The Fourth Eaton

by FieldFullOfStars

When Tobias Eaton leaves Abnegation, he doesn't just leave his father behind. When his little sister joins him in Dauntless, she knows it's going to be tough. But 'tough' hardly scratches the tip of the iceberg. Dauntless is dangerous. Dauntless is deadly. But, another fact is also quickly established; Tobias isn't going to let anything happen to his sister, no matter the cost.

13. Chapter 13: Conquest

Disclaimer: Hey, ya'll! So, Veronica Roth, you know, the woman who actually owns Divergent? She's a grown woman, already graduated from college (I think), with a successful writing career. I, on the other hand, am taking a state English exam in less than twelve hours. Oh, the joy of bland comprehension questions.

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating this story sooner! I promise that I'll try my best to make my updates more frequent from now on. I have a lot of plans for this story. :)

But, for now, I bring you Chapter 13! It's finally time to Capture the Flag...

I am awoken from my sleep with the door bursting open and bright lights filling the room. Flashlights. I raise myself on my elbows as I try to figure out what the heck is going on.

"Everybody out of bed! Get up, initiates!" A man roars. One flashlight moves to shine on him, illuminating his imposing figure. Eric.

He's surrounded by other Dauntless, half of whom I don't recognize. Tobias stands in the doorway to the dormitory, his arms crossed across his chest.

His eyes meet mine, and I hold his gaze. I tilt my head in question, and he just smiles. It isn't an evil smile, like the one on Eric's face, but a playful smile, as if whatever is to follow will be a lot of fun, even to his standards.

I trust him, so I break eye contact and sit up in bed, reaching for my shoes.

"Get dressed and meet us by the tracks in five minutes, initiates. We're going on another field trip. You're late, you're factionless." Eric stalks out of the room after his little monologue, and Tobias follows after him, but only after he meets my eyes one last time. As usual, I give him a small nod, then shift my gaze towards Lavender, who is pulling on her clothes, out in the open, with no shame. I don't understand how she does it.

Once Lavender, Ethan, and Julia have dressed, we all take off for the train. Each step sends a small wave of pain through me, and I end up wincing throughout most of the run. I can see my friends doing the same. The fights yesterday were brutal.

I obviously beat Dante, and Julia ended up knocking the lights out of Zayden, even though the fight was somewhat close. Ethan beat Lavender, although he was visibly hesitant to fight her, yet alone knock her out. But Lavender assured Ethan that he did what he had to do and made it as quick and painless as possible.

Nobody in Dauntless looks surprised to see a bunch of initiates running through the compound. I guess that's Dauntless for you.

While running to the tracks, we see the Dauntless-born initiates approaching us from another direction. Julia, Ethan, Lavender, and I merge into their group.

I'm so focused on running that when someone taps my shoulder, I jump in surprise. I turn my head, not stopping, to see Rowan grinning like a maniac. "Scared you, didn't I?" He teases not even seeming out of breath. I, on the other hand, am panting like crazy. All I can do is glare at him and shove his shoulder, although, since we're running, it doesn't make much of an impact. He just laughs.

Finally, we arrive at the tracks. Eric and Tobias, of course, are already there. Beside them there is a pile of what I think are guns.

This is going to be interesting, at the very least.

"Are they crazy?" Ethan hisses to us.

Lavender looks skeptical. I'm sure I look a little confused. But Julia's face is, strangely, perfectly calm. "We're not shooting with real bullets, you dumbass." She whispers to Ethan, rolling her eyes.

"Then what are we shooting with? Leaves?" He shoots back.

Julia just rolls her eyes again and points to a pile of boxes that look a lot like ammunition boxes. "Do you know what those are, Ethan?"

I squint. It's too dark and I'm too far away to make out what Julia is talking about. Just then, the moonlight falls on them. From my angle, the word "PAINTBALLS" is clearly illuminated. I start laughing.

Oh, this is going to be very interesting.

