A/N: Here's the second chapter. Hope some of you may find it worth reading... and if you do (or don't) please review!
Chapter 2
Jada looked around in the massive hall where the Choosing ceremony was held, gazing at all the different blocks of the factions and their residents.
Black, Blue... Black and White, Grey and... well, a complete chaos of colors. She scrunched her nose when her eyes fell on the Amity. They looked absolutely hideous in their wide and colorful clothes. And always those annoying dopey smiles on their faces. Probably still high on peace serum for breakfast.
Jada chuckled under her breath at her own thoughts.
She was seated in front of the all black colored Dauntless section. Together with Uriah, Lynn, Marlene and the rest of the dependants that had to choose today. Every year the ceremony was held in The Hub, a huge skyscraper in the middle of the city. There must have been dozens of floors in this government building of Abnegation, but the ceremony hall luckily was only on the second floor. It saved time to leave the building afterwards.
The last people seemed to be dripping inside and the hall was still buzzing from all the talking and laughing, though not so much from the Abnegation section. A couple of Erudite leadership assistants were finishing some last details on the stage in the middle of the hall.
Jada eyed them curiously, noticing how they were rudely directed by the Erudite leader herself, Jeanine Matthews.
Uriah squeezed her knee, making her look back up at him. "Look at those Amity hippies over there, I can never get used to that sight," he snickered. Her brother's attempt to lighten the tension only brought a tiny smile on Jada's face.
She would've thought she'd be over the moon today. This was it. Choosing Day. The day she'd been longing for, training for. For years now. The day she would finally become an initiate. But her excitement was suppressed by an unexpected turmoil. Her mind was still occupied with all the things that happened yesterday. The day of the aptitude test.
Early in the morning, all the Dauntless born of their year rode together on the train to the middle of the city. In a building near the school they had to report for the test. One by one they were taken away. Around noon it had been Jada's turn and she was called by an lady from Abnegation to follow her. They ended up in one of the offices, she took the test... and things only went downhill from that.
The anxious look and concerned voice from the lady still lingered in Jada's mind. "Your test result is inconclusive. You don't have an aptitude for one faction, you have... you have three... Dauntless, Erudite and a small percentage Abnegation. It's called Divergent, but don't ever mention this again, not to anyone! Divergents aren't accepted. It's very dangerous, so keep it to yourself, do you understand?!"
Shocked, Jada couldn't muster another response then a faint nod. A whirlwind of thoughts were spinning through her head at the confusing words. Before she knew it, she was rushed out of the room while the lady stammered that she would alter her test result to be Dauntless. Jada left the building in a haze. Wondering how for heaven's sake she ended up with three aptitudes?!
She was absolutely sure that she was Dauntless through and through. Never in a million years did she see this coming. After riding the train for a couple of hours, to order her thoughts about what happened, she came back to the compound and entered the apartment late in the afternoon. Uriah wasn't home, but her mother was. Because of the Choosing ceremony, Hana Pedrad got two days off from her fence guard duty to be with her children.
At the thought of her mother, Jada glanced at the higher seats behind of her, where the older woman was seated with Zeke and Shauna. Her mother was engaged in what seemed to be an animated conversation with Shauna. Jada's face visibly relaxed at that sight. The second her mother had seen her yesterday, she'd immediately picked up on Jada's withdrawn behavior. Her mother had engulfed her in a big and warm hug, like only she could give.
"Oh honey, I know you're sad you'll have to leave your home. But we will always be a family and you're always welcome here after initiation, you know that. You're such a strong young woman, I know you'll be just fine. You're a real Dauntless troublemaker, that's for sure!"
Jada never bothered to correct the assumptions her mother made, knowing that it would only add to her worry. This was her burden and her burden only.
But her heart warmed at the reminiscence of her mother's words. Yes, she was a Dauntless by heart and nothing would ever change that. It's like the fog in her mind lifted up at that thought.
No more hesitations, no more worry. She could do this.
A loud gong announced the beginning of the Ceremony. The entire hall fell silent in a couple of seconds. Jada gazed at the stage in front of her, where Jeanine Matthews went to stand behind a high desk. The sole leader of Erudite was dressed in a deep blue dress, that ended just above her knees. Her platinum blond hair was shorter then Jada had remembered, being cut down to a bob just below her jawline. The woman looked absolutely rigid.
With her piercing high voice, Jeanine welcomed everybody and of course started with the fact that her faction was honored to be able to host the event this year. Jada had the urge to gag at the fake and over the top behavior from the Erudite leader. It was obvious the Erudite found themselves the most important people in the entire town. The blond couldn't stop talking about everything her own faction had to offer.
Erudite... over my dead body. Jada closed her eyes for a second, shuddering at the thought of having to spend the rest of her life in that faction.
Finally, the last minutes of Jeanine's lecture were dedicated to the importance of the different factions and the morals they stood for. With Dauntless, she didn't come any further then to highlight the fact that they protected the city and valued bravery and courage. Jada snorted out loud at the probably quickest description of their faction in the history of the Choosing ceremony. Several heads turning her way. Even Jeanine Matthews threw her a glare, before continuing her speech about Candor. Her brother elbowed her in the side, warning her to keep her mouth shut.
