CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TRIS POV
"Today is the start of gun and knife training. Both are weapons that you will need to be proficient in to pass initiation. So listen very carefully I will not be repeating myself," says Eric.
"Your gun training will consist of gun care; you will be expected to be able to dismantle and put the guns back together. You will also need to know how to clean your gun, the maintenance of your weapons are very important. These weapons are here to protect you, if you don't treat them with respect they might not work properly when you need them too," Eric says. It almost sounds like he is talking about a person. I'm so glad that mum used to let me clean her gun for her. I wish she'd let me practice shooting with it but she wouldn't.
"You will be learning about and shooting a variety of guns over the next week. Although you will not get the chance to fire your weapons until you can dismantle and put your gun back together. So watch carefully," he says.
We are starting with hand guns and I can't help but smile as I watch Eric dismantle the gun and name all the different components to us. Then he puts the pieces back together. It is amazing how a dismantled the looks like random pieces of metal, they don't mean much at all but once the pieces are assembled they become a device that can kill you instantly.
Once Eric has finished showing us what to do he tells us to pick up a gun and show him what we just learned. I see Edward smiling, from what he has been telling me, he has been studying this subject for a while now. He used to love reading the books in the library about the different weapons and how they are used. I think he will be first to get the opportunity to fire his weapon.
I take the gun and move to the end of the table away from the others, I don't want to have to listen as people try to guess where the parts go. I quickly dismantle the gun and then re-assemble it just as quickly. Eric walks over to me and says, "do that again."
There is no use trying to argue with Eric so I do it all over again. "How do you know what to do?" he asks.
"My mum," I say. I'd rather not talk to him and I find it easier to just give short answers to him.
"Your mum?"
"She transferred from Dauntless. She has a gun at home," I say.
"You didn't grow up in a normal Abnegation home did you?"
I just shake my head. I really wish he would just walk away.
"Edward," Eric calls. I look over to see that Edward is the only other person who has put his gun back together. I can see Peter has only just dismantled his gun. "Come over here."
Edward walks over to where I am sitting. "Seeing you two are the only two finished I may as well teach you how to shoot," Eric says. "Or did your mum teach you that as well?" Eric looks at me as he says it, I just shake my head no.
"Now watch what I do and then you can have a turn," Eric says. I watch Eric as he gets into his stance to fire the gun. He stands facing the target, he stands with his feet apart holding the gun in both his hands and then he fires.
I her a yelp coming from where we were assembling our guns and see that Christina has dropped her gun and because she hadn't finished putting it together the pieces have dropped all over the place. I can't believe how loud that was. I wasn't expecting it to hurt my ears.
"Some warning would have been nice," Christina grumbles as she crawls on the floor to pick up the pieces of her gun.
I look back at the target and see that Eric has hit just inside the middle ring. Being an instructor I thought he would have made a perfect shot.
"Your turn," Eric says to Edward and I.
"Why are they getting to shoot before we do?" Peter asks.
"Why should they wait for you to finish Peter? As soon as you can put the gun back together you can shoot too," Eric says.
"Now don't forget there will be a recoil, so be ready for it," Eric says.
I try to remember the way Eric was standing as I face the target. Edward is quick to start shooting and the noise puts me off. I start again, it feels strange, holding a weapon that is able to kill. I didn't think I would feel this way. I never noticed before but holding the gun out in front of me, it now feels heavy and cold in my hands.
I am just about to take my first shot when I feel Eric behind me. He is so close I can feel his body heat and it makes me feel really uncomfortable. "You need to move your legs apart a little more. Like this," he says. He moves my foot with his foot. "Now bend your knees slightly, it will help with the recoil."
I bend my knees slightly and I am hoping that now he will move away, but he doesn't. He leans over my body and puts both his arms around me and says, "now, lift your arms just a little higher." He is holding my wrists with his hands and moving them to where he wants them. "Now I want you to breath in, aim, breath out and then shoot."
I take my first shot and I feel my hands want to move back but Eric is holding them in place and with the position he is in I fall back onto him from the recoil. I am sure the whole room is watching and I feel completely embarrassed and I just wish Eric would let me go.
Once I am back standing Eric lets go of my arms and says, "now try by yourself. Your first shot wasn't too bad. Just remember to keep your eyes open this time."
I look over to the target and see that I have hit the target but I am nowhere near the rings in the centre. I look over and see that Edward's last four shots have all hit the centre of the target.
