Hey here is another chapter… If you like Harry Potter check out this third gen story by Monterpanda "Last little sacrifice" check her profile out. I own nothing so no money is being made.

Tris and I sit in the hallway just to get away from the dorm, we sit here and worry about Edward and about being Divergent. The smell of blood still fills the dorm, it lingers even though we scrubbed it away until our hands were sore and bleach soaked the floor this morning.

"The last stage will be more difficult, do you think they really know about us already?" Tris asked me. "It'll be the hardest and I don't know, they could but I don't think we've done anything too differently than the others."

She was about to respond when we heard people approaching, their footsteps echoing on the stone floor, the sound means people are coming. "We can talk about it more, but later." I whisper to her, she gives me a nod.

"Tris, Ava,"

Uriah stops in front of us. He waves along the Dauntless-born initiates he walks with. They exchange looks but keep moving.

"You girls okay?" he asks.

"Difficult night." Tris says. "We couldn't sleep."

"So since its' day time and we are still up from last night, we are just staying away from the dorm," I say looking up from my position on the floor.

"Yeah, I heard about that guy Edward." Uriah looks down the hallway. The Dauntless-born initiates disappear around a corner. Then he grins a little. "Want to get out of here?"

"What?" I ask. "Where are you going?"

"To a little initiation ritual," he says. "Come on. We have to hurry."

I briefly consider my options, I can sit here or I can leave the Dauntless compound. I push myself to my feet and jog next to Uriah to catch up to the Dauntless-born initiates. Tris is right behind me the same look in her eyes as me and Uriah.

"The only initiates they usually let come are ones with older siblings in Dauntless," he says. "But they might not even notice. Just act like you belong."

"What exactly are we doing?" Tris asked him.

"Something dangerous," he says. A look I can only describe as Dauntless mania enters his eyes. Excitement replaces the leaden feeling inside me. We slow when we reach the Dauntless-born initiates.

"What's the Stiff and Softie doing here?" asks a boy with a metal ring between his nostrils. "Excuse me," I grab him pinning him before he can blink, my forearm in his throat with enough force to crush his windpipe. "Don't refer to her as a Stiff, I could care less what you call me,"

"I like you," he smiled as I backed off.

"They just saw that guy get stabbed in the eye, Gabe," says Uriah. "Give them a break, okay?"

Gabe shrugs and turns away "Only because the Softie," he winked. No one else says anything although a few of them give us sidelong glances like they're sizing us up. The Dauntless-born initiates are like a pack of dogs. If we act the wrong way they won't let us run with them. But for now, we are safe.

We turn another corner, and a group of members stands at the end of the next hallway. There are too many of them to all be related to a Dauntless-born initiate, but I see some similarities among the faces.

"You sure Tris?"

"Yeah we can do this," her smile was contagious, I smiled in return. She was so much prettier than she believed.

"Let's go," one of the members says. He turns and plunges through a dark doorway. The other members follow him and we follow them. We stay close behind Uriah as we pass into darkness. Tris' toe must have hit a step; she catches herself before falling forward, she grabbed my arm for balance then started to climb.

"Back staircase," Uriah says, almost mumbling. "Usually locked."

I nod then I remember he can't see me, we climb until all the steps are gone. By then a door at the top of the staircase is open letting in daylight. We emerge from the ground a few hundred yards from the glass building above the Pit, close to the train tracks.

I feel like I have done this a thousand times before. I hear the train horn, I feel the vibrations in the ground, I see the light attached to the head car, and I crack my knuckles and bounce once on my toes.

We jog in a single pack next to the car, and in waves, members and initiates alike pile into the car.

Uriah gets in before Tris and people press behind me. She can't make any mistakes; she throws herself sideways, grabbing the handle on the side of the car, and hoists herself into the car. Uriah grabs her arm to steady her. I run grabbing the handle the muscle in my arm flexing as I swing myself up my feet landing inside, I see Tris, her hands braced on her knees catching her breath.

The train picks up its speed. Uriah, Tris, and I sit against one of the walls.

I shout over the wind, "Where are we going?"

Uriah shrugs. "Zeke never told me."

"Zeke?"

"My older brother," he says. He points across the room at a boy sitting in the doorway with his legs dangling out of the car. He is slight and short and looks nothing like Uriah apart from his coloring.

"You don't get to know. That ruins the surprise!" the girl on my left shouts. She extends her hand.

"I'm Shauna."

"Ava, this is Tris," I called out.

"I know who you both are, Four speaks of you both," she smirks I could feel heat coming from Tris "Oh? What did he say?" she spoke up.

