Chapter 7

Jamie POV

Finally it's Friday. Tonight is the night that Eric said they had something special for. It's been killing me ever since he told me about it, because I want to know what it is. I'm very impatient, and very curious, that's a bad mix.

We head to the pit for the fights this morning, and I see that I'm paired against Edward. I guess Eric wants me to try this again.

Our fight is the very last one, and Tris's is right before mine. She's fighting Peter. I don't know what they were thinking matching her up with him, he's going to destroy her.

Will and Christina both won their fights, and I'm just waiting for mine now, but I forget we still have to get past Tris and Peter, and this is not going to be pretty.

"Tris, Peter, in the ring."

Four calls them up there and looks like it's killing him to have to put her up with Peter. I think he cares for her more than he's showing.

The fight is hard to watch, because I knew she was going to lose, but I hoped it wouldn't be this bad. He's beating her as hard as he can, but she keeps getting up, she won't stay down. I just want her to stay down, so Eric can call it and it'll be all over with.

About half way through their fight, I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I look over to see what it was, and I watch as Four leaves the Pit. He can't stand to watch it either. I look to Eric, hoping he'll just call it already, she's too stubborn, she'll keep standing until he kills her.

"Okay, that's enough. One of you help me take her."

He looks at me when he says that, I guess not wanting to have to deal with any of the others, but not wanting to ask my help directly.

I walk over and help pick her up, and I try to give him a look, asking why he let that happen. Why didn't he stop it.

"Stop looking at me like that. It's the rules Jamie, I tried to leave them until he knocked her out. If you don't follow the rules, nobody cares, but I'm a leader. I have to follow everything to a tee. Besides, I hate to break it to you, but she wasn't going to make it anyway. She's out."

As soon as we lay her on the bed in the infirmary, I start to run back to the Pit.

"What are you doing?"

"Going back. I have to fight. You should get back to marking names off the list, weeding them out. That's your job isn't it?"

"Hold up."

I stop. Even though I'm angry with him, I don't keep running.

"Yes, it is my job. I'm sorry that I have to follow the rules, but you come from Erudite, if anybody is going to understand what happens when you break the rules, it's you."

"Your job is to weed out the ones that don't belong."

"She doesn't belong! She got the crap beat out of her, she hasn't won a fight yet!"

"Winning fights is not the point of Dauntless, Eric! You're a leader, you know that! You told me that! Dauntless means fearless, not undefeated. What about Peter? Are you going to keep him in? Of course you are, because he hasn't lost as many fights, but he's a coward! You've seen how he treats everyone else. He's afraid. Afraid that someone is going to be better than him, so he has to make sure they know he's the best. That's not Dauntless. Tris was brave and stubborn enough to keep standing up. She wasn't afraid of getting beat all to pieces, she was brave enough to keep standing, to keep fighting. That's what Dauntless is, that is the definition of Dauntless! Shouldn't that be in your rules?!"

"You are an initiate, you do not get to tell me how to run things, understand?"

"Yes, I'm an initiate, but I understand Dauntless far better than you. You figure it out, and I'll calm down. Other than that, stay away from me."

I take off at a sprint, going back to the Pit. I still have to fight Edward, and I'm determined to prove to Eric that he's wrong about Dauntless, about me, about Tris. He is very wrong.

We still have to wait for Eric to get back, but it doesn't take him long. Apparently, he started running too, as soon as I took off.

"Jamie, Edward, in the ring."

We step up, and I don't look at Eric when he tells us to start. In fact, I hardly hear him, I'm so focused on beating Edward. For the first time, this will not be a draw.

Edward throws a few punches, but I easily dodge them. I want to do the same thing I did in practice the other day, when I wiped Eric's feet out from under him. I intentionally leave my face unguarded, almost begging Edward to swing. He does, but he doesn't make contact. In a flash, I've got him on his back, and I'm pounding on him. I feel Eric take me off of him, and I know I kicked Eric at least once, not wanting him to touch me.

When I saw Edward's face after I beat him, I realized I probably should have held back just a bit. I was taking out all my anger against Eric, on Edward.

As soon as they let us go, Will, Christina, Al, and I go to check on Tris. I'm nearly crying from anger, knowing that we'll have to be the ones telling her that she's out. We pass Four on our way to the infirmary, and he holds us for just a second.

"Hey, I know you're going to check on Tris, but be at the train station at about 6:00. We're going for war games."

"War games? What is that?"

"You'll see."

With that, Four hands us what look like bullet proof vests and walks off.

So that's what Eric was telling me about. Just the thought of Eric makes me want to punch something. I know I should probably be afraid of him, I know I had to have made him angry, but I'm so mad myself, I'm not afraid of him.

Once we get to Tris, she is actually awake.

"Hey Tris, how are you feeling?"
"Like I just got beat up by Peter. What are those for?" she points at the vests.

"War games."

"War games? Wait, do I need to be coming with you guys?"
"No tris, I don't think you're allowed."

