A/N: Hi initiates. This story popped into my head and I just needed to write it down. It is a combo between Divergent, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf and some other stuff I might come up. I always loved strong female characters and the idea of them saving the day against the supernatural or being some sort of comic book super heroine. I don't know how long this story will be but I hope you read it and maybe even like it. As the story continues things will be revealed making you understand the world I'm creating. I would love to hear your opinions and ideas.
2
Tris' POV
The first week of initiation is over. For the better part of it Four showed us what we'll learn and what to expect. Hana was right. There are only ten positions available. If I want to make it I have to be in the top ten, but I need to be careful. Eric, one of the younger leaders, seems to always find his way down to the training room. He watches all of us with a critical eye and I can't help the feeling that he might be one of the bad guys. I mean, he obviously is a ginormous d-bag, but I still have to see him do something to show me he is more than meets the eye. Four on the other hand, while intimidating, he seems fair and genuinely good. I don't get why Hana thinks he is a sweet one, but that's probably just her mother instinct talking.
Speaking of mother. I haven't seen mine. I miss her so bad. Even the constant nagging and correcting and chastising me. But I won't tell her that. I will never hear the end of it. We are currently paired up to fight. I go against Molly, who hasn't lost a fight yet. I made sure to keep a low profile when it comes to fighting and all in all showing of my skills. I don't need anyone asking questions how an Abnegation transfer got so good after just one week of training. I step into the ring and wait for her to move. She is tall and I can tell even after one week she developed some strength and muscle. We round each other a few times and I see Eric watching us from the corner of my eye.
"Start fighting already" he barks.
Molly charges and I avoid getting hit. She charges again and I allow her to hit me every now and then, but then I get distracted by a sudden movement up high and Molly manages to land a really hard punch against my jaw. I stumble over and fall to the ground. Molly won this round. I actually don't care so much. I'm more concerned about the shadow I spotted. I get up and walk toward the ice chest to grab a cooling patch. I put it on the sore spot where I got hit and watch the others fight, but my mind tries to figure out what I saw. I decide to lie on the bench I'm sitting on to look at the ceiling without it looking suspicious. What the hell was that?
"That was pathetic" Eric says as he stands over me.
"Which means there's room for improvement" I say without looking at him.
"Right now, you are the lowest ranked initiate. I doubt you'll make it" he says loud for everyone to hear, even the Dauntless-born who were doing laps up until now.
"Eric, this is their first week" Four says coming over. I get up and look Eric straight in the eyes.
"Wanna make this interesting?" I ask with a serious look on my face. He raises and eyebrow but smirks. "If I can beat you by the end of phase one of training you admit that the Stiff beat your ass to the entire faction." He bursts out laughing and nods.
"Deal, Stiff" he says overconfident. He leaves me be and I look around. Four has an unreadable expression on his face, while most of my fellow initiates look dumbfounded and shocked.
"Have you lost your mind, initiate?" Lauren, the Dauntless-born instructor asks me.
"No. I'm dead serious. I can't wait to see his dumb grin fade when I beat him up" I say smugly. Way to go, Prior. So much to keeping a low profile.
"Don't be stupid, Stiff" Peter says mockingly.
"Well, you're the authority on stupid" I reply and he shuts up for a moment, not sure how to respond to my comment.
"Oh, yeah, well you are ugly" he says weakly.
"You are not so pretty yourself" I say and some of the initiates start laughing.
"You're going to pay for that" he vows.
"Probably, but there's a line. You'll have to wait for your revenge" I say and walk to the punching bags.
What the hell was that thing? I've never seen anything like it. It looked like a shadow, but there was no way a shadow could have been casted there naturally. It must have been a fiend, but what kind I don't know. I'll have to talk to Hana.
I start punching the bag trying to clear my head. I feel someone approach me but don't stop hitting the bag. I close my eyes and sigh. It's Four. I recognize his scent. I feel him getting closer and then his hands touch my middle and I stop. If I wouldn't have paid attention and known that it was him approaching me I would have probably elbowed him.
