"The future lies before you just like a field covered with fresh snow but be careful how you tread it, every step you take will show where you have been."
It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since I buried myself underneath the covers of my bed. My body was still aching all over with increased strength. Four had not relented at all, training, and pushing us further every single day. And now we were fast approaching the two-week mark. For each day that passed, I could feel my body becoming stronger. It was getting easier to handle the rigorous training Four kept throwing at us.
The lights had just been switched on, and the familiar sound of a metal rod being banged against the metal railing woke us all up. I jolted awake, blinking at the bottom of Roxy's bed a few times before throwing my arm over my eyes to shield them from the light. I was groaning my own curse at Four, believing it had been him who had come to wake us already. Because it was always him. Who else would wake us up like this?
"Get up!" The familiar voice of Eric boomed, sounding a little too close for comfort. I groaned a low curse again, not particularly in the mood to get up now. "Get up, initiate." Eric yelled, sounding distressingly close to me. However, the tone in his voice made me jolt upright, in my groggy state I had not been prepared for the real closeness of Eric. He was mere inches from me, leaned just a little in over me.
A scream left my lips before I could understand what was going on and I scurried back, slamming myself against the concrete wall, but also hammering the back of my head against it with a force that momentarily blackened my eyes. I curled up, pulling my knees up while holding both my hands on the sore spot on the back of my head.
"I want everyone in the pit, you have five minutes. Dress warmly!" Eric commanded, though while trying to bite down a laugh before he retracted from my bed. I watched him from the corner of my eye and cursed his very existence. Not out loud. He would not have liked the curses I sent his way. It had been small things like this, always keeping me on my toes and annoying the hell out of me. He really hated me for what I had done. And he could easily make my life a living hell—why the hell did he have to have been a leader.
Then Roxy decided to peak out over the edge of her bed, hanging upside down to look at me. "You okay?" She asked as her red hair fell from her shoulders, hanging down towards the ground in curly waves. I mustered a small smile and nodded while still trying to ignore the throbbing pain in the back of my skull.
Roxy didn't believe me, it was painted across her face when she retracted to her bed. I heard her rummage before jumping down onto the ground in front of me. She landed in a controlled crouch while still smiling at me. It was then I decided it was best to get dressed as well.
Ignoring the thundering headache already forming, I freely stepped out onto the floor after having swung the covers aside. Normally I only slept in a t-shirt and my underwear. With a frightening ease, I pulled my trousers over my exposed rump before reaching for a warmer shirt and my jacket.
I had barely clicked my shoes on when the others turned to me already dressed. Soon the four of us began running towards the pit. None dared get there too late, not with the foul mood Eric had portrayed in the accommodation. It wasn't the first time he had woken us up, he had done it once or twice before to take us out on a run in the early morning hours when Four had to work in intelligence, whatever that was.
Eric was a fast runner, his pace quicker than Four's. Many of the transfer initiates had struggled to keep up with him, but I had been happy. Four's pace was a little too slow for my comfort and I actually used more energy trying to maintain that pace than I did maintaining my own.
When we arrived in the pit, the dauntless born initiates were already there, waiting for us to arrive as well. Eric was leaned against one of the big boulders again, carrying another expression than his usual scowl. There was a satisfied smirk painted across his face which only got bigger when he saw me. His eyes followed me as I went to stand behind Roxy. "Ugh—I want to wipe that smirk off his lips." I groaned only loud enough for Roxy to hear and pressed a hand to the still sore spot on the back of my head. Roxy laughed at my words and tilted her head back to me.
I kept my hand against the sore spots the thundering headache had somewhat subsided and turned into an ordinary headache that only bothered me. For some reason Eric kept smirking, but ignored my glares because Fout and Lauren had entreated the pit. She was the one training the Dauntless initiates in their first stage of training.
The silence that erupted then was loud. The only thing I could concentrate on was the dull throbbing at the back of my head. The headache would surely take out the fun of whatever this was. I truly dreaded the effects and knew it would annoy me for the remainder of the night.
"Now that we're all here." Four clapped his hands together and stepped forth to address us all. The dauntless born silenced immediately, giving him their undivided attention whereas the transfers needed another second. A bit surprising, seeing as it was the dauntless born that was the loudest normally.
