AN: Thanks to those who reviewed, it makes my day :) Welcome to the new readers! On with the show. Story, that it. I'm going to try an develop things from here on in with similarities to Divergent, but without the exact same situations and dialogue.
Chapter 4
Tris arrived at her dormitory, uniforms in hand.
She entered to find a tired looking Christina lying down on one of the two beds in the room.
"Thank God," Tris muttered, glad that she would be sharing a room with her new friend.
Tris surveyed her temporary new home.
Single bed, dressers, bedside table, lamp, the same for Christina. There was also a small couch.
"The bathrooms are down the hall," Christina offered. "My agent mentioned it, thankfully. I can tell you I needed a long, hot shower."
"I don't really want to think about water for a while," Tris replied grimly, attempting to shrug off the shudder that threatened to overcome her at the thought of her earlier experience. She held onto the thought that she had at least found a way to overcome her terror – at least at that moment.
On her bed, Tris noticed her overnight bag, containing her personal effects. An agent must have put it there at some point.
Tris sank on to her bed with a sigh of relief.
"So, they said dinner will be served in a little while," Christina remarked.
"In the dining hall, 7th floor," Tris said, parroting 'her' agent.
"What do you make of all this?" Christina asked suddenly.
"I don't quite know yet," Tris replied. "I think we got the better instructor, though."
"Hotter, you mean," Christina teased. "I saw you looking at him."
"I looked at everyone," Tris protested. "Not just at him. I take everyone in, all the details. It's what I do."
"Well, I doubt you'll forget him anytime soon," Christina chuckled. "Now, what are you wearing to dinner?"
The girl talk seemed to have revived Christina and she got quickly off her bed and headed to Tris's.
"I'm not sure, I didn't bring much with me. Probably just a black pair of jeans and a black shirt. I don't really care," Tris answered.
"Don't worry, I'll soon fix that," Christina promised. "You have to let me do your hair and make up too! You have some good features that deserve a little help."
Tris, too tired to protest, and perhaps a little intrigued at the idea of a makeover, submitted easily to Christina.
As Christina worked, she chattered, happy to let Tris reply when she felt like it.
"I'm from Candor, I was really caught off guard by this whole thing, but in that interview with Harrison it just made sense for me. I wonder if he'll be training us at all. I noticed lots of agents have tattoos, it must be a thing. We should get one each too, after all, what better way to mark out new lives? That Eric looks like a piece of work. I can't wait to get to know all of the other recruits, especially the ones working with Eric, but I guess we won't get to spend much time with them during training."
Christina reeled all these thoughts off, leaving Tris to mull them over at her own speed.
"It's going to be strange, living completely out of this building for the next few months. I think I read we can at least shop online, and there are a few services available here, like a doctor, and a kind of convenience store, among other things. Hopefully we make friends with an older agent who can show us the ropes, give us some tips. Even one of those new recruits with a Dauntless relative would be good to know."
"The agent who I met with after Harrison last spring was really nice," Tris commented. "Tori, was her name. I hope I run into her again."
"You might, agents who are involved in this training process don't seem to have a current assignment. I guess we're their current assignment," Christina joked. "There, you're done!"
Christina backed away and Tris stood up and headed to the little mirror above her dresser.
She smiled back at her reflective, surprised, pleased, and definitely a little astonished.
Christina had applied some eyeliner and mascara that made Tris's eyes stand out, which gave new depth to her face. She had also let Tris's hair out of its usual bun and added a few intricate braids to Tris's long, wavy hair.
"So, you like it?" Christina asked in confirmation, pleased with her handiwork.
"Yeah, I do," Tris said, carefully stroking her hair. "I guess I've never paid much attention to making myself pretty. So long as I was neat and tidy I didn't really care. My mom wasn't very fashion conscious. Plus, I've got this boyish figure, it's not much to work with."
"Well, now you've got me. And you're petite, not boyish. Anyway, I'll be your personal stylist," Christina said cheerfully. "If we survive what's coming," she added ominously.
"What, dinner?" Tris teased.
"Ha, funny," Christina retorted. "Actually, I'm pretty hungry, and if that clock on the wall is right, the dining hall is open."
Tris quickly changed and the two headed out and made their way fairly easily to the dining hall.
The place was humming with new recruits and existing Dauntless agents.
Tris recognised Eric sitting with what were obviously some agents, about his age. He was talking animatedly, and laughed once, but even in laughter he looked cold and hard.
Christina and Tris grabbed themselves a tray each of good looking food and headed to a table where a couple of their fellow recruits were seated.
"Hi, I'm Christina," she said, sliding in next to Will.
"Will," he returned in a friendly tone. "This is Al."
Al gave a wave, and a somewhat shy grin.
"And this is Tris," Christina added.
"Hey," Tris said with a gentle smile. She was happy to let Christina make them new friends – making one new friend was enough after the tiring nature of her day.
"It's nice to actually talk to some other new recruits, it's not like we had much chance earlier in the day," Will remarked. "Was today as, well, crazy, for you?"
"It sure was something," Tris supplied.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this," Al added.
"I will, I know I'm going to love it," Christina said confidently.
Will looked admiringly at her.