Jada tuned out during the rest of the speech, rather focusing her attention on the faces of the other dependants in the hall. They were all seated in the front of their factions. She recognized some of them from school. But not every faction sent their dependants to the school in the city. The Amity preferred to school their children in their own faction, since they also had to help with work on the lands from a young age on. And there were also hardly any Erudite dependants that went to the public middle school. It was generally known that the Erudite looked down on the level of education that the public system had to offer. So most of the Erudite that could afford it, sent their children to their own private schools.
After a few minutes, Jeanine finally ended her boring speech with the recommendation to all the dependants to 'choose wisely'. Jada perked up at that and directed her attention back to the stage.
Jeanine went to stand behind the bowls and called out the first name. 'Adams, Michaela' was called forward as the first dependant to choose.
One by one and in an alphabetical order, all present dependants were called to come up to the stage and make the most important decision of their lives so far.
About an hour had passed. So far, two Dauntless born deflected, but their faction gained 10 transfers. Unfortunately, that also included Peter and two of his asshole friends, Molly and Drew. Jada threw him a nasty glare when he joined their faction. What the hell was he thinking, choosing Dauntless?! Well, at least she had a legitimate reason to kick his ass now.
The Dauntless were all standing by now, thrilled with excitement. Uriah, Lynn and Marlene already had a small cut in their hands. They had been called forwards and obviously chose to return to their home faction.
"Torres, Jada". Here we go...
Jada noticed the buzzing sound in the hall starting to pick up, right after her name being called. Most of the older people probably recognized her last name, remembering her father. It made her roll her eyes, while Uriah gave her a quick squeeze in the arm.
Confident and with her head held high, she walked towards the stage. She felt Jeanine's gaze on her and looked up to meet her stare. Up close, she noted how cold the eyes were of the blond Erudite leader. It was like there was no real emotion in there, whatsoever. Keeping their stare, Jada grabbed the knife, sliced her palm and let the gushing drops of blood drip onto the sizzling coals. Jeanine narrowed her eyes at her, before breaking the stare and announcing her choice for the entire hall to hear.
"Dauntless!"
"Come on, we have to jump off now!" Jada looked up at the voice of the Dauntless member in their wagon. The man jumped out of the train, mere seconds after his declaration. They were just a few blocks away from the Dauntless rail platform, so Jada didn't understand the need to jump right now. Uriah wiggled his eyebrows at his friends. "Well, you've heard the man. The last one to jump is a pansycake!" He exclaimed, jumping out of the still raging train. Jada grinned and jumped right after her brother, landing on the rooftop next to the high railway. Lynn and Marlene followed, while the latter shrieked like a banshee.
The rest of the Dauntless born popped out of the passing wagons too. Most of them landed gracefully on their feet. Not all the Dauntless members that were present at the Choosing ceremony were in this train. Most of them let the initiates go before them and waited for the next one, including Jada's family. The initiates were accompanied by only a handful of members, a few of them familiar to Jada. While they waited for the transfers, who all seemed to be in the last two wagons, the members regrouped in a corner of the roof.
A few other members had been there already, watching and observing the dependants that now assembled in front of them. Finally the transfers jumped onto the roof too. The Dauntless born watched them in amusement, snickering when all the different colors crashed hard and clumsily onto the roof. Jada smirked at the sight, though she was relieved that at least none of the punks had fell down between the railway and the roof.
~ Eric's POV ~
When the entire train had passed by, Eric jumped onto the edge of the roof and made up the balance. He already got a text from one of the leadership assistants that they've lost two Dauntless dependants to the other factions. So twenty-two were left and seemed to have made it all back in one piece.
According to the same message, there were sixteen transfers this year. But Eric overlooked the entire group and had counted them even twice to be sure. There were only thirteen transfers standing on that roof. So clearly, three of them didn't make it into the train or hadn't dared to jump off. Either way, they were gone. The young leader couldn't care less. Those fucking cowards could go crawling back to their own factions, join the factionless or starve on the street, it wasn't his problem.
~ Jada's POV ~
"Initiates, congratulations for making it this far." Jada looked up at the sound of the deep voice. Eric stood on the brick edge in full Dauntless uniform, the blocks of his leadership tattoo crawling up his neck from underneath his collar. He wore black ear studs and also had two black dermals, above his right eyebrow. They man radiated an air of danger and authority.
"For those of you who don't already know, my name is Eric Coulter. I'm one of your leaders." His last words were spoken while he glared over the initiates. Jada couldn't help but scowl when his gaze met hers. It seemed to attract his attention, as his gaze lingered slightly longer on her. She couldn't give a fuck.
She knew exactly who Eric was. An arrogant, obnoxious and ruthless asshole. Of course she has seen him around in the compound before. And she heard all about him from Zeke and Four, who were in the same initiate year as the blond male. As far as she was concerned, he wasn't exactly an inspiring role model and she always wondered why the hell Max had made him a leader.
Maybe if she ranked high enough, she could join leadership herself and kick his ass out of his throne. Her lips curled upwards at that thought and she couldn't help the soft snort that escaped her throat. At the same time that Marlene pinched her arm to prevent her friend to do something more stupid, Eric narrowed his eyes at Jada. His intense glare made her breath hitch in her throat.
~ Eric's POV ~
Did she just snort?! Eric narrowed his eyes at her, throwing her one of his deadly glares. She didn't seem intimidated to the slightest. He now understood exactly why she had been suspended from school. The girl was fucking challenging from the first moment she'd jumped onto the roof. Making it pretty clear how she thought about him.
