Four leaned against the railing overlooking the chasm. Water splashed against the rock, spraying a mist upward. He felt the mist tickle at his hands, causing the cuts on his hands to sting slightly. It had been a long day of fighting and watching the fights. This year's group of initiates was an interesting one – every single person was from Candor. There has never been a time, that he could think of anyway, where all the transfers were from one faction. And with them all adjusting from their Candor lifestyle to Dauntless, there was a lot of speaking out of turn.
This year, Four and Zeke were the Dauntless members training the initiates – Four with the transfers, and Zeke with the Dauntless born. Four had been surprised to see that Eric wasn't training the initiates this year. He had been so determined to do it last year, that he expected nothing less now. But with Max stepping down as their leader, it made sense. Eric was power hungry after all.
"If you jump, I am not cleaning up your guts."
Four turned to see Zeke coming toward him. His eyes were bloodshot, but he still possessed that signature look of excitement. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
Zeke stood next to him, leaning his back against the railing. "What are you doing up so late? Shouldn't you be resting after all that fighting you did today – and I don't mean the physical."
He nodded. The transfers really gave him a hard time today, arguing and trying to show their dominance. He had discovered long ago that you could take the person out of their original faction, but you couldn't take the faction out of the person. Yes, you could adjust your thoughts and beliefs to mimic your new faction, but your old faction was still a part of you. Getting the new Candor transfers to think and act more like Dauntless was proving to be quite a challenge.
"They have quite the big mouths, those Candor." He said nonchalantly.
"Let's just say I'm glad I'm not training the transfers."
The two men stood there and talked a little while, until Zeke decided to hit the hay. Tomorrow night the two groups of initiates were going to play capture the flag. Last year, the Dauntless born lost, and he had something to prove. Four didn't care much who won this year – in fact, losing to Zeke didn't seem like such a terrible idea. If he won, he was sure his friend would moan about it.
After a few more minutes looking into the chasm, Four decided it was time for bed. It didn't take him long to get ready, and by the time his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Sleep was something that used to be a mix of sorrow and pain. When he lived with his Father in Abnegation, his dreams would be plagued with either the image of his mother or more beatings. It took his mind quite some time to adjust to his new Dauntless life in the way of dreams, but now, he rarely had nightmares.
Except for tonight.
This dream was quite unusual, as he found himself standing on the rooftop of the Dauntless compound. Around him, the wind whipped and howled, giving the whole scene an eerie feel. Looking down, Four realized he wasn't just standing on the roof of the compound, but rather on the very edge, where the new transfers entered for the first time. He knew there was a net at the bottom, but being so high up still frightened him. Giving one last look around, he closed his eyes and simply let the weight of his body push him off the edge. He waited for the net to cradle him, but it never did. He just kept falling.
Shooting up in bed, he looked over at the clock and realized breakfast had already end. Groaning, he rushed over to his bathroom and quickly fixed his hair. He was still in the same clothing as yesterday, but that didn't matter. Everyone always wore black anyway, so it
wouldn't be noticeable. Thoughts of his dream kept poking at his mind until he reached the training room.
It didn't make sense to him, why he would have such an unusual dream. Maybe the stress of the last week or so was just making his mind go crazy – he didn't know. But whatever it was, it wasn't as important as getting these transfers into shape, both physically and mentally. If he didn't, Four was certain their would be no hope for any of them.
Tris rolled over on her side and looked up at the windows lining the warehouse. They allowed light to trickle through in the mornings and that had become her alarm clock, but tonight, she had woken up rather early. A few yards away, laying on a makeshift mattress of old newspapers and torn up clothing, lay Margaret and her sister.
Margaret was born Factionless, as was her mother and father. She had two younger siblings – Allie and Amy; twin girls who were both born blind. Unfortunately, Allie had died suddenly one night, from what they suspected was malnutrition. So, Margaret took special care of Amy, giving her extra portions of food and the best places to sleep. At first, Tris couldn't understand how someone who was born Factionless could be so selfless. Surely, she belonged in Abnegation. But as the months went one, she began to realize something. The Factions did not enhance the virtues they prized – they suffocated them.
Erudite coveted knowledge so much that they forsook what knowledge needed to most – wisdom. Candor desired honesty above all else, while disregarding love and respect. Amity isolated themselves inside peace and love, ignoring the need to fight for what is right. Dauntless prized bravery, while throwing away common sense. And lastly, Abnegation so longed for selflessness, they destroyed the beauty of individuality. This was one of the main reasons she believed being Factionless had turned out to be a blessing, rather than a curse.
The sound of the wind outside stirred Tris from her thoughts, and forced her to come back to reality. It had been two weeks since her conversation with Margaret, and her mind thought of nothing else but riding the train. Something seemed to stop her though, and she wasn't sure what it was. Fear wasn't a part of the equation, at least not in the sense of terror. She didn't know what she would find by hopping on that train, but it couldn't be any worse than not knowing.
Getting up, she threw her hair into a ponytail and made her way outside. The sound of the train in the distance caused her to turn toward it. Without even thinking about it, she found herself jogging toward the rails, picking up speed as she went. Several thoughts of doubt crept into her mind as she began climbing up – Was this a good idea? What if someone from another
faction caught her? What if she missed the jump, again? These thoughts disappeared though as Tris saw the Train speed toward her. She began jogging again, this time looking back every so often. It didn't take long for the first couple of compartments to whizz by her. Thankfully, the third compartment door was open – odd – and she lunged for the handle. With the grace of a beached whale, Tris tumbled into the car, landing on her side. A small groan escaped her lips, as she sat up and edged away from the door.
"I did it," She whispered, looking around at the abandoned car. "I did it!"
Leaning against the wall, she sighed and titled her head back. Closing her eyes, she listened for a few moments to the Train cutting through the wind. The realization of what she had just done really began to sink in, and she stood up. Tris hesitated slightly, before grabbing onto the handle on the inside of the door and leaning out. The wind shoved her back in, but she was determined to persevere. Trying once more, she adjusted her weight to take the full force of the wind. It took her a moment, but Tris was finally able to lean out and look at the city.
Though it was still dark outside – very early morning, to be precise – she could still see the city she called home. On the Train, it looked like something surreal, as if she wasn't a part of the life that went on here, but rather a spectator on the sidelines. The crumbling building looked like giants, watching over the smaller buildings – with Erudite Headquarters being the largest of them all. The lights were still on there, which was odd, but Tris was too enamored with the view to question it.
She was also too enamored to notice the figure sitting in the far corner of the train car, watching her.
Hello Lovelies!
There's chapter two four you...See what I did there? ;D
I'm really enjoying writing this story, and I can't wait to dig deeper into Tris and Tobias's relationship. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this latest chapter and the third one will be up soon!
God bless,
LovedLik3WildFire
