Chapter 6

I hear a knock at my door, just before midnight. "Open up! You coward!" Zeke is grinning when I open the door. "Ready to kick Eric's ass?" He laughs. Excitement for tonight's events evident on his face.

We head down to the dorms. Zeke and I part ways at the Dauntless born dorms. Lauren is already waiting outside the door. I turn the corner and walk through the Pit to the transfer dorms. Eric stands outside the door, a baseball bat in his hand. He nods to acknowledge I am there. Then he silently opens the door. I follow him in. The nine transfer initiates are sound asleep.

"Everybody up!" he roars, banging the bat against the metal bed frames. I shine a flashlight into the room. The beam flashes across her face as she jerks upright. By now the other Dauntless who are participating in tonights training excercise have joined us. There is chaos as everyone is yelling and shining flashilghts in the alarmed transfers' faces. I know what they feel like. I almost strangled one of the guys that came to wake us up my training year. Max had to pull me off him and keep him from beating me to death when I finally let him go.

I shine my light back at her. She just sits there frozen. She meets my eyes and I stare back at her. I already know that I will have to keep her close to me tonight.

"Did you go deaf Stiff?" demands Eric. She snaps her attention up at him and slides out of bed, her eyes never leaving him. Maybe she is starting to take my advice. Christina stands next to their bunk in only a T-shirt. She folds her arms, her bare legs showing, and stares down Eric. I am happy to see Tris sleeps fully clothed. Just like I did. A clearly Abnegation trait.

"Be at the train in five minutes. Anyone not there can consider themselves factionless." Eric says, turning on his heel and marching out of the dorms.

I linger a moment to make sure she is getting dressed, before heading to the roof. Zeke and Lauren are already there when I arrive. The Dauntless borns would have known about tonight. I doubt any of them were sleeping when Zeke and Lauren went in to wake them. I can see they are already taking their guns and lining up to jump on the train.

I walk up to the very edge of the roof and look down the tracks into the darkness. I can hear the door to the roof slam open as the transfers arrive. Eric yells at them to take a gun.

"Time estimate?" Eric asks as he walks up beside me.

I check my watch. "Any minute now. How long is it going to take you to memorize the train schedule?"

"Why should I, when I have you to remind me of it?" says Eric, shoving my shoulder.

A small light appears in the distance. I begin to bounce on the balls of my feet anticipating the trains arrival. I feel the engine rush in front of me and grab the handle, pulling myself into the car. Eric has an annoyed look on his face and grabs the very next handle struggling a little on the way in. I grin slightly and he narrows his eyes at me. It has always bothered him that life here came so easily to me.

I turn around and hold out my hand. Tris grabs my arm, and I pull her effortlessly into the car. She seems so delicate, her tiny frame not quite fitting the strength it holds inside. I stare into her eyes and she stares back, but only for a moment. I see warmth spreading over her cheeks and my lips turn up slightly. She quickly lets go of my arm and sits down against the wall on the opposite side of the train. She is soon flanked on either side by Christina and Al. When I can see that all the initiates have made it onto the train. I turn and speak up.

"We'll be dividing into two teams to play capture the flag. Each team will have an even mix of members. Dauntless-born initiates, and transfers. One team will get off first and find a place to hide their flag. Then the second team will get off and do the same." The car sways, and I grab the side of the doorway for balance. "This is a Dauntless tradition, so I suggest you take it seriously."

"What do we get if we win?" someone shouts.

"Sounds like the kind of question someone not from Dauntless would ask," I say, raising an eyebrow. "You get to win, of course."

"Four and I will be your team captains," says Eric. He looks at me. "Let's divide up transfers first, shall we?"

I see Tris look up at the ceiling, resting her head back against the wall, clearly under the impression she will be picked last. She thinks that she is weak. Why can't she see how strong she really is?

"You go first," I say. I know it is a risk. But, I am not worried that Eric will pick her. He thinks of tonight as an exercise in brute force. He will pick the highest ranked candidates first, making sure his team is the strongest, before picking the ones he wants to torture. He would definately rather win than risk losing just to satisfy his own twisted needs. Besides, it would look a little strange if I jumped up and shouted her name. If Eric knew I cared about her in the least, she would be in more danger than she already is. I can't risk that.

Eric shrugs. "Edward."

