Hello everyone :) I hope you'll enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Except for my OC, everything belongs to Veronica Roth
Initiation was starting today. A group of ten transfers was facing two dauntless leaders. Both were only seventeen but looked much older than the transfers who were only a year younger. The first one took a step ahead, his feet hitting hard on the ground in a military way, and held his hands behind his back. His light hair was cut short and almost shaved on both sides of his head. The arch of his right eyebrow was pierced with two black piercings and he wore black gauges on both his ears, along with geometrical tattoos on the sides of his neck. This style was not rare in dauntless but combined with his muscular figure and his angular features, he looked definitely intimidating.
"For those who don't know, my name is Eric, and this is Four" he said in a toneless and rough voice that matched his menacing appearance. "We are here to test you during the different stages of the initiation process that everyone goes through to become a full member of dauntless. You will be ranked on this board depending on your achievements and anyone getting their name in the red will make their way out of here." A look of worry transformed the transfers' face.
"What do you mean? What happens then?" A boy from Abnegation named Eli asked.
"It means you'll become factionless" Eric answered without blinking, causing some initiates to gasp in worry. "If anyone fears that they won't make it through initiation, feel free to leave now and save us some time." No one moved as most of the initiates tried convince themselves they made the right decision by choosing dauntless. "As you noticed, you're all transfers, meaning you'll be trained apart from the dauntless-born initiates. But you will share the ranking so I suggest you work hard if you want us to choose you."
Eric took a step back this time to let Four speak and crossed his arms on his chest, his muscles becoming even more prominent.
"Every day, training will start at eight in the morning till six in the evening, with a break for lunch. This morning we'll start with a tour of the compound, then you'll get dressed properly, have lunch and meet us at 2 pm right here". His tone was more pleasant than Eric's, as well as his expression which looked a lot less obnoxious. "Please line up so we can register your names into this software. You can choose a new name if you wish." Despite his warmer aura, Four inspired as much respect. His figure was more slender than Eric's but every one of his moves seemed well-thought-out, meaning he was probably great at fighting. The initiates obeyed him instantly, queuing up to form a line and chatting to decide whether or not they would change their name. After a few minutes, Eric's composed expression switched to confusion for half a second as he met the eyes of one the transfers. Her petite and curvy figure was different from what he remembered, but she still wore her long wavy dark hair, tied in a braid that looked a bit messy from jumping on trains or down roofs. Seeing her brown eyes shaped like almonds brought back a collection of memories to Eric. He felt strange seeing her standing there, in the same room as him, after all this time. She had changed a lot but he could never forget those features. She looked away as if she had not noticed Eric and went to register. Without saying anything, she typed her name with trembling hands and walked aside. June, that was the name she chose.
When everyone was finished, Four and Eric led the group to their dormitory, composed of two rows of five beds, a few pieces of furniture and a collective bathroom.
"Don't search for another bathroom. You will share one between male and female so get over it." Eric explained, smirking.
He ordered them to change into their new clothes then to throw their old ones into the fire. Before he and Four left the group for lunch, Eric glanced discreetly at June who was taking off her shirt and trying to hide her body as much as she could, obviously uncomfortable.
Eric sat down at his usual table, along with other dauntless men. He was the youngest at this table but looked a lot more experienced in life than the others. The room was huge and very loud, as everyone talked while eating. The initiates noticed that the meals were full of proteins and starch in order to provide all the energy that a dauntless needs. From where he sat, Eric scrutinized the room silently to find June but there was no trace of her in the cafeteria.
At 1:45 pm, both leaders were already back in the training area. None of them spoke as they set up the training material, creating an awkward silence. After all, they had nothing to say to each other and even if Four made the effort, Eric was not willing to do the same at all. He hated him and his perfection. He hated the fact that he didn't prove to himself he could be the best once in his life, because Four came first after their own initiation. He hated how charismatic Four was, how people obeyed him without questioning his authority. He was clearly jealous but also had no problem admitting it.
The initiates arrived on time and stood in silence, waiting for instructions. This time, Four spoke first.
"This afternoon begins the first part of the program. It focuses on your physical strength even though your mental remains important. You will be practicing your fighting and shooting skills. Firstly you will get into those individual booths and put on those glasses that will create a numerical enemy against whom you must fight. An inter-active software will help you enhance your technique and at the end of the day, you will be fighting against another initiate. Your ranking will change tonight depending on whether you won or lost your fight. At the end of the initiation, the ranking will help determine which job will fit you here in dauntless, if you make it to the end."
The individual booths had been placed during lunch time in the practice area. The see-through door allowed the leaders to watch the initiates practice as they were facing a green wall. The booths were secured with fingerprint technology and only the leaders could open them. Four did so, while Eric handed out the glasses and set up the software. He was not surprised to see June standing at the very end of the line, as if she wanted to push away her encounter with him. When her turn came, he grabbed the last pair of glasses and attempted to set them on her nose himself, but she stepped back violently and he felt her cold hands snatching the glasses away from him.
"I can do that myself." She affirmed, frowning.
"Sure you can". He repeated, with a grating voice.
He then led her to the booth, noticing her annoyance through her look.
After the training, all the initiates were ordered to sit down by the ring to watch each other fight. Four called randomly for an initiate named Mary and Eric had to do the same.
"I call for June." The brown-haired girl looked already exhausted from the earlier practice. She climbed on the ring with difficulty and breathed hard while closing her eyes. She met Eric's stare and looked disgusted by him.
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Please let me know how you found the first part of my story! Most of the rest is already written but I'll consider your suggestions ;) And sorry about any grammar/spelling mistakes, English isn't my first language ^^