TRAINING STARTS AT 8AM.
TRAINING ENDS AT 6PM.
FREE TIME AFTER 6.
CANNOT LEAVE COMPOUND WITHOUT DAUNTLESS COMPANY.
The rules are simple as Eric explains them in a dull, uninterested tone. His eyes roam over the initiates, pausing to look a the pair of twins who had captured the interest of many.
There were 11 transfers this year, only 9 made it onto the train and only 8 jumped off.
8 transfer initiates.
But then, Eric, a Dauntless leader who will oversee their training, explains the next part.
RANKINGS.
Cal bites into her cheek and tenses her jaw as she listens.
8 transfers, 10 Dauntless-born.
Not all will make it into Dauntless.
Cal clenches her fists, lifting her chin as she builds up her resolve.
I WILL NOT FAIL.
She looks at her brother, who's looking ahead at Eric. His brow is creased at the center, but his jaw is tightened and she can see the flush of anger in his cheeks.
WE WILL NOT FAIL.
Sleep comes slowly, and soft sobs and cries are heard throughout the dormitory. It's no surprise to anyone that the initiation was tough, but how tough is what threw everyone for a loop. To be kicked out, to become factionless. Cal refused to see a future like that for her and her brother.
When she wakes, her brother quietly asks if she's alright.
She lies, he knows.
Everyone wakes up quickly, snapping their eyes open or shooting up in bed. Everyone is alert; aware.
And by the time they are in the training area, where Four meets them, everyone is tense. The lack of sleep and over abundance of nerves keeps everyone stiff.
The twins had never held any sort of firearm before, and it feels both foreign and heavy in their hands. Four speaks clearly and loudly, like a teacher, and Caldera strains her eyes and ears to pay attention to his every move. He is in Dauntless, meaning he passed his own initiation; she'll trust everything he says.
He demonstrates taking a shot, and Cal squints as she watches his frame and body rather than the bullet.
She copies him when it's the initiates turns. Gun in both hands, feet spread apart and she pulls the trigger. Her body jolts a little from the gun, but she breaths out a single laugh. The bullet hole does not hit the target, but it only sits a few inches to the right of it.
Cal looks to her right, looking at her brother as he fires his second round. His first bullet just skims the bottom of his target, while the second bullet makes it in the center.
WE WILL NOT FAIL.
"Next is fighting," Four paces around the large room. Punching bags are lined along the end of the room, and the initiates line up behind them.
"Today we will go over technique," Four settles himself in front of a bag, "And tomorrow you'll begin fighting each other."
Caldera studies him in the same manner she had earlier that morning. She watches how he breaths, how he turns and how he lands each different punch. Cal finds herself much better at this, though smaller than her brother she sees him wincing as he punches with his knuckles and Four stops to correct him on a few things before moving on.
"Follow through with your punch," He tells her, watching as the ex-Candor throws a solid punch into the bag. The power behind her punch is sufficient enough but would need improvement, and he can see her fingers painting themselves red with irritation. Cal nods at him and does as instructed, pulling her fist back and then twisting her body so she follows through with her punch. The old punching bag shakes in place and Four nods his head in approval.
RAW.
Her hands feel raw by the time Four dismisses them for dinner, and Cal can't help but sigh with content as she runs the ice cube from her water against her knuckles.
"You sure do know how to pack-a-punch," Tatum tilts his head towards Cal, a bread roll half stuffed in his mouth, "You're actually kinda scary."
Cal hums in response, and Syn picks up the conversation in her place.
"She's always been scary," Syn smiles crookedly, wiggling his eyebrows.
Though their time there has been short, the twins have developed a few relationships with other initiates. Relationships both good, and bad. Good, came from 3 transfers. A mousy faced, tall and lanky Amity girl named Sonny. A Candor transfer with a permanent grimace on his face named Tatum. And a silent Erudite boy with blond hair named Ben. The twins appreciated their company during their free time, and the three others found the two odd, but strangely endearing. Though they knew that the twins were competition, they found their child-like nature when it came to each other to be a relief from the stress.
But, despite these 'friends', they couldn't seem to gain the trust of the other initiates. One, and his group of lackeys, seemed to take a great disinterest in the two. An Erudite transfer by the name of Caine, had set out to sneer and shoulder bump the two every chance he got. Syn was more vocal about it, snapping and snarling like a wolf at the boy every chance he got. But Cal tried to be the calmer of the two, lying to even herself that it didn't bother her.
FIRST FIGHT: SYN VS CAL
"They probably won't even really fight each other!"
Cal cocks her hip, taking a deep breath as she crosses her arms. There is an even number of transfers, meaning that everyone will be able to fight today. Four and Eric are both present, no doubt ready to supervise these matches. She wasn't excited about the idea of going first, she would have liked to see how others fought before stepping onto the mat herself. But, as luck would have it, the instructors thought it would be nice to play a cruel game of setting the siblings against each other.
"First two fighters," Four begins, he sets his legs apart and crosses his arms, "Set up."
Syn elbows his sister softly, shooting her a signature smile before stepping up. She follows suit, a heavy sigh passing her lips.
"How do you know that they're gonna give it their all?"
The question comes from Caine, and he's looking at the siblings with obvious annoyance.
"Because they're being scored on this," Four doesn't look away from the twins as they get in their fighting stances.
"When is the fight over?" Sonny asks, glancing between the two siblings warily. Despite choosing Dauntless, Sonny was still quiet and scared.
"Shut up," Eric's voice breaks through the room like a crack of thunder. The room quiets, and the twins never move from their fighting stance, "What are you two waiting for? Fight."
FIGHT.
Syn moves first.
He's taller than his sister by a good couple of inches, and he's obviously a good ideals stronger than her. But casting this aside, the main problem is that the two are siblings, they know each other like the back of their own hands. They know each others strengths, and weaknesses.
Cal ducks under her brothers hands, grabbing his upper arm as she passes and pulling it behind him harshly. He grunts, but is quick to twist his body around, swinging his arm unceremoniously. He catches her on the mouth, and a couple times on the stomach. She holds on as along as she can, but a rough swing into the middle of her stomach causes her to wheeze and stumble back.
"Asshole."
Syn laughs and pushes forward again and Caldera thrusts her palm forward, the heel of her hand hitting her brother in the Adams apple. He stumbles, choking and coughing, allowing her to dig her below into his back.
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
Four times she jabs him in his back and although he's coughing and spluttering for air, he reaches for her legs, wiping her feet from under her. Caldera's back slams against the mat and the air is completely pushed out of her lungs. She gasps for air, her arms moving up to clutch her chest. Her brother scrambles to hover over her, forearm pushing against her throat. She claws at his arm, pieces of his skin digging under her nails.
"Good."
The weight of her brother's arm is gone immediately after the word leaves Eric's mouth. His lips are pulled back in a smug grin as he looks between the siblings. Syn, who's arching his back and gritting his teeth together; and Cal who's choking for air, her forehead resting on the mat as droplets of blood fall from her mouth.
"Winner," Eric begins, "Syn."
AUTHORS NOTE
Thank you for StardustSpike & Maya6996 for your reviews! I was beginning to think no one was taking interest in the story.
I have more Eric in story for the next chapter!
Thank you for reading!