Hello wonderful readers! Thank you so much for your patience and wonderful reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think in the reviews. Oh and happy holidays to anyone celebrating! :)

I retrace my steps and by the time I reach the entrance of the cafeteria, my heartbeat is back to its normal pace. I recognize two female Candor transfers who I assume are heading to our living quarters, so I follow them, leaving a small distance between us. The two are having an animated conversation that I can't help but hear.

"He's so hot!"

"And he's a Dauntless leader too! Can you believe it? I do love a man in power," one of the girls says to the other as both start giggling. I roll my eyes. They're not even trying to be conspicuous; Max could easily turn one of these corners and hear them talking about him. How embarrassing.

Well, those are the Candor for you. I think to myself, mentally snickering at their openness.

We arrive at the initiates living quarters and before I can even look around, I'm knocked out of breath by a petite blonde's crushing hug. I look down at Vera who's hugging me tightly and can't help smile.

"Where have you been?! Jeff and I turned around and you were gone!" Vera said with a worried look on her face. I can't hide the feeling that I'm happy someone in this faction is already generally concerned for me.

"Sorry about that. I lost you two for a minute and decided to go exploring." I look at the initiates running around, claiming beds, changing, napping and chatting. "There's something I have to tell you." I grab Vera's hand and walk out to an empty corridor and explain to her in detail what I overheard from Zak and his Erudite friend.

"Shit. How does a girl like you already have enemies?! Aren't you supposed to be peaceful and shit?"

"Zak started it! Not me."

"Whoever started it doesn't matter anymore. If Zak wants revenge that bad, then we have a big problem on our hands. He's right, you know; Dauntless is not very strict on their laws." She stops and looks around to make sure the coast is clear before she drops her voice to a whisper. "People have gotten away with murder here Em."

My eyes widen in shock.

"You need to make sure you are never alone until we can figure out a game plan. Got it?"

I slowly nod my head.

My vision of living a long and happy life in Dauntless is beginning to slowly fade away. Did I make the right choice? It's my first day, and I already have an enemy. Will things finally fall into place or will I have to watch my back forever?

Vera and I head back into our temporary sleeping quarters that are still bustling with energy. As I look around the vast room filled with rows of single beds lining the walls, I see everyone getting ready for our first training session. It doesn't surprise me that most of the initiates look excited, even though no one knows what to expect. This is what we all transferred for. We wanted to train to be the best tactical fighters across all the factions and to defend our people against any threats. We wanted to be Dauntless even though we knew this faction was not for the faint of heart. Seeing everyone preparing, I can't help but feel proud, but it's not long before I feel a trickle of nerves kick in. Only when initiation is complete will I be a true Dauntless member. Until then, all of these initiates will be my competition. That's what this will be in the end, right? A competition; a series of training sessions that will wean out the weakest of the bunch, and anyone who doesn't last...will be factionless.

I shake the mental image of me driving one of the public buses out of my head and walk towards an empty cot and claim it. Almost everyone is now dressed in black. You would never be able to tell that the transfers around me are new to Dauntless.

"Em! I grabbed these clothes for you. Hurry and get changed, if you're late for training I heard they make initiates stand-in as dummies during archery lessons."

Vera tosses me black clothing that feels soft to the touch.

Goodbye yellow and red. I won't be missing you...ever.

I smile to myself as I head into the girl's bath area to change. I strip out of my Amity clothing and toss it into the hamper in the corner filled with white, blue, gray and black. I wonder what they'll do with those. I push the thought to the back of my mind and quickly change. I'm not sure if Vera will ditch me if I take too long and I don't want to risk getting lost again if she does. The snug combat pants I'm now wearing have a variety of pockets for any small weapons or devices. The fabric is lightweight enough for me to stretch and maneuver easily in, and thick enough to protect me during any rougher training sessions that I'm sure we'll have. I like the pants...it's my top that I'm having a problem with.