She smirks at Tris. "He said you were a Stiff. Why do you ask?"

"If my instructor is talking about me," I hear her say, as firmly as she can, "I want to know what he's saying." She can't tell a convincing lie. "He isn't coming, is he?"

"No. He never comes to this," she says. "It's probably lost its appeal. Not much scares him, you know."

"Do you know him well?" she ask. I am too curious; I always have been but I leave the questions to Tris, who looks ready to punch Shauna in the face.

"Everyone knows Four," she says. "We were initiates together. I was bad at fighting so he taught me every night after everyone was asleep." She scratches the back of her neck, her expression suddenly serious. "Nice of him."

She gets up and stands behind the members sitting in the doorway. In a second, her serious expression is gone.

"Here we go!" shouts Shauna. The train doesn't slow down, but she throws herself out of the car. I was up I was insanely glad I could land on my feet now, my back was healed but it still would hurt it I failed and landed wrong.

I look around as I walk. The Hub is behind us, black against the clouds, but the buildings around me are dark and silent. That means we must be north of the bridge where the city is abandoned.

We turn a corner and spread out as we walk down Michigan Avenue. South of the bridge, Michigan Avenue is a busy street, crawling with people, but here it is bare.

As soon as I lift my eyes to scan the buildings, I know where we're going: the empty Hancock building, a black pillar with crisscrossed girders, the tallest building north of the bridge.

But what are we going to do? Climb it?

As we get closer, the members start to run, Uriah, Tris, and I sprint to catch up with them. Jostling one another with their elbows, they push through a set of doors at the building's base. The glass in one of them is broken, so it is just a frame. I step through it instead of opening it and follow the members through an eerie, dark entryway, crunching broken glass beneath my feet.

I expect us to go up the stairs, but we stop at the elevator bank.

"Do the elevators work?" I ask Uriah as quietly as I can.

"Sure they do," says Zeke, rolling his eyes. "You think I'm stupid enough not to come here early and turn on the emergency generator?"

"Yeah," says Uriah. "I kinda do."

Zeke glares at his brother, then puts him in a headlock and rubs his knuckles into Uriah's skull.

Zeke may be smaller than Uriah, but he must be stronger. Or at least faster. Uriah smacks him in the side and he lets go. I grin at the sight of Uriah's disheveled hair, and the elevator doors open. We pile in, members in one and initiates in the other.

"Come in this one Ava," Gabe smiled but Uriah pulled me into the other elevator "No chance Gabe," he smiled, I laughed.

"What floor?" the girl with the shaved head says.

"One hundred," Tris says.

"How would you know that?"

"Lynn, come on," says Uriah. "Be nice."

"We're in a one-hundred-story abandoned building with some Dauntless," Tris retorted with a smirk. "Why, don't you know that?"

She doesn't respond. She just jams her thumb into the right button.

The elevator zooms upward so fast my stomach sinks and my ears pop. I grab a railing at the side of the elevator watching the numbers climb. We pass twenty, and thirty, and Uriah's hair is finally smooth. Fifty, sixty, and my toes are done throbbing. Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, and the elevator comes to a stop at one hundred. I'm glad we didn't take the stairs.

"I wonder how we'll get to the roof from…" Uriah's voice trails off.

A strong wind hits me, pushing my hair across my face. There is a gaping hole in the ceiling of the hundredth floor. Zeke props an aluminum ladder against its edge and starts to climb. The ladder creaks and sways beneath his feet but he keeps climbing, whistling as he does. When he reaches the roof, he turns around and holds the top of the ladder for the next person.

Part of me wonders if this is a suicide mission disguised as a game.

It isn't the first time I've wondered that since the Choosing Ceremony.

I climb the ladder after Uriah. It reminds me of climbing the rungs on the Ferris wheel with Tris close at my heels.

Biting my lip, I make it to the top and stand on the roof of the Hancock building.

The wind is so powerful I hear and feel nothing else. I have to lean against Uriah to keep from falling over. At first, all I see is the marsh, wide and brown and everywhere, touching the horizon, devoid of life. In the other direction is the city, and in many ways it is the same, lifeless and with limits I do not know.

Uriah points to something. Attached to one of the poles on top of the tower is a steel cable as thick my wrist. On the ground is a pile of black slings made of tough fabric, large enough to hold a human being. Zeke grabs one and attaches it to a pulley that hangs from the steel cable.

"You ready Ava?" Tris' hand was firmly in mine, her hair blonde hair blowing.

I follow the cable down, over the cluster of buildings and along Lake Shore Drive. I don't know where it ends. One thing is clear, though: If I go through with this, I'll find out.

