Welcome all to my first Divergent fanfiction (original novel by Veronica Roth.) This story is rated T for moderate violence, language, and sexual themes. Please review; I'd love to read your feedback.

Chapter 16: Blaze

"I should go..." Nina whispered, willing Eric to contradict her, willing for any reason to stay just a moment longer. She traced her nose against his, her hands still loosely knotted in his hair. His palms rested on her waist, gripping her lightly, holding her in place on his counter.

He brushed his lips against the hollow of her neck, sending jolts of electricity through her body. "Don't," he answered, his words muffled.

Nina tightened her grip on his hair and pulled his face up to hers. She took his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it gently. He groaned, low in his throat, and circled his arms around her to pull her closer. "If you don't stop now," he said, brushing his lips against hers, "I won't be able to let you leave."

She allowed herself to get lost in him again. His mouth was sweet and addicting, causing her pulse to quicken. Finally she broke away with a sigh. "You know I can't stay."

He pulled away reluctantly, and Nina hopped off his kitchen counter. She ambled to his bed, where she'd placed her folded up clothing, and quickly changed out of Eric's blue t-shirt and into her tattered black tank top. On his nightstand was a well thumbed-through novel. Nina picked it up and opened it to a dog-eared page. One passage was highlighted and contained some underlining:

"Vengeance, retaliation, retribution, revenge are deceitful brothers; vile, beguiling demons promising justifiable compensation to a pained soul for his losses. Yet in truth they craftily fester away all else of worth remaining."

In the corner of the page, Eric had added a note scrawled with red ink: 'Is it Justice I seek, or Retribution?' The handwriting was familiar. 'Where have I seen his handwriting before?' Nina wondered. She snapped the book shut.

She looked back at Eric, who'd taken a seat on his couch. "Just some light reading?" she asked him, curiosity bubbling inside her.

He tilted his head and looked at her carefully. "Something like that," he answered. The hungry look in his eyes, his lust for her, her lust for him… it was dangerous.

She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously as she approached him. "Is this a bad idea?"

"I don't know," he stated, his icy eyes appraising her, making her stomach flutter in a good way.

Nina's knees brushed his as she looked down at him. Her throat tightened as she revealed her concerns. "I don't want you to get in trouble, Eric. What would happen if Max found out? What about your promotion, your career, your goals…?"

Eric stood to his full height so that now he loomed over her. His stature was imposing and menacing and strong yet he cradled his palm against the nape of her neck ever so gently. "I don't know, Nina," he repeated, his eyes searching hers. "I thought I cared about those things, but you make me question everything I thought was important."

She stood on her tippy toes and brought her mouth back up to his. Eric pulled her close, molding her body against his. Desire coursed through her veins, clouding her ability to think. This time he pulled away first. He slid the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip in a caressing stroke. "We have to be careful," he admitted. "At least until you pass Initiation."

"If I pass," she corrected him with a small smile.

He furrowed his brow. "Don't be ridiculous, Nina. Of course you'll pass."

She pulled back from him sharply, a frown forming on her face. "Of course I'll pass? You don't know that yet. And you better not influence my scores in any way."

He tightened his grip on her arm, almost painfully, and looked down at her with a serious expression in his steely eyes. "I wouldn't. You don't need any extra help. You're a natural fit for Dauntless."

She assessed his countenance and knew he was telling the truth. "I just want to prove that I can get into Dauntless on my own," she explained. She grinned to lighten the mood. "This should be interesting."

Eric crossed his arms as she walked away. "What will be?"

She winked at him as she opened the door. "Trying to keep our hands off each other over the next few weeks."

Nina hummed a popular Amity song as she left Eric's studio flat. Her body buzzed from the memory of his intimate touch; her lips tingled, craving the feel of his lips on hers again. A growing doubt gnawed at the back of her mind… and she suddenly remembered how she'd recognized the handwriting. She had seen it in Max's office, in the files she'd illicitly skimmed through. She briefly wondered what was the meaning of it all, but she forced the thoughts of war and political instability out of her head.

Just as the door clicked shut behind her, she ran - literally - into Four, who was pushing a cart piled with large, stacked boxes. He looked at her, looked at Eric's door, and looked back at her. He quirked his eyebrow momentarily and then continued along his path.

Nina gave a nervous laugh and walked alongside him, trying to match his long strides. "It's, uh, it's not what you think…"

Four snorted. "Nina, you severely overestimate the extent to which I care about what you do with your personal time."

