"This is an electro bullet" Four holds a pointed object in his fingers "and this" he says as he opens the double doors "is the shooting maze" ahead of us is a rectangular room filled with columns, partially destroyed walls, roofless rooms, stairs, boxes, unstable raised floors and collapsed metal structures. "The maze was built to replicate the destroyed sector of Chicago so that you could train without the need to expose you in the open."

"The bullets are designed to simulate real bullet wounds without leaving permanent damage. They feel like real bullets, but they won't kill you if you get hit with them" Four starts to load the gun when Liam lets out a snort "Is it like a toy then, a game?" Four sighs impatiently but before he can answer him Eric comes up behind him with his gun pointed straight at Liam's chest, no one has time for anything when a gunshot breaks the silence, Liam falls to the ground sobbing and I freeze not knowing what to do.

"Does it feel like a fucking game?" Eric spits, Four just rolls his eyes. It takes me a few seconds to realize the shot was with an electro bullet, there's no blood, Liam's not going to die. "As you can see, the pain is real even if the bullet isn't. Depending on the place of the impact and the distance of the shot" Four looks hatefully at Eric, he just grins dismissively "it will be more or less pain. Today's schedule is tight, someone take Liam to the infirmary, it won't be more than a bruise but we can't leave him on the floor. The rest of you follow me" Another Erudite guy lifts Liam up, the rest of us enter the room and stop at some stairs leading to a raised platform from where you can surely see everything.

"The goal of today's exercise is to practice your shooting on the move without the aid of the target scope. Half of you will go with Eric and the other half will come with me. Once you are armed with your weapons and extra ammunition we will begin the exercise. The task is simple: don't let yourselves be shot" Four indicates with his hand the division of the group, I release a relieved breath when I see that I am not in Eric's team. We have been practicing our shooting for more than two days now, I feel confident because I have improved considerably, I still can't hit the bull's eye but my bullets always end up on the edge of that circle.

We finish gearing up and Four tells us to position ourselves at one end of the maze, soon Eric's team does the same. An alarm sounds telling us to move forward, Four begins to move quickly while trying to make himself small behind a broken column, in a whisper he gives us instructions. Somewhere in the room we hear the footsteps of the other team. Four tells us to spread out but to keep our cover so as not to give away our location to the other team. I decide to take advantage of my size and position myself behind a crumbling wall, the rest of my team looks for cover.

Carl tries to discreetly climb up some metal stairs but one of the loose steps breaks under him, the noise echoes throughout the room and the next thing we hear is screams and gunfire from the other team thanks to Carl giving our location. Screams of pain sound behind me as I run as fast as I can behind some metal structures. I hear footsteps behind me but I don't stop to see if it's someone from my team, my goal is to reach a series of collapsed walls on high ground that create a small square where I can hide without losing advantage to find the opposing team.

Although this gun is not like the one Four taught us to shoot at long distances, I manage to find a gap where I can rest the barrel and aim with the scope. I try to do a quick count of who was in my team when I see that behind a wall there are two people covered. I decide to fire at once, the first bullet hits the left shoulder blade of one of them, the pain makes him drop the gun and drop to the ground. The other person looks in my direction and I duck quickly, but I know my location has been discovered, I can't get out of the frame and go forward where there is nothing to cover me, the only option is to go out the back and look for a way to get to one of the rooms with collapsed walls.

I start to retreat when Four comes running to my side "Tris, this way. Quick!" He tells me to go ahead while he covers that no one ambushes us from behind. From my peripheral view someone is running at our height hiding in some columns that are whole. I run in through the door and head for the box where there was once a window, Four is breathing heavily on my back, I turn to look at him and see he has an e- bullet embedded in his shoulder.

"Four, for God's sake your shoulder" I move my fingers to remove the bullet. He gasps in pain and stops my hand "No" he tells me through gritted teeth "Leave it", we look directly at each other and again I have to concentrate on breathing, I can't help but remember how Liam squirmed in pain, how much tolerance does Four have for pain?, and why is it so high? The sound of gunshots breaks the spell, I raise my gun and start to move towards the window to see, I feel Four too close to me, I poke my head out and nothing is visible. I have to stick more of my body out the window to get a better view, I start to lean in when Four yells.