"Yeah I am, I feel fine. I'm a little sore, but I'll be alright." I look at the rest of the group, and decide to break it to her.

"No Tris, you aren't allowed as in, you have to be part of Dauntless. Eric said you were done. He's kicking you out." when I say his name, I feel my hands start to shake with anger again, but I clasp them together, not wanting my friends to see.

"Wait, what? I'm factionless? I didn't even get through the first part of initiation, what if I'm actually good at the rest of it? I can make it, I can get above the line-"

"Tris, I already tried to get him to change his mind. He's standing firm on his decision. I'm sorry."

Christina looks at me and taps her watch.

"Tris, I'm sorry, we have to go. Just stay here, they won't let you go until you're feeling better. We'll get to talk to you later tonight."

We get up to go, but I don't want to leave her. She's our friend, we shouldn't have to let her go like this. Granted, I know Edward had to deal with Myra, his girlfriend, being cut last week, but it doesn't seem as bad when it happens to someone else. When it happens to your group, to your friends, it's just painful. And right now, I blame Eric. I still think it would've been a much better decision to get rid of Peter. Strength doesn't make a person Dauntless. Bravery, determination, not being afraid, even when you know you're about to fail, that's what Dauntless is.

I'm thinking about everything that's happened today, all the way to the train. Once it arrives, we all hop on, and I put my vest on when we get in. Just a minute later, I hear someone yell that somebody was chasing the train. I looked out the door and saw Tris, grinning and running. Four reached out and gave her a hand in, which she seemed to appreciate a little more than she should.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Playing war games with you guys. Who cares what they say, I'm Dauntless, and I know it. That's all that counts."

Her eyes go a little wide as she looks over my shoulder, and I turn to see Eric standing there.

"Who let you out?"

"I did."

He thinks for a minute, I guess trying to decide whether to kick her off the train or let her stay.

"Okay." he says. As he turns to walk off, he looks at me and nods. I don't care if he let her stay, I'm still mad at him.

A few minutes later, he calls for our attention, and we all turn to him, waiting to hear what he has to say.

"So, war games. This is basically just capture the flag, except with guns."

He holds up a small, red gun, and Molly scoffs.

"You call that a gun?"

He points it at her thigh and shoots. She falls to the ground, in apparent pain and there is a small dart sticking out of her leg. Eric bends down and pulls it out.

"When shot with this, it will simulate the pain of a real gunshot wound. Only lasts about five minutes, but it hurts. A lot. Okay, two teams."

He waves an arm in front of Four, indicating that Four gets first pick.

"I'll take the Stiff." he says, grinning.

"Alright, picking the weak ones so you have an excuse when you lose."

"Yeah, something like that."

Eric looks around, deciding on his first pick, and looks right at me. No. Don't you do it, I still hate you.

"Jamie. You're on my team."

I give him the hardest glare I possibly could as I walked up beside him. He just smirked at me, which did not make me any less angry… okay, maybe it helped him just a little, but not enough to count.

After the picking of the teams, we jump off the train into what looks like an old amusement park. The two teams split up and we go towards a clock tower on one end of the park, while the other team heads for the ferris wheel on the other end. Once we get there, Eric calls for silence, and lays out a plan.

"Okay, there aren't too many strategic places to put this on our side of the park. The best we can do is protect it. Pretty much anywhere we can put it is predictable, but if we have good protectors, we can make it. We just have to try to find theirs before they get to us."

We all nod, still no one speaking.

"Alright, Drew, I want you to take half the team to find their flag, the rest of us will protect ours."

Drew nods and grabs a few people, but leaves Molly. He knows she isn't fast, she would be best as a protector. He's pretty smart. Peter decides to stay with us, wanting to be a protector as well. My guess is, he just wants the chance to shoot people.

"Jamie, I want you to take Molly and Edward with you up to the top of the tower. Take the flag with you, that's where you'll hide it. The rest of us will stay on the ground and try to keep anyone from getting up there to you."

"Wait, the top? Like all the way to the top?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

He knows I'm afraid of heights. That's why he's putting me up there, he's getting back at me for this afternoon.

"No. No problem at all."

I'm really tempted to shoot him, but he's the only one who actually knows what he's doing. We need him.

"You're undefeated in the fights. I don't need you down here shooting a gun, I need you up there, shooting if you need to, but fighting them off."

I think he's done, so I start to walk off, but he adds one more thing.

"Then again, just like you said, bravery is the whole point of Dauntless. Not being undefeated, not winning, but being unafraid to face your fears. You're afraid of heights? You're Dauntless, deal with it. I don't want to hear a single complaint."

"Do you want me to protect the flag?"

"No I'm sending you up there with the flag for no reason at all." he says, the sarcasm pouring from his lips, and something like triumph filling his eyes.

"If you want me to be a protector, I would advise you keep your mouth shut, or I will walk this flag right over to Four."

"Oh no, I don't have to worry about that. I'll shoot you before you can get over there. Get to the top of that tower. Now."

