Hello. I know I'm long overdue for a chapter. But I honestly had nothing that propelled me to write a chapter. And then I was gone for a while. And I forgot about the shoutouts so here they are: katraj0908, LaStoria, molliekatherine10,tinkseh, and Littledolphin2000.

Chapter 33

I reluctantly put a small smile on my face and shook everyone's hand. Max didn't need to tell me what factions each of them came from. It was obvious by how they dressed. But Max told us anyway.

"Gwendolyn or 'Gwen,' is from Abnegation. Jason is from Erudite. Elena is from Amity. And Bella is from Candor."

"Nice to meet you," Tobias said. "I'm Four and this is Six."

"Your names are numbers?" asked Bella.

"Yes." I said. "Is something wrong with that?"

Before Bella could reply, Jason opened his mouth. "Their actual names aren't numbers. It's the amount of fears they have." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You must be really smart to figure that out," Elena said to Jason. It seems like someone has a little crush.

"Yes." I said a bit sarcastically. "Absolutely brilliant."

Jason glared at me. Tobias saw this and put his arm around me protectively. Bella raised her eyes at this.

Gwen, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up. "Yes, yes. We all agree that Jason is a genius. Can we get down to business now?"

I have never seen a sassy Abnegation. This Gwen character was starting to grow on me. Even though we just met.

"Yes." Max said. I realized he was glaring at Jason. It gave me the feeling that they had some kind of past. Maybe Jason transferred from Dauntless. Max is pretty young. Maybe they were friends but then Jason transferred and Max felt betrayed. Whatever it was, Max obviously wasn't over it. "These four are going to be going over the Dauntless initiation with you two. You can go to the leaders meeting room."

As Max led us to our destination, there was silence. There was a lot of tension in the air as we walked along. Max opened a door and ushered us in. He didn't enter the room. Instead, he turned around and closed the door behind him.

"Let's begin." Gwen said, breaking the intense silence. "Will you please explain how Dauntless initiation works?"

Tobias began to explain. "After the choosing ceremony, the new initiates run and jump onto a moving train. As soon as they choose Dauntless, initiation begins. After a little train ride, they jump onto the roof of a building. If they don't get on the train, they're factionless. If they don't jump off the train, they're factionless. If they don't make it onto the roof, they're dead." Tobias paused to take a breath. "Then, Max," Jason glowered at his name. "introduces them to Dauntless. The he says they have to jump off of the roof. The first jumper goes, and then the rest follow. They jump onto a net. Then we give them a tour of the compound. After that, the first stage of initiation begins."

"And what is the first stage of initiation exactly?" asked Bella.

"It's physical stuff. We teach them how to shoot guns and how to fight." I explained.

"They fight each other. Correct?" asked Jason.

"Yes. They learn hand-to-hand combat by fighting each other." I said.

"Why is it necessary for them to learn how to fight and shoot?" asked Gwen.

"In case they need to protect themselves." Tobias told them. "If they or someone they love is under attack, they need to be able to try and get rid of the threat."

"And what, exactly, is that threat?" questioned Gwen.

"Most of the time, it is other people. We live in a dangerous world. You never know when someone is going to try and stab you in the back." Tobias paused. "Sometimes it's your own family." I knew Tobias was thinking about Marcus.

Jason looked at Tobias suspiciously, as if he knew Tobias' secret. Or at least knew that last line meant something to him. I had the feeling that Jason had done a fair amount of research on us.

"But no other faction feels the need to do this," said Elena. "People get attacked there too, but we don't teach our initiates to fight. That will provoke bad behavior from them."

"I know, but this is the faction who believes in bravery. That is not what the other factions believe in. It doesn't provoke bad behavior, it reveals strength. And also gives you the power to stand up for what you believe in." Tobias retorted.

"Enough on that," interrupted Jason. "What about the other stages?"

"In the second stage," I began. "We put the initiates through simulations. We do this to show them fear. Not to scare them, but to teach them."

The four didn't appear to care very much about the fear simulations.

"And the next stage?" asked Bella.

