"Rise and shine, initiates." The sound of metal clanging is heard around the room before Four's voice echos around the room. "Get dressed and be on the train in fifteen minutes."
I groan and sit up, wiping at my eyes. "What time is it?"
"The clock says it's eight forty-five," Tera says groggily.
Finn gasps and his eyes go wide. "It's after eight."
"Yeah..." I raise a brow, confused as to why he looks so worried. "What's your point?"
"Four always wakes us up before eight."
Realization dawns on Tera and I, a look of horror on both of our faces.
"We missed the fear landscapes." As Tera says this, her faces goes pale and her jaw drops. "What if we're getting punished?"
Oliver chuckles, making the three of us all turn to look at him. "Guys, I think you are getting upset over nothing. We would have heard Four if he came in here earlier."
"You're probably right," Finn says, visibly relaxing.
"Well, let's hurry up and head outside," I say, mid-yawn.
"I wonder what we're doing," Tera says.
I spread my blanket across my bed before opening the trunk at the end of my bed. I pull out a t-shirt, some jeans, and some socks. I notice a thin hoodie at the bottom of my pile of clothes and grab it. With it being early October, it is surely going to be slightly chilly outside. And I would really rather not end up in the infirmary.
I change out of the clothes I slept in and put on my clean ones. I pull up my socks and lace up my boots before slipping into my jacket and zipping it up. I run a brush through my hair before putting it back up in a pony tail. I glance at the clock. We have eight minutes to get outside and onto the train.
"Guys, we need to get going," I say. "We do not need to be late."
Oliver and Finn walk toward the door and we all wait for Tera. She tosses her hair up into a pony tail and rushes to us. I lead the way through the many halls before we finally make our way outside with the others. The sound of the train coming snaps my brain into focus.
I look around the group of people in black clothing, trying to catch my breath. My eyes find a certain pair of blue ones and my breath hitches in my throat. The events of last night flood into my mind. Tera may be right, about how something important came up, but she may also be wrong.
I analyze his face. Remorse takes over his features, making me think that Tera may be right after all. I look away. There is not any point worrying about that right now, especially with all these wandering eyes around us.
"If last night was on purpose, his face would have given him away." Tera's give is only a whisper, but I hear her clearly. "He looks guilty, so you should let him explain when you two get the chance."
"That's what I was thinking," I say. "About the look on his face, I mean."
The sound of the train coming ends our conversation. Four and Eric start running, and a group follows close behind them. I start jogging before latching onto the handle and pulling myself into the train. Tera, Finn, and Oliver are right behind me.
I make my way to the far end of the train car and open the door to enter the next car. A group of initiates surround Eric and Four, and tubs of equipment surround them.
"Now that everyone is here," Eric's voice booms, "Four can explain what we are doing."
"Most of you do not know, but we are finished with the second stage of training." A collection of sighs is heard around the room. "We thought we would have a friendly competition to allow those of you who have a low rank to earn a higher one."
"Those of you on the winning team will move up one spot in the ranks, if you are able to," Eric cuts in. "And if that isn't enough incentive to go hard, the losing team will have to run twenty laps around the training room."
"That includes us," Four says. "Eric and I will be playing, which means that if our team loses, we have to run with them."
"I never agreed to that," Eric says, throwing daggers toward Four.
"It's only fair." A smirk appears on Four's face as he crosses his arms across his chest. "Besides, you won't have to run if your team wins."
"All right," Eric says. "If your team loses, you have to do the laps with them. If my team loses, I will do the laps with them."
Four is calm as he extends his hand for Eric to shake. As they shake on it, I take notice of Eric's face. His eyes are narrow and his jaw is set. Four sure knows how to press his buttons.
"You can pick first." Eric rolls his neck and extends his hands to pop his fingers. He no longer looks angry. He is back to his arrogant self.
Without missing a beat, Four calls out my name. As I move toward Four, I know Eric's eyes are on me the whole time. I keep my eyes straight ahead.
"Raiden." Eric looks smug as the tall Dauntless born moves toward him.
Four and Eric continue calling names until everyone is on a team. Almost everyone who was on this team last time is on this team again.
"Let me remind you of the rules," Eric calls out. "If you get shot, you're out, meaning you can't shoot anyone else and your hands cannot touch the opposing team's flag. Understood?"
Everyone nods or agrees vocally.
"Everyone needs to grab a gun and a pair of goggles," Eric says. "And Four's team will be the first to jump since my team jumped first last time."
"Is my team ready?" Four asks, his eyes wandering over each of us. Some of us nod and others holler. "I like the sound of that. Let's go."
Four moves toward the sliding doors and opens them. He runs and jumps out with my fellow teammates hot on his tail. Tera smiles at me and gives me a look as if to ask, "You ready?"
"You already know," I say with a grin.
We back up before running and jumping off the train. We stick the landing and keep running to catch up with our teammates. They are waiting by the tallest building in this old carnival site, the building Eric and his team previously hid their flag.
All eyes are on us as we jog toward the group.
"So, what's the plan, Chief?" A tall, Dauntless born directs her sentence toward me. She was on our team last time. I think her name was Marnie or something like that.
