Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent material. All characters from the Divergent story belong to Veronica Roth
Warning: Material in the story will be rated M. Anyone of a lower age should not read the material featured in this story. You have been warned. Mentions of Sexual Assault, Sex, Violence, and possible trigger warnings.
Chapter 4: Late Nights
The fights are starting this morning and I'm not sure who I will be paired up with. I had just woken up 5 minutes ago due to another nightmare. Everyone else is still asleep, tired from the gruesome training we went through yesterday. My legs ache from the run I took with Eric and my elbows hurt from the impact of the punching bag but I felt strong.
I sit up from my bed, listening to everyone around me snore away. I remember that Eric asked me to get to the training room early today, so I start to suit myself up for the training we're having today. My hair wasn't too big of a disaster this morning, so I quickly comb through my hair with my fingers. I slip my Amity shirt off my body again, using that as my permanent shirt for sleeping, and throw on my training shirt.
I tuck my pants into my boots like I had done yesterday and laced them up as firmly as before. I turn to see that Ella's still asleep and seeing how she and Elliot had to run 5 minutes behind me because I came into the training room early, I shuffle my way towards her bed before I nudge her slightly. She moves around, still asleep before I shove her a little harder which results in her waking up.
"Vi, what's going on? Did you have another nightmare?" she says groggily, trying to wake up.
"I was just letting you know I'm heading to the training room again early. I know you and Elliot got in trouble yesterday, so I wanted to wake you so you guys could be earlier than everyone else as well," I say, watching as her eyes land on mine before she gives a slight smile.
"I appreciate the wake-up call then. I'll get Elliot up and we should be in the training room in about 20 minutes. He takes forever to get up. You go ahead of us," she says, before she starts to move around a little more. I turn myself back towards our dorm room and start walking, listening as Ella starts to wake up Elliot. I leave the room, heading straight towards the training room.
I freeze halfway going to the training room when I realized that I told Ella where I was going. I'd have to make it seem that I ran into Eric in the room rather than tell her Eric told me to be there early. Besides, I don't think she'd believe me if I told her about Eric's request anyways. I just hope Eric doesn't catch on to the fact. With that in mind, I continue my way towards the training room.
I don't jog like I did yesterday, so it takes me a little longer until I find myself standing in front of the room. I nudge the door open. I can see Eric is already here, looking as I walk into the room.
"Seems like you're an early riser there Amity. I will say, I like that you're early like I asked you to be. Makes my life much easier. Now come over here, I want to show you something."
I walk over towards him, wondering what's going on. It's not until I'm about an arm's length away from him that he throws his fist into my stomach. My immediate reaction is to cradle my stomach, the air seemed to have been knocked out of me. I don't try to fall to my knees, instead, I get into the stance that Eric taught me yesterday, wondering if he'll strike again. He doesn't say anything and instead starts throwing more punches at me.
He's faster than I thought, and I find myself going on the defense rather than the offense. He's ruthless, his punches holding quite the impact when they land. I see that he likes to step a little to the left before he throws his punches, so I look to see when he does it again. The next punch he throws, I dodge and slam my elbow into his face, causing him to stumble back just a little. I think that I'm in trouble but instead, I see his face has a hint of pride and surprise on it. It's not long until he's back on the offense, swinging his fist into my arm, causing me to wince.
He stops, seeing that he's hit a bad area before he starts to speak.
"You're good at defense but rarely go on the offense. You leave your side open more than you think. Don't focus on what I'm doing, focus on what I will do. That's exactly what you did when you smacked me with your elbow. Exploit weaknesses of others because it can give you the advantage you need. Again Amity," he says, immediately going back to attack mode.
I feel as though I'm not landing as many hits on him, but I can see that I've managed to fend him off a little. His cheek has a decent sized bruised from where I smacked him with my elbow. This keeps going for a couple minutes until he somehow manages to kick my feet out from under me, causing me to fall to the floor, hard. I try catching my breath, watching as Eric seems to be doing the same a little. Not as badly as I am, but I can see some sweat that formed during our fight, making me feel a bit better.
