Summary: This chapter has some time skips that give us a picture of life in Dauntless for Kat as an initiate as the end of first stage approaches. And of course the first Eric/Four showdown with highly anticipated Capture the Flag game. What team will the sisters be on and who will win?

Disclaimer: I own naught but my own crazy plot...

Chapter 29 - Life and Games In Dauntless

Kat

Today has been a good day so far. Funny saying that after the 'season of hell' that it seems like things have been lately.

The morning passed quickly and in a pretty awesome way. We went to the roof and worked with semi-automatic rifles. Once again I did good but Edward did better. That did leave me a bit put out. I don't begrudge him his success but I itch to be able to improve my own performance. It doesn't help that I know my accuracy was affected by the lingering injuries to my ribs and the fact that I was still hungover and tired from my session with Eric.

I was still pouting about all of that when lunchtime came around, which Zach found highly amusing as he led me to the apartment and I wouldn't shut up about it; not even when Eric and Chase showed up shortly after we did. It took Eric promising, with a bit of a smug smile, that he could probably arrange something. Only if I behaved though.

Lunch went pretty quickly. Because there wasn't time to really cook anything Chase picked up something for us to eat. His contribution to our meals today was extremely similar to one that is firmly down as one of my favorite things I've found to eat so far. In my opinion, when he showed up and opened a box of chicken tenders, a larger version of my favorite chicken nuggets, there couldn't have been a better choice. He even had the mashed potatoes and rolls I love so much too, but he added something new and a bit strange called gravy that actually went well with the meal.

Of course, before I was allowed to eat my heaven on a plate, I had to let Eric tend to me as I promised. I didn't know whether to be thankful or not that he didn't ask me to take my shirt off this time. It didn't lessen my reactions to his touch when instead he slipped his hands under my shirt to make sure my ribs are healing and to put more of the ointment on them then wrap them up again.

We had this moment after he was done when we were just looking at each other for a few intense seconds. I don't know if I was able to hide my desire all that well, despite trying so hard too. For a second I thought I might be seeing the same in his before he let out a breath, scowling and backed away while he helped me down from the counter.

That encounter only seemed to reinforce what I've come to believe about Eric in those times. His body is clearly reacting as any healthy man might. But it's almost involuntary and he can't help it. He also doesn't particularly care for that reaction, judging by his scowl.

I was nervous about going into the training room after lunch. We hadn't been able to see who we would be facing before lunch. Seeing Christina beside my name didn't upset me really but I was a bit...unsure...of how to feel about facing my sisters' friend. But I admit that it was kind of a relief to not worry about going into a potentially hard fight to keep focus in. It also helped that Tris was matched to Myra.

Something else that helped me was this morning with Eric. I don't know if it was the combination of our actual training session or what he revealed to me after it, but I felt much more centered than I have been for a while. Doing my meditation I realize that it's a bit easier and I feel like I'm thinking just a bit more clearly.

I came to a realization during them that the people in my initiation aren't really my enemies. No matter if I like them or not, no matter if they don't like me, they aren't my enemy. It doesn't make them less of a threat if they choose to be, but I'm choosing not to look at them they are.

There are real threats out there though, and Eric's reminder of some of them has brought up all the things I've promised myself to never feel again. I can't afford to make mistakes as I have been lately.

Because of this...realization...I start my meditations as soon as lunch is over and I know we are going into fights.

Tris and Myra's match is the first one of the day. It wasn't a long one and while Tris did win, it wasn't with a knockout. I could tell that Myra did put in the effort and tried but Tris' training was able to ensure she got a win. I'm proud of the way she handled herself in the fight. She didn't hesitate and while she did hold back, it was only in the way that she didn't inflict more than was necessary to get Myra to the ground and unable to continue.

My fight with Christina wasn't as easy as the one against Myra but it was nowhere near as difficult as the one against Drew either. For her end, Christina handled this fight better than she did against Molly. She actually put effort into it, even getting in some really good hits on me. I think my smiles when she landed a hit might have disturbed or even unsettled her, which I wasn't really meaning to do but I couldn't help them. It was a surprise and I was happy she was trying more than I've seen her try before now.

