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Tris POV
I snap awake at the buzzing of my alarm, and quickly get dressed. I go down to the Pit, snag a quick blueberry muffin, the jog to the training room.
Some of the initiates are already there; they standing a shy crowd as Four sets uphe equipment.
"Today you will learn how to fire a gun and how to win a fight." Four presses the gun into my arms, looking at me assuringly. My arms shake as I grip the gun, the very same gun that killed Will a few years back.
I gulp and tense my muscles to stop my shaking; my knuckles turn white as I grip the weapon and take deep breaths as Four explains the initiation stages.
Finally, Four turns towards the plywood target and fires. The bullet goes straight though the center of the target. I stand by Uriah and grip the handle. I turn towards my target, and fire, grimacing slightly at the noise. Alec stands next to me, his bullet hits the side of the target.
"What's the matter Stiff? Can't handle a little noise?" He smirks at me and yawns.
"At least I hit the center." I smirk back at him and his eyes widen in anger as he looks to my target.
Next to me, Uriah grins as his bullet spirals through the center.
"This is just like the old days Tris!" He yells above the noise.
I blink and position myself again. But instead of the target, my vision blurs. I see vivid flashes of my parents, and Will standing in front of my target-all victims of death because of me.
I shake a little and fire again. The bullet hits the very edge of Uriah's target this time.
Four steps behind me, "What was that Tris?" He looks at me appalled and Alec and Jack snicker.
"I, I don't know." I shake a little and everybody stops
"I think she's a little Stiff?" Maddie glares at me with a wicked smile.
"Try again." Four consults.
I take a deep breath and aim again. I squint at the target, which is now regular plywood. As I get ready to pull the trigger, my mothers face reappears. I fire again, and it doesn't even hit the target.
LINEBREAK
When we are dismissed for lunch I leave swiftly; my arms shake from holding the gun. I walk into the cafeteria. Hardly anyone is here yet, so I pick a table and sit, my eyes focused on spreading my ketchup on my hamburger patty.
'Get it together Tris. You are better than that!' I think and ball my free hand into a fist to stop the shaking.
Someone taps my shoulder from behind, "You an initiate?" A familiar voice says from behind.
I turn around and look into the eyes of Christina. She wears a black tank top and pants with combat boots. There is a fair amount of makeup on her face; she looks striking.
She drops the napkin in her hand. "Tr-Tris?!" She rubs her eyes carefully.
"Hey Christina." I nod smiling, but a huge pang of guilt grows inside of me.
"Am I dreaming?" Christina blinks a few times and pinches herself.
"No, it's really me." I smile smally.
Christina's jaw drops open and she pulls me into a firm embrace.
"I can't believe it... You're not-" She splutters.
"Well I did die... I just got resurrected."
"What?" Christina sits down. "Wait what happened then?"
I explain to her about the new antiserum, and she looks impressed.
"Well it's good to have you back Tris. I'm one of the selected members here now,and I usually work in the tattoo parlor." She explains. I grin, the job suits her. But instead I say, "What happened to that training job you wanted to do before?"
"Well Jacob wanted to do the job too, and he's the leader of Dauntless, so I figured I wanted to make myself more useful." Christina says.
Before I reply, someone puts his hands on Christina's eyes, and pulls her into a hug from behind.
"Guess who?" He says in a low voice. I grin at him.
Christina pulls his hands away and turns around.
"No way..." She whispers
"Yes way." He says.
"You're d-dead." She splutters
"I'm alive." He replies.
"Uriah?" She questions.
"Well who else did you know that looked like this!" Uriah looks down at his body, hiding his grin. "Duh its me."
I smile as the two hug again. Four sits beside me.
"What happened today Stiff?" He asks me, his eyes thoughtful.
"I uh, I can't really explain." I stutter.
"You can't explain why you hit a bullseye, then missed the target by 2 feet?" He says in a challenging manner.
