Hello, I've been asked if this will be a Eric or Tobias romance. Anna will have encounters with both of them. As she grows into a strong woman, I hope she makes the healthy choice to be with Tobias and not Eric, but I haven't decided yet. I hope you enjoy it!


Once we are back from our run, it's lunch and then our first fights. In the training room I stand next to Christina stretching out my muscles.

"It's nonstop here," Christina complains.

"I know," I say "But it's making us stronger. I think if I had a chance to catch my breath I'd realize how crazy the Dauntless really are."

We both laughed because it was true, just think about all the things we already did: we climbed train tracks, jump on and off moving trains, jumped onto building rooftops, shot guns, learned how to fight, ran 10 miles and it wasn't stopping. It's empowering. I felt that I have grown so strong in just a few days. The best part was Christina. I knew there were dangers to making friends with those whom I competed against, but she helped me feel like I belong.

Eric's booming voice silenced our laughter, "I hope you all learned a lot from yesterday's training. Don't think that today is a warm up. You will be graded on this fight. Being apart of Dauntless means you are always ready for a new challenge."

His eyes scrutinized the group; he didn't hide his dissatisfaction. I had been trying to hide behind Al but Eric's eyes caught me. "Stiff, in the ring."

My body shook with fear but I didn't hesitate to follow orders. I stepped up to the platform where the fights would take place. As I waited for him to pick my opponent, I tied my hair back while reviewing the different punches we learned the day before. I thought of what the Factionless woman said about having a fire within me. I needed to find it now if I wanted to have a chance in this fight.

Molly, a Candor born initiate whom resembled a bull with her solid strength, stood in front of me ready to fight. Her angry stare gave me an empty feeling. I raised my fists as she advanced me. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't see anything besides her, and I could barely feel my arms.

She threw the first punch; I was able to dodge it. She threw the second, and again I maneuvered away. Her third attempt hit my jaw. I was stunned for a second; the physical pain seemed to awaken me. The last time someone had hurt me I just cried in the corner, but now I was going to fight. I knew I may not win but I was worth fighting for.

When she went to strike me again, I ducked and used the moment to jab my elbow into her stomach. She grunted in pain. I didn't waste time; I hit her in the face and then tripped her to the ground. I don't think my strikes hurt her much but falling on her bottom in front of the group made her furious. She shouted as she jumped up, I saw her fist going for my face and everything went black.

I woke up in the infirmary with a few of the other initiates that took a beating. I was surprised to see Four walking up and down the initiate filled beds checking to make sure their wounds were attended to.

I sat up looking over my body. It looked like I had a few major bruises on my torso and face but overall I didn't seem to have any major damage. Four walked over to me as I inspected my bruises.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Not too bad," I said and without thinking I added, "I've had worse."

"Did you get into a lot of fights with other Stiffs?" He looked at me puzzled.

"Fights would mean I fought back," I said carefully in hopes he would assume I got bullied at school. Unfortunately it looked like he wanted to ask more questions so I quickly asked one of my own, "Was my concussion serious?"

"No."

"Oh, great! So I can head out then?" Although I'd love to stare at his hauntingly endless eyes all day, I didn't want to share about myself.

With his arms crossed his muscles bulged. His face looked stern. I think he wanted to know more about me but couldn't find the right words. I took a beating pretty better than the others, I could hear a few of the others moaning about this pain or that. But I wasn't built strong like they were, I was soft. From the look in his eyes I could tell I was a puzzle he was going to try put together.

I had questions about him too, but as his student I had no right to ask them. If I learned one thing in Abnegation it was keeping my inquires to myself. Asking people questions only lead to punishment and I didn't need anymore of that.

Four didn't seem like a normal Dauntless. I had a feeling he was a transfer. He held all the qualities of Dauntless: strong, fierce, capable, and what seems like an unwritten rule, attractive. But there was more to him, he wasn't a mindless drone, when he looked at me, it was at me, not through me. He had softness under his thick layer of authority and muscle. I was curious but smart. I left the room as soon as he allowed.

I found Christina, Will and Al in the dinning hall—each had won their fight. I sat down next to Al and he smiled at me. "You made it out!" he said putting his arm around me.

"I did, with just a few bruises." I smiled shrugging his arm off my shoulders but that only made him touch my chin, examining the purple mark. His hands were gentle but I pulled away.

We were walking through the pit on our way to our room; exhausted from our run and fighting when Eric called to me: "Stiff." He had a bottle of something in his hand and a glazed look in his eyes- he was drunk. Sober Eric made me nervous; I wasn't ready for a drunk one. I looked to my friends, they stopped walking but weren't about to follow me to Eric.

Once I got a few feet away from him and his friends I stopped. I looked up from the ground and crossed my arms in front of me to protect myself. "Hi," I said while looking at him and quickly glancing around to his friends.

He strode the last few feet between us and grabbed my chin, just like Al had only five minutes before.

"You look good in bruises," he said suggestively. His friends laughed. He stepped back to them and I turned away quickly back to my friends. This time when Al draped his arm around me I let it stay there.

The next day Al was pinned up against Edward, the best fighter in class. Al was big but he was slow and didn't really have the heart for fighting. I cringed when they both got up to the platform. Eric had a vicious but excited look in his eye like a vulture waiting for its prey to die. I was worried for Al.

Eric stalked over to me and whispered, "It's pathetic how he stares at you."

"What?" I whispered back slightly panicked.

"The little puppy dog, Al, needs to toughen up, stop protecting the weak like you because he has a little crush."

His words confused me, I had a feeling that Al may have a thing for me but what is that any of Eric's business? Why does it matter?

"What does his feelings have to do with this unfair match?" I asked as the match started.

Eric didn't respond right away, Edward breaking Al's nose distracted him—there was an audible cracking noise. He chuckled.

"Well, Al doesn't know this but this is a lesson. I don't like people touching things I want to touch."

A shiver ran down my spin and I turned my face away from the match. Al had already lost so much blood, it was making me sick and Eric said it was entirely, my fault. I felt like crying, like throwing up.

Eric grabbed the back of my neck. His hand was so big that it fit all the way around my neck and his fingers could meet just under my chin. He forced my face back to the match and kept it there until Al was unconscious in a pool of his own blood.

I couldn't breathe. Tears started to fill my eyes. I had to look away from Al. Although my face was still being point in his direction, I forced my eyes past him to the opposite side of the room. Four was standing staring right at me. His distant eyes reminded me, I couldn't let Eric win. I can't cry.

Once he finally let go, I walked away from Eric and helped the other's get Al up. After all was in the infirmary and the blood was cleaned off the mat, it was my turn to fight. I was no longer sad but angry. Drew, a boy bigger and strong than me, stood no chance. Each time I was hit, I just imagined my friend Al laying on the ground and got up. I won.