She smiled hesitantly. "Ok, cool…" She continued to walk alongside Four, who ignored her. "So, what are all these boxes for?"

Four shrugged. "Just weekly supplies." His footsteps echoed in the cavernous hallway.

Nina waited for him to continue, then realized he wasn't planning to. She prompted him by asking, "What kind of supplies?"

"Bandages. Processed food. Detergent. Things like that." Four led her through winding corridors that led down to the lower levels of Dauntless, where the storage rooms maintained items at a naturally cool temperature.

Nina felt overwhelmed with excess energy and a need to do something, anything. "Can I help you?"

Four gave her a sidelong look. "Sure. But don't expect me to add extra points to your score." He used his authorization card to gain swipe access to the storage room.

Nina rolled her eyes as she followed him inside the dark room. "I didn't expect anything! I can't believe you'd think that about me." She fake-pouted.

Four cracked a smile upon seeing the ridiculous expression on her face. "Sorry. Sometimes I expect the worst in people. It's a terrible quality." He hit a switch then waved his hands around to trigger the motion detector to turn the lights on.

For the next thirty minutes, Nina helped Four distribute boxes to various areas of the storage facility: Medical Equipment, Food Inventory, Armament, Linens, and so on. Her heart did a flip as she remembered what Maddie's father had told her about Amity provisions: "The rations are getting smaller and smaller each week." She wondered if it was the same case here in Dauntless, but she didn't know Four well enough to ask without seeming suspicious.

By the time Nina and Four were down to the last box, Four had considerably loosened up. Nina had him chuckling - albeit quietly - at her jokes and antics, and his expression was markedly less tense. "You know, I like this side of you," she told him.

He smirked playfully. "You didn't like me before?"

She rolled her eyes and picked up the sole remaining box. "You know that's not what I meant." She searched the package for a label but found none. She weighed the box in her hands to get a feel for what was inside. "Where do I put this one? It doesn't have a label," she told Four.

He took the box from her and sliced it open with a knife he got from his pants pocket. He opened the flaps, removed a piece of paper, then pulled out another, smaller box. It appeared to be made of metal, and its contents rattled. He skimmed the contents of the letter. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully.

"Well? What is it?" Nina peeked at the smaller box. There was nothing remarkable about it other than the fact that it was the only box, after many others, that was unmarked and unlabeled.

"Confidential. For Max's eyes only," Four shrugged and tucked the box under his arm. "I'll pass it to him next time I see him. Hit the lights, please," he told Nina. As she turned away to comply, she noticed Four stealthily slip the letter into his pocket with a sleight of hand. 'Now, that is interesting...' she wondered.

Train. Eat. Rest. Rinse, repeat. Such was Nina's schedule for the next several days. She had lost an entire day of training and was thus a day behind the other Initiates. However, Eric had made sure she caught up. If she had worried for even a moment that he would treat her differently after they'd admitted their feelings for one another, his training techniques wiped any doubt from her mind. He trained her one-on-one with the chain for several days and he had been ruthless. He had pushed her relentlessly, forcing her to always be faster and stronger and better. Over several days of hard work, Nina had graduated from using a rope to a light chain to a heavy chain.

The end of Stage 1 of Dauntless Initiation, Physical Endurance, approached, as did eliminations. Nina had to make sure her scores placed her in the top ten so she could continue on to the second and final round of training: Mental Endurance. Her hand-to-hand combat scores were average but her firearm scores were exceptional, so she estimated she'd need a moderately high score in specialized weapon proficiency to avoid getting the boot. Weeks of combat training had prepared her for this, yet she was still nervous.

To make matters worse, she couldn't stop thinking about Clark. She was so angry at him, at everything he'd done to make her life miserable. He'd hidden her sneakers, tossed her mattress down the stairs, tampered with her drinking water, used slick body oil to make punching him difficult, he'd poisoned her apple with Peace Serum, and he'd tried to make her fall to her death into the Chasm. He was violent and delusional and he frightened Nina - though she'd never admit that to anyone. His actions were escalating and she worried that he was planning something sinister. She had to do something to stop him.

On the morning of the final day of training, Nina was tired, sore, and anxious. Final scores would be posted at midnight; anyone kicked out would have until morning to gather their things and leave. At breakfast, her group of friends was solemn and forlorn. The usual chatter and laughter were replaced with the sounds of chewing and clashing utensils.

Tae pushed her plate away with a grim sigh. "I can't eat anymore," she declared dourly.