"That was better Amity. You can see what I mean about having to much distance in your stance. The further they are, the less stability you have, which is why you ended up on the floor. If you keep doing that, you won't make it here," he says, watching as I push myself off the floor, rubbing my arm where he punched it a few minutes ago. He seems to notice how much I'm rubbing it because he grabs my arm before shoving my sleeve of my shirt up, revealing the tattoo I had gotten yesterday.
I see something flash in his eyes before he looks at me, obviously pissed off about the tattoo I had just gotten.
"You really got a tattoo the day before we start fights? Are you stupid or something? People will take advantage of that if they see how fresh it is. Why are banjo strumming softies this fucking stupid? This is why Amity transfers don't belong here," he snaps, gripping my arm tightly.
I try to fight the tears that seem to grace my eyes, but I refuse to cry in front of him. I snatch my arm away from him, feeling as though his touch has burned me. I shove my way past him, not listening to the shouts of anger coming from him. I move back towards the water fountains from yesterday, looking for a drink, anything to cool myself off before I decide to do something I will regret. It's not long before he's back in my face, looking for a fight.
"You will never ignore me like that again, is that clear initiate?"
I focus on my breathing, feeling as though I'm back in Amity, listening to the footsteps slowly approach my bed. I feel helpless. I feel like I'm drowning, and it isn't long until I finally snap back at him.
"Well maybe if you weren't such an unbelievable prick, I wouldn't have to ignore you. You know, I thought it was strange of you to bring me here in the morning again. I thought you were trying to make me stronger and become a better initiate, but you instead try and break me down. I think I've figured out your game. You try to pinpoint the weakest in the bunch and try to make them seem like a god in front of the other transfers. You know that physically, you can't permanently damage someone to their core but emotionally, you can fuck with them however you please. Well, I have to say, I'm not falling for that fake bullshit anymore and it'd be best if you gave up what you're doing. I'm not going to be a puppet anymore. Not to someone who feels that they know it all and prays on the weak. That's not being Dauntless, that's being an asshole," I heave, feeling the anger fuel my veins.
I continue to stand where I am, watching as he tries to come up to a retort to what I just said. His eyes become a dangerous dark blue and it takes me a second to realize he's pinned my body to the wall, his hand around my throat. His voice comes off as rough, dark, and somewhat sinister with what he says next.
"You should be lucky that I'm actually in a good mood today because I'd have kicked you out of here for what you just said. Instead, you're going to run the entirety of Dauntless 3 times before you can come back and fight whoever I put you up against. I don't care if I come off as an asshole, I own you. I can say whatever I want because it's my faction and I run it, not you. Now, get to running before I kick you out for good," he says, releasing my throat, bringing air back into my lungs. I try to suck in a breath before he kicks me in the stomach.
"I said, fucking run. If you're not out of here in 5 seconds, you're out," he says, starting his countdown. I catch another quick breath before I bolt out of the room. The last number I hear is 2. I keep running, feeling as my heartbeat increases, my head starting to pound as I run as fast as I can. I feel the tears stream down my face before I violently wipe them off, still running. My mind seems to have gone blank and I wonder when the last time I had ever felt like this, but I know the answer to that.
I quietly continue to run, forcing my mind to go blank and force myself to feel numb so I didn't have to feel anything for the time being. The run relaxes me, freeing me from the cage I seem to constantly be trapped in. I can see I'm already my third and final lap in and go back to not thinking.
Thinking was a dangerous game and the more I show how fucked up I am, the more people will see the broken person underneath me. It's not long until I'm outside the training room that I force myself to look undeterred. I would not give Eric the satisfaction of seeing me the way I was.
I give myself one more deep breath before I push the doors open, watching as everyone from the transfer group looks up at me. I focus my eyes on mat in the middle of the room, watching as two of the transfers that seemed to be fighting stopped for a second before they resumed. I didn't say anything and silently sat next to Ella.
Ella tries to get me to talk but I don't have the energy to talk to someone right now. Instead, I stare at the transfers that are fighting, looking for any weaknesses that they may have. One of the transfers is Nevin and I see he's up against someone from Candor. It seems like an even match. Nevin is faster but the person from Candor has strength behind his punches. I see that Nevin leaves his sides open when he strikes, giving an opportunity for someone to attack there. He's also not as defensive as I was, seeming to try and best his opponent instead of learning what his opponent was weak at.