We're going to slide down a steel cable in a black sling from one thousand feet up.

"Oh my God," says Uriah.

All I can do is nod.

Shauna is the first person to get in the sling. She wriggles forward on her stomach until most of her body is supported by black fabric. Then Zeke pulls a strap across her shoulders, the small of her back, and the top of her thighs. He pulls her, in the sling, to the edge of the building and counts down from five. Shauna gives a thumbs-up as he shoves her forward, into nothingness.

"Don't worry, Gabe is waiting for you down there," Zeke says right next to my ear. He takes my arm and helps me get in, facedown.

The straps tighten around my midsection, and Zeke slides me forward, to the edge of the roof. I stare down the building's steel girders and black windows, all the way to the cracked sidewalk. I am a fool for doing this. And a fool for enjoying the feeling of my heart slamming against my sternum and sweat gathering in the lines of my palms.

"Ready, Softie?" Zeke smirks down at me. "I have to say, I'm impressed that you aren't screaming and crying right now."

"I told you," Uriah says. "She's Dauntless through and through. Now get on with it."

"Careful, brother, or I might not tighten your straps enough," Zeke says. He smacks his knee. "And then, splat!"

"Yeah, yeah," Uriah says. "And then our mother would boil you alive."

Hearing him talk about his mother, about his intact family, makes my chest hurt for a second, like someone pierced it with a needle.

"Only if she found out." Zeke tugs on the pulley attached to the steel cable. It holds, which is fortunate, because if it breaks, my death will be swift and certain. He looks down at me and says,

"Ready, set, g—"

Before he can finish the word "go," he releases the sling and I forget him, I forget Uriah, Tris, and family, and all the things that could malfunction and lead to my death. I hear metal sliding against metal and feel wind so intense it forces tears into my eyes as I hurtle toward the ground.

I feel like I am without substance, without weight. Ahead of me the marsh looks huge, its patches of brown spreading farther than I can see, even up this high. The air is so cold and so fast that it hurts my face. I pick up speed and a shout of exhilaration rises within me, stopped only by the wind that fills my mouth the second my lips part.

Held secure by the straps, I throw my arms out to the side and imagine that I am flying, like the wings on my back have expanded. I plunge toward the street, which is cracked and patchy and follows perfectly the curve of the marsh. I can imagine, up here, how the marsh looked when it was full of water, like liquid steel when it reflected the color of the sky.

My heart beats so hard it hurts, and I can't scream and I can't breathe, but I also feel everything, every vein and every fiber, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in my body as it charged with electricity. I am pure adrenaline.

The ground grows and bulges beneath me, and I can see the tiny people standing on the pavement below. I should scream, like any rational human being would, but when I open my mouth again, I just crow with joy. I yell louder, and the figures on the ground pump their fists and yell back, but they are so far away I can barely hear them.

I look down and the ground smears beneath me, all gray and white and black, glass and pavement and steel. Tendrils of wind, soft as hair, wrap around my fingers and push my arms back. I try to pull my arms to my chest again, but I am not strong enough. The ground grows bigger and bigger.

I don't slow down for another minute at least, I sail parallel to the ground, like a bird. When I slow down, I run my fingers over my hair. The wind teased it into knots. I hang about twenty feet above the ground, but that height seems like nothing now. I reach behind me and work to undo the straps holding me in. My fingers shake, but I still manage to loosen them. A crowd of members stands below. They grasp one another's arms, forming a net of limbs beneath me.

In order to get down, I have to trust them to catch me. I have to accept that these people are mine, and I am theirs. It is a braver act than sliding down the zip line.

I wriggle forward and fall. I hit their arms hard. Wrist bones and forearms press into my back, and then palms wrap around my arms and pull me to my feet. I don't know which hands hold me and which hands don't; I see grins and hear laughter.

"What'd you think?" Shauna says, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Um…" All the members stare at me. They look as windblown as I feel, the frenzy of adrenaline in their eyes and their hair askew. I know why my mother said the Dauntless were a pack of madmen. He didn't—couldn't—understand the kind of camaraderie that forms only after you've all risked your lives together.

"When can I go again?" I say. My smile stretches wide enough to show teeth, and when they laugh I laugh with them. I look toward the Hancock building, which is so far from where I stand that I can't see the people on its roof.

"Look! There she is!" someone says, pointing over my shoulder. I follow the pointed finger toward a small dark shape sliding down the steel wire.

Next its Tris, she is laughing too, next its Uriah A few seconds later I hear a bloodcurdling scream.

"I bet he'll cry."

