A/N: Hiiiiiiiiii. So, I know I was supposed to update Different Life but I just had no motivation and this idea popped into my head so I thought "Ehh, why not write it?"
The summary if you needed a reminder: At the young age of 14, Beatrice Prior went through a disaster – both of her parents died in what looked like a car accident. Her neighbor Tobias Eaton also went through a similar heartache, and together they are recruited for Dauntless Inc, a murderous corporation. Due to their martial arts history and the knowledge of who killed their parents, both teens agree and start training.
Okay. Here we go. (Oh btw this is Tris's point of view)
Chapter 1:
I shuffle down the stairs confused when I hear the doorbell ring. Hardly anyone comes to my family's door anymore, because there is a fence keeping our neighborhood separate from others. My neighborhood has strictly government officials in it. I also rarely have to open the door for the few people who do come, but since it is Sunday our maid, Bethany, has the day off.
I throw my hair into a messy bun while calling, "One second!" to whoever waits at my door.
I finally open it, and confusion is what greets me.
Three men, all in black sunglasses and black suits stare at me with no expression.
"Beatrice Prior?" one of the men asks me after 15 seconds of silence.
"Um… Yes?" I say.
His originally hard face goes softer. "I'm sorry to inform you that both of your parents have passed away in a car accident."
I go rigid, and I lose my balance. "What?" I demand, on the floor. "It's not funny to joke around with the mayor's daughter," I say, but even I don't believe myself.
The man with the soft face speaks again. "I'm so sorry Beatrice."
"No," I say, and I stand up. "You're lying." My voice falters and I know tears are coming.
"Beatrice… Your parents are dead."
I hit the ground once more, and I lose all consciousness.
I wake up on the ground in my foyer to a sad expression. "Is she awake?" an unfamiliar voice asks.
I frown. "Who are you?" I ask.
And then my memory hits me like a brick.
My parents are dead.
And these men were the ones who told me.
I stand up and back away into the corner. "Leave!" I command.
"Now, Beatrice-" the tallest man starts, but I cut him off with a sob.
"Get out of my house! And bring me my parents. They're okay. They're okay and I know it!"
"Beatrice!" the man with the soft face snaps. "Come to your senses! If you start to train with us, you must be able to deal with these situations!"
I freeze, and my crying ceases for a short moment. "Train?" I whisper quietly.
He nods. "Yes. Train. You will train with us before going into the field. We are familiar with your record, Beatrice. We know you're a fifth degree black belt and we also know that is an impossible rank for a regular fourteen year old girl, meaning you started young and you started good."
"I practice my karate five days a week," I say meekly.
"Yes, yes, good. We know. We are very impressed, too. You're higher than some of our twenty year old agents."
"Who is 'we' and 'our'?" I ask.
The last man, who is slightly chubby, pauses. "'We' is Dauntless Inc, and we know who killed your parents."
Once again, I lose my consciousness, and darkness fills me. I gladly let go.
I wake in an unfamiliar room. I look to my left and see white walls and immediately I know I am in an infirmary. I stiffen, and can't stop the memories that come flooding back.
"Beatrice?" a pretty young lady says. I look up from my plastic seat and close the hospital copy of Green Eggs and Ham, and she smiles. "Hi sweetie. I'm sorry to tell you that your brother Caleb isn't with us anymore. But you don't have to worry, sweetie, because he's in a good place. He's in Heaven."
I frown. "But miss," I say, in my four year old voice that is so innocent. "Why is Caleb in Heaven? He should be here, with me."
She nods. "He should, but there was an accident involving some mean boys at your brother's school, and he's not here anymore."
My frown deepens, and I nod. "Okay. But will I see him again?" I ask her.
She nods. "But hopefully not any day soon."
After my flashback, my mood worsens. Now, I know what really happened. I know that Caleb was reading on a rock during recess, and some boys called him a nerd and pushed him off. He hit his head, and the boys were so scared they left him there, and my brother died alone.
I know that it was the reason my father ran for mayor, because he was tired of people being bullied, and here I sit, ten years later, alone.
At least my parents were together when they died, I think, trying to cheer myself up.
And that's when I remember why I fainted.
They didn't die. They were killed.