I look in the mirror and I could swear I was looking at a younger version of my mother. I feel the soft moisture-wicking fabric of the extremely snug, low cut, sleeveless tank top and notice how the tight fabric has dramatically enhanced the size of my chest. Oh boy. My usual tactic of keeping my hair down to cover my breasts won't help me here. There's no way I can keep my hair out during training, so I have no choice but to tie it up into a tight ponytail and flaunt what my mother gave me. Just that thought gives me butterflies. I walk out of the bath area and see Vera talking to the pair of initiates I followed into the sleeping areas earlier. All three girls turn to me and stare.

"Em, you look amazing!" Vera says with a kind, toothy smile that reaches her eyes.

"Hahaa...uh thaaanks," I say awkwardly.

"Dauntless becomes you," says one of the Candor girls who looks me up and down slowly with a look of interest. "I'm Abby and this is Cordelia." Cordelia has her arms crossed against her chest and gives me a weak smile. Both are seemingly pretty girls but I have a feeling they're not as beautiful on the inside. Both girls have short petite frames; Abby has short brown hair that frames her face, while Cordelia has short blonde locks.

"Nice to meet you," Cordelia says half-heartedly. "We'd better get going, we don't want to be late."

We walk to training, Abby and Cordelia leading the way, with Vera and I in tow. Vera looks over and gives me a funny face while pointing at the Candor transfers. I can tell from her expression that she has already seen right through these girls. Though they're not the type of girls either of us would ever have anything in common with, they seem harmless enough.

We both silently laugh. Vera is heaven-sent. I've never connected with anyone this quickly, and with everything already going on during my first day here, a good friend is the perfect answer to my problems.

I make sure to memorize the passages that we take to get to training and it's not long before we arrive at the training rooms. We enter a large chamber that triples the size of the cafeteria. It's filled with boxing bags, weapons, targets and more. I see Dauntless members training at hand-to-hand combat in a far-off corner of the room. I eye the initiates gathered in a group on the other side of the large room and we walk towards them with just a few minutes to spare before training begins.

As we approach the group, all eyes land on us…or rather, on me. I fidget awkwardly and try to focus on keeping my back straight like my mother always taught me to do.

'I don't want a hunchback for a daughter,' she always used to say.

Abby and Cordelia look around at the silenced group looking my way and suddenly Abby's arm shoots out and grabs my hand, pulling me towards her.

"So Em, tell me about what life in Amity was like and don't spare any details," Abby says talking much louder than needed and smiling wide with Cordelia at her side, who's suddenly alert and doing the same.

What game are these two playing?

I look over to Vera who has one eyebrow lifted and is eyeing the two; clearly not amused.

"Oh, ummm well…it was a lot…brighter there. And we—or they sang a lot, which was actually pretty annoying now that I think abou—"

"What a WONDERFUL story Amity," says a deep, booming voice behind me. "Now if you don't mind, could we get started on our first training session?"

Eric.

I slowly turn around and look up at the face of the irritating errand boy himself.

"Do you miss the Amity compound already first jumper? Maybe if you beg them enough, they'll take you back," he says with a smirk.

Can I punch him? What would happen if I punched him?

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

I begin to chuckle.

"No. I just don't see why I need to answer to one of Max's minions."

I hear a few gasps behind me and feel someone discreetly pinch my arm; most likely Vera.

Eric's smirk grows into a leering smile.

"Oh this is precious. So precious," he says; his hands on his stomach as he throws his head back, maniacally laughing. I drop my smug smirk instantly. Eric slows his laughter and looks me dead in the eye.

"Vera! Please do tell our new initiate just who she's speaking to, won't you?"

A slight cold fear runs through my veins but I never break eye contact with Eric. I feel Vera step out from behind me. In my peripheral vision I can see her lowering her head as she takes a deep breath.

"Em, Eric…is one of the five Dauntless leaders."

My eyes widen slightly and Eric smirks; satisfied with the effect Vera's words have on me.

I break eye contact with Eric and look straight ahead, my eyes meeting his built chest.

"I-I'm sorry. I swear I didn't know." I hear Eric's breathy laugh and suddenly he's bent down next to my ear, close enough for me to smell his scent; a mix of cinnamon and soap.