"Zeke's brother, cry? No way. He would get punched so hard."

"His arms are flailing!" Tris smiles.

"He sounds like a strangled cat," I say. Everyone laughs again. I feel a twinge of guilt for teasing Uriah when he can't hear me, but I would have said the same thing if he were standing here. I hope.

When Uriah finally comes to a stop, I follow the members to meet him. We line up beneath him and thrust our arms into the space between us. We walk back into Dauntless together, Tris and I among Dauntless and Dauntless born initiates. The Pit was full, Gabe was flirting "So Ava, I like a girl that can hold her own,"

"I would assume a Dauntless man would like his women that way, no damsels in distress for you." I laughed along with Lynn, Marlene and Tris.

"Do you think you have better things to do Gabe," his deep menacing voice made me stand up straight and Tris leap to her feet, Lynn even jumped up look worried. Uriah and Gabe "And Uriah, you should be working on your training with Marlene and Lynn,"

"Ava and you Stiff, I couldn't find you for a few hours. I will assume you were training, because you won't like what I do if I find out you left the compound," but when he said it his dark cold eyes are trained on me.

"We should go Ava," Tris took my hand "Bye, Lynn, Uriah and Gabe," we walked away fast I could feel his eyes on me until he couldn't see me anymore. We still smell like wind when we walk into the cafeteria that evening. For the second after I walk in, we stand among a crowd of Dauntless, and I feel like one of them. Then Shauna waves to me and the crowd breaks apart, and I walk toward the table where Christina, Al, and Will sit, gaping at me and Tris.

I didn't think about them when I accepted Uriah's invitation. In a way, it is satisfying to see stunned looks on their faces. But I don't want them to be upset with us either, by the look on Tris face she must feel the same, her emotions can easily be read.

"Where were you?" asks Christina. "What were you doing with them?"

"Uriah…you know, the Dauntless-born who was on our capture the flag team?" I say. "He was leaving with some of the members and he begged them to let us come along. They didn't really want us there."

"They may not have wanted you guys there then," says Will quietly, "but they seem to like you now."

"Yeah," I say. I can't deny it. "I'm glad to be back, though."

Hopefully they can't tell I'm lying, but I suspect they can't. I caught sight of myself in a window on the way into the compound, and my cheeks and eyes were both bright, my hair tangled. I look like I have experienced something powerful.

We dress for stage two today.

As far as I can tell, the second stage of initiation involves sitting in a dark hallway with the other initiates, wondering what's going to happen behind a closed door.

Uriah sits across from me with Marlene on his left and Lynn on his right. The Dauntless-born initiates and the transfers were separated during stage one, but we will be training together from now on. That's what Four told us before he disappeared behind the door.

"So," says Lynn, scuffing the floor with her shoe. "Which one of you is ranked first, huh?"

Her question is met with silence at first, and then Peter clears his throat like he is trying to lay claim to it.

"I am Lynn," I smile "Go figure," she says.

"Why you think you could take me, you should go have words with Gabe," a smile lit her face. "But have fun with Peter, he is second,"

"Who's Peter?"

"Me," he says.

"Bet I could take you." She says it casually, turning the ring in her eyebrow with her fingertips.

"I'm second, but I bet any of us could take you, transfer."

I almost laugh. If I was still Amity her comment would be rude and out of place, but among the Dauntless, challenges like that seem common. I am almost starting to expect them.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, if I were you," Peter says, his eyes glittering. "Who's first?"

"Uriah," she says. "And I am sure. You know how many years we've spent preparing for this?"

"You and me Uriah," I winked "I heard about you from Zeke, a prodigy like Four," he said in awe.

"So you're first," Will says to Uriah.

Uriah shrugs. "Yeah. And?"

"And you don't think it's a little unfair that you've spent your entire life getting ready for this, and we're expected to learn it all in a few weeks?" Will says, his eyes narrowing.

"Not really. Stage one was about skill, sure, but no one can prepare for stage two," he says. "At least, so I'm told."

No one responds to that. We sit in silence for twenty minutes. I count each minute on my watch.

Then the door opens again and Four calls another name.

"Peter," he says.

Each minute wears into me like a scrape of sandpaper. Gradually our numbers begin to dwindle, and soon it's just me, Tris, Uriah, and Drew. Drew's leg bounces, and Uriah's fingers tap against his knee.

The door opens and Four beckons to me. "Come on, Ava,"

Four touches the middle of my back to guide me into the room and closes the door behind me.

When I see what's inside, I recoil immediately, my shoulders hitting his chest.