In that moment, I noticed Eric also pushed away from the boulder he'd been leaned against and stood up. He approached Four and the woman named Lauren from behind. He had when straightening up, picked up two bags from the floor. Once next to Four he threw them onto the ground. My attention shifted to them, trying to guess what their content was.
"We are going on an expedition tonight. This time it will be a simulation of trying to protect something. So, it's time for a round of capture the flag." Four smirked even wider when looking at the dauntless born. They seemed to know already what we were about to do before he had opened his mouth.
The Dauntless born cheered extremely loud, disturbing the peace within the pit before they were on their feet, scrambling towards the bags within seconds. They must definitely know this game. "Pick a gun!" Four instructed after he had grabbed one himself. The transfer initiates were a bit slower than the dauntless born, but I managed to grab a gun and a few rounds of ammunition before I retracted from the instructors again. The dauntless born, inspected some of the weapons before choosing the right one, the sight amuses me because the thought hadn't even occurred to me.
I placed the ammunition in my pocket and swung the strap holsters to the gun over my shoulder, so it hung at my side. "The train will be here in five minutes. Let's go." Four gestured for us to follow him once everyone had settled down again. The three instructor's remain in front of the group as they guide us out of dauntless, leading us toward the train track right outside the compound.
We had barely stopped to wait when the train emerged in the distance. My eyes widened when I recalled what we did the first day after we had chosen to become dauntless. Hopefully this time, I would get on the train a lot more gracefully. Four was the first to dash forwards into a sprint, Eric followed quickly after and pushed ahead of Four within two steps. It was like a little challenge between them. And this time Eric won.
Practically simultaneously, they grab onto the side of the train on two different train carts and throw themselves at the side of the train, finding some sort of ground under one of their feet. They had it placed on a small piece of metal sticking out from the side of the train while they hoist themselves up to press a palm against the button that open the door. It's all done in a rather gracefully. I watch them with a bit of admiration as Lauren quickly swings herself up behind Four who had already entered.
Eric remains where he stands for a while longer, clearly enjoying the wind in his hair. I noticed the momentarily closed eyes as his hair whip around his face. He's truly enjoying this. Then he hauls himself inside, not expecting anyone to follow him. I took the underlying challenge and opportunity to show him.
I quickly push forwards, lengthening my legs and ignoring the aching pain in my thighs along the burning sensation in my lungs until I reached the door Eric had gone through. I reach my hand up for the opening, fingers curling around it and holding fast while I yank myself up, finding a little ground under my feet before pulling myself completely inside. I managed to stumble forward, narrowly missing Eric who clearly hadn't expected anyone to follow him. "Not bad, stiff." He scoffed.
Stiff?
The degrading nickname for someone belonging to abnegation. I raised an eyebrow, about to correct him, telling him that I had been erudite but remembered I couldn't have cared less. His insults had no effect on me, or none that I would allow him to see. My lips became a thin line and I turn to Roxy and the others instead. They had just gotten inside the train as well.
Leaning against the back of the train wagon, I feel the low rumble and sway of the train the entire time as it continue into the night bringing us further into the city. When I crossed my arms over my chest, I enabled myself to see the time the watch around my wrist portrayed, 11:45 p.m. that was why it had felt like I had only just turned in for the night. I must've gotten like three hours of sleep, maximum.
I blew out a breath before covering the escaping yawn with the back of my hand, trying not to look too tired when Four stepped up again. "Capture the flag." Four indulged. Once again a few of the dauntless born initiates cheer. They've definitely been looking forwards to this game. "Rules are simple. There will be absolutely no aiming for the head or crotch area." Four instructs while he made certain to gain eye contact with a few of the dauntless born initiates. The trouble makers obviously.
"Weapon of choice." Eric cuts in, holding one off the guns up for everyone to see. He had snatched it from one of the bags he had brought along to the pit, seconds before everyone else had grabbed one. "These contain a neuro-stim dart, they stimulate the pain of a real gunshot wound, though they only last a few minutes." Eric smirked. Once again carrying the evil satisfaction as he carelessly point it around like Isaac had done with the real gun.
"It doesn't even hurt. My sister said so." A dauntless born laugh from my right. It was loud enough for Eric to hear and he shifted his gaze to the dauntless born with a loud scoff. "My sister told me that it was only the stim-darts they used." Everyone looks at him, but Eric doesn't anymore. His hands now folded in front of him, his posture somehow more tense than before, but the tip of the gun is pointed right at the dauntless's thigh.