At the moment, Tris something caught her attention in her peripheral vision. It was Four, walking right by their table. Something about him captivated her, drawing her eyes to him, almost against her will. It was that he was handsome – he was – it was his presence, he had a very commanding quality.
He must have felt her looking at him, for he turned his head and their eyes met and locked for a brief, but powerful moment.
Tris wanted to break the connection, but refused to. She had nothing to be afraid of, she had every right to look anywhere in the room she wanted without being embarrassed.
Her instructor didn't seem aggravated by her attention, and merely met it, then continued on his way to the food line.
Christina then chose that moment to elbow Tris in the ribs and say, "Hey! You're on another planet or something, Tris."
Tris shook her head and smiled sheepishly.
"Lost in thought, sorry," she answered. "What did I miss?"
As they were finishing their meals, they were taken by surprise as a voice sounded throughout the room, clearly coming from a sound system.
"Attention all new recruits. Following the completion of dinner, you are required to attend an orientation meeting in the lecture room on the 4th floor. This will commence at 8. Do not be late."
Silence. Then talking resumed as agents returned to their conversations and recruits discussed their new instructions.
After dinner, Tris and Christina made their way to the 4th floor, as instructed, accompanied by Al and Will.
Once inside the lecture room they took seats, not too far from the front, but far enough back to be safe.
A few moments after sitting down, a tall, dark skinned guy, with dancing brown eyes, sat down next to Tris.
"I didn't know they were accepting twelve year olds as recruits," he teased.
"I can hold my own," Tris retorted firmly.
"I look forward to seeing that," he replied genuinely.
"Well, it will be a while, seeing as you're being trained by Eric," Tris pointed out.
"Right," he agreed, standing.
"Leaving so soon?" Tris queried, an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, my friends are waiting, I just wanted to meet the pint sized pixie," he replied with a grin.
"You didn't even ask my name," Tris said with an amused smile. "I think you just wanted to tease me. Anyway, I'm Tris."
"And I'm Uriah. See you around, Tris," Uriah replied, and walked off, and sat a few rows back with a couple of pretty girls and another guy.
"Making friends with the cool kids?" Christina asked curiously.
"Something like that," Tris answered, bemused by her encounter with Uriah.
At that moment, the room went dark, and an image was projected onto the wall at the front of the room.
It read: "Dauntless Manifesto"
There was no sign of a Dauntless leader or any agent.
Then Harrison's voice filled the room.
"The Dauntless have a manifesto, to guide us in our work, and this is it," he informed them.
The image changed and a list appeared.
"We believe that cowardice is to blame for the world's injustices. We believe that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace."
But more than that:
We believe that justice is more important than peace.
We believe in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions.
We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.
We believe in acknowledging fear and the extent to which it rules us.
We believe in facing that fear no matter what the cost to our comfort, our happiness, or even our sanity.
We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.
We believe, not just in bold words but in bold deeds to match them.
We believe that pain and death are better than cowardice and inaction because we believe in action.
We do not believe in living comfortable lives.
We do not believe that silence is useful.
We do not believe in good manners.
We do not believe in empty heads, empty mouths, or empty hands.
Harrison waited a few minutes, allowing time for the recruits to read and absorb the words, and then he read them aloud himself.
Then the screen switched off, the lights came on and Harrison was standing at the front of the room.
"This morning when you met with your primary instructors, Eric and Four, you probably felt like you were being thrown in the deep end. That is just part of life here," he began. "That being said, we do like to spring a little orientation session on you your first night, to give you your best chance at succeeding here."
"So they're not completely crazy," Christina whispered to Tris, who smothered a grin in response.
Harrison went on to explain several things, where to find the library, the computer lab, the gym, the pool, the infirmary, the convenience store, and the training rooms. He also explained that after the day of training, their time was their own, if they had enough energy to move.
"As you probably noticed, you were allowed to keep your cell phones when you joined us. We let you keep your existing numbers for ease of maintaining contact with family, to keep your cover stories. We will however issue you all with new handsets, which have special apps programmed on them, to ensure your phone is equipped for optimum use. These will become a key part of your lives as Dauntless agents, and will be used from training onwards and in your lives as agents on missions," Harrison continued.
"Awesome, cool gadgets from the start," Will said, in a voice just loud enough for Christina and Tris to hear.
They both rolled their eyes, but were really excited at the prospect of a new, high-tech cell phone.
Harrison clearly could sense the excitement of the recruits, for he said, "Yes, gadgets are part of our work, and they are interesting and remarkable. By all means, get excited, learn all there is to know about the technology you have on offer – it can be a great asset. Do not however overestimate it and forget the power of your mind and your body. Balance is needed as a Dauntless agent, and you must combine all your skills and assets to complete your missions efficiently and successfully. This is what you will learn over the coming months. How to be the best you that you can be, and how to be the best agent that you can be. Take care to eat well, and get plenty of rest, and enjoy your down time. Tomorrow, you work begins in earnest. Before you go to bed, please turn in your cells. There is a secure box to put them in on the dormitory floor. You will get your new phones tomorrow. Goodnight."
And with that, they were dismissed.
AN: Thanks for reading! I will update in a 4 - 7 days. If I get a heap of reviews I will put the next chapter up earlier ;) Enjoy the holidays!