I don't know that I will ever like the girl, I pretty much can't stand her to be honest, but I don't want her to fail either. I don't want anyone to be forced to live as factionless.

Her putting in effort did mean that I had to make sure to double mine. She obviously wasn't going to allow herself to have a repeat of her fight with Molly and give up. Which meant I knew it was going to come down to a knockout. But unlike her fight with Molly, I had no desire to leave her a bloody mess. So, I tried to keep my hit to ones that could take her out of the fight.

After fights, anyone left in good enough condition after their fights were then expected to pair up and continue working on techniques and conditioning. There were a few members that would stop in from time to time to watch the fights. When they did, sometimes they even passed on advice for us on how to improve. I spent the remainder of the day doing more training and light sparring and alternating partnering with Tris and Will.

We leave the training room for the day after watching Edward beat Molly in a ridiculously fast fight, ending our day on a high note.

I'm exhausted as hell and ready to go to bed even if the bed is located in a stinky dorm. But at dinner, my friends with the addition of Tris and her friends, are all on some kind of high from our wins, even Christina (who didn't win but was excited at how Molly was beaten so hard and quick).

Someone came up with the idea to get another tattoo (Uri) and I quickly found myself in the parlor. We decided on getting the Dauntless symbol. Though not everyone wanted a straight out version of it and came up with designs of their own.

I worked with Tori for mine. She decided to take pity on me and help me out when I was having trouble describing what I wanted to Bud and since I can't draw myself that failed too.

I love what I ended up with.

At the top of my spine is a lotus flower with the Dauntless symbol at the heart of the flower. The flames of the symbol meld into and form into the petals. Underneath that, the flower is being held in hands, cupped and poised as if lifting the flower up. It's not exactly like the Abnegation symbol but it has enough similarities that it can be recognized as a tribute of sorts to it. Surrounding the tattoo is a border in the shape of a triangle composed of faint lines. These lines are actually composed of a combination of short lines, long lines, and dots. To anyone that doesn't know it is a form of language called Morse Code it just looks like a geometrical shape framing the tattoo. I'm pretty sure that there aren't going to be many people, or anyone really, that knows it.

I only know Morse Code because I read about the language being used as a means of communicating by the telegraph that was once used before telephones were invented. It was also heavily used during war times. After I read about that, I looked up anything I could find about it and eventually was able to teach myself the code.

By the time my tattoo was done, I had pretty much exhausted all of my energy so I decided to head right to the dorm. I could feel Eric and Chase's eyes on me as I passed them on the way there and I'm pretty sure one, if not both of them, might have followed me and Tris to make sure that's where I was actually going.

The very last dregs of my energy were spent doing a quick clean up after a very long day. I think by the time my body actually hit the bed I was already asleep.

Two weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye.

My days are pretty set into a routine, though the activities themselves aren't always the same.

Every morning I go to the dining hall for my coffee where I'm almost always joined by Eric, Chase, and Zach. Sometimes Zach doesn't join us for that part but I end up seeing him at breakfast. After coffee, Eric and I go either to the training room or his office, but it's mainly been the training room to work on whatever he wants to work on that morning. We've mainly been working on my hand to hand fighting skills and he says that's what we'll be continuing until fights are over.

Mornings with Eric haven't been as brutal as that first one was after my night of drinking with Lynn. The first few I actually felt he was going too easy on me and even said as much. At first, he tried to say it was because I was still hurt and having trouble with my breathing, to which I told him that I was breathing much better and my ribs were barely even sore anymore. I guess he realized that he didn't really have any excuses and that he was still upset with himself about what happened that morning.

After that, he started to pick back up on intensity again. I still leave those training sessions looked bruised and battered because he is always picking up the skill levels or introducing new things to me. And though, I can truthfully say I've gotten better, I'm still nowhere near the level he is. Sometimes we get caught up in what we're doing and both of us forget this fact. Which is part of why I look torn up when it's all over.

After every session, Eric still tries to clean me up, like he did that first time, and as I did then I refuse to let him make me any less like I've just had my ass handed to me. He knows it's still necessary but doesn't like it at all. This results in me having to bargain with me every time.

