Chapter 7
The ceremony is over. I can leave. The Dauntless are running. They run down the stairs and outside.
"What the hell are we doing?" An Erudite transfer asks me.
"I don't know. Just do what they do."
The train tracks are coming into view.
I climb quickly and jump onto the train. I lose my footing and slam into a girl.
"Sorry." I apologize.
"It's okay." The girl replies. She is Candor. "My name's Christina." She says, offering me a hand.
"Tris." I reply, shaking it twice.
We sit in a comfortable silence. I wonder if I'll see Tobias. He switched to Dauntless, didn't he? I can't remember.
"Oh my God. They're jumping." I realize.
"What?!" Christina says. I shrug.
"Welcome to Dauntless." I joke.
She laughs and grabs my hand.
"I just can't do it unless someone drags me." She explains.
"Okay. On three."
"One. Two. Three!"
We jump. The impact I make with the ground jolts to my back.
"Argh!" I groan. Christina shoots me a look of concern.
"I'm fine." My tone closes the topic.
I see a man standing on a ledge. Looks like we get to jump again. "Alright, listen up!" He says. "My name is Eric. You all made it this far, but if you want to get into Dauntless, you have to jump. Someone has to go first, so who is it going to be?"
Eric's face is covered in piercings. I lost count after 10. And that's just his face. I don't want to think about body markings.
People look around. They don't want to go first. This is ridiculous.
"Me." I say. "I'll go first."
Eric hops off the ledge and gestures for me to go ahead.
I climb onto the ledge and slide my outer shirt off. I earn a few whistles. Ugh. People are gross.
I look down. I can only imagine that Tobias went last. I have to jump now, or else I'll lose my nerve.
"Today, initiate." Eric says.
I jump. The drop feels amazing. My heart thuds, but I don't scream. I hit a net. The ropes dig into the wounds on my back. An involuntary scream escapes my mouth. I see hands reaching across the net to me. I pull myself forward and grab a hand. The fingers are slender as they close around mine. The person pulls me across. I would have fallen onto my back if he hadn't caught me. The he attached to the hand I grabbed. His fingers dig into my sore back and I grimace. The boy's hands grip my waist, and he sets me on sturdy ground.
The girl next to him stares at me.
"A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of." She says. The boy looks me over, and I involuntarily shudder. He wasn't really looking at me in a sexual way, but after all the things Marcus has done to me, I don't trust males. The thought makes me a little sad.
"There's a reason why she left them, Lauren." He replies.
The boy is so tall, I have to look up to see his face. He has dark brown almost black hair. He has a spare upper lip and a full lower lip. His eyes are a dreamy dark blue. They are a dreaming, sleeping waiting color, and they suggest he is deep in thought.
"Name?" He asks me. I open my mouth to say Beatrice. Then I remember I entered a different name into the system. What was it? Oh yes, Annatris Anthony.
"Um, it's Ann-" Annatris is such a stupid name. I need another new one.
He raises his eyebrows.
"Is it a hard one?" He asks. "You can pick a new one if you want, but make it good. You don't get to pick again."
"Uh, my name's Tris." I say. The boy stares at me. He looks like he is daydreaming or something. We stare at each other for a few seconds.
"Make the announcement, Four" Lauren says. So the daydreamer's name is Four. How peculiar.
The boy- Four, looks over his shoulder and screams "First jumper- Tris!" I smile at him and he places a hand on my back to steer me down the platform. It stings, but I don't react. He smiles a little.
"Welcome to Dauntless." He says.
We follow Lauren and Four down a hall. Suddenly Four stops. I didn't stop in time and walked into him.
"Sorry, sorry!" I say hurriedly. I cower back out of habit.
"That's quite alright." Four says kindly. It sounds like something my mother would say. His expression worries me. I can tell he is being nice to me because of my reaction. I can see in his eyes that he is already worried about me. He'll know about my injuries and past in no time.