Julia joins my laughter. Lavender and Ethan look at each other, dumbfounded. We just laugh harder. Finally, Lavender gets a glimpse of the word on the boxes, and bursts into laughter as well. Now Ethan looks more angry than confused.

"Will someone tell me what is going on here?!" He stares at us as our laughter dies down.

"Paintballs, Ethan. Use that brain of yours." A voice from behind Ethan says. He jumps at least a foot into the air, causing us to explode in laughter again.

The voice is Chloe, the Dauntless-born we met at lunch on the day of our last field trip. Behind her stands Kian and Juniper, who are holding hands and trying to muffle their laughter, and Rowan, who is watching Ethan with a remarkably straight face.

"Wha- they're paintballs?" He asks, and we all nod. "That was mean, guys."

"Well, we're all Dauntless, and the Dauntless aren't exactly known to be nice. That's Amity." Chloe shrugs as she says this.

I stare at Chloe as something clicks in my head. She just told Ethan to use his brain. But Dauntless don't do that. It's why we're known as hellions; because we're reckless, not smart. And, at lunch on the day we met her, Kian said that they learned the Abnegation manifesto because she heard it when she and Kian were passing by. But they don't need to pass through Abnegation on foot to get to Dauntless, they have the trains for that. And the train tracks run nowhere near the government buildings. So they were either on an intentional trip to Abnegation, which is strange, but entirely possible, or they learned it because they wanted to. And wanting to learn something isn't a Dauntless trait.

Is it possible that Kian and Chloe are more than they seem?

Suddenly, I'm brought back to the world by something waving in front of my face. I blink, focusing my eyes on the object, and realize that it's a hand.

"She's back." Julia says, retracting her hand.

I blink again. "What do you mean?"

"You were spaced out." Chloe says, stepping forward. "You were staring at me, but your eyes weren't focused on anything."

"Oh." I nod, only half following the conversation. I'm still thinking about my… revelations? Ideas? Theories, maybe, about Chloe and Kian. "Thanks."

Tobias' voice rings through the night. "The train is almost here! Everyone grab a gun!"

We all immediately walk towards the pile. There is a lot of pushing and shoving, as everyone is eager to get a firearm. I just try not to push and not get trampled in the process.

Finally, I reach the pile, and grab a gun and a box of paintballs. The gun is heavier than I expected, so I almost drop it, but thankfully regain my grip before I can embarrass myself. The paintballs go in my pocket, and I step out of the crowded area around the boxes so I can adjust my gun strap around my body.

I'm facing away from the train tracks, so the only indication I get of the coming train is the clacking sound of the wheels against the rails. Once it grows to a decent level, I turn and join my friends, waiting on the platform for the train.

The train reaches the platform, and everyone starts running after it. Tobias is the first to swing himself on, with Eric and the Dauntless-borns close behind. The transfers, not having done this nearly as much, are more hesitant. I race for the closest door, reaching out and grabbing the handle with one hand. Someone grabs my other hand and pulls me the rest of the way in.

I look up, expecting to be met with the dark blue eyes of my brother. After all, who else would be bothered to pull me in?

But instead, Rowan's hazel orbs greet me. He's pretty strong; He managed to pull me in with one hand.

Why is it the first time I've realized that? And why am I even noticing it now?

I start to pull away, so I can go sit with my other friends, but he stops me by squeezing my hand a little tighter.

I stop and turn to face him. He squeezes my hand once more, then lets go. My hand falls to my side.

I keep looking at him, and he smiles almost shyly, before walking towards his friends, who are sitting with Lavender, Ethan, and Julia.

I watch him go for a moment or two. What the heck just happened?

Finally, I shake it off, and start walking over there too. But Tobias stops me.

"Cam." I look up. His voice is soft, which means he doesn't want to be heard. "You okay? You seem a little shaken."

"No, I'm fine." He was partially correct - I was still stunned at how the pieces to Kian and Chloe's identity were fitting together, but not shaken. And whatever just happened with Rowan… all of it has left my mind spinning, and the game hasn't even begun yet. "I was just… thinking about some things."