Unless he has to attend a meeting or some other leader duty, breakfast is at Eric's apartment. There have been times when Eric did have to go but the rest of us still had breakfast there. I think he's been putting off certain things because there are times when he gets pulled out of training by one person or another and he always looks annoyed as hell by it.

Training is still really physical. Mainly focusing on our fitness, fighting, and firearms. Everyone's body is changing, getting in better condition and looking more like what you would expect to see in Dauntless.

Both Tris and I have definitely had some changes to our bodies happen but hers stand out the most because she hadn't been able to get in as much physical preparation before coming as I did. It's not only our bodies that have improved but our skills as well. Tris hasn't had near as much trouble with firearms as she had in the beginning and her accuracy is only getting better as training goes on.

Fights have been a mix for us.

While I do technically have an undefeated status, there are a few of those fights that I don't count as a win. The ones that stand out the most to me in that regard were my fights with Myra and the one with Al. While Myra did try I can't say the same about Al. I'm pretty sure he actually faked being knocked out and even moved into the hit I threw at his head.

Tris has had a few losses. Her's were from her matches with Will, Drew and Edward. But in each of those, she put up a hell of a fight and almost won against both Will and Drew.

We're wrapping up stage one finally. I've wondered what the rankings are and know I could have found out by now but have remained firm that I'm going to find out with the rest of the initiates.

I am excited for stage one to be over and to know how well I did but I can't say I'm looking forward to the next stage. I worry about what kind of fears I'll have to face but I've tried not to let myself focus on that. It doesn't stop my dreams from being invaded by them night after night though.

This mornings bargaining was a bit of a weird one. Eric wanted to negotiate me having dinner with the guys at his apartment instead of with my friends in the dining hall. That part wasn't strange but since he often uses that. What was unusual was his demand that after dinner I go straight to the dorm and to bed. I agreed and figured I would find out why at dinner but that was a bust. They refused to tell me but they all had smiles and a manic look in their eye with an air of way too much excitement.

Knowing something was up I decided to follow the command, however, I also made sure to take Tris along with me. When I made it back to the Pit, I pulled Tris away and asked if she wouldn't mind walking with me to the clinic so I could get something for a mild headache. I knew if I was actually volunteering to take meds then her protective big sister instincts would kick in. Like I hoped, she also ended up getting ready for bed as well saying, she felt tired too.

I knew she also had no desire to go back to hanging out with Christina at the moment. Her friend was in one of her cold-shoulder moods where she wasn't happy Tris didn't want to go hang out with some of the older Dauntless members she's taken to hanging with lately. It's mainly Lauren, the Dauntless-born trainer, who she's taken to shadowing lately. Lauren is a party girl and major flirt, both are things Christina is all too happy to join in whenever she can.

What I didn't count on was Tris noticing my worried expression as we got ready for bed. While getting ready for bed, I tried to figure out what could have even Eric looking excited while they were still worried enough that they insisted I take more meds to make sure my ribs are all healed. She noticed this and asked me what was wrong. I ended up telling her that I had a feeling my next fight was going to be a lot more difficult and was just running through all the possibilities in my mind of who I might face.

It wasn't exactly a lie. That is a worry for me. I still haven't faced three people that are the most skilled in the group. Edward, Peter, and Will. I think I'm ready for the challenge and I know there's no way Eric isn't going to put in his bid to have me face one of those three. Maybe that's what has the three of them so an edge then?

I fall asleep sometime in the middle of running through a plan for each of those three.

There's a loud crashing sound that causes me to jerk awake violently. I realize the sound was actually the doors for the dorm being thrown open and that a group of people is stomping their way in and down the stairs with flashlights in their hands.

One figure is out in front and I recognize him before he even speaks.

"Everybody up!" Eric roars loudly and a flashlight is moved in just the slightest, enough to make the gauges in his ear glint a little.

Someone takes his shouting as a cue and starts banging something against a pipe, making me cover my ears until it stops. The entire thing is disorientating as hell and it's only made worse because it feels like I just got to sleep, to begin with.

When the banging stops I rub the sleep from my eyes and glare at the group. Surrounding him are several people that I recognize including Four, Zeke, Chase, and Zach.