"Keep tension here" he says and I look up at him. I nod. Despite his unfriendly demeanor he is a good instructor. I turn back to the bag and resume my punching session. Four lingers and I wonder why.
"What?" I ask.
"Why did you do that?" he asks, a concerned look on his face.
"Do what?" I ask innocently.
"Pick a fight with Eric. You can't possibly win against him" he says. At that I get angry.
"You know what? You are just like any of the guys around here. A misogynist asshole" I say and strut away. I pass Christina, Will and Al who have their mouths hanging open. I find another punching bag at the other side of the room and start punching it, ignoring the looks and whispers.
"Girl, you have guts" a tall dark-skinned boy says next to me.
"I think we all have" I reply without looking at him.
"It takes balls to talk to Four like that" a girl says coming over. I close my eyes and sigh. Why can't I have a minute to myself? I look toward the two newcomers and asses them. The girl is about as tall as I am, her head is shaved and she looks a bit scary. I guess that's what she was going for. The boy looks familiar though.
"I'm Tris" I introduce myself.
"I'm Uriah and this is Lynn" the boy says. So, this is Uriah, Hana's youngest son. I extend my hand to him first and we shake and then do the same with Lynn.
"What's going on here?" a tall, blonde girl asks coming over.
"Tris, this is Marlene. Marlene this is Tris, the first jumper" Uriah says with a wide grin.
"Oh, cool. Hi" she says friendly and extends her hand. Somehow their smiles and happiness is contagious and I smile too.
"Back to work" Lauren shouts and the three Dauntless-born resume their workout not far from where I am.
For the remainder of the day people leave me alone, which I'm thankful for, but the moment we get to the dorms Peter, Molly and Drew start their attacks against me again.
"You think you are really smart" Peter says.
"The fact that you acknowledge it means I must be" I say confusing him. It doesn't make any sense, but I like replying stupidly and throwing him off his game. He scoffs and walks away muttering something like "Bitch isn't worth my time".
I walk into the cafeteria together with Christina, Will and Al and sit down at a table. To my surprise Marlene, Lynn and Uriah join us, sitting across from us. I introduce them to each other and we start chatting. Well, they do. I watch Four sitting at the other table in front of ours staring at me with a serious expression. I shrink back a little, although I shouldn't have. Just because he is a guy and a Dauntless member doesn't mean he is better than me. For fuck sake, I saved this God forsaken city enough times to be at least as valuable as any guy.
"Hi, mom" I hear Uriah say and I swallow hard. I feel like I'm in trouble.
"Hello, sweetie. How's initiation going?" she asks.
"Goes well. Mom, these are my fellow initiates. This is Al, Will, Christina and Tris" he says. They all turn around to greet her, but I remain still.
"Tris" she says and I know she wants to talk to me. I've heard her enough times talk to me like my own mother does when she is about to scold me. I turn my head and smile. "Oh, dear. That looks bad" she says and I furrow my eyebrows. "Does it hurt?"
"Mom, it's just a minor bruise" Uriah says amused. Oh, she meant the bruise on my jaw.
"Still. Let me check it out" she says and pulls me up, leaving me no room to argue.
We walk to the infirmary and the moment we are inside one of the empty exam rooms she locks the door.
"What have I told you?" she asks, her hands on her hips. I lower my head a little.
"To keep a low profile" I say.
"That too. Why were you so rude to Four?" she asks and my head snaps up to look at her stunned. Four? This is about that idiot?
"How come I get scolded when he acted like a douche?" I ask.
"Don't get that tone with me, missy" she warns. "I told you he is a nice young man and you all but insulted him, in front of everyone I might add."
"He treated me like he is better than me" I defend.
"I doubt it, Tris. You just overreacted, especially after your argument with Eric" she says.
"How do you know about that?" I ask incredulous.
