Emergent

by AlexandriaBiast

Summary:

Divergents were valued but kept secret in Chicago. In other cities, they were first-class citizens while the factioned were behind them. They were like chameleons, blending in with ease. Alexandria was glad to get Divergent on her aptitude test, soon joining Dauntless and quickly working up the ranks.
A revolution was starting, one that wanted to keep the city closed from the world, and she was going to help stop it.
It didn't help that she was attracted to a fellow Dauntless member and their chemistry was unrivalable.
She had a job to do.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I was brought up in Erudite, the faction of the smart and academic. I was smart, but not book smart, getting one of the lowest grades in my year for an Erudite-born but I had a high enough IQ that my teachers didn’t care what I did.

It was boring in Erudite. 

But I preferred Erudite and I was far more likely to stay there than defect to another faction like Abnegation or Amity. Candor was a good choice but it was third on my list. With Erudite second, it left Dauntless as my top choice.

The aptitude test began after lunch, and I sat with my Erudite classmates as we poured over books and newspapers. I had one in front of me, reading about the newest occurrences in the world. It was interesting to read about other cities and how they took on the problems of Factionless people. It let me discuss it with my classmates as we argued over the different methods cities used and if and how they could be improved.

It took over an hour before my name was called. Most of the others had finished up and had been allowed to sit back down at the tables with us who hadn’t done the test. No one was allowed to talk about what happened during the test but all of my lot were speaking well of their tests. 

I was the last of the Erudite to be called, and there was one Abnegation left to do their test and a couple from the other factions. I was put in room six while the Abnegation girl was put into room five.

The rooms were made of mirrors, letting me glance at my outfit again. It was simple and standard for the Erudite uniform. A very pale blue shirt was tucked into dark navy slacks while my shoes were black and my long coat was a brighter, azure blue. My dark hair was pulled away from my face, laying in a long ponytail down my back as small strands fell out of the band to frame my face.

The person who would be administrating my test was a woman from Dauntless, wearing all black and a pair of jeans. I liked the tattoos she had on the back of her neck but I didn’t speak as I came over to her, hands clenching at my sides but I forced myself to be calm and collected.

There was no need for fear.

I glanced over at the reclined chair with the machine next to it but I kept my mouth shut about it. I didn’t need to ask questions when I already knew she wouldn’t answer any of my questions because I didn’t need to know.

“Sit down and get comfortable,” The woman turned to me, letting me see her small dark eyes and the harsh makeup she lined them in. It looked good. “My name is Tori.”

I got onto the chair, sitting down and letting my head touch the headrest without taking my eyes off Tori as she busied herself with the machine and wires.

“I’ve never met an Erudite who could refrain from asking questions,” Tori mused, “Not curious?”

“I am but I doubt you would tell me anything I wouldn’t already know,” I said, relaxing as she attached an electrode to my forehead with a sticker. 

“Fair,” She said, attaching another. “I can’t tell you much anyway.”

“That’s why I didn’t ask.”

She attached a couple more electrodes to me and then one to her own forehead. Handing me a clear vial of liquid, she instructed me to drink. I made a face, smelling it but it didn’t have a scent. I swallowed it in one gulp before letting my eyes come to a close.

I opened them.

I wasn’t in the chair anymore.

My head spun around, looking at the change of scenery so I was sure of where I was. It was probably a mental inhibitor or enhancer, the liquid. It changed where I was in my mind but I was still in the chair. They couldn’t have moved me that quickly, and since I was in the school’s cafeteria, it was even less likely that anyone wouldn’t have noticed the removal of us from the rooms. 

A table sat in front of me, two different baskets either holding a husk of cheese or a knife the size of my forearm. 

A woman’s voice spoke behind me, “Choose.”

“Why?” I asked, purely because there had to be a reason. 

“Choose.”

I picked up the knife. It laid heavy in my hand but it felt nice. “What now?”

The baskets disappeared as a door creak startled me, making me turn around to see a dog, with a pointy nose and dark colouring. It crept towards me, lips peeled back into a snarl as it growled and came forward. 

Running would be stupid. Dogs were predator animals, running just made them chase the thing they were after and I didn’t fancy trying to outrun the animal at the moment. 

The dog continued to make its way toward me.

I kneeled, showing I was unafraid but I still held the knife in my left hand as I stuck out my right. It continued towards me still, growling and snarling just it sniffed my hand and finally quieted down. 

It jumped, standing on its back legs until it could lick me in the face. I laughed and smiled at it, petting its head as it dropped to the ground again. 

“Puppy!” A young girl’s voice screeched, scaring the dog and making it snarl aggressively. I could see the way its muscles coiled up, ready for an attack but I grabbed its tail before it could pounce on the girl in white. It turned back at me, snarling as it now pounced at me but I held on firm to the knife.

My body hit the ground as the dog jumped on me, but the weight was suddenly gone. 

I sat up, knife gone from my hand and dog and girl gone. Right, this was a test. If I wasn’t out of here yet, it meant that there was another part. With a door to the side, it would make sense to go to it and check it out. I did, walking onto a bus.

How I went from a hallway to a bus would never make sense but I knew I should question it. I left it to the human mind and the liquid they gave me. 

With there being no seats, I held onto a pole to keep upright as it moved. A hand tugged at my coat, making me snap. 

“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, letting it be barely above a whisper. “What do you want?”

I looked at the man who had tugged my coat, his hands were burned and thus scarred. He shoved the newspaper towards me, letting me see the headline ‘Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!’ . 

It meant little to me.

“Do you know this guy?” He asked, tapping the picture right under the headline.

The picture was of an average-looking young guy, plain-faced and bearded so it could have been anyone. Even with the nagging feeling that I did, somehow, know him, I answered.

“No, I don’t,”

The man stood, his mouth in a snarl as his cheeks were just as scarred as his hands. He leaned closer to me, breath smelling of cigarettes before he frowned and spoke. “You’re lying. You’re lying!”

“I don’t know him.”

“I can see it in your eyes.” He muttered before becoming louder, almost shouting in my face. “If you know him, you could save me. You could save me!”

I steeled myself, keeping my face blank as I spoke, “I don’t so go away.”

)()()(

 

“Fuck!”  

That was the first thing I heard as soon as I was back in my mind and in the chair. Tori began to pull the electrodes away from my skin, putting the wires away. I sat up, watching Tori’s face distort. 

“It didn’t go well, did it?” I asked. 

“It was… strange.” She sucked her teeth, jotting something into the machine before looking at me. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, letting her leave. 

It took over ten minutes for her to come back, I counted the time on my watch which I had gotten for my sixteenth birthday from my father. 

I had been surprised to get the present from him, mostly because he was a man from Amity and my mother was of Erudite. It wasn’t approved of, their relationship, but it had fallen apart when they found out they were expecting me. Any child born of a two Faction family would become a member of whichever faction they lived in. My mother took me so I took her Faction as my own. 

Hopefully, whenever the visiting day was, I would be able to see them both again. I hadn't seen my father for a couple of months now but it was normal for me. 

The door opened and Tori came in. 

“Sorry to worry you,” She said, coming to stand near me. “Alexandria, your results were inconclusive. Typically, these situations are supposed to eliminate one or more factors but you had only ruled out three of the five.”

“Candor defiantly has been ruled out,” I said, watching as she nodded. 

“Yes,” Tori said. “No one will know you are a Divergent until you choose a faction. Only then, will the higher-ups be told about your status. No one else will know. They are not allowed to. You were ruled out for Abnegation and Amity, and you already concluded you were out for Candor. I’ve put you down as Divergent but whichever Faction you want me to put down I can. Legally you are Divergent, but each gets to choose between whichever Factions they hadn’t ruled out. So, for you, they are Erudite and Dauntless.

I nodded in understanding, thinking for split second, “Put down Dauntless. I’m choosing that tomorrow so it would make more sense for my mother to know that.”

“Alright,” Tori said. “You’re the last so you can leave with the others.”

“Thank you,” I said, getting out of the room.

I was quickly crowded with my classmates, asking me questions.

With the test being officially over, we were allowed to talk about the test now. They bombarded me and each other about the test. What did we do with the cheese and knife? What about the dog? And the girl?

By the time I got home to the apartment I shared with my mother, it was late but she wasn’t home yet. She worked late nights as an advisor to Jeanine Matthews so it was expected of her to work late. I didn’t mind, we weren’t that close so I was alright with ordering dinner to the house. A perk of being an upper-classed Erudite. We could order food and it would be delivered.

)()()(

In the morning, my mother was home.

It was the first time this month she was home in the morning, but I supposed it had to do with the Choosing Ceremony later today.

The breakfast table was delicately full of food that would power us through the day. Healthy options mainly, but the cereal had sweeteners in it simply because Mother knew I preferred sweet cereal in the morning.

I felt like having something sweet and doughy, so I chose a sugared doughnut with a jam filling for breakfast. I had a couple of pieces of fruit alongside it, making sure Mother wouldn’t complain as she fiddled with her tablet.

“So,” She began, never looking up.” I took a look at your Aptitude test. You asked for Dauntless to be put down officially but you are Divergent.”

I nodded, sipping at my water glass, “Yes.”

“Do you plan to choose Dauntless as your Faction?”

“I do,”

“Good,” Mother nodded, looking up to reveal the same grey eyes I had. “You will do well then. All Divergents do well within their chosen factions. They are naturally attuned to whichever circumstance they find themselves in. After you choose, I will not get to see you until visiting day. I will try and get your father to come.”

“Thank you,”

We left for the ceremony soon after breakfast was finished. 

I wore flat shoes I knew I could run in. I’d need the ability later today. Mother took me to the Hub by car, driving and parking without hesitation before she took me up to the building and in. The elevator was packed but we got in fine, going up to where we needed to be. 

Mother kissed me once on the forehead, muttering a quick, “You’ll do us proud, ” before she sat down in the circle of Erudites and I was forced to stand on the edges with the other eighteen-year-olds.

With the ceremony being done in early September, right as the new school year began, I was one of the oldest with my birthday being in November. Between September to September, that determined which year’s ceremony you would be in.

I stood near the end of the line, right between a girl named Mary Vanes and a Mich Williams. Due to my last name, I stood with everyone who had the last name beginning with V. 

Dauntless was the host this year, all of the major Dauntless members were standing at the front with the bowls. Next year, it would be Abnegation’s turn to lead the ceremony, going back to the next faction after that. 

The leader of Dauntless was a black man named Max. He was strict but didn’t seem any stricter than my own mother. I tuned him out, every ceremony started with the same speeches until the names began.

All I could imagine was the feeling of leather on my skin. The sound of my blood sizzling on the coals before I was brought over to the Dauntless.

I couldn’t wait, and it didn’t take long.

“Alexandria Voltaire.”

That was me.

Keeping my pace steady as I came up to the platform, I looked Max in the eye as he shook my hand before he handed me the knife.

There were four others around him. One woman and three men. The youngest looked barely older than me. I barely glanced at the rest until I went over to the bowls.

Erudite was a good choice, but it wasn’t for me. Though I did like learning, I didn’t want to study all day, every day. All the books I had ever read were while I was in school, several hundred now.

Dauntless. That was where I belonged; with the brave and determined. the fearless and vain. Watching them play on the train, and watching them risk injury to jump to safety was one of my favourite pastimes while I was thinking.

I took the knife, sliced my palm and let my blood drip onto the sizzling coal without care as I looked at the young leader next to Max. 

He smirked, his eyebrow dermal piercings moving a little as he did. 

I didn’t care for his opinion as Max nodded, taking back the knife.

I had to say the young one was cute but I ignored that as I went to the Dauntless. 

The room had gone silent, many looking to either my mother or to me as I stood behind the seated Dauntless members. So far, I was the only transfer in the whole ceremony. 

)()()(

I was the only female transfer.

Three of the fifteen Dauntless-borns were female, all wearing their respective black and bright hair. They seemed like good friends from what I noticed from their interactions. Those three also had bright hair, matching in different colours as each either had flaming red, hot pink, or sunset orange hair. 

When we were led out of the room, they guided the transfers onto the stairs with everyone else. It didn’t take long before we all were running down the stairs like maniacs. It was surprisingly fun to run down the stairs but quite stupid as I heard people begin to fall here or there. Others just laughed, helping them up before continuing.

We got onto the ground floor and burst out of the exit to greet the cold air of the fast-approaching evening. 

The transfers followed the Dauntless-borns, having no clue where we were going so it was a smart decision to just follow them for now. 

“Where the fuck are we going?” A Candor boy asked, running alongside me.

“To the train,” I said, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Yeah,” Another voice said, coming from my other side as we continued to run and go around the corner. It was the young leader from before, smirking as he stayed up with us with ease. He snickered. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really,” Candor boy frowned.

“Well, it will be!” He sped up his pace just as the train horn sounded. 

“Are we getting on that thing?” The boy asked, watching as the slightly older Dauntless boy left before he heard the train. “Will it slow down?”

“Gods no,” I rolled my eyes as we got onto the tracks. The train was gliding towards us on steel rails, and each door of the carriages was opened, ready for us. 

Unlike the boy from Candor, I didn’t hesitate to follow the Dauntless and jump into the first carriage that came. I hated hesitation so I didn’t, getting into that car was harder than I thought but I made it. 

I was the only transfer on a car full of Dauntless-borns. 

Fuck.

Ignoring all the people, I stood to the side, holding on to whatever I could as I knew I wasn’t used to the train and its movements yet.

“Ah, we’ve got a transfer on with us!” One of the boys said, slinging his arm over my shoulders. “How’d you get on with us? Your lot never are able to.”

“Don’t scare her off already. She’s one of us now, Druid,” Smirk and dermal piercings spoke again, walking up to us as Druid shrugged his arm off my shoulders. “Or did you think you transferred to the Erudite lot?”

That, somehow, made the whole car full of Dauntless-borns snigger at Druid. I didn’t find it funny but I stayed quiet.

“Of course, Eric,” Druid said, slapping me on the back hard enough to startle me. I gritted my teeth at that.

“If looks could kill,” Eric laughed. “You’d be gone, Drui-Drui. She looks like she’s ready to chuck you out of the train, isn’t that right?”

I looked at him, “The temptation is very much there.”

“Then why don’t we let that temptation through?” Eric grabbed the boy by the collar, dragged him to the edge of the car door and leaned him out of it. The only thing keeping the boy in the car was Eric’s hand on him, making him yelp in fear and grab onto the sides. “Now everyone, if he fell from where we are right now, would he die?”

No one moved to look outside but many mumbled agreements.

I bit the inside of my lip, reframing from my desire to look out of the door and see how exactly far we were from the ground.

“Transfer?” He asked, hand still fisted in Druid’s shirt. “What do you think? Will he die or will be injured?”

“Depends on how he falls,” I said, moving slowly until I was next to him. I glanced outside, seeing the drop between the train and the buildings around us. It was several dozen metres, more than enough to damage. “He’s more likely to die from this height but if he lands on his feet, he’ll just break all of his bones from the chest down.”

“Good,” Eric said, tugging Druid back into the car before releasing him. “I might be a new leader but it doesn’t mean I won’t be ruthless on you all.”

He held onto the side, looking out of the car as we approached a set of building much closer than the other ones. 

The others jabbed past me, jumping out of the train car and onto the building nearby. I was almost pushed out of the car but a hand tugged me to the side, letting the others jump. 

“It might’ve not been obvious,” Eric said, his head out of the car for a moment to watch others jump out of the other train cars too. “We jump here. There’s always going to be a transfer that doesn’t jump. Hope that isn’t going to be you.” 

I shook my head, looking out of the car to see others jumping. Many of the Dauntless jumped, tucked, and rolled when they did, making sure they didn’t get injured as they landed.

One of the transfers had barely caught the edge of the ledge, holding on for dear life as his friends tried to pull him up. 

There wasn’t a big gap between the train and the building, a solid jump would work but the moving of the train didn’t help, even if it slowed down a little to accommodate the transfers’ first jumping here.

It, surprisingly, didn’t take me much to launch myself out of the car, landing on the rooftop with a small roll onto my side so I didn’t hit my head. I was more reckless than I had previously thought. Maybe I was made for Dauntless then.

Eric and many other Dauntless rolled and landed on their feet before getting up.

I was glad no one helped me up, letting me dust myself off and walk over to where the other transfers were. Many were grazed or bruised, but I was unharmed besides a slightly bruised ego from not being able to land properly. At least I didn’t have small injuries from the landing. 

I stood with the other transfers, twelve boys in total. Two other Erudites, four Amity, three Candor and one Abnegation. Most of them looked more nervous than I did. There were originally thirteen boys but one had stayed on the train instead of jumping. 

Max stood on the ledge, a little above everyone else as he had Eric and another leader on the ground on either side of him. The other two leaders from the ceremony weren’t there. 

“Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!” He said, before gesturing vaguely over the ledge, “Below us, several stories down are the entrance to our compound. The only way in is to jump down, if you can’t, you don’t belong with us. Initiates first, so who is it?”

I stood nearest the front of the transfers, mostly because the boys had moved away from the ledges.

“What?” The Amity boy who had almost fallen off the ledge said, looking pale in comparison to everyone else. “You want us to… to jump off the ledge? Again?”

“Yes,” Max said it like it was a plain fact. 

I had to admit I was a little fearful but I wasn’t scared. Dauntless was about calculated risks, bravery about the actions you took. They wouldn’t tell us to do something without a reason. Perhaps it was to test our resilience to follow orders or to test our fears over orders. 

I took a quick glance around. I didn’t want to be the first jumper, already knowing that there would be a sort of status symbol coming from it since they would be the apparent bravest of the transfers, but no one else was going to jump first. 

They nursed their minor injuries, scanning hands, palms, elbows and knees. They looked anywhere besides at the three apparent leaders, at their feet, at the ground or up in the slowly setting sky. 

A hand touched my right shoulder blade, almost pushing me forward but I jabbed my elbow back and into their stomach. One of the Candor boys hunched over in pain.

“Bitch.”

“Asshole,” I snapped back.

“Initiates,” Max dropped from the ledge, walking over to me and the other transfers. He looked between me and the boy. “Do either of you want to go first?”

The Candor shook his head. 

“Wimp,” I muttered.

“Speak up, initiate,”

I looked at Max, raising my voice a little, “I said I’ll go first.”

I was so glad I wore trousers today, walking up to the edge before stepping up onto the ledge. There was a huge hole created with three other buildings making a square so dark, I couldn’t see the bottom. 

I moved until I faced the group, sticking my middle finger at the Candor boy as I allowed gravity to take me down.

“Now that’s a great fa—” Eric began.

I didn’t hear the rest as the wind filled my ears and all I could see was a couple of them looking down the hole. The darkness consumed me for a moment, perhaps longer, but my back hit a huge net. It was thin but bounced me upwards after I landed. It took a couple of bounces and be grabbing onto the net to stop and be able to roll off the net.

A woman was there, a little older than me but already had three rings through one eyebrow and streaks of purple in her short hair. She helped me down, almost rushing me off as soon as she heard the next one jump. 

“For fuck’s sake, Eric. You’re supposed to wait a minute after each jumper!” The woman snapped as Eric landed onto the net before rolling off much quicker than I did. “Go on. The others will be down soon enough. If they don’t get too scared to jump.”

“One already is factionless,” Eric said. 

“Stayed on the train?” She asked.

“Yep, couldn’t even jump off the train, let alone get down here,” He then took a couple of steps away, whispering something but I couldn’t hear it. “Got it, Lauren?”

She nodded, stepping away when another jumper came.

Only ten transfers jumped.