I realize that others are all scrambling from their beds while I'm still laying here. Something Eric notices too and I feel him turn his gaze on me. I blush and have the thought that I really should get moving too but something about the way I know his eyes are lingering on me keeps me from moving. Something else catches his attention enough that he looks away from me but then turns back to start glaring in Tris' direction.

"Did you go deaf, stiff?" He barks out.

This snaps me out of my daze and has me scrambling out, joining Tris who looks to be just as flustered as I am.

I instantly move towards the chest at the end of my bed where I normally leave my clothes laid out, but cursed in my mind when I remember I forgot to get them ready like normal.

Imagine my surprise when I see a stack of clothing and boots there waiting for me. I shake my head but start pulling on everything, noticing that pants, shirt, and jacket are thicker than what I would wear around the compound. They also have a uniform feel to them as well, but they aren't the initiate ones we were given.

I look over at my sister, hurriedly whispering that she better grab long sleeves and a jacket just in case. Then look next to her when I see that Christina is getting dressed but doing it very slowly, something I know isn't going over well with Eric by the impatient tapping of his foot.

"Do you require instructions on the simple task of getting dressed, initiate?" He snarled as he walked closer in our direction with an angry glare at her.

At this she stops getting dressed completely and turns to face him, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him. At first, I think I must be mistaken because this is Christina and she equally loathes and fears Eric after the Chasm incident. So, it must be the fact that the only light is from flashlights right now that makes it appear she's looking at him that way. Then I realize I am not seeing things and she is definitely giving him a look of invitation or a challenge or...something.

My blood begins to boil, completely driving out the rational voice that is trying to remind me she is also giving the look I've heard Lauren trying to coach the girl on how to use instead of showing fear to guys like him. Really it doesn't matter to me why she's giving him that flirty look, but she needs to fucking stop now!

A sharp elbow to my side has me whipping around with a scowl to find my sister looking at me with wide worried eyes.

"We need to get dressed, Kat." She commands me in a hurried whisper but I can tell she's worried about whatever the hell is going on with me.

I don't respond as I try and steady my breathing. Try as I might, I can't help turning to look back in the direction of Christina and Eric. Thankfully she's started to get dressed again and not even looking at him anymore.

Eric though is looking right at me wearing a smirk.

"You have five minutes to get dressed and meet us by the tracks. We're going on another field trip." He announces to the room while only looking at me. After this, he simply turns from the room and walks out with the others.

I finish getting dressed in a huff while Tris keeps eyeing me while getting her boots on. "Are you okay? Why were you growling?"

I sigh out loud and tie up the laces of my boots violently before straightening up and looking at her, deciding to evade answering the question with an honest to god confession. "This sucks, I just got to sleep and I need coffee, dammit."

Tris chuckles and follows my example, grabs one of her own hairbands and puts her hair up in a hasty ponytail like I just did seconds ago. Then she reaches out and links her arm with mine, pulling me with her so we can join the others as we all rush out of the dorm room. Once we are out the door we see Christina and the others start to jog towards the Pit. We keep pace with her and Will, staying near the back while we all debate what's going on.

Tris asks me if I have any clue, hoping Chase and Zach have told me, but I have no answer for them either. Whatever it is, it looks like the rest of Dauntless know because the Pit is full of Dauntless watching as we all file through the Pit with expressions of excitement. There are a few familiar faces in the crowd, people I've at least talked with a time or two in my time here. These people clap my back as I pass, saying things like 'good luck' and 'don't die'.

Tris and Christina pale slightly as they hear this.

"Relax, Tris. I'm sure they're exaggerating...a little." I inform her with a playful smile.

We make it to the tracks just behind the Dauntless-born. As soon as I see them, I pull Tris along with me to find my friends. While searching for them I see several big bags near to where the trainers and Dauntless members are all standing and waiting for the groups to assemble. They look exactly like the tactical bag Eric has carried on the few times we did weapons training instead of combat during our mornings together.

Seeing those I completely forget searching for my friends and rush towards them, barely realizing that I'm pulling Tris along with me until I can hear her puffing out a request for me to slow down. I release her hand and lunge for the bags. One of them isn't zipped closed so it's easy for me to get a look at what's inside and I let out a squeal of glee when I do.