"I know everything" she says grinning. I raise an eyebrow. "I want you to apologize as soon as you see him again or else I'm going to call your mother" she threatens.
"But Hana" I whine.
"No arguing."
"Fine" I say. This is unfair. She puts a bandage over my bruise, even though I don't even need it and we walk back into the cafeteria. Four is still sitting there and now talking to a dark-skinned man. I want to sprint over to get this over with but Hana pulls me back. It seems she wants to make sure I will apologize as promised.
"Hey, mom" the dark-skinned man says. So this must be Hana's other son.
"Hello Zeke, Four, Shauna" she says greeting everyone.
"Hi, Hana" the girl Shauna says. Four looks from her to me and back to Hana. I feel Hana squeezing me lightly, telling me it's time to apologize.
"Four, can we talk?" I ask.
"Talk" he says coldly.
"I was hoping we can do it in private" I say and he looks at me firmly.
"I'm still eating" he says.
"I'm sure whatever you have to say you can say in front of his friends" Hana says and I look at her. She squeezes my arm again urging me to continue. I sigh.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was immature and foolish" I say.
"How nice of you, Tris" Hana says. "Four?" she asks looking at him.
"If you ever talk to me like that again you'll get extra work" he threatens.
"'Cause a girl can't have an opinion?" I ask sarcastically, my blood boiling again. I feel a pain on the back of my head and let out an "ow". I look to my right and see Hana retracting her hand. "Did you just slap me on the back of my head?" I ask her incredulous.
"You deserved it. What kind of an apology was that?" she asks angry.
"An honest one" I say. Slap. Another one. "Ow. What the hell, Hana? Stop hitting me."
"Stop acting like a spoiled brat" she scolds.
"Mom, what's going on?" Uriah asks standing up.
"Nothing. Go back to your supper" she instructs without looking at him. She stares me down.
"Stop that" I say.
"Stop what?"
"Treating me like I'm some fucking child" I yell. I hate it when she or mom does that. I fucking fight monsters on a nightly basis.
"Stop acting like one and then I'll treat you like an adult" she yells back.
"Mom?" Zeke asks.
"Shut up" both Hana and I turn our heads to him and yell.
"What is wrong with you? You aren't usually this bitchy" Hana says still loud, but her gaze has softened. I close my eyes and sigh.
"I fucking wanna get out of this hole" I say.
"Alright. I'm free until tomorrow morning. I'll go out with you" she says.
"Really?" I open my eyes looking at her hopeful.
"Yeah. If I'd known that staying put would drive you insane I would've taken you out for a stroll days ago" she says with a chuckle.
"Thanks, Hana. You're the best. Let's go" I say and start walking.
"Tris" she shouts after me. I turn around and see her still standing there. "I still need to eat my supper. Be a dear and go bring me some. And don't forget chocolate cake" she yells. I smile widely. I'm so glad I can finally get out of this hell hole. I mean, I like it here, really I do. But being stuck inside for so long just drives me nuts. I hurry to the food line and thankfully it doesn't take me long to get food and dessert and return to where Hana sits with her eldest son, Zeke, that girl Shauna and Four. I place Hana's food in front of her and lift my plate with cake up to eat it. "Sit down" Hana says.
"I'm good" I say and move the fork toward my mouth but the stern look Hana gives me makes me reconsider my standing position and I sit down next to her, a leg on each side of the bench.
"Sit properly" she commands.
"Geez, you are just like mom" I say and roll my eyes.
"While you're here I am your mom. Natalie entrusted me with you. I won't fail her" she says.
"Yes, mom" I say and she grins.
"Mom, could you please explain?" Zeke asks looking from her to me and back to his mother. I notice Four and Shauna do the same.
"Yeah, I kind of want an explanation too" Uriah says.
"Tris' mom and I were best friends growing up" is all she says.
"Your mom was Dauntless?" Uriah asks me.
"Yeah" I say and eat my cake.
