Hello dearies! Sorry I have been so lazy! It's been a crazy week :P
Here's my next chapter, a.k.a. Ch. 12 of Divergent in Four's POV!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent trilogy or any of the characters
Standing at the edge of the train tracks, I hear the initiates stumbling up behind me. I don't hear the familiar voice of Tris Prior. I can see the train coming down the tracks, and I worry that she won't make it. Just as the train horns are in earshot, I hear the patter of familiar feet behind me.
"What took you so long?" Will's voice is barely heard over the sound of the train horn.
"Stumpy Legs over here turned into an old lady overnight," Christina speaks.
"Oh shut up." I resist a snicker as Tris pipes in.
My face is about as close to the train as I can possibly get without disfiguring my face. I shift back and allow Will to hoist himself into the train car, offering no helping hand, just like I was taught. He hoists himself up with great difficulty, dragging his legs behind his heaving stomach. After he is in, I pull myself in smoothly. I poke my head out of the window, and I notice Al pull Tris into the next train car. Damn. I was looking forward to riding with her.
*#*#*
After an uncomfortable minute alone with Will, I hear bickering and I walk back to the next train car, Will in tow.
"Feeling okay there? Or are you a little… Stiff?" Molly and Drew laugh alongside Peter's pun, and Will darts out in front of me before I can stop him.
"We are all awed by your incredible wit," Will's voice speaks, dripping with sarcasm.
"Yeah, are you sure you don't belong with the Erudite, Peter? I hear they don't object to sissies." Christina joins right in the bashing, and before things get ugly, I interject from my vantage point of the doorway.
"Am I going to have to listen to your bickering all the way to the fence?" My comment seems to shut everyone up. After everyone is quiet (which takes around two seconds), I turn my back to everyone, sticking my torso out of the door that has been left ajar, and into the open air. The wind pushes my hair out of my face and presses my shirt to my chest. I smile at the feeling of peace, but they can't see that. I feel Tris's eyes on my backside, even though they leave, they always find their way back to me.
"What do you think is out there? I mean, beyond the fence." I barely catch Tris's words.
"A bunch of farms, I guess," Christina responds. Her comment doesn't trump Tris's curiosity.
"Yeah, but I mean… past the farms. What are we guarding the city from?"
"Monsters!" Christina's voice teasingly leaves my hearing range as I lose myself in the flying feeling, even though the ground is right under my feet.
*#*#*
Only the train's breaks reel me back into reality. I hop lightly off of the train car, pausing to shoot a sidelong glance at Tris. She doesn't see me. She wobbles over to the door, lowering herself cautiously onto the grass.
"Follow me." I speak quickly and quietly. I don't want to lose any initiates. "If you don't rank in the top five at the end of initiation, you will probably end up here," I reach the gate. "Once you are a fence guard, there is some potential for advancement, but not much. You may be able to go on patrols beyond Amity's farms, but-" Will cuts me off.
"Patrols for what purpose?" He looks genuinely curious, and despite my desire to sock him in the face for interrupting me, I'm no Eric.
"I suppose you'll discover that if you find yourself among them." I raise one shoulder. "As I was saying. for the most part, those who guard the fence when they are young continue to guard the fence. If it comforts you, some of them insist that it isn't as bad as it seems."
Christina leans to whisper something in Tris's ear as Peter speaks up. "What rank were you?" I turn to look at Eric, and I realise he is asking me. I return his level look.
"I was first." I speak slowly and calmly, trying to tell him to shut up. He doesn't take the bait.
"And you chose to do this?" Peter's eyes go wide. "Why didn't you get a government job?" I sigh.
"I didn't want one." My voice goes flat. The training room is like my sanctuary. It makes me feel safe. I then proceed to continue to walk the initiates to the next gate. We stop at a truck and I start talking to the Dauntless guard, but something else catches my attention. Tris is talking to an Amity boy in the back of the truck. I frown for a moment and return to my conversation.
*#*#*
When Tris finishes her conversation with said Amity boy (the guard says his name is Robert), I step away from the fence where I was speaking to the guard and stop a foot away from Tris.
"I am worried that you have a knack for making unwise decisions." Tris crosses her arms defensively at my statement.
"It was a two minute conversation."
"I don't think a smaller time frame makes it any less wise." My eyebrows un-knit themselves, and I curiously stare at her face. Before I can stop myself, my fingertips are brushing her bruised eyelid. Her hand jerks back, yet I cannot seem to control mine. I tilt my head and sigh. "You know, if you could just learn to attack first, you might do better."
"Attack first? How will that help?" She looks confusedly at me, and I can't help but smile.
"You're fast. If you can get a few good hits in before they know what's going on, you could win." I shrug, and I let my hand finally leave her face.
"I'm surprised you know that, since you left halfway through my one and only fight." She sounds quiet and disappointed. I think a minute, trying to find the right words to voice my feeling.
"It wasn't something I wanted to watch," I say, my voice feels thick and blundering. I clear my throat. "Looks like the next train is here. Time to go, Tris."