The first bag is full of guns, but they aren't anything I've seen or worked with before. The barrels are longer than normal and they have trigger guards on them. I grab one of them to inspect and then look over at the bag right next to it, watching as a Dauntless-born opens it to reveal boxes of what I can only assume is the ammunition.

I don't even hesitate to grab a box of that with a smile. When I stand back up I'm buzzing with excitement and bouncing on the balls of my feet. I don't know what's planned but whatever it is I'm up for it.

I watch as Tris and Christina bend over the bags, looking in them. Tris stays bent over but Christina straightens with a scowl on her face.

"Are we going to be shooting something?" She hisses disdainfully.

Tris straightens up and I see a gun in her arms and her stuffing a box of ammunition into her jacket as well, about to answer her friend but I don't give her the chance.

With a wicked smirk on my face, I look at Christina. "If there is any justice in the universe we will be. Something...or someone…" I watch as she takes in my wicked grin and my gleeful words while looking at her appraisingly before she quickly looks away and pretends to ignore me. "Hey, Christina," I call out her name, making her look at me warily. "Wanna be my huckleberry?" I purr out the question.

Knowing she probably won't get the movie reference but hope my expression will communicate the message. She does and she looks completely terrified.

I hear choking laughter behind me from the group of Dauntless members that has the instructors among them and I turn my head to see Chase acting like something just went down the wrong windpipe while beside him Eric is smirking in my direction.

"You really think they will have us shooting each other?" I hear Christina whispering to my sister and I turn my head to see how my sister responds. Not before I see Eric wink at me really quick then turning away.

Tris shrugs, a frown in place. "I don't know, Christina. But they do have us fighting each other so…" She's interrupted by Eric barking out an order.

"Everyone grab a gun and a box of ammunition and then fall in." He shouts.

Knowing there's about to be a rush of people following orders, I grab my sisters arm and pull her with me away from the madness. Christina doesn't follow us. She slips off to join another group but my friends soon join us.

Lynn looks at me, grinning and chuckling. "Is our kitty Kat planning on sharpening her claws tonight?"

I blush and scowl at her. "Oh shut up," I muttered in a huff slightly embarrassed at my display while hoping no one else picked up what motivated me to act that way to Christina.

I know Lynn figured it out while I think my friends and sister probably just think it's because the former Candor girl and I rub each other the wrong way a lot. That could be part of it but I think it was mostly out of me still being pissed about her little stunt in the dorm. That and a feeling that I'm not really familiar or comfortable with.

Jealousy.

It would be a lie to say that over the years I haven't had flashes of jealousy in some form but they were always fleeting and not very strong. They were usually over small things and easily overcome and forgotten. They were nothing like the seething inside of me when I saw Christina looking at Eric like that.

Now I know what Lynn was talking about when she told me how hard it was to get over her own jealousy of Uriah and his relationship with Marlene. How it felt uncontrollable and how she hated feeling that, not to mention how guilty it made her feel when she acted out because of it.

That's exactly how I'm feeling right now.

"Time estimate?" Eric abruptly asks Four after he finishes talking to Chase and Zach about whatever it was that had the other two laughing.

Four rolls his eyes and checks his watch before replying. "Any minute now. How long is it going to take you to memorize the train schedule?"

"Why should I when I have you to remember it for me?" Eric replies tauntingly with a smirk as he slaps a hand on the other man's shoulder in what he wants to look like a playful manner.

Four is the first on the train, quickly followed by Tris when she ran right after him. That wasn't too surprising but it was still amusing. Until I realized that I do something very similar the moment I see Eric, Chase, and Zach, and take off after them when they start running to get on too.

When I go to pull myself up into the car Chase is there, holding out a hand with a smile and helps pull me in easily. He gives me a nod and motions me to move into the train but stays by the door to help all the others who are struggling to get onto the train while carrying their guns.

I quickly move out of the way and join my sister at the far end of the car but don't sit down like she's doing right now. I literally can't even force myself to try and sit or be still.

"Oh for Pete's sake, Kat." Tris huffs and stands up to face me with a scowl I can tell she doesn't mean. "It was hurting my head trying to keep up with watching you bounce up and down like that." She mutters but I see her trying not to grin.

Once everyone is in the car Four speaks up.

