"First jumper huh? Not bad for an abnegation" Christina pulls me down from the platform where the net is. For a few minutes I forget everything that happened up there, the train, the dead kids, Eric. How can there be such different members in this faction? Uriah, Will and Christina are nice, but Eric, Peter the other ambassador, Max and this guy who pulled me out of the net are the opposite. Who is this guy? Christina stops us closer to the door and I fight with all my might not to turn to look at him again, although I hear him announce the name of the person who jumped second "Jason". Christina helps distract me.
"Listen, I tried to get you assigned to your own department during initiation but it's a bit of a hassle" she tells me apologetically. "Oh, that's okay" I guess I'll have to room with some girl, maybe her. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves, let's see how you do today and then we can figure something out." I see someone walk up to us to greet Christina.
"Hey, so you're our supervisor huh?" A girl with the sides of her head shaved, a tattoo on her neck of a vine and earrings on her face examines me with a raised eyebrow. Her attitude is gruff but not unfriendly, she's a little taller than me but muscular. I notice she has a cut on her lip and her knuckles are scabbed over. My first instinct is to look down but from the moment I got on the train to come to Dauntless something changed inside me, I feel a little braver. Definitely standing up to the guy on the net and not being intimidated by him helped me feel more confident in myself. "Yes, supervisor is the right word I guess. Is there a problem?" I ask her trying not to sound rude.
The girl raises her eyebrows and hands. "Wow wow, no problem girl. Honestly I think it's awesome that you're doing it, it's about time someone told some people here that they're not invincible" she says laughing a little. This makes me relax. "She's cool, don't bother her" Christina tells her laughing as she looks at me as if she has been waiting for me to ball up at the questioning of someone in Dauntless. "I'm not bothering her, I'm serious. I'm Lynn" the girl stretches out her hand and I return the gesture 'My name is Tris, nice to meet you' I reply trying to mimic her determined grip on her hand. "Tris, it's nice to meet you. Anyone who pisses Four off to the point of making him roll his knuckles is a friend of mine."
I don't have time to ask what she means by Four because we are interrupted by the frantic scream of a girl falling through the net with an orange dress fluttering around her. We pass the time watching the rest of the initiates fall towards the net. The room is full of dauntless shouting and clapping with each of the initiates landing in the net. The atmosphere is noisy, very different from any day in Abnegation. I haven't seen too much but I feel very confused already, without realizing it I start clapping too when the others do, the mood is contagious and I can feel a unity that I have never been a part of in my whole life.
When the last initiate is taken out of the net and his name is announced, the whole room falls silent. The guy who pulled us all out stands at the edge of the net "Initiates to the front" his voice is thick, gravelly, deep. I'm not exactly an initiate but his words compel me to approach the group. Next to him stands the girl who was on the stage the whole time with an electronic tablet, marking every time an initiate fell "Welcome to Dauntless initiates, my name is Four and I am one of the instructors" 'He is Four, the guy Lynn was referring to, Oh my god did I piss off an instructor? I swallow as there is a murmur of all the initiates who ask what kind of name Four is, if he hears them, he decides to ignore them "This is Lauren" he points to the girl next to him "Together we will take care of your initiation. The Dauntless born will go with her as I assume they don't need a tour of the complex. The rest of you come with me" He jumps down from the platform and starts walking towards the doors without looking at us. Lauren the other instructor calls her group to leave through other doors I hadn't seen before next to some spiral stairs that lead to the roof from where we fell.
We walk down some corridors that are dimly lit. Four the instructor walks fast so the rest of us have to jog to keep up with him as we try to see the floor we are walking on, soon we come to some stairs and some of them go down the first step without expecting it, causing them to let out a few little yelps of surprise. At the bottom of the stairs we can see an arch of light, Four arrives at the bottom and tells us to move forward quickly. We emerge from the stairs and we are in a place I never thought could exist. The stone walls go up hundreds of meters, there are very few smooth parts, the rest is full of corridors, stairs, ramps and columns. It is illuminated by a glass ceiling. Four walks and stops in front of us on some rocks where there are some dauntless chatting.
