Here is the second part of the chapter. I really like this one because it shows more of Andy's character and… some other people are introduced here. Some of my favorite Dauntless! Anyway, thank you for the reviews.
Chapter 7: Traditions
I won again today against Will. Four still seemed upset with me. He thinks I like to toy with people. No, I really just don't want to hurt anyone. But I have too much pride to get hit and lay down on the ground like Al. Let him do that. I'm going to do the best I can so I don't hurt people much and leave me with an ache in my mind for hurting someone weaker, or possibly weaker than me. I'm still upset with myself for hurting Tris's finger. But it's much better than how she feels now, two days after her fight she's still hurting. I shake my head as I peel off my sweat soaked shirt and bra and throw it in the drawer with the blanket over me. Need to do a wash soon. I pull out another shirt and pull it on. I will shower in the morning. I'm tired. Christina was right, Will is good. But I have strength on my side while he has technique. Erudites learn faster through watching. I learn better when going through it. So fighting is good for me. Just need to know I can actually know if they won't get too hurt.
"You were right." I call over to Christina as she settles into bed in only a long shirt.
"I'm always right." She smirks. "What about now?" I glance over at Will, who is on the other side of the room.
"He is good." I tell her and she laughs.
"How so? His fighting or how his chest looked when you ripped off his shirt?" I turn and glare at her.
"Not my fault that instinct kicked in when he punched my chest." I defend. "I merely grab the first thing near me and pull. Normally it was my father's hair, so I didn't have to worry." I add the last part as a quiet after thought and I hear Christina giggle. "What?"
"He has smooth abs." I shake my head and try not to gag.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear that garbage." I groan as she laughs as I settle into bed. My head hits the pillow and I shut my eyes. Before I can fall asleep, the door opens and I groan. I want to go to my nightmare memory riddled sleep. Sleep is good, no matter what happens during it. Last night I had multiple ones about my brother dying by being thrown over the chasm or being ran over by tracks. Yesterday after the trip, I snooped around and found nothing on my brother Bass. Nothing. Did he die after six months? I don't know. I lift my head as the door finishes opening and I see black frames of Dauntless people with flashlights. I sit up and almost hit the ceiling as I turn and try to figure out why a lot of people are streaming in with flashlights, some of them hitting my face.
"Everyone up." I hear the familiar voice of Eric shout into the room. I find him in the door way. I mentally thank God that Four is in between him and me. I might just knock over the little fire torch on his head and enjoy watching him try to put out the fire. Am I a bad person for wishing pain for one of my leaders?
"Oh my God, are you serious?" I mumble under my breath as I run my hand throw my loose hair. Normally I would have it up in a bun, just easier to fight with it up. Four glances up and me and I groan. "Why?" He brings a finger to his lips to tell me to hush. Just then Eric shines a light at Tris, below me and then up and in my face.
"Did the Stiffs go deaf?" He's pissy. I glare at him and remain sitting there as Tris gets up. I'm not wearing pants or a bra, I'm not getting up. Christina sees me and snakes down the ladder and stare at him annoyed. Her shirt is longer than mine because she is shorter. Eric goes and looks at her. "You have five minutes to get ready and meet us at the tracks." He announces before leaving with the people. I glance at Four and he looks in between me and the now standing Tris before leaving. With the door shut, people start to move. I groan as I get dressed in tomorrow's clothes and look for my hair tie.
"Thanks, Christina." I tell her as she gets back on her bunk.
"What you sleep in the nude too?" She asks with a laugh. My face blushes. It's mostly a joke.
"No, just used to nightgowns. So I wear a shirt. They aren't long enough to move." I shake my head as I pull pants on underneath the blankets.
"That's okay, I don't either." She laughs as she pulls on pants with no shame. Once my bra is shimmied on, I look around for my hair tie.
"Dang it, where are you?" I ask the object as if it could respond as I turn and look under my pillows. "I just had you." My hands fumble around and I find it. "Good." Both Christina and Tris laugh at my weirdness. "I have to have my hair tie. Things will get messy without it." I tell them as I drop down from the ladder. "Let's go." We run out, apparently the first ready, and make our way to the tracks. We get to the pit and Tris is having a hard time running. So I slow down a little bit so she can keep up with me. People just move out of the way of us three and act like it's normal for us to be running to the tracks. You never know with Dauntless people. This could be a weekly thing or something.
We get to the tracks and they start breathing heavily. I look around and see the dauntless born initiates. So we're mixing now. Next to the tracks is a box of guns and something called paintballs. I smirk we are shooting something.
"Are we shooting something?" Christina asks Tris.
