𝙸𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 | Divergent

Chapter 12

Eric's POV

"How are your intiates?" Max asked as he tapped awkwardly on his keyboard.

Pausing, I moved my attention away from slowly twisting the ring on my finger. "Lucia, Owen and Poppy from the transfers are factionless. So are Rowan, Zoe, Grayson, Bion and Eli."

"More Dauntless-borns? I thought this new method of initiation would favour them?"

"They are better at the first stage of initiation, but they're all evenly skilled, it's harder for them to win a fight or be the best at throwing knives."

"But we need soldiers." The older leader stressed, massaging his temples.

It was all he would tell me, we need soldiers, we need the best, we need ones that will follow orders, but there was no reasoning behind it, or at least not one he was sharing with me.

"And we will have them." I reassured, leaning forward in my seat. "We'll have the twelve best soldiers."

"We'd better." He turned back to his computer "have you found any divergents yet?"

"If there were any we won't be able to tell yet." My attention flicked back down to my ring, the reassuring feeling of cool metal under my fingertips "not until stage two."

Max hummed "and when are you planning on starting this stage?"

I froze "a high ranking initiate is still in the infirmary."

"Yes and the doctors aren't sure of her mental state when she wakes up." Max retorted "you should've cut her after the challenge."

"She would've died." I argued, if Sasha had been cut then Dauntless wouldn't waste their resources on her, she would be left to fend for herself as factionless no matter her state. "I made a promise."

"People die, Eric. People will continue to die in the future." He shot me a look "how many people have you killed exactly?"

My face hardened as I refused to answer.

"So I thought." Rolling his eyes, the older man shook his head "you have two weeks, if she's not able to continue you cut her."

Sasha's POV

The first thing I felt when I returned to my own body was pain, muffled by something, but still noticeable. The light was bright behind my eyelids and I took a moment to readjust to the ache in my head.

Groaning, I slowly opened my eyes, one hand was rested on my stomach in a black leather brace, I carefully lifted my hand and my fingertips brushed over the coarse bandage wrapped around my head.

I stifled a sob as a stream of mismatch memories flooded my thoughts. Something beeped incessantly beside me, I wrapped my hands around the wires and started to yank, the noise got louder, not quieter as I had hoped. My nails scraped at tapes covering my cheeks, gagging as I pulled the tube from my nose.

A symphony of noise filled the room, along with a stream of doctors, as I begun to pull the wires from my chest, making the machines them create even higher pitched noises.

One of the doctors reached forward, I felt their fingers press into my skin and try and push me back to reconnect the lines I had pulled off it my determination to get out of bed.

"Let go!" I yelled, aware I sounded like a child but not caring, my head was beginning to pound from all of the noise and the movement. "I want my brother."

"If you don't calm down I will-"

"Leave her alone." Another voice ordered from the doorway, deep and smooth and terrifying, everyone turned to find a blonde man glaring back, his jaw clenched. "Can't you see you're scaring her."