Chapter 1 - The Dauntless Prowler

Eric is a hundred percent sure that he hasn't seen that face before, which is unusual taking into consideration that Erudite learning groups are closed once they all have been sorted out. He has a good photographic memory and knows how all the people that walk up and down the Erudite compound look like. That one, that smudged face belonging to the girl that stands at the back of the crowd has never appeared before his eyes. The girl in question is pulling the sleeves of her dark blue jacket and adjusting the collar of her shirt so that it won't be so tight around her neck. Eric notices that her cheeks are slightly red and the movement of her chest denotes a quick breathing. With a slow, stealthy pace, Eric moves towards the intruder while keeping one eye on her uneven sleeves and the other on the teacher.

Eric studies the girl's appearance as if she were a rare human specimen that has come from outer space. Close up, the leather surrounding the soles of her shoes is stained with a few drops of mud that go up all the way to the bottom of her pants. Eric's Erudite brain traces all the streets of Chicago, the ones leading to the center, and the ones leading to the living areas of the other factions. He sniffs the air. Iron.

'What you're doing is illegal,' whispers Eric with an intonation that is more appropriate to use in court than in social interactions. The intruder doesn't reply, or even flinch at all. She keeps nodding with conviction at the words coming from the teacher, although Eric knows that she probably can't understand any of it. She isn't intelligent enough, is she. 'You are a fool,' he says curling his upper lip in disdain.

The trespasser slowly bends the neck in his direction. Her flat blue eyes land first on his nose, then on his eyes. She chuckles, then punches his nose, and laughs once again when Eric falls on his knees to cover his bloody face. The Erudite boy quickly looses track of the muddy shoes, which disappear in the pandemonium that has just broken out among his schoolmates. He tastes his own blood on his lips, but refuses any help when the teacher tries to help him stand.

'It was that Dauntless girl!' he screams with a deep angry voice, 'I saw her!'

'What are you talking about, Eric?' the teacher shakes her head with a smile, 'I think you're verily confused.'

Eric turns his deadly eyes towards the teacher as his nostrils flare with hostility. He imagines himself stabbing the woman with one of the pens that hang from the pocket of her blouse, until she bleeds, and then pushing a bit more. However, all the actions that come out of his thoughts are a frustrated moan and a heavy thump on the floor.

At lunch time, Eric is too irritated to be sociable, so he exits the library as soon as he is allowed to. The sun is finally showing up after a long cold winter and the bright blue sky softens his mood to the point that he can almost enjoy the presence of other people around him. He always likes to sit on the edge of the glass-dome of the library because the reflections of the sun on the glass warm his back and that is very much needed on those days that drift between the cold winter and humid spring. The trees continue to be leafless, but at least the snow has melted and the grass has grown back again.

Eric sips at his soda. He lifts the bottle in the air and places it in front of his face. Through the bubbles of the semitransparent liquid, people become nothing but blurry ghosts that float from one point to the other. Eric switches position and observes the other Erudite students who are properly sitting on the benches. They interact with each other using exquisite manners, their spines as straight as those of a book, their chins as high as their intellect and probably their arrogance too. Suddenly, a big dark blur. Eric puts the bottle down expecting to be reprimanded by an adult for sitting there. He is already putting on his I-don't-care face when his eyes open wide. It's the intruder.

'So you're not very social, huh?' she sits down next to him like they've been friends forever. She looks at his soda. 'Can I have some?'

'No!' Eric says louder than he has expected, 'no, you can't.'

''s okay. I wanted to apologise for ruining your shirt,' she points at the blood drops, 'mustn't be so nice for an Erudite to walk around with dirty clothes... especially from blood.'

'It's- what do you want?' Eric turns to her with a quick movement and dares to stare at her with the same violence that her punch had delivered, 'my nose is fine, by the way.'

'Sure, your nose,' she tries to contain a laugh, 'I don't want anything. I'm just exploring.'

'So, why are you talking to me again?' he says ill-mannered.

The girl drops her shoulders and sticks out her neck with a bored-to-death look. She sighs, looks around and stands up.

