As a reminder, I'm going by the movie version of Eric when it comes to his physical appearance. Jai Courtney's physical rendition fits Eric more in my opinion.
I watch as sixteen year-olds choose their factions and joining the groups of the transfers and born initiates. To my utter disgust, Peter and his lackeys chose Dauntless. Great. Do I have to go through initiation with them?
Peter smirks at me, trying to pass it off as flirtatious. I scowl and turn away from him. He's not brave. He picked Dauntless just so it would give him an excuse to beat down on the people he doesn't like. The only positives are that Will, Edward, and Myra are going to be in the same faction with me.
When the last girl makes her choice – Amity – it's time to leave. The Dauntless exit first. Abnegation will be the last ones to leave because they have to clean up. I look back at the Erudite and see that Caleb Prior has obviously not regretted joining Erudite. He's the only Abnegation-born that transferred to Erudite this year. The same with Beatrice's transfer to Dauntless.
I glance at Will and Beatrice, both are looking ill as I'm feeling.
The crowd of Dauntless are leading us to the stairs. Just then, the Dauntless start running down the stairs. After the Choosing Ceremony, the Dauntless-born initiates and the transfers run through the city.
I am one of the first ones to catch on and I run, keeping up with the Dauntless and I'm breathless when we reach the first floor. The Dauntless burst through the exit.
Due to the academic lifestyle of Erudite, we don't engage in too much physical activity. I am glad I exercised my muscles to prepare for Dauntless. I'm sure Abnegation doesn't either, but Beatrice seems to have caught on. What has she done during the past years? Watch the Dauntless?
We follow the Dauntless down the street, blocking the path of the bus, following them around the corner, and we hear the train horn.
"Oh no," mumbles an Erudite boy who I don't know. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?"
"Yes," answers Beatrice Prior.
We spread out in a line as the train passes, its doors open. The Dauntless-born hop in first, leaving us transfers. We run with the car for few steps and then throw ourselves sideways. I manage to pull myself to the door and unfortunately, it's Peter that pulls me in.
"Fun isn't it?" he asks.
"Sure," I say.
"Did you see that a Stiff joined?" says Drew.
"Yeah, she's not going to last long," leers Peter.
Before Molly could reply, I speak up. "She might last. She caught on pretty fast when we started running."
Disbelief is on their features.
"Are you being sarcastic, because there is no way that a Stiff could catch on that quickly," says Molly.
I just snort at her answer. For a half hour the train rides through the city and then it slows down.
Seeing the Dauntless-born initiates jump into the rooftop, Molly says, "We have to jump off too, then."
"Great," says Peter, "because that makes perfect sense, Molly. Leap off a train into a roof."
"This is kind have what we signed up for, Peter," says Molly. Beatrice and a dark-skinned Candor girl are the first transfers to jump off. I get by the door and risk the jump as well, successfully landing on the rooftop.
Someone screams but I don't pay attention. If it is true, Dauntless initiation is risky business.
I see Beatrice examine her elbow, like she's trying to find a injury.
"Ooh. Scandalous! A Stiff's flashing some skin!" yells Peter, as he smirks and points at her. It causes her to lift her head and she drops her sleeve.
I don't join the laughter, and tell him, dripping with sarcasm, "Ha. Ha. Peter, you're funny…Not!"
"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" shouts a man at the other end of the roof. He looks older than the others, with deep creases in his dark brown skin and with a groomed beard, and he stands on the ledge like it is a sidewalk. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the pleasure of going first."
"You want us to jump off a ledge?" asks Myra mortified.
"Yes," says Max, looking amused.
The crowd in front of the initiates splits in half, making a wide path for us. Beatrice from Abnegation is the first to walk up to the ledge. She stares down the ledge and takes off her jacket, balling it up and she throws it at Peter's chest, inciting cat calls and shouts. The reaction on his face is priceless.
She pauses before she jumps off the ledge. After a minute, we hear someone shout, "First jumper – Tris!"
The girl Bea – excuse me, Tris – was with earlier, jumps off second, screaming in the process. Two minutes later, I jump off, and land into what feels like a net. Two pairs of hands help me out of the net and my feet land on the concrete.
Slowly, the other initiates fall into the net and when all of us are on solid ground, two Dauntless members (I'm guessing eighteen, but with Dauntless, it's hard to tell) lead us down a narrow tunnel. I deliberately stay near Will, and trying to avoid Peter.
Our two leaders stop at some point and a woman with three piercings through her right eyebrow, says, "This is where we divide. The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
After the Dauntless-born leave with her, the male leading us speaks.
"Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor. My name is Four," he introduces. Four. Is that a nickname? Because no one names their child Four.
"Four? Like the number?" asks Tris's Candor companion.
"Yes," Four says. "Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Good. We're about to go into The Pit, which you will someday learn to love, it –
"
The Candor girl snickers. "The Pit. Clever name."
He walks up to her face and leans his face close to hers. Laughing at a Dauntless is the last thing I would do.
