Hey. Sorry it's been a while, I've been on vacation with no computer. This should hold you guys over for a while.
Chapter 11
All through the night, Carter thought about ways to get into Erudite. She'd would've like to think that her uncomfortable cot was the reason she was awake, having these thoughts, but that was a lie. Her mind was racing with questions.
Could she trust her dad?
What if she can't get his memories back?
What if he doesn't want his memories back?
It was crazy to her, the possibility that her dad was untrustworthy. Before, he'd been one of the most trustworthy men in the entire compound. Now, who knew? It was impossible to tell which side of this new Tobias was winning, the part the Agency wanted him to be or the part his family wanted him to be. Who even knew if there were two parts of him? He could be all for the Agency, only putting on an act for the sake of his mission.
Carter wanted to trust him so badly. She just wanted her dad back.
All too soon, seven o' clock rolled around, signaling the time for Carter's daily run. She had an hour before training started, so she couldn't go as long as she usually did. Carter laced up her sneakers and quietly exited the Dauntless Born's dormitory. The training room had a big track, so instead of running outside the compound like she did when she had more time, she took a few laps there. That way she'd be ready by the time training actually started.
She had just begun stretching when she heard the door swing open. Carter looked up and saw Lara enter. The trainers weren't required to get here early, so Carter was puzzled as to why Lara was here so early. Perhaps, like Carter, she was simply here for an early morning workout. She simply nodded at Carter and began stretching herself.
As she made her way to the track, Carter felt the familiar feeling of adrenaline. Running always got her excited. Grayson called her crazy, she called it passion. She jumped around a little, loosening up her body as it prepared itself.
Go light this morning, Carter thought to herself. Only three miles today. Don't want to be completely exhausted for training.
She took off at a quick pace, about a seven minute mile. When she was really pushing it, Carter could run a mile in about five and a half minutes. Her goal was to get under five. It was a feasible goal that she'd accomplish within a year or so, as long as she kept pushing herself.
Once she finished, she walked over to the fountain to rehydrate. She was a bit tired, but not winded. While her body felt a little fatigue, her mind felt clear. Running helped vacate her thoughts and kept her focused on one thing; moving forward.
While doing her post run stretch, Lara came up and sat with her, also doing a post workout stretch. They sat in silence for a minute before Lara spoke.
"That's impressive Carter," She said evenly. "You don't even look winded."
Carter shrugged. "I run a lot. It's not a big deal."
Lara chuckled. "It is when you're against an opponent. If you're about the same size and strength, you'll win simply because you have the endurance. Even against the bigger, slower ones."
Carter already knew this. Her mother had told her many times that her running would eventually be an advantage to her. That wasn't why she ran through. The advantage was a nice bonus, but it was the clarity she was after.
"Yeah, I've been told that a few times." Carter said nonchalantly.
"You've got a good shot at ranking number one during the physical portion of initiation. Rounds two and three are mysteries. None of you know what's ahead and it's impossible to even guess anyways. However, given your parents status, I'd say you have a better chance than most." Lara said honestly.
The fact that Lara brought up Carter's parents was intriguing, considering they were in initiation about twenty years prior to Lara. However, Carter did not bring that up, she simply nodded and murmured a nearly unintelligible response.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Lara was staring intently at Carter. Carter was staring intently at her shoes.
A thought popped into Carter's mind. What if Lara was one of the insiders that her father had told her about? Her piercing gray eyes shot up to meet Lara's sparkling blue ones. Carter searched her eyes for any sign, but they gave nothing away. They were still connected when the training room doors opened. Lara then winked at Carter and got up, walking to whoever had just come in.
It was Rex, the transfer's trainer. Carter could hear them talking about the agenda for today; the first round of fights. Of the three, the first round was usually the worst, at least for the transfers. Since the Dauntless Born had been training for this their entire lives, they did not fight the transfers. So the transfers, still clumsy and unsure, needed the first day to find their footing and figure out which techniques they were going to utilize.
After their quick conversation, Rex and Lara went to their separate arenas and began writing the matchups on the chalkboards. Despite all of the ridiculous technology the compound had, these chalkboards still remained. The trainers said that they just felt right. It brought kind of a cryptic tone to training, made the initiates a little uneasy almost. Carter didn't get it.
As more kids started to pile in the training room, Carter made her way over to where they were standing. Grayson had yet to make an appearance, but Carter knew he'd arrive on time. He did have a few minutes until training actually started.
Lara was still standing in front of the chalkboard, so Carter couldn't see who she was fighting yet. The more Carter thought about it, the more she believed that Lara was one of the Agency's insiders. It made sense. Even though she was young, only a year out of initiation, she was a trainer. Carter's trainer. It was the perfect way for the Agency to keep an eye on her if her father didn't follow through.
She'd ask her father about it later, if she went home. Carter decided that she was definitely going home tonight. She missed Aiden and TJ.
While she was lost in thought, Grayson managed to sneak up behind her.
"Hey," he whispered in her ear.
She jumped a little. Carter turned to Grayson, smiled at him, and then smacked him on the arm.
"What was that for?" He exclaimed.