"The last and final stage," Tobias started to explain. "is when we put the initiates through their fear landscapes. It is the shortest part of initiation and the part that matters the most. It is the part that decides whether you stay or go. You could be the best at fighting, but if you do bad in thee fear landscape, you could end up factionless."

"And why do you put them through these fear landscapes?" asked Jason. "To scare them?"

"No." I said. "Like stage two, we do it to teach them. We show them there fears-"

Bella cut me off. And I wanted to slap her for it. "So they can overcome them?" she assumed. "But no one can be fearless Six."

"The point isn't to become fearless," I shot at her. "That's impossible. We want them to learn to control their fears. That is the only way they will be able to function if they come face to face with one of them."

"I see," said Gwen. "That is an interesting initiation."

"Now it's our turn for questions." Tobias said.

Before he could ask anything, Jason spoke. "No one said you got to ask anything Four." He spat out the nickname like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "This isn't about us. It's about the corrupt initiation you people perform here!"

"Corrupt?" I exclaimed. "You think were corrupt?" he nodded smugly. "What about Candor? They make you spill your guts out in front of everybody! They don't seem to care that some of the things people keep to themselves are painful. People knowing they're secrets could destroy them! Who cares about honesty when your life is going to be ruined anyways?"

"Now listen here you-" Bella tried to say, defending her faction.

"Shut it Sawyer!" I growled at her. "Now I know nothing about Erudite initiation, but I do know for a fact that some of your faction members are pretty twisted. Like Jeanine. She tried to brainwash the Dauntless members. She tried to make them her army and destroy the lives of the Abnegation! She wanted to take over the government! And you call us corrupt. Now, tell me Jason. Were you one of her pathetic followers?"

"What I do in Erudite is none of your concern." He snarled.

"Exactly! So what we do in Dauntless is none of yours!" I shot back at him. I was starting to lose control of my anger. My words were spilling out of my mouth before I could even think about it. I was so infatuated with hate and anger that I couldn't help it.

"It is our concern when you people are trying to take over the government!" Jason shouted.

"ERUDITE IS THE ONE WHO WANTED TO TAKE OVER!" I yelled.

"Six," Tobias whispered. "Calm down." I realized that I was standing. And Gwen was looking at me in shock. Like she couldn't imagine that all that rage could come from someone so small. Bella looked furious that I had insulted her faction. And Elena just sat there with her eyes sealed shut. Like she was trying to shut out all the shouts and insults and violence. Being from Amity, I couldn't blame her.

"Please Jason," Tobias said calmly. "Tell us why you are under the impression that Dauntless is trying to take over the government."

Jason tried to regain his composure before he spoke. "Firstly, Eric. He plotted with Jeanine."

"Eric is dead," I muttered. Jason raised an eyebrow at me.

"He is?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Doesn't it say that in your little briefcase of knowledge?"

"How long ago?" he ignored my snide comment.

"About fifteen days ago, I think." I guessed. I wasn't completely sure, but I assumed it was close.

"Well," Jason said. "The other reason, is because you teach them how to fight. You could easily be forming an army to take over the government. We will be monitoring your daily lives for the next two or three weeks. If we find a probable cause, Dauntless initiation will be changed. If not, we will leave your compound and drop this whole issue."

Great. I thought to myself. We have to put up with these idiots for up to three weeks.

"Are we done here?" Tobias asked.

"For now," Jason said. He made me a bit uneasy. And I was glad to finally be able to leave the room.

Tobias grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. When Bella saw our connected hands, her eyes flared a bit. But it went as quickly as it came.

Please don't let her become like Tesa.

Lately, I haven't been getting many reviews. And that means I have a lot of ghost readers. For those who aren't, thank you. For those who are, please review. It would mean a lot to me. And also, I got a review saying my story is a waste of time. This reader stopped at chapter three. All because I had Tobias shoot at Rachel. This reader thought that was stupid and that my story was a waste of time. I know Tobias is usually the responsible one, but he was teaching Rachel a lesson. He wasn't putting her in front of the target because he is sadistic like Eric. Now, do the rest of you think my story is a waste of time?

~A