CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
TRIS POV
"I'm so glad that I have been able to train with you guys at night," Myra says. "I don't know how I am going to go in the fights. This week has been so intense with all the fighting techniques we are learning."
"Just do the best you can Myra, that's all any of us can do," I say.
"Why do you act weak in training Tris?" Myra asks. "I've seen you training with Lynn and you are almost as good as her. Why hide that?"
"I don't want Eric to know. Plus, if I have to fight someone like Peter or Drew, I want to be able to surprise them. Peter is always teasing me about being from Abnegation. I know it was him who carved the word 'stiff' into my bedframe and ruined my sheets. But I can't prove it, so if I can surprise him in a fight I may be able to beat him."
"I'm sure you could beat him. Do you think Eric is going to get angry when he can see you can fight?"
"Probably but he can't do anything about it," I say. I hope he doesn't try to do anything about it. "Come on we better get to training; I would hate to see how angry Eric could get if we were late."
We walk in the training room and the Dauntless born initiates are here too. I walk over and start to say hi to my friends.
"Today we are going on an excursion. We are going to go out to the fence so you can see what the fence guards do. Remember at least five of you will be working at the fence after initiation is over. Maybe this will motivate you to work a little harder," Eric says. "Let's go."
The train ride out to the fence is uneventful. Lynn, Uriah, Marlene, Edward, Myra, Rita and I are sitting in a kind of circle all talking. Christina, Will and Al are standing in a corner by themselves talking. I don't know why they haven't come and sat with us. Christina seems to be distancing herself from our group more and more every day. I don't understand why, we have always included her and Will in everything we do.
"Visiting Day is tomorrow. Do you think your family will come Tris?" Uriah asks.
"I think so. They came the last two years, so I hope now that I am here that they will want to see me too," I say.
I am sitting next to Rita and she whispers in my ear, "why would your parents come for two years before you got here?"
"They came to visit Four," I say.
"Oh, I didn't know he came from Abnegation. I always thought he was Dauntless born," she says.
"I know. He tries not to let people know where he is from," I say.
"Why not?" Rita asks.
"That's his story to tell Rita. Are you going to be okay tomorrow?" I ask.
"I had been trying not to think about it. Max and Four both told me that I could stay with my parents through initiation but I thought that would be harder than staying in the dorms. It will be strange to go back home. But I will be glad to see my parents. We haven't talked about what happened. I think we are all just still to upset," she says.
"Okay everyone get ready. The train will be stopping so there is no need to jump off," Eric says.
The train stops and we all disembark. I look around and see a chain-linked fence with barbed wire strung along the top. The fence continues on further than I can see. On the other side of the fence is a cluster of trees, most of them seem dead. Also on the other side of the fence are Dauntless guards carrying guns.
I can only imagine how horrible it would be out here in the middle of winter with the snow. The thought makes me think of Lynn and how grateful I am that she has been training me. Hopefully I will never have to find out just how cold it gets out here.
Eric and Lauren start to walk and we follow closely behind. "If you rank in the bottom five at the end of initiation then you will be working here," Eric says. "There isn't much opportunity for advancement and most people who work as a fence guard will have that position for the rest of their lives. Unless you are ranked in the top five you could still end up as a fence guard, it will all depend on what jobs are available this year."
"Hopefully this will motivate you all to work hard," Eric says but he is looking directly at Al. Al is the weakest link in our initiation class and Eric likes to be able to rub it in at every opportunity. I wonder if he will even get the chance to become a fence guard, if he doesn't pass initiation he could become factionless.
An Amity truck has stopped at the gate and some of the Amity people have jumped out the back. "Hey look who it is," Uriah says. "Robert," Uriah shouts out and runs over to greet him. Everyone who is in our group and knows Robert walks over to say hello.
When I reach Robert he gives me a giant hug and I just stand there not knowing what to do. I always hugged my family and Tobias but this feels strange. Robert has taken to Amity life well.
"Beatrice," Robert says as he puts me down. "It is so good to see you, it's good to see all of you. Wow most of your group transferred to Dauntless. I didn't expect that."
"It is good to see you to Robert. Are you liking Amity?" I ask.
"I love it here. The people are great, I love being outdoors. It is nice to have the peace without the restrictions of Abnegation," he says.
I just nod, I can understand wanting to leave Abnegation but I don't think I could stand all the happiness that they project. I wonder how they stay so happy all the time?
"I didn't think you would have transferred Christina," Robert says.
"Why not?" Christina asks sounding insulted more than shocked.
"I thought you'd be afraid to break a nail," Robert says. "Plus I didn't think the fashion would be as smart as Candor was for you."
I can see where Robert is coming from, Christina was always dressed well when we were in school and she is always trying to drag everyone shopping with her.
"Well Robert I cut my nails before I came to Dauntless and the shops in Dauntless are amazing. They have some awesome clothes," Christina says.
"I am really happy for you Christina," Robert says. You can't help but believe him, he has this whole happiness vibe radiating off him. It seems sort of weird to me after growing up with him in Abnegation.