The man from Candor has sloppy footwork and his knee could use a lot more power than what he was doing. Their fight takes another couple minutes until the guy from Candor finally slams his fist into Nevin's stomach, causing the man to fall to the floor, out of breath. The fight is seemingly over but Eric stares at him, waiting for something more until the Candor guy finishes and knocks out Nevin with a hard hit to the face. It's then that the fight is called.
"Winner, Ky"
Ky leaves the mat, seeming to be impressed that he won his first fight before Four circles Ky's name on a chalk board I hadn't noticed before. I stare at the board, looking for my name when I see that I'm going up against someone named Reid. I'm not sure who he is but I see that we're the next up on the board. Eric calls out Reid's name first.
Reid is tall and bulky, giving me doubts as to whether or not Eric had a hand in that. I see that Eric spots me and sends me a chilling smile before calling my name.
"Vi"
I stand up, wiping my hands quickly on my pants before walking up to the mat. I don't pay any attention to Eric, watching as Reid stares at me, a cruel smile rests on his face. I don't dare give him any sort of reaction, instead, I ready my stance, waiting for the round to start.
"Since you weren't here Vi, you should know we're going until you knock your opponent out or they knock you out. Anything in the ring is legal if it's a body part. Any weapons you have on your person will give you an automatic disqualification from Dauntless, resulting in you becoming factionless. Other than that, let the fight begin," Eric says, watching as I stare at Reid.
Reid has a long reach on me, meaning I can't reach him without getting a nasty hit from him. I wait until he throws the first punch which he does quickly afterwards. I dodge his punch, bouncing on the balls of my feet as he immediately goes on the offense. I watch as he continues to aim for my head, getting frustrated as I dodge them every time. It's from this that I notice his stomach gives me an opening and I jam my foot into the area.
The reaction from him is instantaneous, the pain from my kick seems to have knocked him off his game. His eyes show a flash of anger before he's back, attempting to hit me, failing each time he does so. I see the frustration working throughout his body, he's not as fast as me. He throws another punch which I dodge before kneeing him into the same place, watching as the air leaves his lungs before he finally hits me on my arm, the one where I got my tattoo. I see a smile appear on his face but instead of the pain I felt from Eric's earlier assault, I felt nothing but burning anger within me.
He positions himself once again, throwing another punch which I dodge before I slam my elbow into his head, watching as he hits the floor. I circle him, watching as he tries to stand back up without success before I kick him in the head, his eyes rolling to the back of his head before everything falls silent. I look up to see that everyone is astonished at what I had done and watch as Four silently circles my name on the board before I leave the ring, watching as others that fought earlier take him to the infirmary.
"Winner…Vi," Eric announces, seemingly stunned for a moment before he moves on to the next fight of the day.
I watch as Ella goes up against Elliot, leaving Elliot to take the round after a nasty knockout blow to her head. I offer to take her to the infirmary, carrying her as I watch the others in the room carry on.
The walk to the infirmary is a quiet one and I'm hoping that Ella will be okay. The nurse allows me to stay for 5 minutes which gives me enough time to wipe off some of the blood from Eric's attack earlier and check on my arm where both Eric and Reid punched me. There's a nasty bruise that has formed on the tattoo, but I can still see the beauty that the tattoo offers. I rise my face off, ridding it of sweat and dried tears before I leave Ella's room, asking the nurse to please inform me when she's awake.
I arrive back in the training room, watching as another fight takes place and sit next to Elliot. He gives me a slight wave before he whispers in my ear.
"Holy shit Vi, your fight was intense. He barely did anything to you besides hitting your arm. I can't believe you took him down that quickly, that was fucking awesome to see. Reid's always been a prick anyways so seeing him get knocked on his ass by you was the highlight of my week," he says. It takes me a second before I allow a brief smile to surface before turning to him.
"I appreciate it Elliot, I just watched what he was doing and went from there. You learn a lot about your opponent, especially when they seem to underestimate you. I'm sorry you had to go up against Ella, that must have been hard. I asked the nurse to inform me when she's awake," I say, watching as his facial expression drops.