"Since you're new here, I'll let you off easy this time." I can feel his hot breath on my neck and my own breath hitches.

"Plus I'm in quite a good mood today," he says low enough so that only I could hear him. He pulls away from me and gives me a lingering look before walking away.

"Let's get to work initiates!"

I focus on breathing once again and look at Vera.

"I thought you knew!" she says whispering. "I'm so sorry, I should have warned you."

I shake my head and smile weakly as we follow the group of initiates walking behind Eric.

"No worries. That was stupid of me. I have to stop acting like I'm invincible," I say rolling my eyes.

Quit burning bridges Emilia. Time to focus on your training.

We're standing in front of a long table filled with numerous throwing knives and a few feet to it's left is a target range for knife throwing with a long line of red and white human-shaped targets. The group is silent as Eric begins speaking.

"Welcome to your first day of Dauntless training. As a member of Dauntless, you must be trained in the art of combat and resistance. Today's training deals with a form of combat: knife throwing. If you can learn to throw a knife accurately, then shooting a gun will be a much easier task for you. That's my opinion at least, which is why I always like to start here." Eric takes a knife and in one fluid motion throws it at a free target, the blade spins in the air and a moment later cuts into the center of the wooden "head" with a thud.

"That's how it's done. Grab a few knives, get into your fixed positions, and try and not get yourselves killed. Let's go!"

We all scurry to the vast table and I grab a handful of clean, silver knives. I hold them by their black handles and take a spot towards the middle of the long row of spots across from the targets. Abby and Cordelia stand to my right, Vera to my left, and next to her stands Zak and his Erudite friend. We looks towards Zak who has already begun throwing his knives with his uninjured arm, each knife landing towards the center of his target.

Vera sends me a comforting look that tells me she's not going anywhere and we begin training as well.

It doesn't take long before we're all on a roll. Vera, who has had previous Dauntless training is quite good; hitting close to the center of her target on numerous occasions. After a few tries, I'm able to hit the abdomen of my target. I'm not the best, but I'm definitely not the worst. Abby and Cordelia are having a hard time landing any of their knives on their target. They're not using enough strength, causing their knives to not even reach the target, or their knives will hit the target but never stick.

"Eric! Excuse me, Eric! Could I get some help please?" Abby says with a flirtatious tone that I pick up on automatically.

Eric stands near the knife table and to his immediate right is Max who must have stopped by in the last few minutes while I was absorbed in my training. Both are eyeing the initiates as they train and look up towards the voice that called Eric's name. I meet eyes with Eric for a brief second before I turn my attention back to my task and garner all of my strength into my throws as they begin to land on the target.

Abdomen.

Footsteps approach. "What seems to be the problem initiate?"

"I'm trying my hardest but the knives keep bouncing off the target."

Heart.

"Well…your stance is all wrong. Like this." Eric moves his body behind Abby, rearranging her legs and upper body.

Neck.

"Now, grip the knife with your dominant hand, making sure you angle it correctly," he says as he stands closely behind Abby, holding her wrist in his hand. "Shift your weight from your dominant to your non-dominant leg to create forward momentum, then release the knife, and follow through."

I watch in my peripheral vision as Abby's knife is released and a moment later, lands on her target's knee.

Just as she cheers and turns around to thank Eric, I release my last knife with more force than any of my previous throws.

There's a loud 'thud' causing a couple of people near me to stop and stare at my target.

Head.

Dead center; a perfect, clean stick that shocks even me.

"Whoa," I hear Cordelia say.

Eric stares at my target before turning back around and ignoring Abby's thanks as he silently walks back over to his spot next to Max.

I smile proudly at my work when suddenly I hear a blood-curdling scream that gives me goosebumps. I look over and see Vera on the ground clutching her leg in pain. A knife sticks out of her left thigh, close to her hip. I drop to my knees and try and not panic. I lift my head and my eyes meet with Zak who doesn't look phased at all, in fact he looks...satisfied. My blood boils and I have to use all of my self-control not to grab the knife in Vera's thigh in order to drag it across Zak's throat.