I bolt upright in my hospital bed. Immediately, someone runs in. And then more people rush in, specifically the three men from before.
"Ah, Beatrice," the man with the soft face says. "You're awake. Good, good."
"Where am I?" I demand.
The slightly chubby man replies, "Child, you're at Dauntless Inc."
I scowl. "I am not a child. I'm fourteen, even if I don't look it."
He shoots me a glare with the worst intentions. "You're a child here, Beatrice. And do you want to know why? It's because 'children' is what we classify people who aren't trained killers."
I stiffen. "Trained killers? Is that the training you were talking about?"
"Leave, Matthew!" commands the man with the kind face. The slightly chubby man – Matthew – exits the room. I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't like him.
"I'm sorry about him, Beatrice," the kind man apologizes. "My name is Jack, and this is Dylan," he says, gesturing to the taller man. I nod.
"Okay, Beatrice," he goes on. "I'm going to tell you what happened. Stop me at any time to ask questions. Are you ready?" I nod. "Okay. The first thing you need to know, is that we live in a split society, in what we call 'factions'. Your parents are in the faction we call 'Abnegation'. They were government officials dedicated to helping people. The people who killed them are the 'Erudite'. The Erudite are people who hate the Abnegation. There have been generations of dislike towards each other, because the Erudite think the Abnegation are secretly keeping everything they say they're donating to themselves." I interrupt to scoff, but he continues. "Everyday people, we call them the 'Amity'. The Amity just tend to themselves, and are generally pretty happy. There is a mutual agreement to leave the Amity out of fighting, because it's the civilians who have nothing to do with anything. The Amity are clueless and ignorant, but that's how it should be." He pauses, and when I don't ask any questions, he continues. "We are the 'Dauntless'. We fight. We win. We are essentially hit men, doing the dirty work for both Abnegation and Erudite. Most of us stay out of government officials business because that is really dirty work. Most of us work for private corporations and just train at Dauntless. But, alas, there are a few. We call them 'rogue' Dauntless, and they're few and far between. Those are the people who killed your parents, Beatrice, and your neighbor's parents."
I frown. "Neighbor?" I say, confused.
Jack nods. "Evelyn and Marcus Eaton were also killed in the crash."
My hand flies to my mouth. "Oh God no," I say. "Not Tobias, anyone but Tobias. Tell me he's okay!" I demand.
Jack nods once again. "Tobias is fine. He is here as well, and he's been given the same proposition you are going to receive."
"Proposition?" I say, meekly. "What proposition?"
"We want you to fight for us. We need child fighters, Beatrice. You'd be surprised. I understand you're only fourteen, but you won't be put into the field until your sixteenth birthday, when you will choose. We prepare you at Dauntless Inc, and then you choose who you want to work for. You can stay Dauntless, or you can transfer to Erudite, Abnegation, or Amity. If you choose Amity, we are forced to take your memory away. Only the extremely intelligent transfer to Erudite, and the selfless go to Abnegation."
I nod, taking it all in. "Okay. I'll do it. But I have one question?"
"Yes?"
I pause. "Do I get to see Tobias during my time here?"
As he shakes his head no, I release the breath I didn't know I was holding, and I feel defeated. "Unfortunately, Tobias is already sixteen, so he is going directly into the field. I'm sorry Beatrice."
I hang my head, but I understand. "That's alright, I was expecting it," I lie.
I am not okay.
I didn't want to expect it.
Tobias was the only person I thought could understand what I'm going through now. He was the only one who could help me make my decision.
But now I must make it on my own.
"I'll do it," I tell Jack. "I'll start my life over. I'll do it for my family."
A/N: Soo… How was it? Did you like it? It was a long one, wooo. Took me awhile to write, because I'm not good at getting my thoughts down the first time, but that's okay. I'll release the next chapter either in four/five days or when this gets a good amount of reviews :)
Candor doesn't exist in this fic, because I couldn't find a way to ease it in. Sorry!
This was 7 pages on Word omg.
The next chapter will be a fast forward of the next two years, and the chapter after that will be her Choosing Day, just so you guys can have an idea of what's to come :)
Reviews make me write faster, so review review review!
Different Life will probably be updated soon. No promises, but it's likely.
See you soon!
Emma xx