"This is the Pit, it's the center of our complex. From here you can go everywhere. The living area, he points to the left; the training rooms, he points to the back; the dining hall, he points to the other side; the infirmary and hospital; stores, restaurants and bars where you can spend your free time if you have any, the rest you will discover in time." Abnegation does not agree with the idea of having free time, any such time must be used for something of benefit to others, never for oneself. Here, however they have the freedom to do what they want without being judged. "For the next 12 weeks you will train to become one of us. The training has different stages, to pass them you will have to demonstrate grit, endurance, perseverance, strength and skills" Four says looking at all of us with a frown 'You will have to work hard, function despite fatigue and pain, be mentally motivated despite the obstacles and push your bodies to the limit.'
"I wouldn't mind him pushing my body to the limit if you ask me" says the girl in the orange dress to an Erudite girl in a whisper but loud enough for Four to hear, I can't help but blush at her comment. Four doesn't seem surprised by this, but he gives her a threatening look that rather than intimidating the girl from Amity, makes her giggle. For a split second our gazes cross and I have to look down at my feet to try to get my cheeks to lose the blush.
"Training starts at 8:00 am, you will work six hours to take a lunch break and return to training for four more hours. After that you will be able to do whatever you want inside the complex, but listen well, we will not accept absences or excuses for missing the training schedule. Now follow me, I'll show you the dormitories" Four heads towards one of the corridors, the rest of the initiates are distracted looking at the stores and other places that are peeking into the Pit, so I stay up ahead. I have to walk faster so as not to lose Four, he walks upright and with confidence. I stare at his back and notice a tattoo of flames peeking out of his neck, I blush to imagine how far the tattoo reaches him, but I get rid of my thought quickly. I have no need to think of him in this way.
I try to recreate the route we've taken through this maze of darkness, I don't know how I'll make it to remember how to get anywhere. Four approaches some metal doors and opens them inviting us in. The room is huge, it has bunk beds at both ends of the walls, at the back we can see circular sinks. "This is the transfer dormitory, in the compartments under the bunks you will find some duffel bags, those are the welcome packs. There are clothes and other items that they will use for your training. The rest of the items can be purchased in the stores using the points you have on the cards you will find in the backpack. You have a limited amount of points at each stage of training, once you become a member you will have to work to accumulate more credits" Four tells us showing us a metal card that he took out of his pocket.
"What are you waiting for, pick a bed and change your clothes" he says annoyed. "Everyone?" asks a boy from Candor, I'm afraid I know the answer to his question before Four answers him "Yes, everyone" no one moves and Four raises his voice "Now!", everyone rushes to choose a bed, I stay in my place unable to move.
"Is there a problem?" Four asks me raising an eyebrow '" Hmm no, it's just that Christina said..." but he interrupts me. "Excuse me, do you want a private room abnegated?" Of course I want something private, I've never slept in the same room as a guy, not even my brother. "Pick a bed Tris" he says even more annoyed ''But..." I try to claim '"If this is too much for you then you should go back home. How do you expect to teach us how we should work here if you can't even share a room with a few guys" suddenly I'm annoyed again, what is it about this beautiful eyed boy that makes me want to scream at him with every fiber of my body?
"Ha" I smirk "No problem, this is nothing" I tell him as I walk towards the bunks, "wait till you see the showers then" he tells me with a teasing tone. "When you guys are done changing I'll wait for you outside" he says as he walks out of the dorm. I find an empty bed at the bottom near the door and plop down on the mattress, come on Beatrice, this is nothing, you can do this. I take out the backpack and start looking through the clothes for something to wear. I choose some sweatpants, a loose top and a sweatshirt. I grab my stuff and head to the bathrooms to change in a more private place but it looks like the others thought the same as me. I sigh when I see that the showers only have a small door that doesn't cover them very well. I wait for a shower or toilet to be free to change, I go back to my bed to put on the sneakers that came in my backpack but after trying them on I see that they are too big for me, maybe if I use double socks I can walk without tripping.
I'm looking for another pair when a girl from Amity comes up to me "Hi, hmm I think maybe we could switch" she has in her hand a pair of sneakers "these are too small for me and I think yours are too big" she says as she hands me her sneakers "Thank you very much, these seem more my size" I pass her my huge sneakers. "I'm Layla and you?" the new sneakers fit me perfectly, I smile as I stand up "Tris, nice to meet you" I extend my hand to her without realizing that in just a few hours I already had more physical contact than in my whole life. "Nice to meet you Tris, thank you these sneakers fit me, he's a little intimidating our instructor isn't he?" I can't answer him because Four can be heard through the door rushing us.