No surprise there, considering she was one of Four's fucking friends. But the thing that he didn't expect, was the fact that she didn't even bother to hide her disdain for him. Unlike all the other initiates, who either knew or just sensed that they could better keep their opinion of him to their selves if they wanted to make it through initiation, this girl didn't seem to care about a little self-preservation. At all. She was going to cause trouble, he knew it. He had to watch that little bitch. Nobody would undermine him and get away with it.
Eric tore his eyes off of her and gazed over the entire group of initiates again. They were standing before him like a flock of pathetic sheep, smelling of fear and nervousness. "
From this rooftop, there's only one way into the Dauntless compound. Gather around initiates and take a look for yourself," he sneered at them. All the initiates shuffled forwards and bended over the edge, glancing at the pitch-black hole in another rooftop. A rooftop that was about 60 feet below them. A couple of groans were heard. "What's below that hole? Water?" Of course an Erudite, that couldn't contain his curiosity. "You will find out soon enough, Nose," Eric snapped.
"Now, who wants to do the honors and jump first?" He leaped of the edge, grinning along with the rest of the members. This was always the best part. The initiates backed away from the edge and most of them tried desperately to avoid the gaze of Eric, clearly not wanting to go first. The more they cowered, the bigger his smug smirk got. God, he fucking loved this part.
A few seconds later, she stepped forwards. "I will."
There wasn't a single thread of hesitation in her voice. Eric eyed her with a scrutinizing look. He folded his hands behind his back, just following her movements. With her head held high, she walked towards the edge and jumped onto it. Slowly, she stood straight up. The wind rushed through her long dark brown hair, making it wave. Eric noticed she had closed her eyes. He grumbled when a small smile appeared on her lips and he realized she was fucking enjoying herself.
"TODAY, initiate!" He snapped harshly, rolling his eyes at her.
Jada turned around, still standing on the edge of the roof. She looked him directly in the eye, a taunting smirk on her lips, before she spread her arms wide and let herself fall backwards. All the other initiates rushed back to the edge, looking down to see her disappear into the black hole. Without even making a sound, she was devoured by the dark unknown.
Eric swallowed thickly, before he cleared his throat. "NEXT!"
The adrenaline still rushed through her veins when the last initiate was pulled out of the net. She had really no idea what was coming. Nobody ever told them about this, nor Zeke or Four.
"That was freaking awesome!" Lynn yelled next to her. She could only agree to that, it had been exhilarating as hell. After her jump, Four was there to pull her out of the net and declared her to be the first jumper. The other members that were there had loudly celebrated her achievement. Uriah had scolded her for volunteering to go first, once he finally joined her in the empty space they now stood in. But Jada had merely made fun of him because of his obvious fear of heights. Nevertheless, he had been proud of her being the first to jump and also congratulated her, along with the rest of their friends.
After all the initiates were down, Eric and the other members that had been on the roof followed next. Jada watched them fall into the net one by one. Four had walked away, leaving them to climb out of the net themselves.
"Initiates, my name is Four." Their friend walked in front of the entire group. "What, like the number?" A brown Candor girl quipped. Four walked right in front of the girl, until his face was just an inch away from hers. "What made you think you could talk to me like that, initiate?! If I wanted to listen to fucking smart mouths like you, I would've joined Candor," he spat out.
Uriah, Lynn, Marlene and Jada all stared in wonder at those venomous words coming out of their friend's mouth. Apparently, Four was in full trainer-mode now and he was very intimidating. They would have to get used to that.
"I will be training the Transfers. Lauren here, will be the trainer of the Dauntless born this year." Four nodded in the direction of a red headed female in her mid-twenties. Jada's head snapped with lightning speed to the woman in the corner of the room.
"What the fuck! Couldn't he gave us a heads up about that?!" She whispered complaining at Uriah. Her brother sighed, obviously sharing Jada's sentiments on the woman. "Transfers, follow me." Four walked out with the transfers on his tail.
Lauren took in his position in front of the remaining group.
"Dauntless born, I will be training you and it will be brutal. Don't think you will pass just because you're born in this faction. We have 35 initiates this year and only the best 25 of you get to stay." Jada scowled at the high-pitched voice of the presumptuous woman in front of them. Of course they knew all about that rule, Dauntless only wanted the best.
"Since you don't need a tour of the compound, you're free to go to your homes to pick up your stuff for initiation. Only clothes and toiletries are allowed. And remember, you are forbidden to visit your homes during initiation, or all the other apartments for that matter. You only get to see your family in the Pit after training and before curfew, but I promise you that you'll rather sleep during that time. Besides, too much attachment to your family is frowned upon. You need to learn to stand on your own two feet and become independent members."
Lauren threw a pointed look at Jada. The brunette just smirked back at her. She knew the redhead was trying to get a rise out of her, making it clear she would keep an eye on her and her family. She would have to do better then that. Bring it on bitch.
Lauren shuffled a couple of feet to the side and continued her speech. "Initiation has 3 stages and it will last for the next 6 months. Stage one is the most physical one and takes up the next 4 months."
Coming from the back, Eric appeared besides Lauren and was the next one to address the group. "
"You will be ranked together with the transfers and after the first stage the bottom 5 initiates will be cut." Jada scowled at the amused smirk that appeared on his face. She was sure he couldn't wait to rub that fact in once more. "Now get your things and move into your dorm. We expect you for dinner in the cafeteria at six o'clock. "The blond leader barked and dismissed them.