One from Erudite didn’t jump.

It took all of twenty minutes to get them all down, some coming one after the other, others by themselves before they got here. I had to stand around by myself for at least a couple of minutes since no one followed after me after Eric. After a few more people came, all transfers were done, the Dauntless-borns were all swift to jump. 

Max had jumped but then disappeared quickly. He wouldn’t bother with us until we were members or had disciplinary problems. 

Lauren and Eric led us down a narrow tunnel with stone walls and sloping ceilings as we vaguely went in a downward inclination. They stopped up at a hallway where another intercepted it. Another person joined them, the passive boy from before.

“We divide here,” Lauren said, gesturing to herself. “Dauntless-borns are with me, assuming you don’t need a tour of the place.”

They departed, leaving eleven transfers including me. 

Eric rubbed his hands together as he stood before us with the other boy. “I am your instructor for the next four weeks. I’m Eric, a leader of Dauntless, and this is Four. He works in the control room but he’s gonna be making sure that no one slacks. Show them around and take them to the dining hall.”

)()()(

Dinner was fine, calorie full but otherwise still tasty. We were instructed to follow Eric to a series of hallways, never telling us where we were going but none of us asked. We weren’t stupid enough to question him just yet. 

He stopped us all in front of a set of wooden doors, crossing his arms loosely as he spoke to us. We gathered around him in a circle, everyone being able to see and hear him.

“I am a leader, meaning I get to oversee most of your training. We take the initiation process very seriously here.” He started, shifting his feet once. “Ground rules: You have to be in the training room by eight o’clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation.”

There was some mumbling at the ‘do whatever you like’. I didn’t want to think about some of the leers I got from the other transfers, already knowing someone would try something… They would probably end up choking in their sleep, somehow. Probably with a pillow. 

“You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless,” Eric added. “Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You will notice that there are ten beds and eleven of you.”

I raised my hand to get his attention. “Ten beds, eleven of us, and I’m the only girl. How is that working out?”

“We’re having a bed brought in for you,” He said. “Regardless of how many males and females there are, they stay together. The same goes for the Dauntless-borns. You also share showers. If there is an issue with sharing with a girl, gents…”

They snickered as he smiled. It was a crooked smile but mischievous nonetheless.

“Well,” Eric continued, turning to look at me as he turned serious again. “The bathrooms are separate, and both have a separate, smaller shower in there. However it is cold water, so take it as you want. I will not have, however, disrespectful acts happening. All complaints are investigated.”

I was glad to know that.

“In the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn’t mean you are evaluated separately,” He said. “At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you are already. So I expect you to work hard.”

“Rankings?” The only other Erudite in the group asked. “How’s that working and why?”

“Your ranking serves a purpose,” He said. “The higher the ranking, the better positions you are allowed to choose from. The first ranker gets first and so on and so forth. If you're at the bottom, you get the shittest, most boring jobs unless you’ve shown an aptitude for something else. Any more questions or can I move on, Nose?”

Nose was an insult for an Erudite-born. It wasn’t as bad as Stiff for Abenagtion but it was still up there. 

He left us soon after, letting us go get dressed in the room before we went to sleep. Our former faction clothes were burnt, save for any jewellery but we were advised to not wear any during training. I kept my watch on, mostly because it was practical and we were allowed. 

My bed had been shoved to the side as there wasn’t much space. I was glad to be near the wall, letting me undress with a sort of resemblance of privacy but I quickly gave up being modest. I was stuck with these boys for the next four weeks.

Only two of them were crying but I tuned them out to fall asleep.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Six hours of rest and we were forced into training.

I was already used to waking up early so I got out of my bed a whole half an hour before we needed to so I could shower with some sort of privacy.

I didn't want the cold water of the female bathrooms.

My outfits, for the time being, would consist of sports bras, dark tank tops and tight trousers along with boots. If it was cold, a jacket would finish it off. I pulled one on today because it was chilly.

We stood in neat rows in the training room, a large warehouse-style room that was empty save for us. Different areas were made for different things, I could tell.

We were handed guns as targets were set in front of all of us.

Four, our trainer, was the one to speak to us first, "The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight. Thankfully, if you are here, you already know how to get on and off a moving train, so I don't need to teach you that."

He gave us a magazine of extra bullets if we needed them later on.

"Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighted equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time. We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

He did a vague demonstration, showing us how to use the gun before we were on our own to shoot at the targets set before us.

I copied Four's stance, taking a deep breath as I raised the gun and exhaled slowly. I aimed before firing.

It hit the outside of one of the circles.

I aimed again, prepared for the slight recoil, keeping firm but moveable as I aimed for the first circle again. It was better this time, nearer the centre but not as much as I would have liked.

I leaned forward an inch, keeping my knees firm as I adjusted my stance once again.

For every three shots, everyone took, I did one.

It took a couple of tries but I got a round into the middle circle, just on the edge of it but it was still in the middle. The tiniest degree to the left, and… Bullseye!

I got it right in the middle. It took about fifteen shots but it was well worth it.

I was one of three people to get a shot in the middle circle and the only one to get a straight bullseye, but we broke for lunch around one.

I was the first to take my gun apart, unloading it and giving it back to Four as he passed to get all of our guns. I was dismissed straight after along with everyone else, going to lunch.

Lunched started quiet, letting me have most of my lunch, a sandwich with salad for extra nutrients, before the empty table I had sat on was filled up with Dauntless-born initiates.

Druid was the one who slapped me on the back and had almost been thrown out of the train by Eric. He sat across from me at the table, looking better than he did yesterday but a little worn out by today's activities. He couldn't keep the smile off his dark tanned face as he sat there followed by the rest of the Dauntless-born. There were fifteen of them but only a handful sat near me.

It included Druid, the three colourful haired girls and another boy named Nickles, which he probably got from the earful of piercings that clanked as he moved. The girls introduced themselves, the redhead was Rori, the one with hot pink was Francey, and Seleca was orange.

"So," Rori started, sitting to my right. "You're Alexandria, right? You almost got Druid chucked out the train."

I didn't know if she was threatening me or what, but Seleca who was on my left but sat on the table patted me on the back.

"Good job," She grinned. "He's an asshole at the best of times."

"Oi," Druid chucked his fork at her, making her laugh. "Rude. Not untrue though."

"She's calling it how she sees it," Francey muttered, looking to me before winking. "Should've pushed him out yourself. Druid's the top person to get first place. If he's out of it, we'll have a chance at the top spot then."

I finally let a smile onto my lips, agreeing, "I kinda wished I did now. We'll see how it goes and if we need to… dispose of it."

Druid laughed at that, rolling his eyes, "You're alright, actually. Thought you would be stuck up like the other Erudite but you're alright."

"So," Seleca asked, "How's being the only girl in the transfer set?"

"I've, somehow, seen more dicks in the last twenty-four hours than I have in my life," I said, having a feeling it would make the girls laugh and it did. "Never need to see that many again."

"Unless you're gonna be with them," Nickles snickered, winking suggestively.

Druid just nudged him in the ribs. "Not all of us are whores, Nicks."

"I think we're all gonna be too busy to be whores this month," I said, placing both arms on the table as I leaned forward. "But talk of yourself when you're speaking of being a whore, Druid."

"Ouch."

"That's my girl!" Nickles said, grin on his lips. "I knew I would like you."

I just smiled, letting the conversation go on until both Dauntless-born and transfers were sent back to training.

)()()(

The next several hours ended quickly and sorely.

After today, I would never look at a punching bag the same. I had never touched one before today but my muscles ached after all of that punching.

While Erudite liked their members to keep fit to keep their minds able, they didn't do it much past a bit of cardio and weights. I wasn't used to seeing so much violence but perhaps it was normal in Dauntless.

I needed a hot shower before dinner started. There were better chances of having a semi-private shower right before dinner than any other time, mostly because everyone was hungry and wouldn't bother going back to the dorm until later in the evening.

I hated these showers.

I hated the whole dorm.

If I wanted a hot shower, I had to forfeit my privacy but it couldn't be helped.

It was all open planned and left no privacy. I wouldn't have had any problems if I was roomed with only girls, or at least with some girls, but I was the only one in a group of ten boys. It couldn't be helped so I kept all my complaints to myself, already knowing it wouldn't matter if I complained.

Unless I got harassed, it didn't matter.

I finished my shower quickly, wanting to go to dinner.

With the bad influence of my new friends in the Dauntless-born group, I ended up at the piercing and tattoo shop, Nickels and Francey on each arm to drag me there.

"None of us was allowed to pierce anything than our lobes and a single nostril," Francey said, referring to a little silver hoop on her right nostril. "It's so that if we go into a different faction, we don't have to remove it."

"Fair," I said, nodding as we walked up the railing free paths on an upper level near the shops.

"What do you want to get done, transfer?" Druid asked.

"I don't know yet,"

"Septum, tongue, belly button?" He suggested. "Nipples?"

"Fuck off," I laughed. "Not during initiation. Rather not give them a target to go for. Maybe tongue?"

"Nice and easy start into piercings then,"

We walked into the tattoo parlour, looking around. I commented on a couple of pieces, suggesting how it would work with this hair or this outfit. It resulted in Francey and Druid getting tattoos while Nickles picked snakebites, Rori chose a belly button piercing and Seleca had a single stud just above her cheek, a dermal piercing.

I sat on the piercing bed. It was flat, mostly due to the fact some piercings had to be done a certain way or something. I had my tongue sticking out, flat and unmoving as the piercer checked it for veins before putting a dot in an appropriate place. Asking if I liked the placement, I nodded silently as I knew I wasn't allowed to put my tongue back in my mouth until it was over.

Unlike tattoos which were much easier and a lot more advanced compared to their primitive ancestors, piercings were just as bad as five hundred years ago.

I took a deep breath in and then out, as soon as I was halfway through the breath out, the piercer stabbed the needle down into and through my tongue, taking it out just as quickly and leaving a thin, plastic sheath. They slide my chosen jewellery in, a rose gold bar and took out the plastic sheath.

"You good?" They asked, handing me a disposable cup of a liquid that would heal it almost instantly. "You took it like a champ. You're only an initiate but I've had full members, people who have been here for years cry at getting a tongue piercing and it's one of the easiest in my opinion."

I tested the piercing, feeling the bar and the slight soreness in my mouth. It was strangely nice.

"It wasn't that bad," I admitted.

"Good," They winked. "I'll see yah for your next piercing. I've got your stretchers too."

"Thanks,"

I had also decided to stretch my earlobes too, starting off small and gradually going larger. It would take a couple of months to get to my desired size, a double zero, but it would be worth it.

)()()(

"Who're you dressing up for?" Aiden, the Candor boy who tried to shove me at the ledge event, asked as I lined my eyes in a dark kohl eyeliner. It helped to emphasise my eyes, turning my normally grey eyes ice grey, adding a hint of intimidation as I would stare at someone without smiling.

"Your mum," I said, finishing up both eyes before checking them to make sure they were even and that I liked them.

He scoffed. "Already trying to sleep your way up the lines."

"Why would I?" I finished up the last touches before putting my stuff away and walking past him. "We've got you already trying that."

His friends snickered at that, jabbing him in the side after I patted his shoulder before going out to the training room.

The training room was a large, open space inside. A glass board was set into two chains hanging from the ceiling. My new friends from the Dauntless-born side said that it was also used for movie nights here, being as it was hanging up high enough that it needed to be huge to be seen.

Our names were put on the glass board, this time in sets of two. My name was the only one without a pair.

"With there being an odd number of you, one of you won't be fighting an initiate," Four said, standing before us. "When these cases arise, the first jumper always gets the privilege of not having to fight a classmate, so Alexandria gets to fight a Dauntless-born initiate because there is both an odd number of transfers and borns this year."

I didn't let the frustration show on my face but I nodded once as the other glanced at me. "Who will I be fighting?"

"Lauren will be sending down her choice in about twenty minutes. I don't know who she has chosen," He said, looking at me as if he dared me to argue or ask questions. I didn't really have one anyway, not one that needed to be answered.

Eric came waltzing in half an hour after everything started, an initiate following right behind him. He stopped next to Four, glancing at me before looking at the other two people who hadn't fought yet.

"You're late," Four said, barely looking at him before his gaze returned to the duo fighting before us.

It was two Amity transfers against each other, Noah and Hudson. They were both on the taller side, but Noah was taller while Hudson was wider. Neither were overly fat but they had already trimmed down a little due to the recent exercise forced onto them.

Noah was winning, his footwork faster and dodges cleaner than Hudson's but his only fault was that he was rolling his wrist when he punched. Hudson caught the fist once in his hand, using it to pull Noah closer and into a chokehold. He held on tightly but Noah hooked an ankle into Hudson's and yanked one of his feet from under him.

Noah ended it by getting Hudson on his back, foot lodged in Hudson's chest to keep him down for the count.

"Good job getting out of that chokehold, Noah. Hudson, you did well getting him into it but you didn't protect or stabilise your legs properly, causing him to get you on your back," Four said, tapping something into a wrist projection device. It was like a mini-tablet but much more portable and easier to use. "Eric, do you want the first jumper's fight now or after the last one?"

"I think now," He said, looking at the boy next to him.

I swore internally.

The boy chosen was almost double my weight and had a couple of inches of height over me. I was already a small female, standing at five foot three, barely. I weighed a solid sixty kilograms, but perhaps more with the small amount of muscle I've put on already.

"Alexandria, Wyett, you're both up next," Four said. He didn't even look at me as both Wyett and I took our shoes off and stepped onto the slightly raised platform.

I was in only a dark tank top over a sports bra and tight trousers, just as Wyett was in a t-shirt and trousers.

"Wait until I give the signal to start," Four said, turning to Eric, "I sent word to Lauren that they're fighting. She's bringing the rest to watch in a second."

Eric nodded.

Both Wyett and I got into the standard stance we were shown earlier in training, one leg back and out a little for balance and arms up.

Neither of us moved as we saw that the Dauntless-borns came through the open doors, standing around the platform. My new friends were standing so they could see both Wyett and me well and I only let my eyes drift to them for a second before concentrating again.

Lauren came to stand on Four's other side.

Four spoke, "Start when you're ready."

"Preferably soon," Eric rolled his eyes. "Unlike some, not all of us have all day to stand around waiting for you."

We circled each other first. I kept my eyes on his as he scanned my body for any indication of moving first. The eyes were a better indication of what was going to happen next than the body, after all, the eyes were the window to the soul and that was true, letting me dodge the first punch he threw by stepping back and bending down a little.

He looked like he had much more power in his arms and legs than I did, and he probably did. I had the advantage of being smaller and thus faster. My power was in my legs and core, where most of my muscles were.

A single minute into the fight, it was obvious I had much more patience than he did.

He went for me again, this time going for my left shoulder but I moved my left side back just enough to feel the impact of his hit but not enough to hurt. As he rebalanced himself on his feet, drawing his hand back, I set a kick to his waist and then a sharp jab to his shoulder before I had to duck a punch from him.

"Stop the prancing around and fight," Eric yelled, startling both of us.

Wyett's lack of patience made it so that I had to act quickly to dodge every punch and kick he sent next. A solid kick landed on my hip, making me hiss. I returned it with a swift uppercut to his jaw since he was close enough when I stepped forward.

"Bitch," He swore, rubbing his jaw before returning to his stance and continuing.

I bounced on the balls of my feet, keeping myself moving a little and keeping my adrenaline up. Surprisingly, I didn't feel the panic of adrenaline, instead, it was calm and seemed to flow through my veins like water rather than lava.

"Better!" Eric said. "Fight each other, not dance!"

I glanced over and that was my mistake.

Wyett dived for my midsection, grabbing me by there and bringing me to the ground with ease. I jabbed my knees up as he did so, getting him in the chin with one before I was on my back.

I was not strong enough to get myself off my back with him on me.

He straddled my hips, his hands drawing back to hit me but I brought my knees into his back and jabbed both fists into his stomach simultaneously. He jolted and paused to hunch over in pain for a second before he recovered. It was barely enough time for me to sit up a little and get him to sit on my thighs instead of my hips.

Sharp pain echoed through my face, starting at my nose and right cheek where he punch me across the face. He sent another to my face as he balanced on his knees to do so. I saw my opportunity between hits to the face, making sure they hit a similar area that wouldn't get damaged easily.

Because he was balancing on his knees to better aim and get access to my face, he had unbalanced the rest of himself.

I grabbed him by the front of each shoulder of his t-shirt, balling it up firmly in my fists before using one knee against his back and the other foot to push my lower body off the ground. I pulled and pushed him above me, making him fall onto the area above my head and letting me stand up before he could react.

I planted my foot into his stomach once, twice, thrice, making sure to get him good.

Blood dripped down my face, most from my nose, some from my split cheekbone but otherwise I was fine. I would have bruises but at least they were earned.

I stepped out of the way when he got up, not letting him get within a foot of me just in case he decided to sweep my feet from under me.

It took him a good few seconds to get up but none of the trainers said anything, not even Eric who just crossed his arms and watched us both carefully.

Having enough of the drying blood on my face, I pulled my tank top off, leaving me in my black sports bra. I used it to wipe the blood off my face, getting as much as I could as I felt the bleeding stop.

Nickles hollered as I took it off, just like many other boys from both sides did.

"Like what you see, Nickles?" I asked, winking at him as I balled up my shirt.

"Hell yeah!" He cheered before cringing as I chucked the bloodied shirt at him. "I don't want that!"

I stuck my middle finger at him, watching as Wyett finally shook off what I did to him and stood up. I got into a stance as he charged at me, too much like a bull seeing red. I sidestepped him but his arm went out and caught one of my hands. He pulled hard and I felt my shoulder pop painfully.

It was the first sign of a possible dislocation, but it wasn't there yet so I wasn't concerned. It just meant that I had to be careful of my right arm now.

Wyett pulled me closer, probably already having enough of the fight as he reached for my shoulder.

No.

He reached for my throat with one hand, punching me in the face with the other before using the other on my throat too.

He was choking me.

It was not allowed in training, we had learnt this on the first day of physical training when informed about the fighting part.

Both Lauren and Four had opened their mouths but Eric raised a clenched fist, keeping an eye on the time on his watch and us.

I had taken a deep breath when I felt the graze of Wyett's hand on my throat, letting me have a bit of extra oxygen in my system as I tried to fight his grip. He was stronger, I couldn't break his hold.

There wasn't much I could do that would be allowed but since he was already going against the rules, so I was.

Driving my fingers into his jugular notch, I curled them inwards so they hit just behind the sternum. It could hurt a lot, also disrupting his breathing enough that his grip loosened just enough.

My knee hit his balls almost instantly, making him let go completely before he collapsed onto his knees and I drove his head into my knee for good measure. When he was on the ground, I kicked him in the stomach again.

My bottom lip was split, bleeding.

I spat at him as I got off the platform as he groaned, going into the foetal position.

I pulled my socks and shoes on, doing the laces up as everyone watched him or me.

Walking over when I was finished, I stood before the trainers, "I thought choking was not allowed?"

"It isn't," Lauren promptly said, face blank but there was a glint in her eye. "And he will justly be reprimanded for it. Wyett knows what's expected of him."

"She kicked the boy in the balls, Lauren," Eric said. "I think that's punishment enough. Besides, both of them have a little… test to do right after this because of the fight."

Lauren gave him a dirty look but nodded. "He'll still be having a meeting with Max. You know how Max is about these things."

"Alright," Four said, gesturing to the platform. "Get him off. He'll be fine in a minute."

Two boys helped Wyett off the platform but Wyett shrugged them both off after he was off, walking, or rather limping over to where I stood with the trainers.