"Looks like it." I interject.
"Everyone grab a gun." Eric announces to us. Tris is the closet to them and grabs three of each and hand us our things. I place the paint box under my arm and examine the gun. It's not heavy at all and it's bigger than the other one, but it's the same process other than the magazine, the bottom thing that pops out, is on top and its different looking. It's like a tube more that a thing that fits in the handle. The other's file in and the train gets here. I run over right after Four gets in. He offers me his hand and I give him a polite smile that tells him no thank you, and grab the railing with no problem and turn and jump in. I go to turn to help Tris in, but Four got her. His eyes seem to shine a little bit when he looks at her. I look at her and I see her eyes on his arm. He got her just fine. I turn and help Christina and Will in before going to the far wall and sitting down with Tris.
"We'll be dividing into two team to play capture the flag. Each team will have an even mix of members, Dauntless born initiates and transfers. One team will get off first and find a place to hide their flag. Then the second team will get off and do the same." Four announces. There is a hard wind and he just simply holds onto the railing as if it's nothing. "This is a dauntless tradition, so I suggest you take it seriously." Brave kid.
"What do we get if we win?" Someone calls out.
"Sounds like the kind of question someone not from dauntless would ask." Four doesn't enjoy hearing that. "You get to win of course." Bragging rights, that's what he's saying.
"Four and I will be your team captains." Eric says. I pray to God that I get Four. I will defect and shoot Eric anyway. So let me please be on Four's team. "Let's divide up the transfers first, Shall we?"
"You go first." Four tells him in a bored voice.
"Edward." That isn't surprising. Eric choosing the best fighter. Makes sense. Four scans the car. His eyes stop on Tris.
"I want the stiff." He points to her. I set my hand on her shoulder. She didn't seem to like that. Her face wrinkled up.
"Got something to prove?" Eric scoffs. "Or are you just picking the weak ones so that if you lose, you'll have someone to blame it on?"Four shrugs his shoulders.
"Something like that." He tells him elusively. "Your turn."
"Peter." The devil picking someone close to his own heart. I roll my eyes. Looking at him, he is smirking.
"Christina." Four points to her as he hangs on the railing as the wind gust hits him.
"Molly." To be expected. Peter's female lackey. I look at Christina next to me and she and I roll our eyes.
"Will." Four says as the wind dies down. Christina's eyes lights up at hearing this. She really likes Will. I saw it yesterday. She was laughing and joking with him all day. Then she was stealing glances. I think Christina has a little crush on Will. That's cute.
"Al." Dang it, Eric just asking me to shoot him over and over again.
"Drew." Four says strongly. What type of team is he forming? Tris, Christina, Will and now Drew? Tris is fast, Will and Christina are smart and Drew follows orders. I don't get it. Four isn't the type of person that doesn't think things through. Eric looks between Myra and me. The two left. If he picks me, I swear to God I will shoot him in the butt. I don't like him at all.
"Myra." He says with a smirk. Eric looks over at Four, who seems upset. Great, does he think I'm not capable of playing? "Congratulations, you got two stiffs." He tells him sarcastically.
"I'll find something for her to do." He shrugs his shoulders and they continue with picking the Dauntless born initiates. I'm confused. I though Four and I were on good terms. I look at Tris and Christina.
"I'm not that bad, I am?" I ask them with a whisper.
"No. Not at all." Christina says. "I don't get it either."
"Me either, I thought he liked you." Tris says.
"I think I should just be glad I didn't get Eric. I really want to shot him." I try to change the subject.
"You would." Christina pats my shoulder. "You would." I roll my eyes and laugh a little bit as I watch Four pick his team.
"I get it." Tris says. "Almost everyone has small frames. We will be faster." I look at us all. Christina is pretty much smallish. Will is and so is Tris. So I guess it could work. Then I see Four jump off and my team stands up. I really need to stop doing that. I stand up and run out of the car and land on my feet with no problem. Thanks to yesterday, I think I figured it out. I need to bend my knees at the last second. I stand up straight and smirk. Four is next to me and is shaking his head with a half smirk on.
"Hey, I'm fast too." I protest as we wait for the rest to get off. "I can be worth something." Four fully smirks now.
"You don't get it." He says as more people jump off.
"Get what?" I ask him as I cross my arms over my chest. "Then do explain."
"If I show interest in your skill, then Eric will start looking at you than more than an initiate with problems listening." Four explains.
"I don't have problems listening to you. Eric is just the devil." I tell him bluntly.
"Big words for someone who you just met." He states with a little smile. I shrug my shoulders as the group walks over to us.