It was quiet in the apartment when Jada and Uriah walked in. Their mother was already back at the fencepost she was stationed at, continuing her duty for the next week. Jada left Uriah to pack up his things and walked inside her own bedroom. Next to the door was her training bag, already packed with everything she needed. She heard her brother trash his room and raiding his closet, making it clear that he hadn't thought that far ahead.
Maybe it was the Erudite part of her, that made her do things like that, Jada mused silently. While she had to wait for her brother, she picked up the pendant that laid on her nightstand. The necklace was still broken. She stared at the pendant. No matter how much she wanted to, she knew she couldn't take it with her. Nor would it be wise, considering the fact she would be living in a shared dorm for the next half year. The young brunette opened the drawer of her nightstand and dropped the jewelry inside. This would be the safest place for her most valuable possession, at least until initiation was over.
"Ready sis? Let's go check out our prison bunks for the next months!" Uriah shouted from the living room. Jada groaned at the thought of trading in her nice bedroom for the undoubtedly cold and nasty dorm. She didn't understand why her brother sounded so excited about it.
Walking out of her room, she grabbed her bag and made her way towards her brother. He was grinning like an idiot."If you keep up that smile, I'm sure you would make some guy a perfect prison buddy," Jada snickered. Uriah took her in a playful headlock and dragged her and their two bags out of the apartment. "Don't joke about that! According to Marlene, orange is sooo not my colour," he chuckled.
After they settled in at their dorm, all the new initiates headed to the cafeteria for dinner. Jada smirked at the expressions on the faces of the transfers. They looked quite shocked. The giant mess hall, filled up with loud and roaring Dauntless members from all ages, obviously overwhelmed them.
After getting a tray and picking up her dinner, Jada walked over to one of the tables that was assigned for the initiates. Just like her friends, she longingly gazed at their regular table where Zeke and Shauna were seated with some of their colleagues. Another thing she'd better get used to, keeping her distance from her family.
Jada stepped over the long metal bench to sit down between Marlene and another girl, named Cleo. "Congratulations again, first jumper! Why don't you have any chocolate cake, did they run out? I'll gladly share mine with you?" Cleo offered cheerfully. Jada turned her head towards the bubbly girl, giving her a somewhat annoyed look.
"Listen Cleo, I'm here to eat, not to socialize." Cleo's face fell at that, silently dropping her gaze to her plate. Uriah scowled at his sister, making Jada roll her eyes at him. He had often scolded her for her rude behavior, but she frankly couldn't give a damn. "Don't mind her, Cleo. I'm always open for socializing and making new friends!" The dark young male yelled from across the table. "Open for chocolate cake, you mean." Marlene chipped in, making fun of him. The rest of the table laughed at that, even Cleo.
"Let's see if you'll still laugh that much in a few weeks from now, initiates."
There was that taunting, deep voice again. Eric passed behind Jada and sat down on the other side of the table.
Jada sighed annoyed at the presence of the ruthless leader, with his always fucking impeccable gelled back hair. Lauren followed suit and put her tray next to Eric's. A scowl appeared onto Jada's face when she noticed the redhead join them. Great.
Jada looked up to see where Four was at. She recognized the back of his head a few tables ahead of them, sitting with the transfers. So, apparently the trainers were ordered to sit with their initiates for the first dinner. She couldn't help but wonder why Eric would be here, though. The blond leader sat right across of her, his grey eyes staring her down.
Jada wasn't one to back down from a good staring contest, so she held his gaze while she continued to chew on her food. He had piercing, steel grey eyes. Captivating eyes, she had to give him that. Too bad they were lost on that prick.
"For those of you who haven't heard by now, I will be overseeing the initiation this year. So if you break the rules or misbehave, you'll have to answer to me." Eric declared with a smug look. The initiates at their table all looked awkwardly around.
But Jada was convinced the last threatening part was aimed directly at her. She gritted her teeth and hardened her stare at him. If you think I will bow down to you, you'll have another thing coming. Asshole. Eric smirked at her, as if he could hear her thoughts. Uriah, Lynn and Marlene all worriedly watched the scene unfold. Luckily, before things could get out of hand, Max made his presence known on the leadership balcony and started his speech to welcome the initiates. The mess hall turned eerily quiet, while everybody directed their attention to the headleader of their faction. "You, my friend, have a death wish," Marlene hissed in Jada's ear when Eric turned his back to them. Jada merely smirked in response.
"...and make us PROUD!" Max shouted to end his speech. Soon the entire mess hall erupted into chaos once again. Everybody hooted and hollered. Uriah climbed on top of the bench, knowing what was about to come. When a sea of black Dauntless members surrounded their table, he whistled like a lunatic and dove right on top of them. "Yeah, baby!" He screamed while being carried away. Jada laughingly shook her head. Her brother was such a goof ball. But soon she was picked up too and laughed her ass off with her friends while she and all the other initiates were carried through the cafeteria by hundreds of partying Dauntless members. It was so good to be Dauntless.
"RISE AND SHINE!" The screeching yell was accompanied by loud banging on one of the rusty radiators. "This is your first and only wake up call from now on! You have exactly 30 minutes to get to the training room. Don't be late!"