"I came up with the plan last time," I say, "so shouldn't someone else make it? So they can get the credit for it?"
"Your plan worked last time, so I think you should make it," says a short brunette. I think her name is Gee Gee. Or it could be Genna. I'm not sure.
"I don't care about getting credit," Finn says. "I just don't want to run laps."
Sounds of agreement are heard throughout the group, and some people nod.
"The people have spoken," Four says, stepping into the huddle. "What's the plan, Rori?"
"We should put out flag where they did last time, in plain sight." Everyone's eyes are on me as I address the group. "By doing so, they will probably assume that we are just going to ambush them like they did, which we will, partly." I pause to let the plan sink in before continuing.
"We will need three people at the top of this building aiming toward the door," I say. "Who wants to be the guardians of the flag?"
Three Dauntless born girls raise their hands, one of them being the tall blonde, Marnie.
"Perfect." I nod and my eyes scale the group before landing on the short brunette. "It's Genna, correct?" She nods. "I need you to do something really important." She nods so I continue speaking. "I need to be sneaky and find out where they're hiding their flag. When you find out, come back and let us know."
"I will be back." She leaves the group without another word.
"Next group will be... Jillian, Finn, and Four," I say. "I need the three of you to spread out and try to take out the opposing team. Doing so with help the rest of us get the flag. Is that okay with the three of you?"
"That's fine with me," Four says.
"I'm fine with that," Finn says.
Jillian shrugs.
"Once Genna gets back," I say, "her, Tera, and I are going to follow behind Four and his group. Is everyone okay with this plan?"
"It's a good plan," Four comments.
"I need to flag guardians to put up the flag and take positions." The three of them nod and take off inside the building.
The sound of jogging snaps my attention away from the group and I raise my gun toward the intruder. I lower my gun when I realize that it is only Genna.
"Their flag is on the carousel," she says once she is close enough to the group. "It's on the back of a horse."
"Did you see any of the opposing team?" Four asks.
"Some of them were surrounding the carousel, guarding the flag," she answers. "And some others were hiding behind rides in front of it."
"Did anyone see you?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "Not that I know of."
"All right, you guys," I say, addressing the group, "it's game time."
***
Four, Finn, and Jillian lead the way. I follow closely behind Four, who is at the far left of the carnival site. He has had more experience playing this game, and he is a better shot. That is why I am following behind him.
Four raises a hand, a signal that someone from the opposing team is close by. I stop in my tracks and wait for further instruction. Four raises his gun and fires. A loud groan tells me that Four's shot was not a miss.
Four sprints toward a dumpster and peeks out from behind it. He fires his gun two times before I hear a groan and a shriek. We waits a few more moments before giving me a signal to run toward him. I sprint to the dumpster and crouch behind it.
"I see the carousel," Four whispers. "Genna was right. They have people surrounding it."
"Do you have a good shot from here?"
"I don't think so," he says. "I'm too far away to guarantee some hits. Besides, if they were to know the bullets were coming from here, they would ambush us."
"That's not a bad idea," I say, the gears shifting in my head. "I think I have a plan."
"Let me hear it."
"You need to go find Finn and start firing at the other team," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "Hide, but make it obvious where the shots are coming from. They should ambush you, like you said. Most of them will leave the flag, leaving it available for me or someone else to swoop in and grab it."
"That's actually a really good idea." He raises his brows and nods. "Good luck."
Four takes off in a sprint and disappears from my sight. No shots are fired at him, so I am assuming that nobody from Eric's team saw him.
I duck back behind the dumpster to keep from being seen from those on Eric's team. Our plan would be ruined if they spotted me. The sound of rapid fire captures my attention. I peek my head out to see some people from the opposing team running to where Four disappeared to.
Wow, I was right.
After the group is far enough away from their flag, I analyze the scene. I grin at the sight before me. Only two guards are standing in front of the carousel, Eric being one of them.
Come on, Rori. You can do this.
I wait until Eric and the other guard face the other direction before taking off into a sprint to hide behind an old snow cone cart. The cart is a decent size, so I should be completely hidden from the opposing team. From this angle, I have a clear path to the flag, which is laying across a horse like Genna said. I could sprint to it and grab it, but that would be too loud.
I don't have a better plan, so I take a deep breath to calm myself down. I unlace my boots and set them off to the side. I peek out from behind the cart and grin. Eric is the only person guarding their flag. His eyes focus on something in the distance so I take that as my chance.
I take off in a sprint and run as fast as I can toward their flag. I hop onto the carousel and the sound gets Eric's attention. It all seems to happen in slow motion.
I cross the carousel as Eric fumbles with his gun. As soon as he lifts his gun, my hand latches on to the flag and I jump off the carousel.
I wave the flag in the air and yell, "We captured their flag."
My teammates run toward me, smiles on their faces. They holler and pull into a giant group hug. After a few seconds everyone pulls away.
"Your plan worked," Four says, a grin on his face. "You did it."
"No." I shake my head, a huge grin on my lips. "We did it."
"I'm relieved to not have to run those laps," he says with a chuckle.
"Oh, I am too."
A/N: Hello, initiates! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please vote, comment, and follow me! Anyway, until next time. :)