I notice Eric's jaw clench, a muscle feathering with anger. A warning sign others picked up on as well. Then he grasps the weapon tighter. The weapon shake, the notion barely visible before Eric aims a little higher. Then an evil grin emerges, tugging on the edges of his lips and Eric squeeze his finger around the trigger, actually firing the gun.
The nero-stim dart that emerges and flies towards the thigh of the initiate, was not as big as I had expected. However when it hits, the initiate yelp loudly and jerk back, throwing his back against the side of the train before sliding down to the ground. One of his hands had even tightly grasped his thigh. The small neuro stim dart was sticking out between his fingers as he cried out in pain. The painful yelp he had released made chills go down my spine. I was not looking forwards get hit by one of those.
"Fuck you, Eric. That was unfair." I heard the low curse from the dauntless born. Eric went rigid, eyes giving his anger away. No one dared talk like that to him, not often anyway. It's as if the air drops five degrees when Eric's eyes slowly turn to the dauntless born. They look down on the initiate still on the ground in challenge.
"Big words coming from you, Solomon. I suggest you chose your next words very carefully." Eric speaks extremely slow so not to let his anger shine though too much. His hands still tightly clasped around each other, holding the gun securely pointed at the ground as he looked down onto the initiate. "Unfair—well. Get used to it." He spat coldly.
I swallowed nervously. Silence had taken the cart. Everyone felt Eric's anger and wanted nothing to do with him. Then Eric's grin returned and his anger seemed to evaporate. "It'll hurt. Trust me." Eric looked more serious this time. It broke the silence in the cart and most exhale in relief. Even I released a breath I hadn't known I had been holding in.
"Now Solomon, I trust that there'll be no more from you. Be smart and keep your mouth shut from now on." Eric's voice was dangerously sweet when he clicked another stim dart into the barrel. He lowered himself to a crouch in front of Solomon when the initiate quickly nodded. Eric then proceeded to pull the stim dart out of his thigh, earning another small yelp from the dauntless.
No one laughs though a few smile wider at Solomon's small yelp. "Okay, Four and I are team captains. Four you pick first." Eric continued while uncurling to his feet again. I see he keeps the small dart in his hand and begins rolling it between his fingers, playing with it as Four contemplates on who to pick first.
"Isaac—" Four's voice interrupted the silence. The picking process happened fast after that. Four choosing one, then Eric and so on until there were no more left. Four's team: Isaac, Luke, Aiden, Roxy and Grace from the transfer initiates, which leaves me, Elijah, Emil and Sophia, to Eric's team. I had been rather surprised when he picked me. However he had also picked two people I would have been more content to be without. From the dauntless born Four picked, Samuel, Peter, Myra, Solomon and Alice. And Eric picked David, Hunter, Ly, Lilly, Tadeo, and Levi.
It was the first time I had heard all the names and gotten a face to accompany them. The score board hadn't provided any information on what name belonged to who, except from those I knew from the transfer initiates. This was also the first time we truly spent time with the dauntless born initiates. We were kept separated at all other times.
The two teams divided to each side in the train and Lauren stood in the middle with a satisfied smirk. Apparently, she was just here to help us along, she was not going to participate in the fun. The teams seemed fair. We were an equal number on each team. "May the best team win." Four held out a hand to Eric. The leader scoffed and looked at it though lowered lashes. For a moment I feared he wouldn't take it. But he did, eventually.
When Eric smirked and finally grabbed Four's arm, his fingers tightened uncomfortably around the upper part of Four's forearm. He winched but did the same to Eric, resting their forearms against each other. "Get ready! We'll jump off here." Eric commanded after he had released Four. I turned to Roxy in the same instant and mouthed, good luck. She did the same to me.
I winked and turned to the still open doors on the train. Eric was the first to jump off. Everyone else followed after him, just less gracefully. The train had slowed down but not much. I launched myself out the open doors after Eric, landing somewhat securely on my feet, only stumbling a little. I felt a little proud, but it vanished when seeing Eric already in a jog, heading away from the train tracks to the cover of some nearby buildings.