"Both of you, follow me, and anyone else who wants to watch," Eric said, swiftly turning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

We went to the Pit, where the two-inch railing met the rushing river below us. He stopped there, turning to me, who was rubbing my sore shoulder, and Wyett, who still limped a little.

With it being the middle of the afternoon, the Pit was almost empty.

I had a feeling about where this was going and Eric's words confirmed it soon enough.

"You have a choice, both of you can go over the ledge, hang on for two minutes each and get excused for what happened, or one of you can hang on for five minutes," He said. "But you get to choose."

"Five minutes," Wyett said. "She's going to do it."

Eric looked delighted at this, his eyes lighting up as he looked at me, "Do you agree?"

"What's the catch?" I asked instantly. "Two minutes each means we get excused, but one person doing it for five gets what?"

"You'll find out,"

I glanced at the railing. It was barely two inches high, looking more like a tiny step than a railing. There was metal under this bit too, making it so there is more to grab or hold up the small platform between this rock and the next.

My shoulder was already sore. If I hung on my arms, I know I would somehow hurt it more by pulling it.

I sat down on the platform, hanging my legs over the edge until I turned onto my stomach so that my legs and hips were off the ledge.

The others gasped as I did so, many believing I wouldn't do it.

"I'll need help getting up later," I said, letting myself do a controlled drop into a hanging position where my hands latched onto the metal bars of the platform.

"Five minutes starts now," Eric said, looking at his watch.

I had chosen two, thin bars to hang from. Both were level and even, so I had a slightly easier time holding on than if they were different or on an angle. My fingers were on the bar, rather than my palms as I knew this would work better. My thumbs were tucked over my fingers, letting my hands grip the bare tightly.

Drops flickered onto my back from the wild river below me, chilling me as it reminded me that if I dropped myself, I'd die. There was nothing else about it. I refused to let myself die because of this. There were better ways to go out than like this.

The passive hang I put myself in hurt. A lot.

But the passive hang was the easiest to hold for the longest time.

My whole body was relaxed, my spine and hips neutral so my legs stuck out in front of me a little. I hung in a way that would put the pressure of everything on my wrists and shoulders, letting my bones keep me hanging as my hands gripped the bar.

I didn't realise how long had passed until the pain in my right shoulder manifested more and more. I took deeper breaths, trying to contain the pain until I couldn't. Even past that small threshold, I held on with both arms. I had to close my eyes to keep my concentration.

The burning got too much, and then the pop happened again.

I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming as my right shoulder dislocated.

I let my right arm drop from the bar, feeling myself swing to the left as I did so. I looked down, the rushing waters looking closer than before but that was just fear talking. I looked up, seeing Eric crouched down at the edge as he glanced at his watch.

"Minute and a half are left," He said.

Fuck.

It wasn't a long time but it sure felt like it.

I didn't let my grip falter even with the knowledge of time counting down. In my mind, I counted. After the first thirty seconds were up in my mind, I told myself there were two thirty second bits left instead of a full minute. It made it seem like time went by quicker that way.

The second thirty-second bit came and went.

I closed my eyes, feeling myself swing a little as the pain from my shoulder heated me up even with the cold water splashing at my bareback.

"Time's up," Eric said, extending a hand.

I looked up at him and then to my shoulder, "It's dislocated. I did say I would need help up after."

He made a face at that, grabbing my good arm still holding onto the bar as Four kneeled next to him. Both of them helped me up, getting me onto solid ground where Four looked at my shoulder. He quickly agreed that it was dislocated.

"Since it was decided between you two and you both agreed," Eric started again as soon as I stood up, cradling my right arm close to my chest to give it some support. "You both agreed to the punishment. Alexandria, your actions in the fight have been excused, but you will still have to go to Max to discuss what happened. Wyett…For this whole stage, you will be ranked last."

"What?" He almost shouted. "How is that fair?!"

"We agreed, didn't we?" I turned to him, almost smiling at his anger. "You wanted me to hang for five minutes instead of us both doing two. We both agreed to the test and to the punishment. You nor I knew about the punishment. At least I asked about the catch."

"You bit—" He came forward with a fist raised but Eric was much quicker, sweeping him off his feet. Wyett landed on his back, Eric's boot on his chest and his head barely hanging off the edge.

"I've had enough of you," Eric mumbled. "Lauren, get this piece of shit to Max. Four, you go finish the last fight between your class. Everyone else, lunch. Go."

Everyone was quick to disperse before they had some of Eric's wrath put onto them. I barely turned when he grabbed me by my bad arm, making me hiss. He retracted but didn't apologise.

"Follow me to the infirmary," He used two fingers to gesture for me to follow. "Even in pain, you didn't give up."

It was a statement rather than a question.

I nodded. "Dauntless never gives up."

"A good Dauntless knows their limits,"

"I still have one arm, don't I?"

The tiny quirk of his lip made me realise I amused him.

I smirked, taking that as a win.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Max rubbed the bridge of his nose as Wyett and I sat in the chairs in front of his desk. "Should I even ask what happened?"

His office was sparsely decorated, with a plant under a small, fluorescent lamp and a single picture frame on his desk. The bookcase to the left was full of all sorts of books, many on traditions and laws of the factions and even some on history.

"How on Earth did you let this happen?" He said, looking to the three trainers as he gestured to us. "She has stitches and he had a shattered nose. Not broken, shattered!"

My right cheekbone was bruised yellow, half-healed with a couple of stitches in it. On the side of my temple, there was a darker brown bruise, along with my eye just being yellow now. My arm was in a sling. It felt fine now but it would take another day or two before I was allowed to take it out of the sling. I had light bruising on my throat. Unsurprisingly, I was mostly healed up by the end of my trip to the infirmary.

"I wanted to see how far it would go," Eric said.

"Lauren and I wanted to stop it as soon as we saw him choking her," Four said, looking at the unguilty culprit, "But Eric didn't."

"What even happened?" Max asked. "Why would you let a Dauntless-born fight a transfer?"

"Both groups were uneven so it made sense," Four said.

"In theory, yes. In practically, not at all," He looked at Wyett who sunk in his seat to try and hide his bruised and formerly shattered nose. "Wyett, tell me what happened during the fight?"

I turned to Wyett expectantly, daring him to say anything that wasn't the truth when three people had seen the fight in the room.

"We were instructed to fight so we did. Punches, kicks, dodgers, stuff we've been taught," He said. "Then I got her on the ground. I was on her, punching her face which is allowed. She got me off somehow and then kicked me in the stomach three times. Then I attacked her again and…"

"And what, initiate?" Max demanded, suddenly becoming a lot more serious as Wyett didn't continue to speak. "You? What happened?" He looked at me.

"He attacked me, grabbing my arm, pulling me towards him. It caused my shoulder to pop. He then began to strangle me with both hands after punching me in the face again. I figured if he could strangle me, I could knee him in the balls so I did, then I kneed him in the face too," I admitted. "Then I spat at him and finally kicked him in the stomach for good measure."

Max rubbed a hand down his face, "Why are the girls always so much more violent?" He muttered to himself.

"It was either the balls or his eyes," I said truthfully. "I thought the balls would be easier to heal."

Lauren laughed, "We don't have to hold back in Dauntless, Max. Plus we don't have two fragile eggs hanging between our legs that are ripe for the kicking."

"Thanks for that, Lauren," He said. "Wyett, has anyone explained what will happen next?"

"Besides that I'm going to rank last in the physical stage, no," He grumbled.

"Good. Only for this stage. You'll be able to go up ranks on the next stage if needed," Max looked at me. "Alexandria, you'll be excused from fighting in the next set. Your arm needs to heal before you fight again but it shouldn't take more than a day or two. Eric, did you tell them?"

"Nope," He didn't even look up from his cuticles as he rubbed a thumb over his nails.

"Okay," Max said. "There was a net under the platform. There is always a net under the platform for the first month when the initiation period is going on. There are some trainers as ruthless as Eric—" He paused giving Eric a small glare which the man took no notice— "That like to torment the initiates with this punishment. If you do pass, it does bump up your rank a little."

I turned my head, glaring at Eric, "There was… a net?"

"Of course," He said it as if it was simple. "We don't need initiates killing themselves if they can't hang on."

"I can't fucking believe this," I looked away in anger, staring at anything that wasn't him. "I dislocated my shoulder for fucking nothing?"

He shrugged. "Your ranking went up."

"I am seventh," I snapped. "I'm the highest in the transfer side already."

"And now you're fourth,"

I didn't have anything to say to that, secretly happy my ranking was in the top five.

Now all I had to do was get it in the top three.

"I've had enough of all of your faces," Max waved his hand. "Dismissed. I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the day."

)()()(

"Here she is!" Nickles almost screamed as I came into the canteen after being dismissed by Max. "Our wonderful ball crusher!"

"For gods' sake," I laughed, coming over to sit down. "He's lucky I didn't crush them. An inch higher and I would have."

Rori flicked my forehead, "That Erudite mind comes in handy then. I can't believe you hung for five minutes! Five!"

"Leave her," Seleca almost snapped, placing a muffin in front of me. They had become one of my favourites. "How's your arm?"

I shrugged, unwrapping the black packaging before picking bits to eat, "It's alright. Just need to wear the sling to let the joint heal up better. I go back tomorrow to get the bandage taken off."

"Good," She nodded as she chewed into an apple for lunch. "He deserved what he got. He knows better. We all do. We should have intervened but Lauren told us not to."

Wyett and his friends, who I soon found out were named Graham and Berrett, sat away from us.

"Some things can't be helped," I said.

)()()(

By the end of the fourth day, I was ready to just give up on life and sleep for an eternity. I had given up with any sort of modesty, going to sleep in my thong and the thinnest shirt I owned since I was not ready to be flaunting my breasts just yet.

The sling was removed yesterday and I was back to fighting today. I had gone against Julian, the only Abnegation, and had won my fight.

I had barely closed my eyes when the dormitory door opened and the light of flashlights echoed throughout the room. Pulling my blanket over my head, I ignored the command that came from a voice.

The blanket was ripped off of me, revealing the flashlight pointed at me. It was moved, a black splodge left in my vision before I saw Eric's grinning face.

"You too, spitfire," He said before calling out again. "Everyone up and get ready. We're going on a field trip, boys! Five minutes to dress and meet us by the tracks."

I glared at him before I rubbed the balls of my hands into my eyes, groaning in despair for only ten seconds.

He left soon enough.

I was dressed and slipped my jacket on, leaving for the Pit within the minute.

There were several groups of Dauntless members seeming to run towards the exit nearest the tracks. Dauntless-borns came in a huge group, followed by a couple of lingering transfers. I was ahead but my friends caught up quickly.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"Dauntless tradition," Rori said. I had never seen her smile so wide or happy as now. "Paintballing. Only adults are allowed to take part but I've heard it is so fun."

Druid poked me in the back, "I hope we're on different teams."

"I get to beat your ass then."

As soon as we were in the dark of night, I zipped up my jacket due to the wind was cold. We came to the tracks soon enough, finding a dark pile of long barrel guns. We grabbed one of them and a box of ammunition called 'PAINTBALLS'.

I had read about this in school. In other parts of the world, where they weren't as strict as controlling who got to see the inside of the city limits, they had used painting as a recreational activity. Dauntless probably did the same.

"Grab a gun, people!" Eric shouted as he walked through the group, getting away from the pile and so towards my group of friends. "Lovely wake-up call, wasn't it, spitfire?"

"It was fucking horrible," I said plainly, which made him laugh. I turned my head a little, addressing my friends, "He ripped my blanket off me."

"Four!" Eric suddenly looked over his shoulder. "Time estimate?"

"Any minute now!" Four said, coming over to half glare at him. "How long is it going to take you to memorize the train schedule?"

"Why should I, when I have you to remind me of it?" Eric snickered, shoving Four's shoulder.

The train came seconds later, coming from the left. The first indication was the light that had cast a shadow on Four's face, and then made Eric's eyes bright when the light hit it.

Four was the first on the train, followed quickly behind by Eric and a couple of members. No one waited for anyone else. I had started sprinting, lining myself up with one of the doors before hooking my hand into the other handle and almost letting gravity swing me into the compartment when I lifted myself off the ground.

It took barely ten seconds to get everyone onto the train, letting Four speak to explain what would happen next.

"We'll be dividing into two teams to play capture the flag. Each team will have an even mix of members, Dauntless-born initiates, and transfers. One team will get off first and find a place to hide their flag. Then the second team will get off and do the same." He paused, scanning us, "This is a Dauntless tradition, so I suggest you take it seriously."

"What do we get if we win?" Aiden asked.

"Sounds like the kind of question someone not from Dauntless would ask," Four frowned before becoming passive. "You get to win, of course."

"Four and I will be your team captains," Eric went to stand next to Four. "Let's divide up transfers first, shall we?"

He nodded, "You go first."

I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes for a second to help them get used to the dark quicker.

"Spitfire,"

"Not my name and you know it."

I opened my eyes to see Eric shrug and smile his crooked smile again.

"It's a good name," He said. "You spat blood at Wyett after the fight. Spitfire works wonders."

I didn't comment but I didn't hate the nickname.

"I'll take Rhett," Four said.

Rhett was an Amity boy.

"Issac,"

Erudite.

"Hudson,"

Amity.

"Aiden," Eric said.

Julian and Kingston went to Four, while Henry, Noah and Santiago went to Eric.

When the Dauntless-borns were done, Four got the first choice. Rori, Nickles, Luka, Graham, Walker, River, Calvin and Wyett went to him, while Eric got Druid, Francey, Seleca, Finn, Barrett, Blake and Grant.

There were equal parts smarts and strength in the groups.

Eric popped his head out of the train again. I glanced out the door at the dark sky. I wished I was in bed still.

"Your team can get off second," Eric firmly said.

"Don't do me any favours," Four winked.

Eric salutes him, "My team, stand up. Don't need any of you falling off just yet."

When we jumped and began walking away from the train tracks, I took a breath of the cold air. I looked around, recognising where we were.

Erudite headquarters wasn't far from here, it was just south and only the better part of a mile. This place was a fairground, old and unused and ready to be demolished but no one did. Probably because it was used for Dauntless' tradition of Capture the Flag.

"So," Eric said, turning around to address us as we stopped randomly in the dark. "What's the plan?"

"Split up, half fight them, half hide and guard the flag?" Blake asked.

I spoke up, "What's the rules about the flag? Does it need to be seen or accessible?"

"Good question, spitfire," He said, unzipping the pocket of his leather jacket to reveal a triangle of bright, neon green fabric. "This is our flag. The flag has to be accessible, so chucking it down a ditch isn't going to work. It also has to be seen, so hiding it in the dirt isn't going to work either."

"What did the last lot do?" Someone asked, an older member. "I don't remember."

"Four's group had the flag at the carousel,"

"Why don't we do that again?"

Eric nodded, rolling his eyes but otherwise not arguing as many people started jogging towards the fairgrounds. I caught up to Eric as he walked like a couple of other members.

"We're coming up to a marsh," I said, having an idea of this area. "And depending on how accessible it has to be, I think I know somewhere we can hide the flag."

"What's your idea?" He asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"The marsh hardens over the summer, being too dry, but it's only September so it's still wet but dry enough,"

"Get to the point,"

I rolled my eyes, "Probably easier to show you."

"Fine, show me."

We began to jog lightly, a couple of members following us.

The marsh used to be a huge lake, and now only the centre held water. However, in the midst of the cold, dark water, there was solid ground with a single, half-dead in the middle. Railing sat around the edge of the whole place, preventing us from going to the water edge without climbing over it.

"How on earth do you mean to get the flag there?" He made a face.

"Swim, of course," I said. "It's like two metres deep at worst, and that starts about four metres away from the centre before it becomes shallower."

"Who do you think is willing to swim in unknown water in the dark?" He looked around, watching loads of people shake their heads.

I gestured to Druid then myself, "I'm willing to swim it."

"If you are, I am too," He said. "Is that our plan? Put it in open sight to lure them out?"

"Better than the fairground," Eric admitted. "Anyone else wants a dip in the lake? No? Then I want a perimeter around here. The other half will go on offence with me."

I unzipped my jacket, slipping that off before also doing my shoes and socks. There was no chance in hell I was going to swim in them. As much as I wanted to do it in just my sports bra and underwear, I knew I would freeze even quicker that way.

Druid did the same, as did a male member of Dauntless and Finn from the Dauntless-borns. We put all of our stuff by a tree nearby, so it would help us remember where we put our shit.

I went over to Eric for the flag, waiting for him to dismiss the people he had around him.

He faced me, shaking his head at the think tank top and trousers I had on. "You're gonna freeze."

I shrugged. "Rather now than later with soggy shoes and jacket."

He rolled his eyes, reaching forward to drag me by the belt closer. We were barely a breath away from each other as he reached down to hold one of my belt loops. He untucked the flag again, leaning closer to me to lowly mutter with a snap to his words. "Hold on to it for me."

Eric looped the neon green flag through one of the belt loops of my trousers before tying it off. We were frozen for a second as I smiled, or tried to stop myself from smiling at that. He scowled, rolling his eyes once again before lifting a fist and stepping away.

"We've got four swimmers going across, I want all four back on land afterwards too," He said. "We'll wait for them to get on the little island before setting off. Capture the Flag has officially started!"

I tugged on the flag, making sure it was secure before climbing the small fencing along with the three others. There was a small drop into the cold water right below and I allowed myself to drop into it.

Eric walked over as we got in, "Everyone alive down there?"

His knees were at my eye level so it wasn't too deep. He leaned on the railing as he snickered and glanced down at us.

"Alive and swimming," I muttered, feeling the water go straight to my bones as we waded into the deeper parts before we couldn't feel the bottom and had to start swimming.

"Wave the flag when you're there so we know,"

It took a solid minute or two of swimming to get to the deepest part of it, and then there were a couple of metres before we would hit land in the centre. The dirt stuck to our feet when we got to the island, but we weren't muddy. The whole lake was surprisingly clear in the day, only getting murky when something unsettled the dirt and sand on the floor.

I tugged the side of the flag, letting Eric know we had gotten to the land safe.

Sitting down, I leaned on my hands, getting comfy.

Druid copied. "We're gonna be here a while, aren't we?"

"Yep," I said, closing my eyes.

For the next half hour, until Eric came bearing the orange flag and to tell us we were to swim back, we taunted whoever tried to get over here. We were shot at but the paintballs fell short every single time.

It was easy and fun.

)()()(

Visiting day was a solemn affair in the morning, everyone dressing quietly in the dorm. Many of them knew there wouldn't be family for them to visit so they weren't the most enthusiastic about it. They didn't want to look at each and every face on the Pit floor, never finding one that belonged to them.

I was sitting on my bed, finishing up the laces on my boots when Eric walked in.

"Attention, people," He announced, making many people pause. "Some advice for today. If by some miracle your families do come and visit, it is best you don't seem too attached. Better for you and them. Everyone understands that transferring is a difficult process both for teens and parents. It will make everything easier for you and them if you don't seem too attached. Understood?" He watched everyone nod glumly before looking to the corner where I was. "Spitfire, I need a word with you before you go see your family."

I came over slowly, letting everyone else filter out of the room as Eric looked at his tablet for a second. He handed me the tablet.

"It's Dauntless protocol to warn any Divergents of their fear simulation," He said as I looked at the details they had on me. There was a link to the video of my aptitude test there too. "Fear simulations are the second stage, but because of your situation, they will be much worse than normal. You get partnered with a qualified member to go into the fearscapes with, to make sure you're not gonna be damaged enough to want to throw yourself into the chasm."

