hand was, his fingers long and narrow

"You okay?" he asks quietly

"Yes," I say, , silently, until I reach the platfor by the blunted ends of s, but it doesn’t anymore I sit down and scoot to the end of it so Four has sos over the side Four, however, crouches and presses his back to theheavily

"You’re afraid of heights," I say "How do you survive in the Dauntless conore my fear," he says "When I make decisions, I pretend it doesn’t exist"

I stare at him for a second I can’t help it Toin spite of fear, as he does

I have been staring at hi

"What?" he says quietly

"Nothing"

I look away from him and toward the city I have to focus I climbed up here for a reason

The city is pitch-black, but even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be able to see very far A building stands in h," I say I look up AboveIf I clie my feet between the supports and the crossbars and stay secure Or as secure as possible

"I’rab one of the bars above h nore them

"For God’s sake, Stiff," he says

"You don’t have to followat the maze of bars above me I shove my foot onto the place where two bars cross and pushanother bar in the process I sway for a second,else Every thought I have condenses into that heartbeat,at the same rhythm

"Yes, I do," he says

This is crazy, and I know it A fraction of an inch of mistake, half a second of hesitation, and h rab the next bar I pullunderon another bar When I feel steady, I look down at Four But instead of seeing hiround

I can’t breathe

I i into the bars as it falls down, and les on the pavement, just like Rita’s sister when she didn’t rabs a bar with each hand and pulls hi up in bed But he is not comfortable or natural here--everyfor round

I grab another bar, find another place to wedgeisn’t in h to see the skyline Most of the buildings are black against a navy sky, but the red lights at the top of the Hub are lit up They blink half as fast as s, the streets look like tunnels For a few seconds I see only a dark blanket over the land in front ofand sky and street and ground Then I see a tiny pulsing light on the ground

"See that?" I say, pointing

Four stops cliht behind me and looks over ainstthe ladder