"Initiates," Eric calls out. "Time to return to Dauntless."
We quickly say our goodbyes to Robert and walk toward the train platform. "Do you all understand the words 'Faction before blood'?" Eric asks.
"Yes," we all say together. What is his problem?
"You would do well to remember that," Eric says. "Dauntless takes those word very seriously and it will not look good if you don't abide by them."
"All we did was say hello," Uriah says.
"It doesn't matter what was said Uriah," Lauren says her voice so much calmer than Eric's was. "You need to remember you are being evaluated all the time.
As we travel back on the train we see a thunderstorm rolling in over the city. There is lightening and you can see the rain like sheets starting to fall across the city. It has been extremely hot today and that is what has probably brought the storm in. You forget what the temperature outside is like when you spend most of your days inside a cavernous rock. It looks quite magnificent as it moves across. I hope we aren't going to be jumping onto the net when we get back or we will get soaked.
TOBIAS POV
"What are you going to do about tonight?" Max asks.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Have you seen the weather outside?" He asks.
"I forgot, damn," I say. It's capture the flag tonight and with the rain we won't be able to be outside. "Is it supposed to keep raining?"
"Next three days at least," Max says.
"I suppose we could hold it in the pit. There are enough places to hide. Just have to keep the initiates away from the pub and club," I say.
"That could work. If you leave it until after midnight most people will have left the Pit. You might find you get a few more wanting to play. Just don't let anyone who is intoxicated play. We don't need any drunks running around with paintball guns, it will take us months to clean up the mess. I also don't need anyone falling off one of the paths," Max says.
"I'll talk to Eric and we can come up with some rules for the game," I say. "I'll also make sure that he has the initiates clean up tomorrow. I'm sure we are going to have a few windows covered in paint by the end of the game."
I'm standing in the middle of the pit waiting for the initiates to get out of bed. I watch as they slowly make their way over to where Eric and I with some members are standing.
"Tonight we play capture the flag. Now because of the weather we have had to move the game indoors," I say.
"Ohhh," says Uriah. "I was looking forward to this."
"You still can Uriah," I say. "Now a few ground rules before we start. You cannot hide your flag in the nightclub or pub. Actually these areas are off limits, I don't need a paintball war in the middle of the dance floor. If any other shop is open, then you stay out. There are plenty of places that you can hide your flags. Try and aim properly because you will be responsible for cleaning the Pit of any paintballs tomorrow."
"Now we will be dividing into two teams. Each team will have an even mix of members, Dauntless borns and transfers. One team will sit in the dining hall while the other team hides their flag, then you will swap and the other team will hide their flag. Once both flags are hidden you will have two minutes to leave the pit. So think up strategies while the other team is hiding their flag. This is Dauntless tradition, so I suggest you take it seriously," I say.
"What do we get if we win?" someone shouts.
"Sounds like something someone not from Dauntless would ask," Says Tobias. "You get to win, of course."
"Eric and I will be your team captains," I say. "Let's divide the transfers first."
"You pick first," I tell Eric.
"Okay, Peter," Eric says.
"Tris," I say.
"Of course you do," says Eric.
We quickly divide up the teams and I have Tris, Christina, Will, Myra and Edward from the transfers. Dauntless borns are Uriah, Lynn, Marlene, Rita and Jett. I have all the people I wanted on my team and a few more. Zeke and Shauna are also here. I just hope we can win. We have never had to play indoors before and so I don't know how successful it is going to be.
"Your team can hide their flag first," Eric says. "You have ten minutes."
I take my team and we gather around in a circle. "Okay you only have ten minutes. Think about where you want to hide it and someone needs to go and put it there," I say. "Make sure you put it somewhere that isn't visible from where we are now."
I stand there and let them argue the point, while I watch the time. The transfers, well mainly Will and Christina want to have it their way but Uriah and Lynn aren't backing down. The Dauntless borns know Dauntless a lot better than the transfers, it would probably be in their best interest to listen to them.
"I think we should listen to Uriah," says Myra. She is always so quiet but she was Erudite. "They know this area better than the rest of us. Let Uriah hide the flag."
"You have three minutes, hurry up and make up your minds," I say. "Uriah just go and hide the flag, be smart about it."
Uriah takes off and the rest of us stand there talking about strategy. With less than thirty seconds to go Uriah gets back and we walk into the dining hall. I hope the other team doesn't see our flag while they are hiding theirs, otherwise it will be a really quick game. I wonder where Uriah hid our flag.
"Okay we need a strategy to find their flag but remember we need to protect our flag too," I say.
"I think Shauna and Zeke should protect our flag. Then have a second group a little further away protecting Shauna and Zeke," says Tris. "Then we have split up into two groups. One group breaks apart and looks for the flag while the other group stays in the Pit and knocks out whoever they can from the other team. Once we have found the flag we tell the team in the Pit and we all go and try and get their flag."