"You know what," Carter retorted, giving Grayson a cheeky grin. She felt a little bit of relief, knowing she didn't have to shove down her feelings for him anymore. They were still going to keep their relationship a secret, but at least now they weren't keeping anything from each other.
"Listen up initiates!" Rex barked at all of them. "Today is the first round of fights! Due to obvious reasons, transfers will fight transfers, Dauntless Borns will fight Dauntless Borns. We don't need any dead initiates on the first day. Tomorrow will be gun and knife training. The day after that, second round of fighting. The day after that, the third and final round of fighting."
Rex stepped back and Lara stepped forward. "After the first round, two initiates will be cut. The lowest ranked from both the Dauntless Born and the transfers will be exiled from Dauntless. Use that as a reason to work harder."
Since they had just heard almost the exact speech yesterday, no one was surprised. The trainers were required to touch up on the fact that not everyone would be staying. Even though it wasn't a surprise anymore, it did manage to put most of the initiates on edge.
They split us into our groups before continuing. Lara moved her chalkboard over to our arena and announced the first fight.
"Roger vs. Camille."
Camille was one of Carter's friends. They hung out outside of school a few times and often helped each other practice, whether it be shooting, knife throwing, or fighting. Carter knew that Camille couldn't be underestimated. While Carter could beat her, most others were unaware of her strength and speed. Camille tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail and set her cold blue gaze on Roger.
Roger would be a tough opponent for anyone. He was about six foot and weighed around 200 pounds. You wouldn't' know it though, due to how fast he can move. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and stepped into the ring. Roger was a smart guy, he wouldn't think Camille was an easy target.
The fight went slowly at first. The two were sizing each other up, trying to find any sign of weakness while trying not to expose their own. Roger struck first, trying to place a heavy blow to Camille's chest to knock the wind out of her. She blocked it, trying to get a punch of her own in.
Roger ducked, narrowly dodging Camille's incoming fist.
As the two back away from each other to reassess, Carter scanned the remaining crowd.
Several of her fellow initiates were watching lazily, not all that interested in what was going on in the ring.
Grayson paid no attention to the fight and was simply staring at Carter. She smirked at the blush that crept on his face when she caught him.
The others were watching simply to gain Intel if they happened to fight either Camille or Roger later down the road.
However, Carter saw that a boy named Hayden focused on something else. He looked deeply intrigued, maybe even a little concerned. Carter followed his gaze, which led to the other ring where the transfers were fighting.
Carter first looked at Rex. He had a hungry gleam in his eyes, like he saw something he liked and wanted to see more of it. Carter's attention shifted to the arena. Inside, none other than Paxton was fighting. If you could call it fighting. He had his opponent pinned on the ground and was landing blow after blow on the persons face. From where she was, Carter couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl, all she knew is that Paxton was killing whoever it was, and Rex was letting him.
Forgetting about the fight in front of her, she raced over to the transfer's arena. All eyes were on her as she leaped into the ring and pulled Paxton off of the nearly dead transfer. Paxton whirled around, ready to throw a punch at Carter before he even knew who she was, but Carter was too quick. She bashed his nose with her fist and pushed him to the ground. He stared up at her in shock, just like everyone else in the room. Even Rex, loud mouthed Rex, was stumbling over his words, not able to get anything out.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Carter demanded. Paxton glanced from her to the bloody body next to him. Carter realized it was a boy, not much taller than Carter and a hell of a lot shorter than Paxton.
"I-I-uh," Paxton stammered.
"You could've killed him!" Carter exclaimed. "He was out! You didn't need to keep going!"
Finally Rex reacted. He grabbed Carter by the arm and yanked her towards him. "What do you think you're doing initiate?" He yelled in her face.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Carter retorted. "I'm keeping Paxton from killing this kid!"
"It's not your place to do so." Rex seethed.
"You're right," Carter spat. "It's yours. And you were just watching him, not doing anything to stop him. You were enjoying it?"
"You little bitch," He growled. "This is Dauntless. They need to prove themselves."
"Maybe you need a little refresher on the rules Rex." She said, not backing down. "The fight continues until someone bows out or is unable to fight. I'm pretty sure being unconscious is classified as being unable to fight."
Lara had now come over, and Rex's glare faltered. He found Lara intimidating, although he was much bigger and stronger.
"That's enough Carter," Lara stated quietly.
Carter calmed down, though only slightly. She ripped her arm from Rex's grasp and bent down by the boy. She heard a quiet groan, signaling he was still alive. Carter started to lift the kid up to take him to the infirmary, and Grayson came over to help.
Paxton was still on the ground, staring up at Carter in utter shock, blood steadily streaming down his face. Carter turned to look at him one last time.
"You, Paxton, are one sick son of a bitch."
Carter and Grayson guided the boy out of the training room and away from the stares of his fellow initiates.
While they were walking, Grayson looked over at Carter and whistled.
"My girlfriend is a badass."
Carter gave a short laugh.
"At least one of us in this relationship has to be."
Thank you to all who reviewed. It means a lot to know that people still have faith in this story. I'm working really hard to make it go somewhere, and I hope you all stick along for the ride.