"Let me guess, that person is you?" I asked, handing the tablet back.

"You know it," He smirked. "Max thought that since I let you get hurt, it's gonna be my responsibility to mentor you too."

"Fun," I said. "Can I go?"

"Sure, dismissed,"

)()()(

Both of my parents were there, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room in dark green and brown or blue and black. I walked over when I saw them, hugging my father and greeting my mother.

"You've gotten skinny," Mother said. "But you look healthy."

"Eight until six is training, Mother," I said.

"I can tell," Father said, pinching my bicep since I was wearing a tank top instead of my jacket today. "You're becoming strong."

"Yeah, fighting is part of our training."

"Hope you're not exposing our secrets, spitfire!"

I cringed at Eric's voice, turning to see him trot over to my family.

"I thought I left you in the dorms," I muttered.

"Spitfire?" Father asked.

Eric grinned at this, "Alexandria went against a Dauntless-born initiate the other day, due to there being an uneven number of both sides. Her opponent did an illegal move during training and she kneed him in the balls before spitting blood at him."

My father looked a little horrified at this,

"He was strangling me, Dad," I clarified, "And I kneed him when he wouldn't stop. The blood was from a split lip I got during the fight. It's fine now."

Father didn't like it, I could tell, but he nodded. "I'm Dante, Alexandria's dad."

"Eric Coulter, I'm a leader and I oversee parts of the initiates' training," Eric greeted politely.

I had never seen him so polite or so civil before. Now I thought he had an alternative motive.

He couldn't like me, could he?

It explained a couple of the things he had done in the last couple of days. But he was a trainer and I was an initiate so it would be frowned on. If anything were to happen, I would have thought it would happen after all of this. I couldn't bring up my hope too much, nothing could happen for all I know.

"Your daughter is doing well," He said, not looking at me. He made sure to keep his attention on my parents as my mother nodded along. "She is top on the transfer side, and is placed fourth overall."

"Good," My mother said, turning to me. "What job do you expect to have? Have any stuck out to you yet?"

"I don't know yet," I said, licking my lower lip quickly.

"What." My mother started, her eyes narrowing at my mouth. "Was that thing in your mouth?"

I stuck my tongue out, "My piercing?"

Father laughed. "I'm not even surprised. What do you have planned next?"

"I don't plan for more until after initiation," I admitted. "I don't need them being ripped out."

"Good idea," Eric said, touching his right ear. "I had one ripped out. Lost a tiny chunk of my ear at the cartilage."

I shivered, "Thanks for that image."

He laughed, "You're welcome. I'll leave you to visit. I have other families to inform of their initiates."

He left with a glance back and a smirk.

"I like him," Mother said.

I didn't comment.

)()()(

I was ranked fourth out of all of the initiates and I was the highest in both the female and transfer groups.

When it was announced, my friends rallied around together, congratulating Druid for being second and me fourth. Everyone else was in the top ten.

Much like I was dragged onto to get a piercing, I was dragged by Druid to do a little 'initiation ritual' as he and the other Dauntless-borns called it.

Many ideas ran through my head about what it could be but as we went up several stairs to the top of the Dauntless compound, down the area to find the tracks, they went out of my mind as we ran. It was a warm day but not unusually so. The train sounded, coming down the tracks at speeds faster than normal.

Initiates and members alike got on with ease, a few needing help as it was faster than normal. I was the only transfer in a place of Dauntless but I felt more alive than I had ever been. Rori pushed me into the train, laughing as she launched herself in with the others.

The six of us sit in a small pack, backs against legs, against people against walls. I sat nearest the door, and to feel a little more alive, I let one-foot dangle out the edge but I still held onto the handles for some security. The train sped up a lot.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked.

Druid shrugged, "No clue. None of the initiates knows. All I know is that Daith said it was gonna be fun."

"Daith?"

"My brother," He said. "He's a couple of years older than us. Works security in Erudite. You might've seen him, blue hair and a nasty scar down his cheekbone?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember him," I said, knowing who he meant. That man worked in the Erudite HeadQuarters as a guard in the upper levels.

Someone tapped me on the knee, making me turn to the right. "I'm Shauna!" She stuck out her hand and I shook it.

"Alexandria,"

"I know," She shouted over the wind. "Four and Eric were in my year. You're the spitfire Eric raves about."

"Raves? I don't know about that,"

"Oh, no. He raves about you to the others," She said. "Especially since he took you on."

"You know about that?"

"Yeah, all initiates get a mentor for the fearscapes. Keeps it fair. I'm gonna apply to have an initiate next year. I didn't have time this year for that shit."

I nodded in understanding.

)()()(

We were to go down a black sling on a set of steel cables a thousand feet from the ground. The Hancock building was the tallest one here, so it made sense for us to go up the elevators to the top floor before piling onto the roof.

"We're going down that!" Shauna smiled, gesturing to the cable.

Shauna was the first person, wiggling in the sling until she was on her stomach and her body was supported by black fabric. Zeke, a Dauntless member from her class, pulled a strap across her shoulders, the small of her back and the top of her thighs. He pulled her to the edge of the building before Shauna gave a thumbs up and he shoved her off the building.

In the next couple of minutes, people were off into the darkness with ease, unfearing of how they would get off.

"Oh, you're going before me," Druid said, standing behind me in line. There were only a couple of people before me. I pulled my hair up and out of my way as I grabbed a black sling. Six minutes later, I was next.

"First initiate is going!" Zeke yelled, getting hollers from everyone.

"She's our first jumper too!" Nickels shouted.

That got huge applause and shouting from everyone. If I wasn't used to being stared at by now, I would have blushed. My heart was racing in my chest but I welcomed the feeling.

The thrill of adrenaline was beautiful!

I was on my stomach, suspended in the fabric as Zeke slipped and tightened the straps about me.

Zeke tugged on the pulley, making sure it was secure before looking down at me with the feral look of Dauntless, "Ready, set, g—"

It was… beautiful.

I was launched into the air, feeling the way the fabric of the sling slid across the metal cable as I glided through the air without reason. I felt like a bird as I picked up speed, the wind cold on my face. I had to narrow my eyes to prevent windburn on them.

I laughed as I sped up, locking my hands inwards since I knew it would make me go faster and faster. I wanted to shout, to scream, but the wind stopped me as I got a bug in my mouth. I laughed again at that.

My heart beat so hard, it hurt. I couldn't scream, couldn't breathe, but I felt everything, every vein and every fibre, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in my body.

I felt like pure adrenaline, alive like a wire and ready to react.

When the ground began to bulge below me, letting the tiny people there be seen by me, I yelled in excitement, making the figures on the ground pump their fists and yell back.

Sadly, I began to slow down as I neared the ground. That probably meant that I was to get off soon. I was about twenty feet above ground now, and because I went down from a thousand, undoing the straps holding me in felt like nothing.

I trusted them to catch me in their net of limbs. I hit their arms hard. Wrist bones and forearms pressed into my back, and then palms wrapped around my arms and pulled me to my feet.

All I could hear were grins and laughter as they helped me up.

Shauna clapped me on the back, "What'd you think?"

I laughed without meaning to. "When can I go again?"

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Each initiate had a mentor, someone who was a member of Dauntless and could spare the time to teach and mentor them. It was a way to help the initiates get into the swing of Dauntless quicker.

I got Eric, I thought, because of the incident with Wyett.

Because I had Eric, I had to wake up each morning at five AM to go to the training room. I was still in the dorm with the boys, but none of them had to wake up any time before eight.

I wandered into the training room by quarter past five on the first day of the second stage, dressed in only a sports bra and trousers as I already knew the routine we were going to be doing. We hadn't started the fear simulations yet. It was going to be later that day.

"Tell me again why, after the physical stage is finished, that I have to continue training while they don't?" I asked loudly, walking into the training room with a grumble.

Eric was at the punching bags, dressed in dark trousers, no shirt and his dog tags rattling on his chest. It showed off his tattoos, the ones where the slightly thick and geometrical designs went from his neck and down his back. There were several thick lines, designs weaving into them in morse code.

FEAR was on the left side of his spine while LESS was on the right, embedded as dots and dashes in the dark lines of his tattoos. His forearm tattoos were like a maze and had the Dauntless Flame insignia in the middle, his right arm holding the Erudite eye symbol.

Eric was an Erudite transfer then.

Like me.

I couldn't stop staring as he went at the punching bags. It was pretty hot.

"Aren't you chipper?" He snickered, forcing the punching bag to stop moving but grabbing it. His biceps bulged.

I put my thumb and index finger a hair's breadth away from each other, "I was this close to sleeping until eight, Eric. This close, and I am right now regretting the fact I'm awake because I have to deal with your happy-go-lucky ass."

He looked a little taken aback but I didn't care. I was tired and aching from our previous stage.

"Someone isn't a morning person."

"I'm not a day person," I muttered, rubbing one of my eyes. "What are we even doing? I've been taught what's needed already, so what could you show me?"

"You've been shown the basics," He said, coming towards me so he stood a foot or two away. "But you don't get taught enough to actually survive in Dauntless. Perhaps it's enough to guard a place like the fences, but if you were asked to go outside there, to another city which had a higher crime rate, what would you do?"

To leave the city was a privilege, one that few got.

We weren't the only place with factions in the world. With a population of about thirty thousand people, we were on the smaller side for a city. There were places with ten times the amount of people we had. I visited one of these places with my mother when I was younger. It was during summer so I didn't have school and she didn't want to leave me.

I could remember all of the injections and vaccinations I had to have before I was allowed to leave the grounds of the city.

"Why would I go to another city?" I asked. "And why would I be without an escort there?"

Whenever we had visitors from outside, they were escorted around the place unless they were Dauntless that could protect themselves or someone important enough that they didn't need one.

He raised his hand, flicking me in the forehead, "Stop using logic."

"Fine," I said. "Truth be told, if I went against a guy like you, my best method would be headbutting you and then kneeing you in the balls."

He tried to prevent a laugh, making him sound like a pig before he let it out. "For fucks sake. What is it with your knees and balls? Is there a magnetic field or something?"

"More like an idiot aversion shield," I rolled my eyes. "Helps keep the dickheads away then."

"Sure," He shook his head. "I've identified you as a good candidate."

"For what?"

"Leadership,"

What?

I took a second to comprehend, "Why?"

"Four's observation, your thinking in that fight with Wyett, and all the weapon training you had," He said. "Your scoring is doing well and under my training, you'll do even better. Each leader gets to select a candidate and Max has the final say in who becomes one of us."

"That doesn't answer my question. Why me out of all the initiates?"

"I heard about you doing the zip cable." He smirked. "First jumper and first initiate to fly. That takes balls most of the time. And the hanging helped you get into my good books."

"I didn't have much choice with the hanging over the chasm, now did I?"

His smirk at that made me look away for a second, "You beat the record of three minutes, so I think that gives you an advantage in my book."

I shrugged, "What are we even doing today?"

"Oh," He looked at me with the demented look of a trainer ready to click a punishment on their initiate. It was his normal look. "You're doing laps to get your stamina up, sweet cheeks."

I scowled at both the nickname and the exercise.

)()()(

Eric dropped me off at the dark halfway with the other initiates, going into the closed room.

Nickels lifted a hand when I passed him, letting me greet him with a handshake before I sat down next to him with Druid, Rori and Francey across from us.

"Where've you been?" Druid asked.

"Eric's my mentor," I said. "Been forced to do exercise to keep fit. Is this everyone?"

"Yeah, no," Rori spoke up. "Garret's with his mentor right now. He'll be here for his simulation but otherwise, our mentors can take us at any time. I got a guy from the fence. He gave up with me within ten minutes when I complained about walking, sent me straight here."

I snorted. "I'm not surprised."

"Oi," A boy said from Rori's left, Walker, I believe, "Who's ranked first on your side?"

I lifted a hand before dropping it again.

Walker smirked, "Okay. I'm not surprised then. Who's ranked after you?"

"That would be Aiden," I said, gesturing to the other side where he sat with his Candor friends and Wyett and his lot.

"Walker," He greeted, leaning forward so I could shake his hand. "Pleasure to meet yah, Alexandria. Someone had to bring Wyett down a peg or two. I'm first while Druid is second and River third."

I nodded for acknowledgement of what he said, the door to the side opening quickly and Eric stalked out. He stopped in front of me.

"Come on," He said. "We're in the other room."

"Already my turn?" I stood.

"No, but I want to get this over with," He waited until I was at his side and started walking with him. "The sooner we see what you fear, the faster I can get you out of it."

The new room was dark, with a reclining metal chair similar to the aptitude test one, and a machine next to it. A set of flat screens sat on the walls, attached to the machine so if anyone was to observe, they could watch there.

"Sit," He said, putting his hand on my back and gently guiding me into the room. I did as asked. "I won't lie, this will be difficult for you, both emotionally and mentally. The serum had to be adjusted for Divergents, and so it makes the fearscape so much worse. Think of a fear and then multiply it by ten. When we first had this serum, we had plenty of people taking their lives afterwards."

"Is it that bad?" I looked at him, watching as he came over to the machines as I sat in the chair. "Not that I don't believe you, but have they actually killed themselves afterwards?"

"Yes," He said. "The serum is extreme. It heightens your fear and paranoia so it would take you the same amount of effort as an individual who wasn't Divergent. This serum is the reason we have the mentorship during the second and third stage, to keep you all alive."

"Fun," I muttered. "Is it a liquid I drink or what?"

"No, needle," He picked the needle up to which I gagged.

"That thing's massive,"

He grinned, "That's what she said."

"Yeah, never seen an ego so bloated compared to the dick size," I snapped back as the needle neared me.

He rolled his eyes as he saw the face I made, the whining fear of it coming close.

Eric took my face by the chin, running a thumb down the bottom lip, which quite easily distracted me, before turning my head and sliding the needle in quickly. It was out as soon as it was it.

I slapped his hand away, "Asshole."

"I never said I wasn't," He glanced at the machine. "You'll be under within the minute. You stay in the hallucination until you calm down, lowering your heart rate and controlling your breathing."

I clenched my fists in my lap, already curious about what would I fear and how many things. The fewer fears, the easier to conquer them.

"Relax," Eric said, looking back at me. "The first time is always the hardest."

I closed my eyes.

)()()(

I was floating

I just floated on the ocean water. Land was nowhere to be seen and the water was calm, and clear, and kind. I didn't need to move, didn't need to think, to touch, to feel. It was pure heaven as I floated. My body, mind, and spirit completely numb to the touch. I could have just stayed there forever.

The water enveloped me, pushing me within its depths without a care. I started treading water as soon as it hit my nose. The waters mocked me as I tried to keep my head above the water, kicking my legs as fast and as steadily as I could. It was to no avail as the water consumed me.

The icy temperatures stung my nose and eyes. Once again, my head reached the surface and I took in a deep breath, settling the air into my stomach before I was dunked back under the water. Something held me down as I struggled to reach the surface, barely getting another breath before plunging back in.

Why was there ice?

It wasn't there before.

Why would it appear so suddenly?

The next time I hit the surface, a thin layer of ice, almost invisible, covered the surface but I couldn't break it. I banged my fists against the layer, wanting to get out and see the sky. It did nothing as I curled up against it, trying to use my knees and elbows, and hands, and head, and nails, to get out.

I took a second to consider but my fight renewed itself, almost making my hands bleed with how much force I extorted.

I tried to scream, finding my voice muffled by the water around me. I tried to grasp the thousands of tiny air bubbles that reached the ice and phased through.

With the scream, my breath was gone. Water filled my mouth but I was quick to spit it out.

I paused, my energy depleted for the moment. I was dragged down, my limbs too heavy to move anymore.

As I went further and further away from the surface, the waters darkened dangerously. My will to fight just made me be dragged down further but I couldn't move. I didn't want to. Why was I becoming tired? My eyelids wanted to drop and there was a strong desire to just stop moving and let go.

I let myself drift down, taking a breath as I suddenly sat up in an empty room.

It was a small room, only about six by six feet and I stood in the middle.

"No," I said out loud when I saw all four walls begin to come closer. "Fuck off. Not this shit!"

It wasn't that I feared enclosed spaces, but rather the lack of control I would feel when the walls began to press into my sides within seconds. It closed up until I couldn't move, and then the ceiling and floor began to move too. I was curled up in a ball, my heart racing but otherwise, I was calm.

I knew the serum didn't know the difference between real fear and what the body showed as fear. So I had to take several deep, or as deep as I could, breaths to try and lower my heart rate. It took several more to even get it down a little but it was enough to find myself in a new place.

There was nothing around me.

Only darkness.

I wasn't scared of the dark.

But I heard bumps and creaks and scratches in the darkness of the place I wasn't.

I felt something crawl around near my feet.

Something touched my shoulder.

Another thing traced a talon down my thigh.

It was the uncertainty of what was in the dark that made my adrenaline spike and my heart race a little.

I had to ignore all of my instincts, taking a breath before beginning to take a few steps forward. Even as things grabbed at my clothing, I stepped forward. Something touched my neck and my elbow went back and into whatever it was.

I was grabbed from all places, almost dragged back but I saw an open door in front of me, letting light into the black room. I had to drag myself near it as more and more grabbed me and pulled.

I misstepped and fell to my knees, quickly being dragged back a couple of feet before I could start to crawl again.

My hands wrapped around the edge of the doorframe, pulling myself into the next room. The door shut behind me as I stood up.

I was in my childhood home, the one before I moved with my mother to be closer to the Erudite headquarters. It was small, with only two bedrooms with a little open kitchen and living room.

There was a sofa before an empty fireplace. A coffee table sat before it, lined with pictures and a scrapbook. There were several pictures there as I walked over, sitting on the sofa.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Where was I?

I knew each and every one of these photos, all holding both my mother and father in them. They were smiling, but where was the smiling mini-me? These were all photos of my family together, the blue of my mother being a contrast against the red of my father. But I wasn't there.

I flicked through the scrapbook before I found another little girl in the pictures. She could have been my sister. We had the same dark hair as our father and the same grey eyes like our mother. The crooked dimple smile and the way we tilted our heads mischievously.

I changed the page.

Pictures of my new Dauntless-born friends, together with the mysterious girl who now had a streak of green through her hair. There were several of her, all with my friends.

Another page showed a picture of her again, getting a set of dog tags. It was the same we knew who was a leader in Dauntless. Eric had them, as did Max. I hadn't met the other leaders yet.

This was another fear.

My family replacing me, my friends replacing me.

I did not exist in this universe.

There was a sense of calm coming from knowing I didn't have any duties in this world, but it just made me angry.

I wanted those dog tags.

I wanted to feel the cold of the metal on my skin as I became a leader.

I wanted to hear my friends laugh over stupid fart jokes and hear Nickles laugh and make the tiny chains on his ears clink together.

Dropping the book, I sat back on the sofa. I just looked around, letting my body attune itself again and become calm again.

The door opened to the side, letting me know I could go onto the next fear.

The next place was a small field with rolling hills.

I laid in the grass for what seemed like hours, calmly taking in the warm sun as I relaxed.

The feeling of something crawling made me realise straight away what was next.

Spiders.

I hated spiders.

They were ugly.

Unnatural.

And walked funny.

They shouldn't have so many legs!

I sat up as I felt more of them begin to crawl up my skin. I cringed and gagged, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. I stood, looking at the ground where hundreds of thousands of different sized spiders began to emerge from the ground.

I was ready to scream but all I could do was shiver and gag and try and shake them off. They began to crawl up me, into my boots and trousers and my shirt and jacket until they came onto my face. I gagged again, getting them off my face but more came.