"What's your name?" Four asks her quietly.
"Christina," she squeaks.
"Well, Christina, if I wanted to put off with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," he hisses. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"
She nods and he continues to lead the way, opening the door to what he calls "the Pit." Judging by the look and the Dauntless members having leisure time, this is a area for leisure. Four leads us to what he calls "the chasm," which is revealed to be a ramp way over a river.
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fair line between bravery and idiocy!" Four shouts. "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and will happen again. You have been warned."
Four then leads the group of initiates across the Pit toward a gaping hole in the wall. My ears meet the sound and I could guess before I see it: a dining hall.
When we walk in, the Dauntless inside stand and greet us with applause. I guess here, mealtimes are not a private affair like it is in Erudite. I undo my twist and let my hair fall. Dauntless is not the place for looking sharp.
I unconsciously follow Tris, Christina, and Four towards an empty table. On the platters, I recognize at least most of the food, and put a hamburger on my plate.
Tris recently has been introduced to the hamburger, by the looks of it.
"Stiffs eat plain food," Four tells Christina. He must be Abnegation-born, because how else would he know. As for his usage of Stiff, he could only be using that slang because he needs to uphold loyalty to Dauntless.
Tris jokes about how she left Abnegation because of the food and Four's mouth twitches.
The doors to the cafeteria open, and a hush falls over the room. I look over my shoulder. A young man, probably about the same age as Four, walks in, and it is quiet enough that I hear his footsteps. The area above his right eyebrow is pierced twice, his blonde hair is short with the sides of his head shaved, and there are tattoos on his neck and on both of his forearms. Despite the hair, the tattoos, the piercings above his right eyebrow and ears, I easily place him.
Eric.
I was correct after all. Dauntless life does suit him.
"Who's that?" Christina hisses.
"Eric," I say before I could stop myself. "He transferred from Erudite two years ago. My parents are friends with his parents."
Four shoots me a warning glance but continues, "Yes, and he is a Dauntless leader."
"Seriously? He is so young," says Christina.
"Age doesn't matter here," says Four, as he gives her a grave look.
A moment later, Eric approaches our table and drops into a seat next to Four. He offers no greeting, but he studies my face, like he is trying to place me. I haven't changed much in two years, so it might be easy for him to recognize me.
"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" he asks Four.
"This is Tris, Christina, and…" Four pauses when he gets to me, "what's your name?"
"Isobel," I answer.
"So, you chose Dauntless as well," Eric says to me. "Somehow I'm not surprised." He turns to look at Tris and says, "A Stiff. We'll see how long you last."
"You never know," I say. "She seemed to have caught on fairly well after the Choosing Ceremony."
"We'll see about that," Eric says to me before turning to Four.
"What have you been doing, Four?" he asks.
"Nothing really," answers Four.
I doubt they are even friends, because Four looks tense. Just because you see people sitting next to each other, that does not always mean they are friends. Just the way they hold their bodies suggest that they have animosity towards each other.
"Max tells me he keeps trying to meet with you, and you don't show up," says Eric. "He requested that I find out what's going on with you."
"Tell him that I am satisfied with the position I currently hold."
"So he wants to give you a job."
"So it would seem."
"And you are not interested," says Eric.
"I haven't been interested for two years."
"Well," says Eric. "Let's hope he gets to the point, then."
He claps Four on the shoulder, a little too hard, and gets up. He stops to pat me on the shoulder and says, "I'll be seeing you with the other transfers." When he walks away, I slouch slightly. I always found him intimidating before he transferred to Dauntless two years ago. I'm sure he is even more so, now that he is a Dauntless.
And a leader to boot as well.
"Are you two…friends?" Tris asks Four. I thought she was going to ask me that question, as Eric patting my shoulder before leaving would give them that impression. Friends don't act tense towards each other with one looking like his companion was a threat to his status, which was how Eric was regarding Four.
"We were in the same initiate class," he answers her. "As Isobel revealed to you, he transferred from Erudite."
"Were you a transfer too?" she asks him.
"I thought I would only have trouble with the Candor asking too many questions and the Erudite acting like they know everything," he says to her coldly. "Now I've got Stiffs too?"
Something tells me that she asked a question he doesn't want to answer, furthering my suspicions that he was originally from Abnegation. If he were from Erudite or Candor, he would divulge that information.
The only Abnegation transfer to Dauntless was Tobias Eaton, two years ago. Could Four possibly be…?
"It must be because you are so approachable," Tris tells him, interrupting my thoughts. "You know like a bed of nails."
"Careful, Tris." Four leaves us for another table after someone from Dauntless calls him.
"I have a theory," Christina tells Tris.
"And what is it?" she asks.
She picks up her hamburger and tells Tris, "That you have a death wish." She turns to me and asks, "Were you and Eric friends back at Erudite?"
Just as I expected. They might ask that.
"We knew each other since we were kids, but we weren't friends," I say. "Our parents tried to match us up before he transferred two years ago. I doubt he was even interested."
