Well, after giving life to some new ideas, I'm back to this one with a new chapter. I haven't been able to keep my mind pinned down to one idea for too long lately, so if I randomly vanish from this for an unknown amount of time don't fret, I promise I'll come back to it sooner or later.
As always, I love reviews!
"There are a few things that we need to address here."
Eric's voice rang through the training room, stern and sharp as he glared at all the initiates, transfers and Dauntless born alike. It was originally supposed to be a day off, but the incident with Peter and Edward had driven Eric to call them all together.
The group stared at him silently, and he could see the confusion in some of the faces. Particularly the transfers, most of whom thought he didn't give a damn. Four and Lauren were somewhere behind him, observing but letting him take control of the situation.
"As I'm sure you all know, one of our transfer initiates was attacked in the middle of the night last night. Now our transfer initiates all know what happened, but I believe our Dauntless born initiates are still somewhat in the dark, am I correct?"
There were mutters and glances amongst the Dauntless born initiates, assenting that they didn't know much of what had transpired the night before.
"In the middle of the night last night, one of our transfer initiates, Edward, was stabbed in the eye with a butter knife." Eric paused as the Dauntless borns exchanged glances. "Coincidentally... or not... Edward was ranked first yesterday. Today, he chose to leave us."
The Dauntless born initiates exchanged glances again, muttering about cowards and teaching lessons.
"As with most areas of the compound, the initiate dorms are monitored with cameras." Eric paused again, glancing toward Peter, whose expression had frozen in place. "So, keeping in mind that those of us in charge already know exactly who you are, I would suggest the culprit step forward. Unless of course you would rather wait to be called out, like a coward."
Peter looked at the stony faces of the Dauntless initiates before standing up, looking pale and nervous. Every eye in the room locked on him where he stood, and he deliberately avoided the gazes of everyone but Eric.
"In the ring," Eric ordered. Peter still looked nervous, though there was relief evident in his expression. What a fool. "At first I was going to have a word with the other leaders Peter," Eric said, leveling a glare at the boy. "The result would have seen you factionless. But that wouldn't have taught you anything. You want to be Dauntless, correct?"
"Of course I do," Peter said incredulously.
"Good. Then what better way to teach you how things are done here in Dauntless, than by one of your fellow initiates?"
Peter gave him a confused look, and Eric spun back to look at the gathered initiates. If Peter thought he was at the top of the food chain, he was sorely mistaken.
"Uriah!" Eric called. Uriah stood quickly, grinning in anticipation. "Teach Candor how things are done here in Dauntless."
Eric turned to look at Peter, grinning widely. "You want to be number one? This is who you have to beat. Good luck."
Peter had frozen, looking at Uriah with an expression that could only be described as horror. Opposite him, Uriah looked gleeful and predatory.
"You ready, you little Candor coward?" Uriah jeered. "You think that's how you get ahead here, sneak up on your enemy when they're sleeping because you know they're better than you? That's what a coward does. And in case you didn't notice, we don't take too kindly to your kind."
Uriah lunged with blinding speed, fist making contact with Peter's jaw and retracting again before Peter had even noticed him move. Peter staggered backward from the force of the blow, clutching a hand to his jaw in shock. Uriah was ranked first among the Dauntless born for a reason, and Peter didn't stand a chance against him.
Uriah swung again, feinting a punch with his left hand and sending a vicious kick to the side of Peter's knee with his right foot. Peter cried out as his leg gave way beneath him and clutched it reflexively. The moment his attention was diverted Uriah kicked again, this time directly to his gut and sent Peter backward with a breathless cough.
Uriah stood back and waited, crossing his arms and watching as Peter struggled to his feet. "Come on Candor, at least make it worth my time."
Peter huffed out an annoyed breath and spat blood on the floor, shoving to his feet. He lunged at Uriah, landing a hit to his jaw. It took everything Eric had not to laugh, Uriah hadn't even judged Peter's hit strong enough to warrant being blocked. He had just let it happen, watching Peter like an adult watches a child have a tantrum. Peter tried again, throwing three hits in quick succession to Uriah's midsection. Though Uriah deemed them worthy of blocking this time, he did so with ease. It was clear that Peter wasn't even providing a challenge for him.
It was obvious when Uriah had had enough playing around. He swung viciously, throwing a punch to Peter's chest with so much force he was sent flying several feet, landing hard on his back. Peter laid flat on the mat after having the wind knocked out of him, dazed from the punch and hitting the floor. Uriah stalked over to him, staring down at Peter with a look of disgust on his face. He pulled his foot back and sent it forward into Peter's ribs, making everyone in the room wince at Peter's strangled cry. Peter's eyes fell closed then as he succumbed to unconsciousness.
Four and Lauren picked Peter up and carried him from the room while Uriah made his way back to his seat casually, looking as though he had fought with a toddler and not another initiate.
"Now that that's been dealt with," Eric began casually, "I have something else I want to address, particularly to our transfer initiates, though our Dauntless born would do well to listen also." Eric stopped pacing and faced the group directly, meeting each and every pair of eyes.
"Now be honest, who here disagreed with the mandate that no one was to concede during a fight?"
Eric watched as more than half the hands in the room went up, all of the transfers and a good third of the Dauntless borns. Because of the way he had phrased it, Tris and Christina had raised their hands as well, though he knew that they understood the reasoning now.