I am releived, but not surprised by his choice. Edward is ranked number one out of the transfers. I lean against the door frame, trying my best to look bored with all of this. I breifly scan the group of initiates, like none of them are really that appealing of a choice. "I want the Stiff." I shrug. I hear some of the other initiates laughing. Tris's cheeks blush slightly. I can't tell if she is embarrassed or angry.

Eric and I continue to rattle off names.

"Peter"

"Christina"

"Al"

"Will"

We continue through the transfers and then move on to the Dauntless born. We finish choosing teams right before the train arrives at the pier. I can see the marsh spreading out in the moonlight before us. It used to be filled with water, before they built the fence, before the war. I try to imagine what it would have looked like with water in it, the ancient ships now lying rusted along its bottom, floating atop the waves. Weird.

"Your team can get off second," says Eric. Snapping me back to reality.

"Don't do me any favors," I reply. I raise my eyebrow and smile a little. "You know I don't need them to win." Twisting at the knife in Eric's side. My team has defeated his the past two years. I have no doubt we will win again. Eric still doesn't understand, strategy is more important than strength, as evident by his choices of team members.

"No, I know that you'll lose no matter when you get off," says Eric, biting down briefly on one of the rings in his lip. "Take your scrawny team and get off first, then."

With that I leap from the train. My team follows me, the Dauntless-born whooping and yelling taunts back at Eric's team. I look back and see Tris land on the ground, her feet solidly underneath her. She winces a little, not fully healed from the beating she took from Peter a few days ago. I see a proud look on her face, despite the pain, clearly happy that she landed on her feet and not her face like most of the other transfers. We continue to walk into the abandoned part of the city. She has to jog to keep up with the group, her legs so much shorter than the rest of us.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. Marlene looks up at me, a flirtatious grin on her face. "When your team won, where did you put the flag."

"Telling you wouldn't really be in the spirit of the exercise, Marlene," I cooly reply.

"Come on, Four," she whines, wrapping her hand around my bicep pulling at my arm playfully. I stop and brush her hand off my arm, giving her a look to let her know I am uninterested. I see Tris grin, and I can't help but smile. I look away quickly, but I know she saw me.

"Navy Pier," Uriah calls out. He runs up beside Marlene, giving her the same flirtatious smile she had just given me. "My brother was on the winning team. They kept the flag at the carousel." He bumps Marlene's shoulder, clearly flirting with her and starts teasing her about using her flashlight. She runs on ahead of me and the rest of the group trying to catch up with Uriah. Thank God. That is the last thing I need tonight.

We reach the carousel. I turn and point my flashlight at the group of initiates. "In ten minutes the other team will pick their location. I suggest you take this time to formulate a strategy. We may not be Erudite, but mental preparedness is one aspect of your Dauntless training. Arguably, it is the most important aspect." Tris nods in agreement. Will reaches out and takes the flag from my hand. The initiates all begin to argue, each fighting to be the leader of the pack. None of them are true leaders. Leadership must be earned, not won.

I lean back against one of the broken down horses on the carousel. Closing my eyes. This may be Eric's night after all, if they don't get their shit together soon. I hear a hand press against metal. There is no way they found us this fast. I look out into the darkness and I see a small silouhette heading out towards the end of the pier. Tris is all alone. Why does she insist on going places alone? Has she not realized there is safety in numbers? The only reason I picked Christina was so there would be someone to protect Tris if I wasn't there. God knows it wasn't because I enjoy her company.

She begins to run when she thinks she is out of earshot from the others. I begin to jog behind her. She can hear my footsteps gaining on her and speeds up. She is fast, especially for her size. But my long legs easily catch up to her. I am at least a foot taller than she is, maybe more.

She slows down at the base of the ferris wheel, looking up at it. cautiously, she gabs a hold of what is left of the ladder at its base. I see her bounce up and down on the bottom rung, checking to make sure it will support her weight.

"Tris," I say in a low voice. She is not startled that I am there. Her reaction so different from the shy Abnegation girl I pulled from the net. She is becoming Dauntless.

"Yes?" she says.

"I came to find out what you think you're doing."

"I'm seeking higher ground," she says. "I don't think I'm doing anything."

I smile back her in the dark. "All right. I'm coming."

She pauses a second and looks at me. She looks happy that I am there, yet insulted at the same time. She studies my face for a moment. "I'll be fine," she says, a little defensive.