"We'll be dividing into two teams to play Capture the Flag. Each team will get 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 says this all from beside the car door while holding onto the frame to keep himself balanced but doesn't seem a bit worried about the rapidly passing landscape behind him.

"What does the winning team get?" A male voice shouts and has both Eric and Four searching for the speaker.

"Sounds like something a transfer would ask." Eric sneers and disregards the question while Four just shakes his head smirking.

"You get to win and the bragging rights that go with it. A very big deal in Dauntless. Right, Eric?"

Eric's lips thin slightly and I can see a little twitch of his eye but otherwise, he doesn't acknowledge what I know was Four taunting him and just continues one with telling us what's going to happen.

"Four and I will be your captains." He announces while looks us all over then turns and looks at Four. "Let's divide up the transfers first, shall we?"

As he announces this I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, full of anticipation and worry. I am suddenly very worried about what team I'm going to be on and torn internally. Wanting to be on his team but not knowing if he's even going to pick me to be on it. There is also the worry about Tris and not wanting to be on a different team than my sister.

"You go first," Four says casually to Eric.

I watch as Eric's eyes move over the group until they get to me, where he hesitates for just a second before he shrugs and says, "Edward."

My friends had made their way over to me and Tris shortly after Four started telling us what was going to be happening today. Lynn took the other side of me, so when I deflated after Eric picked someone, not me, she elbows me hard in my side and glares at me. At that my back goes straight and after taking a little breath I nod at her.

Four leans against the doorframe and nods at Eric's choice while he starts scanning the group and his eyes hesitate as well. They also flicker between me and Tris and a new sinking feeling adds to the others when I realize that wasn't something I considered at all.

What if he picks me before he picks Tris? At this thought, I start shaking my head while screaming in my head 'no, I don't want to be on your team you asshole'!

I know he'll pick my sister without a doubt but if he picks me before her I know it will hurt her, especially when I get around to telling her about us.

His eyes move away from us quickly, and I see him swallow in what is probably nerves but doesn't allow it to show on his face. "I want the stiff."

I narrow my eyes as I pin with him a glare and wonder if he really thought that would get him out of making a real choice while laughter around the train car turns my frown into a scowl.

"Which one?" Someone calls snidely and I turn to see that it's Molly, of course. "Why don't you just take them both, they're useless enough that they barely count anyways."

"If we wanted your input we would have asked for it, Initiate. Also, before you open your mouth again maybe you should remember that next to those two you barely have any skills with weapons." Eric sneers at her in his soft tone that has the razor edge to it, his locked on her.

She gulps and nods frantically. Eric gives her a brief dismissive look before turning to look back at Four. "She has a point though. Which one are you going with?"

He only hesitates for a second before he shrugs and motions with his head towards my sister. "Tris will do."

Eric smirks at his answer and his either pleased or smug...or both. I don't know but I have a feeling I'll find out sooner than later. "Got something to prove or are you just picking the weak ones so you'll have something to blame when you lose?"

Oh for the love of….

Eric's words to me that morning he apologized to me bounce around my head and I remember when he said he can't help himself sometimes...apparently he wasn't lying.

Four only shrugs but I see his lips twitch a little, pleased he got a rise from Eric. "Something like that." He returns and I feel Tris tense slightly beside me at the implications. "Your turn, Eric."

Eric is still smirking as he announces his next choice. "Kat,"

Four loses his cool for just a second but it's enough for anyone who knows him to see it when he bristles and his lips thin angrily. Then it's gone and he lifts an eyebrow at Eric in a taunting manner. "Did you give yourself an idea and decide to have a scapegoat when you lose again this year?"

Eric doesn't rise to that and just motions his hand towards Four, in 'your turn' gesture.

It doesn't get any better from there. It's like watching a chess match between a couple of toddlers, wondering when one of them is going to flip the hell out and the table at the same time.

They exchange glares and taunts all while making their picks. Some choices I can tell have a pattern to what their game plan might be while others seem to be just to spite each other. Which is just highlighting that chess analogy in my mind, only I get the feeling that pawns in the game (us lowly initiates) are going to be the ones that bare the brunt of any failures that happen in their little power struggle.