Tobias gave me a look, the one that meant he knew something was on my mind, but, thankfully, left it alone. "So, you ready to kick Eric's ass?"

I can feel my solemn face melting away as I think about it. After all he's done… victory would be sweet. "You bet. Let's just hope he doesn't pick me for his team. Then I'll have to kick your ass, not that that's a bad thing." I joke.

Tobias rolls his eyes at me, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards into a small smile.

"You wish, Cam, you wish. But no, Eric won't pick you, I think. His strategy, well, let's just say it relies on certain kinds of people."

His words are cryptic, but I nod. "See you on the field, big bro."

"See you, lil' sis." He winks and walks away. I shake my head at my brother's antics.

I turn and continue my walk towards my friends. Just as I lean on the wall next to them, Tobias begins addressing the crowd.

"We have pulled all of you out of bed for a game of Capture the Flag. We will divide into two teams to play. Each team will have a balanced mix of Dauntless-born initiates, transfers, and members. One team will get off first and find a place to hide their flag, and the other team will get off after ten minutes and do the same. This game is a Dauntless tradition, so it will do you good to take it seriously."

Nobody says anything.

"Your team captains will be Four and I." Eric says, after a moment of silence. He turns his attention to Tobias. "Who should we divide up first, Four?"

Tobias has his arms crossed over his chest. His voice is flat and emotionless. "Dauntless-borns. You go first."

"Okay, we'll divide up the transfers first then. Zayden."

Zayden walks over to Eric, grinning widely. I bet he got exactly what he wanted, being on a team with his mentor. I watch Tobias. I wonder who he will pick first.

He surveys the remaining transfer initiates, his eyes flickering over each one in less than a second. "Stiff."

Both surprise and hurt make an appearance. The nickname still hurts, even though I know perfectly well that Tobias doesn't mean it. And I'm surprised, because although I anticipated ending up on Tobias' team, I didn't expect to be picked first. I thought that would be too obvious, but he apparently doesn't care.

There is a little bit of laughter in the car, and I can feel red blooming on my cheeks. It's anger, anger at the people who think I'm too weak to make a worthy contribution to the team.

"Alright, Four. Picking the weak ones. That's a great strategy." Eric mocks. I glower at Eric, although he seems to ignore me. One thing I am not is weak, at least not physically. Not after countless hours in the sorting center, lifting heavy boxes to prepare for Dauntless, not after more hours spent on the floor, my back bloody from my so-called father.

No, I am not physically weak, and I will not stand anyone calling me that.

But I can't take Eric in a fight, not yet. And if I tried, I would probably be kicked out of initiation faster than I could say, "Ow." And so, my resolve turns to steel. I will show him. I will win this game.

Four shrugs in response to Eric's taunting. "It's a wonderful strategy, Eric. You should try it sometime. After all, wasn't it the weak ones who won last year?"

I stifle my laughter, and Eric's face grows red. He glares at the straight-faced Tobias, but doesn't try anything. Instead, he balls his fists and turns back to the initiates. "Aiden."

"Julia."

"Dante." Eric is now fiddling with one of his piercings. I cringe and look away. Getting all those seems painful.

"Ethan."

"Lavender." Lavender winces before walking over.

"Last one is Sadie, so she'll be on my team. Dauntless-borns now." Tobias says.

"Juniper." Juniper walks over to Eric, absolute loathing on her face. Kian watches her, his face lit with concern.

"Rowan." He walks over to me and raises his hand for a high-five. I return it, then turn back to watching the initiates that are left.

"Catalina." A girl with crazily colorful hair that has obviously been dyed walks over to Eric. I can't help but stare at her. Every strand of her hair is a different color from the one beside it, either dark red, dark blue, or dark purple. Even though the colors are dark and somewhat muted, they still stand out compared to everyone else's hair. Nobody has as much variation as she does. I briefly wonder how she got her parents to let her dye it like that.