"I know, it sucked. I didn't want to hurt her and I knocked her on her head. She's going to kill me when she gets up," he says, placing his head in his hands. I reach over and give his arm a quick squeeze, forcing him to look at me, before I shake my head slightly. "She's not going to be mad at you for what you did. It's not like you were going easy on her. She'll look at it in a way where she can learn from it and know that she can grow stronger from it. If you had half assed it, then she would probably kill you," I say, watching as a small smile appears on his face.
"Thanks, I needed to hear that. I just hope she's okay, I hit her pretty hard," he says.
"She'll be okay. The nurse didn't seem too worried for her, so I'll take that as a good sign," I say, watching as he seems to feel a bit better after his fight
After that, I turn my attention back to the fights. Some fights are over in minutes, the shortest ones being against people with sex differences and agility. The faster a person was, the longer a fight seemed to last. It's not long until we've reached the end of the fighting, watching as Eric walks over to the front of the board, circling a girl named Kiri before he turns back at us.
"I will say, there was some interesting fights here today. A lot of you still need to work on your stance. Some have left me impressed with your progress. Now, onto the ranks. Here on this board," he points to an electronic board behind him before switching it on, revealing where everyone in the transfer group lied. I was shocked to see my name at the top. I don't focus long on it before he continues "This is your lifeline. Anyone who's name remains below that red line will be cut by the ending of this stage. If you see you're in there right now, I suggest to stop fucking around and prove to us that your Dauntless. And if you're above the line, I wouldn't let up because people will want what you have. Continue to train on your own time, or don't, that's up to you. We'll continue more fights tomorrow. However, you guys will come back here. We're starting gun training as well, so be here after lunch. You're dismissed," he says.
I look on the board and find that Ella is still above the red line, at number 11, which makes me smile. I see that Elliot's name is too, number 7. I see that he's found his ranking and the surprise on his face tells me he didn't expect to place that high. He comes over to me, engulfing me in a big hug, laughing in my ear, before letting me go.
"I can't believe it. I'm ranked decently high. And look at you, miss First ranked. I can't wait to go see Ella. Let's go right now," he says grabbing my hand before walking towards the training door. Before we reach it, Eric speaks up.
"Amity, stay behind. I need to speak with you. You can see your friend in a minute."
I watch as Elliot releases my hand, staring at me to see what I'd say to Eric. I look at Elliot before I say to him "It's okay, I'll be there as soon as Eric is done talking with me. Don't cause to much trouble in the infirmary. I'll see you soon," I say, watching as he quickly glances at Eric before turning back towards the door, offering me a small wave before he leaves, the door closing slowly behind him.
I don't attempt to move anywhere near Eric, opting to instead stand where Elliot left me. I don't hear when him coming closer to me, but I feel his breath on the back of my neck before he speaks.
"I'm impressed Amity. I didn't think you'd be able to take him down like that. I have to say, I was not expecting that result, especially since you ran around Dauntless 3 times before you came back. It's seems I've underestimated you in the fact that you can hold your own quite well. Even with his punch to your arm, you didn't seem to be fazed," he says, thinking that I'll probably talk with him.
I'm in no mood to talk with him, especially after the way I forced myself to shutdown in order to come back and win an unfair fight because of him. I don't want to give him any satisfaction that his words got under my skin. It's not long until he speaks up again, moving his hands on my neck, causing me to flinch.
"I want to say you did good Amity. I don't offer those words very often to anyone, so count your blessings. Also, when you leave, have the nurse look at your neck. I don't need to see it get any worse than it already is. Just say it was a training accident, gives me less paperwork to do," he says, grabbing my chin lightly before looking at my seemingly dead eyes into his somewhat taken off guard ones.
I offer him a low grumble of "Yes sir," and wait to see if he has anything else to say. His grip on my chin stays light and there's a look in his eyes that I can't decipher. He releases me before saying "See you at lunch Amity."
I nod before I move myself towards the training room doors, opening them slowly before I turn back to see that Eric is still standing where I left him. He's hard to read and before I get sucked into his gaze, I slowly watch as the door closes, blocking my view from him.