We walk back to the Pit and straight to where he said the training rooms were. We walk into one and I can't help but open my mouth in awe, the whole room is filled with exercise machines, boxes surrounded by ropes with a soft floor, bars of varying heights, cloth sacks hanging from the ceiling and human mannequins fixed to the floor. "This is the fitness room, we will start here for at least two hours a day for you to gain strength and muscle" with this last he looks straight at me, shit, I don't know if my body has room for muscle, I'm too petite. "Part of the training we will focus on combat training, this includes some bladed weapons; then we will move on to weapons training and patrolling."
"Patrolling, what isn't that what faction members do for work, why do we have to do it?" An Erudite guy interrupts and I can tell that with each interruption Four loses more patience, don't any of these people have survival instinct, why do they keep pushing him? "What's your name?" Four asks him between his teeth "Carl" the erudite guy answers him, "Well Carl, it turns out that here in Dauntless we rank your performance, depending on your progress you will be assigned a place in the ranking" this I know, Evelyn told me, according to the ranking they decide who gets into Dauntless and who doesn't "and depending on what place you occupy in the ranking, it will be the job you can choose. Patrolling in the streets and on the fence is not exactly something pleasant, if you are in the last places that will be your destiny" A noise of a door closing interrupts Four again.
"That's if you make it on the chart, those who don't will be cut" explains Eric approaching, on his face is again an evil smirk. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Four tenses up, his jaw clenches slightly. "Cut out?" asks another boy. "You chose us, now it's our turn to choose you. Those who do not meet the standards we ask for in Dauntless will be kicked out of our faction and condemned to live a life with the factionless" Eric stands with his arms crossed, nodding his head towards Four inviting him to continue, now that my attention returns to him, I see that he is even more tense than before this last interruption, his face is still intimidating but the mask does not reach his eyes.
"When the choosing ceremony ended there were 55 of you, so far there are 53 of you, I suggest Carl that you pay attention during the patrol and try hard enough so that's the only time you have to do it. follow me!" Four starts walking towards the door and everyone follows him, as I walk I notice a glance at my back, I turn quickly and catch a glimpse of Eric looking at me with a frown on his face. I need to ask how many people normally go through the whole initiation, but I can't ask Four that question, not when he is one of the ones in charge of assigning places on the chart, when he is the one responsible for the kickouts.
After showing us another training room and explaining about the simulations stage. Four takes us through other dark corridors, slightly different from the rest of the complex because of the noise of running water bouncing off the stone walls. "This is the Chasm" Four explains standing on a bridge that passes over the subway river, at the bottom of the body of stones a waterfall is born, spewing water forcefully. "The chasm reminds us of the fine line between bravery and idiocy. It may look charming but this place is extremely deadly" we continue the tour until we reach the dining room. The place is gigantic and like everything else in this complex, full of noise. Four points us to the tables for initiates and everyone begins to take their place, I look for a spot but it seems they are all already taken. "Tris, over here" Christina's voice shouts to me from the table next to me, there are more people sitting next to Christina and out of the corner of my eye I see Four start to sit at this same table. "Well well well, Tris Prior arrived at Dauntless" a familiar voice speaks to me as I feel arms pulling me into a hug.
Tobias POV
"Well well well, Tris Prior arrived at Dauntless" Uriah calls out as he pulls Tris into a hug. The gesture is innocent, brotherly, friendly but it makes me uncomfortable. I'd rather start serving myself food than keep watching them. The first day always puts me in a bad mood, the initiates still don't understand that they should fear me, respect me, so I have to put up with bullshit that comes out of their mouths constantly. But not from her, no, contrary to what I expected she has been respectful. I have tried not to look at her too much, but the times I have done so she has been paying attention to every word I say and devouring with her eyes everything inside the compound; I know that is the job she came here to do, but I can notice something else in her gaze, she is enjoying it.
I dare to look at them again and Tris is stiff, in abnegation they are not used to physical contact, a trait I must say, I still retain from my old faction. Uriah releases her and they take a seat as Uriah is quickly distracted by the food. "Are you ready for your first real meal Tris?" Will asks as he sits down next to Christina, she cups his face with her hands and begins to kiss him, Tris blushes and looks down quickly. I have to fight with all my might to stifle the smile that wants to escape my mouth. Our gazes cross again and I find it hard to breathe, I'm grateful that Christina intervenes "Will and Uri have told us about the Abnegation food, what's the reason for it to be so... plain?" She asks him.