Her hair is the complete opposite of her eyes, though. If black eyes existed, then this Dauntless-born - Catalina - would have them. I can't tell her irises apart from her pupils.

I suddenly recognize her, at least partially. She's one of the four Dauntless-born initiates who were sitting at the table that Kian pointed out when they were talking about Rowan's… crush.

Why does that sentence send unpleasant feelings through my stomach, just like it did the first time we talked about it?

She notices me looking at her, and wrinkles her nose, as though she were disgusted with me. At that moment, I decide that I don't like her.

Then she notices Rowan standing beside me, and her expression instantly changes. She blows a kiss towards him as she reaches Eric's side.

I study her. Are she and Rowan in a relationship? But, two days ago, his friends were talking about Rowan's crush, implying that he wasn't in a relationship. Is she his crush?

I look at Rowan, only to see him fake gagging. No, she's definitely not his crush. But then…

Wait. Rowan's Dauntless-born friends also said something about a "her". From what I gathered, Rowan broke up with the "her", and hasn't dated since.

Is Catalina "her"?

And why am I spending time puzzling over this?

"Kian." Kian walks over to our side, but his eyes are still fixated on Juniper. Rowan pats his back once he gets here, to which Kian offers a weak smile.

"Arya." A Dauntless-born I don't know joins Eric's team. She reminds me of a crow, with her large size, short-cropped black hair, and overall dark feel, complete with almost black eyes, similar to Catalina's, and completely black clothes, black painted nails, black makeup on her face, and black accessories. I mean, I know the Dauntless color is black, but Arya takes it to a whole new level. No accenting colors at all.

"Chloe." Kian's face lightens a little from its sulk as his sister joins us.

I stop listening after that. After all, all my friends have been chosen already, so what's the point?

Instead, I focus on Tobias' words before the choosing of teams. Eric has a strategy that relies on certain types of people. And, because of his reaction to Tobias picking me, I can assume that I'm not one of the people Eric was looking for.

I study the people on each side, and suddenly, it clicks. All the people Eric has picked are large, and visibly strong, even Lavender. Tobias is picking the skinner, more agile, faster people. I smile.

Maybe the people on our team are weaker than the ones on Eric's, but they certainly are faster. And that's what matters, isn't it? Even though I've never played, the name of the game is self-explanatory. And speed, not strength, will be the main advantage in this game. Thanks to Tobias, we hold that advantage.

I smile, not bothering to hide my confidence. You'd think Eric would be smarter, coming from Erudite, but my brother has managed to outsmart him.

By the time they're done choosing, our team has gained three Dauntless-borns, and Eric's team has gained four, because of the uneven number of Dauntless-borns.

"We'll get off first." Tobias announces. Without even looking back at Eric for approval, he jumps off the train, disappearing into the darkness. I take one last look at Lavender, who smiles sadly at me, and jump off.

If Zayden or Dante hurt her… I swear to god that they will pay.

I hit the ground, and run a few steps to absorb the momentum of the train. I just stand there, until the realization hits me.

I got off the train without falling.

I got off the train without falling.

I smile, wider than I have smiled my entire time at Dauntless. I'm sure the Dauntless-borns would see nothing to celebrate about, as they've been doing it their whole lives, but for me, this is a small accomplishment that just shows that I'm growing into my Dauntless skin.

"Everyone, gather around!" Rowan yells. The tone of his voice is commanding, and it invites no questions. Everyone does as instructed, except for Tobias, who stands off to the side, observing us.

"Alright, so we need a place to hide the flag, and a strategy to capture the other team's flag. Ideas, anyone?" Rowan seems like a natural-born leader. Maybe he should go into leadership after initiation.

Everyone starts talking, and all the voices blend into one huge cacophony, a large shouting match. Some people are supporting others, others are arguing or their own plan. Nobody seems to know what's going on.

We need more organization.