"I can't believe the ass whooping you gave Reid, Vi. You're like, my hero now. I've been wanting to see that for years," Ella says, sitting up in her infirmary bed. "You have no idea how long he's been needing that in Candor. I just wished I was the one to do it."
Ella had just woken up a bit ago and began pestering me about my fight. Her eyes shinned with amazement, clearly impressed with what I did in the training room. I find myself smirking at her enthusiasm towards my fight.
"You need to teach me some moves Vi. So, when my next fight comes, I can kick their ass like you did with him."
"I can teach you a little bit. It's just having to focus on what your enemy is weak at. I saw that Reid had a clear opening on his stomach. I just knew I couldn't get near him with my fist because he has a longer reach then me. So, I used my leg to kick him, giving me an advantage over him."
"So if you noticed that, what were my weak points at. I want to work on them," she asks. Elliot also seems intrigued.
"You're fast like I am and have limited range on your punches. However, you leave your stomach open for attack and your legs are too far apart. The reason why Elliot took you down is because you weren't stable enough. Once you ended up on the floor, you could have kicked him in his knee, giving you time to get back up. Instead, you focused on solely getting up which gave Elliot time to knock you out," I say, watching as Ella stares at me with shock.
"You noticed all that from my fight alone? Man, you really need to train me then so I don't suck next time," she says, slightly pouting.
"You didn't suck Ella, I'm just good at paying attention at multiple things at once. That comes from years of working in Amity. It takes time is all," I say, trying to cheer her up. It seems to have worked.
"I know, I just hope my next fight will go better. If you give me pointers, I hope I can use them in my next fight," she says, reaching out to grab my arm. I feel her hand graze my arm before she looks back at me.
"By the way, why were you late to the fights today. You left before Elliot and I and when we got there, the only person we saw was Eric. He seemed a little mad."
I decide to tell her that Eric sent me to run around Dauntless for mouthing off to him. She seems less than amused at that confession.
"I can't believe that. You already ran around yesterday with him, which I'm sure was brutal. He could have at least done once around Dauntless, not 3 times."
Elliot seems to agree with her sentiment but before he can say anything, I interrupt her. "It's fine Ella, I'm just glad I'm fast. I'm sorry if I had you guys worried about it."
She doesn't say anything else to that and opts to start talking about the gun training that we have after lunch. I don't provide much commentary and find myself zone out, thinking back to how angry Eric got at the fact I got a tattoo.
I've never seen a person get that angry over something so miniscule. I would say my father can take that prize but that's a different ball game. My father never wanted a daughter and when I was born, I was immediately sidelined by my father. The fact that I was born female, which I had no choice in the matter, angered him to his core. I never got to do things for myself because he viewed it as disrespect and a way to get back at him.
When I got my tattoo, it was the second time in my life I got to choose something for myself because it's what I wanted, the first being choosing Dauntless. Watching Eric become that angry stirred some emotions in me that I thought would leave when I left Amity. I didn't want to anger him, but it seems like my father, he's a loose cannon and the more I try to pull away, the more it draws him to me.
I know I've painted a target on my back and I desperately wish I could escape it all, tired of fighting after 16 years of hell in Amity. I had hoped coming here would offer me a way to strengthen the shell of an emotionally broken girl that tried constantly to free herself, but it seems to me, as I sit here in this infirmary, that's a task in of itself.
Lunch goes by faster than I would like it too. I didn't pay much attention to what was going on around me nor did I eat much. I found myself picking at my food. Ella asked me if I was doing alright which I responded back with a cheerful "Yeah, I'm just a bit tired from my run this morning." I don't think she believed me, but I didn't want to worry her.
I was still upset about what happened during the morning and found that I didn't want to go to train. However, I knew what those consequences would be like and thought better of it.
It's not long until Ella finishes, and I stand up with her, watching as she goes to dump her plate. I forget to grab my plate, instead leaving it on the table and walk out with Ella, walking towards the training room. She tries to engage several conversations with me, but I know with one look towards her, she quiets down. I'll have to apologize later for my behavior.
We enter the training room, seeing that no one is in here yet, so we sit on the floor. The air seems tense around us so I look at her before I begin to speak.