"Tris, Watch out!" the surprise of a bullet grazing past my head causes me to stumble and I'm about to fall when Four's hand grabs me wrapping around my waist and abs from behind. He presses me against his chest while with his right hand he points his gun and shoots at someone from the opposite team whom I hadn't seen. The impact knocks him to the ground and he rolls as he cries in pain. The crying is now heard far away which means he rolled down the slope, still Four doesn't let go of me. My heart beats too fast, the surprise of his touch made my hand involuntarily move over his, I realize now that our fingers are intertwined.

I think I stopped breathing because the dizziness makes me think Four brings his face close to my hair and inhales. The electricity I feel in my hand is almost unbearable and hundreds of butterflies flutter in my stomach at the feel of his long fingers. I try to concentrate on something other than my own heartbeat and that's when I feel his heart beating as fast as mine. Is he nervous, for me? No, Four gives me the appearance that he is not a person who enjoys physical contact. He's uncomfortable that's what it is. I slowly pull away from him but at the same time as fast as I can.

"Son of a bitch!" yells Eric from somewhere in the room "Four, finish your fucking training. This asshole here shot me in the femur three times in a row" I am now facing Four but our hands are still intertwined. He has his eyes fixed on them, almost looking like he doesn't want to let me go, he sighs and looks me straight in the eyes as he says with heaviness? "Come on, we have to finish the exercise" he starts walking towards the entrance of the maze and I stay behind for a few seconds, taking advantage of the silence, I have to think.

What is it that happens to me every time Four is close to me, what is that sensation that happens in my body when we have come to touch each other; will he feel the same? I can't deny that he is the most handsome man I have ever seen in my entire life, that's obvious to me and to the rest of the girls here. More than once I've seen some of them stop doing anything just to watch him walk by, but he seems oblivious to this almost all the time, but then I remember the day he healed Maria's wounds. I can't help but compare myself to her, her hair is huge and sunrise orange, she has curves and a beautiful face, I on the other hand am too small, flat, my hair is joke-less blonde and I certainly couldn't consider myself beautiful, I know I'm not ugly but I couldn't compete with Maria or any of the other girls drooling over Four.

But with all this I can't understand why Four's heart was beating so fast, I don't think he sees me the way I see him even though it's wrong, even though I shouldn't be doing it. Not only am I here only to do my job, but Four has made it more than clear from the beginning that he doesn't want me here, he doesn't bother to give me so much as a glance, nor does he waste advice on me. He's so quiet and withdrawn, as if he's hiding something. He always has that mask he wears to keep others from approaching him, I've seen him sometimes let his guard down, I don't know if it's because when we're in the same room I can't help but stare at him, or if no one else bothers to actually see past his obvious handsomeness.

I am excited to realize that there are a few minutes left until the first part of the training is over and we can go to lunch. I remember yesterday Zeke invited me to his apartment, he said that occasionally they all like to get together somewhere different for lunch. I need to distract myself from both Four and the idea that in the afternoon we will start hand to hand fighting.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It never ceases to amaze me how different the factions are. All my life I had wanted to know what it would feel like to be able to laugh freely with my friends, without going any further, I always imagined what it would be like to be able to have real friends, not like in Abnegation that no friendship flourishes, it is impossible to do so when it is frowned upon to talk about yourself or meddle too much in the lives of others. In Dauntless everything is so different, it's like a dream to be sitting in this apartment, surrounded by people that even though I haven't known for so long, I can call them friends.

I see the way Zeke and Uriah act and I can't help but think of Caleb. Never even on our best days, we were not nearly as good as the Pedrad brothers are. They are not only brothers, they are best friends; as for me, I don't think I ever really knew him. All my life I thought there was no one more perfect for Abnegation than him, not even my mother who is the most self-interested woman I know is one hundred percent Abnegation, I don't know his story but I lived too long inside her house to know that the affections she showered on us were against the rules. But Caleb...he was always judging us both, always thinking of others, willing to help without even a second's hesitation; still he left, he left and I had to stay. I can't stop the irony from turning my stomach.