"That's an awesome idea," Uriah says. I think he just likes to see Zeke having to sit and do nothing, I'm sure he will tease him about it later.
"How about Myra, Rita and Jett can protect Zeke and Shauna," Lynn says. Thankfully they are happy to do this.
"Uriah and Marlene and Tris and Four should scout the area for the other flag," Lynn says. "The rest of us can start shooting anyone who comes near the Pit."
"Okay so as soon as Eric's team comes back we need to move. Uriah you better let our defensive players know where you hid the flag," I say.
"Oh yeah," Uriah says with a laugh. "I almost forgot."
We are only standing there for about a minute when Eric's team comes in. "Ready to go?" I ask.
"Yes," everyone shouts back.
"Okay you have two minutes to get into position. After that it's game on," I say. "Go."
I watch as people scatter everywhere. "What are you thinking Tris?" I can see she is thinking of something her face scrunches up between her eyebrows when she is thinking.
"We need to climb up there," she says. She is pointing to a rusted ladder that is attached to the rock wall and goes all the way up to the roof. I know the window cleaners sometimes use it to climb up to the windows in the Pire, it isn't often that they clean the outside of the windows. I remember the first time that I saw them doing it. It was like I was climbing and I completely lost my stomach just watching them.
Before I can stop her she has started climbing. I stand there for another minute frozen and then I realise I better follow her. I put my foot on the first rung and I know that this is going to be difficult. I need to find a way to distract myself. At first I just watch the view of Tris climbing. I'm sure she would be blushing right now if she knew what I was doing.
"So, what do you think the purpose of capture the flag is?" I ask. I can hear my breathing getting heavier the further we climb.
"Learning about strategy," she says. "Depending on whose team you're on, teamwork."
I hope she is talking about our team when she says teamwork. "We are trying to make teamwork a priority," I say.
"Well I guess I'm lucky I'm on your team then. I couldn't imagine there being much teamwork on Eric's team," she says.
"That's true. He likes to do things only for himself," I say.
We are about three quarters of the way up and I say, "this is far enough Tris."
She hangs one arm off the ladder and swings her body around and starts to look around. "No we need to go higher," she says. Watching her swing like this scares me and I can't breathe. Once she turns around and starts climbing again I feel like I can start to breathe again. Although as we get higher my breathing is become even heavier.
Tris reaches the top and climbs onto the ledge. There isn't much room to move and Tris has her legs dangling over the side. I crouch down and rest my back on the window.
"Oh my, I forgot you're afraid of heights. I am so sorry Tobias. I should never have made you come up here," Tris says. "How do you walk around here every day?"
"I ignore my fear," I say. "I don't climb up rusty ladders on the side of the Pit wall."
Tris laughs a little. "Look," she says. She points across the Pit to the top of the rock climbing wall. In the corner scrunched up is the other teams flag. We would never have found it if Tris hadn't climbed up here.
"Let's go tell our team," I say. "Follow me, I know a short cut."
We climb down the ladder a few metres until we reach a walk way. I get off the ladder, glad to be on solid ground again. Once Tris is off the ladder we walk over to the elevator. This will be a lot easier for me than trying to walk back down that ladder.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Tris asks.
"Because I didn't know what you had planned," I say.
We get down to the others and we tell them where the flag is. Drew, Molly and Gabe are the only ones guarding the flag. We decide that Lynn and Tris will climb the wall while Christina, Will, Edward and I will distract the other team.
We move in while Tris and Lynn wait for us to move the others away from the wall so they can start climbing. Once they are a few metres from the wall the girls start climbing. It doesn't take either of them long to get to the top.
We hear a commotion from above and I see that Eric was hiding up there. We couldn't see him in the dark across the Pit. He hits Tris square in the chest but he hasn't seen Lynn as she is right behind Tris. Lynn opens fire on Eric and she hits him square in the face. She climbs onto the ledge and grabs the flag. She stands up and shows everyone the flag. It glows so bright in the dark that about a quarter of the pit can be seen in its glow.
I watch as Tris and Lynn climb down. Happy when they are both back on the Pit floor. Our team gathers round and cheers. It is always a good night when you win capture the flag. That's three years in a row that my team has beaten Eric's. I'm glad the initiates will be on cleaning detail tomorrow, otherwise, you just don't know what Eric may do. You do know he will be in a really bad mood.
I give Tris a hug. "You did really well tonight. You are the reason our team won," I say.
"He's right," says Marlene. "Your strategy got us the win."
"So Uriah, where did you hide our flag?" I ask.
"In the girl's locker room. You know the ones at the back of the fighting ring, no one ever uses them," Uriah says.
"Does that mean Zeke has been sitting in the girl's locker room all night?" Lynn asks, laughing.
"Ha ha, do you know how many times I have tried to sneak in there when I was younger? I don't know why I bothered now that I've been in there. It is disgusting," Zeke says.
"That's why no one ever goes in there," Shauna says. Everyone just continues to laugh at Zeke. The sad thing is I could imagine him trying to get into the girl's locker room.