"This is where we divide." Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
The Dauntless-Borns leave, and Four straightens up and starts talking.
"Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I'm your instructor." He says. He seems like a natural born leader. "My name is Four.
Beside me, Christina smirks. "Four? Like the number?"
"Yes," Four says, irritated. "Is there a problem?"
"No." Christina replies.
"Good. We're about to enter the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It-"
"The Pit? Clever name." Christina scoffs. I tense. Four won't take this much longer. I can tell. And I'm right, of course. He seems extremely irritated now. He walks toward Christina and leans in close to her face. I back away on instinct. Four sees me back up, but doesn't acknowledge me. He stares at her for a few seconds and her smile falters.
"What's your name?" He asks. His voice is deadly quiet. Marcus used to talk like that before a beating, so I am instantly wary. I freeze and watch Four closely.
"Christina." She says.
"Well, Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction." He replies. His voice is still quiet. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"
She nods, unable to talk.
Four turns on his heel and starts leading us again.
He leads us to the Pit and shows us the chasm. Dauntless is just as free as I expected. We are lead to the dorms.
"This is where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks." Four says, simply.
"Boys or girls?" An Erudite named Will asked.
"Both." Four replies. The room erupts with whistles, cheers, and snide comments.
"If you like this, you're going to love the bathrooms." The look on Four's face is pure amusement. Then he shows us the bathrooms. They are open and exposed. No stalls or curtains anywhere. Great.
"Get changed." Four says. "Tris, when you're done, I need to talk with you." My face reddens in embarrassment.
"Ooh, a Stiff's already busted!" Peter, a Candor transfer says. People look at me. My stomach twists with nerves.
I change quickly in the clothes provided, and leave the dormitory, in search of Four.
I spot him leaning against the wall outside the dorm. He turns and sees me walking toward him without a sound, despite my combat boots. A year of sneaking around has made me able to move silently in almost anything.
I stop when I am standing a good foot and a half away. I want to be able to flee. It's an old habit.
"What do you need?" I try to sound normal and kind, like when he talked to me earlier, but instead my voice is tight, and I sound terrified. If I had transferred last year, I wouldn't have a reason to be scared of every single man.
"Are you alright, Tris?" Four asks. It's an unexpected question. The concern clouding his expression, and the soft tone he uses surprises me.
"Yes." I say carefully. "Is there a reason you're asking?"
"You seem a little jumpy." Four says. "Are you hurt?"
I try to come up with a way to answer that is neither lie nor truth.
"I'm fine." I say. He could infer that as a yes if he wanted. But it doesn't necessarily mean yes.
"That's not what I asked." Four said. Damn! He's smart. And sneaky. And he has obviously heard all the excuses in the book. Maybe he knows someone who has been abused. Maybe he knows Tobias! I could ask... No. I won't.
"I asked if you're hurt. That is a yes or no question." Four says, breaking me from my reverie. I decided to answer truthfully.
"Yes." I say quietly. "Four?"
His eyes widen at my confession.
"Yes, Tris?" He replies.
"I only answered truthfully because somehow, you know every excuse in the book." I tell him sternly, my voice hard. "But you also must know, what I've been through... It's personal." I grin evilly. Then I lower my voice in volume and pitch and say, "The first thing you will learn about me, is that I never answer personal questions. Ever." I imitated him perfectly. This has the desired effect. Four's eyes widen. Then he unexpectedly grins.
"That was good. I'll give you that." He says. I smile a little in response.
The other initiates come out of the dorm, and Christina walks up to where I'm standing.
"Good. You're still alive." She mutters. "Sit with me at dinner?"
"Sure." I say. "By the way, I wouldn't make snide comments around Four. He doesn't like it."
"Initiate!" Four shouts loudly to get our attention. "You have one hour before dinner. You are free to do what you like. I suggest that you come back here by fifty-five if you don't know how to get to the dining hall. Go on! Explore."
Christina drags me along toward the stores in the pit.
