My eyes open. There are dim lights on in the corridor, which is odd considering it is 2 in the morning. Why am I even awake? Through the haze in my mind, I see that all around me, my friends are lacing up their boots and getting ready for the day. Everyone except for Tris anyway. She is an odd one; I have no idea how she did so well in the-
I lose my train of thought as I follow Christina out of the room. I must lose track of time because somehow Tris is ready and in line with us and we are standing in the hallway. Weird. I decide to ignore it. I really don't feel like myself; my arms are stiff against my sides and I feel like someone else is controlling me. I am probably just dreaming. We all march side by side, and I hear a scuffle behind me. I wanted to look, but I can't turn my head; I brush it off.
Once we reach the doors that lead outside, I see that the train was stopped and it is waiting for us. An uneasiness creeps into my veins. What is going on? As soon as I step onto the train, my vision becomes blurry. All I can see is the dark outline of the head in front of me, and all I can hear is the steady breathing of everyone in the car. I wonder vaguely where Christina is, but it is hard to focus on anything so I just fall into ranks with the rest of the Dauntless. I have a feeling something big is going to happen soon, like a battle.
The train begins to brake and the squeal fills my ears for several seconds. My vision clears as we reach a complete stop, and we are near the fence. I am baffled for a second because based on my knowledge of the maps of the city, we should be somewhere near Abnegation. Maybe I am off. Outside, the grass is greener than my eyes, and the sun is beginning to rise over the horizon. The colors of everything except for the grass seem to be washed out and gray.
Everyone in my train car files out quickly, and we gather in front of Eric, one of the leaders of Dauntless. "Listen up," he says almost scornfully. "We have been having some security breaches out here around the fence. Since you're all Dauntless I expect you to shoot anyone that looks suspicious on the spot. Am I clear?"
"Yes," we all answer in unison. Then silence. The Dauntless are never silent. Eric snapped and we all arrange into separate groups that are to guard different parts the fence. My group is in charge of an area that was overgrown with grass; it is almost as tall as my knees. They really should maintain it better, or people from the outside will easily be able to sneak in and attack our city.
To my right, I see Eric holding a gun up to a young man's head - does he look familiar? The dark hair, the dark skin, they all strike a chord in me. I just can't place a finger on it. Behind Eric is a small girl, with hair almost as blonde as mine. Eric's fingers begin to clench the trigger when the girl comes alive and aims the barrel of her gun directly toward Eric's heart. She says something but I don't register it. Then I turn away and continue searching for any threats, but I don't see anything. I can't shake the image from my mind; should I have done something? Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to. I was stuck following the person directly in front of me. I hear two gun shots and the slapping of shoes against the pavement.
But we are surrounded by grass. Soft, flowing grass in the dim light of early morning. How could there possibly be pavement?
I see Christina up ahead, gun poised to shoot. There is a burly looking man with a dark gray shirt and slacks. He begs her not to shoot, but it is obvious that he is not one of us. He does not belong here. Christina is in the right when she shoots him; his body crumpling to the ground. This is why I chose Dauntless as my faction. We do what the other factions cannot, will not, do. We protect everyone in the city. This is what I was born for. The rush of adrenaline in my veins makes me desire the hunt. I begin to look for people that are threatening the safety of my friends and family and faction. Nobody will hurt them. I won't allow it.
I suddenly see two women running through the tall grass. It seems to have grown taller. It reaches above their heads. The taller woman with dark, curly hair stops and hands something to the shorter one. A gun. She is short and blonde, dressed in all black. She almost looks … Dauntless. I push the thought out of my mind. They are probably just factionless. Or from the outside.
I break away from my group with three other soldiers. We run toward the women recklessly; we know they are the only thing standing between us and the safety of our families. The dark haired woman easily shoots the soldiers that followed me here. The blonde one, so familiar, has a strange expression on her face. She almost looks like she is in pain. She opens her mouth but no words come out. Again. I can't bring myself to shoot her immediately because there is something so familiar about that long blonde hair. I decide to shoot anyway. She ducks and then shoots directly at my head. I hear the bang. Everything around my changes.
We are not near the fence. I was right before; we are in Abnegation. The girl was Tris. She stands in shock. Tears stream down her face. The other woman, who is already running to hide behind another building, is presumably her mother. I almost killed Tris. I deserve to die.
"Will!" she cries. Oddly, I am not angry. I am at peace. I exhale slowly and take one last look into Tris' eyes. The world turns black. I am gone.