The last person descends into the net and I look at who's left; ten transfers and ten Dauntless-born initiates. I recognize the other two Erudites as that bitch Elizabeth and her asshole of a boyfriend Jared; I'm fairly sure his attitude is overcompensation for something. Anyway, everyone is assembled, so we begin to follow Six and the guy down a tunnel. I can't help but try to take in all my surroundings. The tunnel looks as though it was naturally occurring, but later changed by human hands. The dim lighting makes me think of the Mines of Moria from one of my favorite fiction stories by an ancient author. I look over to Coraline and we smile to each other; this place is the greatest. Soon, we reach a well-lit fork in the tunnel and Six speaks.
"Alright, this is where we split up," she begins, "Dauntless-born initiates, I doubt you all need a tour, so you'll be following Uriah and Christina."
"Boo!" we hear a male voice shout behind us. Most everyone jumped and even one Candor girl screamed.
That's when I see the two Dauntless that must have been following us for what has to have been the whole trip. I didn't even know they were there and, based on everyone else's reaction, they didn't either. They make their way to the front and a guy (Uriah I assume), still laughing, waves his hand for the Dauntless-born to follow him and the chuckling, young woman (probably Christina) beside him.
"Transfers, get over it and get moving," says Six. But as she begins to walk, I see her and the guy exchange a smile.
We continue to walk down this new tunnel when the guy speaks.
"Most of the time, I'm in the Control Room and she's in the Tattoo Parlor, but for the time being, we're your instructors," he says, "My name's Four and this is Six." It's different, but not the weirdest names I've ever heard; heck, there's an ancient record of an artist who named himself after an unpronounceable symbol. Or maybe this is meant to throw us off, like bait. Take it and they'll make you into an example.
"Like the numbers?" asks Alex. Both Coraline and I look at him; it seems we're following the same train of thought. And I think I catch a quick smirk by Six.
"Yes," Four replies, "Is that a problem?"
"No," Alex says and we continue on our way.
"Good," Four says with narrowed eyes. He relaxes his face then he continues, "We're going into the Pit, which you'll learn some day to love. It—" And again, Alex interrupts him. Someone, help that boy.
"The Pit? Clever name," he laughs. Coraline and I can't help but gape at him and his Candor mouth. And Six definitely smirked this time. Four just narrows his eyes and leans into Alex.
"What's your name?" he asks, his voice just above a whisper, but with enough steel behind it to make all of us initiates shiver. Alex simply goes pale, most likely just realizing his mistake.
"A-Alex"
"Well, Alex, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," he says, "The first lesson you will learn is to keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
Alex nods and Four continues down the tunnel. I think he and Six exchange yet another smile; it's still a little too dim to tell. With the suspense gone, I smirk and turn towards Alex.
"You just had to take the bait," I whisper.
"How was I supposed to know?" he whispers back.
"Maybe remember that these are our new big, scary instructors who can, and likely will, rip you to shreds?" Coraline says and we all share in a silent laugh.
We reach the end of the tunnel and Four and Six push open the double-doors that lead to "the Pit." Now that I can see it, "Pit" really is the most accurate description for the place. It's a gigantic cavern, probably carved out by a river. Boutiques, parlors, and other places have been carved out of the rock walls. I quickly note that every single path and walkway lacks any form of railing or handhold; guess I'll just have to make sure I never slip. People are all around, shouting, drinking, and generally doing things that would never have been accepted in Erudite. I relish in it; the dark color of the clothing, the bright hair, the piercings and tattoos. I've been waiting for a place like this my whole life. Excitement fills the eyes of Coraline and Alex as well and I can tell that as soon as we're free, we're going to have to explore this whole place.
"If you follow us," says Six, "We'll show you the Chasm." No comments this time on the name. But now that I've seen other Dauntless, I look at our instructors who seem fairly plain by comparison. Four looks the most reserved of the two, with a tattoo peeking out of the top of his shirt. Six, on the other hand, has some clearly visible…ravens? Crows? She also has a tattoo of both the Dauntless and Abnegation symbols; she's probably a transfer, then. She also seems to have gotten her ears pierced; one in each lobe. Not much compared to Eric or even many of the Dauntless around us.
We continue walking on the right side of the Pit and suddenly I hear the sound of some fast-moving water; I guess I was right about the origins of the Pit. It's also here that I see what must be the only railing in all of Dauntless dividing us from the river.
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" Six shouts over the water, "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You have been warned." As she says that last part, it's almost as if some of the light leaves her eyes. I can't help but wonder what, or who, she's thinking of.
From the Chasm, we continue to a well lit room; a dining hall full of tables, chairs, the clatter of silverware, and a buffet of delicious smelling food. Once inside, the room erupts in applause. People shout, stomp, bang their plates and cups, and I think I even hear someone fire off a shot or two. I've never heard so much noise and again, I'm filled with joy.
"Come on, let's get some food!" Coraline shouts as she drags Alex and me over to the beginning of the buffet.
Plates in hand, we search for an area to sit. Finally, we come across a table with a few empty spots. It has Four, Six, Uriah, Christina, and a bunch of people I don't recognize.