"That explains a lot" he says. "Did she ever tell you anything about our faction?" he asks. I go to answer, but my mouth is full and Hana gives me a look that says "don't you dare".
"What?" I ask and some of the cake drops out of my mouth.
"What did I just tell you? Natalie would be most upset to see that her daughter talks with her mouth full."
"I wasn't going to" I say after I swallow down.
"Eat your cake and shut up" she commands.
"Copy that, mom" I say and she giggles. After we finish we stand up and she says goodbye to her sons and their friends. I say goodbye too, but avoid looking at Four. We leave the compound and start walking around.
"Feeling better?" Hana asks.
"A lot, actually. Thanks for doing this."
"If you need to get out just come to the infirmary and we walk out together" she offers.
"Thanks." We walk in silence for a while until I remember the shadow I've seen earlier. "Hana. I saw something. I don't know what it is, but it wasn't natural" I tell her.
"How did it look like?" she asks.
"To be honest, I don't know. It was a shadow, but it couldn't have been something casting it, since there wasn't enough light to do so. I looked out for it, but I couldn't see it again. What do you think it could have been?"
"I don't know. I will consult my books and get back to you. Do you think it's an evil spirit?" Hana asks.
"Could be, but I've never seen anything like it before."
"Don't worry. I'll check it out. I'll call Natalie later and let her know."
"Thanks. Tell her hi from me and that I love and miss her and dad."
"I will. Where do you want to go?" she asks.
"The faction less sector. I need to talk to Liam and Evelyn" I say. We walk toward the tracks and wait for the train to arrive. As soon as he comes in sight we start running along the tracks and then jump the train.
"Huh, I haven't done this in a while" Hana says laughing.
"Well, me neither. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What's up with you and this Four guy? Why are you so insistent about him?" I ask not understanding her concern for this stranger. I've never heard her talk about him. But then again, she didn't even talk about Uriah or Zeke.
"He is like a son" she simply states.
"Okay. That doesn't really answer my question" I say, but she ignores me.
"He is a good boy and he is just doing his job. You are just used to train on your own and do whatever the hell you want" she says and looks outside to the passing cityscape.
"Maybe" I sigh.
As the train slows down and we enter the faction less sector Hana and I jump off the train and head toward Liam's shelter. He is a bit of a loner, which usually comes in handy, especially during a full moon. Hana and Liam met a couple of years ago after a fight went terribly wrong and I got injured badly. He saved my life that night and took me to a safe place before getting Hana to heal me. I am capable of healing myself, but I was so badly injured that my body would have given out before it started regenerating. She looked at him suspiciously for a long time, until she saw the real him. He might be this rough werewolf on the outside, but he is a puppy on the inside. We quickly became friends and allies and often spend hours upon hours together. I know he has somewhat of a crush on me, but I made it clear that I'm not interested in him or any other guy. I have my mission and that's it.
We soon arrive and to my surprise Liam isn't alone as I expected. A female voice is heard and I knock on his door.
"Who is it?" I hear him growl.
"The boogeyman" I answer. I hear footsteps and then the door opens wide. Upon seeing me his eyes widen before he embraces me. His grip is so tight that it momentarily cuts off my air supply. I have to hit his back with my palms to let go. "Glad to see you too" I say and cough.
"Where the fuck have you been?" he asks.
"Dauntless. Remember? I told you I would join them" I say and walk passed him inside. I recognize the woman. It's Evelyn Johnson, the leader of the faction less.
"Evelyn" I say and nod my head.
"Tris" she does the same.
"Why didn't you go out on patrol?" Liam asks.
"I had to stay inside. I can't leave the compound after curfew" I say and sit down on the old couch next to Evelyn, while Hana sits on the armchair adjacent to us.
"Like that ever mattered" Liam says under his breath.
"Liam! She needs to play by the rules if she wants to be part of the faction" Hana says.
"Like a faction is so great" Evelyn mutters.