"You gotta eat something," Nina told her. "You'll need your strength in training today."

Tae cocked her eyebrow and pointed at Nina's plate; it too was mostly filled with food that she had barely touched. As if to prove a point, Nina grabbed a roll and tore it into it, stuffing chunks into her mouth. In truth, she had no appetite either. Nerves threatened to make her vomit.

"Come on guys," Amir begged. "We're gonna kick ass today in training!" The forced smile on his face revealed the anxiety he attempted to cover up. Maddie sighed heavily and leaned her head against his shoulder. He bent down and whispered something into her ear, and a faint smile lit her face.

Nina looked away and inspected the other Transfers sitting nearby. Many of them looked pale and sickly. Clark alone appeared unperturbed. A menacing grin was spread wide on his broad face. He was rocking back and forth in his seat, and appeared to be muttering something under his breath. Occasionally he would dart his eyes to the empty seat beside him.

Nina narrowed her eyes at him, wishing bad things to befall him. Quentin lightly grabbed her right hand, pulling her thoughts away from Clark. She realized she'd been clutching a knife in that hand. She smiled at Quentin and dropped the knife to the table.

As breakfast came to an end, the clatter of dishware and gossip filled the room and Dauntless members began to stream out. The Initiates got up to throw out their trash and go to the training facilities, but they were halted by Max's loud voice over the intercom in the Pit:

"Initiates, form a line along the wall and await further instruction."

Nerves fluttered in Nina's stomach. She searched for Eric in the bustling crowd and caught his eye. She shot him a questioning look, and he shrugged, indicating that he knew as little as she did.

"What's going on?" Maddie asked. The group of friends lined up next to each other along the east wall of the Pit.

Nina bit her bottom lip nervously. "I'm not sure," she admitted. She began to weave Maddie's strawberry blonde hair into a braid to soothe her nerves.

Max approached the group of Initiates and they instantly quieted down. "We've made a slight revision to the Stage 1 scoring mechanism. Today, instead of continuing your training, you'll each be individually assessed by a panel of judges."

Max began pacing as he walked. The Initiates shared confused, tense looks. "You'll be displaying all three skills from your Physical Endurance training: hand-to-hand combat, target shooting, and finally, proficiency with your selected weapon." He paused for emphasis. "All your previous scores have been wiped. Today you have a clean slate. You must prove your worth during panel if you wish to continue training in Dauntless."

The Initiates instantly broke out into a chorus of angry, hushed whispers. "What the fuck, man," one boy stepped forward. "You mean all the work we've put into our scores is null and void?!"

Max whipped his hand out and slapped the boy's face. "Silence!" he yelled. The slap reverberated in the cavern and unease crept through Nina's limbs like ice. She and Maddie shared an uneasy look. "You must earn your place in Dauntless. The weak and disrespectful-" he shot a look at the boy, who cowered away "-will not be tolerated in this Faction. If you don't like the new rule," he crossed his arms and smiled menacingly, "then you can get out." No one moved. "That's what I thought. You'll be called into panel one-by-one." Then he left the Pit, Four following him. Eric shot Nina a concerned look and then followed as well.

The names were called two at a time, reminding Nina of the Choosing Ceremony. So much had changed since then, even though it'd only been three weeks. She'd was different now: physically and mentally. She looked back at her old self and saw how much she'd matured. Everything was different now. She was different.

Her name was called fifth, along with a Dauntless-born Initiate named Uriah. Nina's knees were trembling. Maddie gripped her hand and whispered good luck.

Uriah and Nina walked quietly through the corridor but were placed in separate panel rooms. Just before he entered his room, he turned to her with a grim smile. "Good luck in there."

"You too," she nodded, and then she was ushered into a small, bland room. One side of the room contained a large mirror. The walls and floor were all concrete, unlike the padded training rooms. Dark stains on the floor were evidence of the falls and scrapes previous Initiates had taken in this room. She gulped nervously, unsure of what to do. She looked around and then approached the mirror, which she realized was a one-way window. She jumped slightly as a voice came over the intercom in the room. "State your name."

She furrowed her brow and answered. "Nina."

"Full name, please." The harsh voice was female, and Nina was sure she recognized it from somewhere….

She rolled her eyes. "Marina Jorgenson."

There was a brief pause, and then the voice again: "Previous faction?"

Nina crossed her arms. "Faction before blood, right?" Her words dripped sarcasm.