"Think we should?" asks Alex with a playful smile
"Well, we are Dauntless," says Coraline, "I think sitting there would be an ordinary act of bravery, don't you?"
"Then, let's sit," I say and we all make a beeline to the table and sit right across from our instructors. I can't help but notice their body language; it indicates that they're very close, to say the least.
"Welcome, initiates," says Uriah, "To save time, let's have the whole table introduce themselves. I'll start. I'm Uriah, pansycakes."
"For the love of God, Uriah, give up. No one's going to say that! And I'm Marlene."
"I have to agree with her. And it's Lynn."
"Of all things, pansycakes? And you call yourself an instructor. In case you didn't remember, it's Christina."
"Come on, Christina, we all know Uriah isn't the brightest bulb in the box. I'm Will."
"Uriah, you can't speak to initiates that way. How will they ever cope with such a horrible, insulting slang? Zeke, by the way."
"Oh, and who was the one who tried to bring 'lily liver' back? Shauna's the name."
"Pansycake will come back," Uriah insists with a smile, "And I assume those two have stayed quiet because you've all already met."
"And because we enjoy watching the show," Six says with a smile. The table dissolves into laughter and general conversation as we all eat.
"Think you got enough meat there?" Alex asks Coraline with a smirk. Her plate is stacked with a burger, hotdog, mac n cheese with bacon…basically, anything the kitchens had with meat in it.
"Hey, I've never gotten to eat meat in my life," she says with a mouth full of it, "I'm making up for lost time."
"And I thought all Hippies were bleeding hearts," laughs Zeke.
"They might be, but I'm definitely not a Hippie," she says, "I'm Dauntless."
"Reminds me of my first time having a burger," says Six with a smirk.
"So you were a transfer," I smile. Still can't fight that rush of being proven right; old habits die hard, I guess.
She eyes me for a second, back in instructor mode. She's probably checking for any hidden meaning behind it, "Good observation. I take it the tattoo gave it away."
"Yes, it did," I tell her. She simply nods then gets back to her food. At this point, most everyone has moved onto the cake which is like baked heaven. Fluffy, moist, chocolate-y, and with the perfect amount of icing. I've never had anything like it.
"Hey, Four," says Elizabeth with a look in her eyes that I clearly recognize. It seems she's found a new target for her to cheat on her boyfriend with. Seriously, this idiot.
"I really look forward to working with you," she says, leaning in so her chest is as close to his face as she can put it without smothering him, "I hope we get some private time together, too." At this point, Six looks about ready to strangle her.
"Not going to happen," Four says, visibly agitated.
"Are you sure?" she pouts. God, doesn't she know she looks like a duck when she does that? "Maybe after any lessons. I could even stop by your place…"
I'm officially fed up with her presence, "Leave, imbecile, you're an eyesore."
"I don't take orders from you!" she throws back.
"But you do take orders from me," says Six in an ice-cold voice, "And I agree that you should leave."
The idiot scoffs and runs away, tail between her legs.
"Better run, brain-dead!" Coraline calls after her.
"Could probably do better on the comeback, but I think she got the message," laughs Alex.
"I want her dead," Six and I say at the same time.
"I'm not supposed to say this," she says with a laugh, "But I really like you three." The whole table erupts in laughter all over again; even Four joins in. Training with those two shouldn't be as terrible as I thought it was going to be. Everyone relaxes much more and we all break back into conversation. Suddenly, I notice Eric walk over. Even his walk makes him stand out; confident to the point of arrogance. But I can't help but want to smile as he comes closer.
"If it isn't the stripping smartass," he says, for the most part killing my mood, "I see you've made a few friends."
"I guess so," I reply, "And last I checked, my name was Audrey."
"I'll call you what I want," he says, coming extremely close. I can't help but notice his grey eyes; there's a bit of ice to them, but they're just so magnetic at the same time. I must be a masochist. "And watch it, Nerd. Anyway, that's not what I'm here about. Four, Max was looking for you."
"It's been three years and every year, my opinion is the same," Four says with his jaw set. There's obviously something between them.
"Tell that to Max, then," Eric says, "Oh, and don't let your affection for the initiates cloud your judgment. Especially after what happened last year."
"It won't," says Four, tightening. Six simply glares; was Eric referring to her?
"Good," he says with a smile, "Then I guess we won't have any problems this time."
As soon as he leaves the table, Alex asks the question we all want to know the answer to.
"What was that all about?"
"He was in my initiate class," says Four, "He's deluded himself into thinking we're rivals. Erudite transfer."
"So you and Six are both transfers," I say, "Fitting. I assume he was referencing you and Six with that instructor comment."
"Much as we like you, don't look too deep," says Four, "We're still your instructors. Never forget that. And remember you're Dauntless now. Nerds are the only ones obsessed with answers."
I blush; how could I forget? So long as I'm an initiate, I can only be friendly with Four and Six, but not friends. I look down and mumble "Sorry" and continue eating. But then, Six looks at me and smiles.
"Hey," she says, "Don't take it too hard. He just likes to keep up his mysterious aura."
I smile back to her, glad that for once I might be wrong. Maybe we can be friends, even as instructor and initiate.