"Evelyn, I get your point, but they are in charge of security in the city. I can really use their tech and surveillance to keep this city safe." Evelyn is the ex-wife of Marcus Eaton, Abnegation leader. I don't know the full story, she never told me, but I got bits and pieces from conversations. It seems like the Erudite reports about him are true, that he indeed abused both his wife and son and that's why the boy left when he turned sixteen. If I remember right he chose Dauntless. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to meet him.
"How do you plan on keeping the city safe if you don't patrol it?" Liam asks with furrowed eyebrows.
"Dude, I told you my predicament. Be a bit flexible. Besides, what are you for?" I ask smirking. "I need to do this, for all our sakes. Afterwards we can resume our nightly patrols."
"Yeah, I guess."
"How's initiation going?" Evelyn asks, sensing the awkwardness.
"Good, although it could be better."
"Tris" Hana warns.
"Am I missing something?" Liam asks.
"No, Tris is just frustrated because she can't have her way" Hana says before I can even open my mouth. "Let's change the subject. Is everything alright around the city?"
"There were no supernatural sightings or even rumors" Liam says.
"The team I put together goes on patrol every night and reports back to me almost hourly" Evelyn adds.
"Good. At least there is some peace and quiet" Hana sighs in relief.
"We might have a problem though" I say.
"What kind of problem?" Evelyn asks, furrowing her eyebrows. What the…? She reminds me of someone, but I can't remember who. I realize that they are waiting for me to explain what I meant.
"Yeah, right. Today during a fight I got distracted by a shadow. I looked up at the ceiling and it quickly disappeared. It was supernatural" I add when I see Liam's grin. He always teases me that I'm paranoid. His grin disappears and is replaced by worry.
"What was it?" he asks.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."
"I will check my books when I get home" Hana says.
"I will do the same. My team found some very interesting ones in the old library and brought them to me" Evelyn chimes in.
"Thanks" I say. "If something happens or you find something out call Hana and she'll get to me" I say.
"Don't worry, sweetie" Evelyn says coming over and caressing my cheek.
When I first learned that Evelyn Eaton was alive I was twelve years old. I was angry that she faked her death. Her son must have probably been suffering thinking his mother is gone. Mom argued with her and then Evelyn asked to talk in private with her. Mom sent me out of the room, but I lingered outside the door eavesdropping on them. I learned that Evelyn was abused by her husband. She pleaded with mom not to reveal that she is still alive. It was only later that I learned that her son was abused too, but to what extent I don't know. I kept her secret, because it wasn't mine to reveal and besides I never saw her son, I barely even remember him. I'm sure that if I would see him I wouldn't recognize him.
"I can't not worry, Evelyn. It is my job" I say.
"You might be the Guardian, but you are only human. You have allies and friends that will always help you keep the city safe" she says and kisses my forehead. I close my eyes and sigh. I know she is right, but the burden is still on my shoulders.
We stay at Liam's place for another half hour until it's time for Hana and me to leave and return to Dauntless. Both Liam and Evelyn walk us to the tracks and we say our goodbyes. While Liam is telling me one of his stupid werewolf jokes I think I hear Evelyn ask Hana how Tobias is doing. Does Hana know him?
"Come on, baby girl. It's time to go home" Hana says to me. I hug Evelyn one last time and return to where Hana stands and waits for the already in sight train. We start running along the tracks and soon jump in.
I keep glancing at Hana wanting to ask her about Evelyn's son, but I have no idea how to approach the subject.
"Just ask" she says.
"What?"
"Just ask. I know there is something on your mind. Go ahead" she says looking me in the eyes.
"Do you know Evelyn's son?" I ask.
"Yes."
"And?"
"And what?" she asks.
"Who is it?"
"A Dauntless member" she says vaguely.
"You're not telling me, are you?"
"No. If he wants to reveal himself to you he will" she says cryptic.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, stop being so nosy, you are not Erudite, and focus on your own business" she scolds.
"Ugh" I huff in frustration.
A/N: Please take the time and leave a comment.