This one was harder to write, there isn't a lot of Four in this chapter in the book so I had to add a lot in. Sorry if it's slow but the story is slow getting started on Four's end if you think about it. Some of the scenes I'm most excited for are coming up: Peter/Tris fight, ferris wheel, fear landscapes, etc. Please stick with me and give me a review if you feel so inclined :) I don't own any of this, unfortunately!
Four looks at the initiates standing before him. This is the start of the process, he tries to size up who will stay and who will go but his eyes keep flashing to a small blonde haired girl in the back and his mind can't take the thought of her factionless.
"Today you begin your training with guns. Dauntless training has three stages, each a test to your toughness, which you will need as the city's protectors. The first stage is purely physical, pushing you to the breaking point, the second stage is completely emotional, testing the limits of your body's responses, and the last stage is mental, making you face your fears head on. To be Dauntless you need to be the champion of your body, emotions, and mind. This will help you become stronger and braver." He looks around the room to groggy faces and groans. As he is passing out guns, the smart ass from Candor questions the importance of guns and bravery, "What does firing a gun have to do with bravery?" he yawns while casually holding the gun.
Before anyone can react, Four presses his gun to Peter's temple and clicks a bullet into the chamber. 'Wake up! You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it!" He pulls his gun away and begins to walk to the targets as he sees a burning look coming from Peter's eyes. Without a word to the group, Four takes his stance. His feet are perfectly set, evenly spaced. His arms are straight casually but firmly holding the gun in front of him. He controls his breathing; in, out, aim, and shoot. The hole appears in the middle as it always does, he can't help but feel a surge of self-pride, he's worked hard to get where he is today. He turns back to the initiates and assigns them a board to begin practicing on.
Observing the newbies, he notices most of them need a lot of work on stance and posture. Al slumps over his arms, causing his aim to be sporadic. Four learned early on you have to be confident holding a firearm or it will control you. Peter has too much malice in his eyes, Four makes a mental note to keep an eye on him. As he scans the room, his eyes fall on her. She mimics his stance perfectly but he sees the hesitation that comes from a life of self-serving, he remembers that feeling of first holding a gun well.
Four is handed a gun from Amar, unsure of how to hold it. "Alright initiates today we learn to fire a gun. Most of you have probably never held one so we'll start with the basics. 'It's not made of glass Four!'" Amar yells at me. I feel my face blush and I dip my head down. Next to me Eric snickers and from within me comes a determination to do better than him. After all, what can a bookie know about shooting a weapon? Four focuses in on what Amar is saying and adjusts his feet accordingly. "Remember, how you hold your gun determines the outcome of where your bullet will go. If you hold it loosely, the gun will control you. That's how deadly accidents happen so focus on your weapon." Amar continues to show them how to stand and where to place their feet. Four notices Eric pompously standing there not practicing with the group. Amar notices too, "What's wrong smart ass, don't understand what I'm telling you to do?" Eric's eyes flash anger, "No, I've just read a lot about this and know what to do." "Oh you read about it? Ok wise guy, show us how it's done." Eric looks slightly embarrassed but sets his jaw and turns toward the target. He raises his gun, fires, and misses the board completely. Amar laughs as well as most of the group, Four being one of them. "Well thank you for that great example about what reading about holding a gun will do for you and what practicing holding a gun will do for you." Amar continues to describe the stance and then tells them to practice. Four slowly sets his feet, raises his arms, breathes in, breathes out, and fires. A hole appears within the target area. "Nicely done stiff," Amar says as he walks by and then turns toward Eric, "That's what listening does for you Eric, you should try it sometime." The last thing Four remembers is Eric's deathly stare aimed at him while holding a loaded weapon.
Four snaps out of his memory just as she raises the gun and fires, completely missing the board, the gun almost flying out of her arms. She has to steady herself on the wall behind her to stay standing. She is so small. Her look of frustration causes him to quietly chuckle but he keeps his focus on her. He sees the determination flare in her eyes and she finds her stance again, holding the gun more firmly and fires off a few rounds but misses the board each time. Finally the Erudite boy named Will leans over and whispers, "Statistically speaking, you should have hit the board at least once by now." She narrows her eyes at him but Four sees this is just what she needed. It is what wakes her up. She turns back, raises her arms and fires the gun. The bullet hits the target, near the edge, but a hit nonetheless. Four sees her triumphant smile aimed at Will and wishes it were directed at him for a fleeting second before he turns on his heel and walks away.