"Not here." I whisper and notice that the initiates are looking at me.
I squeeze his hand and get up, pulling Uriah with me. I drag him to a different table and sit with Andrew, and the Erudite initiates.
"Hey what was that for?" Uriah whines.
"Look we can't make if obvious, or else people will get suspicious and think Four shows favoritism." I hiss. "We'd never win."
"You sound like a Nose, Stiff" he mumbles, but I ignore him. We eat lunch awkwardly for the remaining time.
LINEBREAK
Tobias POV
After lunch I lead the initiates into another room. On the chalkboard, the names of the initiates have already been written in alphabetical order.
"You will now learn how to fight. The purpose of this id to prepare you to act, and physically prepare you to respond to challenges- which you will need in order to survive as a Dauntless."
I show them a few different punches, first in the air, then on a punching bag.
"Tomorrow you will start fighting each other, and I suggest you catch on, for those who don't will get hurt."
I scout the initiates as they train with the punching bag. When I move to Tris, I see her body tense, and she bits her lip as she punches.
I place my hand against her stomach. It's rock hard, but she looks at me, breathless.
"Meet me in my room after dinner." I say and continue walking.
Tris POV
Even though I am used to physical contact, Tobias caught me off guard. I was breathless and my heart pounded as hard as a smashing boulder through my chest.
After training, I head down to dinner. My hands are red from hitting the punching bag, but I barely feel pain. Uriah is already there, and wolfs down his hamburger as I sit.
"So what did Mr. Flirt do this time? I saw you tense up as he touched you!" He chuckles at me.
I smile, "Nothing really. I was caught off guard."
"I can't wait to start fighting tomorrow." He says, "I hope I can fight Jack. He thinks he's so strong and smart."
I smirk, I crave to fight Alec. Or anyone in his little Candor group.
Andrew sits by me. "Hey"
"Hi" I reply. "How's initiation going for you?"
"Not bad. I'm just a little nervous... That's all. You?" He says.
"Yeah, Stiffs are always nervous." Uriah grins goofily as he takes another bite.
I smack him playfully, and Andrew laughs. I can't help but grin.
I look behind, and see Tobias looking over. Is he jealous? He looks away and takes a slice of cake.
LINEBREAK
After dinner, I sneak by into Tobias's room. He isn't there yet, so I sit on his bed, looking at his wall, and the words Fear God Alone on it.
I stare at my knuckles, they are red and course, with slight pain. Tobias walks in And slips off his shoes.
When he looks up we meet eye contact, and I hold my ground as he walks over.
He walks over and embraces me. One hand strokes my hair while the other wraps around my waist.
I throw my hands around his neck, stroking his tattoo.
"You know, I'm starting to dislike this initiation process." He whispers in my ear.
"It will be over soon enough." I whisper back.
He smiles shyly, then places his lips against my forehead.
"What happened today Tris?" He says quietly and looks me in the eye.
"I, I " I stumble for the words.
Tobias grips my hand, "Just say it Tris. You can trust me."
I shudder at the images and reply, "Well, at first I did fine, then I started seeing images of Will, and my parents face instead of the target. They died for and because of me, and I just couldn't shoot properly."
I pull away from his grip and sit on his bed, clutching my shirt to stop shaking.
Tobias sits in front of me, and grabs my freezing hands. He rubs them in his huge warm ones and looks at me. I see no sympathy in his eyes and exhale. At least he doesn't think I'm weak.
"None of them deserved to die Tris, but you have to accept they did and move on." Tobias says.
I close my eyes tightly and take deep breaths.
"Tris look at me." He says gently.
"I know it's unfair that they left. My parents left me too in essence. Life damages us, and we can't escape the damage. But we can all be mended; we mend each other." He says.
I stand up and he pulls me into his arms.
"You can do this Tris." He says and kisses me gently. I place my hands on his chest, his arms around my waist, and the pressure of his lips on mine
We still have each other memorized.
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