My heart was racing by this point and tears welled in my eyes. I felt sick as more of them crawled all over me. I gagged when one went into my mouth, another, smaller one going up on my nostril while I tried to stop myself from being sick.

They crawled and crawled, making me panic as their little legs touched my skin. I tried to brush them off but it didn't work, only making them come quicker and quicker. I began to rock myself on my feet for some sort of comfort as they ran up my skin.

I had to force myself to sit down, rocking forward and back to get some comfort as I felt the spiders crawl.

I hated spiders.

They made me panic.

They made me want to scream.

So I did.

I screamed to let out the fear.

I cried a little too.

I wasn't ashamed to admit I cried at the spiders crawling over my skin.

After all, it helped me calm down.

Eric held the bin next to the chair, rubbing my back as I threw up into it. It took a second or two but I calmed down fully and wiped away my tears. I needed to rinse my mouth out.

"You did well," He said, putting the bin down and checking the machine. "Five minutes. I want to get that down to four minutes and I can be assured you'll be top then. The average time is about twelve minutes. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I gasped before groaning. "There's more of this shit?"

"You're actually not supposed to go through all of your fears," He said. "But Divergents do. It helps to overload them quickly the first time but next time we'll focus on one before moving forward."

"Can we not start with spiders?" I mumbled, pouting a little at him. "You saw my reaction. Do you want me to be sick on you next time? And why the fuck would they overload us? They're asking for us to off ourselves."

He raised his eyebrows at me, a curious but serious look on his face.

I waved it off, "I'm not gonna kill myself."

"Good," He said. "Because I'm taking you for a drink. After all, I've just seen, you need it."

)()()(

Eric's apartment was spacious, sleek and clean.

You went in, facing a small hallway with a bedroom to the left, a guest room to the right and straight down, you faced the open style kitchen and living room area. The wall farthest away from the front door had a huge window.

Sleek white panels lined the walls, keeping it warm but most of the left wall of the main area was still the stone that the rest of the Dauntless facility was. The floor was panelled with vinyl fake wood but it was a warm grey so it fit right in.

Eric wiped his feet as he came in, so I did the same.

"One drink and you can go to lunch," He said, going to the kitchen and opening up a cabinet. He grabbed two glasses, filling them an inch and a half before coming over.

I stood by the window, looking out of it to see the huge expansion of the city.

Erudite had plans to expand the city, letting more people have homes instead of being forced to live on grounds at their faction bases. It would allow many families to happen, letting children grow up in houses instead of apartments.

There were several large machines all over the once rock full of acres of land. The foundations were built for the houses, but they needed time to build up the actual houses and attach them to the main grid's electricity and water supply.

"They're expanding the city," I said, taking the glass. "Thank you."

"Yeah, I've been watching this happen since it started," Eric said, sipping the amber liquid in his glass. "They've still got a while before they will be finished."

"Three years before they're finished all of them," I said. He looked at me but I shrugged. "My mother is high-ranking. I got all the juicy details about new developments in technology and about the city."

He made a face at that, "Fair. how is it?"

I drank some of the alcohol, the slight burn down my throat was nice, "Good."

He smirked, "Most people cringe or cough at their first drink."

"I had alcohol at parties," I said, remembering the small gala-type parties I attended due to my mother's status. "I quickly found I liked the stronger stuff rather than wine or champagne. I hate sparkling water and champagne. Will it get better?"

"Will what?"

"The fearscape, will it get better? Easier?"

"God no," He laughed. "It doesn't get easier but it gets better. You did brilliantly for the first try, especially since you had to do all of your fears. Five fears? I hope you're not gonna start going by that."

"Hell no," I rolled my eyes. "I want it to be zero fears but I doubt that will happen."

"Probably not," He shrugged. "Feel better yet?"

I thought about it. I nodded, "A little, yeah."

"Good," Finishing up his drink, he took my empty glass before guiding me out. "Lunchtime. Come on."

)()()(

My knuckles were stained red from the training Eric had put me through. This was the first time I went through a set of workouts and ended up with bloodied knuckles. I worked through the pain until the session was over and I could go shower.

This time, I wasn't the only one in the shower.

I had stripped in the dorm surrounded by the half-asleep boys so they didn't pay much attention but a couple joined me in the hot showers.

I couldn't complain that I wasn't the only one showering. I was glad they were since they would stink of fear and sweat later.

"Morning," I greeted as Noah walked in with a towel around his hips.

"Morning, Alexis," He said as Rhett joined on the other side of him. Both of them tugged the metal handle, turning the hot water on.

I washed my hair first, putting the shampoo in before washing the lather out and putting the conditioner in and leaving it. I washed my body with a loofah, lathering myself up with the nice smelling shower gel before washing it off.

I finished with getting the conditioner out. I rinsed myself off once more for good measure before grabbing my large towel. I wrapped myself in it.

"See ya later," I said.

I had gotten used to seeing them half-dressed or near naked now. Being in the shower meant very little to me besides for an activity of getting clean.

I went to my bed, going to the drawers next to it to grab my underwear and bra. Slinking them on under my towel, I sat on my bed to look at the pile of clothes I got during the first stage.

Where the fuck were the rest of my clothes?

I had a pile, a decent-sized one actually, of clothing and now I couldn't find it.

Even the workout clothes I had were gone.

Noah and Rhett came in too.

Besides for us, there wasn't anyone in the dorm. They went to breakfast already.

"Hey, did you see anyone near my bed before you went in to shower?" I asked them.

They looked at each other.

"Did you see—?"

"Yeah. Do you think—?

"Defiantly."

"Fuck." They both swore.

I sighed, sitting on my bed in only my thong and bralette. "Who was it?"

"I think Aiden and his lot might have been near your stuff," Rhett said. "Sorry, we thought they were getting ready."

"It's fine," I stood up, going over to Aiden's bed and checking his drawers. My boots were under there.

They were trying to embarrass me but living with these boys and seeing many women dressed up scantily already made me almost immune now.

"Hey, do you want a shirt?" Noah asked.

"No," I started towards the door. "He's trying to intimidate me by embarrassing me. It's not gonna fucking work."

"Go kick his ass then," Rhett nodded. "He's been a pain since the beginning."

"You go, spitfire!" Noah shouted.

"Go fuck yourself, Amity!"

I was not happy about having to walk through the whole compound to get to the canteen in only my bra and underwear. I let my anger fuel me as I stalked. I didn't even have fucking socks so I couldn't wear shoes.

He fucking took them too.

Surprisingly, the floors were rather clean. I couldn't feel anything on my feet but the smooth rock and the occasional piece of rock I could easily miss.

I had a couple of funny looks sent my way but it was from most of the Dauntless members. I think they already knew what happened due to seeing the anger on my face.

The guy who was at the doorway to the canteen gave me a once down and then stepped aside. He smirked, knowing a little chaos was going to happen.

I ignored the surprised calls of my friends, scanning the room and finding the asshole and his group of friends.

I went over, ignoring the looks I got from everyone. I should have been embarrassed or at least concerned for my reputation but I didn't care.

I wanted to whoop his ass for thinking he could mess with me.

I was so close to getting to him, my hand reaching out to grab him by the collar but I was suddenly lifted by the waist and pulled away.

"I'm gonna kick his fucking ass!" I yelled, clawing at the tattooed arms around my waist. I kicked out, trying to get a single hit in but I was pulled away too far. "Eric, let me go!"

"Stop your wriggling!" He muttered, both arms wrapped around me as he took a couple of steady steps back to get distance between me and Aiden.

"He took my fucking clothes!" I snapped. "I want to kick his ass for this."

"Well," He said, putting me down when I had stopped kicking and wiggling and trying to get out of his arms. "You can do it when you're dressed."

Aiden turned to his friends, a leer and a snicker on his lips. He sent a glance back at me, muttering something I couldn't quite hear but it had my name in it.

I let Eric turn, feigning the fact I would listen.

Aiden's back was to me, so I stood, balancing myself properly before I sent a solid kick to his back.

He gasped as he was forced into the edge of the table. He got up, turning to me in anger.

"What the fuck was that for?" He said.

"For nicking my fucking clothes while I was in the shower,"

He rolled his eyes. "You've got no proof."

"I found my fucking shoes in your drawers,"

"Why were you in my drawers?"

"Because you took my clothes!"

He stood, and because I wasn't wearing my shoes, he towered over me. "No, I didn't. You just couldn't find them, you whore."

I swung.

The surprise of it knocked him onto the group, letting me straddle his form as I continued to punch him in the face. I swung a couple more times, hearing a satisfying crunch of his nose before I was pulled off.

No one from either initiation group tried to stop me. None of the members did either, wanting us to sort it out ourselves. It was expected for the leaders to deal with us, or our trainers.

It took two people to get me off him, one linking his arms around my waist and pulling me up and away while another pulled Aiden by his jacket away on the floor.

"I'm good," I said loudly. "I'm good. I'm done."

"Both of you," Max's voice echoed in the silent room. "My office. Eric, get her some clothes."

Eric began to shrug his jacket off but I shook my head.

"I don't need it," I said. "I just want my fucking clothes back."

"Initiate," Four said, standing next to Aiden. He wasn't much taller but he might as well have been with the way Aiden looked at him. Four glared at him. "Where?"

"Henry's bed," He almost choked out.

I waved a hand vaguely as I strutted out.

Eric followed since he had to make sure I was going to go to Max's office after.

"You don't need to do this power play of being strong," He said. "You can have my jacket, you know?"

I shrugged. "He's trying to intimidate me. I'm not embarrassed. Taking your jacket would make me seem embarrassed. I shower in the main shower. Modesty is gone for me."

He curled an eyebrow, the fading and rising light made the two studs in his eyebrow twinkle. "Fair enough then. I think you gave everyone enough of an eyeful now. Go put clothes on."

"No one was complaining."

"Nor was I but go," He said, almost shoving me into the dorm room. "Max's expecting us now. Hurry your pretty little ass up."

I walked over to Henry's bed, finding my shit at his drawers. "I know it's pretty but it's not fucking little."

He laughed as I jumped to get into my trousers before I zipped it up and pulled a top on. I finished with socks and shoes.

I walked past him and into the hallway.

"Don't I fucking know," He muttered under his breath.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"You can't kick me out of the fucking dorms for what he did!" I almost screamed in shock, hands on the table. "Where the fuck am I supposed to go? I'm an initiate. I'm not a member yet!"

Max just sat at his desk as he watched me. It made me mad that he didn't react to me screaming but he probably was used to it. He was a Dauntless leader, he shouldn't be intimidated by a girl screaming.

I took a breath in, and held it before exhaling slowly. I sat back down. "What's gonna happen?"

"You're the lone female transfer," He said. "While we have almost always had transfers together, this isn't the first instance when we had to separate transfer initiates. We pair initiates with mentors from the start of stage two, but we use stage one as a way to see who they should go with. Usually, the female initiate, if lone, would be paired with Lauren as she is a trainer. However, you have been paired with Eric."

"Yeah, I understand that," I said. "But where am I going to stay for the next two weeks? We've got a week and a bit left for the second stage and then the final stage."

"You are going to be staying with your mentor, Eric," He said. "He already knows of your Divergent status and has begun to help you with your fear simulations. It makes sense for you to stay with him. If Lauren was your mentor, you would have stayed with her."

I took a calming breath, "Fine. I've got no problem. Will there be any other consequences?"

Max chuckled. "You have to deal with Eric's grumpy ass in the morning. That's punishment. Dismissed, initiate. And tomorrow morning, I want to see you in the canteen… With clothes on."

"Noted," I shrugged with a laugh. "Hopefully, I don't have to kick a guy's ass for taking my clothes next time."

He laughed, waving a hand to dismiss me before going back to work.

I left the room, closing the door as I was bombarded with questions from my friends.

It took a second to explain but they calmed down and brought me to the canteen for a late breakfast. It hadn't finished yet and plenty of members preferred a late breakfast anyway.

My little stunt with Aiden interrupted breakfast for initiates so they were allowed to have a slightly longer one, letting their trainers eat and have time to sort out stuff too.

)()()(

I was close to being physically sick after a session in the fearscapes, but I stopped myself.

"Three minutes, forty-five," Eric said, noting it down. "Good. You weren't sick this time so I can count that as a win."

"I want it down to three minutes," I clutched my stomach, muttering, "I'm gonna skip dinner."

He gave me a look, "You still need to move your shit to mine. I'm not going to have you running around during the night, wanting to know if you got everything." He glanced at the screen. "I think three minutes is a fair goal. We passed my four-minute preference so anything we go for is better than anything else."

I rolled my neck to crack it. It was sore. We had been at this for a couple of hours now, starting with my water fear to get a good grasp on that before moving on in the second hour. I was tired and exhausted, adrenaline leaving my system.

"Am I alright to go then?" I said, sitting up slowly. "It won't take me long to sort my stuff. I think I need a nap after all of this."

"Your biometrics have been added to my apartment," He said, clicking some buttons on the machine. "You can come and go as you want but it'll be logged when. Safety reasons and mostly because you're an initiate."

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me as long as I've got access. I'm in the guest room on the right, yeah?"

"You are," He said. "Off you trot, soldier. I have some shit to sort out."

"Alright," I saluted mockingly before leaving.

)()()(

My room had a decent sized double bed on the right wall with two sets of drawers. To the left was the bathroom. The left wall which had the bathroom had one corner joining to the other wall, as walls do, and a huge wardrobe was curling around that corner.

I didn't have enough clothing to fit in the whole wardrobe, so I settled to put my important stuff, the stuff I wore consistently, on one side while the other had my fancier or winter clothes. I'd have to swap my winter and summer stuff soon as it was getting colder now.

It was a couple of hours later when Eric came into the apartment. He didn't announce himself, just coming in, shaking off his boots and putting his jacket on the hook.

I sat on the sofa that faced the stone wall, a TV mounted on there but I read a book. It was the Erudite in me. While I liked watching TV and all the shows from before the cities had to be separated and quarantined due to the mutated diseases and radiation, I still prefer to read a fantasy book or two.

I was finishing up the third book about a boy who was a wizard. It was good, I had gotten the whole set for my seventeenth and had finished it twice over now. I liked to reread books if I found them worthy.

"Settled in alright?" He asked, going into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Yeah, it was fine," I said, turning to him. "So much better than the transfer dorms."

"Anything is better than that shithole."

)()()(

Surprisingly, I didn't have nightmares about the fearscapes. It took the better part of two weeks to get my time down to something I liked. I no longer went to the dorm, going straight to Eric's apartment.

I sat at the dining table that was pushed against the wall of windows. It was dark by now, and I sat reading the fourth book of the boy with the wand when Eric came in.

He came over but I barely glanced up. Dropping a tablet in front of me, I looked at it. I lifted it and grinned.

My name was at the top of the ranking board, of all the transfers and Dauntless-borns.

2:10.

That was my time.

I had halved it since the start of the two weeks of the second stage.

Druid was at an average of 9:56, and Aiden a close third at 10:42. I didn't bother looking at the other ones.

"Get up," Eric said. "I need to show you something."

We went above the glass ceiling, passed people fighting and sparring for fun. There were even two ropes strengthening across the room, one a few feet higher than the other. It was probably a tightrope.

I stopped, watching the two people fight and laugh when one missed and hit only air.

"What is it?" Eric almost snapped before he turned to see what I was looking at.

"It looks like fun," I muttered. "Fighting because you want to, not because you need to. I used to watch the Dauntless children run and climb and roughhouse. I always thought it was fun."

"You were scored lowly on your school grades," Eric said, coming to stand next to me to watch. "I remember reading it in your file. You did shit at school but your IQ was scored high. Why?"

"I prioritised other stuff." I turned. "What were you going to show me?"

"Right," He turned, beginning the final trek up to a door.

The new room was huge, with graffitied walls and exposed pipes. It was ancient by the series of old-fashioned light fixtures. In front of us, DAUNTLESS was spray-painted in red artistic lettering on a concrete wall.

"What's this place?" I asked.

"This is where the final test will be," He said. "The simulations you've faced so far have let us store information about your fears. We use it to create a new series of virtual obstacles. How many fears you face correlates to the amount you have."

"What was the lowest number of fears?"

"Four."

"That's where he gets his name from?"

Eric snickered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not very creative but he wanted to leave his past behind. I'm glad I didn't go with my number."

"What was yours?"

"Seven,"

"And the average?"

"Ten to fifteen," He said. "But Four and I screwed up the averages for our year. You'll be going under the simulation like the others. It's always one of the trainer's but I think it's going to be Lauren's this time."

I nodded."

"Your test is next week. It will be in front of a panel of Dauntless leaders. You have to get through as quickly as possible but you'll do fine. Just as stage two of initiation is weighted more heavily than stage one, stage three is weighted heavies—" His watch beeped, making him pause and look at it. He turned solemn. "We've had a jumper."

"Chasm?" I asked instantly.

He turned on his heel and began to jog down the hallway and quickly down the metal stairs. I followed right behind him.

When people saw Eric run, they split before following.

It was probably one of the only times I had seen that panicked look cross Eric's face. He was usually so composed and cold with a hint of sociopathic grins. Seeing him run at the thought of someone jumping made him more human to me. He wasn't the tough-as-nails leader and trainer that he put himself out as.

We ran across the Pit floor, people spreading as Eric went to the ledge where two men were hosting something up with ropes. The two men put their weight into lifting the body, and a couple of other Dauntless members came forward to help them haul it over the edge.

It was Julian.

Blonde hair darkened with water and clothes half skewed from the rapids.

"One of the initiates," Someone sighed behind me.

I heard Eric swear under his breath before he looked away and stalked off.

I didn't go after him. It wasn't my place to comfort him in closing one of his initiates.

All I could imagine was my own body in place of Julian's, shredded from the rocks with hair tangled and eyes open and empty.

The thought alone unsettled me.

"I thought they were trying to stop this," One said.

Another mumbled, "It happens each year. Can't be helped. I wonder if he was a Divergent or normal? The intensified simulations could have set him off."

I caught sight of the red, pink and orange hair of my friends but I was quick to slink away. I didn't want unneeded questions from them. Especially about them asking about Julian.

I barely knew him. Spoke a maximum of ten words to him. I didn't know what was going through his head. I didn't think anyone knew.

He took it to the grave.

Within the hour, I quickly figured out that Dauntless didn't waste any time when it came to funerals.

I was used to funerals being quiet, acknowledging a person's achievements before we either burned or buried them.

Getting drunk was not on my plans today but it seemed inevitable when Nickles found me and convinced me to go to the Pit where the addressing of Julian's death would be.

Everyone around me was halfway out to being black-out drunk. I didn't care, sitting on a table with Rori and Druid on the chairs and Francey and Seleca sipping alcohol. Nickles sat on the table next to me, passing me a flask which I gratefully took. Somehow, he had several flasks and handed us each.

I drank, letting the alcohol go down my throat and burn. It was whiskey, beautiful and strong. I didn't know where he got this stuff from. We had to be twenty-one to buy it in Erudite but it seemed like Dauntless ran on different rules.

When Eric climbed onto a table near the ledge, only a couple of metres away from where my friends and I sat on the tables, I paused to look at him.

He looked no worse for wear but his eyes told a different story. The blue had darkened with something I used to call fear in Erudite but it was fearful acceptance of what happened today.

With the sound of a gong from the side, everyone falls silent, listening to Eric as Max, Lauren and Four stood near him.