I focus on Vera, whose lower lip is quivering as tears run down her face. A sob escapes her lips with every slight movement of her body.

"It's okay Vera. You're going to be fine, just relax."

Max suddenly appears next to me and lifts Vera up in his arms with ease. I follow behind him before a hand clamps onto my shoulder and turns me around.

"Where do you think you're going?" says Eric with a curious look on his face.

"What do you mean?! My friend was just stabbed! I have to make sure she's alright!"

Eric studies my face for a few moments before shaking his head.

"She'll be fine. Initiates fumble with their knives all the time and have done much worse to themselves. Get back in formation and finish your training."

"Are you serious?! That wasn't her fault! Zak STABBED her! He's trying to get back at me for what happened on the train this morning!" I say low enough so that only Eric will hear.

"Did you see it happen?"

I hesitate.

"Well...no, but I knowhe did it!"

"Amity. You have no proof. You didn't even see it happen. You're blaming an initiate that everyone now knows you don't like based off of what happened this morning. Face it; you don't have a strong case. When training is over, you can head to the medic and find out what happened from Vera herself," Eric says, turning around and walking away.

Defeated, I head back to my spot, inching closer to Abby in order to gain enough distance between Zak and I as possible.

As my adrenaline runs dry, paranoia begins to sink in. Every sudden movement that Zak makes keeps me on edge. When Eric finally calls for the end of training, I suddenly feel tired and sleepy; the effect of the day's events finally crashing down on me.

Desperate to see how Vera is doing, I follow the group of initiates towards the entrance when suddenly I hear Eric call me by my new annoying nickname.

"Amity! Before you leave, clean up the knives that your fellow initiates used."

This must be his payback for earlier.

"I want all the knives placed back on this table exactly the way they looked when you came in. Daniel here has volunteered to help you as well, so it shouldn't take you too long," Eric says with an amused smirk as he salutes towards me with two fingers and walks out the doors of the training room.

Daniel? Who's Daniel?

"Hi, I'm Daniel."

I know that voice.

I quickly turn around and stand face-to-face with Zak's Erudite friend who gives me a kind smile.

I look around the training room that is now virtually empty.

When the hell did that happen?

"Emilia, right? Nice to meet you," he says putting his hand out for a handshake.

I slowly approach him, quickly eyeing every inch of him for any hidden weapons. My hand wearily reaches out and we shake hands.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you too. Where's your friend?" I get right to the point. I know what Zak is capable of, and I won't take any chances with his friend

There's a moment of hesitation in his response before he smiles and chuckles.

"You don't have to worry about Zak. Zak is-"

"Right here."

My heart stops. Daniel and I both look towards the entrance of the training room and watch as Zak calmly carries himself over to us.

I inch myself closer to the table and slowly grab a knife, sliding it into one of the side pockets in my pants before either one notices. As Zak reaches the both of us he looks over at Daniel proudly and then to me, with malice. He slowly sweeps his eyes over my body in silence.

"Daniel. You can leave now."

Daniel and I look at one another; shock on his face, desperation in mine.

"Zak...we still need to clean the knives."

"Fuck the knives Daniel! Just come back later."

Daniel shuffles on his feet for a few seconds, not sure what to do.

"Daniel," I say calmly. "You don't need to listen to him Daniel. You don't need to go anywhere."

He looks at me with a blank face as if he's thinking of something and suddenly he looks defeated.

"I'm so sorry Emilia. I hope one day you can forgive me." My heart drops to my stomach. All of my feelings of hope leave me as Daniel walks out through the training room door without a second glance back.

I look back up to Zak, all of my senses on hyper mode. I feel like a caged animal and I prepare myself for a fight. I whip out the knife in my pocket and crouch down low.

"Oh wow! Look at how cute you look," he says as he pulls a gun out from his own pocket. I freeze and slowly stand straight.