" Hmm, well, eating is a mandatory act of being human to survive, unfortunately not everyone in this city can do it on a regular basis, feeding ourselves for a purpose beyond nourishing the body, whether it's to satisfy a craving or enjoy what we have the luxury of having, is considered a selfish act" she replies unconvinced.
"Honestly, I'm not so sure you should be eating this Tris, once you try it you won't want to leave us" Uriah tells her as he places in front of her a burger and winks at her, normally he is not so kind. Maybe the others are right and he's really in love with her, I can't blame him, I've never seen a girl as beautiful as her, WHAT?" fuck Four, shut up and keep eating!
"Yeah Uriah, because the only reason I'm doing this is for the food" Tris answers him rolling her eyes.
"So it's true then, huh, you're funny?" Zeke takes a seat across from me, next to Tris and introduces himself. Everyone continues to eat, while some chat with each other. I try to finish my meal as soon as possible, I need to get up from this table to gather the files they sent from The Hub about the new initiates. Any hint of divergence will help me to know who I have to protect the most in these 12 weeks. I have work to do but I also need to get away from Tris, so far she has given me no more reason to distrust her or her intentions, but the way all my friends are all over her like she is a new pet, like she is a distant friend who always belonged to our group has me uneasy. Plus I have to stop by and see Lynn before I go home, if she finds out I wasn't there she's not going to stop fucking with me for weeks.
"How many initiates flirted with you already Four?" Zeke asks me raising his eyebrows wickedly. Damn, every year it's the same thing. Zeke knows how awkward it is that the new girls think they have a chance of winning me just because they find me physically attractive. Tris again has her cheeks burning, I wonder if she isn't dizzy from all the times her blood has circulated to her face today, not that I'm complaining, I find myself constantly straining not to be the one to make her like this. I have no right to have these thoughts.
"Pfff" I snort to make light of it. "I bet 100 credits that the first one to throw herself at you is that redheaded girl over there" he says pointing with his head to Maria the girl coming from Amity and the same one who threw out an idiot comment during the tour. "Ha, that's not a fair bet, it's too easy" Tris says in a whisper. Zeke bursts out laughing and wraps an arm around her shoulders, what is it about the Pedrad brothers that they can't stop touching her? And why does it bother me...
"I'm glad you find it amusing, but I'm warning you this year Zeke, no encouraging initiates to ask me out" I get up from the table with my empty plates in hand "and leave Tris alone, you're making her uncomfortable" I say pointing to Tris' shoulders, she turns to look at me obviously uncomfortable, there is a gleam in her eyes of appreciation and something else I can't name when our gazes meet and even though I know I have to avert it, I allow myself to look into her eyes a little longer, just long enough for the pleasure to last me until tomorrow when I see her again.
Tris POV
Zeke lowers his hand, apologizing to me. I watch as Four walks out of the dining room without once turning to the table. "Tris, are you going to be okay in the dorms? I really tried to do everything to get you something just for you but Eric..." Christina starts to tell me but I interrupt her assuring her that I will be fine. It's early yet and even though many of the initiates are starting to get up to go explore, I really don't know what I'll do with my free time. Layla approaches the table where we are "Tris, I understand we have some free time, would you like to tour the complex, I'd like to learn my way to the dorms properly"
"No way, today Lynn fights you have to come with us to see her" Zeke says and everyone else nods. "Fight?" I ask a little nervously, after Four explained to us what the rings were for in the training room, I think I know what the answer is.
"Come on, we have to hurry if we want to get a good spot, I'll explain on the way" Christina says getting up and taking my hand to lead us to one of the empty training rooms.
The place is packed, there are as usual, shouts chanting bets and people passing each other drinks in glass bottles. Christina explained to Layla and me that one of the jobs you can choose from after you finish initiation is that of a professional fighter. Lynn the girl I met on the net, works part time doing this. We are standing near one of the corners of the ring when two girls arrive, one of them has brown hair although in the front two purple locks surround her face, she is tall and has a very marked outline in her brown eyes, her skin is white and although we can't see any tattoo, she has an earring in her lip that makes her look tough but fascinating, she hugs Zeke and gives him a kiss on the lips, does everyone here show so much public affection all the time? The other girl is a little shorter, has very blonde curly hair, green eyes and has dark circles under her eyes, but she smiles when she sees us and gives me the impression that she is the friendliest girl I have ever seen in my life.