"I'm great with understanding people." I tell him with little sarcasm.
"Don't do that." He mumbles as a girl from the other initiate class walks up to him and touches his shoulder.
"When your team won, where did you put the flag?" She asks as her eyes flutter a bit and has a strange smile on her face.
"Telling you wouldn't really be in the spirit of the exercise, Marlene." He says as if she wasn't trying to hit on him.
"Come on Four." Her smile seems to get brighter and Four merely shakes her off of him.
"Navy Pier." I turn my head to see another dauntless born talking. "My brother was on the winning team. They kept the flag at the Carousel." I look at him. He is tall like me and has darker skin. I feel my heart flutter at seeing him. Strange. I shake my head as Will says we should go over there. I turn and walk right next to Four as we walk. I feel safer with him in this dark. Maybe because he is older and much stronger. We are nearing the old buildings that nobody uses anymore, but they look fine. The marsh is near us too, but not close enough to deal with the mosquitoes. I got sick one day from getting bitten by one. I had to go to the hospital. That wasn't fun. Four leads us into the broken part of the city and he glances at me.
"Glass." He warns. I look down and I stop my foot. There is glass under my feet. My shoes are on, but I still don't want to walk on it. I side step closer to him and I see a light. I turn and she the girl who was hitting on Four with a flashlight.
"Scared of the dark, Mar?" The same boy with the dark skin jokingly mocks her. Marlene flashes her flashlight at him and I can see him better.
"If you want to step on broken glass, Uriah, be my guest." She scoffs out. Uriah is his name. Uriah smiles and laughs. His smile is really white and his laugh sends another flutter in my heart. So I turn around and walk with Four again.
"Is there a reason you're walking right next to me?" Four asks me and I shake my head and side step a bit.
"Sorry, I didn't realize it." I tell him as my face heats up. I don't want him to know I'm afraid of the dark.
"I asked you why." He says as we walk. The others are taking their time talking about some ride and jumping in the marsh. I look to the side as we walk.
"Hate the dark. Bad memories." I tell him briefly.
"If that's the case. Stay by Uriah or Marlene." Four tells me with no judgment. "Uriah can see well in the dark and won't leave you behind." I nod my head.
"Thanks." So he doesn't hate me. I will stay with Four until we get to the Carousel. He knows where it is. It's not long before the broken down ride comes into view. I don't see the point in riding horses around in a circle. Pointless.
"In ten minutes, the other team will pick their location." Four stops and turns to the group as he pulls the flag out of his pocket. "I suggest you take the time to formulate a strategy. We may not be Erudite, but mental preparedness is one aspect of your dauntless training. Arguably, it is the most important aspect." I agree.
"Some people should stay here and guard and some people should go out and scout the other team location." Will speaks up as he takes the flag from Four. Rude much.
"Yeah, you think?" Marlene laughs and takes the flag. "Who put you in charge, Transfer?" Does she have a problem with transfers? I like his plan.
"No one."Will says simply. "But someone's got to do it."
"Maybe we should develop a more defensive strategy. Wait for them to come to us then take them out." Christina interjects. That won't go over well. And if on cue, Uriah and some other's laugh.
"That's the Sissy way out." Uriah waves his hand and takes the flag from Marlene. "I vote we go all out. Hide the flag well enough that they can't find it." This gets Dauntless cheers. Will and Christina try to explain their part and no one lets them. This is getting annoying. I can't take the yelling and shouting over my friends. They are being mean jerks. I look around for Four. I find him laying against the carousel's horses and staring into the sky. Where's Tris? I look around and find something fine and small on the Ferris wheel. Why would a sensible little girl be climbing, or trying to climb it up? I walk over to Four and stare at him until he notices me.
"What?" He asks.
"Did you send Tris up the Ferris wheel?" I ask him and his body tenses up and looks towards the ride.
"What in the…"He gets up and looks at me with one hard glare and runs off. I'm not allowed to follow I guess. Four cares about her a lot. I'm not sure how yet, but he does look out for her like me. I walk back to the group and the yelling is getting worse. I'm taller than most of the people here, even the members. This isn't getting anywhere. I look at my watch. It's been five minutes. We are wasting time. I breathe in hard. I don't want to lose to Eric. I want my chance to shot at him.
"Enough!" I shout above everyone. This is the loudest I have ever been. I pluck the flag from some member's hand and watch as the group fall silent. Christina and Will are staring at me in shock that I can get that loud. "You all wasted five minutes with this bickering. Now, all of you that want to go with offence go over here." I point my left. "And all of you that want to go defense go to the right." No one other than Christina and Will move to the right. Everyone else stands still. "Unless you want to lose and hand Eric the flag, Choose!" I shout again.