'Well, because I punched your nose? That sounds like more than enough to start a conversation,' her arms cross over her ribcage, 'plus, you called me a fool.'

'Do you punch everyone that calls you a fool?'

'Yeah.'

She says that with no pride at all, she says it like a fact, like an universal truth, which confirms to Eric that she must belong to Dauntless, because only one of them would sound so phlegmatic about being verbally attacked, or attacking someone physically for that matter. It's their everyday. She probably has been punching noses since kindergarten. Eric shakes his head.

'But don't worry,' she continues, regaining her composure, 'being smart is boring,' her eyes get distracted by something at the other end of the street, 'at least being a smart Erudite is boring. Take care, kid.'

Kid. Eric stands up feeling the need to overpower her at least with his size. She may have punched his nose but he is taller and he's sure he can injure her if he wants to. He seizes her arm violently, and then, as soon as he knows it, he's on the floor again, this time curled like the baby he had been once, and with his hands trying to protect his crotch from a hit it has already taken. The shadow of the Dauntless prowler hides the sun from his face while she looks down at him with an irritating smirk. The girl runs away stepping over the glass-dome, sliding down the other side, and disappearing into the crowded streets that lead to the city center.

It is the first time in Eric's erudite life that his thoughts are left on a side. The wilderness takes over, anger rises inside him and so does violence. As soon as both his feet are stable on the ground again, Eric turns his eyes towards the street where the intruder has disappeared, and runs. The cold air sweeps the hair away from his bright eyes, the pavement slides beneath his feet and feels like a slippery road towards freedom, freedom of action. The streets whose architecture he knows by heart suddenly go through a renewal in Eric's eyes; benches become obstacles to jump over, streetlights turn into potential fences, alleys transform into shortcuts.

Out of breath, Eric arrives to Michigan Ave. His hands collapse on his knees when he tries to catch his breath, and out of the corner of his eye he stops to contemplate the dark windows of The Hub. Momentarily, he thinks of the Choosing Ceremony, his own Choosing Ceremony, stepping into the magnificent black towers as an Erudite, coming out as something else, perhaps. He shakes his head. Instinct forces him to watch the trains as they slow down and approach a curve.

At that time of the day there are not too many people on the streets, children are in school, adults are working, factionless are... surviving. Standing on the platform is a single person, a youngster, the intruder. As if she has sensed his eyes on her, she turns around and with a daring look steps closer to the edge of the platform. Eric bites his lower lip. The girl shakes her head at his indecision, and in one second she's gone, her left leg disappearing the last inside the first car of the train. Something pushes Eric to suck it up and run towards the train. He is almost flying instead of running, his irises focused on one single entrance, the one of the fifth car. He visualises the jump right before the strong airflow almost makes him loose his balance. If he doesn't jump, he'll fall into the track, and die. If he does, he may die as well. Eric launches himself in the air, his arms stretching and aiming for the handles by the wagon door. He's in.

'Now what?' that voice again, 'are you going to fight me?'

'No,' Eric can barely talk, 'not now at least.'

The girl leans against a window and looks outside, although she can't help but observe him and control his movements. Eric stands up and takes a look at her evaluating if it would be a good time to punch her in the face. However, experience tells him that it is not a good idea, not in a moving train with open doors.

'Are you scared?' she laughs.

'No,' he snaps, 'where are you going?'

'I told you, I'm exploring,' she sits down on the floor, her legs almost hanging out the door, 'wanna come with me?'

Eric notices a handle on the wall. He feels the urge to get a hold of it, but refuses. Not in front of the Dauntless. She looks up at him from the floor. Her blue eyes shine with the light of the sun that trespasses the glass of the windows, and also with amusement.

'You can jump off any time you want,' she says.

Eric exhales deeply. He has an idea of where the train is going, he has studied the tracks, the stations, the stops. He frowns. He has never asked himself why the train never stops at The Hub, why it keeps moving as the Dauntless jump into it. He feels stupid for not noticing, and also for embarking on an adventure that he's not sure he can handle. He looks at the girl looking for some sort of reassurance. She seems calm and relaxed, perhaps a little bit cautious about his presence. Eric wonders how she looks like with Dauntless clothes.