We ran for a few seconds before Eric came to a halt and spun around to face us all. "The other team will jump off in about three minutes and then be here in about five minutes, so I'll suggest you'll use this time wisely to come up with a plan to defend the flag." Eric instructed before he pulled out a colorful flag out from beneath his jacket. It shone a bright orange color, disrupting the darkness around us and making me squint my eyes. One of the dauntless born instantly reached for the flag and Eric passed it to her as everyone moved in tighter to stand in a circle.
It was all it took for the dauntless born to begin arguing amongst each other. From the way they were discussing how to defend the flag, I could hear this was a yearly event. Most of them had siblings that had played the game before. There were a lot of good ideas and things that made sense but no one really listened to the others. I kept quiet and remained where I stood, trying to listen to their ideas while also scouting the area. Many of their ideas were actually quite useful, could we manage work together.
My concentration shifted when I noted where Eric had led us, this was the building—or one of the buildings—I used to climb every time I snuck out for a run. A wide smile emerged on my lips as I tilted my head back to look up at the tall building behind Eric. This was the exact one I had climbed the day I met him for the first time.
The memory of running into Eric was not entirely unpleasant and I shifted my gaze to him. When our eyes locked I came to understand he had been looking at me. I raised an eyebrow, both in challenge and in confusion. He snorted and turned to the still arguing dauntless born in front of him, he was clearly growing increasingly frustrated with them as well and especially their constant bickering.
This building would work perfectly, it had a lot of great hiding spots from where you could remain almost completely unseen, even hide a flag well enough for it to be a challenge to locate. The knowledge burned in me and almost burst out of me, but Eric was quicker to speak up. "Shut up the lot of you!" He spat, his frustration finally boiling over and getting the best of him.
Everyone felt silent and twisted to look at him. "Four's team will already have jumped of the train by now. They will not hesitate to attack. I will not lose to him this year as well!" Eric sneered the last part. A few of the Dauntless born initiates nodded before they looked at each other again. The silence granted me the opportunity I had needed to finally speak up.
"We need to use the surroundings. Many have the same general idea, and they're not bad but what about we implement them together? We can use that building—." I pointed to the building behind them. Everyone turned to me when I spoke instead of to where I pointed. "I've climbed that building countless times. Just up there—" I pointed to a big erosion. "You can easily hide a person and perhaps a flag even as one of you suggested earlier." Everyone turned to look at the building this time when I pointed. I wanted to let them know I had been listening to them.
"They will not be able to find it right away, if we put one, maybe two people, up there to protect it, they can remain hidden long enough to help defend the ground." I informed. I dared turn to Eric for support but he only looked thoughtfully between me and the building. He was taking in my words like the rest of them. Then he nodded and I continued with a small smile.
"We could say three inside protecting the flag, four outside, and two scouts tasked with locating the other team's flag, or something like that. We don't have enough man power to go completely on the offense, might be better to defend the flag instead. Two people will have an easier time locating the other teams flag, maybe even unnoticed." I continued carefully. My hands were gesticulating when I spoke, pointing to the different things and the flag, still in the hands of one of the dauntless born.
"It sounds like a plan." Eric quickly agrees. "The neuro-stim dart will do its job. You all just have to make sure you hit them. Now—Lilly, David, Peter, you will find somewhere inside the building to hide." Eric instructed smoothly with a newfound fire in his eyes. He was quite passionate about this game, leaving me to wonder if he was dauntless born. This was truly dauntless in him finally showing.
"Tadeo, I want you to climb the building, hide the flag and yourself, you're the better shot." Eric instructed and snatched the flag from the dauntless girl who whined a bit, but his scoff silenced her before he reached it to Tadeo. The girl frowned instead and crossed her arms but Eric simply ignored her. Tadeo nodded as the flag was passed to him. He was rather handsome, dark skinned, with light brown, almost golden eyes. His hair jet black, disheveled and reaching below his ears.
Tadeo was also quite tall, very tall in fact. I had to look up when he passed me. He was also thin of build and I could imagine what Eric had been thinking. Tadeo would be very well hidden on a ledge. This was good. "Levi, Ly, Hunter, Emil, Sophia, you will all be protecting the flag on the ground outside the building—And you," Eric instructed before he turned to me with a very mischievous smile. "You'll be a scout—with me."
I rolled my eyes at him, not caring about the consequences. No matter why he had chose me, I understood his logic. I was petite and could properly remain hidden longer than him, but why it had to be with him, I had no idea. This was just great.