"Were you interested?" asks Christina.
"No," I say.
"I could see why. He is pretty intimidating," says Christina.
After dinner, Eric leads the initiates down a series of hallways without telling us where we are going. I stick to Edward and Myra and avoid Peter. I carefully tread, not wanting to lose my footing.
Eric stops in front of a wooden door and we gather around him.
"For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," he says. "I'm one of the five leaders of the Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously, so I volunteered to oversee most of your training."
I somehow feel comfortable, since I basically know him, but I can't help but feel slightly intimidated.
"Some ground rules," he says. "You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation."
Back at Erudite, our free time was strictly devoted to reading books, as it was essential to enhancing our intellect. Anything of leisure was considered a hindrance to the intellect.
"You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless," Eric adds. "Behind the door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You notice that there are ten beds and fortunately, there are ten of you."
"We started with thirteen," Christina protests.
"There is always at least one transfer who doesn't make it to the compound," says Eric, picking at his cuticles. He shrugs. "Anyway, in the first stage of initiation, we keep the transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you already. So I expect –"
"Rankings?" Myra asks. "Why are we ranked?
"Your ranking serves two purposes," he says. "The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available. The second purpose, is that only the top ten initiates are only made members."
"What?" says Christina.
"There are eleven Dauntless-born and ten of you," Eric continues. "Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test."
That means six of us will have to leave. I register the frozen shock of the other transfers. It's like that in every faction. In Erudite, the initiates take tests testing their knowledge and intellect. For Dauntless, it will make sense. They would want members who willingly take pain and are able to fight back. I'm not tall or intimidating, but I'm glad I learn strategies for self-defense.
"What do we do if we're cut?" asks Peter.
"Is it obvious, stupid?" I snap at him. there is only one answer. If one fails initiation, they will become factionless.
Eric looks amused at my retort and continues, "You leave the Dauntless compound and live factionless."
Myra clasps her hands over her mouth and stifles a sob. Amongst the shock, Tris has a look of determination on her face. Despite that she is from Abnegation, I'm not surprised if she will last.
"But that's…not fair!" Molly protests. "If we had known –"
I'm not surprised that Molly said that. Her skull is thicker then metal.
"Are you saying that if you had known before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" Eric snaps. "Because if that is the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."
Eric pushes the door to the dormitory open.
"You chose us," he says. "Now we have to choose you."
The other transfers slowly file into the dormitory but Eric grabs my upper arm and turns me to face him.
"You know, you should have left the Candor boy's question for me to answer," he says sternly.
"I apologize," I say politely.
Eric smirks and says, "I'm grateful that you didn't come in here with false expectations. It seems you prepared yourself. I always knew I would fit into Dauntless before my aptitude test."
"Same here," I say, hoping that he will let me go.
"I'll be seeing you soon," he says, letting go my arm and allowing me to enter the dormitory.
Apparently, few of the transfers have settled on their beds and a few are fighting over them. I pick a bed next to where Edward is sitting. On the beds are our bedcovers, and a pair of black pajamas.
"This is great, isn't it?" I hear Peter say, and I look to see him lounging on his bed.
"I agree, and I would appreciate it if you stopped talking," I say, as I made my bed.
"So, you and Eric. Was he your boyfriend back at Erudite before he transferred?" asks Peter. How does he know? Of course, he must have had one his lackeys eavesdrop, but Eric was not my boyfriend. Acquaintance is more fitting.
I react by throwing one of my pillows at his face. "No, he wasn't, you jackass," I snap at him.
I thought I hear Christina giggle.
Peter, however, looks unfazed by my retort and he playfully throws my pillow back to my bed. "Well, he stopped you so he could talk to you, so, maybe I thought he was."
"He was reprimanding me for speaking out of turn," I say.
"Well, maybe Tris isn't the only one with a death wish," says Christina.
During initiation, hopefully I might be able to punch Peter's nose. I will be more satisfied if I break it.
I lie in bed and hear nine other people breathing.
I am used to my own private quarters back in Erudite, but I better get used to this until initiation is over. I wonder how Theodore is doing at the Candor compound. Has he made friends yet? Is he wondering how he will pass Candor initiation?
Back at our old home in Erudite, mom and dad for the first time ate dinner without Theodore and me. When they go through my room, they'll probably find self-defense pamphlets in the paneling and they'll think I was a very good actor, pretending I was a true Erudite when I was really cut out for Dauntless. In the Erudite compound, the transfer initiates are in a dormitory similar to the one here in Dauntless. I'm sure there are kids losing sleep, over failing initiation that proved that they have a thirst for knowledge. In Abnegation initiation, I heard that Abnegation members take in the transfer initiates in their homes.
I know one of my parents will visit me on Visiting Day. Dad will visit Theodore at Candor
A few beds away, I hear Al, the transfer from Candor, sob in his sleep. Perhaps he is homesick. Perhaps he is fretting over initiation.
Hopefully, he'll figure out that crying is only to slim his chances of staying in Dauntless.