"Everybody shut up!" I scream, as loud as I can. Instantly, all the initiates fall silent, and many pairs of eyes land on me. I can even feel my brother's eyes, watching me, evaluating me. He's still my instructor after all.

"One thing at a time. First, we should find a place to hide the flag. I propose that the Dauntless-borns suggest places, since they've probably been here before."

The Dauntless-borns nod. I'm still getting over the fact that they're actually listening to me, but I continue. "We are going to talk one at a time. When I point at you, voice your idea."

"And why should we listen to you, Stiff?" A Dauntless-born boy asks.

I should have known that this was coming.

I step closer to the Dauntless-born boy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rowan step towards him too, to defend me I presume, but I speak before he can.

"Well, for one, this Stiff has won 2 out of her 3 fights. How many fights have you won, what's-your-name?"

"My name is Callan. And I've won…" he hesitates. Everyone is watching him. Finally, he mutters something under his breath.

"Speak up, Callan, I couldn't hear you."

"One. One fight." He mumbles, barely audible, his cheeks red.

"You've proved my point. And, secondly, would you rather listen to me or argue for this entire ten minutes and then lose the game?"

"Listen to you." He mutters again. The tips of his ears are turning red now.

"So listen to me. Do you have an idea of where to put it?"

He thinks for a minute. "No."

I look at the other Dauntless-born initiates. "Raise your hand if you have an idea."

Instantly, several hands go up. I point at Kian first. "There is a room nearby that looks kind of like the Dauntless control room, but it's broken. It has a glass window, and it's raised so it's above most of the pier, so we'll be able to see anyone coming. I know that the height would also make it easy for the light from the flag to be seen, but we can cover the flag with something to minimize it."

I study Kian for a second. It's a very thought-out location. The Dauntless don't think things out like that.

My suspicions of Kian and Chloe are growing stronger every day.

But I just nod. "Does anyone have a better plan?"

Most of the other Dauntless-borns have dropped their hands, liking Kian's plan, I presume, but one hasn't. I point at the girl.

"I think we should put it in one of the towers at the very end of the pier. That way, nobody can sneak up behind us." The girl says, her voice holding a little contempt, aimed at whom, I'm not sure.

Her logic makes sense, but, somehow, I don't think the towers would be a good idea. It's pretty far away, and I highly doubt there is anything to shield the flag up there. There are a lot more possibilities for hiding the flag in Kian's location, if he described it correctly.

"Alright. Who wants to go to the towers?"

Just the girl that suggested it, and Callan, raise their hands.

"And who wants to go to the broken control room?"

Instantly, the rest of the hands go up, seven, to be exact. I raise my hand as well, making it eight.

"Kian's idea wins. We're going to the broken control room. It was a good idea though…" I cock my head curiously, silently asking for her name.

"Freya."

"It was a good idea, Freya."

"Thank you." She offers me a small smile, but it has no warmth, and looks a little forced. I smile back, trying to express my sincerity.

"Lead the way, Kian."

And, with a mock salute at me, Kian turns and takes off running, leaving the rest of us no choice but to follow.

---

When we get to the spot Kian described, I have to admit it's a pretty good hiding spot.

You have to go into the crumbling building and navigate the hallways before you reach the staircase up to the broken control room. The halls aren't mazelike, but they'll certainly be a hindrance.

When you finally get to the stairs, it goes straight up to the room in which we are hiding the flag, but the flag isn't in sight. The room has a lot of clutter in it - a few desks, some screens, and boxes, in one of the corners.

We hid the flag in one of the boxes that was against the wall, and buried it beneath all the other boxes, shifting them around so it looks natural. If you look closely, you can still notice the glow the flag emits, but, from what I've seen of the Dauntless, they aren't incredibly observant, so I think it is good enough.

Once we are finished hiding the flag, we go back outside.

"We need a plan of attack." Julia states, and everyone nods. Immediately, several pairs of eyes turn to me.

My mouth feels dry, but not with anxiety, but with pride. These people are looking to me, a Stiff, as a leader. And I feel obliged to live up to their standards.