"Undoubtedly," I reply, being careful not to sound sarcastic. I want her to know that I am sincere. She will be fine. I'm the one with a fear of heights.

She climbs. I take a moment and clear my thoughts, pushing the fear aside telling myself this is no different than the tower in my fear landscape. When I am ready, I start after her. We climb higher and higher. I feel my heart begin to race. Panic setting in the higher we go. I know that I will soon have to give into it. I have to find a way to distract myself or I won't be able to continue.

"So tell me…," I say, breathless. "What do you think the purpose of this exercise is? The game, I mean, not the climbing."

The wind has gotten stronger the higher we climb. She looks down at the pavement as if considering my question. A gush of cold air rushes against the side of us. It presses the fabric of her shirt to her side. Her frame no longer so fragile looking as it clings to the tight athletic form it normally hides.

Her hands cling tighter to the runs of the ladder and she tenses her body to steady herself against the wind. "Learning about strategy," she says. "Teamwork, maybe."

"Teamwork," I repeat. A laugh hitches in my throat. The panic threatening to take hold of me.

"Maybe not," she says, a little unsure of herself, "Teamwork doesn't seem to be a Dauntless priority."

I can tell she has mistaken my panic for amusement at her answers. I don't want her to think I am mocking her. I speak up again, a gentle tone in my voice, "It's supposed to be a priority. It used to be."

I see her legs are slightly shaking, her hand almost missing the next rung. I panic suddenly at the thought of her broken body on the ground below us and my words come out more forcefully than I intend, "Now tell me…what do you think learning strategy has to do with…bravery?"

Moonlight passes across her face and I expect to see fear from her near fall. Instead her eyes are bright, dancing with that wild spark, only it is bigger some how, brighter, like she is truly awake up here. My heart begins to pound in my chest and my breathing becomes louder and heavier. I tell myself it is from the height, but I know that this is a lie. Its not the height this time. Its her.

"It…it prepares you to act," she finally says. "You learn strategy so you can use it." She pauses, and I know she can hear how hard I am breathing. "Are you all right, Four?"

"Are you human, Tris? Being up this high…" I gulp for air, realizing how close we are to each other. "It doesn't scare you at all?"

A gust of air presses hard against us, throwing off her balance. She gasps and clings to the rungs. Instinctively, I clamp my hand around her hip, my finger slips under the hem of her shirt brushing against her bare skin. Her body feels warm against my cold hand. I feel her hip bone press against my palm as I squeeze her waist restoring her balance. "You okay?"

"Yes," she says in a strained voice.

We continue to the platform at the top of the ladder. Tris walks up to edge and sits down, letting her legs hang over the edge. I stay at the back, crouched down, my feet firmly planted to the platform. I lean back against the metal support, breathing heavily. This time it is definitely the height.

"You're afraid of heights. How do you survive in the Dauntless compound?" she says turning to look at me.

"I ignore my fear," I say. "When I make decision, I pretend it doesn't exist."

She stares at me for a second. I can tell she is thinking about something, like she wants to say something, but is holding back.

I tilt my head a little, staring back at her, "What?" I say quietly.

She looks down at her hands. "Nothing."

I continue to look at her, wishing she would just tell me what she is thinking. She looks back out at the city.

"We're not high enough," she says, looking up at the scaffolding above us. "I'm going to climb," she says, standing up. She grabs one of the bars above her head and pulls her self up.

"For God's sake, Stiff," I say, looking at her in frustration.

"You don't have to follow me," she says.

I watch as she places her foot on a bar and pushes herself higher up. Her body sways slightly. The image of her broken body lying on the ground pops into my head again. I shake my head. "Yes I do."

I grab the bar above my head and pull my self up easily. Tris stops above me. I continue climbing until I am right behind her. Her body is trapped between mine and the metal bars. We are only inches apart. She moves her arm to point at something and her shoulder blade brushes against my chest. I lean forward like I am trying to get a better veiw of what she is pointing at, but really I just want to be as close to her as possible. I look out into the distance towards where she is pointing. We must be 100 feet up. I should be terrified right now, but feeling her close to me makes me feel safe. There is bright orange light glowing in the distance. She looks up at me and grins. "They're in the park." I say smiling back at her. "Let's go."