In the room is a reclining metal chair, similar to the one I sat in during the aptitude test. Beside it is a familiar machine. This room has no mirrors and barely any light. There is a computer screen on a desk in the corner.

"Ava, it's okay. Please sit," his hand gently squeezes my shoulders as he guides me to the chair then helps me into it.

"What's the simulation?" I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Ever hear the phrase 'face your fears'?" he says. "We're taking that literally. The simulation will teach you to control your emotions in the midst of a frightening situation."

I touch a wavering hand to my forehead. Simulations aren't real; they pose no real threat to me, so logically I shouldn't be afraid of them but my reaction is visceral.

The cold from the metal seeps through my clothes.

"Do you ever administer the aptitude tests?" I say. He seems qualified.

"No," he replies.

"Eric thinks I am his, Four,"

"I have been watching, you need to stay clear of him Ava. Not like it matters, he seems to find you. I love you, you are my little sister, mine to protect, and we can talk about Eric later,"

"I love you too," we both smiled real smiles, the first I've seen from him.

His fingers brush my neck. He taps something, and I tilt my head back to see what it is. Four holds a syringe with a long needle in one hand, his thumb against the plunger. The liquid in the syringe is tinted orange.

"An injection?" My mouth goes dry. I don't usually mind needles, but this one is huge.

"We use a more advanced version of the simulation here," he says, "a different serum, no wires or electrodes for you."

"How does it work without wires?"

"Well, I have wires, so I can see what's going on," he says. "But for you, there's a tiny transmitter in the serum that sends data to the computer."

He turns my arm over and eases the tip of the needle into the tender skin on the side of my neck. A deep ache spreads through my throat. I wince and try to focus on his calm face.

"The serum will go into effect in sixty seconds. This simulation is different from the aptitude test," he says. "In addition to containing the transmitter, the serum stimulates the amygdala, which is the part of the brain involved in processing negative emotions—like fear—and then induces a hallucination. The brain's electrical activity is then transmitted to our computer, which then translates your hallucination into a simulated image that I can see and monitor. I will then forward the recording to Dauntless administrators. You stay in the hallucination until you calm down—that is, lower your heart rate and control your breathing."

I try to follow his words, but my thoughts are going haywire. I feel the trademark symptoms of fear: sweaty palms, racing heart, tightness in my chest, dry mouth, a lump in my throat, difficulty breathing. He plants his hands on either side of my head and leans over me.

"Be brave, Ava," he whispers. "The first time is always the hardest."

"I know you like Tris," but my words sound like mush but I still see his face before I go under, his eyes are the last thing I see, I manage a smile when I see the surprise in them.

I woke in a dark room the air is stale but musty all the same, no sound can be heard. A blue light flickers on I see a dark figure moving in the shadows, I try to move but I can't.

I am now sitting in an old wooden chair, my hands tied behind my back. The figure comes closer but nothing is visible to recognize them but I know it's not female. A knife glimmers in the blue light. I look around, taking in my surroundings, I notice we are in a barn, five poles stick from the ground. I heard birds chirping in the distance, the faint sounds of laughter as if I wasn't tied to a chair with some unknown threat facing me.

Then a single sob rang out, my eyes turned up Tris was tied to a pole, then Johanna, Four, and Christina, and then Eric was last. All battered and bruised, all looking at me with accusing eyes.

"Why did you do this Ava?" Christina sobbed then I see Will dead at her feet, she struggles against her ties.

"My child, this wasn't the right path," my mother's kind voice said, I couldn't look at her, I couldn't be this powerless.

"You should have listened," but the figure laughed and Four was dead as I screamed as loud as Tris followed. I struggled against the bonds, this was just a stimulation but I had to repeat it in my head multiple times.

The figure was so close now his breath smelled of cinnamon, my eyes shoot open "I told you, and you didn't listen,"

I was powerless as he killed Four, he was going to kill them all, this wasn't real "This isn't real," I said out loud when the ropes vanished the chair exploded into tiny wooden splinters, the dark sentencing figure vanished.

My friends still crying and my brother dead but it wasn't real, my heart slows and I become calm I open my eyes, and I am sitting in the metal chair.

I moan and pull my knees to my chest, burying my face in them.

A hand touches my shoulder, and I fling a fist out, hitting something solid but soft. "Don't touch me!" I sob.

"It's over," Four says. The hand shifts awkwardly over my hair, and I remember my mother stroking my hair when she kissed me goodnight.

"Ava?" he sighs, "How long do you think you were in the simulation for?" Four asked me, the vision of him dying flashing when I look at him.

"Too long, I know you saw," I looked away with tears falling down my face, I didn't bother wiping them off.

