Chapter 24 (Alyssa's POV)
Is it normal to feel so much and feel so strongly about one person? Skye was always on my mind, and there seemed to be no changing that. He understood me somehow, and coaxed me to tell him about my past in Amity when my friends here, Snow and Tesa, couldn't. We sat together at meals, laughed and joked about things together with Snow and Tesa and his friends, Jess, Ivy, Damien (who was a year younger than us), Roxy, and Dennis (also a year younger than us). And as we walked hand-in-hand back to the Training Room after lunch, I couldn't help but think, "I can't believe I almost considered staying in Amity."
We turned a few corners, hands swinging between us, dimly lit by small lightbulbs. A few minutes later, we reached Training Room 1.
"Aly, look!" Snow yelled the instant we walked in, pointing at the board, where the ranks are displayed as follows:
1. Skye
2. Alyssa
3. Ivy
4. Blade
5. Snow
6. Jess
7. Roxy
8. Xavier
9. Tesa
10. Michael
11. Scarlett
12. Zane
13. Clement
14. Hestia
15. Jose
16. Justin
Awesome! I was second! Who knew I'd do well in Dauntless? After all, I did come from Amity.
"Good job, Aly," Skye said, smiling at me and warming my heart.
"By now, all of you should have seen your rankings. Four Dauntless Born initiates, unfortunately, have injured themselves badly and been sent to the Factionless," Christina told us, walking into the room. "In fact, those of you who aren't Dauntless-born, they injured themselves before Capture the Flag, hence the number of people we had that day. That said, Four, Six, Uriah, and I have decided that we'll cut one at the end of each stage rather than two, as we had originally planned. Thus, at the end of Stage 2, there will still be 4 people to be cut, so that none of you slack off in Stage 3. So, you all had better do well!"
Six continued, "This afternoon, we will be tested. You may consider this a final exam, of sorts, for Stage 1. Your skills at knife-throwing, shooting, and fighting will be tested."
Four took it from here and said, "You will throw 2 knives at the targets in Training Room 2 with us watching you and recording the score you deserve. Speed and precision is necessary. Then, you will be allowed 2 shots with a gun. Lastly, you will fight an instructor of your choice- no weapons allowed -and your skill will be determined by the other two instructors. All scores, for each of these three tests, will be out of 5, for a total of 15 points as the full score."
"Questions?" Six asked.
"Why didn't this happen last year?" Skye asked.
"Because last year, Eric was interfering," Christina answered. "Any other questions?" She paused. "Alright. We'll begin with Justin, since he's ranked last."
We all watched as he stepped up, nervousness written clearly in his trembling arms. Everyone knew that he wasn't good at throwing knives.
A while later, Six erased the board and puts up new scores, as follows, with the points next to them:
Name-Points (Knife, Gun, Fight)
1. Skye-15(5,5,5-Against Four, did well)
2. Alyssa-15(5,5,5-Against Six, did well)
3. Ivy-15(5,5,5-Against Six, did well)
4. Blade-14(5,4,5-Against Four, did well)
5. Jess-14(4,5,5-Against Six, very well, especially for her size)
6. Snow-13(5,4,4-Against Six, above average especially for her size)
7. Roxy-13(4,5,4-Against Christina, held on nicely)
8. Tesa-13(4,5,4-Against Christina, better than expected)
9. Xavier-12(4,4,4-Against Six, could've done better, especially for a Dauntless-born)
10. Michael-12(4,4,4-Against Christina, better than expected)
11. Scarlett-12(4,5,3-Against Six, did okay)
12. Zane-12(4,4,4-Against Four, did better than expected)
13. Clement-11(3,4,5-Against Christina, did better than expected)
14. Jose-9(3,3,3-Against Four, held on longer than expected)
15. Hestia-8(3,3,2-Against Six, failed miserably)
16. Justin-8(2,3,3-Against Christina, no words for how bad it was)
"Unfortunately, it seems as though Justin will have to leave for the Factionless," Four says, not sounding like it was unfortunate at all. "You have the rest of the day off, for whatever you wish. This training room is open, however, and you may train here. Six and I will assist whoever requests it. Dismissed."
I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I chanted in my head as Skye worked me through a series of pushups and situps, as he sat there watching me. Not many people remained in the training room. Aside from Skye and myself, only Snow, Jess, and Roxy remained, and they were working on fighting with the instructors. After all, they had small frames and that might be a slight disadvantage.
I glanced up at a chuckle and saw Six. "Isn't that enough, Skye? Don't want her to drop dead, do you?"
