Hey, guys. I apologize at my sucky posting skills. I really need to type these out. I promise they're written, and I will try really hard to update.
As usual Eve wrote the bold stuff, I wrote everything else.
Okay, Disclaimer: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A POPULAR SCENE FROM DIVERGENT. IT WAS NOT MY IDEA! :)
Love you all, and hope you enjoy. Julia
Chapter 6: First day of training.
I awake at eight. Eve is still sleeping. I jump on her playfully. She pushes me off of her as she wakes.
"God, Stiff," I say from the floor. I look up at her and see her eyes widen. "People are going to start calling you that more often." I remember the first time someone called Eve and me Stiffs. I had to comfort her as she cried in the bathroom at school.
"Well, you're a Stiff, too, you know," Eve remarks.
"Yeah, I know. I don't care. I'll them all names back." I don't add that I know she won't. She will probably barely take the subtle jabs at her.
"Shut up and get ready, will you?" Eve retorts. She knows what I'm thinking. "You're going to make us late. You want to impress Ten don't you?"
I glare at her. "No." I've barely thought of Ten since yesterday. Yes, he caught my attention as attractive, but so have many other guys. I put on the tank top that was part of the inventory that the Dauntless provided us with last night and a black hoodie zipped up to my throat. Eve is wearing a boy's T-shirt. From whom did she steal that? I just shake my head.
Eve and I arrive at the training room ten minutes early. Our mothers had always drilled into our heads that it was best to be ten minutes early. Ten and Sin were setting guns on a table. Oh, God, please help me.
Slowly the other initiates filed in. Sienna and Andrea. Theran and Samuel. Evan and his pack of followers.
When everyone arrives, Ten starts. "Initiation is in three parts. First is physical."
"Second is mental," Sin says. I find it creepy how they always finish each other's' sentences.
"Third is both combined," Ten finishes.
"After the second stage, some will be cut and will become factionless," Sin.
"You are ranked with the Dauntless born. So at the end of the second stage four are cut."
"It can be any combination: two Dauntless born, two transfers-"
"Four transfers."
"Or four Dauntless-born."
"At the very end, we only accept the top ten initiates as members."
"You chose us." Sin says.
"Now we choose you," Ten finishes.
"Cool!" Eve exclaims. I death-glare at her . She death glares back. Hers is slightly creepy because she looks demented.
"Now everyone get a gun!" Ten says. Eve and I hang back. "Why aren't you getting guns?" ("We prefer not to get trampled on our first day,") I say.
"Thank you very much!" Eve says. Sin starts laughing, almost literally rolling on the floor laughing.
"I like these two, can we keep them?" Sin asks.
"You know they have to make it," Ten hisses to Sin. "Now, stand up." He adds something else, but I can't hear it over the sudden gunshot. Eve and I grab the last two guns, handguns that are polished and shiny.
We line up next to each other in front of the painted square targets. Ten is already in Evan's face for shooting before they shown him how. Know-it-all Erudite.
Ten employs Sin to show us how to shoot. Sin plants his feet shoulder width apart and shoots.
And down goes Eve.
I think of reasons why she would crumble. Think of her fears, I think. Bright lights,
spiders, fish, loud noises, hippies- wait... loud noises! "Why is she on the ground?" Sienna.
"I knew you shouldn't be allowed to transfer to Dauntless." Evan snarls.
"Get off her back, know-it-all!" I yell.
BANG!
We all look at the target on the opposite wall. There is a new hole in one of them.
I turn back to look at Eve, but she is standing, feet shoulder width apart, finger on the trigger. She shot it. I just now realize the two tracks of tears that trailed down her face.
"Nice shot, killer," Sin breaks the silence. He walks over and puts an arm around her shoulder in a sort of protective way. He glares at Evan. "I told you you belonged here." She lowers the gun. More silence.
So I laugh. "Nice one, Cherry. Next time, though," I look at Evan. "Hit him." And I smirk.
Ten looks both shocked and impressed. "Not so much Stiffs, are you guys?"
"Nope," Eve and I say together.
There's a short silence. Then: "Sin, get off me."
I laugh again. Then I turn around and shoot at the target. The recoil makes my hands jump. BANG! BANG! This reminds me of a song I've heard. Loud. I think it's called Chasm. My second shot ends up close to the middle again. On my tenth shot I finally hit the center. I smile. The other initiates, besides Eve have not yet hit the center. Poor Sienna hasn't even hit the target yet. She's right next to me, so I try to coach her through the recoil.
She finally gets it, punching a hole dead center after a few tries. I assess this situation. Abnegation will never leave me, I decide. My Erudite tells me the logic of shooting the gun: how to hold it, how to make sure I do not hit the wall with the recoil. My Amity tells me to drop the gun… right now! I ignore that, of course. My Dauntless is exhilarated by the feeling of power that explodes with every perfect shot. Once everyone hits the center, Ten and Sin yell "Lunch!" over the gunshots.
Eve and I make our way toward the Pit. Running through the lunch line-almost literally- I grab more than I would have in Abnegation. A large bowl of salad and a huge helping of some sort of pasta in a cheese sauce. Eve does, too.