"Two minutes,"

"Two times faster than I have ever seen, and you will do better tomorrow, you're not a failure," his blue eyes calm, he kissed my forehead as I walked out a few tears still visible.

"Come on, Tris,"

"Good Luck," I whispered touching her shoulder "I will come find you after,"

"You better, I think you'll need it," if we are as much alike as Tori think's, she will.

When I walk a while later, most of the other initiates—Dauntless-born and transfer alike—are crowded between the rows of bunk beds with Peter at their center. He holds a piece of paper in both hands.

"The mass exodus of the children of Abnegation leaders cannot be ignored or attributed to coincidence," he reads. "The recent transfer of Beatrice and Caleb Prior, the children of Andrew Prior, calls into question the soundness of Abnegation's values and teachings."

"Why else would the children of such an important man decide that the lifestyle he has set out for them is not an admirable one?" Peter continues. "Molly Atwood, a fellow Dauntless transfer, suggests a disturbed and abusive upbringing might be to blame. "I heard her talking in her sleep once," Molly says. "She was telling her father to stop doing something. I don't know what it was, but it gave her nightmares."

"However, perhaps the answer lies not in a morally bereft man, but in the corrupted ideals of an entire faction. Perhaps the answer is that we have entrusted our city to a group of proselytizing tyrants who do not know how to lead us out of poverty and into prosperity."

"You little," I scream Uriah, Al, Lynn, Marlene, Christina, and Will watch as I storm up, none of us noticed Tris also has walked in "Give it to me!"

"What if I don't?"

"If you value your intestines I would hand that over and learn to shut your mouth you aren't in Candor anymore. You aren't anyone here and you never will be," his face was turning red I wasn't afraid of him but he was afraid of Eric.

"Sure thing," he handed over the paper walking out with Molly "If anyone believes this garbage come see me, Abnegation is selfless, this is all lies."

It looked as if no one was going to say a word when a girl around 18 with teal hair walked up to me, she landed a solid hit to my face I stumbled back "I have a problem with it, selfless my ass,"

"Fiona, you're mad Brock left for Abnegation," Lynn smiled "Well I see we have a taker," I tossed my jacket to Al.

She was fast, but I was good, my hands up blocking my face as she kicked I grabbed her leg swinging her into the bunk. I grabbed her hair smashing her face into the metal frame "Learn to shut up," I kicked her in the left rib hearing it crack before I did it another time.

She was up holding her side everyone was watching she caught my side with a round house, but her next try she missed hitting air. My fist hit her, nose, eye and jaw as she fell to the floor, her long hair was braided so I grabbed it dragging her up.

"Come on, you wanted this fight," she was stumbling.

She wasn't landing any hits, with one kick to her chest she was out her head hitting the floor "Anyone else have anything to say?" I looked around breathing hard.

"It's my turn to get tattooed," Christina says I just stare before saying "Fine let's go,"

"You okay Tris?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was only four minutes," it was a whisper "I was two," we look at each other with worry, my heart is racing. Christina convinces Tris and me to get matching tattoos, the Dauntless symbol. It is a circle with a flame inside it. Three best friends.

I was next when a warm hand touched my shoulder "Come on," was heard I sat getting my Tattoo Christina and Tris watching and now Eric. "So Ava, I was told you ran into a problem with Fiona and you handled it well. I need to talk to you after dinner, I would suggest you don't hide from me," his fingers are biting into my shoulder so hard I want to cry out.

"Of course," I smiled "Good. Bud this tattoo of hers is on my credit,"

"Sure thing sir," Bud smiled as Eric walked away, I let out a breath I didn't know I was even holding, slamming my head on the headrest.

"What are you going to do?" Christina asked as we walked out "I can't hide now," Tris snorted.

So, what was your fear today, Tris?"

"Too many crows," Tris replied. "You?"

He laughs. "Too much acid."

I don't ask what that means.

"It's really fascinating how it all works," he says. "It's basically a struggle between your thalamus, which is producing the fear, and your frontal lobe, which makes decisions. But the simulation is all in your head, so even though you feel like someone is doing it to you, it's just you, doing it to yourself and…" He trails off. "Sorry. I sound like an Erudite. Just a habit."

I shrug. "It's interesting."

"What was yours Ava?" Tris asked.

"Powerless, is basically what it was. I couldn't save my family,"

I see Four standing by the chasm, a group of people around him. He laughs so hard he has to grab the railing for balance. I point him out to Tris. Judging by the bottle in his hand and the brightness of his face he's intoxicated, or on his way there.

"Uh-oh," says Will. "Instructor alert."

