Hey guys, sorry this took so long. I wasn't sure where I wanted it to go before and so I decided to take some time off until I got it straight. Anyway, I'm kinda following the second book/Movie, Insurgent but not completely and if you haven't read the third book or Four's own books then you probably won't know who Amar is. He was Four and Eric's initiation trainer. Anyway, thanks to everyone who fav'd and followed! Always like to hear from you guys as well.
"Come on Amity, pick up the speed!" Eric shouted at her from the sidelines.
Alexis urged her legs to move faster, but her muscles were growing tired and a stitch in her side spiked painfully every time she tried to suck in a breath.
She had no idea how much of the five minutes had gone by and was thankful when Eric's watch beeped a minute later and he told her time up was up.
She sagged heavily against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor as her tormentor barked out orders.
"Drink some water and try not to puke on the floor, Amity. I'm going to grab lunch and wish I had never seen that pathetic excuse of a run."
She cursed his retreating back under her breath and focused on slowing her heart rate.
The last few hours were brutal. Eric was relentless, pushing her to go faster, block quicker and she listened as he hurled insult after insult at her. The man was proving to be heartless and she wanted to cry so badly, but refused to in case he punished her for it.
She took the momentary peace to relax, catching her breath and controlling her emotions the best she could before he came back.
A little while later her attention was diverted to the door as it smacked closed, but instead of Eric she was surprised to see another man approaching her.
"Who are you?" He asked her in a deep voice.
She scrambled to stand and looked up into his brown eyes. "Alexis." She replied.
"You don't look familiar. Are you Dauntless?" He asked, looking at her with interest.
Should I tell him? She wondered. If he's working with Eric, then I'm dead. But if he's not…
"You've always been too nosy for your own good, Four." Eric said darkly behind them.
Alexis tensed in fear, but the man named Four, casually turned to face him.
"I noticed the lights were on and decided to check it out. What are you two doing in here?" Four asked.
To her, he sounded suspicious rather than curious.
"It's none of your concern, Four, and neither is she, so beat it." Eric replied.
Alexis stared in fascination as his face revealed no emotion, but his knuckles turned white from their grip on the tray.
Four looked between the two of them before he leaned closer to her and softly asked, "Are you alright?"
She quickly glanced at Eric, who twitched his head slightly, and she met Four's eyes again.
"Eric's forcing me to train as Dauntless to help Jeanine." She quickly revealed, before Eric could stop her.
"Dammit, Amity! I told you to keep your mouth shut!" Eric growled and took a step closer.
Four shielded her with his body.
"What are you going to do, Four? Assault your leader and run off with some girl you don't know?" Eric asked, clearly irritated by this intrusion to his plans.
"What does Jeanine want her for?" Four asked; his body rigid in front of her.
"I'm Divergent." She whispered.
The slightest movement of his shoulders tensing told her that it meant something to him.
"Is Max in on this?" Four asked.
Eric smirked. "Jeanine likes to keep him in the dark sometimes."
"So, you're training her in secret, because Jeanine is going to use her, for what, the killing of more Divergents?" Four inched closer to the other man.
"Oh, I forgot you had a thing for them. Amar was the first, but he won't be the last." Eric goaded him. "I've even wondered if you're one of them. Are you Four?"
In his anger, Four's hands clenched at his sides.
Eric noticed and said to him with authority, "Outside, now."
Both men walked out of the room and left her without a glance, the tension of their conflict still hanging in the air. She stayed rooted to the spot, too anxious to eat the food Eric left on the bench before leaving, and waited.
Will Four help me escape? God, I hope so. She prayed.
Ten minutes passed without a sound and she was trying to decide whether or not to see if they were still there when the door opened again and Eric walked back in.
"Looks like you've got a new trainer, Amity." Eric said.
He didn't wait for Four to follow him through the door and before it could close on him, Four caught it and gave Eric an evil glare.
Alexis was shocked at this declaration. Did he threaten to kill Four too? She wondered.
"I'm going to help when Eric can't get away to train you and when he can, I'll be making sure you don't show up on the security cameras." Four explained.
This can't be happening! She cried inside.
"And because you couldn't keep your mouth shut on the first day, you've proven that I can't trust you to obey an order, so I'm going to be your roommate in the initiate room from now on. Say good-bye to privacy." Eric smirked and sat down on the bench.
Alexis' mouth dropped.
"I don't see how telling on you means I need a babysitter at night." She said disbelieving it warranted that kind of punishment.
"Well," He said casually tossing an apple up and down, "since I told you I didn't want anyone else to know you're here and you deliberately did the opposite of that, then I have little doubt that you'll break the rule about not leaving your dorm to try and escape, and in the process be seen by someone that shouldn't."
Alexis kept quiet, but inside she cursed herself, imagining using the bathroom while he was there and cringed.
She closed her eyes and chanted in her head, 'This is a nightmare, this is just a nightmare.'
"I'm not going to disappear, if that's what you're hoping." She could hear Eric say from his spot on the bench and she opened her eyes in disappointment.