When all is said and done the teams are set, for better or worse. Eric picked Chase to go with his team while Four got stuck with Lauren, something he didn't look too happy about. Maybe that's why Zach also went along with Four's team instead of sticking with them?

On my team, from the transfers are Edward, Peter, Molly, Al, Allison, Myra. Out of my friends, Mar is the only one that ended up on the team but there are a few other Dauntless-born that I've come to know through them.

The pattern that Eric went by was fairly clear but I know that he deviated from it by picking me and Mar. Also when Myra was left as the last choice.

Eric was going through strength and power in builds while Four went for more agile builds, probably looking for speed of movement.

"Your team can get off second." Eric nods towards Four.

"Don't do me any favors." Four replies with a knowing smile. "You know I don't need them to win."

Oh jeez. Please don't fall for that Eric!

I'm praying Eric sees the obvious attempt Four is making to bait him. One look at Eric tells me that he does, but I have a feeling he's not going to be able to help himself in playing into it.

"No, I know that you'll lose no matter when you get off," Eric says and takes his bottom lip into his teeth for a moment. "Take your scrawny team and get off first then." He grumbles and I silently groan looking to Chase and Zach who just roll their eyes.

Four's team all jump off in small groups. I watch Tris as she goes and I hate being separated this way in a high tension situation like this it makes me even more anxious. Most of all, I don't like the thought of her on the opposite side of me at all.

We jump after what seems like hours later, staying on the train and taking it to what feels like the other side of the city.

I find out from Chase as he tells me more about the game itself and objectives that there is a specific section of the city proper of Seattle that's used for things like war games, capture the flag and some of the survival exercises Dauntless runs once a year. The boundaries for capture cover a smaller area than what is allowed for members but it still leaves it large enough for this to be a challenge.

The Dauntless members here tonight are allowed to participate a bit but they are here more for protection from any factionless interference and extra eyes to make sure all the initiates stay together. It's really going to be us, the initiates, that are running the show with some guidance from our instructors.

When I asked how often the factionless mess with initiates, I was told it's often enough that they added guards to the group and they make sure that control has eyes on the areas. That left me feeling a bit more anxious that my sister is out there without me.

"You know Four is going to have his team go all out after us, right?" I tell Chase as we are walking after jumping from the train.

He nods in agreement. "He usually does. Eric knows this too, he just lets Four get to him."

I nodded absently while trying to push aside my anxiety and give myself something else to concentrate on. I decide to try and figure out what kind of strategy Four would most likely use but then realize that what I really need to do is think about who he has on his team since they will be the ones that will be making the calls. At least that's what I gathered from what Chase has told me. We are the ones that will have to come up with the strategy we use while Four and Eric as supposed to be advisory at most.

So who could I see stepping up to be a leader with the other team?

The most obvious would be Uri and Lynn, with Lynn being the more likely of the two since she is the most assertive. I don't see any of the transfers with that group trying to take the leader role. I can see Will speaking out and providing strategy.

He's mentioned that while he didn't read all the same kind of books about fighting that Edward did, he had his own preference for war strategy and philosophy. If I recognized the type of team build they have I'm sure he will too. Which means he's going to put forth plan ideas that will play to their strengths.

Speed and stealth.

But those two things won't do them a bit of good if they don't have good information about what they will be headed into. Which means they will need to scout in some way or be able to get information without having to send out scouts.

I think about the rules of the game and the area we've been given to try and determine how they might do that.

First, we are going to be hiding the flag but it has to be put out in an open area and cannot be covered up. There is no height minimum or maximum that it needs to be set at.

Second, the terrain we have been 'dropped' in is at the heart of the city. While the teams can and have moved away from the 'drop points' we still have to stay inside certain boundaries. There is a good mix of multiple story buildings, ruins of collapsed ones and open spaces with various smaller structures around.

If I were them, I would have someone get as high up as they could without giving their position away and serve as a recon and lookout. I wouldn't have the flag with the lookout though. That would be too obvious and take away the ability to do their job.

I'm deep into my thoughts, having done a damn good job of pushing aside the anxiety so that the excitement and anticipation I was feeling at the start is coursing through my blood again as I brainstorm and analyze.