Thankfully Will, Peter and Drew have finished putting their guns together and Eric has gone to demonstrate to them how to shoot. So now I am left to try to shoot by myself. I know what to expect now and I start shooting. While I am definitely not the best shooter here, by the end of the day I am not the worst either.
"How did you go with the guns?" Lynn asks as we sit in the dining hall eating lunch.
"It was great for Tris, she got one on one training with Eric," Christina says.
"I wouldn't call it great," I say.
"What did he do Tris?" Tobias asks.
Before I can answer Christina is telling the whole table about how Eric helped me fire my first shot. I thought it was awkward when it was happening but the way Christina is telling the story it sounds even worse.
"You need to watch yourself around Eric, he is bad news Tris," Tobias says.
"She looked like she was enjoying all the attention," Christina says.
"Maybe if you could have put your gun together Christina you would have got the one on one training," I say. I am really angry with Christina right now. Trying to make out that I enjoyed having Eric so close and in front of everyone.
I seem to have lost my appetite so I just get up and walk away from the table. I need to get away from everyone.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Tobias asks. He has followed me out of the dining hall and we are standing in the Pit.
"I didn't enjoy having Eric touching me, even if it was just to help me. I hate that Christina made it seem like I enjoyed it. I didn't," I say.
"I know," Tobias says.
"You do?"
"I don't think anyone would like to have him that close. Christina is just jealous. She likes the attention to be on her. She is always answering questions that are for someone else. She likes to tell the story," Tobias says.
"Maybe, it's just she almost made it sound sexual and well it wasn't."
Tobias pulls me to him into a hug. I needed to feel him this close. After having Eric so close it feels good to be in Tobias's arms. I wrap my arms around his waist and we just stand there.
It is day three of knife throwing. It has got to the point where I am really bored. I can hit the target with great accuracy, which I can thank Lynn for later. We used to go and practice on the old oak tree in the meadow when I was in Abnegation.
Thankfully I didn't need Eric to help me. Although every time we get a different type of gun to use he comes over and tries to give me advice. I don't understand why he keeps trying to help me. It's common knowledge that he hates Tobias so I don't know what his motive is for helping me. It is making training uncomfortable.
It doesn't help that Christina is happy to make smart comments about it every meal time and now Tobias has been watching the training sessions from the control room. Zeke told me that his boss Gus has even set up a special viewing area just for Tobias, so that he can watch what is going on in training. Not only that he has Gus record the sessions that he isn't there for.
It is almost dinner time and I can't wait to be out of here. It will be good to know that I won't have to throw knives for hours at a time once this session is finished. We will just have some time to practice before our final assessment in a few week's time. I can get some more practice in with Lynn and Uriah after hours, now that we have our own training room to use.
Uriah, Lynn and Marlene have been using training room five every night. I have joined them along with Edward and Myra. It has been a lot of fun. We probably muck around more than we train but still I am enjoying it. I love having the friends I do. Christina and Will never come with us, they are always running off to try and have time by themselves. Rita has joined us a few times but she has been seeing someone to deal with the death of her sister. It is nice that when she does come she had been having some fun and laughing too. I couldn't imagine loosing Caleb like that.
We've never invited Al to the training room. I know he is with Christina and Will a lot because Christina is always whining that she wants more 'alone time' with Will. She hasn't been doing that well in training but she doesn't seem to care, she just wants to be with Will. Al hasn't really fitted into the group, he never joins the conversation at dinner, he doesn't seem comfortable at all. And it's not just at dinner, he had been having trouble with training as well. He can't throw a knife that is for sure.
We have just over an hour to go when we all stop when we hear Eric yelling at Al.
"What is wrong with you," Eric shouts. "You have been at this for three fucking days and you still haven't hit the target."
"Did I say stop throwing? Get back to work," Eric screams at the rest of us.
"Now I want you to go and get your knives and start again," Eric says. His voice is much softer now and it scares me more than when he yells. I would hate to think how Al is feeling right now.
"While they are all throwing?" Al asks. You can hear the fear in his voice.
"Yes," Eric says.
"But I don't want to get hit," Al says.
"If you haven't noticed all your fellow initiates can actually hit the target," Eric says. "So I am sure that you will be able to walk over there and they won't hit you."
"No," says Al. Sounding a little less fearful.
"Excuse me?" says Eric. Oh dear this does not look good.
