You die, I die too

Chapter 42

"Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open."

-        Pauline Kael

Candice POV

The initiatives were doing well during their physical training. They were all improving, some more than others. I had been in charge with teaching them gun shooting, the techniques and what to think about when dealing with a gun. They had practiced on both still and moving targets, and surprisingly out of all the initiatives, Lynn was the best at it. We had no more altercations after the last one, and she had since given me an apology for her behavior. I still had my eyes on her, but I couldn't deny thinking she was one of the best initiatives this year. Both her and Uriah were doing extremely well, so was their friend Marlene.

During their combat practice, Lauren had them first paired up two and two to do sparring. We wanted them to work on their techniques before we had them fight each other. They already had an advantage when it came to physical training, but they had never been trained by professionals. We had the score board on display at all times for motivation purposes and it seemed to work, because they were working their asses off to get in the leading position. Unfortunately, not everyone would make it and the end of stage one was not far away, it was their last shot at proving themselves. I had gotten updates from the transfers progress, and they were doing pretty good as well. Three boys were in the lead, Peter was in second place right behind a kid named Edward. Eric had told me about them, their strengths, and weaknesses. Tris wasn't doing so well however, and was ranked number six. Which meant she had a risk at getting cut at the end of the stage, unless she didn't step up her game and proved herself worthy of a chance.

I'd kept a close eye on Four and Tris after their little interaction on choosing day, and I'd noticed that Four was fairly interested in her progress. Even giving her extra tips and helping her during training. I had yet to discuss that with him, but I planned on doing so when I had more proof that he liked her.

   ***

At lunch, the table was in full conversation as usual. They were arguing over who they though was going to make it or not, even placing bets. Zeke's idea of course, and as a devoted big brother, he was rooting for his brother.

"Who are you rooting for, Candice?" Zeke asked grinningly.

"They are all really good, but I like the underdog. I think that Tris will surprise us all, she just need some confidence."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Kev laughed, and most of the others seemed to have agreed with him. I saw Four being quiet, and stealing glances at the initiatives table, obviously looking for her. I stayed quiet, listening to the others talk. Zeke was the loudest as usual, telling everyone about his experience during initiation.