"As you know, we're here because Julian, an initiate, jumped into the chasm last night. We do not know why, and it would be easy to mourn the loss of him tonight. But we did not choose a life of ease when we became Dauntless. And the truth of it is…" Eric smiled resignedly. It was almost genuine his smile but it was not. I took a swig from my flask as he continued, "The truth is, Julian is now exploring an unknown, uncertain place. He leapt into vicious waters to get there. Who among us is brave enough to venture into that darkness without knowing what lies beyond it? Julian was not yet one of our members, but we can be assured that he was one of our bravest!"

"One of our bravest!" Druid shouted, lifting his flask.

It made the whole room erupt.

The Dauntless started to cheer at various pitches, high and low, bright and deep. They—We—didn't care if our roars mimicked the sound of the waters that killed him. We were celebrating his life and his bravery.

"We will celebrate him now, and remember him always!" Eric yelled before Four handed him a dark bottle of beer. He lifted it, shouting, "To Julian the Brave!"

"To Julian!" We shouted, lifting our arms and the alcohol we drank. We chanted his name until it was no longer hearable, shouting and screaming as we continued.

The alcohol numbed my fears for now and I welcomed it. Nothing could change what happened so there was no point to dwell on it.

But my mind dwelled on death.

)()()(

"Come on!" Druid laughed, climbing higher on the electrical tower on top of one of the nearby buildings. It had deteriorated over years and didn't work anymore but it was great to climb still.

Dauntless members were climbing it, most being young and our age and tipsy as we did. My group was second to get to the top, some members beating us before they climbed back down. We all had little straps attached to ourselves as we climbed, hooking and unhooking as we went up. We were brave but we weren't stupid.

I hooked myself onto one of the side wings of the tower, holding on as I sat down and let my legs fall off the edge.

Nickels was next to sit near me, while Druid went up and went back down when Rori swore when she missed her footing. The higher we went, the stronger the winds became so it was more difficult to climb and stay on.

All of us got to the top eventually, passing around another full flask as the sunset left us in the dark. It became cold quickly, but my jacket was keeping me warm.

Or it could have been the alcohol working through my system.

I welcomed the numbness.

"Gods, it's fucking cold," Francey complained, rubbing her hands down her arms.

"Here," I passed her my flask. I had filled it again before coming out here. "Should help."

She swallowed some but made a face, "still cold."

"Do you want to start heading down then?" Rori asked.

"Nah, not yet," Seleca said. The wind picked up and we held on for dear life. She had been thrown off the metal she was sitting on, holding on by only the strap around her hips and thighs to the structure. The two closest to her helped her back on.

"Maybe it is time to go," Druid said. "Yeah?"

I didn't speak when the others agreed, taking back the flask from Francey. They started to dismount but stopped when they saw I didn't.

"You coming?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm good for now," I said, taking a sip. "It's nice up here."

"Don't tell me you're jumping?" He asked again, looking over to the dark area below us.

There was a net below here, mostly because the leaders knew children and teens liked to try and climb this place but often failed. It was a safety precaution.

"Maybe later," I said.

"Fair," Nickels frowned before smiling. He unclipped himself, "Well, I'm jumping!"

He tossed himself off the structure, whooping in excitement as he threw himself into the depths of the darkness in front of us.

It didn't take long for me to be left alone.

It was way past midnight and most of the adults were still drinking in the Pit. Teens and children were herded away ages ago by their parents. Initiates were with the adults, some drinking, some passed out.

I could hear the music from the Pit. It was loud and it was beautiful. There was a steady beat to it, hard and fast as people partied Julian's memory away.

When the wind picked up again, I clipped another strap onto the structure to make sure I stayed on. I didn't want to go down there. I didn't want to look at the pity in the face of our leaders and trainers. Lauren and Four both looked sad but Eric's expression was worse.

He hid his defeated features under a smirk.

I took another swig of alcohol as I scanned the dark features of our city.

We lived in the City of Chicago. It was one of many cities in the world which had been quarantined due to the chemicals and diseases our world was suddenly wrought with. None of us could leave the city without vaccines and injections. And we had to get permission from our own city and the city we were visiting. They wanted to know exactly where we would go.

I had left the city before, going with my mother to a place called the City of Detroit. Our faction system wasn't unique to us, many cities took on something similar. Some cities didn't have factions, letting people roam and do as they wanted. The City of New York was like that, where Divergents ruled and anyone who was factioned was a second citizen.

I wanted to visit other places like that but I knew getting permission to leave the city would be almost impossible. I wasn't even a member of Dauntless yet. A week more and I would be.

Even Eric wasn't allowed to leave the city and he was finishing up his Leadership stuff now.

I would be going through that next.

Why they chose me to be a leadership candidate didn't comprehend fully with me but I decided not to question it. Not anymore. Asking questions was pointless now.

I took a final swig before unclipping myself.

It felt good to let myself fall off here, giving me a false sense of calm before I hit the net below.

)()()(

My upper back hurt, the pain from the needles still fresh in my mind as I pulled on my sports bra as I had running to do still.

I had chosen a design for my first tattoo last night.

Two eyes, similar in design to the Erudite symbol with the irises being the Dauntless flames. It was a way to connect back to my old faction and a way to tell myself I would watch my own back. It was done in all black besides for the outlining of the flame where it was orange.

It was on the trapezius muscle, on either side of my spine near my neck.

I loved it.

I also got my septum pierced alongside my second lobe piercings. My stretching journey was coming along well. I was already up to a 2 gauge and my goal was 00 so I had two sizes left before I finished.

"Hurry your ass," Eric snapped, his fist against the door.

"I'm coming!" I slipped on a loose shirt before leaving, already dressed.

While it was barely six AM while we ran, there were already a couple of people awake.

Today was initiation day, meaning we did the fearscape and then we became members. I was excited. The whole compound was awake and half the population was drunk by noon. Getting food at lunch was chaos so I went to the apartment to grab food instead.

Eric had a rule.

Keep the apartment fucking clean and I did so he couldn't complain.

At two, all initiates would have to go to the fearscape and get tested.

Because I didn't want company, I sat at the dining table in the apartment, staring out of the windows at the machines building houses miles below us.

"Are you ready for the final stage?" Eric asked when he came into the apartment an hour before the test would be.

He hadn't said a lot since Julian's death but I didn't expect him to go all aggressive and silent. I didn't complain. It just made me distance myself. I didn't joke as often as I used to do now.

"Of course," I plainly said, sipping at the water glass I had.

"It is going to be bad, you know?" He said, walking until he sat across from me at the table.

"I know." I looked at him, seeing the same look he had when he found out about Julian. "I'm not going to kill myself."

He steeled right up, emotion went from his face but I didn't react to the glare he had. "I wasn't worried about that."

"Then what were you worried about?" I tapped a nail against the glass. "It can't be my ranking. I'm on top and I plan to go out like that."

"Never mind," He snapped, standing up abruptly. "You have your test in an hour. Be there on time."

)()()(

We began with thirteen transfers.

Now there were nine.

"Transfers, the order in which you go through the final test was taken from your rankings as they now stand," Four greeted us in the room adjacent to the fear simulation room. "So Santiago will go first and Alexandria will go last."

Almost all of the Dauntless-borns had finished their fearscapes for today.

The leaders were in the other room where Rori was finishing up her fears. We couldn't see the screens in the other room but we saw as Rori's dark eyes flickered around in fear to whatever she was seeing. We had two screens in front of us, one that had a timer and one that had vitals.

When Rori passed one of her obstacles and her heart rate calmed down enough to count as a pass, the screen with the vitals beeped green and made us cheer.

There were a set of chairs but Four had to almost throw out the members who tried to sit down when it was reserved for the initiates. I found a seat neat to Noah, who looked extremely nervous.

It was boring to watch other people go through their fears. We didn't know what they were reacting to but a lot of people were crying by the end. Aiden was before me and he finished at 10:02. His average.

"Alexandria?" Four said, "You can go in."

I didn't realise it was my turn already. The others had come back from whatever they were doing, so now Druid slapped me on the back on my way to the room.

"Asshole," I muttered.

"Go kick some ass," He said and grinned.

I went in and stood on the small platform which would contain me for the duration of the fear simulation.

Lauren was the one to come over with the orange liquid needle. Eric and Max both stood up and walked up to the screens for a better look. Max nodded at Lauren and me while Eric only glanced over. He looked wrought with worry, which was a sight for concern, but he shook it off easily.

"Ready?" Lauren asked, sliding the needle into my neck.

I took a breath, "As I'll ever be."

)()()(

I hated this damn water one. It was cold and the water was never quite soft enough to just let me lay down and float. No. The ice had to appear and force me under. I took a deep breath before diving down, already knowing where this was going.

The water wanted to mock me and it could, but it couldn't make me scared. Not enough. Not after swimming in marsh water at the Capture the Flag game and winning.

I associated swimming with winning.

I left myself drift down to the bottom of the ocean, the ice going further and further away from me before my back touched the bottom.

I sat up to be in the damned shrinking room again.

The walls began to inch closer but I stood still and just looked around. The walls were blank and had a couple of cracks here or there. I picked a wall, went up to it and tapped my finger against the cracks, picking at the edges as I got it to crumble away and turn into my next fear.

The walls opened up to show me my childhood home again.

Straight to the coffee table I went. I couldn't be asked today. I was tired. Physically and mentally exhausted from this whole month of training.

I rolled my eyes when I saw the pictures had changed a little, this time including me with the girl who could have been my sister.

This time she was a year younger. I had pictures with her, with my parents, with my Dauntless-born friends.

I was not ready to see the dog tags from under the book.

I put the book down, bringing the tags up to look at them.

Alexandria Voltaire — Dauntless.

Erudite-born — Nov 14, 2503.

Blood type AB-.

There was only one tag, meaning the other had been left with my body, wherever it was. I was dead in this world.

I sat there, leaning against the back of the sofa and rubbing my temples. "How the fuck am I scared of this?"

I flicked the page of the scrapbook, seeing pictures.

I understood why now.

Light tears welled up in my eyes but I blinked them away.

There were pictures of my funeral, done Dauntless style but my family had been invited.

My body was consumed with fire, burning me completely as my family watched on and clutched each other. My mother wasn't a crier but I saw a couple of tears shed in the pictures. My apparent sister was in the dark Dauntless colours, a streak of green in her hair as she cried.

Another picture showed Eric handing my sister the dog tag, putting the necklace on her before shaking hands with my parents. He looked sad but he had steeled himself up enough.

Was I scared of my death?

Or was it something else?

I was probably overthinking it but thinking did help calm me down so I continued until I felt the crawling of my next fear.

I was back in the field.

"Oh, I hate this one!" I snapped out loud to myself, already half gagging as I felt the spiders begin to crawl.

The hair on my neck and all over my body began to stand as more spiders came. This was the difficult one.

Spiders.

I hated spiders.

They were ugly.

Unnatural.

And walked funny.

They shouldn't have so many legs!

I cringed again as one got too close to my face. It wasn't just any type of spider, it was one of those long-legged, big-bodied ones where they would always hide in the corner of your room and never fucking leave.

Tarantulas I can deal with.

Then I saw the huntsman spider crawl out of the ground.

I fucking RAN.

That thing was huge and ugly, and I was halfway to hyperventilating

I waved my hands forward and back, trying to gain some comfort to calm down. It didn't help but I continued as my heart raced and tears welled. I felt sick.

I gagged again, getting them off my face and body as the hung spider chased me around.

Tripping over something, I found a decent-sized rock.

Thank fuck.

But even aiming for the damned spider took courage as I lifted the rock, gagged as I looked at it run at me before I dropped the huge rock on it.

It got squashed.

I walked away.

I refused to look at it, letting my heart calm down before I could move on.

Next, I stood in front of the chasm, a thin tight rope below my feet as I was forced to walk over it. I took slow, sure steps as other people around me were on tightropes too, walking too. People screamed as they fell.

To my left, Julian walked.

And fell.

And died.

I kept steady on my tightrope, arms out to balance myself across with each step. No one had made it to the other end but it felt like the water was coming higher yet the drop even lower.

I couldn't see the end…

Why couldn't I see the end?

Why were we on the tightrope if there was no goal?

Could the goal…

Could it be?

I looked down at the icy water, cold and harsh as it rippled against the sharp rocks under us.

Other people fell and disappeared under the water, screaming as one does as they fell.

I let myself tip, falling with my back to the water.

)()()(

The lights flashed on and I hissed.

It was bright.

It took a minute for me to get used to it but I opened my eyes and I was back in the testing room.

The trainers and leaders stood before me. Max held a tablet in front of him, showing me my time.

1:26.

One minute, twenty-six seconds.

It felt like I was in there for ages.

"And how many fears?" I asked.

Eric spoke up, smiling proudly, "Four. Four fears. Two of your simulations were actually one fear but shown in different ways it could be manifested. Hope you don't plan to start going by Four now, one's enough."

I snorted, "Not a chance."

"Alexandria," Max said, gesturing to the three other people I hadn't met. "These are the remaining leaders."

I nodded as I was introduced to them and quickly enough dismissed.

I couldn't escape the cheers, claps and congratulations from members who had loitered around until the end.

"You did it!" Druid shouted, slapping me on the back.

I gasped, "That's sore. You ass!"

He slinked back, "Sorry. I forgot about them."

Nickles sniggered, slapping Druid on the arm where he got his latest tattoo to watch him squeal in pain.

"We've got the banquet in two hours,"

"I know."

)()()(

In the hour we were allowed to take to ourselves to calm down after the final fear simulation, the dining hall was packed with people in their Dauntless best. It was beautiful to watch as people showed off their personalities with their piercings, their tattoos and their sense of fashion.

Getting the whole hall to become quiet was a surprisingly difficult feat.

Max stood on one of the tables, holding his hand up for some silence. The room turned quiet but not silent.

I sat on one of the three tables full of initiates, surrounded by my friends as we sat on the tables facing Max instead of the seats. It was our usual table but we still wanted to see better, to hear what Max was going to say.

We had cakes and food around us, letting us eat as we listened to Max's speech.

"A few weeks ago, a group of scrawny, scared initiates gave their blood to the coals and made the big jump into Dauntless. To be honest, I didn't think any of them would make it through the first day," He paused, allowing laughter from the older members as they remembered their own first day. "But I'm pleased to announce that this year, most of our initiates attained the required scores necessary and all will become Dauntless!"

We all cheered.

None of us was going to be cut and we were all glad.

"No more delays," Max announced. "I know our initiates are jumping out of their skin. So, here are our twenty-four new Dauntless members!"

Our names appeared on the large screen behind him, large enough for everyone to see, even for those right at the back of the room.

15. Francey

11. Rori

10. Seleca

7. Nickles

I searched for all of our names, taking into account of who went where. Then I looked at the top five.

5. Wyett

4. Druid

3. Aiden

2. Walker

1….

I ranked first.

1. Alexandria

My name was at the top.

Druid and Nickles grabbed my arms, shaking me aggressively as they screamed in glee at our rankings. I stood up, letting myself be enveloped by the crowd as the whole faction congratulated the new members.

We were the new members.

Dauntless was our home now.

Partying lasted until daylight.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Three of the five leaders lived in the glass building while two lived in the apartment section. The youngest lived there while the older, more qualified stayed in the glass building. It helped to spread the leaders to keep people in line. And if there was an emergency, they could go to Eric or Leslie. They both lived on opposite sides of the compound but they were accessible.

I had requested an apartment to myself and got the one that was right next to Eric's. It was a mirrored copy of Eric's apartment, meaning my master bedroom shared a wall with his.

I would have thought they would put me at least a couple of floors away or something to spread us out but I think they deemed it necessary for him to keep me close.

)()()(

I was awake before five AM on my second morning of being a member. I had moved late afternoon yesterday, after sleeping away the effects of the alcohol I had that night.

Doing exercise in the morning had become part of my life now. I'd been doing it for over a month and now my body expected me to get up early and work out. I did as demanded, keeping up my stamina and strength as we no longer had mandatory training.

I made my way to the Pire, the glass building. How it took me a month to figure out its name would escape me. I was usually more observant but it was the slang term used by Dauntless so I excused my inability to conclude that information.

I went all the way up to the tenth floor, only a few minutes before eight o'clock in the evening. A few people were standing outside the conference room, all people I knew to be not high-ranking.

There were six people besides myself, four boys, and two girls.

Aiden and Walker were the only ones I knew. The rest looked to be a little older than us but not by much. We were all youthful and full of life. We were candidates for a leadership opportunity so we had to be.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket, walking over slowly as both boys greeted me.

"Hey, Alexandria," Walker smiled, waving a hand vaguely. "Morning. You here for the leadership thing?"

"Yeah,"

Aiden made a face. "I'm surprised they're allowing you to do this because of the little stunts you've pulled already."

"Well," I said coldly. "It's a pity I didn't get to beat your ass. Would have been interesting to see how long you would last."

"As if," He scoffed. "I'm glad I got to see what I saw before I become a leader. Very nice sight."

"Dude." Walker turned to him. "Don't be disgusting, or I'll beat your ass myself."

Aiden rolled his eyes but our conversation was pulled short as the door opened to the conference room.

It had a long, rectangular table in the middle. Max stood at one end near the large, blank screen.

There were eight other people in the room, all standing behind a chair. Everyone split and found their mentors, so I went to stand next to Eric before the candidates sat down. Eric, like the other mentors, stood behind us as we sat down. I sat on Max's right as that was where Eric had stood.

A thick metal band sat on the table before us.

Icarus and his candidate, Walker, were across from me, Walker was second, and the top in the Dauntless half.

"That's everyone," Max said, closing the door as he stood in the front with another man, Wallace, the oldest leader we had. "You're all here because you have been identified by your mentors or their superiors as someone with potential as a leader."

I scanned the group of mentors and mentees, counting how many of them I knew and those I had no clue about. The only one I could say for certain would be a challenge would be either Walker or Aiden, but that might have been because I knew of their capabilities compared to everyone else.

"Our city is changing, our society outside is changing, faster now than ever before, and in order to keep up with it, we'll have to change, too. We'll have to become stronger, braver, better than we are now. And among you are the people who can get us there, but we'll have to figure out who they are. We'll be doing a combination of instruction and skills tests for the next several months, to teach you what you'll need to know if you make it through this program, but also to see how quickly you learn."

He paused looking at us all before continuing.

"In front of you, a band sits, we call them watches. Put them on and you will find out," He said.

I glanced at the watch from my dad, the sleek design with the warm gold detailing, mixing Erudite and Amity together. I slipped it off, putting it into my pocket before zipping it up.

The thick, flat band sat on my left wrist. If I twisted my wrist, it activated and projected a screen onto my forearm. Right now, it told the time but if I swiped the projected screen with my figure or told it a command, it changed to something else. Didn't matter if I had sleeves or not, it showed and I could touch the screen to move stuff around. It was much more convenient compared to a phone.

"Your first task is to fill out the info sheet I have sent to you all on the watches."

A small notification came onto the screens of our watches. I tapped it and it brought up the document along with a tiny keyboard at the bottom to type with.

"All this will do is tell us more about you and give us a starting point by which to measure your progress. So it's in your best interest, to be honest, and not to make yourself sound better than you are."

While we answered, our mentors moved around and went to speak to Max in the corner. They whispered lowly, even with being the closest to them, I couldn't hear it.

I answered the questions on the document, typing in my answers. My name, my age and birthday, my faction of origin, and then the fourth question asked for my number of fears.

I put four.

Then it asked for my fears.

I had somewhat of an idea of what to put.

Large bodies of cold water.

Confinement

Spiders.

And, I had to put down my final fear

Death.