Jada groaned while she stretched her limbs. One of her eyes opened a bit, just in time to see Lauren's retreating back. According to her watch, it was 7:00 am. Nothing to be dramatic about. After a big yawn the brunette opened up her eyes completely and got herself out of bed. Shuffling sounds and mumbling were heard throughout the dorm, while all of them woke up and started to get ready for the day.
After just being there for one night, the large room was still tidy and bare. It contained about twenty iron bunk beds, all with black bedding. With a concrete floor and dark grey walls, it pretty much looked like a prison cell. And though Jada didn't mind her windowless own bedroom at home, she was really happy that the dorm at least had some small windows to open up. She was positive they were going to need the ventilation, probably sooner than later.
"Come on, Lynn." She nudged her bunk buddy on the top bed. All she saw were some of the black locks of her friend's hair, coming out from underneath the bedding. Lynn grumbled. "Couple of minutes." "If you want to be late, suit yourself," Jada singsonged. She walked over to their shared closet and pulled out some toiletries and workout clothes to change into, before she walked over to the common bathroom. If you could even call it that. There wasn't even a door, just a two meter wide opening that led to the showers, toilets and the meters long sink with a couple of mirrors above it. Luckily, the showers and toilets were separated by thin dividers and curtains, providing at least some sort of privacy.
"Hey first jumper, care to jump me in the shower?" A tall, dark blond boy creepily whispered in Jada's ear when he joined her at the sink. Jada rolled her eyes. "Fuck yourself, Zane." The boy smirked at her through the mirror, while making a show of dropping his boxers before he got into one of the showers. Jada groaned at the disgusting eyeful she got. "You know where to find me if you change your mind, darling," he called out behind the curtain. "Shut the fuck up moron, or I will know where to find you!" Uriah angrily snapped when he walked in on the scene. He kissed Jada on her forehead and joined her to brush their teeth. Despite the annoying incident with Zane, both siblings grinned at each other. They were excited to start their first day of training.
"Man... is she planning on letting us run until we die, or what?!" Marlene said panting and sweating like a pig. Jada grinned in amusement at her friend's face. The beautiful high blonde locks of Marlene were now bouncing in a big mess on top of her head. But she wasn't the only one struggling. A large part of the class had a hard time keeping up.
"Keep going, you got this!" Jada encouraged her friend, before she passed her. They'd already been running for a hour. Jada's breathing was heavier than normal, but she was used to this. She loved this. She passed one initiate after another while running her laps in the same steady pace. As did Uriah and a couple of the other guys.
After another half an hour, Lauren finally told them to stop and to take a break. Jada grabbed one of the water bottles and let herself slide down against one of the walls, dropping her butt to the floor. She'd always loved the smell in the Dauntless training rooms and gyms. It was a particular smell, probably some sort mix of sweat, chalk and iron. She didn't know what it was, but it made her feel at home. She'd never been in this training room before though. It was huge, at least 100 meters long. There were punching bags, all kinds of fitness equipment and a lot of training mats in the middle of the huge space. The mat in the center was raised on some sort of platform. Jada guessed that's where they probably had to fight against each other.
Dauntless had two of this rooms, one in the north of the main building for the transfers and the one where they were currently training in, in the south end. Everybody knew they were only used during initiation and off limits to the members.
While Jada was still checking out the room, Uriah, Lynn and Marlene all crashed down in front of her. "That fucking bitch," Marlene complained, still out of breath. Uriah chuckled. "I've warned you before, you should have worked out with us more often." "Shut it, Pedrad," the blonde retorted. Jada and Lynn laughed at their banter. "Give me water, I'm dying," Marlene demanded in a squeaky voice. "Always so high maintenance." Jada teased. She passed her water bottle to her friend and took a look at their trainer. Lauren was inspecting the punching bags. "Break is over initiates! Gather around, time for practice on the bags!"
Lauren had them working the punching bags for the rest of the morning. For the first hour, Jada was totally engrossed in her workout. Though her hands were taped in, her knuckles already stung slightly because of the repeating action. Both Amar and Four had taught her well, she knew how to use her entire body and make her punches count. It always made her feel strong.
After an hour or so, she started to look around at the rest of the class and inspected her competition. Lynn and Marlene could throw a decent punch, but the rest of the girls seemed to be a lot weaker. Uriah was one of the strongest males at the punching bag, together with Alex, Zane and Neo. The last one was a fucking beast, about 6 feet 2 tall, with a broad and brawny posture.
Jada scowled at the sight of the dark haired male. She got wasted at a party a couple of months ago and made out with him. Until he started to force himself onto her anyway. She kneed him in the groin after that and directly took off. He was both resentful and persistent ever since. She couldn't care less, the fucker had it coming. But unfortunately, he seemed to be the strongest one of their class right now. Well fuck, there's no way I'm getting away with kneeing him in the groin right now.
After a one hour lunch break, the initiates were back in the training room. Lauren had announced they would start with the first fights in the afternoon, ordering all the Dauntless born to gather around the raised mats in the center of the room for her explaining.
"You'll be ranked on everything you do during initiation. But the fights weigh heavily in the ranking. Since you're Dauntless born, we start fighting today to see how skilled you are. You have to fight every classmate, twice, during this stage." Lauren walked back and forth while she addressed her class.