"I found this on one of the Dauntless guards but he didn't need it anymore, so I took it." An evil smile is plastered on his face as he aims the gun at my heart.

"Drop it."

I feel like I'm going to throw up. I drop the knife and it clinks a couple of times as it bounces off the stone floor at funny angles until finally resting on its side.

"Good girl."

I desperately dart my eyes over to the doors.

"No one's coming sweetheart. Everyone's at dinner enjoying those famous Dauntless burgers, so it's just you and me."

I take deep, even breaths in order to slow down my heartbeat or I won't be able to think straight. I've never seen a gun this close before but I know that no matter how fast my reflexes are, Zak's gun will be much faster.

Zak reaches into the pocket of his pants and pulls out a small container filled with white pills.

"Here," he says as he tosses me the bottle. "Take one."

I look down at the medicine bottle. The tiny circular pills look similar to the pain relievers I would take back in the Amity compound whenever I had headaches. I doubt these are pain relievers though. Zak, being a former Erudite, probably knows how to create his own drugs that will do all sorts of damage to whoever takes them.

"Will these kill me?" I ask him. I'm surprised that my voice sounds fairly confident; unfortunately that's not how I feel.

"I'm not here to kill you Emilia. I have other plans for you. Now stop wasting time, and take a pill!" He points the gun to my head in an attempt to make me move faster. I end up becoming more nervous and fumbling with the bottle of pills. My hands are shaking and right as I open the bottle my slippery fingers cause it to tip over, spilling all of it's contents on the ground in front of our feet.

I look up at Zak, shocked and afraid.

"You stupid bitch! Do you know how to do anything?" He grabs my arm roughly and pulls me down to the floor. I'm on my knees among a sea of white pills, when suddenly Zak scoops up a pill and shoves it into my mouth. I try to scream and in my fit of rage and fear, I accidentally swallow the drug. I freeze; dread slowly fills my system as I realize what just happened. Zak watches me closely with one hand over my mouth and the other on the back of my head so that I won't move and won't be able to spit up the drug.

Wait.

He's using both hands now, which means the gun must be in his pocket. I quickly move my arms around his body and try and reach for his gun and as I'm about to wrap my hand around the weapon, my arms suddenly feel like iron and unexpectedly drop to my sides. Zak releases me and steps back.

"Wardid you do ta me?" I hear a voice say, as I fall over to my side.

Was that me?

"Why...whadid...washapenninnnn?"

I suddenly feel tired and groggy.

"Right on cue. God I'm such a genius."

Zak's voice sounds muffled and far away as if there's a plastic bag over my head. Whatever that drug was, it was taking an effect on me fast.

I feel Zak push me onto my back and straddle my waist. I struggle to push him off, but my fight is futile. Even at my strongest, Zak has more strength than me, and in my current state I could hardly hurt an ant, let alone an angry 6-foot male. I hear the muffled sound of my belt being undone, and suddenly cold air hits the top of my thighs. My mind tries to process what's going on around me. I hear a second belt unbuckling. That sound alone means nothing but the worst, and there's nothing I can do. My brain begins to shut down and I welcome it.

Maybe Eric was right. Maybe everyone was right. I should have just stayed in Amity. This is no place for me; I'm not ready for it. I'm not prepared.

I'll accept my fate and leave this damned place. I'll be factionless; drive a bus for all I care. Anything else is better than a home where you don't feel safe.

Everything slowly begins to fade to black.
In the distance I hear scuffling and then deep voices yelling. Could I be imagining them?

Suddenly Zak's body is forcefully pulled off of mine.

What's going on?

I blink and try to focus on what's going on around me. Every blink makes everything fuzzier as my body slowly shuts down

My legs are suddenly warm and I no longer feel the cold stone ground on my back. I feel a pair of strong arms lift me up and my head falls against their chest. With the final ounce of strength I have left in me, I look up to see my savior and the last thing I see are steel gray eyes before everything turns black.

I hope you enjoyed chapter 4! Please READ AND REVIEW and let me know what you think and if you like where this is going. Next chapter you can expect more E&E action ;)