Skye glanced at me and smiled, before saying, "Nah, she's strong. She'll survive." He turned to me, "Now, 20 pull-ups." Six smiled at me before walking away.
"Think I'll pass, thanks," I said, before standing and wiping some sweat on my face off.
"No, no, no! You need to do the pull-ups!" Skye said, smirking at me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and then replied with, "Only if you do 40."
"Fine."
I began, determined to finish before him. By the twelfth pull-up, I was tired, arms exhausted. But he was still moving easily, and on his 18th one as well!
I pulled up again, arms straining against my weight.
"Done!" he said, a moment later, as I reached my 19th pull-up.
"Good for you," I replied, and pulled up one last time. I dropped down and landed lightly on my feet. "Can we do something other than have you watch me suffer?"
"No, but-"
"You guys done yet" Snow asked, hopping over cheerfully. "Six and Four said they needed to go, so we decided to go do something."
Skye frowned. "No, we're not d-"
I interrupted him happily, "Yes, we were just finishing up." I turned towards him and smirked.
He grumbled something under his breath, but took my hand nonetheless as we followed Snow, Jess, and Roxy out of the training room.
What had they planned?
We walked around the Pit, laughing and talking about whatever came to mind. Tesa, Ivy, Damien and Dennis joined us a while ago. Now, as we stood near the chasm, the topic of our pasts came up. Abruptly, I stood up and announced I had to leave, my mind already beginning to think about all the screams, the blood, the tears.
Someone's arm pulled me and blindly I followed along. I could barely make out the confusion behind me as someone led me into a dark hallway.
"Hey, it'll be okay, it's just a flashback. Calm down, Aly," someone told me. I looked up, and amidst my tears, saw Skye. He pulled me into his arms, chin resting on top of my head.
Slowly, the tears stopped cutting their way down my cheeks.
"I really need to stop this, don't I? Dauntless don't cry!" I said, attempting to smile.
Skye pulled back and looked me in the eye. "There is nothing wrong with showing emotion. Crying-it doesn't mean you're not brave, Alyssa. It just means that you're human."
Skye knew exactly what to say. "What did I ever do to deserve someone as perfect as you?"
He smiled. "On the contrary, I'm the lucky one to have you in my life."
"Hey!" It was Snow.
"Break it up with the feels, guys," she said, wrinkling her nose playfully. She turned to me, and in a more serious tone, "Aly, you okay? You just left out of the blue!"
"Yes, much better. Thanks," I replied. I was so lucky to have such good friends in Dauntless.
"But what happened?"
"Nothing, really."
Skeptically, she replied, "Okay then... Well, dinner going to be served in like 5 minutes, so we gotta run!"
She took off without a word.
Skye look at me, smiling and shaking his head, and said, "Your friends are so energetic."
Immediately, I defended them, "It's not a bad thing!"
He raised his eyebrows. "Did I say it was?"
I glared at him. "Damn you."
Smiling, he took my hands and said, "Let's go get some dinner. I'm hungry." We walked to the cafeteria.
Even with all the good things that had happened to me so far, with my amazing friends, with my successes, I had a feeling of dread- something was going to happen. And something that wouldn't turn out good.
A/N: It's short, I know. But it's the bridge between Stage 1 and 2, so there's not much that goes on here. Next chapter is the start of Stage 2, from Tris' POV so stick with me :) Don't forget that there are divergents here... ;)
Candorinitate: Thank you! And yes, something big is coming up, but it's not necessarily good :P
fanficforyou: Thanks- I'm trying to convey the characters' thoughts better, especially since Stage 2, which is coming up, is mostly mental.
Creative-Kid-Grace: That's a good idea! I might use it- but not with Jose, I really don't like him... I'm going to use your idea, is that okay?
4everurz13: All of it, in one sitting? Awww thanks :) Hope you enjoy :D
GwennyDee: Glad to know that you noticed Tris didn't have her intimacy fear this time... And yes that was intentional ;) Does that answer your question? No, the lowest four will not be cut. Read the above ^ :) And having Uriah make fun of Skye and his relationship with Aly... Hmm good idea!
Mercedes2002: Thanks! of course, Tris and Tobias would stick together, even after the whole "Hestia Incident". Those trials only make them and their love for each other stronger :) You're a Potterheaddddd :DDDDDDD (High five!)
Booklover4610: Thanks! The fears, the thoughts, they were imperative, so I had to make them good, you know? Thanks for reviewing and everything :DD I did die or anything, dun worry lol
Till next time
~myperfectionismyimperfection