In fact, I'm so out of it that I don't even realize that Eric must have told us we reached the spot he had in mind until someone grabs my arm and literally jerks me back into the present while calling..."Earth to Kat."

I blink and look at Mar frowning at me, then look around and see everyone gathered in a circle around Eric.

"Come on," She says and pulls me with her to join the others, which I do all while blushing.

"Glad you decided to join the group." Eric glances at me and says in a bored manner before looking away and at the group as a whole again.

"As I was saying, it's up to you as a group to come up with a strategy. We cannot help you come up with it but I caution you to take this seriously because we do. What you come up with, if you contribute, how well you do and more importantly if we win will all count to your points and ranking. You've been warned."

His warning and the tone he used to emphasize certain words let us all know that he will be very upset if we (insert he here) lost tonight.

The group breaks off, people going to the ones they're friends with as they all start having whispered conversations that start to get louder as neighboring groups are listening in and inserting their own thoughts. This starts to turn into arguing between all the groups as ideas are tossed around or dismissed.

Mar still has my arm and we're watching this take place, wondering what the heck anyone thinks this is going to accomplish. Edward catches my look of disgust and moves to join me, bring Myra along with him.

At first, we don't really say anything. He and I just share looks, or chuckles, as some really idiotic ideas come out. But when it turns into outright shouting between two groups that seem to be the loudest I roll my eyes and throw my hands up in frustration.

"You got something to share over there?" Eric growls loudly, silencing everyone as he then moves over to where my group is laughing a little after I said that at this rate Four's likely to win the game before we even realize it started.

Edward, of course, loses his amusement and goes to attention as soon as Eric sidles into view, shaking his head in the negative.

I straighten up as well, and while I'm not cowed like he is, I am also hesitant to present my ideas. I don't know what's stopping me other than not being used to anyone taking me seriously and fearing that what I say is going to be shut down automatically. I don't care so much about others doing this but I do care if Eric and Chase do.

I shake that fear off and decide to anyway. The worst that can happen is it results in the same pointless arguing from before.

"Actually, yeah there is," I announce finally after Eric decided that my silence was all he was going to get and started to turn away with a slight frown that I think might be him being disappointed.

"Really now? Well, I'm all ears." He turns and faces me pretty quickly, a smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes. I look behind him to see Chase giving me an encouraging smile and nod.

I clear my throat and lift my chin before continuing.

"Four selected his team based on their builds. And I know for a fact that a good few of them are very fast runners. Making his team perfect for stealth. That got me thinking if I had a team that was fast and stealthy what kind of approach would I take to win? What would be my first step? Being fast and stealthy won't mean crap if I don't know what I'm running into. The only way to get good information on an enemies position in our terrain would be to either send a scout team or…"

"To get a high enough line of sight." Edward bursts out with energy and nodding. "A scout team with their numbers wouldn't be as advised but with the height of some of these buildings that gives them much better odds. Which isn't a bad idea for us too."

I nod, smirking at him and can practically feel the excitement on my skin right now, crackling along. "Exactly!" I shout and blush at the force of it but rush on. "It would be good for us to get high to see if we can find them and their flag, but it's just as important to have someone act as a lookout for us by keeping them up high. Most importantly we need to make sure this person isn't the one with the flag. Since we don't have to keep the flag at any specific height we can put it somewhere that's easily defended and with limited ways of approach."

"You're talking about a choke point right? Put the flag someplace that gives us the line of sight advantage with only a few ways in or out." Tank, a Dauntless-born speaks up, rubbing his chin in thought and surprising those around him by even speaking.

He's one of the first Dauntless-born my friends introduced me too. Really, really laid back and to the point that he hardly ever speaks at all. So him speaking up like that was surprising I'm sure but it also did the job that now all the Dauntless-born are looking between me, Edward and Tank with interest.

"That would be perfect." I smile wickedly when I see this and that it's reflected back in several faces around me. "But what would be even better is if we had defenders both on the ground and up high. Two really good shooters with an excellent line of sight with a chokepoint set-up could almost double our firepower just by good placement alone."

"Hell yeah," Tank agrees with a grunt while grinning.

I watch as the wicked grins start to spread like fire around the group. The arguing and jostling for being leader stops as we all start to put in more ideas and plan as a team.