"If you'd like, we can practice some moves. I know you said you wanted a bit of practice with me, especially with trying to improve your rank."
She stares at me in shock, as if she wasn't expecting me to speak for awhile. It's not long before her face lights up in a smile and she picks herself off the floor. "Oh my god, yes please. I need to get better. I appreciate the offer. Come on, lets get into the ring," she says, grabbing my arm before she pulls me up, running towards the ring. It's not long until we take our stances and I start my teaching.
"Now step towards me, bringing your left foot into my stomach. Your legs are your greatest advantage you have. Strike me when you see an opportunity," I say, stepping back before I start throwing punches in her direction. She's fast and picks things up quickly which is nice. I manage to snag her in her side before she sends a kick into my side. I take a step back, watching as she realized what she just did.
"Did I just kick you? Are you okay?" she asks.
"I'm fine. That's exactly what I wanted you to do. You saw an opening on me and took it and got a good kick in, very nice job," I say, walking over to her with my hand out. She seems unsure of what to do at first but suddenly jumps up and down from excitement.
"I actually did something good. I can't wait for the next round of fights tomorrow. I wanna show them I've already improved," she says, grabbing my extended hand before turning back to me. "I'm really glad you're helping me. It means more than you'll ever know."
"You're welcome. Now, get back into your fighting stance, we're going again."
"Actually, you two can stop now. Class is starting here soon, no need to start a fight you can't finish." We whip are heads towards the training room doors, watching as Eric stands there, seemingly taking in our fight. Ella immediately stiffens and rushes off the mat. I follow behind her, watching as Eric follows us before we're back on the floor, waiting for instructions. Eric starts his way over to us, Ella gripping my hand tightly. I squeeze hers back reassuringly, wondering what Eric will say to us.
"I'm surprised to see that both of you were here early. Ella, your footwork needs work. You'll never get better if you don't have a good stance. However, your kick to Amity over here was nice," he says. I watch as Ella's face goes from horrified to slightly confused to happy.
"Yes sir, I'll work on it. Vi is a really good teacher," she says, staring at me. "I'm hoping with her help, I'll be able to rise in the ranks. She's a great friend."
I try not to get choked up hearing that but my heart rate feels as though it'll bust out of my chest. I watch as Eric stares at me before he addresses me. "Your stance going into the ring was wrong. That's why she got a hit on your stomach. Learn to defend that area quicker and maybe you won't have to deal with people hitting you there."
My eyes drop, knowing that I was basically being told by Eric that I shouldn't let small mistakes cost me my spot in Dauntless. I don't dare try and say anything. It seems he's not done with me yet. "You're fast in the ring. You're also very quick to pick up on others weaknesses. Don't underestimate your opponent… you did a good job in sparring with her," he says, forcing my eyes to shoot up at him in surprise. I don't try and say anything, but I find myself giving him a small smile before he turns around, walking away towards our fight board.
Ella looks at me in surprise before tackling me in a hug. "He thought we were doing good. We actually got a compliment from our all scary and hard ass leader," she whispers in my ear before calming herself down. I find myself laughing with her and focus my eyes on the leader who stands next to the board, looking towards the doors.
My thoughts begin to wonder, mostly about he doesn't seem to be what everyone else seems him to be. This is the first time I've seen him offer any feedback to someone other than myself. It's strange that at some points, he's a hard ass and others, he's offering to help improve people. It doesn't seem to make sense and before I could continue with my thoughts, the doors open, the rest of the transfers fill in.
Eric straightens up, his arms fold across his chest and watches as everyone sees him and joins both Ella and I on the floor. The room is dead silent, giving Eric the opportunity to address everyone.
"I see that everyone's back from lunch. Starting now, we're going to go outside on the roof. We're going to practice understanding, handling, and shooting a gun. You'll be shooting targets that are across the building. No they don't move, so don't even ask. Move," he snaps, walking straight out of the training room, all the transfers right behind him. I somehow end up in the front behind Eric, watching as he leads us up to the roof we had just jumped off of 2 days ago.