"At least it's not Eric, yet" I say.

"Sure, but Four is scary. Remember when he put the gun up to Peter's head? I think Peter wet himself."

"Peter deserved it," Tris said firmly.

Will doesn't argue with her. He might have a few weeks ago but now we've all seen what Peter is capable of.

"Tris! Ava!" Four calls out. Will and Al exchange a look, half surprise and half apprehension. Four pulls away from the railing and walks up to us. Ahead of us, Al and Christina stop running, and Christina slides to the ground. I don't blame them for staring.

"You look different Tris," His words, normally crisp, are now sluggish.

"So do you," I stand next to Tris and Four, the others a little off from us, I just listen to them.

"What are you doing?" Tris asked my brother.

"Flirting with death," he replies with a laugh. "Drinking near the chasm. Probably not a good idea."

"No, it isn't." her face is worried looking him over.

"Didn't know you had a tattoo," he was looking at her collarbone "So does Ava," she brought me to his attention "My little sister has a tattoo," his eyes on me.

"Thanks Tris, yes Four I have two. Angel wings and the Dauntless symbol,"

"I'd ask you to hang out with us, but you're not supposed to see me this way."

I am tempted to ask him why he wants us to hang out with him but I suspect the answer has something to do with the bottle in his hand.

"What way?" I ask. "Drunk?"

"Yeah…well, no." His voice softens. "Real, I guess."

"I'll pretend I didn't." Tris says in a light hearted tone.

"Nice of you." He puts his lips next to Tris ear and says, "You look good, Tris." I shouldn't have stood so close to her, I was grossed out.

"You always look beautiful Ava," he kissed my forehead. "My beautiful little sister!"

"Do us both a favor and stay away from the chasm, okay?" Tris says, she is dead serious.

"Of course." He winks at her. Then Al rushes at me like a rolling boulder and throws me over his shoulder. I shriek letting out a laugh, this was what it was like having friends.

"Come on, little girl," he says, "I'm taking you to dinner."

I rest my elbows on Al's back and wave at Four as he carries me away, Tris was laughing and waving too.

"I thought I would rescue you," Al says as we walk away. "What was that all about?"

He carried my into the dining hall "Al put her down," Christina snapped "Why you want a ride," Al joked "Yeah, yeah I do," she said but her voice was off.

But Al was so strong he picked her up tossing her over his shoulder too "Ten o'clock," my eyes moved Eric was watching looking at us messing around, he was wearing a shirt with no sleeves his muscles showing he turned on his heel his body was like his spine was made of metal, he was gone.

I sat with Tris and Christina, Will and Al sat in front of us, we had a table in the corner. I pushed my food around "I don't get why he wants to talk to me," I said "You better find out, he is waiting. Or he likes watching you push your food around," Christina says, I just groan.

Then a small conversation started.

"Yeah, I think we'd all like to know the answer to that question," says Christina in a singsong voice her eyes on Tris.

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing." Tris shakes her head while answering. "He was drunk. He didn't even know what he was saying. That's why I was grinning. It's…funny to see him that way." Tris was smiling still.

"Right," says Will. "Couldn't possibly be because—"

Tris elbowed Will hard in the ribs before he can finish his sentence. He was close enough to hear what Four said to her about looking good.

I pushed my tray away "Yeah, I can't eat. If I don't show up tell Four, Eric killed me," I say to Tris "Should I go tell Four now?" She questions.

"No, he is drunk. Just if I don't come back to the dorm," I stood. I was brave, I was Dauntless. I have kissed this man twice, why was I scared to talk to him?

"Just come with me," he was in the shadows, I followed him through a maze of stone tunnels leading up, an apartment. A two bedroom apartment, a small kitchen and everything.

I was in his apartment "Sit," a black bed was all there was so I sat "I am getting other things, I am not here often," he looked around.

"Oh, so why did you need to talk to me Eric?"

"Many reasons. I don't want to see you riding on any males back again, it is shameful."

"Eric, Al is my friend nothing more," but he just stares at me "You are mine, you shouldn't be hanging on another guy. I don't want you sneaking out of Dauntless again, I couldn't find you for hours." He was standing at the edge of his bed.

"Do I get a say if we are boyfriend and girlfriend Eric?"

"No, you already said yes when you let me kiss you."

"Well then you must have tons of girlfriend if that's all it takes," I said standing up ready to leave.

"No, that's all it took for you Ava. You want me, don't try and deny it, I want you, and I want you to be mine and only mine. I try for you," I see this when we are alone he does try to be softer, more sweet.

