The next morning, I wake up feeling tired and groggy. I have not had much sleep last night: the disturbing sobs of Ella kept me awake. I sort of feel sorry for Tyler, even though he made fun of me yesterday. Tyler and Ella, who I found out are dating, slept together in one bed, and so did Amelia and Alyssa, who are best friends. I also shared a bed with Maddy, because no one else offered to share.
Ella doesn't seem like the strong, brave type. She's weak and cowardly, and does everything for Tyler like a slave. She probably followed Tyler here in the first place. I shake my head, kind of feeling sorry for Ella. She belongs in Abnegation or Amity, not Dauntless. Well, I guess I wish her luck in factionless.
Rose, Maddy, Xavier and I walk to the training room together. We are the first ones there.
"Good morning," Four and Six both say.
"Good morning," we say back.
We hang around for about ten minutes, doing nothing, waiting for the other initiates to arrive. Slowly they all start to pile in, except for Ryan, Ella, and Tyler.
"If the rest of the initiates don't come in one minute, there will be consequences," Four says.
Ryan comes in five seconds before Four is about to call it, and Six smiles at him. Ella and Tyler come in ten seconds after.
"You two," Four booms. "Ten laps around the training room."
Rolling their eyes, the two of them start jogging.
I can see that Ella is a fast runner: at first, she sprinted straight ahead smoothly. But just now, she makes the mistake of looking back, and her face falls. Tyler is glaring at her. Ella starts to slow down, and waits for Tyler to catch up. Then she starts running slowly, deliberately making Tyler run faster. I see Four shaking his head at how slow Ella is. I clench my teeth. Can't you see what is happening, Four?
At the end of the ten laps, Tyler is puffing but Ella seems perfectly fine.
"Well done, Tyler. Ella, you'd better practise your running, otherwise you'd never make it onto the train if you become a Dauntless," Four says. Ella nods emotionlessly. She looks at Tyler, but he doesn't make eye contact, nor does he thank her.
"Anyway, I will now explain about initiation here at Dauntless," Four says. "Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and ran you according to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time. We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."
"This stage, we will teach you things like shooting guns and throwing knives. Then we will be doing combat and you will be fighting each other," Six says. Fighting each other? I've never seen that happen, nor have I thought I would be doing it. Amity never allowed it to happen.
Four and Six starts handing out guns. As Six presses a gun onto me, my breath hitches. I have never held a weapon before. The thought that a single object and a single pull of a trigger can end a life forever frightens me. My hands shake as I hold my gun. I look around. Everyone seems to be feeling the same way I do, except for Tyler, Maya, Ian, and Ryan. They look interestingly at their guns and seem to be looking forward to shooting it. I feel sick.
Four demonstrates how to hold a gun, and then he tells us how to shoot accurately. I watch carefully as he breathes in, aims, breathes out, and fires. The bullet hit dead centre.
Everyone lifted their guns and had a go. I think I have a good aim. When I was smaller, I used to always win games which included throwing balls into hoops in PE classes.
I look at Ryan, and see that Six and Four are helping him out a lot, even though Ryan doesn't seem to be listening. I scrunch up my nose. I will prove to them that I am better than him.
I lift my gun up. I breathe in, then aim. I breathe out, imagining a hole in the very dead centre of the target. Then I fire.
It felt like I was the one being shot. A deafening bang echoes in my ears, and the recoil pushes me back into the wall. I regain my balance and look at my target carefully. I gasp as I see a hole an inch off the centre of the target. Everyone stops to stare.
"Whoa. Well done there, Liz," Six says with a smile, coming over to me.
"Did I tell everyone to stop?" Four boomed. Everybody scrambled back to shooting again.
"That's a good start," Four says quietly, "But your position is wrong. If you bend down more and spread your legs further, and bend your elbows a bit more, the recoil will affect you less." He continues helping me out. I follow his advises and I shoot my next bullet, smiling when I see a hole in the centre of the target.
Maybe I do belong here. I can do this. I can pass initiation with flying colours if I continue to do my best.