I still have to fight the extreme urge to shoot him, but I go to the tower and, despite the fact that this thing is four stories tall, climb to the top with the flag.

Eric POV

I watch Jamie climb the tower with the flag, and regret every single thing I've said to her, every word, but it kept her in line. The bad thing is, and I hate to admit this, but she's right about Peter and Tris. Tris is brave enough, she needs to stay in Dauntless, this is where she belongs. Peter needs to be gone. He is cowardly, there's no mistaking that, yet we keep him because he can fight, and get rid of her because, even though she kept standing, she isn't as strong as he is. It's just not right.

I hear a yell that sounds like Peter, but I don't move. That was a yell of pain, he must've gotten shot. I wait, where I'm at, hoping to hear whoever it was that shot him. I listen closely, then I hear Tris and Four whispering. They're right on top of us. Now is the time to attack.

"NOW!"

We all pop up and start shooting them down, but Tris slips through. I try to shoot her, but Four steps in the way before I can pull the trigger. We have a bit of a standoff.

"Protecting your little girlfriend?"

"Oh you're one to talk Eric. Where's your girl?"

"My girl? What are you-" I let out a scream of pain. I've got to give Four credit, he knows what it takes to distract me. He shot me in the shoulder, but I can deal with this. I pull the dart out and start to run behind them, but it's too late. I see our flag in Tris and Christina's hands as they wave it in the air. Wait, I put Jamie up there, she's the best fighter I have, how on Earth did Tris get that flag?

As they all come down from the top of the building, I see Jamie and I run over to her. She's holding her shoulder the same as me.

"What happened? How'd she get the flag?"

At first I thought Jamie might have stood back and let them get it to get back at me, but I look at her, and she actually looks angry with herself.

"I got shot, that's what happened."

"But you have better aim than either of them."

"They pushed me to the window. Did you know those things are open? There's no glass, just a nice fancy hole in the wall that somebody can fall out of, to their death. Between the two of them, they got me up against the window, and I made the mistake of looking out, making sure I wasn't about to fall. They took the opportunity to shoot me. I guess my fear kind of got the best of me on that one."

I notice she's nursing the shoulder, but still hasn't pulled the dart out yet.
"Want me to get the dart?"
"Yeah, I didn't get the chance to, I was too busy watching them take the flag. I love my friends, but I still sort of wish we had won."

"Yeah, I've been wishing that for a long time."

"On a losing streak?"

"Yeah, maybe a small one."

"Yeah, sure. Small."

Once we hop on the train, she and I sit down, and I take the dart out of her arm.

"Ouch."

"Sorry. These little things hurt, don't they?"

"Yeah, just a little bit. I thought the pain was only supposed to last about five minutes."

"Well, the gun shot feeling lasts about five minutes, but it does shock your nerves, so that lasts a little longer."

"Oh wow, thanks for telling me now, after I've already been shot. Real helpful."

We just sit there in silence for a few minutes after that, and she's warming up to me, but I think she's still just a little mad about everything that happened today.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I had a little time to think while I was down there, waiting for them to come at us, and it turns out, you were right. I mean, even though you are afraid of heights, you went up there. You didn't want to, I could tell, but you did it anyway. That's what we're looking for. You were right about Tris as well. She might not be the best fighter, but she is much braver than Peter. I shouldn't have gone off on you, I shouldn't have tried to get rid of Tris, and I definitely shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did earlier. I'm sorry."

My head is hanging, I'm too ashamed to look her in the eye, and I'm not exactly used to apologizing. I'm not entirely sure what made me apologize this time.

She bumps me with her shoulder, so I do look up a little bit, and she's smiling. Only a little, but it's still there.

"I have to admit, I wasn't the nicest to you either. I should have understood that you were just following the rules, whether you liked them or not. I have a feeling that there are a lot of rules you have to follow here, that you don't really like."

"Yeah, maybe a couple."

We go back to silence again for the rest of the train ride home. When we jump off the train, I roll down the hill, and as soon as I'm about to get up, she lands on top of me.
"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

"If you're sorry, then move." I say playfully, letting her know I'm not mad. She gets up, and shoves me back down as I try to get to my feet a second time. As soon as I stand, I run after her, and barely kick the back of her heel, but she's running fast enough that it made her start rolling. I just laughed as I watched her, and she stood up, laughing just as hard as I was. I realize that the fact that I'm laughing is getting a few weird looks. I lost capture the flag, so they expect me to be mad, and it's not like I laugh on a regular basis anyways. In fact, the last time I laughed was when I was with my sister, a little over two years ago when I was still in Erudite. She was the only person there that I liked, and now, after being here for two years, I've actually found someone in Dauntless that isn't afraid of me, and that I actually like. These past few weeks of her initiation have probably been the best weeks I've ever had here. Even today, we started off bad, but we ended with a good day. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. When she's done laughing, she doesn't keep running, she waits up for me, not even caring about the fact that people are looking at her like she's nuts for hanging with me.