I think for a moment. If I were Eric, I'd post a few guards on defense and send the rest out in groups to look for us. It's the most common strategy.

"Okay." I take a deep breath, trying to reassure myself. This will work. This WILL work. "First, let's move so we are near the carousel. We don't want to give away our flag's location by standing near it."

So, we run. While we're running, Rowan comes up to my side. I pretend that I don't see him, just to tease him for scaring me earlier.

"Hello, Councillor."

I tense. Councillor is the name we give to those on the Abnegation city council. The Abnegation insist that the title is less discriminatory than "Councilman" or "Councilwoman". It is the title that Marcus held - Head Councillor. Any thoughts about giving Rowan the silent treatment go out the window, replaced by the single idea that I have to cover up my discomfort with anything Abnegation. So, I force myself to chuckle. The light sound that comes out of my mouth is foreign to me. "Councillor, really?"

"Yeah. Look at you, you're from Abnegation-" I try to hide my shudder at the mention of my old faction, "-and a natural leader."

"Because leading a group of teenagers playing war games is the same as leading the city." I deadpan. Rowan is the one to chuckle this time. "Secondly, I'm not Abnegation anymore, I'm Dauntless. And I think you'd make a better leader than me anyways."

"Nah, I don't have the patience. Most Dauntless don't. But you do. I think that you'd do incredible in a leadership role."

I smile, and I can feel a hint of a blush coming to my cheeks. His voice is completely sincere. He thinks I'd make a good leader.

But my mood dampens instantly when another line of thought comes to my head.

Many Abnegation think that Marcus is a good leader. It's the reason he's been head of the council for so long. And look at the monster he is.

I finally look at him, trying to chase away those kinds of thoughts. Marcus shouldn't have such a mental hold over me, but he does, and it feels like a noose around my neck. And thoughts like the one I cut off just make the noose a little tighter.

But looking at him does more than just chase away any thoughts of Marcus. As my green eyes lock with his hazel ones, I can feel my heart flutter a little.

What does this boy do to me?

I can't seem to tear my eyes away from his. And, for some reason, he doesn't look away either.

His eyes hold a depth that I've only ever seen in Tobias' eyes. The hazel is made up of several shades of green, brown, and even a little gold. These colors intermingle, so his eyes look green one moment, then brown the next. But it's the gold flecks that really hold my attention. They're almost like fish in a pond, appearing at random spots throughout his irises, and seem to be in different spots if you tear your eyes away for even a second.

Staring into his eyes brings memories of Abnegation, where I did the same to so many people - I spent countless hours over the years looking into people's eyes, trying to read them.

My earliest memories of eyes include looking into my mother's eyes, as she smiled at me, being both my mother and father, since Marcus couldn't be.

After she died, I looked into the eyes of the other Abnegation, trying to see if they knew about my hell. Or into Tobias' eyes, seeking the demons that haunted him, even if he would never show it on the surface. Sometimes, if I dared, I even looked into Marcus' eyes, straining to find the slightest bit of remorse for what he had done to our family.

I never found any.

Suddenly, I feel myself stumble, and I finally break eye contact with Rowan. I wave my arms, trying to regain my balance, but it's no use. I'm about to faceplant into the ground when two arms save me.

I feel like there is a connection between me and my rescuer, as soon his hands touch me. It's like wherever he touches is being charged with electricity. And that gives me a good idea of who it is.

I look up at my savior. As predicted, it's Rowan. "Thank you." I manage to get out. My throat is dry again, but not from the running, nor the near-fall. It's from him. He still has his hands on my waist, as though he's steadying me, although I'm already balanced on my feet again.

"No problem." We stand there for a second, staring at each other. And then he drops his hands and starts to run again, trying to catch up with everyone, since we've fallen slightly behind.

I run after him.

---

We reach the carousel, and everyone's attention is on me, again. Fortunately, I had the rest of our run back to go back over the rough plan I had devised in my head.

