I own nothing!
Chapter 6
Today I am taking the initiates to the fence to talk about Dauntless jobs. I stand close enough to the tracks that I if I shift slightly, the train could graze my body. I look around and see that most of the initiates have arrived, all but Tris and Christina. I went back to the infirmary last night to check on her and they told me that she decided to return to her dorm. I know the thought of Peter putting her in the infirmary over night was just not acceptable to her.
Tris and Christina come striding up to the train quickly. She looks battered and bruised but alert and ready to go. She isn't going to let someone like Peter get to her. She is so much stronger than I ever gave her credit for.
When the train approaches, I step away from the tracks to make room for some of the initiates to get on. I grab the handle and effortlessly lift myself into the car. I turn to see Tris coming up behind me and before I can reach out for her, Al grabs her under both arms and lifts her into the car. I see the way that Al looks at her. He definitely has strong feelings for her, but her look says that he is just her friend.
Peter sees Al lift Tris into the car and he seizes his chance to ridicule her. "Feeling okay there?" he arches his eyebrows, giving her a look of mock sympathy. "Or are you a little…Stiff?"
He bursts into laughter at what he must consider to be a clever joke. Molly and Drew join in automatically. I really hate those three. Molly and Drew don't have one single original thought and Peter is just cruel and demented, much like Eric.
"We are all awed by your incredible wit," Will retorts.
"Yeah, are you sure you don't belong with the Erudite, Peter?" Christina adds. "I hear they don't object to sissies."
Although I'm thrilled that Tris' friends are defending her, I don't have the patience to listen to their bickering all the way to the fence. Besides I can tell that Tris doesn't like the attention that this arguing is bringing on her.
They continue to bicker. Sometimes I wonder if these are actually sixteen year olds and not babies. The only one that sits quietly is Tris, she looks angry but she knows that the banter is useless.
I speak before Peter has a chance to reply. "Am I going to have to listen to your bickering all the way to the fence?"
They fall silent and I turn back to the car's opening. I grip the handles on either side of the door and lean forward so my body is mostly outside of the car. The wind takes my breath away and presses my shirt to my chest. I breathe in the air and feel a sense of freedom as I look out over the great expanse to the distant skylines. I watch as the sea of crumbling, abandoned buildings drift farther away as the train carries us to the edge of the city.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see Tris looking at me. At first I thought she was just looking out the door, and then I see her shift her eyes from me to the view beyond and then back to me again. She continues to look from my face to my torso and back again. Does this mean she is feeling the same attraction that I have been feeling?
I get wrapped up in this thought and suddenly from behind me I hear Tris' voice above the noise of the wind.
"What do you think is out there?" she asks. "I mean, beyond the fence."
"Monsters!" Christina teases.
"We didn't even have guards near the fence until five years ago," Will says. "Don't you remember when Dauntless police used to patrol the factionless sector?"
"Yes," Tris replies.
I zone out of their conversation and focus on the scenery in front of me and the thoughts in my head. I've got to figure out what it is about her that causes me to get distracted so easily. It really makes no sense, there are lots of pretty girls in Dauntless and none of them have captured me the way this girl has. Is it because she's like me, because she's from Abnegation? I just don't know. All I know is that I can feel her looking at me and watching me as we travel to our destination.
The train's brakes squeal and everyone pitches forward as the car slows. The old dilapidated buildings from the past have been replaced with yellow fields and train tracks. The train stops under an awning. I lower myself easily from the car onto the grass that surrounds the tracks.
In front of me is a chain-link fence with barbed wire strung along the top. It stretches on into the horizon. Past the fence stands a cluster of trees, most of which are dead. Dauntless guards carrying guns pace the perimeter of the fence on the other side.
Once everyone is out of the train I turn and call to them.
"Follow me," I say.
I lead the group towards the gate, which is as wide as a house. This is the entrance to the city. A cracked road extends from the city to the Amity farms beyond the gate.
"If you don't rank in the top five at the end of initiation, you will probably end up here," I explain once we reach the gate. "Once you are a fence guard, there is some potential for advancement, but not much. You may be able to go on patrols beyond Amity's farms, but…"
"Patrols for what purpose?" asks Will.
I shrug. "I suppose you'll discover that if you find yourself amongst them. As I was saying, for the most part, those who guard the fence when they are young continue to guard the fence. If it comforts you, some of them insist that it isn't as bad as it seems."
"What rank were you?" Peter asks me.
I look steadily at him and tell him, "I was first."
"And you chose to do this?" Peter's eyes widen in disbelief. "Why didn't you get a government job?"