The metal door of the training room smacked shut, making a loud noise. With big thuds, Eric walked over to Lauren. "Good, just in time to announce the new rule," he grinned maliciously. Jada eyed him in suspicion. If the blond leader found it to be amusing, it sure as hell wouldn't be very good for them. "Initiates, from this year on, conceding will no longer be an option. A fight is only to be ended when one of the two isn't able to continue anymore. We train soldiers, not quitters. If you have a problem with that, consider yourself factionless." Eric spat out at them, standing there all relaxed himself with his hands folded in front of his massive chest.
A few initiates looked up in horror, the concern evident in their eyes. Jada shared a look with Uriah, both of them were confident enough about their own capacities and weren't very dazed by the new rule. Jada could live with it.
Lauren and Eric pointed out the large screen, hanging from the ceiling above them. It was totally black before, but by now a list of their names appeared. Eric suddenly had a tablet in his hands and Jada noticed him tap on it. The names on the large screen above them shuffled around, ending up in pairs of two. Jada quickly scanned through the list. Brock vs. Jada. She was pleased with her first match, knowing she could take him easily. Uriah vs. Alex. Lisa vs. Lynn. And Marlene... right at the bottom... well, fuck. Jada threw Marlene a concerned look. The girl swallowed thickly. She was paired up with Neo. Uriah seemed to whisper something encouragingly in her ear, but even he seemed nervous for their friend. Jada knew Marlene didn't stand a chance. She could only hope it would end quickly and without too much damage.
The first pair had to stay with Eric and Lauren for their fight, while the rest of the initiates were to resume their practice on the punching bags. Jada tried to block out what happened at the mat during the first few fights. A couple of times one of them was called over to help a fellow initiate to the infirmary or to clean up the mat between the fights. Lynn was the first of her friends to fight, but she easily won and punched Lisa knock-out. Afterwards she offered to take Lisa to the infirmary herself. The next one was Uriah. He and Alex where both strong fighters. Their fight already dragged on longer than all the others had. Jada tried to keep her eye on her brother, while maintaining the appearance of working out. Uriah's nose started bleeding and his left cheek seemed swollen, but she couldn't see more from her distance. At least he got a couple of good hits in too, seeing the state of Alex' face.
All of a sudden, Jada felt like she was being watched. She could actually sense a burning stare on her. The source wasn't hard to find. Eric. His eyes were intently focused on her. He didn't even seem to pay attention to the fight anymore. Jada frowned at him, wondering what he was looking for. Did he really think she would lose it at the sight of her brother being beaten up?She didn't even pretend to be busy anymore and stared right back at him, her pokerface right in place. The blond leader was the first one to break their stare, directing his look back at the mat in front of him.
"Cut the crap and end this initiates!" His hard voice bellowed through the room. Both Alex and Uriah picked up their pace after his words. Not even a minute later, Alex dropped to the ground. "Winner: Uriah!" Lauren declared.
Three fights later, it was finally Jada's turn. When Lauren called them over, she jerked off the tape on her hands and made her way over to the mat. "Good luck," Uriah whispered when she passed him. Jada winked at her brother's sarcastic sneer. They both knew she was getting off easy today.
Jada went to stand on Lauren's side of the mat, while Brock stood closer to Eric. They guy looked nervous. Jada grinned when she saw him brush his hands over his pants. He had sweaty palms, no doubt about that. Brock was obviously taller and bigger then her. But then again, who wasn't? There were only a couple of other girls in their class that were about the same height or smaller. Amar had taught her from a young age on that she had to use her small frame to her advantage. So the size of her opponents didn't impress Jada anymore. No matter how big or tall they were, she knew everyone had their own weaknesses. She just had to find them and plan her strategy around it.
"Needed some tips from big brother over there?" Lauren sneeringly hissed in her ear. Jada clenched her jaw in response. "Honey, I don't need any tips. But maybe you do, so watch and learn." Jada viciously retorted to the redhead, before she climbed the mat. The second she stood on the mat, she closed herself off from everything around her. Focusing solely on her opponent that climbed up on the other side of the mat.
It made Lauren's angry scowl go unnoticed by her, just as the amused smirk that tugged at Eric's lips.
"Start the fight!" Eric shouted.
Jada started in a upright defensive position, hands held high to protect her head. She only needed a couple of seconds to analyze her opponent. Brock seemed hesitant to fight her. Mistake number one.
She leaped forwards and attacked him with a combination of jabs and uppercuts to his face. She wanted to overwhelm him and it seemed to work. He crouched, trying to block her punches with his arms while he walked backwards. Jada got in a couple of hard punches on his chin and cheek. Her hands stung, but she thrived on the adrenaline rush that got into her. Next she kicked him on the side of his knee. He slightly collapsed, but got up again. She heard him groan in pain and he started to swing back at her.
Good, angry works for me. Brock tried to hit her with his long arms, but he was too slow to do some real damage and Jada successfully dodged his punches. She felt some of them land on her forearms, but it was bearable. She let Brock play out his moves, trying to drain his energy. According to the sound of his panting, it was working. She picked up her movements and increased the pressure on Brock. He was becoming sloppy and forgot to keep his hands in the right position. Jada saw her opportunity and took it. A hard punch right on his nose. Brock loudly cried out in pain. Blood streaming from his nose. He grabbed his nose with one hand, while the other lingered in the air trying to keep Jada at bay. It was too late, with a big blow to the side of his head she knocked him out.
