*
Tris woke up a few hours later, surrounded by her four friends. Ana sat on the edge of the bed, opposite from Christina as they stared down at the girl. She blinked her eyes a few times, obviously unclear as to why she was in the hospital.
It was nearing the time that the initiates were supposed to leave for their so-called 'field trip.' The sun was beginning to dip in the sky and Ana knew they'd have to start moving soon. She just wished that things were different from Tris.
"How long have I been here?" Tris finally said, trying to sit up.
"Only a few hours." Christina answered. "You've missed dinner."
Tris's eyes roamed over each of her friends, frowning when she met Ana's eyes. "Why are you guys wearing vests?"
"War games." Will answered and Tris began to push herself up again, only to have Christina push her down gently.
"Where are you going?" She asked lightly.
"I'm coming." Tris answered, and the group all shared looks as they fell quiet. Tris looked between them. "What?"
"You can't." Ann told her quietly, causing Tris to narrow her eyes. "Eric says you're out."
Tris fell silent, obviously trying to process what Ana had just told her. Ana felt awful as Will talks to her friend, but he didn't seem to make the situation any better. The boy sighed as he stood. "Come on, we're going to miss our train."
Christina and Will said their goodbyes, leaving Ana to slowly walk behind them. She halted before she got too far, her mind working quickly. She spun on her heel to face Tris. "Come on."
"What?" Tris asked, pushing herself onto her elbows.
"Come. On." She said slower, nodding her head to the exit. "Fuck Eric and the rest of Dauntless. You're not out based on how one fight went. You're coming."
Tris grinned widely as Ana moved to help her up from the bed. By the time the two were at the train tracks, the train was slowly beginning to move towards its destination. Ana ran ahead and jumped first, not hindered by any major injuries like Tris.
Ana leapt into the train, crashing into Christina as she did. The short girl looked at her with wide eyes as she helped steady her. "Where did you go?"
"I had to do something." Was all Ana said. She turned when she heard Eric's voice - he sounded annoyed, maybe slightly angered at something. She moved her way through the crowd, finding him and Tris facing one another.
"Who let you out?" He asked Tris, his voice low and eyes dark.
"I did." Ana stepped forward, standing beside her friend as she locked eyes with the leader.
He raised a brow. "You did?"
She kept her gaze locked with his, green eyes staring into steel gray. He narrowed his at her, almost as if deciding what he wanted to do. He sighed deeply, making a face as he nodded and looked away. "Okay."
Tris thanked Ana, causing the girl to smile at her in return. She noticed how her eyes drifted to Four, smiling now to herself as she noted the tension between the two of them. She moved back to Christina, sitting beside her with her back to the wall.
"The game is simple." Eric and Four were back in Ana's view now, but this time Eric was holding a gun. Ana couldn't help but tense. "Just like 'capture the flag.'"
"Weapon of choice." Eric held up the gun, motioning towards it.
Molly scoffed from her spot next to Peter, causing the leaders to look towards her. "You call that a gun?"
Ana gasped audibly when Eric raised it and pulled the trigger. Molly let out a painful sound as she collapsed on the ground, holding her knee. Ana watched Eric with wide eyes as he pulled the bullet out of Molly's leg and turned towards the crowd. "It's a neurostim dart. Causes all the pain of a real bullet, only lasts a couple of seconds. Two teams. Four and I are captains."
"You pick first." Four spoke to Eric, crossing his arms over his chest.
Eric shrugged. "Edward."
Ana watched as Edward stood with a proud grin - he was the first on the leaderboard so it wasn't shocking that Eric had picked him for his team. Ana secretly hoped that he picked her to be on his team as well. However, she scolded herself for thinking it soon after, remembering that he had tried to kick Tris out of Dauntless.
"I'll take the Stiff." Four said and Eric laughed loudly.
"Picking the weak ones so you have someone to blame when you lose?" He mocked.
"Something like that."
Ana smiled at Tris as she stood next to Four. Eric's eyes trailed over the rest of the initiates before landing on Ana. Her grin faded as his grew. "Amity."
Dammit.
She scowled at him as she stood to take her place next to Edward. His eyes were dancing mischievously as he watched her. "Need someone to blame if we lose, right?"
She only rolled her eyes.
*
Ana and Al were the only two of her friends that made it onto Eric's team. Peter and his insufferable group of followers had started annoying her the second she got off of the train and she wished with everything she had that she could've been on Four's team.