The voice over the intercom repeated the question. "Previous faction?"

She marched up to the mirror and flipped her middle finger to the panelists she knew were on the other side. "My previous faction is none of your business! Who's asking anyways?"

The intercom went quiet and then a different voice - Max's - called out: "You may proceed."

Nina threw her hands up in exasperation. "Proceed with wh-"

Her voice was cut off by a grating sound. The north wall of her room was sliding upwards, revealing an identical room on the other side. In it was Uriah. He looked at her with an equally confused expression.

"Fight," came the voice over the intercom.

The two initiates looked at one another with shocked expressions. "I don't even know her!" Uriah shouted.

Nina bit her bottom lip nervously. "I don't want to fight you either."

The intercom crackled. "Fight, or be Factionless."

Uriah frowned and cracked his knuckles. "I'm sorry," he told Nina, with genuine guilt in his voice.

Nina nodded and entered a boxer's stance. The Initiates began to hesitantly circle one another. Uriah struck out at her with his fist, but she darted away. She looked over his body, trying to get an idea of his strengths and weaknesses. He lobbed out his fist once more, and she ducked just in time; his fist grazed her earlobe. A small trickle of blood began to run down her neck. Nina continued to appraise his physique carefully: his arms and shoulders were bulky, but his legs were slim. He sported several bruises and scars on his calves and thighs.

Uriah took advantage of her distraction and struck her in the cheek. She reeled back but reassumed the boxing position quickly. She thought of the advice Eric had given her about combat: "Tire them out, Nina, and then go for the kill." Uriah whipped out his fist once more, and she darted away. Almost immediately he swung out his other arm. Nina reared her arm up in a block, allowing her arm to take the full force of the punch. He grimaced and punched out again, this time striking her stomach before she could block his hit. She reeled over instantly as nausea rolled in her stomach, but forced herself to bite back the pain and concentrate. Rivulets of sweat streamed down Uriah's shaking arms.

He swept his hand across his forehead to brush off the sweat and Nina took advantage of his momentarily impaired eyesight. She kicked his leg in the spot where he had a large, fresh bruise and he yelped. Then she swept her leg under his calves, and he fell onto his back with a thud. Instantly, Nina pinned him down onto the concrete. He grappled with her, attempting to push her off. She slammed her elbow down into his face and heard his nose crack. Blood gushed out onto the floor as he groaned in pain.

"Enough," came the voice over the intercom again. Nina got up and offered Uriah a hand up.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed at him, with her back to the mirror so the judges wouldn't see. Uriah nodded in understanding, shook her hand respectfully, then went back into his room. The wall slid back down so that Nina was alone again. She quickly assessed her injuries: a small cut in her ear, a bruised and aching cheek, and a cramping stomach. Her upper arms were bruised and bleeding from grappling with Eric, and she could feel weakness begin to set into them.

Almost instantly, another wall opened. In the next room was a rack of guns and hanging target was suspended from a rail in the ceiling. As soon as Nina entered the room, the target began to move. It darted back and forth at different speeds, and swung from a mounted pendulum mechanism. She examined the selection of guns and chose a semi-automatic rifle. She stood several feet back from the target, took a deep breath, and began to shoot.

Her first shot missed the target entirely and ricocheted off the back wall of the room. She cursed under her breath and shot again. Her next three shots hit the bullseye cleanly. She turned back and replaced her rifle with a revolver. She winked at the mirror, knowing that she was being watched, and turned her thumb upwards to indicate she wanted a faster speed. The target began to slide faster, darting to and fro and changing direction without warning. She straightened out her arms in front of her and planted her feet firmly onto the ground. This time her bullets did not hit the center of the bullseye but she managed to get several shots very close. Then the target stopped, and Nina put the guns back into the rack.

She returned to the main panel room, shaking and out of breath. Shooting always exhilarated her but she was nervous about what would come next. Another door in the room opened, and Eric stepped in. Nina gasped and heart started racing. She opened her mouth to say something, but Eric mouthed at her: "Don't. They're listening." She gave a small nod to indicate that she understood.

He tossed her a chain; in his other hand he gripped his own chain. These chains were very different from the ones he'd been training her with, for these chains were heavier, and instead of having two blunt tips, they had sharp, dagger-like points on one end. Nina clutched her chain and took a deep breath.

The intercom crackled. "Begin." Instantly a timer began counting down from sixty seconds.