"Hey girl, how are you feeling?" Lynn asked worriedly when Marlene opened up her eyes. One of her eyes still swollen and blue. They all sat around her bed in the infirmary. Shauna was on duty, so she had smuggled them in after visiting hours. Marlene moaned and rubbed at her head, feeling a large bump at the back of it. "What happened? Where am I?" The blond girl softly asked.
Uriah squeezed her hand and kissed the back of it. "You're in the infirmary. You had to fight Neo, remember?" He answered sweetly. Jada's eyes twinkled in amusement at her brother's endearing demeanor.
Marlene looked up at Uriah. "Who are you?" Three pair of eyes widened in shock. Uriah's Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat as he swallowed hard. He didn't know how to respond to the doe-eyed, beat up girl that was laying in the bed in front of him. Neither did Lynn and Jada. A thick silence filled up the room.
"Kidding! As if I could ever forget your ugly mug!" Marlene laughed out loud.
Jada and Lynn sighed in relief, grinning along with Marlene. But Uriah scowled at the blond and let go of her hand. "That is so not funny, you idiot!" He stood up and bolted out of the room.
"Uriah! I'm sorry, okay! Get back here! Uri!" Marlene yelled out, sitting upright in her bed. She groaned at the pain in her chest, apparently Neo also did a real number on her ribs. Jada pushed her friend down again. "Lay back, you need to let the healing serum do it's magic. Only one more hour and you should feel much better." Shauna rushed inside of the room, clearly alerted by the commotion. "What's going on?" She asked confused. "Nothing, Marlene's fine," Lynn answered her sister. Marlene sighed and groaned again. "Geez guys, I was just joking... He's joking all the time! Now I'm not allowed to?!" Lynn chuckled at her friends complaining, while Jada brushed her hand over Marlene's arm. "Just let it go, okay? He was really worried about you, you know. It wasn't a pretty sight to see you get beaten up by Neo. He'll come around."
The Dauntless born were the first ones to arrive to the cafeteria for dinner. They were practically done when the transfers finally joined them. Though Jada's entire class had been tired and sore, one
one look at the transfers had made them feel like they hadn't anything to complain about. The transfers never had to fight in the first few days, but they still managed to look worse then the Dauntless born did. Probably never even worked out before in their life, Jada thought to herself.
A few minutes later she returned to the dorm to shower and change, together with the rest of the Dauntless born that weren't in the infirmary. They were free for the evening, until their curfew at twelve o'clock.
Later in the evening, Lynn wanted to get a new haircut. So Jada went with her while Uriah stayed in the dorm to wait for Marlene. She was about to be released from the infirmary already. The Erudite weren't completely useless after all, because their healing serum was a gift from heaven. Shauna once told them that Dauntless had to import large batches of serum weekly during initiation. It made the healing process speed up enormously. So they gladly used the serum on all injured initiates, fixing them up as soon as possible to return to their training. Their blond friend would be back in her own bunk bed by night.
~ Uriah's POV ~
Uriah rested on his bed, with his hands folded behind his head and his eyes closed. A couple of other initiates were still in the dorm, talking with each other or taking a shower and getting dressed. The rest of them were probably scattered around the Pit and the stores by now. Just like his sister and Lynn. He hadn't been in the mood to go with them. Shauna had informed him at dinner that Marlene would be released from the infirmary in the evening. And though he was still angry with her, he wanted to see her as soon as she got back. To make sure she was fine.
Suddenly he felt his mattress dip, before a warm body joined him on his bed. He didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was. He could recognize that sweet flowery smell of her shampoo everywhere. He loved that smell, not that he would ever tell her though.
Marlene laid her head on his chest and wrapped her fingers around his arm. "I'm sorry, Uri. It was just a joke," she whispered to him. Uriah opened his eyes and pulled his hands back from their position under his head. He locked his dark brown eyes to her blue ones. Marlene grabbed one of his hands into her own. Uriah let out a relieved breath, before he bowed his face towards her head and buried it in her long blonde hair. "I know, I'm sorry I overreacted. But I was worried about you, I wasn't in a mood for jokes like that."
Marlene tightened her grip on his hand, making Uriah drape his other arm around her to pull her towards him. She let out a content sigh. "I'm fine," she reacted. "Oh, now you're going around telling people you're fine and all?!" Uriah countered snickering. Marlene playfully hit his chest. "Shut up, Pedrad!" But she couldn't stop the smile on her face, happy that Uriah was back to his goofball self. She sweetly cupped his cheek with her hand, before brushing it upwards to slide over his short cropped hair.
"For the record, I think you're mighty fine," Uriah murmured in her hair. Marlene smirked in response and nestled her face against the soft fabric of his shirt. Suddenly her nose scrunched up in surprise. "Uri, are you sniffing my hair?!"
"Stop staring at me like I'm sort of a freak show!" Lynn snapped. Jada shrugged her shoulders. "You rock this haircut, my friend. But just give us some time to get used to it, alright?!" She replied to her friend. Her now almost bald friend.
"Do we even call this a haircut, by the way?" "Uriah, shut the fuck up! You have the exact same one." Lynn retorted. She liked her haircut. It was something she was planning all along, shaving off her long hair during initiation. Some sort of new beginning, being fearless and intimidating, as Lynn had put it. And probably not have to worry anymore about a mom who threatened to kill you for that, Jada mused.