She was really starting to hate Eric.
He gathered them around in a circle, clearly already having a plan of attack. Ana crossed her arms as she listened, not really giving two shits as to who would win or lose this game.
"Alright." Eric's voice was stern, not giving any room for questioning his plan. The field they were in was surrounded by buildings and small pieces of debris. It would give them more places to hide their flag and plan for attacks. "I want Al, Edward, Molly and Ana down here, preventing anyone from making it upstairs. Peter and Myra I want upstairs protecting the flag. Understand?"
Ana sighed at the plan but took the gun that was provided to her. She followed Al as he chose where to hide for their attacks. Ana huffed when they settled down behind a damaged building. Al shot her a look. "What's your problem?"
"I don't have one." She told him, but the look he gave her said he believed otherwise.
"Right." He laughed at her. Al looked towards his gun. "You planning on shooting anyone?"
"Not if I don't have to." Ana mumbled before looking around their surroundings. "Though, I might take a shot at Peter."
Al's laughter sounded through the silence again and Ana giggled as she shushed him. "Be quiet. You're going to give away our spot."
Soon enough, Ana heard the first gun shot and her breathing stopped short. She looked at her friend with wide eyes, neither of them breathing until they heard shouting. "I can see them!"
Ana moved first, bringing her gun up so she could shoot easily. It was nearly pitch black out, but she hoped the light provided would be enough to see who was on her team or not. She heard shuffling behind her and looked back just enough to see who it was.
Al was stumbling behind her, his big feet making much more noise than necessary. She rolled her eyes - they'd be found quickly if Al didn't shut up. She darted to the right, hoping that Al wouldn't see or hear her move away from him.
Though, before she got too far, she crashed into someone, both of them falling towards the ground letting out a mouthful of curses. Ana scrambled for her gun, raising it in front of her to shoot whoever it was.
"Put it down!" They whispered harshly to her. Ana did, not realizing who it was until it was by her side. Eric glared over at her, picking himself off the ground as he did so. He held out a hand to her and helped her up. "Do you ever watch where you're going?"
"Me?" Ana bristled. "You ran into me!"
He opened his mouth to argue again, but his attention was directed to someone behind her. He grabbed her, slapping a hand over her mouth as he pulled her down beside him. Eric grabbed both of their guns, slapping Ana's into her hands. "Be quiet."
Ana watched as a member of the Four's team - she could tell because of the purple of their uniform - stalked around the area. She was quiet as she raised her gun to them, ignoring Eric's poking on her shoulder, trying to tell her not to shoot.
But she did. A piercing scream echoed through the park as the man went down, and Ana could only hope that she didn't shoot Will. Eric and Ana took off at a ran, racing towards the other end of the park where Four's team hid their flag.
They didn't make it very far before Eric was shouting and throwing himself on top of Ana. Ana groaned in pain, digging her fingers into her shoulder, which she definitely believed to be out of place. She looked towards Eric, ready to scream at him, when she saw how twisted his face was. He was holding his side, his mouth open in a silent scream as his gray eyes met her own.
"Oh my, God!" Ana moved beside him, ignoring the growing sting in her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
He only grunted, pulling his hand back to reveal the bullet in his hand. "Run. Go get the flag."
Ana hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should stay to make sure he was alright. But as he opened his mouth to tell her again, Ana turned to get her gun. She winced as she grabbed it and tried to roll her shoulders before she began to run again.
She shot anyone who was in her way, ignoring their screams and her pain as she ran to the carousel. She didn't see anyone there when she arrived, figuring that they were all on her side of the city. A shimmer of purple shined in the corner of her eye and she grinned.
As Ana shot towards the flag, she heard someone move to the left of her and snapped her body in their direction. She barely had time to see who it was before she pulled the trigger. The boy she shot was angry and she stopped for a moment to see who it was.
"You bitch!" Peter was lying on the ground, gripping his own shoulder. "I'm on your team!"
Ana laughed dryly. "I didn't know who it was when I shot. Besides, you deserved it, dick."
She left Peter, moving to grab the flag. Her fingers were just about to wrap around the end of it when she heard cheering from the other side. Her shoulders fell when she saw their green flag being waved in the air and she sat, cursing loudly as her pain hit her fully now and she grabbed her shoulder, waiting for the rest to come and fetch her.
***
pleuvoirx