"Now that we're back, we should split into three groups, based on our speed and skill with a gun." I turn to my brother. "Four." He raises an eyebrow, keeping the expression on his face nonchalant. "Who do you think are the fastest and most accurate in our group?"

His eyes roam over all the initiates. When he finally speaks, his voice is firm, and just loud enough to be heard by everyone on the team. "The fastest are Kian and Chloe. Cammi, you're pretty fast too. The most accurate are Rowan, Cammi, and Julia."

I nod to him in thanks, and he nods back.

I address the rest of the group. "Our team's flag is pretty well hidden-" I nod to Kian. "-so we'll have no guards. We'll all scout out the other team's flag together, then split up into the three groups I mentioned earlier once we find it. The first group will basically be a distraction. They will charge the other team and shoot as many people as possible. This group needs accurate people."

I look around at my fellow team members' reactions. They don't seem opposed to it, but they don't seem too optimistic either.

I catch Tobias' eye, and he nods, just slightly, encouraging me to go on, even flashing me a small, closed lip smile. And so I do. "The second group will pretend to be sneaking around the main skirmish, and pretend to try and steal the flag. Their job is to engage the guards of the flag. We'll need some pretty accurate people in this group, too. And the third group will have to be the fastest. They'll have to go in and steal the flag while Group 1 is engaging the offensive part of the team and Group 2 is engaging the guards."

The team is silent, and I grow nervous. Do they not like my plan? Do they-

"It's a great plan. Let's do it. So, who is in which group?" Chloe finally speaks up.

I release a soft sigh of relief, seeing the nods that the other team members are giving in response to Chloe's statement. "I think that Group 3 should be Chloe, Kian, and I. Group 1 will be…" I trail off as I survey the group members. "Ethan, Rowan, Freya, and-" I stop as I look at the Dauntless-born girl, who I want to be the fourth member on the attack team. "What's your name?"

"I'm Amara." She replies. "Dauntless-born, and ready to win this game."

I nod in acknowledgement of her confidence. I'm not fully confident that my plan will work, but I have to make them believe that it will. The Dauntless are confident, and if I want to be Dauntless, I have to be confident too.

"Okay. So Group 1 is Ethan, Rowan, Freya, and Amara. Once we find Eric's scouts, you'll be taking out as many of them as you can." They nod.

"That leaves Sadie, Callan, and Julia to be in Group 2. Remember, distract the guards." They migrate towards each other, and Julia sends me a small smile.

"Group 3, we're going for the flag. Ready, everyone?" No coherent words answer me, only the soft cheers of our group, who, thankfully, have enough common sense to keep it down.

"Then let's go."

And we take off through the night.

---

Chaos.

The only word to describe the scene around me.

Turns out, the towers at the end of the pier, where Freya suggested hiding our flag, was where Eric's team hid their flag.

That could have been disastrous, but, unfortunately, it wasn't.

Chloe, Kian, and I are huddled around the corner of a building, watching the second group engage the flag guards. There are three of them, all at the bottom of the tower.

While heading this way, hoping to find Eric's team, the first group spotted a group of kids from the opposing side, three to be exact, heading away from the towers. They pursued them, hoping to take them out and find the other groups as well. There had to be at least one or two others.

And we kept heading this way, and, as we got closer, the light of the flag in the towers became clearly visible. I was right; there was no way to conceal the light up there.

And so, the second group went in. Currently, Sadie, Callan, and Julia are yelling at the defenders, while firing at them. The defenders are firing back, but more wildly, since they were taken by surprise. One of the defenders is Aiden, and another is Lavender. The last one is a Dauntless-born boy that I don't know.

"Let's go… now!" At my word, we all dart out from behind the corner, staying close to its walls as we sprint towards the door of the tower which houses the flag.

We make it there without trouble. When we're finally inside the tower, I look at Chloe. She is looking at Kian. And Kian is looking at me.

And we break into huge smiles.