"I didn't want one," I say flatly.
The Dauntless have limited job options. We can guard the fence or work for the security of our city, take up a job in the Dauntless compound, fight for entertainment, or work for the Dauntless leaders. Ranks are directly related to job privileges, so I was offered the best one – a government position. I surprised everyone when I opted for a job in the control room, where I monitor the city security. The government job then went to the second highest ranking initiate, Eric. Many of my friends insist that I should talk to Max and take over Eric's position, but I don't want to ever have to interact with people from my past. I left Abnegation because of my father, there is no chance I'm going to put myself in a situation that I will have to see him again as a leader. Besides I like knowing about the security of the city. I know how to get in and out if I need to.
At the gate, the guards pull open the doors to admit a truck. The driver wears a hat, a beard, and a smile. He stops just inside the gate and gets out, allowing the guards to do their routine inspection. The back of the truck is open, a few Amity are sitting on crates which appear to be for apples.
"Beatrice?" one of the Amity boys says.
Tris's head jerks around to the sound of what must be her real name.
Beatrice, I like it. It is a really nice Abnegation name. But it doesn't suit the girl I see in front of me. This girl is not dainty or fragile, she is tough and determined, this girl isn't Abnegation, she is Dauntless. Tris is definitely a much more fitting name for the girl I see in front of me.
I watch out of the corner of my eye as the boy that called to her jumps down from the truck and approaches Tris. He wears a grey shirt and jeans. He is obviously an Abnegation transfer. She looks like she recognizes him but is unsure about how to handle this.
He hesitantly pulls Tris into his arms and she stiffens. This is an act that is very uncomfortable for someone from Abnegation. Only Amity greets one another with hugs. This boy seems to want to embrace the ideals of his new faction but still has the old faction's rules drilled into him.
I find myself staring at Tris and this boy's exchange and realize that I need to break the stare before someone notices that I am actually staring at her. I look away from this scene and toward the fence and see a guard that I know from my initiate class. I head toward the guard knowing that it places me closer to Tris and this unknown boy.
"Hey Four, how's it going? Babysitting the initiates?" says the guard. Through our conversation I can hear bits and pieces of Tris' conversation.
Behind me I hear, "…just training. Nothing," Tris says.
"Haha… Yeah," I say to the guard. "Someone has to try to make Dauntless out of them I guess," I say.
"Beatrice?" Molly demands in her nasally voices and laughs. "Is that your real name, Stiff?"
"And it just has to be the 'Dauntless Prodigy' Four, right?" asks the guard snickering.
"What did you think Tris was short for?" snipes Tris to Molly.
"'Dauntless Prodigy', I don't think so." I say to the guard.
"Oh, I don't know… weakling? Oh wait, that doesn't start with Tris. My mistake," says Molly to Tris.
"No one could beat you in a fight; you became proficient with a gun and knives faster than anyone else in our class. Then there is the thing with your fear landscape," says the guard laughing.
I turn my head toward the altercation between Tris, Molly, and the boy.
"There's no need to antagonize her," the boy says, so softly that I almost didn't catch it. "I'm Robert, and you are?"
"Someone who doesn't care what your name is," Molly snaps. "Why don't you get back in your truck? We're not supposed to fraternize with other faction members."
"Better get back to my initiates," I say looking toward Tris.
"See you later Four!" says the guard.
The boy hops back into the truck and it pulls away.
I walk up to Tris and when I am about a foot away from her I say, "I am worried that you have a knack for making unwise decisions."
She crosses her arms and looks at me. "It was a two-minute conversation."
"I don't think a smaller time frame makes it any less unwise." I furrow my eyebrows and brush the corner of her bruised eye with my fingertips. She jerks her head back, but I don't take my hand away.
I look at her thoughtfully and sigh. "You know, if you could just learn to attack first, you might do better."
"Attack first?" she says. "How will that help?"
"You're fast. If you can get a few good hits in before they know what's going on, you could win." I shrug and let my hand fall to my side.
"I'm surprised you know that," she says quietly, "since you left halfway through my one and only fight."
She saw me leave? How, through the abuse that she was going through, did she notice me leave? I sigh and say, "It wasn't something I wanted to watch."
She falls silent, and appears to consider what that comment means. I would love to know what she is thinking. She stares at me as if she is trying to read my mind. I don't change the expression on my face. I return her stare with without emotion. I want her to know how I feel, but I'm not even sure about how I feel. This is all very confusing.
A few seconds later, I clear my throat. "Looks like the next train is here. Time to go, Tris."