I was scared I wouldn't get to choose the way out of this world, scared the choice would be taken away from me.

No one knew how many fears I had besides the leaders.

Of course, I had minor fears but they were more because I didn't have control of something. They didn't count as real fears as I wouldn't panic like I did in the simulations with my real fears.

Next questions were different. They were statements rather than questions, going from 1, strongly disagree, to five, strongly agree.

It's okay to steal if it's to help someone else.

I put 4.

Some people are more deserving of rewards than others.

This time, 3.

Power should be given only to those who earn it.

5

Difficult circumstances form stronger people.

4

You don't know how strong a person really is until they're tested.

5

I glanced around the table as I was halfway done, taking a moment to have a break. Everyone looked a little puzzled at the questions but they answered, some hesitantly but otherwise they all put down their answers.

We saved and sent the documents back before we were dismissed.

)()()(

Two people were cut, putting the candidates down to three girls and two boys. Walker and Aiden were the boys but I didn't care to learn the names of the girls.

The next training session started the next day, and this time we were in a large computer room. It wasn't as sleek as the ones in Erudite but it was nicer compared to most of the factions. The candidates were left alone in the room with Max and Lauren.

"It's important for high-level Dauntless to understand how our programs work," Max said. "The surveillance program in the control room is an obvious one—a Dauntless leader will sometimes have to monitor the things happening in the faction. Then there's the simulation programs, which you have to understand in order to evaluate Dauntless initiates. Also, the currency tracking program, which keeps commerce in our faction running smoothly, among others. Some of these programs are pretty sophisticated, which means you'll have to be able to learn computer skills easily if you don't already have them. That's what we'll be doing today."

Lauren taught us for the next two hours, letting us get the hand of the programs before we were tested on them.

We all had a private laptop, one that was given to us on the first day of our leadership training. They were sleek and thin. I was one of very few who knew how to properly use one of these so I blocked most of Lauren's talking out until she came round and checked on us.

"On the desktop of your computer, you'll find a file marked 'Programming Test,'" she said. "Open it. It will take you to a timed exam. You'll go through a series of small programs and mark the errors you find that are causing them to malfunction. They might be really big things, like the order of the code, or really small things, like a misplaced word or marking. You don't have to fix them right now, but you do have to be able to spot them. There will be one error per program. Go."

I tapped the screen, opening the program up before taking one, deep breath and starting to skim through the whole thing to find the obvious mistakes. The tangle of words and numbers didn't intimidate me. I had been using computers and laptops since before I started school, getting used to programs and programming in case I was going to take up a high-level Erudite position.

Those sessions with my mother and her laptop came in handy as I answered and corrected everything in front of me on the black, programming screen.

I touched the tick mark at the very bottom of the page, and a new pop up came onto my screen before I called Lauren over.

"Hmm, good job," She said, looking at my screen. "You're good to leave, Alexandria. You're done for the day."

"Cheers," I said, getting up from my seat.

"Right, everyone," Lauren called out. "After you're done, you're to report to your mentors. They'll be telling you your assignment for the rest of the day. Maybe it's to follow them around, maybe it's to read a journal. I don't know."

)()()(

Eric dragged me to the training room, empty and cold as he toed off his shoes and socks.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked, pulling off his jacket to leave a t-shirt. He wore his watch on his left wrist too.

"Instructions on what the fuck we're doing."

"More training," He said, stepping onto the fighting platform. He waved his hand to hurry up. "Shoes and socks off. I'm going to teach you how to disarm a person."

He took out the bullets from his gun, making sure the chamber was empty too before tossing the bullets into his pile of stuff. I unzipped my jacket, revealing the sports bra I had on. Shoes and socks were next.

"You have to try to get this," He waved the gun in his hand, flipping the safety switch on. "Without me being able to shoot you fatally."

"No warm-up or anything?" I asked, coming to the platform.

"You wouldn't get one in the real world," He smirked. "Sure as hell ain't getting one with me. Hurry up."

He raised the gun, aiming it for my head before flicking the switch and aiming at my shoulder. He squeezed and I saw something come out of the barrel, hitting my right shoulder before I yelped.

It was searing pain, like a real gunshot. It stung but I pulled the tiny stun dart out of my shirt as fast as I could. I looked at it in my hand, small and thin with two tiny prongs.

"Stun bullet?" I asked, turning it over in my hand before tossing it off the platform. "I didn't realise they added the feature to the guns yet."

"Dauntless leaders get first grabs at any new weaponry," He said. "I will continue to shoot you if you don't try and disarm me."

I rolled my shoulders, nodding, "Alright."

I was ready to strike at his ankles and knees, knowing it was the easiest area to disorient him but when I lifted my leg, he aimed and shot me in the thigh. I gasped, dropping my foot as the pain welled in my muscle. Stepping forward enough so that one foot was in line with his, I raised my hands as he raised his arm.

Pushing one hand against his elbow, I made his arm go to the side as he aimed again. He shot, missing my head by inches before his other hand came up to grab the back of my shirt, pulling me down a little as he swept my feet from under me.

I landed on my back with a gasp and a groan, watching as his wicked smile stayed on his lips and he shot me in the hip for good measure.

My whole thigh and hip spasmed for a second before Eric ripped both darts out. He raised a hand to help me up and I took it.

I rubbed my thigh and hip, hissing, "They're damn painful."

"They're supposed to be," He said. "Again."

He went back into position, one foot slightly behind him with the gun in his right hand.

I struck, coming forward to attack his other side while he aimed and shot me in the right bicep. I ripped it out, the pain quickly dissipating before I hooked my foot into the inside of his knee and pulled outwards. His knee buckled, forcing him down but he recovered by taking me down with him.

He was on one knee as he pulled my torso to make my head level with his.

Eric grinned, pressing the gun barrel against my heart, "You're dead."

I sneered, lips curling as he let me go.

I didn't even give him enough time to get onto his feet before I planted my foot onto his chest. His free hand grabbed it but I had already begun to put pressure into it. I shoved him back, pushing my body weight into him. It caused me to lose balance but I rectified it by flicking my left foot up and hitting his right hand.

The gun flew out of his hand, letting him have another hand free as he grappled onto my shirt and twisted.

We landed, my back against the ground.

"Get off me," I snapped as he straddled my hips. "Or I'll do what I did to Wyett to you."

"Perhaps with less strangling," He snickered, refusing to move as he just sat there. "You did well. Improvising is good. You've got more weight in your lower body so it's best you use that to fight."

"Okay," I shrugged, lifting myself onto my elbows. "Now get off. You're heavy."

"Of course I am," He laughed, "I'm like twice your weight, spitfire."

"Alright, fatass. Get off, you're crushing me," I moved a leg to try and jolt him off but it just made him roll his eyes before climbing off.

He sat on his ass, hands clasped together as he bent his knees. Taking a moment, he sat before standing up, "Up. Let's try again."

I groaned.

)()()(

Within the day, I had aches at the places where the stun darts hit. It wasn't too bad to move but Eric had duties to oversee some training for new officers so I was walking with him as we observed them.

It felt like an advanced form of initiation training and I was a silent observer. People were being thrown to the ground more often than not. Others had knives and were practising defensive manoeuvres. A couple were climbing the set of thick ropes, getting to the top as fast as they could before ringing the bell and dropping down.

I paused at the two people fighting with bo staffs, hitting them together as they tried to get the other. It was entertaining but I moved on to watch a huge obstacle course in the corner.

"Group B," Eric shouted, "I want you by the course. You're on that now."

The marine style obstacle course was large and extreme, curling in a C shape. It had bars, ropes and gravel, with several bits of it being metal and wood. It looked difficult and surprisingly… fun? How Dauntless of me to think that would be fun.

I watched the people, one by one, sprint to the course. It took several tries for even one of them to get to the end. Soon enough Eric had to show them how to do it.

He shrank off his jacket, passing it and his gun to me. I no longer had my gun but I would be issued one after my training had finished.

I had the better part of two months left now, and I was glad. My latest report was good, stating I was making great progress as I got tested. I would continue to be tested even after I became a leader, just as Eric did. It took two years before the tests stopped.

Eric ran onto the course, up the ramp that abruptly stopped before step-jumping onto the raised panels of wood, then onto the third, fourth and fifth. Each one had two metres of length between them. In the end, he had to jump up and grab the thick rope that hung, climbing up it until he reached the ledge on top. He had to haul himself over it, twisting a leg over until he sat on top. Next was a set of monkey bars, all of which he was able to swing himself through. Lastly, there was a thick metal beam, four metres above the ground and attached to the end. He swung like a monkey on it, one hand in front of the other as he worked his way to the end. He jumped off the end, landing with bent knees.

Many of the people clapped when he finished. He came over to me for his stuff, which I promptly handed over.

He put on his jacket first before taking the gun, tucking it into the back of his trousers. "Your turn, spitfire."

"What?" I shook my head. "No."

"Why not?" He asked, standing before me with that lopsided grin. "Scared to be shown up?"

I unzipped my jacket, "You are infuriating but you know that, don't you?"

"Get your sweetcheeks up there and then we can discuss if I'm infuriating," He took my jacket, putting it over his shoulder. "Don't fall off."

"Asshole," I muttered, walking closer to the obstacle. I scanned it first for a second, just to get a better idea of it before I began to sprint.

The ramp and panels of wood were the easy bits, letting me quickly get over them. I had to throw myself into the rope to grab it, tucking it between my feet and my thighs as I shimmied my way up it. The ledge was a bitch to get over, forcing me to swing the rope to get my leg over it before I could get my whole body.

I paused there for a second, standing. I didn't have enough upper body strength to do monkey bars yet, but they weren't as far as the panels were so I stepped over them. I was careful to keep my momentum up as I went over them, otherwise, I could slip and fall. The thick beam was next, so I balanced myself on the last bar before sitting down. The beam was between my legs as I sat on it, letting myself half fall into being upside on it. I hooked my ankles together and pressed my thighs closed, letting me hang by my knees before I hooked my hands onto it too. I crawled upside down on it, moving quickly like that to the end.

To get back up properly, I let myself hang by one knee over the beam. I held on with my hands too, untucking my knee until I hung with my hands before falling. Bent knees helped me take the fall.

"That, everyone, is how you're supposed to do it," Eric said, tossing me my jacket. "There are basic ways to do it. You adapt to your strengths and get through it without complaining. I want you all to have another go before lunch."

I walked over, standing by his side as I put my jacket on. I untucked my hair when it got caught from under the collar. "That was fun."

"I'm glad," He said. "See? I'm not as fucking cruel as you think."

I raised an eyebrow, "I never… said you were cruel? I just call you an asshole a lot."

"Is asshole your new favourite word or something?"

"No, motherfucker is," I smiled, "But I think asshole is more appropriate for you."

"Bitch," He muttered, shaking his head.

I chuckled, "You say it like it's a bad thing."

The class had stopped to look at us, making Eric bark at them to continue practising. That prompted them to work.

)()()(

My eyes watered as a needle was shoved through my right nostril, quickly followed by the left.

"Fucker," I muttered as Tori rolled her eyes.

"Get over it," She said, putting the two small rings into my nostrils. They were both rose gold to match my tongue while my septum was black. "You're fine. Just a little bit of pain."

"I know," I sighed as she sprayed a clear blue mist onto them. They healed instantly. "Thanks."

"How many points?" I asked.

"Forty for both," She said, totalling it and putting it on the system.

"Cool, thanks."

The point system was great. Everyone got a living wage, something just enough to live on it but if you wanted anything extra, you had to work. I got a good amount of points from being a leadership candidate. My priorities were to learn as much as I could, get tested every so often and get a good reputation with other people.

)()()(

I was a little reckless this morning, deciding to get my nostrils pierced and so had to rush to the conference room. I walked in as Max was speaking but he barely glanced at me, only raising his eyes at the sight of two new rings on my nose.

"Nice of you to join us," Max said. "As I was saying, today I would like to hear your thoughts about how to improve Dauntless—the vision you have for our faction in the coming years. I'll be meeting with you in two groups, the oldest first. The three of you, think of something good to say."

Because there were only five of us now, he took the two girls first since they were older.

I sat back in my seat, bringing up a book Eric had suggested to be. It was an old one from the Dauntless archives, one about traditions and early settlement right after the war and how people survived it. It was an interesting read.

"What happened to your face?" Aiden asked, leaning closer as he peered at the piercings. I only had four facial piercings but three were visible. "They look awful."

"I'm glad," I said, swiping on the screen of my watch to continue reading. "Means you can stay the fuck away from me then. Good."

"Were you late because you were getting them done?"

"None of your business,"

"You'd look cuter if you didn't have them,"

"And you'd be cuter if you threw yourself off the chasm like Julian," I looked up to see his face drop at the mention of him. "Too far? Next time, shut up before I make the conversation too sensitive for you."

Aiden stood up, his chair swinging back as he slammed his hands on the table. "He wouldn't kill himself."

"How would you know?"

"He's my damn half-brother!" He snapped. "Julian wouldn't just kill himself like that. He's not the type of person to do that."

I took note of that. If Julian wasn't the type of person to kill himself, why did we find him in the chasm?

"Whatever," I said, turning to my reading again. I knew it was cruel of me but I didn't care for Aiden's anger or him being upset. That was his problem, not mine.

When Aiden looked just about to jump the table, Walker stood up. Walker was taller than Aiden and had more muscle so Aiden sat right back down and continued to glare at me.

Within a few minutes of Aiden's outburst and his continuous glaring, Max came back to get the boys before leaving me alone in the room. The other girls had been dismissed already, walking past the conference room which I sat in with hushed whispered and suspicious glances.

Later, after another twenty minutes of silence and me reading the book Eric had sent me, Max came. Instead of going to his office, he sat across from me since there was no one else in the vicinity.

"So," Max clasped his hands together on the table as I crossed my knee over the other and tapped a finger against the table. "What are your ideas for Dauntless? What do you think would be good for us? For the whole city?"

"Realistically, I would start with the initiation stage," I said. "Out of a class of thirteen, only nine became members. One refused to jump from the train, another refused to jump down a dark hole. The last, however, is an exception since Julian ended himself."

"What would you suggest then? Stop the train, the first challenge, or what?"

"Jumping into a dark hole in the middle of a whole array of ruins where the transfers don't even know is the Dauntless compound is not bravery, it's stupidity," I stated. "We jumped because you told us to. We got taught to listen to the leaders but jumping is not bravery, it's following orders. Our first act of bravery is not running to catch the train, it's the fact we chose Dauntless to begin with."

"What are you suggesting then?"

"Stop the fear play. Stop making minions instead of soldiers. The first thing we get taught is how to fight. We should learn how to fight, how to defend and learn how to know when to be brave or when to back down." I said, my finger tapping the table silently as I spoke. "We have nets for the first month of initiate training because someone will think they're brave and jump. Bravery can quickly lead to stupidity and recklessness. We should be brave enough when to fight and when to quit."

"And what? How would we do that then?"

"Our initiation period is too short. After two weeks of fighting, and then we are onto stage two with fears and then within four weeks of being here, out of our comfort zones, we are members already. Four weeks is not enough for transfers to brush off their former factions. I still have my Erudite roots and they will never leave me."

"How long do you suppose it should be then?"

"The choosing ceremony is in September, I believe, myself, that our initiation period shouldn't end until December."

"Three months?" He asked. "That's a long time."

"The leadership program is almost a year-long," I stated. "Let the initiates have mentors straight away, let them have someone to help them. Our aptitude test told us what faction is right for us, Erudite is working on one that would help someone find the right career or job for them. Not everyone is physically strong, some are emotionally and others are mentally. If you're a cook, you don't need to be smart, only creative at making food."

He twisted his wrist, making a note before looking back at me. "Right. That… was a good response. A good suggestion. It's actually a little similar to what Four and Eric said last year. Both of them went for leadership positions but Four decided it wasn't for him. Our manifesto encourages ordinary acts of bravery, facing fears and protecting is part of that."

He patted the table, looking at the time on his watch. "Right. You're free to go. Please, Alexandria, next time don't be late. I don't want to mark you down for it."

I nodded.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

With there being five of us, we started the shadowing part of the program before the middle of October. For two weeks, we would be with the leader we would shadow before they reported on us and then we went to someone else.

I started with Max, unsurprisingly.

There was a lot to learn.

I had been given access to the journals which held the laws and traditions of Dauntless. I had reading assignments every night but during the day, when I wasn't busy with something else, I was shadowing people.

It really wasn't interesting.

I sat in on meetings between him and other leaders, got taught how to do the paperwork properly before he put almost all of his paperwork onto me and told me to do it, calling it practice for the future.

On the third week, so the first of November, I moved on to Leslie. She continuously questioned me on everything I'd learned in the month and a bit. She didn't acknowledge when I got something right but afterwards, she would tell me what I got wrong and correct me.

Then sent three more books to my email for me to read.

She did this for the whole two weeks I was shadowing her. She was the one who dealt with food and equipment, having weekly meetings with Amity and their leaders which I got to sit on.

I quickly realised that each leader had a purpose.

Max was the overall leader, working to keep everyone in check. Eric worked in security and defence. Leslie was the food and items person.

Icarus was the other leader I had met. He dealt with the maintenance of the whole place, keeping everything working and building and replacing what was needed. He also worked with Abnegation and Amity at times, but his main concern was the engineers of Erudite.

Wallace was the man who was going to retire. He wasn't going to kill himself because he was getting too old. He was moving to an Erudite compound to allow his knowledge to be told.

He had been the one that kept the peace within the whole compound. While Eric kept everyone safe, Wallace worked to keep everyone safe and functional in our society. If there was a problem with plumbing water, they would go to him so he could pass the information off to Icarus.

)()()(

My birthday was mid-November and luckily sat on a Saturday so I didn't have to get up at the asscrack of dawn to run. I was finishing up my rotation with Leslie so it wasn't too bad. I had a late-night Friday because she had to deal with a small food delivery problem from last week.

The club we were supposed to go to was called the Flame, probably getting its name from the Dauntless symbol. It was the main place to party in Dauntless and had been suggested by Druid's older brother, Daith, for my birthday.

You only had to be eighteen to drink in Dauntless, unlike the twenty-one we had to be at Erudite. I think Amity had the lowest age, being sixteen with parental consent. Everywhere else had the age of twenty.

I met my friends in the Pit after we all had dressed. We wore leather or showed off toned parts of our bodies, letting us feel comfortable in what we wore as the club was hot as we came in.

I put my jacket in the cloakroom since I felt too hot with it on and I didn't fancy having to carry it all night. It helped show off my outfit, though so I suppose that was a benefit.

The cropped shirt I had on was wine red and had long sleeves which I pulled up to my elbows. It ended an inch or two below my breasts, showing off my stomach because of my mid-rise trousers. They were black and fitted perfectly to my hips and ass.

I was the first into the club, getting in and getting a round of shots for us to start with. We downed them with ease as the music was loud and we wanted to dance.

The club had two levels, the bottom had the bar and dance floor with seating, while the top level overlooked a large portion of the club and had a dark rope on the staircase.

About forty-five minutes into being in the club, and having our first sets of shots, I ordered a set of drinks for us to have. I had a JD and coke but I didn't remember what the others had. We had what we liked so we weren't fussed about anything else.

The music was good, I noticed as I stood at the bar after I ordered a set of Sourz shots for my group. I had the most disposable money so I got the rounds this time. I leaned on the bar, my arms tucked on top of it as I waited, my foot tapping to the sound of the music.

The music was decent, dancy with a bit of a good bass that got a person moving. I liked this type of music, the one where you could just simply tap your foot and it was enough to get you wanting to dance to the beat.