'Did you steal those?' he points at her jacket.

'I took them from a transfer, before she got rid of them,' she shrugs, 'not sure if it counts as stealing.'

'Do you have clothes from all the factions?' Eric approaches her cautiously.

'Yeah,' she sounds proud.

The girl moves to a side and pats the floor with her hand. Eric distinguishes a small tattoo right under the sleeve but can't guess the shape before it is covered again. He sits down at the opposite end of the door, leaving as much space in-between them as possible. He keeps his feet inside and away from the edge, but manages to sit straight and look at the landscape.

The tracks are covered in snow that hasn't melted. Eric follows the parallel metal lines into the horizon and reaches to see the fence surrounding the city. Looking ahead, he sees the old city of Chicago, the broken bridges, and destroyed buildings of the outskirts. Vegetation has taken over some of the oldest structures, dark green spots decorate the façades, break into windows, claim what has been abandoned.

'Where are we going?' he hates to ask questions, 'huh?' he insists after a few seconds.

'Home,' the girl finally replies standing up, 'this is where initiates jump off to go to the Pit,' she points at a roof full of gravel. Eric's body is filled up with adrenaline. He imagines himself going back home in the train every day, jumping into the nothingness of thin air, pretending that he's flying.

'But we're going off at the next one,' she looks outside the door.

Eric is about to ask why when he realises that he's obviously wearing his Erudite clothes. He can't go into Dauntless like that, it is not allowed, he would be punished, if not killed by Dauntless savages. Suddenly, he feels pressure on his arm, and then he's flying again, the girl jumping in front of him and pulling him out of the train. He falls on the ground, on black hard dirty pavement. It hurts, but he hides it. Behind two metal containers, she kneels on the floor, feels the wall of the building with her pale fingers, and removes a plank of metal. Yellow, white, black, green, grey. Faction clothes. Eric turns around when she strips down to her underwear. He peeks at her body as she dresses up in her Dauntless clothes. He inspects her few tattoos and tries to count her scars. She has more scars than tattoos, that's for sure.

'Is it legal to get tattoos at your age?' he asks intrigued.

'No, but I don't care as long as no one knows,' she threatens him.

Eric's anger comes back and his hand flies to her long neck instantly.

'Don't you dare threaten me,' he says staring into her eyes. He notices how expressive her face is, but unfortunately fear isn't on display, neither is submission. The girl's elbow impacts on his cheek.

'Learn to fight before you try to touch me again,' she turns around and walks away, 'also, you're my guest, so behave.'

Eric shuts up when he hears voices coming from the other side of the walls. He hurries up to catch her pace and positions himself beside her to show that he is not a dog that she can control. They enter a dark and moist narrow path made of stone with intercalated planks of metal that seem to support some areas. The Dauntless girl touches the walls sliding her fingers over the surface as if she were verifying its current state. They cross a rusty bridge that stands a few meters above the ground and connects with a big cubical building. She opens the door, turns right, and opens a second one. It's an apartment. Or at least, the Dauntless concept of it.

'You're safe here,' she says closing the window blinds.

She sits on a single bed that's right under the window she just covered. The room is big for her size, it looks like at some point it was inhabited by many people, but now it seems deserted. The walls are grey and only decorated by several cracks on the paint. There is a lonely table with a chair on the opposite corner of the bed, a small fridge and a set of knives stabbed on the wall.

'I guess those are not for cooking,' Eric says to himself.

'They're not,' the girl talks close to his ear. She circles him like a shark, hopping once on one leg when the first round is over. She's entertained by a reason Eric can't comprehend. 'I like to have people over,' she says.

'Don't your parents mind that you bring people from other factions?' Eric tries to mock her.

'My parents are dead,' she's serious for once second, then hops again in one leg. 'But I'm not, so that's good, right?'

Eric nods.

'What's your name?' he asks.

'Are you gonna report my illegal activities?' she imitates his voice.

'I can't now, because I have followed you.'