"We have to get you some better clothes!" She squeals. "At least a dress."
I sigh, but I really don't mind. Shopping seems like something girls in other factions do for fun, I might as well try it out.
We walk into store after store. Bu this point, I have two pairs of shorts, two tank tops, two shirts, and I'm wearing leggings, and a fuzzy, oversized sweater. We are in an accessory shop and Christina is dragging me towards the belts.
"Oh my God! Look at this!" She laughs and waves a grey belt in my face. It looks just like the belt Marcus used on me all the time. I jump back.
"Ah!" I say involuntarily.
Christina laughs, putting the belt back.
"Are you scared of belts or something?" She jokes. I don't answer. It's not funny.
"Oh my God. You are." She says softly. "I'm sorry."
"No. Well, I uh... That's okay." I stammer.
After that, we leave. We make it back to the dormitory at five fifty-four. Four is waiting outside the dorm, leaning against the wall like before. Christina is quiet. I know she is wondering why the hell I'm afraid of belts. I'm not. I just know what damage a person can do with one. The belt she showed me looked just like the one Marcus would slide out loop by loop to strike me with. I'm sure he used it on Tobias too.
At fifty-five, the others show up, and Four leads us to the dining hall.
The dining hall is crowded and noisy, but it's nice. Most of the tables are full, so the initiates split off. Christina drags me to a table where a few of the initiates sit. I end up with Christina on my left, and Four on my right. We talk about little things, and I get tons of comments because I don't know what a hamburger is.
"You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina asks, eyes wide.
"No. Is that what it's called?" I ask quietly. They laugh. I try it and it's delicious. I am suddenly hyperaware that I haven't eaten in a week, and I eat more quickly.
"Slow down." Four says. "You'll choke."
"You act like you haven't eaten in a year." Will comments.
"Actually, it was a week." I mutter.
"Oh my God." Al, a Candor transfer mutters. I shrug and pop the last of my burger into my mouth.
"Um. If you really haven't eaten in a week, you should have another one." Four says quietly.
My eyes water a little with emotion. I blink and focus on the burger.
"I don't think I could eat another whole one." I murmur.
Four looks around the room like he is about to do something bad. Then he puts a finger to his lips and slides a knife out of his pocket and cuts the hamburger in half and places one of the halves on my plate.
I smile. "Thanks." I whisper.
"Anytime." He replies with a small smile.
I'm eating my burger when Christina clears her throat to get our attention.
"So, guys!" She says, getting the attention of Will, Al, and Four. I know what's coming.
"I learned something interesting about my friend Tris here." She smirks. I see where she's coming from. Me flinching away from a belt is pretty odd.
"What is it?" Will asks, looking at me. Four and Al look at me as well.
"Little Trissy here is afraid of belts."
She delivers this like like she practiced it. Maybe she did.
It has the desired effect. Everyone stares at me.
"Alright! So maybe I am!" I say, embarrassed. "Perhaps I have a good reason." I let what I said sit there. Nobody understands what I'm saying. I take another bite if my burger.
"And what, exactly, would that be?" Four asks, his eyebrows raised. I look down at my plate for a few seconds. I could tell them everything. It would be a huge release. It would feel great not to have such a huge burden to carry. I think of Tobias, and how he told me that he would never share his secrets with anyone. It is that memory that keeps me from spilling my guts to all the people at this table. I should ask Four if he knows Tobias. He probably does.
"Four, what did I say about personal questions earlier? I. Don't. Answer them. Ever." I say quietly.
Four smirks. "Alright, guys. Leave her alone." He says. "People have their personal things."
I smile a little. "Thanks." I say.
"You're welcome." He replies.
When dinner is over, we head back to the dorms. I am so tired, that I change and crawl into bed right away. I fall asleep right when my head hits the pillow.
A/N That was a pretty long chapter. I hope you guys liked it! She's now in Dauntless! *Cheers* :D