Christina introduces them to us, Shauna is Zeke's girlfriend and Lynn's sister, the other girl is Marlene, Christina whispers to us that she and Uriah used to be together so we shouldn't panic if the atmosphere gets tense when the two of them are there. Suddenly we start to hear clapping as a man enters the ring who seems to be six feet tall, his muscles are so big that I think that at the slightest effort he could explode, his left arm is full of tattoos, as well as his skull. I don't see anywhere the opponent against whom he is going to fight, I guess Lynn's fight will be later.
I keep looking around, fascinated with the dynamics of the members of this faction when I see a small figure enter the ring compared to the muscular giant. My eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I see that it is Lynn, she is turning her back to us, bending down a bit to talk to someone under the ring. People start clapping louder and one dauntless jumps into the center of the ring asking the crowd to be quiet. Lynn then turns and walks to the center at the same time as the muscular guy who I now know is called Toros thanks to the people chanting his name.
My palms start to sweat with nerves, are they crazy here?, Lynn is going to fight someone twice her size and everyone is excited, I look at the others focusing on Shauna who doesn't seem worried about her sister. The only worried faces are mine and Layla's who seems to think the same as me. A bell rings and I watch as the two fighters start circling each other with their hands raised in fists. "Relax Tris, Lynn is pretty good" Christina tells me squeezing my shoulder to reassure me. "But he is gigantic" I tell Christina stifling a scream.
"Lynn can do it, she had to beat a few people to get to this fight" Uriah tells me. Both fighters then start to move faster, Lynn ducks to dodge a punch to the face and takes the opportunity to throw two in Toros' stomach, this makes him lose his balance a little, Lynn then steps sideways to throw two quick kicks, one in Toros' ribs who loses his guard and the other in his right thigh. The momentum spins him around and back only to accommodate a punch to Lynn's jaw. Shauna lets out a small scream and shouts "Come on Lynn!"
Lynn rubs a few seconds the part of his face that received the blow and returns to his guard position. She takes advantage of the fact that Toros is walking around the ring receiving the cheers of his fans. She leaps up holding her right fist high to impact it on Toros' nose, lands two punches to the ribs to finish with an uppercut to Toros' face. The crowd explodes in applause as both fighters walk over to their respective corners to grab some water.
"Wow, she's really good" says Layla as she claps. I can only nod, do they expect all the initiates to be able to fight like that?, so what if the condition for me being able to stay and do my job is that I can fight like Lynn does? Four said early evaluations are determined by hand-to-hand combat.
"She's a natural but she also has the best trainer you can find in Dauntless" Zeke says proudly "They've been training for weeks for this and even though Lynn hasn't stopped complaining about how hard hes been on her, it's clearly paid off' I see Lynn is still crouched down talking to someone under the ring, I'm guessing it's her trainer. When Toros returns to the ring and Lynn jumps in, I see who he was talking to. His serious face of concentration, his arms crossed over his chest and his scowl manages to keep anyone from getting too close to him. When the bell rings again and Lynn manages to connect three consecutive punches in Toros' face I see him smile and nod admiring Lynn, as if he feels my gaze fixed on him, his eyes find me and stay there. If Four managed to train Lynn to be this good, I can't imagine how he will fight. I allow my eyes to roam his body, the position of his arms makes his chest and arm muscles more pronounced, but not like Toros who is more muscle than anything, no, Four has a proportionate figure, his muscles show his strength but don't exaggerate it. Suddenly I find myself imagining what it will feel like to be embraced by his arms full of muscles and veins popping over his tanned skin; I feel my face red and hot, I'm about to turn to look away because Four keeps looking at me, noticing how I examine his body and how my face gives away my thoughts, but when I look at his cheeks I see that he is flushed and nervous, he looks away from me just as the crowd erupts in screams and applause.
Next to me Christina jumps up shouting "Oh my god, she made it!", in the ring Toros is lying on his back with his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling from deep breathing. Holy shit, Lynn really knocked him down. Some people get into the ring to carry Lynn on their shoulders and I can see how Four returns his stare at me, nods his head, turns around and leaves.
In my bed I don't have time to think about how for the first time in my 18 years of life I won't sleep in an Abnegation bed, nor do I allow myself to think about what the task I got myself into will bring me tomorrow, no, before I close my eyes all I can think about is the pair of deep blue eyes that pierce to the bottom of my soul.