We sit down at the table and pray before digging in. Suddenly Sin and Ten walk over to our table.
"You're sitting at our table," Sin says.
"So? Does it look like we care?" I speak.
"Yeah does it look like we're moving anytime soon?" Eve says.
"No, so just walk away," we say together. They give us death-glares and sit down.
"Or you could just do that," we say –again- together.
They stare at us, then Ten asks. "Are you twins?"
"Yes, cause we're totally identical." Eve says.
"We're totally twins," I answer. They pull out their instructor glares again, but we ignore it.
Lunch is awkward until Eve starts a conversation with me about Harry Potter. Sin and Ten jump in, adding in their ideas.
After lunch we all file back into the training room. Knives sit on the table. Oh, God, help me. I think, reminiscent of this morning. Soon, Ten is giving a demonstration of how to throw them, and I am practicing, no knife. Andrea, on my left, asks me what I am doing. I tell her that I am getting the feel of it, imitating Ten. Eve on my right is shadowing me. I transfer a knife to my right hand and throw. It hits hilt first. It's a start. I think.
Eve is yelling at Sienna, now, and I wonder why. I find out the next time Sienna throws a knife. She's trying to whip the knife across like a Frisbee.
"Don't throw it like that! It'll boomerang around and hit you- or worse, someone else!" Eve is very annoyed, very annoyed. Sienna ignores her and throws it anyway. It does boomerang this time, hitting Sin in the leg. Everyone stares as he presses his lips together to not scream. Everyone stares as he limps away after a rushed conversation with Ten. "I'll try to find a replacement." He throws over his shoulder as he walks away, painfully. Everyone glares at Sienna.
"What the hell, hippie?! I told you you'd hit someone. And it just happened to be our instructor! Congratulations on becoming factionless!" Eve is livid.
"I'm going to go-" Ten is cut off at the arrival of another man. I hear Ten mutter something under his breath.
"I'm here to replace Sin for the rest of the day!" he says. He is tall, dark-blue-haired, with bright purple eyes. Contacts, dye, piercing, more tattoos than skin, but with a friendly smile. Why is Eve staring at him?
"I don't need your help Daniel," Ten says, an edge in his voice. "I didn't tell you to stop!" This is directed toward us.
We all continue throwing. After ten or so minutes everyone has hit the target.
Everyone but Eve.
"What's the matter? Can't you throw a knife? Do you want to move closer or something? Haven't you ever held one before?" Daniel is yelling at her. I cringe back, but straighten my spine, stepping closer to my friend.
She snaps. I have never seen her yell before, so this piques my interest. She stabs the knife handle into the table, handle up.
"No! Because in Abnegation we don't hold knives, we don't even own them, we don't even touch them. So how the HELLAM I SUPPOSED to know how to throw them?!" Her eyes are wide with defiance.
Five seconds pass. Then ten. No one dares breathe.
"Stand in front of the target!" Daniel is cool, calm, collected. It makes it feel as if he's done this a million times before. Something tells me he has. Eve stands in front of the target, crossing her arms.
"Ten." Daniel says.
"Daniel," Ten stares at him, but picks up the knives anyway. I see the small bit of fear in his eyes, and surmise that Daniel must have something on him. He looks as if he's done this before, and from the look in his eyes- fear, anger- he has.
To Eve, Daniel says, "You will stand in front of that target. You will not move. If you move, you will become factionless."
Ten stands in front of Eve, in front of the target. She squeals and squeezes her eyes shut as he raises the knife.
"Wait!" I yell. "What the hell does this prove?!" I ask, rushing him and pushing him against the wall. He only moves because he is shocked, I am sure. "I'll take her place you bastard, I'll take her place."
He shoves me off him. I hit the ground. He stares at me. Five seconds. Ten.
"Stand in front of the target. Don't flinch. Don't move. Don't speak. If you do, you both become factionless." Daniel's voice is bone-chillingly flat.
I storm up to the target, turn on my heel, and look Ten straight in the eye.
"Ready, Stiff?" Ten asks quietly.
"Whenever, Ten," I snap. I stare into his green eyes, ignoring his hand as it draws back, ignoring the sound of the knife rushing towards me. My vision blurs around the edges and my focus is on his eyes. The dull thunk of the knife hitting the target drives my eyes shut.
"Eyes open Stiff," Ten admonishes.
"Oh, please," I mutter. He hears me, or at least I think so, because soon the next knife is right above my head, hitting the board above my head. I continue to glare at Ten with all the flames I can muster. He looks somewhat repentant as he throws the third knife and then the fourth in quick succession.
After the fourth knife, Daniel pulls me away from the board, harshly.
"She's brave." He says. "You all need to be that brave, but you shouldn't almost kill your instructor. LEAVE, NOW!" he yells, and they all scatter.
I am left with him and Ten.
"Never again, Stiff." Daniel says, then walks out.
"I'm so-" Devon says when his footsteps disappear down the hallway.
"Save it Devon," I snap, and exit the room, running to the Pit, running through the halls. Running, running, running from the one who made my life hell.