Four was gone, leaving them alone and she frowned. Even if he was going to help Eric, he at least seemed like a decent guy and she hoped there would be more days with Four than with Eric.
Her stomach growled loudly, interrupting her train of thought and she gazed longingly at the food by Eric. She had no desire to go near him, but her hunger propelled her anyway, making her pick up the sandwich and she sat down at the opposite end of the bench.
The bread was fresh and soft as she chewed, the ham inside tender and flavorful, and she finished it off quickly, not caring that the bread tasted different from Amity's.
She went to grab the apple, but Eric snatched it off the tray first and licked it before putting it back. He watched her as she recoiled in disgust and left it there.
"You're going to have to be faster if you want to eat." He said, taking a bite out of his own apple.
Annoyed, she crossed her arms and positioned herself to stare at the mannequins across from her. She knew she was being childish, but she was too afraid to do anything else, because not only was he large, intimidating and lethal, he was also incredibly handsome and that made her nervous. Good looking guys usually got what they wanted, and she had a burning desire to not give him anything he wanted.
"Concentrate, Amity! That target isn't going to get any bigger." Eric angrily pointed at the mannequin in front of her.
Alexis bit back her retort and tried aiming her knife again. Her arm shook with fatigue, the constant position of holding her arm in the air was getting painful and she wanted to hit the target at least once so he would get off her back. She had been at it for an hour and was at the point where she'd rather throw the sharp weapon at him than the target.
Would he catch it if I threw it at him? She wondered sinisterly.
With his incredible power of mind reading, he sighed heavily and walked over to the board and stood in front of it with his arms crossed behind his back.
"Would this make it easier?" He asked simply and without anger, which shocked her.
Alexis stood dumfounded. Did he really want her to throw the knife at him or was this some kind of trick?
"Come on. I deserve it don't I? Took you away from your friends and family only to eventually release you to kill them all isn't that right? Doesn't that make you want to hit me?" He taunted, humor dancing behind his eyes.
Rage built up inside her and she aimed her arm. Steady, like he showed her, and stared at the spot where she wanted to hit, right in his missing heart.
What if I really hurt him? The thought snuck up just as she threw the knife and it hit the board beside his leg; she sighed in relief.
Eric pulled the knife free and stormed over to her, the pointed edge pressed against her breast bone. His other large hand gripped her arm to prevent her from backing up.
"What was that?" He seethed.
"I didn't want to hurt you." She said, scared he might press too hard and accidently kill her in his rage.
"I don't ever want you to hesitate again, you hear me?! In a real fight, hesitation and sympathy only lets the other guy get the advantage on you, just like I did now. I could have stabbed this through your heart and you'd be dead if I wanted you to be. Be smart." He pushed her away from him and flung the knife with perfect precision at the mannequin where it stuck in the bullseye.
Jeez. She gulped, staring wide eyed at him as she rubbed the spot on her chest where the blade dug in.
He looked at her and his tension ebbed away. "We're done for today." He said and stalked over to the bench to grab his things.
Alexis relaxed with relief. She badly wanted to take a hot shower to ease her sore muscles and go to sleep. She was so busy daydreaming about her free time that she almost didn't catch the towel Eric tossed at her.
"Put that over your head like you're drying your hair and make a show of it." He said before walking out.
Alexis quickly followed him out and was curious as to why he turned away from the initiate dorm.
"Where are we going?"
"You're going to help me pack a few things now that I'm not going to be sleeping in my apartment." He replied without looking back at her.
I forgot about that. Darn it, how am I supposed to have a shower now? She frowned and jogged to keep up with his long strides. When they turned a corner Alexis realized they'd left the initiate wing completely.
A couple was leaning against the jagged wall, embraced in each other's arms as they made out and she caught the eye of another guy who walked by them. The look of interest on his face reminded her about her towel and she quickly began to pretend to rub her hair dry.
Voices bounced off the rock walls and echoed around her; confusing her as to where they came from. The hallway branched off a few times as they walked past, but the other ends only revealed more darkness.
A couple of more turns and doors with numbers began to appear every so often on either side of them. Alexis was wondering what they were for when Eric stopped by one and jiggled keys into the lock. The black door with 17 etched into the paint swung open and she stepped in behind him.
The sun was setting so the rich light that poured in from the large window behind the bed made everything look golden. The spacious room was clean, but cluttered with books and papers strewn over the coffee table and one of the chairs next to his leather couch.
Eric grabbed a bag from his closet and dumped it on the bed, and as he began to shove clothes into it, Alexis leaned over one of the many books and out of curiosity read the title.
'History of War,' was written in bold black letters across a blank white cover.
"Figures." She mumbled to herself.
"What was that, Amity?" Eric asked and she jumped back, hoping he didn't catch her snooping.
"Uh, nothing."
Eric glanced down at the chair next to her and abandoned his packing, obviously spotting her. He strolled over, shuffled the papers together and stuffed them into the book before moving it out of sight.