Chloe holds both her hands out, one to each of us, for a high five. "Great job, you guys!"

We oblige, and I high-five Kian as well, before I make my smile melt off my face. "Thanks, Chloe, but we haven't won yet. Let's save the celebrations for when we do."

They nod, still smiling. Chloe approaches the stairs first, then Kian, and me last. We begin our ascent. Our steps are so quiet, you probably wouldn't be able to tell we were here. You can never be too careful, I guess.

Finally we reach the top of the staircase, and Chloe pokes her head above the second story's floor. She immediately yelps and ducks again, right as a paintball splatters above her head.

I tense instantly. We didn't anticipate someone being up here.

"There's someone up here. One person, a Dauntless-born boy. I think it's Tristian." Chloe whisper-yells to us.

"Well, that's a problem. Chloe and I will take him. Get the flag, Cammi." Kian whispers back.

Chloe and I nod. Kian holds up three fingers, and as soon as the last finger goes down, we charge.

I rush straight for the flag, while Kian and Chloe run at Tristian. I hear the sound of paintballs being fired and resist the urge to turn around. Kian and Chloe have got this under control.

Just then, a blur of color flies in front of my face. I jerk back, and it skims the edges of my hair.

I turn, only to see Kian, a pouting look on his face, with a paintball splattered over his left shoulder. Chloe is trying to draw Tristian's attention to her, but he clearly knows what's going on.

I turn away. I'm maybe one step away from the flag.

And I grab it.

At the same instant two shots fire.

Kian is out, and Chloe can't fire two shots so rapidly, which means one of them came from Tristian's gun.

And I doubt that it was for Chloe.

On instinct, I jump forward. I can feel the air rushing past the small of my back, from a paintball.

I land on my feet, clutching the flag. I risk a glance at Tristian and Chloe, only to find that Tristian has paint over his stomach, and Chloe is sporting a smug grin.

"Well, go on, Cammi, show everyone that we beat that loser Eric." She smiles at me, and it seems so sincere, that I smile back and head to the balcony of the tower.

I stand out there, looking down at the scene. The three defenders are sitting on the ground, looking sullen, while Sadie and Callan are also sitting. Only Julia is left standing, but she's facing away from the tower, looking for more enemies. Always the clever one.

But I have a better view than Julia. I can see our first group and Eric's offense battling, just a little bit away.

I feel the air shift as two people come up behind me. I don't have to turn around to know that it's Kian and Chloe.

"Yell it out loud and proud." Kian says, watching the battle that I am. "You led us to victory."

I turn my head slightly and smile at Kian.

And it hits me.

I'm in Dauntless, away from Marcus and a life full of service to others.

I have friends, all of whom care about me.

I have my big brother back, and he's never going to leave me again.

I've got a real home. I've got my family and my friends and a sense of freedom and my future ahead of me.

And who knows what more I might acquire later on?

But even if I don't get anything more, that's okay. Because I already have just about everything I have asked for, everything that my life in Abnegation didn't allow me to have.

And so, I take a deep breath, raise the flag, and swing it from side to side, screaming joyously for our successful conquest.

A/N: And that's a wrap!

I hope this chapter wasn't too boring or long. My goal was to write an epic CTF game while facilitating Cammi and Rowan's relationship.

Firstly, a quick shoutout to a certain Jillian is absolutely necessary! I used her map of Divergent Chicago to pick the locations for both flags. Cammi's team hid their flag at a place northwest of the Ferris Wheel, labeled 'Navy Pier Security Parking Attendant Booth'. Eric's team hid their flag at the same towers they did in the movie, which are labeled on the map (I can't link the map, so just type 'map of Divergent Chicago' into your search bar, it was the first result for me). This map was really useful, and this chapter wouldn't have been possible without it, so thank you, Jillian!

Hope you guys like sharp stuff, because we've got knife throwing coming up fast... Oh, boy. :)

And now, for my daily Spanish practice: Adios, mi estrellas! Gracias por leer!