'You can say I forced you,' her intonation is funny again, 'you're an Erudite, you can come up with something smart, but maybe...' she circles him again, 'you don't want to report me.'

'I only want to know your name, you should learn to shut up,' Eric steps out of the imaginary circle that she's tracing.

'My name's Delta. Who are you?'

'Eric,' he says through gritted teeth.

Delta is satisfied with his reply. She hops away and stands on the bed like a guard in a tower. Eric sends her a malicious stare with narrowed eyes and a tense jaw.

'I already apologised for the punch,' she sits down, 'I guess I'm also sorry for the kick in your parts... and the cheek, I'm sorry for that too.'

'I don't know if an apologise is enough.'

'What do you want instead?' she approaches him with a steady pace, her shoulders back and her head held high. She's ready for negotiation, as ready as a Dauntless teenager can be.

'You show me yours, and I show you mine,' Eric smirks, 'you like exploring, don't you?' Eric is empowered and begins to circle her instead, 'you show me the Dauntless compound, and I'll show you the Erudite quarters. I'm guessing that your Choosing Ceremony is soon, I can understand if you'd like to get to know your options a little bit better.'

'First of all,' she grabs the hand that he had begun to rise while talking and pulls it down forcefully, 'I have to choose this year, so cut it with the big boy talk. I know I'm older than you. Second, do you really think I have doubts about which faction to choose? I was born Dauntless and I'll remain Dauntless until I die.'

'So, you're not interested then,' Eric's lips draw a smile, he knows her answer.

'I didn't say that,' she says loudly, 'fine... deal.'

They shake hands, and lock their eyes for a few seconds. They know they could be punished if others found out that they are messing with the system and basically ignoring the laws. However, the chance of getting to know the lifestyle of another faction before the Choosing Ceremony only shows up once in a blue moon.

'I forgive you,' Eric says boldly.

'Do you now, Eric, the Erudite?' she lets his hand go.

'Well, I believe I've gotten a fair deal,' he adopts a confident posture, 'Delta, the Dauntless.'

'Let's get you some appropriate clothes first.'

..

The weight of the Dauntless outfit is remarkable over his shoulders. It makes him walk differently, it gives him strength and a sense of belonging in an otherwise strange place where his Erudite clothes would have meant total destruction, mentally and physically.

During the following hours, Eric finds himself walking among pierced fearless people, most of them covered in tattoos and with flamboyant colourful hairstyles. Compared to the Erudite, the Dauntless are wild, rude, too touchy and naive. They walk on the edge of cliffs without a care in the world, climb rocks to reach their home, have loud music in this so-called Pit and, of course, there are no books to be seen. Nevertheless, Eric doesn't look down on them because they are not as stupid as he thought, or as careless as they seem. He realises that it's not enough with physical strength to survive in that place. You need self-esteem, a fearless brain, and a brave mentality.

'You should get going,' Delta says when the sky above the glass ceiling begins to turn black, 'or you'll miss the last train.'

'I can go back walking, I'll tell my parents that I stayed at the library,' Eric feels the need to stay there longer, to keep learning about the faction, to get to know the secrets that aren't told outside their walls.

'You should really take the train,' Delta insists with a serious face that almost makes Eric laugh.

'I can take care of myself-'

'Not really,' she interrupts him.

'Listen,' he points a finger to her face, 'you don't control me, are we clear? You don't tell me what to do.'

'Fine,' she slaps his hand away, 'like I care if you get killed.'

Eric walks ahead of her towards one of the exit tunnels, he turns around as he keeps walking backwards.

'You do,' he points at her laughing, 'something happens to me, they're gonna find out about your little trips.'

'Hush!' Delta turns him around to make him walk straight. She hears Eric laugh but doesn't look at him.

Out in the open, the train tracks are empty, the lights are off and only the loud voices of some drunk Dauntless can be heard through the walls. Eric holds his Erudite clothes and pays attention to Delta's directions towards one of her hiding spots where he can change safely. She is uncomfortable with letting him go alone at night, he's her responsibility as long as they are inside the Dauntless compound. Now they're technically out, though.