"Aren't you the other Stiff?" Marlene asks. She is right in front of me, standing next to Uriah. I glare at her with a patronizing smile.
"No, my name is Andy and I will not lose just because Dauntless Adults don't know how to strategies." I tell her calmly. "Now choose or I will hand Eric the flag." Uriah grabs her shoulders and drags her to the left, which starts the group to decide. I look at my watch. Two minutes. "Now that took too long for you members." I snap. "Choose who will lead your group and go." My voice is harsh and firm. "You get the privilege to go and shot up people and get the flag." I turn to the defense group. There is a lot more than I thought there will be. There are about five people. "Now you guys, since we are pressed on time, will figure out where to hide the flag." I throw the flag at someone in the group that I don't know. One last glance at the offence group and I wish I can be a part of their team. But I can't, I pissed some of them off. We walk over to the carousel.
"We should just put it here." An older man says as he jumps onto the ride and set the flag of the back wall, behind a horse. He must be a member.
"That's fine." One of the girls that came says. There are us three transfer initiates, one Dauntless initiate, and two members Six people, including me. "Then let's hide around the horse and what not." I nod as look around.
"Are you really a Stiff?" I turn and look at the other girl I don't know.
"If you're asking if I was from Abnegation, than yes. Stiff, no." I tell her in a calmer voice from before.
"You don't seem like it." The man spits out.
"Andy is very confusing." Will speaks up from on top of one of the horses.
"Will." Christina snaps at him. "She isn't. Andy is just not a stiff. She is… whatever she is." I turn my head to the side.
"Thanks, Smart mouth and know-it-all for coming to my defense, but I am able to handle things just fine." I tell them sarcastically.
"And why didn't Four want you?" The younger girl asks.
"Don't know." I say, but it's muffled and ignored because the Ferris wheel turns on. "That can't be good." I look around and find a ladder next to the flag. I run over to it and climb up. I'm on the awning thing above the ride. Heights, got to ignore them. I crawl out on the metal sheeting and feel a small cut on my leg. Dang, that hurt. I continue to crawl and get to the little end the curves upward just enough to hide my body up here. My gun can fit perfectly on the dip and still not be seen. So I fill it up. Someone turned that thing on and I'm going to make sure it's not bad. Four and Tris were over there, so there is a chance it wasn't Eric's team, but you can never be too sure. I place my cheek right next to the sight and look through it at the oncoming people. I see Four with his hand on Tris's shoulder as they run towards us. "Stand down, Just Tris and Four." I call out and scan the buildings and field. No one that I can see.
"Where did the others go?" Four asks right as he gets to the foot of the ride.
"They headed out to go find the flag." The man says. "Under Andy's instructions." I see Four look around and Tris just catch her breath.
"Did you turn on the wheel?" One of the girls I don't know asks. "What the hell where you thinking? You might as well have just shouted 'Here we are! Come and get us!" She seems upset. "If I lose again, the shame will be unbearable. Three years in a row." Oh shut up. I roll my eyes and scan the area again. No one.
"The wheel doesn't matter." Four says in a calm tone, as if knowing how she is. "We know where they are." The girl falls silent.
"We?" I hear Christina's voice. She is right under me.
"Yes, while the rest of you were twiddling your thumbs, Tris climbed the Ferris wheel to look for the other team." I am just about to jump off this thing I tell him we weren't all like that.
"What do we do now, then?" The younger girl asks with a yawn. I watch Four as he looks at Tris. It takes her a moment to know, he wants her to speak.
"Split in half." She says after a moment. "Four of us go to the right of the pier, three to the left. The other team is in the middle of the park at the end of the pier, the group of four will charge the group of three sneaks behind the other team to get the flag."
"Sounds good, But there is eight of us." I hear Will now. "Andy is here, somewhere."
"I did see her go up the ladder." I pull back from my spot. Might as well go down the ladder. Wait, it will look better if I ran off. I wonder how it will feel, falling from this height. It's only ten feet of or so. Not as bad, but no running. That's too much for a girl afraid of heights. How about I just slip over the top of the curve. That's less scary. I wonder how it will feel. So I'm going to try it, just once. I sit up and do it before I can think. My hands grip the side of the top and I throw myself over and drop to the ground, landing in between Four and Tris and the group.
"I got bored." I tell everyone. "And no, no one is coming while you guys were busy talking." I turn and tell the defense group as I stand up straight.
"Shall we get this night over with?" The older girl asks as she stands up.