"There isn't an option here, you need to go and get your knives," Eric says.
"But . . .," Al says.
"But? Are you afraid?"
"Yes," Al whispers. It's not just fear in his voice anymore he sounds ashamed.
"Everyone stop!" Eric shouts. "You." He points to Al. "Go stand in front of the target."
I watch as Al slowly makes his way over to the target with his head down. If he went any slower he would be at a stop.
"You are going to stand there while I throw these knives at you. If you flinch I will fail you, not only in knife throwing but everything else as well. Do you understand?" Eric says.
Al just nods his head. I can't believe that Eric is trying to make Al factionless.
Eric is about to throw the first knife and I know that Al isn't going to be able to not flinch. If he is going to fail it should be on his ability not for Eric's entertainment.
"Wait," I call out. Every head has turned my way. "Anyone can stand in front of a target. It doesn't prove anything except that you are bullying him. Which as I recall, is a sign of cowardice."
"If that is the case then you can stand in front of the target. Take his place," Eric says.
TOBIAS POV
"You are going to want to see this," Zeke calls out to me from across the room. I have just walked into the control room to check on how training is going. I don't like to go into the room if I don't have too, I only get distracted with Tris being there.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Eric is about to lose it. He is about to throw knives at that Al kid," Zeke says.
I look up at the monitor and I can see that Al is slowly walking towards the target. Eric did the same thing last year. I told him I didn't want to see this happen again. "Crap," I say as I run out of the control room hoping I can get to the training room before Eric inflicts any damage on Al.
Eric isn't the best at knife throwing and you can't trust that he is going to miss. I burst through the training room doors and see that Al isn't in front of the target anymore, Tris is. What the hell did she do while I was on my way here.
"What do you think you are doing?" I ask Eric.
"Tris here, volunteered to take Al's place," Eric says. You would think he was talking about the weather he is speaking so casually about this.
"Okay, training is over for the day, get out," I say to the initiates. "Beatrice can you wait outside for me?"
She gives me a questioning look but I turn away. The longer I stand here the angrier I am getting with her. Why would she stand up for Al? It's not like they are close. I've told her to be careful around Eric.
"Go," I say to her when I have turned around and see that she is still standing there.
She puts her knives on the table and walks out of the room. Once the door is shut I turn back to Eric. "What were you thinking? I have told you before that you can't throw knives at initiates," I yell.
"You only came in because it was the stiff," Eric yells back.
"I was in the control room, when I left Al was in front of the target. By the time I got here Tris was in front of the target. I was coming down here because of Al. It wouldn't matter which initiate it was I would still be here," I say. I'm not yelling now, it won't do any good yelling at Eric, he probably isn't listening anyway.
"He needed to learn. We have had three days of knife training and he still hasn't hit the target," Eric says.
"So when the assessment comes round you fail him," I say. "It's not hard Eric. If I see you do something like this again and I will have you fired. Do you understand me?"
"You can try Four. But it won't work, you're not the only leader. All five leaders have to agree and you know that not all of them will take your side," Eric says.
"Just try me Eric. This isn't about me, it's about your inability to train our initiates properly. Why couldn't Al throw a knife after three days of training? I think you need to start looking at yourself instead of blaming some kid who hasn't been trained properly," I say.
I don't actually believe what I just said to Eric. He is a good trainer and it probably is Al's own fault that he can't throw a knife but I'm not going to let Eric know this. He needs to learn some self-control if he wants to keep this job.
"Fuck you Four," Eric yells and storms out of the training room. I can't help but smile, the guy is such an asshole. Hopefully he has learned his lesson this time.
I walk out of the training room and Tris is standing by the door.
"What were you thinking?" I say.
"I wasn't. Eric said that he would fail Al, not only in knife throwing but everything if he flinched. I knew Al wouldn't cope so I said something to Eric and he made me stand in front of the target," she says.
"Eric can't just fail someone Tris," I say. "The leaders take failure very seriously here. We would review all his training sessions before we would fail anyone. No one wants to see an initiate factionless."
"Oh," she says.
"I warned you that you need to be careful around Eric. You need to start listening to what I tell you. You have a lot more at stake here than the others," I say, thinking of her being divergent and how I am going to get her through stage two without Eric finding out.
Tris grabs hold of my hand and I look her in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she says.
"I know. I just need you to be more careful. You already have Eric's attention just be careful," I say as I pull her into a hug. "I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."