The four friends were walking on the second floor of the shops above the Pit, on their way to the tattoo parlor. Dependants were not allowed to get tattooed without permission from their parents, so they made a pact a few years back that they would get their first tattoo together when they became initiates.
So when Jada and Lynn were done at the hair salon, they went back to the dorm to inform Uriah and Marlene about their plan. Marlene had complained that she needed to change first. But the rest had quickly protested, knowing by now how much time 'a quick change' really took with her. They were all dressed casually in their comfy clothes, so Marlene fitted in perfectly with her sweatpants and long sleeve. Uriah had grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the dorm with them, not wanting to hear another complaint about her 'shabby appearance'.
"What are you getting?" Uriah asked Jada. "You'll have to wait and see," she grinned. "No matching sibling tattoo?" "Maybe someday, but then I want Zeke to join us too." Uriah hummed approvingly, while they entered the tattoo parlor. It was very busy. The walls in the front of the shop were filled with beautiful pictures and tattoo drawings. Lynn and Marlene gazed at all the different styles, while Uriah walked to another Dauntless initiate that was looking into some design books for his first tattoo. Jada greeted the woman behind the counter and asked for a pencil and paper.
They had to wait half an hour, before one of the tattoo artists was free. Uriah was the first one to go. Lynn and Marlene went next, because Jada was still busy drawing her own design. In the meantime, Uriah had already returned. He got a nice dauntless symbol on his shoulder. A safe choice for his first tattoo, but Jada liked the style. A few minutes later, Lynn and Marlene were also done. They both got a small tattoo. Lynn got a solid black bracelet above her elbow and Marlene had the words 'No Pain, No Gain' tattooed on her wrist. The other three started laughing loudly when Marlene showed them. "I thought it was appropriate," Marlene winked.
"Jada, you're up if you still want to," a large dark haired male barked at her. Jada nodded enthusiastically. "You guys don't have to wait for me, go back to the dorm. I'll be fine," she told the rest. Uriah protested for a bit, wanting to wait for her. But Marlene dragged his ass out of the parlor, waving at Jada and the tattoo artist when they walked out of the door. Lynn trailed behind them. "See you later, Jade!"
"Come on, Torres. I've been waiting for this day for years." Jada adored Bud, the tattoo artist she had requested for. He was huge man in his forties, but a big teddy bear. Bud was married to Tori, one of the Dauntless leaders. They were both good friends with her mother and Bud had been one of the best friends of her father too. He and Tori didn't have any children of their own, but both of them had always been involved in the lives of Jada and her brothers. He wasn't a uncle by blood, by definitely by heart.
She followed him through the hallway to the back, where each of the tattoo artists had an own room and workstation. Bud's turned out to be at the end of the hall. She followed him inside, before he shut the door behind them. He tapped the chair, directing her to sit down. "Now, what have you got for me?" Jada unfolded her drawing and handed it over. "I want it on my wrist."
"The engraving from your mother's pendant." He stated. "Nice, kid. Want me to put it on stencil or do you trust my steady hand?" He grinned mischievously. Jada chuckled. "I trust you, you're the best." "Damn right I am." He puffed his chest out like a peacock. "Ladies and gentleman, Bud the Humble One!" Jada mocked him. "Be proud in what you do and who you are. That's my life lesson for you, young lady. And completely free of charge. Now, here with that arm and let this master do his thing."
One hour later, Bud was finally done and Jada looked at her wrist again. The tattoo was shining because of the healing cream that Bud had applied on it. It turned out amazing, exactly like she hoped for. She threw Bud a genuine smile and gave him a big hug. "Thank you so much, Bud. I love it!"
"Only the best for you, Torres. Now get out, it's late and you need all the sleep you can get. Your first tattoo is on me." Jada hopped off the chair, thanked Bud again with a quick hug and left his room while he started cleaning his workstation.
She walked back through the hallway, noticing it had become very quiet in the shop. One of the other rooms was still open though, the light streaming into the hallway. Curiously, Jada slowed her pace and peeked inside. The chair in that room was completely tilted backwards. It was occupied by a shirtless man, laying on his stomach and facing the other side of the room. He was huge, with bulging muscles in all the right places. Though that fact didn't go completely unnoticed by Jada, it wasn't what got her attention. Her eyes lighted up at the magnificent eagle tattoo on the man's upper back.
Drawn like a moth to a flame, she was standing next to man before she knew it. The large tattoo screamed of power. Her hand seemed to have a mind of it's own, because seconds later her eyes witnessed her fingers glide softly along the nearest eagle wing on the man's back. The touch sent a shiver through her entire body, making her gasp in shock. She pulled her hand back immediately, while her eyes widened when the man started to stir. It made her bolt out of the room, her heart beating in her throat when she rushed through the hallway to the front of the tattoo shop.
One of the tattoo artists walked towards her and greeted her with a slight nod. She could only muster up a tiny nervous smile in response. Jada paced towards the exit, lifting her hand to pull the glass door open.
"Coulter, you'd better not have fallen asleep on me yet!"
Jada's jaw dropped at hearing the lowering voice in the background. She looked back and saw the tattoo artist enter the room she just left. A heavy groan escaped her lips when realization dawned on her. Lord, kill me now.