"A penny for your thoughts?" I'm woken out of my daydream by Uriah, it's amazing how now that we're in his faction his grin has grown even bigger than I knew him to be. I guess being surrounded by the other members of my faction was stopping him from showing himself to his fullest extent, how different would my life be if I had grown up with someone like Uriah as my brother.

"Dauntless..." I reply matter-of-factly.

"Come, let's talk out here" Uriah guides me to the balcony, I step out and look before me at the sunlight on the tall buildings of Chicago. I wouldn't mind having this view every day.

"Is it everything you thought it would be?"

"I guess so, well everything but the constant feeling of danger" I say nodding my head in the direction of the apartment, specifically where Four is sitting.

"Four?" Uriah laughs.

"Yeah, he's...tough. I guess I'm just not used to it."

"Yeah, he's like that at first and mainly with the initiates. He doesn't let a lot of people in you know? It took Zeke a long time to get him to trust him with personal things, things that of course the rest of us don't know, it's just the way he is, don't let him get to you. Plus the rest of the group absolutely adores you, I don't think I've ever seen Chris so excited in her whole life hahaha. If you're too worried I can talk to him" Uriah puts an arm around my shoulders and pokes my ribs with his other hand right where it makes me chuckle the most.

"No, leave it at that, I guess what really bothers me is that I've been here for almost a week and I don't know what answers I expected to find but so far I haven't seen anything but rough training which I guess is the norm for this faction" I can't help but feel defeated and I guess my tone of voice gives me away because Uriah gets very serious, stands up straight and looks straight at me.

"You start with the one on one fights today right?" I nod "I guess since you're already here and you're doing the training as just another initiate, it's not treason for me to talk about what's going on... you have to be careful, the fights are the ones that give you the most points in the first stage. In other initiations is just that moment when everything starts to go to shit, the mood declines, the initiates start to get tense, it's the real competition, you know what I mean? The worst, and I'm not saying this to scare you, starts with the second stage. Going through all your fears is not an easy game, it consumes you completely, shit, I remember the first week I spent in the simulations I couldn't sleep more than two hours a day, it was too much..."

"Before my initiation I hadn't paid attention, but it's right in those weeks when certain, hmm, strange things start to happen... I don't know if it's because of the pressure of the initiation and the scores combined with the fact that you have to face what you fear the most but that's just where a lot of people give up..."

"They give up, just like that?"

"Something like that. Tris I don't know how to explain it. There have been deaths, ugly ones. Initiates throwing themselves into the chasm, onto train tracks, things like that" Uriah starts to get nervous with memories surely flashing through his mind.

"There's also the fact that some members of Dauntless701 have disappeared overnight" he says almost in a whisper.

"Disappeared?" they don't disappear, they are on the streets with the factionless and dressed in colorful clothes that don't belong to them but no one knows that, only Evelyn, me and whoever put them there...

"They vanish, they don't say goodbye, they don't give explanations."

"But what about their families?"

"They usually don't have any, there have been a few occasions when someone's wife or someone's dad reports them missing, but almost all of them, at least the ones I'm aware of, are loners. You find out because one day they stop going to work, because one day you don't see them anymore, because they don't come back from patrol. Tris, I wasn't lying when I told you that you should investigate this faction thoroughly, something is going on here but I'm not the one to give you details, shit, I don't know anything beyond that, just that people are worried, they try to be their usual dauntless selves, parties, alcohol, noise and adventures but it's not the same as before."

"We should go back inside, your lunch break is almost over and you have to get ready to fight. Try to take it easy and don't freak out if you end up in the infirmary, usually that happens the first day" Uriah squeezes my shoulder and gives me a half smile, he opens the balcony door and leaves me alone admiring the scenery. He's right, we need to find out once and for all what's going on in our town, for everyone's sake...