"I'm doing research." He said and then pointed at a stack of books by the door. "Those are for you. Jeanine sent them early this morning."
Alexis followed his gaze and spotted the five books he mentioned on the floor, carefully placed out of the way.
"What are they for?"
"You need to learn about all the factions, especially Candor since you don't have the aptitude for it," He eyed her up, "and maybe Dauntless, to successfully pull off what we need you to." He explained going back to his bag.
"When am I supposed to have time for that?" She asked annoyed at the increasing pile of things she had to learn.
"After training." He replied.
"What about down time? I can't push my body to exhaustion and then my brain every day."
Eric violently slammed his pants into the bag and turned on her.
"Pull the Erudite out of your ass and use your brain! I only have two weeks to prepare you, which means we need every second we can get. This isn't school where you can dick around all year, this is life or death, get it?"
Alexis's fingers tingled with the need to hit something, which was an odd combination to the tears that threatened to fall at his hurtful words. She knew he was right and darn it, she couldn't argue with him because of it.
So many different emotions were running through her. She wanted to cry and hide to avoid the violence, but a part of her demanded she fight back and another told her to play along until she could think of a way to escape.
She thought it was funny that her Amity upbringing was saying squat at the moment. Nothing about this situation allowed her to think there was going to be a peaceful ending to it, no matter what happened.
They always say that knowledge is power, right?
With an audible sigh, she gave in and went to pick up the books. They were heavier than she thought they would be and balanced them on one arm so she could take the bag that Eric handed her.
She watched him go to the bathroom and return with his toiletries a few minutes later. He put them under her arm and Alexis teetered under the weight of it all.
"Can't you carry some of this? You're stronger than I am." She complained.
"Think of it as endurance training." He said with a smirk and ushered her out of his apartment.
Alexis followed him back at a much slower pace than before, grumbling under her breath. To their fortune, everyone was gone to dinner, or at least that's where she assumed they went as her own stomach growled furiously.
As soon as she got to the dorm she dropped his things by the door and rubbed her sore shoulder where the heavy bag's strap dug in. Eric gave her an annoyed look as he bent to pick them up and he selected the bed closest to the entrance.
She left him to settle in and sat down on her own bed. She had chosen one that was against the wall, because it made her feel safer to have something solid to protect her back if anyone came to attack her in the middle of the night, and rested her eyes for a moment.
"I'm getting dinner. If you even think about leaving this room while I'm gone, you'll be sorry." She heard him say and slowly opened an eye when the door slammed closed.
With a quick look around to make sure he was gone, she ran to the shower, undressing on the way there and washed off the sweat with the speed of lightning. She was dressed in her clothes again and reading the book about Dauntless by the time he came back.
"Had time for a shower, did you? Hope you don't mind if I have one myself." He said and put their food down on an empty bed.
She eyed him warily as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto his bed. Then he unbuttoned his pants and slid underwear and trousers down all at once.
In surprise, she lifted the book up to eye level and blocked out the image of him sauntering to the showers, naked. The water turned on and she tried to tune his whistling out by engrossing herself in the book.
'Manifesto.' The first page was titled.
'We believe that cowardice is to blame for the world's injustices. We believe that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace. But more than that:
We believe that justice is more important than peace.
We believe in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions.
We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.
We believe in acknowledging fear and the extent to which it rules us.
We believe in facing that fear no matter what the cost to our comfort, our happiness, or even our sanity.
We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.
We believe, not just in bold words but in bold deeds to match them.
We believe that pain and death are better than cowardice and inaction because we believe in action.
We do not believe in living comfortable lives.
We do not believe that silence is useful.
We do not believe in good manners.
We do not believe in empty heads, empty mouths, or empty hands.
We do not believe that learning to master violence encourages unnecessary violence.
We do not believe that we should be allowed to stand idly by.
We do not believe that any other virtue is more important than bravery.'
Well, she had to admit that she agreed with some of their beliefs, at the very least, but what she really hoped would be in the book was a map of the Dauntless compound so she could find her way out. She turned back to the contents page and read down the list.
Page 1: Manifesto
Page 2 - 5: History of Dauntless
Page 6 - 7: Rules and regulations
Page 8 - 11: Careers
Page 12 - 22: Initiation stages
Page 23 - 24: Daily life in Dauntless
Page 25: The Factionless
Page 26: Appendix
There was no mention of a map or anything like it so she flipped through the pages quickly to see if anything would pop up in one of the chapters and came up empty handed; she sighed.
Guess I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way and sneak around. She decided.
"You can't learn anything by skipping pages." Eric's voice startled her as he walked in with a towel around his waist. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at him and grabbed her dinner before he could ruin it.
She ignored him and propped the book up against her knees as she leaned back on her pillow and ate her hamburger one handed. She turned to the chapter about initiation, curious as to what she was up for and began reading.
Thirty minutes later, her dinner eaten and Eric quietly reading his own book, Alexis' eye lids drooped heavily. The urge to go to sleep was so great that she couldn't fight it and promptly fell asleep as her head lolled to the side.