'You owe me,' she says, 'we have a deal, don't you forget about that.'

Eric looks at her almond shaped eyes. He remembers some of the movements that he's seen indoors, takes a step back, and quickly punches her face. He's surprised he's been fast enough to hit her.

'What'd you do that for?' she touches her cheek to check that there's no blood.

'I'll be waiting for you at Erudite,' Eric says walking away, 'that punch is for this,' he walks backwards again and touches his nose, 'for this,' he points at his cheek, 'and mainly for this,' his hand goes to his crotch and stays there for a while to make sure she's looking. 'It hurt, congratulations,' he says loudly.

Delta gives him the finger and walks away without saying anything else.

Eric arrives home safely, his parents have been contacted by the school and question him about the incident in class. He tells the truth about the Dauntless girl punching him, but lies about the rest of the day. As far as they know, Eric went straight to the library after class and stayed there reading, doing homework and planning impossible experiments as entertainment. When he's in his room, he thinks of the Dauntless compound, of Delta, and falls asleep planning a counterattack in case that the girl sends another fist to his face the next time they meet.

Back at the Dauntless compound, Delta sits at a table in the dining hall. She talks to a few friends, plays with her food and tosses some of it to Sid, a boy with green hair that's been teasing her all day for hanging out with an unknown guy. An older Dauntless pokes her in the shoulder and points at one of the leaders, Max, who is standing at the edge of the cliff in the first floor. The tall man indicates her to follow him, and so she does. She walks after him with half of a chocolate muffin in her hand, she's not worried because she's been called to his office before, and knows the reason why. However, she can't help but be a little bit nervous about the meeting.

When she enters the room, a blond woman is standing in there too. Her hair is perfectly combed, her fake smile is impeccable as she flashes her white teeth, and her blue dress is incredibly misplaced inside the Dauntless compound. Delta scans her up and down, and turns to Max with a questioning look. However, she knows it's not the time to make questions, but rather to answer them.

'Did you find the boy?' Max asks.

'Yeah,' Delta glances at the woman quickly before answering, 'it was easy.'

'If I check the security cameras, will I see him here?' Max is a big guy, he's nice to her most of the times, but still creepy when he is serious or wants to show off.

'Yes, sir,' Delta replies automatically, 'I showed him around.'

'What did you think of him?' the woman asks suddenly. Delta waits for a sign from Max. She doesn't like replying to strangers. The Dauntless leader nods at her.

'Well, to be honest, he's an arrogant asshole,' she blurts out, 'he thinks he can overpower the Dauntless only because he's smart,' she air-quotes smart, 'but other than that, he's nice.'

'Are you sure this girl doesn't have any Candor in her blood?' the woman asks Max jokingly, 'thank you for your honesty, Delta. It's Delta, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Hey, why don't you come with me outside?' Max grabs Delta's shoulder and carries her outside closing the door behind him, 'you did a good job and followed the plan, I'll talk to you later. Go get yourself another tattoo, I'll talk to Bud and Tori again.'

'I don't want a tattoo this time, I can get myself one if I want to without your help.'

'Can you?'

Delta sighs.

'Not really,' she whispers.

'Go to the Arena and get yourself beat up a little, it has to be believable.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Delta turns around.

'And not a word to anyone, or else you'll be punished alright,' he sends her an iron stare and cracks his knuckles. 'You got me?'

Delta calls it a day and comes back to her place. Eric's footprints are still on the floor, shaped in the dirt and mud of the soles of his boots. She puts her foot besides them and stares at them wondering why that boy must get to know her faction ahead of time. Max didn't seem happy with the presence of that woman, so why hadn't he kicked her out? Delta doesn't bother to clean the floor and goes to bed directly. At least she'll get to know Erudite in return, that's a bigger privilege than getting a tattoo at her age.

A/N: Hey, guys! The idea is that this story will be divided in three parts that take place during different times of Eric's life. Part one will cover some of his pre-initiation years; part two will cover his Dauntless initiation; and part three will deal with the different events that led to his death.

I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter, and thanks for reading! Opinions and comments are very much welcomed :)