Tobias POV

I sit in the farthest chair away from Tris that I can find. I'm still nervous about what happened earlier in the maze; I think she's perfectly capable of withstanding anything that comes her way but at the same time I feel this need to protect her, to spare her from any kind of suffering, that need that made me follow her through the maze. I could spend hours watching her think, calculate, plan, shit I could watch her do nothing and I would still be completely fascinated. Holding her in my arms awakened something in me that I didn't know was there, well, that I didn't know could exist while sober. I had never had the urge to touch someone, holy shit, to let myself be consumed by someone's scent. I hope she didn't notice that involuntarily my brain demanded me to get close to her to smell her hair, a mixture of honey, lemon and something else that can only be her.

I try not to look at her too much but as always for the past week, I can't help it. I wanted to kill the idiot who shot Eric and forced us to split up, I could have stayed there forever, I also wanted to congratulate him because, well it's Eric...

I don't want to think about how I'm going to have to watch her fight later on.

I can see her face light up being with my group of friends, everything she sees is so different from what she is used to, the noise, the laughter, the freedom. It's like she blossoms being here, I can't help but be consumed with doubt as to why someone like her, who clearly doesn't belong in Abnegation, decided to stay there. I'm acting mechanically, I allow myself to watch her for a few seconds, then avert my gaze only to return to watching her. I hope no one else notices, no one else can notice. Especially outside this room, I can't let Eric notice me paying attention to her.

The group breaks into small talk, as I wash the dishes I used I chuckle to myself, no matter how much I resent my former faction there are habits I have marked, order and cleanliness are two of them, I swear if I didn't do it myself most of the time I'm here at Zeke's he would live in a dumpster. Tris has been left alone on the couch, she seems lost in thought, my stomach does two flips as I imagine maybe she is thinking about our intertwined hands. I am gathering all my strength to dare to approach her, being all gathered here I don't think I will raise suspicions if I sit down to talk to her.

I decide to move closer when Uriah sits down next to her, I don't hear what he says but Tris responds with a smile so big it leaves me breathless. Uriah leads her to the balcony probably to have more privacy and at this moment I remember that he is in love with her, he came first, will she be in love with him too?, the answer makes my heart drop to my stomach, of course she is, when has any girl ever rejected the Pedrad brothers?, is this what Shauna felt every time she saw Zeke with another girl when we were initiates?

Uriah hugs Tris by the shoulders and she bursts out laughing, never has a laugh broken my heart like this, I didn't even know it was possible, what's wrong with me? I don't even know her that well enough to feel this way. It's not mine, I have no right to be angry like this, but I feel like I'm going insane. I want to run and separate them, I want to scream at Uriah to let me understand this thing I'm starting to feel, this thing that's complicated enough without him coming in and adding this bitter feeling.

"Are you okay man?" I didn't even notice when Zeke came to my side, I turn to look at him with an internal panic attack, could he have realized what I was thinking?

"All good" I reply trying to sound nonchalant.

"Ok, so Tris huh?"

"What?" ok, now I'm completely panicked.

"How's that going, I guess it must not be easy for her to get initiated, shit, I remember it wasn't easy for you but you had a certain advantage" Zeke laughs, I raise an eyebrow pointing out to him that I don't understand what he's referring to.

"You came with years of internalizing a very deep hatred, fuck, you were about to explode and that gave you life, you were invincible haha, but she..." she says looking towards where Tris and Uriah are who no longer embraces her but they talk seriously "it's like she didn't have more than a little spark, and this one caught fire as soon as she entered this complex, she looks full of life. It must not be easy to know that after this she must go back to living in a gray world."

I had not thought about it, I have been so fascinated by her, orbiting around her that I had not stopped to analyze her situation, she is not here to become a dauntless member, she did not choose this faction in her choosing ceremony, she will be here 12 weeks and then she will return to her normal life, a life in which I will not be there to see that spark that I have noticed in her too. Then I remember Eric's words before she arrived 'If we play well, she might not even make it to week four'. No, no way, no matter if after this we never see each other again, no matter if she's in love with someone else, I know my new goal is to do everything I can to keep her safe, alive, happy.