As they break for lunch, he wonders if she will sit by him again. Four realizes he is obsessing and has to stop. As he sits by Zeke, he can't help but be a little upset when their table fills up before Tris enters. As they are starting on the cake in the middle, he feels her enter the room and turns his head slightly to watch her sit down. Christina is on one side and Al is on the other with his arm around her shoulders. He immediately bristles at the contact and jealousy rears it's ugly head inside of him. He is relieved right after to see her shrug it off, trying to be casual. They are all laughing at something that is happening and Four finds himself involuntarily smiling with her unable to stop himself. There is something about this girl that has him captivated and he feels himself slipping further and further into her grasp. He sees her eyes flash to another table and directs his gaze as well. Edward and Myra are kissing and he knows why she has a look of revulsion on her face, that act is supposed to be private. Again the table bursts out in laughter and her face turns a deep shade of red. She takes one quick glance back over at the table and then looks down at her food. His mind is overtaken by the thought of kissing her and it's all he can do to stay in his seat. Finally too overwhelmed, he stands up and storms out of the cafeteria, knowing he has to get his emotions in check.
Later in the day, Four leads the initiates to the large combat room and shows them the chalkboard that will eventually hold their standings. "Today we are going to learn some fighting techniques and practice on the punching bags and tomorrow you will begin to fight each other." He notes the spark in Peter's eye, again making a mental note to strategically pair up his fights with people who can handle him.
Besides shooting the guns, demonstrating physical combat is Four's favorite part of training. Despite his background, learning and perfecting these skills gives him a sense of power knowing he is now able to defend himself. He begins with a series of simple punches in the air and then demonstrates them on the bag. He shows a few more intricate combos and smirks at the initiates trying to follow along. After punching has been demonstrated, he explains various kicks as well but warns against them in close range. "An enemy can use your momentum as well as your leg to flip you to the ground. The ground is the most dangerous place to be, you want to avoid it at all costs. Now spread out and practice what I just showed you. Remember you will be using these skills tomorrow so use your time today wisely. Move!" The initiates spread out and the sound of skin on leather soon fills the room.
Four walks around and assess each person's fighting skills. Again he notices how dangerous and aggressive Peter is, Edward seems to have had practice at this, Myra looks very weak and afraid, Will also has a dangerous side to him and is quick on his feet, Al is timid and punches with little enthusiasm, Molly looks just as dangerous as Peter and Edward, and Christina is scrappy using every inch of her body to assault the bag. Finally his eyes settle on Tris, purposefully saving her for last. He finds himself walking toward her and stops directly in front of her. He watches her punching and kicking for a minute and then says, "You don't have a lot of muscle, it would be more worthwhile to use your knees and elbows, those are your most dangerous weapons." Without thinking, he presses a hand to her stomach, "Never forget to keep tension here," he quietly whispers in her ear before removing his hand and walking away. He sees her look at him in surprise but all he can focus on is the fire on his hand from where he touched her. As he walks away he wonders if she noticed too but his mind is put at ease when he hears a small exhale before knees and elbows begin to attack the bag.
The group is dismissed for dinner but Four knows he can't go to the cafeteria or he might do something stupid. He has to get her off his mind, rationalizing that the only reason she is there is because she is from his old faction. He ends up outside Zeke's apartment and knocks. "Come in," Zeke calls. "Dude I need your help." Zeke turns to him, "Who's ass do you need kicked?" "No it's not that." "Body removed?" "ZEKE! I'm serious." "Ok man, have a seat, what do you need?" Four has no idea where to start so he just starts talking. "I'm in too deep, I can't get her off my mind. This is ridiculous; I know nothing about her yet every thought I have is directed towards her. Every moment we are training I am checking to see if she is keeping up. What do I do? Eric is going to notice, I can't stop myself." Zeke exhales and looks at his friend. He knows Four is struggling with this and thinks of the best way to help him out. "Look, what I figure is, you just have to make it through training and initiation. If she makes it, and you still have feelings for her then you can act on them. Doing so now will only get her unfairly judged or worse, killed." Four's eyes flashed at the thought of Tris being killed and he knew he had to be smart and keep his distance from her. "Thanks man, I needed that. There is just something about her but I am going to keep my distance and after this is all over, if she makes it, I will decide what to do." Four slaps Zeke on the shoulder and heads out of his room to take a walk and sort out his thoughts.
As he is walking through the pit, he sees her instantly. His body has become so attuned to her in the few short days he has known her. He sees Christina pull her into a clothing store and tries to get himself to walk away but finds his feet won't listen. After a few short minutes, she steps out of the dressing room in a tight fitting black dress that billows out just at her knees. He sees her figure in it and a fire begins to build in his stomach. The girls check out at the counter and race to the tattoo parlor. That is actually where he was headed so he slowly follows in the distance. Once there, he sees Will and Al, who are looking at tattoos. Al smiles a little too brightly at Tris and Four's hands form into fists. He notices Tris walk over to Tori as if she knows her and when Tori turns, her eyes flash angrily when they see Tris. They exchange a few words and Tori walks off. Tris looks upset and Four guesses where they know each other from. Just as he is leaving, he watches Tris walk over to Tori again and sit down in her chair. She proceeds to get three ravens on her collarbone and Four has to turn and run before he walks over and does something he will regret. He finds those tattoos to be the hottest thing he's seen about this girl yet and he knows tomorrow will be another troubling day.