"Good. Among those of you who did not raise your hand just now, who thinks they can tell me why you were not to concede?"
The remaining two thirds of the Dauntless born turned and looked at each other, muttering quietly amongst themselves. Finally, one spoke up, a girl whose name he didn't know.
"Because the rules said we couldn't," she responded, making it sound obvious. "Our orders were to fight until we couldn't continue."
Eric nodded. "Not the answer I was looking for, but an excellent point. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Here in Dauntless, we train soldiers. Soldiers are to follow orders, whether they like them or not. Who can tell me why we put that rule in place?" He rephrased.
This time it was Uriah who answered. "Because in a real life situation, we're not going to concede. We're here to protect the city with our lives, that's what we commit to in Dauntless."
"Thank you!" Eric shouted, pointing at Uriah. "This faction is tasked with protecting this city and everyone in it. Unlike what most people seem to think, we are not simply here for games. You do not join Dauntless because it is fun, you join Dauntless because you are ready and willing to fight, to protect and possibly to die! If it is required of you."
Eric paced back and forth in front of them again as he let his words sink in.
"Every faction in this city preaches faction before blood, but that doesn't mean each of you don't have family you care about so think of it this way. Think of the one person you care about the most. Imagine that their life is at stake, and the only thing standing between that person and death is you. Your opponent, the one trying to kill them, has you hopelessly outmatched. You have absolutely no chance of winning."
Eric paused again, meeting each set of eyes in the room once more to make sure he was getting his point across. By the looks of it, he was. Or was beginning to anyway.
"How many of you would concede in that situation? How many of you would step aside and let that person die, without trying? Without giving your all and without doing everything you could to save them?"
Ringing silence answered him, and several initiates' eyes were on their feet. Seeking to keep their attention Eric dropped his volume dramatically, changing from shouting to a tone you almost had to strain to hear.
"The people around us forget why we are here. They see us getting tattoos, running everywhere, jumping out of trains and having fun and they forget who we are, what we are here to do. They forget, that the only thing standing between them and death if something breaches that wall... Is us. But we cannot forget that. We cannot forget that at the end of the day, we are military. We are soldiers. We are here to protect.
"This faction isn't for everyone. Not everyone is cut out for what we are here to do, and there is no shame in that any more than there is in not being cut out for the lifestyle of any other faction. Admitting you don't belong here, that you aren't cut out for our overall purpose doesn't make you a coward. If you know that this isn't you, and you can stand here and say so, that makes you one of the bravest ones here."
Eric's speech was met with wide eyes and he could see that most of them thought he was done, but he had one more point to make.
"But let me be perfectly clear! If you are one of those who forgot the purpose of this faction when you cut your hand open, if you joined us for the fun and games without thinking of the responsibility then I'm talking to you right now."
Eric paused again for dramatic effect, making sure he had the absolute and undivided attention of everyone in the room before he went on.
"If you are not able to fight and protect, to kill or die for anyone in this city if it is asked of you..." Eric held up a hand and pointed to the door of the training room. "Then you need to get out. Because tomorrow, when we start our second stage of training you will be tested to your limits. We accept only the strongest here, because we need soldiers who can be depended on to protect without fail. And if you are not able or willing to do that we will find out who you are, and you will be cut."
And on that note, Eric thought to himself. Without another word, he turned his back and left the room, the door slamming closed as an echo of finality.
...
Tris sat stock still, along with everyone else in the training room. Eric's speech had been intense and impassioned, but his abrupt departure had taken everyone by surprise. Intentional, no doubt.
She had always thought of him just as a cruel, sadistic and power hungry man who would do anything to keep his position on top. She had never realized before that Eric actually felt a commitment, a loyalty to Dauntless and what they stood for. The thought eased a weight on her chest she hadn't known was there.
"That was intense," Christina muttered. "I didn't expect something like that out of him. I thought he was just here for the power and the fighting."
"So did I," Tris admitted. "It's not very often I'm glad to be wrong."
"I wish he had said all that at the beginning," Al said softly. "I would have put more effort into the fights if I'd thought of it that way."
"So keep it in mind during stages two and three," Will told him. "If you think you can, like he said, put your mind to it and do it."
"You think he meant it?" Al asked uncertainly.
"Oh he meant it," Tris told him. "I could see it in his eyes."
"Hey stiff!" Four's voice rang through the room, and Tris sighed internally. "Hang back, I need to talk to you."
Tris stood and waited for the room to clear, watching Four with a wary expression as the others left. Christina paused, but left after being thrown a particularly vicious glare from Four.
Once they were alone, he wasted no time. "What are you doing with Eric?" The directness of the question caught Tris off guard and made her response crisper than usual.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, what are you doing with Eric?" He repeated slowly, looking angry.
"I wasn't aware it was any of your business. I'm not trying to earn myself a better ranking, if that's what you're implying," she spit.
"He has almost no say in the rankings anyway."
"Then why do you care?" His patronizing tone raised her hackles, and her reply was cold.
"Because Eric is dangerous," Four said quietly, "to certain types of people. People with something to hide."
Tris tried not to let his words affect her, but it took everything she had not to shiver. Was he implying he knew she was divergent?
"And what makes you so different?"
"When you figure it out, come and find me," Four told her, before turning and walking away, leaving Tris alone and confused in the training room. Muttering to herself, she left as well.