His walk is precise, as though he's done this walk a thousand times. There's no hint of fear walking next to the chasm and there's a sense of calm I witness from him. He looks almost relaxed. It's not long until we're on the roof, guns stationed to our right. Eric moves ahead a bit more and turns back toward us, staring as the rest of the transfer pile on the roof before he begins his training.
"This is where you'll be firing. To your right, we have your guns. Each one of you will grab one. You will also find an ammunition box. Go grab one of each," he says. We all walk towards the table.
As I pick up the gun, I notice how heavy it feels, the metal cool to the touch. It makes me feel almost powerful. I grab an ammunition box and walk back over to where I was standing. After everyone else grabs a box and gun, Eric continues.
"Next, this is how to load your weapon. Pay attention because I won't be showing you again," he says, grabbing the ammunition from the box before unclamping the clip on the bottom before adding ammunition in it. He snaps the clip back into place before he turns towards a small target. He raises the gun, aims, and proceeds to fire bullets into the target. Not every shot is a bullseye, but his aim stays true and most of his shots are near or on the bullseye. He turns back to us.
"I expect everyone to be able to do that by the end of the week. If not, you'll be in major trouble with me. Everyone, line up at the shooting range," he says, watching us as we all line up apart from one another with our weapons before he continues. "You're all going to fire until every one of you can manage to hit the target at least once. No one will go to dinner until then, so I suggest you learn to aim and fire quickly. Also, don't point your gun at others, especially when loaded. I'm not cleaning up any messes today. Start!"
I focus on myself as I undo the clip from the gun I have. I take out some bullets, holding onto one for a moment, staring at it. It's not as heavy as I thought it could be. I take a few moments to study it before I start to load up my clip for my gun. It takes me a few solid tries to put the clip back on the gun but before I know it, my gun is loaded. I turn back towards the targets, watching as some people who finished earlier than me try and shoot at it. Not one of them even reach close to the target.
I find myself wondering how Eric's stance looked when he fired and find myself envisioning it. The gun was near his shoulder, somewhat like a pocket for the butt of the gun. His head was slightly tilted so he could aim for the target and his other hand gripped a hand guard. His stance was relaxed, his feet were firmly placed on the ground, and he allowed to gun to fire without any hesitation.
I hear Eric walking around, giving others a hard time, especially the ones that weren't even near the target. I turn towards the target, trying to copy Eric's stance from earlier. It seems a bit awkward, especially with where the end of the gun was going. It took me a few minutes to try and find a comfortable position for the gun before I felt I was ready to take my first shot. I line my rifle up, focusing on where the target was. I breath out before I pull the trigger.
I learn immediately that the gun comes with a huge recoil, causing my shoulders to shoot a little upwards. My shot from the gun wasn't bad. I hadn't hit the target, but I managed to hit the outside of it by only a few feet. I was the first person to do so. Eric walks over to where I am and I wonder what he's going to say to me.
"You tensed when the shot happened. Your shoulders weren't ready for such an impact, and you missed the target because of it. Do it again"
I turn back to the target, feeling Eric's eyes on me as I line my shot up again. I pull the trigger again, bracing myself for the impact this time. The bullet lodges itself in the target, inside the second circle of the three. I stare, feeling surprised I managed to hit the target first out of everyone. Eric seems to not like the results though.
"Again Amity. You can get closer than that."
I find myself being ganged up on by him, so I continue to unload my gun into the target, watching as my bullets get closer to the bullseye. It takes another 30 minutes for me to get my first bullseye. After that, they become more frequent.
By an hour, I'm managing hitting the target near or on the bullseye like Eric was. I also seem to be the only one to get such results. Most of the transfers have managed to hit the outer ring of the target but none have even gotten anywhere close to the level I'm at. Eric seems pleased with this and informs me to go shoot another target that's at a farther distance.
It's not long until I'm able to hit that target and start to shoot at the bullseye. Eric moves me around to other targets, telling me not to move from that spot until I clear the target with bullseyes or close to one. This happens every so often and by the time the last transfer manages to hit his target, I've gone through almost all the further targets save for the ones located on other roofs off in the distance.