She and Eric circled each other. Blood pumped loudly, like a drum, in Nina's ears. Her muscles, weak and tired from fighting Uriah, protested the substantial weight of the chains. "51 seconds." She forced the pain out of her mind. Eric lashed out at her, and Nina deflected the hit with her forearm. He quickly whipped out the chain again, this time striking her left leg. She scowled and retaliated, aiming at his arm. He ducked it easily. "43 seconds."

"Come on, Nina," Eric said in a low voice so that the judges wouldn't hear. "Hit me."

She lashed out the chain and the sharp end tore at Eric's bicep, leaving a small gash. Her heart ached but she couldn't let the Judges sense her weakness for him. "37 seconds." They continued to circle each other. Nina anxiously awaited his next move. Eric shot out the chain like a cobra; it hit her directly in the chest, and the dagger end ripped a hole through her top. "29 seconds." Nina lunged forward, whipping her heavy chain out, but Eric ducked and returned a strike that slammed into Nina's thigh. She grimaced in pain.

Her legs were quivering and her heart was racing. She tried to force herself to focus but her head felt light. Eric's chain lashed out at her and skimmed the top of her shoulder, dragging cloth with it. "17 seconds." His chain flew at her again and this time she managed to dart away in time. She instantly swung her chain forward, this time with the blunt end, allowing the chain to deliver a weak blow to Eric's ribcage. "9 seconds." He dropped the chain and punched towards her face with his right arm. Nina wrapped her chain quickly around his arm, stopping the hit and allowing the chain to absorb the blow, just as he'd taught her. "0 seconds."

Nina wanted to collapse right then and there but she forced herself to stand strong. Eric nodded at her once curtly and then returned through the door he'd entered. The intercom crackled for one last time: "Thank you, Marina," said the familiar female voice. "That is all."

Nina walked quietly back to the dormitory, her heart still racing. Sweat made her shirt stick to her skin. She longed to see her friends but they were still in the Pit awaiting their turns with panel. The dormitory was quiet and empty when she arrived. She took advantage of the empty lavatory and enjoyed a long, warm shower.

As the hot water beat down on her shaking arms, Nina felt her heart beat gradually slow down. She washed off the sweat and grime and felt refreshed. When she stepped out, she found Maddie sitting on her bunk.

Nina wrung her wet hair with a towel. "How'd you do?" She looked up at her friend who was reclined comfortably in the top bunk.

Maddie shrugged and looked ahead expressionlessly. "You?"

Nina shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know." She changed into fresh clothing and started to stretch.

Maddie combed through her hair absentmindedly. "You know what sounds fantastic right now?"

Nina cocked her eyebrow. "What?"

"Wine," Maddie smirked.

Nina sighed. "That does sound wonderful." She looked around the empty dormitory and her eyes lit upon Clark's bunk. She tiptoed over to the bed and started rifling through his possessions.

"What are you doing?" Maddie whispered at her harshly.

Nina waved her hand dismissively as she found what she'd been looking for: Clark's notebook. She clutched it and quickly ran back to her bunk.

"What are you gonna do with that thing?" Maddie said with an accusatory tone of voice.

"This is what I need to prove everything that Clark's been doing to me," Nina explained with wide eyes. "I have no evidence of all the things he's done to me. I need this!"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Why does this sound like such a terrible idea?"

Nina plopped down onto her bottom bunk and opened the notebook. She leafed through the pages. The first few pages chronicled the first week of training. She skipped several pages and found the most recent entry. The difference in handwriting was astonishing. Clark's handwriting had severely deteriorated over the past three weeks, and his diary entries had regressed. The initial entries were comprehensible but his latest entries appeared to be the rantings and ravings of a lunatic.

Nina gasped as she read through the entries. It was obvious to her now that Clark was completely mentally deranged. 'How could I have been so blind before,' she thought. 'This is exactly-'

Nina's internal monologue was interrupted by a sudden movement in the bed. It happened so quickly. First, there was nothing. Then a movement in the comforters. A snake coiling through the sheets. It lashed out, its fangs gleaming in the light. It bit Nina, then slithered underneath the bed.

Shock. Confusion. Then pain. The worst pain she'd ever experienced in her life. Screaming filled her ears, screaming that seemed to split her head open. It was her own voice. And then she blacked out.

Loved it? Hated it? Let me know in a review! I really appreciate your constructive criticism.

The quote about revenge is borrowed from R.E. Goodrich's novel The Tarishe Curse.

Also, shout out to The Hunger Games novel, which partially inspired this chapter.