"Fine, but if you hurt me we are done," he gives me a look saying there wasn't a chance we will ever be done, he doesn't answer confirming my theory.

He kissed me with passion my back hitting the bed, my hair a halo around my head as his hands touched my face, my hips moving up further. "No Eric, that's a no go," my eyes telling him back off.

"This is enough…for now," his deep voice was husky and deep with his emotions.

Feeling his lips trailing in leisurely kisses down my jaw moving to my neck making me moan "You like that," he breathes against my neck.

"Yes," it comes out as a purr as he goes back to my neck a little rougher this time my hand roaming under his shirt, he tugs it off it lands on the floor. I look at his chest for the first time, it is covered in tribal tattoos my fingertips tracing over them like feathers. I move my body up placing my lips to his Adams apple tracing my tongue around it before placing a kiss, my lips moved, nipping at his ear, his neck, making him groan as his hands moved cupping my ass bringing me as close to his body as possible.

Our lips molded together again, our tongues battling for dominance, his body covering mine, I could feel his rings hitting the soft flesh of my lips when a loud knock was heard "Go to the bathroom, I don't want anyone to know. They might think I play favorites," I was up walking into his small bathroom sitting on the counter for what seemed like hours, I peed before sitting back on the counter.

Finally the door opened "I am sorry, I didn't know it'd take that long. It was Max and another Dauntless leader, I have to go to Erudite now. I should be back by morning." His arms were around me picking me up.

"I have to go, my friends will think something bad happened if I don't arrive back soon." a cruel look over took his once soft face.

"Go get some sleep," he smiled "I will, be safe." I touched his face placing my palm on the side, we just looked into each other's eyes for what could have been minutes or eternity.

"I will walk you to the Chasm,"

"Okay," I noticed hanging was my necklace the Amity symbol shinning "You kept it?"

"I did," was all he said his hand on the small of my back as he lead me out of the tunnel, I would always know how to get back to his apartment. A few Dauntless are milling around and hurry to move out of his way, I just look like hell so they must assume I was hurt.

I try and fix my hair as we reach the Chasm, my brother is gone, I hope he is safe in bed and not dead, I look over but nothing. "I will see you tomorrow Ava, sleep well," it sounded sweet yet cruel to anyone in ear shot.

"Thank you, be safe." He looked as if he wanted to touch my face but he thought better of it, he turned walking off, I stood looking over the Chasm.

"Good, I was going to look for Four," Tris says as she walks up to me "I am fine, just worried Tris. We are doing the Stimulation too fast, they are going to notice,"

"I was worried about the same thing Ava,"

"We need find Tori and try again," I say as we head to bed where Christina hugs me "You're alive!"

"Yeah, will tell you about Eric another time. I am frazzled right now."

"I understand, but I want details. So as soon as possible," Christina smiled as we got into T-shirts when a Dauntless walked in "Hey Ava," I turned, nice I was in a T-shirt and underwear.

"Yeah,"

"This is for you," he smiled handing me a large wrapped thing "Thanks," he just ran off, I hoped it didn't explode.

"Open it," Christina looked over my shoulder with Tris.

It was a large slice of chocolate cake with a white "E" on it "Cake, what. I didn't see any cake," Christina mumbled.

"Come on we can share," I laughed as Tris, Christina, and I ate my cake "Eric sends you cake," Tris figured it out "Once or twice, but hello he isn't favoring me just look at my back, or what he has done to my face." I said in defense.

"I agree, he definitely likes you but hell it doesn't stop him from punishing you, and you are skilled so no, I don't think he plays favorites. Bet he gets off on it, the punishments," I hit Christina with a pillow as others came in for bed.

"Oh that's gross," Tris said I leaned over to her "Like my brother thinking you look good," she hit me in the face with her pillow.

"I see that's how it is," I jumped up taking aim nailing her Tris stumbled back grabbing her pillow, as Christina ran for hers, it was on. Will and Al jumped in, it lasted until Four staggered in "Lights out," I tossed my pillow on accident meaning to hit Tris one last time but I ended up hitting him dead in the face.

"I am so sorry, I was meaning to hit Tris one last time," I covered my face so he wouldn't see my smile, his eyes red, he held my pillow. "Come get it, Ava,"

I walked over to get the pillow but he wacked me in the face with my own pillow, he smiled as I laughed "Now, its lights out,"

The lights shut off, and it was easy falling to sleep even with me missing Eric.

I almost fell out of bed. Did I really just think that? I miss Eric? Oh sweet apple orchids I am in way too deep. I inwardly groaned and flopped back onto my pillow, my face on it so if I decided to outwardly groan it would be muffled.

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