Zeke POV

I know him well enough to know when to approach him and when not to, he's like a caged animal, a little pushing and he explodes. But he acts different now, even I haven't been able to get him to stop scowling even in moments of fun but she...with her it's something else. He doesn't look at her like she's a piece of meat, like some of the dauntless assholes look at her all the time, I don't even think he's noticed all the heads she turns when she walks through the halls, all the looks she raises nor the sighs she elicits. Fuck, he's like Four but as a woman. They're so much alike I could swear she doesn't know the effect she has on the men around here either.

Shit Uri, I was sure he would finally get up the courage to approach her to talk to her, why did you have to go out on the balcony with her?, it's actually kind of funny to watch, I don't think at this point he's aware that the rest of us can see it, luckily everyone is interested in their own conversations and no one notices the way he sees her, it's not a look of desire although it's there too, no, it's a look of love? shit.

Tris bursts out laughing and I know I have to intervene, he is squeezing the kitchen counter so hard I fear it will break under his fingers, his knuckles are white from the effort, if I don't distract him I think it might give him an aneurysm from the rage. I try to distract him but I can't help it, I have to mention her just to see how he reacts and yes... just as I guessed, the bastard thinks no one can read it, that he's indecipherable, but please, I'm his best friend and I know him better than anyone.

Uriah comes back to the apartment, I'm glad, he's my brother and I love him, I'd hate to see Four smash his face.

"Hey, Four. Go easy on her okay?" motherfucker, Four is speechless, run along Uriah, run along before this lovesick asshole murders you.

I never thought this day would come, there's going to be hundreds of broken hearts if this evolves...

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tris POV

Two initiates lift another unconscious one off the mat, my palms are sweating too much and I have to wipe them off every two seconds. I'm too nervous to do this, how do they expect me to be able to fight if I can't even remember a single one of the moves Four taught us over the last few days?

Eric calls my name and without knowing how I get to the ring, I'm standing in front of Jade an Erudite guy. He's too skinny but much taller than me, I think I have to jump if I want to land any punches in his face. Take a deep breath Tris, no one expects you to win this fight, but at least you have to land a couple of punches, my ranking depends on it.

The fight starts, I throw a kick that doesn't hit where I wanted, I throw a punch that doesn't reach its destination. I receive a blow to the side of the head, for the first time in my life I feel a pain that doesn't seem to stop. Another blow, I can't even register where it was.

I fall to one knee, my eyes are full of water but I can't cry, not here in front of everyone, not in front of Four and Eric. I get up and try to throw another punch, no technique no precision I just want it to connect with some part of Jade's body, but it's not enough, a fist collides with full force against my temple, I fall to the ground, I start to see black and before I let the darkness consume me I make myself a promise: I have to train harder, I have a job to do. If Four doesn't want to help me, I'll do it on my own, I'll do it when I wake up.

Everything goes black and then I hear nothing...

Eric POV

FUCK MY LUCK!, the first day of fights is always boring as shit, none of these assholes know how to do anything yet but I had hopes that randomly it would be the turn of one of the more advanced initiates, to fight the stiff. But no, it was this lanky asshole with the face of an idiot. Of course he chose Dauntless, I don't think he had the intelligence to stay in Erudite, I hope he beats the crap out of the brat anyway.

It's not all bad at this point though, if the fight doesn't provide me with enough amusement, I can always watch that idiot Four squirming inside. The fucker thinks no one notices how he keeps staring at the stiff, it's funny, I guess shit attracts shit, two stiffs together, in love, it's pathetic.

Fuck, this asshole's technique sucks but the stiff isn't used to this. Holy shit I think Four is about to jump into the fight and knock this asshole out. Well, I hope he does, any excuse is a good one to tell him off and humiliate him.

Holy fuck, knocked out? She didn't last a minute. Hahaha Four is livid. Well, fall in love with her like the faggot asshole you are, when we're done with her I will have killed two birds with one stone...

A/N

So a lot of Pov today hahaha

Yeah so I was thinking about another story I want to write for this universe, let me know if you would like to read an A/U or you prefer to stay in this isolated Chicago.