Lauren stands in front of her group of initiates, those who were born into Dauntless. "This is where we divide," She says, "The Dauntless born initiates are with me, I assume you," Lauren looks at her group, "Don't need a tour of the place." A few of them laugh before she beckons them to follow.
I lean onto the balls of my feet feeling tired from everything. I know my legs will be sore from all the running and jumping. There are only eleven transfers including myself... A lot of Candor kids came to Dauntless. I guess harsh truths mix well with brutal beatings?
Once Lauren and the Dauntless born aren't visible in the dark hall, Four turns to speak to us. "Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor, my name is Four." He speaks simply, maturely. But I can tell he's not that much older, maybe three or so years older than us?
"Four? Like the number?" Christina asks, a confused smile on her face.
He doesn't look impressed, "Yes, is there a problem?" Four's tone reminds me of my father's when he's being serious. Commanding respect and your attention to their words. My hands tighten around one another.
"No," Christina says.
"Good. We're about to go into the Pit which you'll someday learn to love. It-" He's cut off by Christina again. I give her a look to shut up. We have no idea how he'll react and I've dealt with some pretty explosive men in my lifetime.
She laughs, "The Pit? Clever name." Before anybody has a chance to react, Four is towering over Christina, clearly intimidating her. I have a feeling her Candor nature will get her in loads of trouble.
Four stares at her for a moment, I'm standing close enough to her, that I can almost hear her heart pounding. "What's your name?"
"Christina." She answers quickly.
"Well, Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," There's anger lacing his tone, but I don't sense any actual irritation. Could it just be a scare tactic? Be a dick in order to make us listen? Wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut, got it?"
She's silent but nods. I didn't like that at all, even Tris looks startled by it.
Four starts walking away, "What a jerk." Christina mumbles and I nod.
"Seemed like a scare tactic, if I'm being honest. My dad taught me how to read body language." I say without thinking.
"Doesn't matter, that was rude," Christina argues.
Tris shrugs, "Guess he doesn't like being laughed at."
A pair of double doors open up to a large... pit. I suppress a groan. Why couldn't Dauntless be as smart as they are reckless... who told them this was a good idea? The space is massive, children run along the side of the hole with no help and it fills me with anxiety. I'm going to die here, aren't I?
Above our heads, there's a glass roof that casts an orange-colored light on the white walls. This looks like a quarry from the history books. There are hundreds of people milling around, everyone is dressed in black with pops of red and white here and there. Tattoos cover more skin than their clothes do...
"If you follow me, I'll show you the chasm." The group moves as I lean away from the edge. It's making me nervous being so close to certain death. A faint sound of rushing water hums under all of the voices of the Dauntless.
"Are you alright?" Christina asks.
"Don't like death being right beside me, is all." I take a deep breath as she agrees with a nod. The closer to this chasm we get, the louder the moving water sounds. I focus on my breathing as I sense a change in the floor, we're on a platform now. Pull yourself together, Rita. David told me all about Dauntless, and so did my dad. But holy crap I didn't think it'd be so daunting.
There is a sharp drop off right into the chasm, certainly, this has taken more lives than Dauntless would ever admit...
Four turns toward the group, "The chasm reminds us there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" He has to yell for us to hear him, "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned." I don't like the warning, I understand telling us not to jump... but warning us feels strangely threatening.
"This is incredible," Christina mumbles as I give her an odd look.
Tris nods with a blank face, "Incredible is the word."
I want to disagree but we're moving again, we walk away from the chasm and the pit toward an archway carved into the rock. It opens up to a large room, the only one to be well lit since we got here. What is with Dauntless and temporary blindness? It's a dining hall, it reminds me of the factionless shelters littered across the city. They're shit at helping us, but they kept my family from dying more times than I'd like to admit.
The people inside the hall stand and applaud us, they shout in typical Dauntless fashion. It oddly calms my nerves to know they have a sort of hive mind, not in an unhealthy cult way, but the way a group of friends might think alike... it's comforting.
—
Finding a seat wasn't too hard, I just stuck with Christina and Tris. I sit beside Tris and Four, he's silent as he eats. It seems Tris and I don't recognize most of the foods. Tris reaches for a brown patty, it looks like the sausage they give at the shelters but less gross. "What is that?" I ask curiously, pointing with my fork at the strange meat.
"It's beef, put this on it," I'm surprised to find the voice coming from beside me, Four passes me a sauce with what looks like ketchup, just weirdly thick? I hand it to Tris.
"You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina asks with surprise in her voice, Tris and I shake our heads. I don't really like how the Abnegation eats similarly to the factionless just to look good...
Tris shrugs, "No, is that what this is called?" I want to laugh but I'm in the same boat. I've had meat between bread before, it's called a sandwich. Why would they name it something else?
"Stiffs eat plain food," Four explains.
"Why?" Christina says as I grab a hamburger. So long as it isn't pork I'm happy. With that thought, I realize I've never actually had pork before.
I half-listen to them as they talk about Abnegation. I taste everything in small bites before eating it, I don't want to waste anything. "What are you doing?" Christina is leaning forward to watch as I cut small pieces off of the patty and bread.
My default reaction is to freeze in place, "I'm trying it?"
She gives me a strange look, "It's better if you eat it all at once, Rita."
"I don't want to waste anything that–"
Four cuts me off, "Don't worry about it, everything will get used regardless of it being touched."
What the hell does that mean?
I just shake my head, "I'd rather not be wasteful... there's no reason for it." How do they expect me to give up something I've been taught my whole life? Leftovers last a week if they need to be kept cold, if not, three weeks when stored right. Has bread gone stale? Make soup with expired tomato sauce and try to find some cheese for a topping.
Your milk is sour? Then make some sourdough or cottage cheese. My ma has a recipe for everything, fresh or not.
Suddenly the dining hall became nearly silent, I hadn't noticed the doors were closed behind us. I follow Christina's voice, "Who's that?"
"His name is Eric, he's a Dauntless leader." Four explained.
"Seriously? He's so young." We're both surprised. I can already tell he's going to be a problem. I'm not sure if it's the piercings or the smug look on his face. He's going to piss me off at some point.
Four looks tired of Christina's questions, "Age doesn't matter here," Not until you're too old to move, I think.