The sky is getting darker, and I can fill the slight breeze in the wind pick up. I watch as Eric walks towards the targets and turns to address us. "Almost every one of you needs to work on firing. These results are pathetic," he says, walking towards us. Everyone stays quiet, knowing he wasn't impressed with anyone standing here. "Do you really think you can get into Dauntless with not knowing how to shoot. Who do you take me for, a dumbass?" Everyone shakes their heads.
"I expect these results to improve by the end of this week. Your spots in Dauntless are in danger if you don't figure out the difference between aiming and firing," he snaps. "Next time, watch what I'm doing rather than fucking around for the last 5 hours. Go get food, we're done here.
Everyone turns to leave before he speaks up again.
"Except you Amity, I have to talk to you."
Everyone looks at me before they all turn back towards the roof entrance. Ella stares at me, wondering what's going on. I give her a small wave to help ease her fears. I think it does enough because she waves back and mouths to me that she'll save me some food. I watch as she disappears behind the roof door and it's only Eric and I left here.
I walk over towards Eric, watching his stare not falter once. I stand in front of him, arms by my side and my eyes finding his own once again. He's the first to speak.
"Are you sure you're from Amity, Amity? You're surprisingly good at shooting, especially since I put you on targets that only our skilled snipers can hit."
I'm surprised to hear the level of difficulty Eric put me on. I'm also surprised to hear I'm on par with skilled, trained snipers. I must convey that on my face because Eric speaks up again.
"I'm taking that as a no. I would say you'd need to practice more on this, but your aim is skilled. When we do gun training again tomorrow, I want you to focus on hitting the targets I made you hit today. There's no reason for you to hit the regular board, that's not allowing you to reach your potential."
I can see his reasoning there. I was easily the best shooter in our group. I highly doubt anyone in the transfer group would ever be that good. I continue to look at him before I reply.
"Yes sir. Do you want me to work on anything else?"
He looks at me, seeming off taken by the question before he stares back at me. "No, your shooting is above where it needs to be. Just as long as you practice, you shouldn't need to do a lot of work on shooting."
I nod, feeling my skin break out into goosebumps. The wind has picked up a tiny bit, causing a chill to run down my spine. Eric seems to have notice because he looks at me before saying "You should head inside. You'll need dinner for tomorrow's training lesson. The morning is fights; the evening is shooting. Don't slack in either one Amity."
"I won't sir. I'll do the best I can."
He seems to accept my answer and I turn to head back into the compound. However, before I reach the door, I feel him grip my arm. I feel myself tensing up before I remember it's just Eric and turn back to look at him.
His body looks tense and uncomfortable. His hand loosens on my arm just a smidge. I don't try to remove his hand off though. He looks around me, looking as though he's trying to figure out what to say. Before I can ask what's going on, he reaches into his back pocket and produces a small, silver cylinder with a ribbon wrapped around it. I find myself blushing, unsure of what he's doing, and it seems he doesn't know either. He takes my hand in his, placing the canister in it before speaking to me.
"Here, it's… bruising balm. For earlier. I see that there's still some bruising on your neck that you tried to cover. Just rub it against the area and the bruising should start to heal faster," he says, releasing the item to me.
I stare at him, not knowing what to say at first until I find myself hugging him. He stiffens under my touch and I'm sure he's going to push me off him for doing such a thing. Instead, I feel his hand lower itself onto my lower back, pressing me further into him. My heart is pounding against my chest and I'm not sure what's going on at all.
I can hear his heart rate as well, which seems a bit fast. His scent invades my nose, something minty and somewhat rosewood like. I don't think he realizes that his hand begins to draw small circles on my back, causing goosebumps to race all over my body.
It's not long until he releases my back, stepping away from my grip. I stare up at him, watching as different emotions flash across his face.
Confusion is the most prominent one. There's a bit of surprise in there as well. There's something else that flashes but I can't seem to pick up on it before he returns to stoic Eric.
"I didn't say you could touch me initiate. I'll leave it alone for now, but this is your only warning. Take your leave now."
I walk back towards the door, opening it before turning back to look at Eric. "Thank you, Eric. This was sweet of you," I say, sending him a small smile, before I walk back into the compound, the sound of the door of the roof slowly closing behind me until a hear a soft click.