"You know, you would stop losing if you would just learn how to work together and make plans." I tell her before turning to Tris. "How was your climb?" I ask her as if I didn't just snap at a member.
"It was fine." She says with a little laugh. "How was yours?"
"Nothing compared to yours." I tell her with a laugh of my own. Tris and Four divide us into two team of four. Tris will lead Christina and the two girls to the right and Four will take me and the member and Will with him to the left. I'm just fine with that. We divide and head the ways we plan. We get down to the side of the pier and walk along the side so we can't be seen. Four is the head of the group; I'm right behind him, Will behind me at a distance and the member behind him. My gun ready to shoot, like Four.
"Two things. Your leg is bleeding." Four suddenly says. "You will need to get that cleaned up and checked when we get back. That carousal isn't the cleanest thing." I raise an eye brow at him as he stops. "And second. You need to stop pissing people off."
"I really don't mean too." I defend myself quietly. "If I didn't want to offend people, I would go to Amity or stayed in Abnegation."
"Andy, you don't need to piss…" I raise my gun as I hear something behind him. He shuts up and I find a piece of red hair sticking above the bush. I aim like I was trained to and Four turns to watch me. I take a deep breath and shoot as I hear them shoot.
"Down." I say as I grab Four and yank him to the ground. Right as a blue color paint ball hits right were his head was. I hear a loud cry and then some cussing. Four looks at me before pulling me forward a little more and he takes me under the pier and into the water.
"You need to stop pissing people off like that." I shake my head. I don't get him.
"Yell at me later, let's go storm in. I need to shot Eric at least once to feel accomplished." Four rolls his eyes as we walk back to the side. I feel bites on my arms and neck. Gross.
"You need to be careful." He warns as we met up with Will and the other man.
"Why where you two under the Pier?" Will asks.
"Does it matter? We need to confuse them." The man says. "Let's go." He says as he goes past the pier. Will looks at us both before running with him. I follow behind Four and I stay by the end of the pier, where I can't be seen and look around. They have gone in and started shooting. I'm looking for the Devil. My eyes scan the field until I see him near the bright color flag. I stand up and run over to Four and aim to shoot at someone shooting at him. My ball hits the girl in the middle of her chest and bright pink bursts. The reason we are in two teams here is so we can have each other's backs as we confuse them. I feel a hand on my shoulder, pulling me to the side and a ball goes flying past me and we go back to shooting.
"Mind if we go towards the flag. The Devil is being cocky." I whisper to him as I shot a ball at a member who was aiming at me.
"Are you sure you can deal with the repercussions?" He asks me as he shoots his gun.
"What repercussions? I will simply keep shooting and act like I didn't know it was him. I tell the truth most of the time, but there are some times I think its okay to lie." I tell him as I move and shoot someone that is in his blind spot.
"Andy, do whatever you want." I smirk as I shoot a line of people.
"Then let's go." I run forward and towards the flag. Four covers me as I shoot. I stop about twenty feet away and I see the group Tris leaded is running to the flag. Four gets to me. "Good timing. They're here." I tell him as I shoot someone that is unprepared.
"So you're not stupid after all." I almost drop my gun at hearing that and he ends up shooting the person I was meaning to hit. "What? Suddenly afraid of your gun. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I choke out before grabbing it again and finding Eric. He is yelling at someone as he has his back towards me. I would smirk, if I didn't hear that. "Eric's back is to me. I'm going to take it." I tell him in a bit stronger voice. I aim and pull my trigger over and over again. Five, ten times, I don't know. I just move the barrel and point at someone that is coming after us, with bad aim. I shot them right in the sternum.
"Did it?" Four asks before Eric let's out a loud shout. I smirk and keep shooting. "How many times did you hit him?"
"I lost count at six. But it wasn't in the same spot." I assure him as I turn and shoot someone getting ready to shoot at Christina, who is reaching for the flag. "Chris has the flag, in three, two, one." There is a loud collected shout from members of our team. "How many years is this in a row?"
"Three." He says as he turns and stands next to me, other than behind me.
"Good job. No wonder Eric is jealous of you." I say before walking with him to the group of loud cheering dauntless. Tris is to the side as she shouts. Quiet, but she is. We walk over to her and Four places a hand on her shoulder from the side.
"Well done." He tells her as the group cheers. I don't think I will ever get used to the yelling and screaming. It reminds me of home when my brother was there. I just walk over to the tree and slide to the ground. My hand grazes the side of my leg and I feel the blood he said earlier. I look at it and sigh. It's a cut that is about three inches long and I'm not sure how deep it is. Not too deep though. It must have been a screw.