Alex came out of a different street this time. Jack wanted to make sure Eric didn't see her coming out of a manhole cover.
As she walked back to the house to retrieve her old shoes and the fake gun, Alex's mind was in turmoil. Jack's words about always being there for her reverberated in her thoughts. Could she say the same?
She sat on the floor, one old shoe in hand, the other beside her, and stared at them without really seeing. Tears welled up in her eyes as the emotional turmoil overwhelmed her. The conflicting loyalties tugged at her heart. She was sitting between two chairs, not wanting to lose either of them – Jack or Dauntless.
Alex wiped away her tears and forced herself to focus. She put on her old shoes and picked up the fake gun. She couldn't let her inner turmoil disrupt her performance in the game. She had to be strong, decisive, and ruthless to succeed in Dauntless.
With a deep breath, she got up, ready to rejoin the game. The objective was clear in her mind: eliminate the opposition, snatch their flags, and secure her victory.
In reality, it was unfortunately a bit harder. She was already dreading her conversation with Eric about where she had been and she couldn't shake the guilt she felt from talking to Jack. She shook her head and tried to focus again.
Her first target was a former Candor boy, preoccupied with fiddling with his gun rather than watching his six. Alex moved stealthily, her breaths measured, but her heart pounding in her chest. With a calculated pounce, she struck, shooting him before he could even register her presence. She leaned down to pick up the flags he had collected when out of nowhere, gunshots echoed, and Alex felt the sharp stings of pain. Jason had seized the opportunity to strike and he didn't stop there.
The pain flared across her body, forcing her to her knees. Another bullet hit her in the shoulder and before she could react, another one in her chest. The pain throbbed through her whole body as she fell to the ground.
Jason approached her, his face twisted in a sinister grin. "You thought you could outsmart me, little Erudite? You thought you could play this game and win?" He kicked her simulation gun away, preventing her from defending herself.
Alex struggled to respond, her voice strained but defiant. "It's not over yet."
But it was. Jason fired again, his voice dripping with menace. "It is now."
With each simulated shot, pain coursed through her body, and her flags were ripped from her grasp. As Jason secured his victory, he looked down at her, his eyes filled with a chilling arrogance.
"This is just a taste. I'll make sure that when I actually destroy you, I will have an audience."
With these words he left her, trembling on the ground.
Alex clenched her fists, her teeth gritted in vexation. This defeat was a harsh reminder that in the unforgiving world of Dauntless, emotions could be a fatal Achilles' heel.
By the time she was able to move again, the war games were already over. As she walked back to the meeting spot, most of the initiates had already taken the train back with Eric. Four and two other initiates, who had also been late were the only ones left. Alex blissfully ignored everyone and since she was apparently visibly in a bad mood everyone ignored her too.
By the time she got back to Eric's apartment, Alex was fuming.
"I'd say that was a successful start, Jenkins." Eric opened the door with a content smile.
"Good to know you're happy."
Alex ripped off the microphone and cables from underneath her shirt and slammed them against his chest.
"I lied to my best friend for this." She gave Eric an angry look before turning around and making her way to her room.
She had enough of the day. The door slammed shut behind her. For a moment, she was just standing there, breathing heavily. Then she leapt onto her bed and started punching her pillow. This wasn't fair. This whole thing wasn't fair. Why did she have to choose between Dauntless and her friend? She felt terrible for all the lies she told Jack, the tricks she played, how manipulative she had been. She hated herself. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she let out a frustrated scream into the pillow. She didn't want to cry right now, she didn't want to feel weak. She just wanted to be angry and yell and punch things.
The door opened.
"Get out!" She threw her pillow at Eric before he got the chance to say something. Unfortunately, he didn't listen. He didn't even have the audacity to get hit by the pillow. Instead, he caught it midair and started walking up to her bed.
"You did the right thing."
"Did I? Cause it certainly doesn't feel that way. I just betrayed my oldest friend for a faction that didn't even trust me to walk to breakfast alone."
"It might not seem that way right now, but one day you'll be grateful."
"Just get out."
He was almost at the door when Alex spoke up again.
"Did you enjoy it?"
Eric turned around and furrowed his brow.
"Did you enjoy listening to how your latest conquest betrayed your arch nemesis on your order? That you now slept with Jack's ex?"
"Is that how you see yourself?"
"It's certainly how you make me feel sometimes."
Alex was too caught up in her emotions to really take in the fact that Eric seemed speechless. He watched her with a slightly open mouth and furrowed brows and by the time he unfroze Alex had already pushed him out of her room and closed the door in front of him.
Eric had woken her up at two in the morning that day. An hour earlier than the other initiates.
"That's your plan, really?"
Alex stared critically at Eric while a Dauntless member attached a microphone and the associated cables to her torso. At least she didn't care by now that a room full of Dauntless members saw her tattoos. Most of them were busy with listening devices and maps anyway.
"You said it yourself. Jack finds you, not the other way around. So, we have to give him the opportunity for you to be found." Eric quickly looked up from his tablet with a stern expression.
"So, you set up war games just so Jack might come and talk to me?" Alex was still unsure how to feel about this plan.
"No, I just rescheduled them. Just make sure you stay on the edge of the district and make yourself visible to him."
"Stay visible. During war games. Lovely advice."
"Just stay on a rooftop. He'll find you."
"And then what?" Alex didn't even try to hide her scepticism.
"Have a normal conversation with him. This is just about making contact again and making sure he doesn't get suspicious."
Alex opened her mouth to give back another snarky remark but instead, she just shook her head. She was too tired to argue with him. At least that's what she told herself. She didn't want to think about the plan and what she would have to do to her friend, didn't want to think about the decision she had made.