"Cheers," I said as the bartender brought the shots out on a tray. I brought them over to our table, standing around it as we each took a shot in hand. "Bottoms up."

We downed them like they were water, the sour burned and taste of apples was nice, soon followed by sour cherry as I ordered two flavours each for everyone.

While Druid, Seleca and Francey went to the dance floor, Nickles nipped to the bathroom and Rori went to get herself water. I stayed at the table, quickly checking my notifications as my watch had pinged earlier. It was an email from Max, simply stating there was a small problem in the kitchen again but it could wait until the morning.

"You don't have to be working all day, you know?"

I looked up just as Eric placed a glass of something in front of me. It was dark and looked like my usual JD and coke.

"Have it," He said, drinking his own. "It's your birthday. You shouldn't be working."

"I wasn't," I said, my hands curling around the glass. "Max sent all candidates another book to read again. How do you know I liked Jack and coke?"

He shrugged again, "Bartender told me. Leadership gets you answers easily."

"Fair,"

I felt eyes on me so I looked in that direction. Rori was staring at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I flipped her the finger when Eric looked away, mouthing 'Bitch!' before he turned back around. She was approached by a guy and began to talk to him, letting me get back to the conversation at hand.

"So," I started, getting his attention back on me. "Why are you out here? I didn't think you would be the clubbing type."

"Why would you think that?" He smirked.

"Well, for starters, you like your early morning runs. Wouldn't staying up late just ruin your sleep?"

"It can but I can just take a nap later in the day,"

"Oh, so you're a nap guy. Nice," I nodded, smiling. "If I take a nap, I keep napping. I won't fall asleep but I won't be asked to get up when napping is so peaceful."

"Haven't been able to do a lot of napping recently, have you?" He laughed lowly.

I gave him a look, "I wonder why? Hmm, maybe because someone keeps waking me up at the first sign of the day to go running?"

Even if I wasn't under Eric's watch anymore, he still woke me up every day to ask if I wanted to go running. I never declined.

"It's healthy," He said.

"And exhausting."

He just smirked at that, "Gets your stamina up."

We went silent for a second, letting me look around. Rori's voice caught my attention. I looked over at her to see a guy talking to her before she splashed her water in his face. He looked furious as she stalked away to the bathroom.

I snorted into my drink when I saw that. Eric turned to me, eyes narrowed in confusion.

I coughed to clear my throat, gesturing over, "One of my friends was speaking to a guy. He ended up with a faceful of water."

He sipped his drink, nodding. "Some men need to know when to back down." His watch pinged, lighting up as he checked it. "I need to go. Have a good birthday."

"Thanks,"

Eric placed his hand on my shoulder before squeezing it softly and letting it trace down my arm as he left.

It didn't take me long to get onto the dance floor with my friends. Nickles joined us alongside Rori. We just danced, and danced, and danced for the next hour and a bit. Rori left for the bathroom and I went with her, the alcohol in my system made me want to pee.

I finished up, washing my hands in the bright light of the bathroom as I heard the sound of sick hitting the basin of the toilet. Rori and I were the only ones in the bathroom and she was still in her stall.

"Oi," I knocked on her door. "Are you okay?"

"No," She mumbled, probably turning back to being sick as I heard her gag again.

"Let me in."

It took a second or two but she fumbled with the lock and opened the door. She didn't look good, kneeling over the toilet with a pale face. I pulled her hair back, rubbing her back as she emptied her stomach.

"Was it the alcohol?" I asked.

"God no," Rori said, vomiting again. "It can't be. We've had the exact same things. I dunno what this could be. I just feel weak and sick."

"Did the dickhead approach you again?" I asked, patting her back as she stood up and went to the sink to wash her mouth out. I stood next to her, taking one of her wrists in hand. "Your heart rate is too low. I think you've been spiked. Did anyone barge into you?"

"Yeah," She wiped her mouth. "The dickhead did before I splashed my water into his face. He didn't apologise and tried to flirt with me."

"Yeah, you've been spiked," I said, watching as her pupils expanded, consuming her eye colour even though the room we were in was bright. "Let's get you to the infirmary."

"I don't need a doctor," She snapped as she let me herd her out of the door and into the main part of the club.

"Yes, you do," I said. "You're just gonna be getting worse from here on now. You're gonna need a doc to keep an eye on you."

She grumbled but went along anyway, letting me take her by the hand to start to guide her.

Rori stumbled a little, hanging onto my arm as she made a surprised face, "I think you're right. I want to go home."

"I thought so," I moved until I was right behind her as her feet tripped her up again.

The guy from before appeared before us, smiling pleasantly as he looked at Rori and then me. "I've got her, it's okay."

"No, you don't," I tried to move both of us out of his way but he stepped closer, a hand on my arm as he tried to get me away from her. "If you don't remove your arm, I will beat you with it."

"Come on. Don't be a prude," He said. "Your friend wants to have fun. Why can't she?"

"Because she asked me to go home," I stepped between him and Rori. She still clung to my arm as she frowned and leaned into me. "Come on."

He stepped in front of us again.

I sighed. I didn't have time for this, not when Rori was beginning to blink slower and slower. The drugs in her system were taking effect now.

I glanced around the crowd. No one was really paying attention, focused on dancing and their drinks.

Flicking my left wrist, I opened the communication app discreetly, messaging the group chat I was in with my friends.

Leaders and high ranking people had the watches while everyone else seemed to have a phone.

The whole group came over soon enough, Seleca and Francey took Rori by the arms while the boys stood between us and the other guy.

"Take her to the doctor," I said to them before continuing. "I'm gonna check something with the staff quickly."

The guy was intimidated by the boys, snapping before he left to go to the bar to sulk.

"I'll stay with you," Druid muttered under his breath. "I don't like him."

"Nor do I," I said. "Come with me. I wanna check the cameras."

It didn't take much for me to get the club staff to let me have access to the club's cameras. Technically, I could have done it without their permission due to my leadership status and status, but it was more polite to ask.

I had to call Eric.

I put the communication chip to my neck, just under the back of my ear. Since my watch wasn't like a phone which I could put to my ear easily, there were tiny chips that could adhere to my skin and work as a microphone and earpiece.

It took him a moment to pick up but he did, "What is it?"

He didn't sound happy but I had to.

"One of my friends was spiked," I said instantly. "The guy is still in the club but the staff said they would usually call you to sort it out but you didn't answer."

"Look, something's happened," He said. "I'm in the Abnegation centre now. I can't sort the drugging situation out yet. You'll have to do it. Contact Max or just message him a warning. You've been through the security procedures with me even though you're not supposed to have that until your rotation with me. I've been drilling them into you for the last week and a bit. Think of this as your first action as a leader. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Fine. Thanks," I hung up by taking off the chip, letting it attach to the inside of the bracelet.

Druid looked concerned as he came over, finishing his small talk with the other staff. "What's wrong?"

"Eric told me to sort it out myself," I said. "He's busy and can't come, gave me permission to use force if needed."

"He looked like an asshole,"

I snorted. "Eric's an asshole. That guy is a dickhead and I want to kick him in both places."

"I wanna watch you kick his ass," He laughed before he sneered, his eyes darkening in rage. He took a breath. "He just barged into another girl."

"Right," I tapped Druid on the chest gently, "You get her to the infirmary and I will sort him out."

"Shouldn't you get her instead?"

"I've got the authority to take him," I stated, my fingers tapping away a message to Max as my voice leaving no argument in the matter. "You don't. Get her out of here while I sort him."

)()()(

Eric stood before me as I sat on the infirmary bed, the nurse next to me as she bandaged my right hand.

His arms were crossed over his chest and his wet gelled hair was beginning to curl at the ends due to the water. It had been raining tonight, so he was half soaked but still looked as intimidated as always.

"What happened?"

"Don't worry," I said, yawning as the nurse put the dark red bandage around my wrist and hand. "I only sprained my wrist trying to lift him. I already made a report about it since I had to use physical force. He's over there."

I nodded to the bed closest to the nurse's station, the guy was unconscious and had a hand handcuffed to the railing of his bed.

"How did you get him here?" He asked.

"I dragged his unconscious ass here,"

The nurse tutted, "Didn't help the concussion you gave him."

I shrugged, "He tried to drug me too. I swept his feet and then kneed him in the face. He was out like a light after that." I yawned again. "Can we wrap this up now? I'm drunk… I'm tired and drunk. I need sleep."

"Did you get any in your system?" He asked. He had pretty hair.

"I…don't know…" My words slurred together.

That wasn't good.

Why was my mind so clear yet my body so slow?

My mouth was dry and I had the onset of a headache coming, but everything felt dull as I lifted my free hand to look at it.

It was hazy.

"Yep…" I blinked before smiling drearily and chuckling once. "I've been done over."

The nurse stood, strolled over to the large set of drawers and got a small injection pen from there. Coming back, she stabbed it into the side of my bare stomach before rubbing the tiny patch of blood away with an antiseptic wipe.

"She'll be fine," The nurse said, nodding to me. They didn't look at me though. "Just get her home and into bed. She'll be right as rain in the morning. The other girl had the same thing. If this one says anything along the lines of, well, anything she usually wouldn't, take 'em with a grain of salt."

Eric sighed as I laid down on the bed, stretching out my sore back. He pulled the edge of my shirt down as it rode up to be barely an inch under my bust. I just giggled at his face as he did so, pouting when he pulled me up by the arm.

"I'll get her back to her apartment," He said, pulling me to my feet carefully. "Does she need a check-up afterwards or anything?"

"As long as she feels fine in the morning, no,"

He nodded, "Alright. You," Eric looked at me to which I just grinned. "Let's go."

"I'm coming," I tripped over my own feet before I could take a single step, laughing as I stumbled into his arm.

He just sighed in resignation as he just gently tugged me along by the elbow.

The hallways were dark as we trod through them.

)()()

I woke up to a soft, warm body.

Oh, fuck.

I furrowed my eyebrows but I kept my eyes closed.

This was too small to be a body of a man, thank fuck.

I opened my eyes, finding a pair of crystal clear blue eyes staring into my own. It meowed at me.

A cat was in my bed.

A large, white cat, a marine coon to be certain.

Why the fuck was it in my bed?

Let alone my apartment?

Who's was it?

I certainly didn't have a cat.

I sat up, dislodging the duvet that was wrapped up to my shoulders.

I was naked, save for my thong.

The cat just meowed at me, rolled onto its back and pawed the air to get me to pet its stomach. I did as it demanded, rubbing its belly before my hand moved up to its chin and then face as it purred delightfully.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked the cat who just blinked at me.

I knew this to be my own apartment, mainly by the pile of books on the side table. One was half-open from where I had given up reading.

A note and a glass of water stood on the night table.

I grabbed both.

Glass has water and painkillers mixed in.

The cat who you are cuddling belongs to me.

She will be grumpy in the morning.

Come to my apartment for breakfast so I can feed the fiend.

Eric.

I groaned, quickly finishing the water before I stood up. The cat stayed in the bed, her tail flickering as she watched me pull on clothes. I chose a pair of dark cotton shorts and a hoodie, pulling them both on before slipping into a pair of sliders.

"How the fuck am I supposed to take you to Eric's?" I asked, unsure if the cat liked to be picked up or not.

She jumped off the bed, rubbing herself against my legs before stretching herself upwards up my leg. I picked her up as she purred beautifully, holding her solidly against my chest as one hand scratched her ear.

"You're rather cute," I muttered as I left my apartment and knocked at Eric's.

The sound of the lock came, alerting me to the fact the door was now unlocked. I went straight in, closing the door behind me.

The place was quiet but Eric's shower was going on so he was probably in there. It stopped, I heard Eric in his room as he soon enough came out.

"Empress, go eat," He said, coming out of his bedroom in only a pair of loose-fitting shorts and a towel over his shoulders. His hair wasn't done yet and he was still dripping water in places.

The cat, apparently named Empress, meowed at me before wiggling and jumping to her feet. She disappeared into the apartment. I had no clue where she went.

"Empress?"

"Damn cat didn't like any of the other names," He muttered, shaking his head before turning to me. "How did you sleep? Did you drink the water I left you?"

"Yeah. I slept fine and I did," I said, following him as he walked into the kitchen area. It was against the wall of the guest room, curling around the corner and sitting before the windows.

We stood in the kitchen as he turned on his coffee machine, letting it clean itself before turning the settings on for two coffees. It was over soon. He made my coffee easily, remembering I liked it sweet and milky.

I sipped at it, sighing gratefully, "So… What happened last night? I can't remember anything after we left the infirmary."

"Well," He laughed. "Where do I start?"

"Oh, gods," I rubbed my face before laughing too, "That's not good. What the fuck did I do?"

"First you couldn't walk straight so you clung to my arm before you decided you had enough of walking and then you wanted a piggyback ride. When we got to the apartments, you went into mine, found my cat, somehow, and decided she was too cute for me and stole her," He smirked as I groaned. "When I finally got you into your own apartment, you stripped down to your underwear in front of me, then took the damned cat and, as soon as your head hit the pillow, you were out."

The face I made at that made him laugh. I covered my eyes in shame before continuing to drink my coffee. Soreness in my hand made me realise I had the red bandage around it.

"Why don't I remember any of that?" I asked.

"You were drugged. You got the guy, he's in custody and will be punished, but he stabbed you with the injection too. You lasted until the infirmary where you had your hand wrapped. You gave him a concussion and dragged him all the way through the compound to the infirmary." He just sipped his coffee like he didn't just tell me something embarrassing. "You did well."

"I…" I exhaled slowly. "I give up with fucking modesty."

"I noticed."

I glared at him for that. It made him laugh when I jabbed him in the arm.

"What?" He laughed. "The whole compound saw your bare asscheeks and you decided it was a great idea to strip in front of me and my cat."

I rolled my eyes, finishing the good coffee. "Where the fuck is your cat? And why haven't I seen her before?"

"Truthfully," He leaned against the counter. "I have no clue. I can't ever find her either. She doesn't like new people but she seems to have warmed up to you quickly. I've had her since I became a leader. I was doing a patrol and found a little kitten who wouldn't leave me alone. Reminds me of someone."

"Fuck you,"

"You wish."

His smile made me feel things.

I didn't know if I wanted to punch him or kiss him.

He was hot, I could give him that, but he was infuriating and we had only known each other for just over two months, and one of those months was spent with him being an instructor to me. It didn't feel right to want to kiss him so I ignored it.

He did have a damn cute cat… and smile.

I crouched down as Empress came to paw at my legs softly. I scratched her head lightly as she purred.

"She hates people," He mused as he watched me get onto the floor to pet the cat better. I sat down, letting her crawl into my lap as she made herself comfortable.

"Reminds me of her owner then," I said, leaning down to play with her paws. "Yes, you do. People haters, both of you. But you tolerate me, don't you? Because I'm that amazing. Yes, I am. You're too fucking cute, you know that? You take after your dad then."

Eric snorted into his coffee.

"What's up with you?" I asked him, trying to stop myself from laughing at him as he wiped away the coffee he had spilt on his chest.

I watched as a single drop went down his chest, from his collarbone, down his right pec and his abs.

I had to look away.

Empress gave me such a judgemental look before meowing loudly in retaliation. So I poked her in the chest when she went to lay on her back in my lap.

"What's on the agenda today?" I looked up at him, eyes on his face as I refused to look down at his torso again or be damned my self-control.

I was allowed to find someone attractive but I couldn't, not with Eric since he was a leader and I was only a candidate still. Perhaps if we weren't who we were, perhaps in a different time, but I had priorities at the moment that didn't include jumping his bones.

"Nothing much," He said. "It's Sunday. Everyone is hungover or still drunk so there won't be too many security issues. But you, spitfire, have a physical examination today."

"Why?"

He looked at me like I was an idiot. I just scowled at him for that.

"You were spiked last night," He rolled his eyes. "And you haven't had your physical yet anyway. You get one done in the second month of the leadership program, and then once a year from then on. I need to get mine done for this year anyway."

)()()(

The physical didn't take long.

Most of it was done within an hour. They weighed me, and checked my height, my muscle mass, my fat mass, my running speed, and my stamina. They checked a lot but I was glad to know a little bit more about my own body. Learning I was hypermobile in some joints wasn't something I would have thought I would find out.

My wrists could bend farther than usual, along with some of my finger joints. My knees were the same and my ankles too. My hips clicked but I thought that was normal.

I could get joint pain sometimes but I always thought that was normal or my mother would just call them growing pains.

The doctor onsite at Dauntless handed me a special tape, a variety of colours, and showed me how to tape up my knees and ankles since they were my problem areas. He advised me to wrap my hands before I fought or sparred, just as a precaution.

I came out of the medical room with my knees and ankles taped in bright, neon pink tape. My right shoulder was also done up due to the dislocation several weeks ago, just to help it settle properly.

Eric snorted at the sight of the pink against my skin.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After that, I shadowed Icarus for two weeks.

They were two, boring weeks and Icarus was being passive-aggressive all the time since I was quiet and did my work. He was more concerned about his own candidate than me so I couldn't fault him for it.

I still scored well so I didn't care.

Because the last day of November fell on a Monday, I moved onto Wallace on the 30th of November. I would be on his service until the middle of December.

I liked him and I liked being his shadow. I got to meet so many interesting people, so many new faces. I got to go to the fences and check there for problems, got to go to the kitchens, to the control room where Four now resided again.

While the other leaders kept control of parts, Wallace was the one that kept the people happy.

"You can't take the word of the loud," He said to me when we went to the kitchen.

He was a short man, darkly tanned even though there was barely any sun in the compound. His beard was trimmed short and grey and white. He wore a dark shirt and slacks and good boots but he needed help up the steep areas of the compound. His knees weren't as good as they used to be.

He wagged a finger at me, "The quiet ones are the ones who see the problems. Just last month, there was a problem with a batch of apples. The main person didn't look, just took and peeled but the one next to him, the one that didn't talk a lot and observed a lot, realised that the apples had been wrongly labelled. They were peeling the whole apples instead of the dessert apples they were supposed to. It shows that observation is much more important." He waved a hand. "Be loud and proud, I don't care. It's the moments of silence when you figure out a person. Come, we've still got to inform Max. You have a progress check soon, don't you?"

"Yes. I have one every three weeks until I pass," I said.

"I've got a damned meeting in Erudite tomorrow," He muttered. "I hate the damn things. I can't ever get them to shut up."

I smiled, "Not wrong there."

"You're Erudite-born, aren't you?" He looked at me, his eyes narrowing. "I'm surprised you can keep your trap shut long enough to listen to an old man blab on about shit."

"I have my moments."

He hummed.

)()()(

Because of Wallace and his ageing body, a car came to the Dauntless compound to escort us to the Erudite headquarters. Because I was shadowing him, I was also forced to shadow him in Erudite too.

I quickly found, as we walked into the Erudite building and were escorted to someone's office, that I much preferred Dauntless' dark compound to this place.

We went into the room, Wallace letting me go in first.

"Alexandria?" A familiar voice said. "Oh, my. It is you."

"Oh, hello, Aunt Misha," I said, quickly finding myself enveloped in a hug by my mother's young sister. "This isn't a personal visit, I'm afraid. I'm shadowing the meeting today."

Misha smiled, eyes soft as she smoothed down her white shirt, "I know. Does your mother know you're here?"

"No," I said, sitting down as Wallace did, getting ready to start the meeting. "Let's diverge the conversation from me. Wallace?"

"Yes," He said. "We've got a bit to talk about. I sent you an email already."

"Okay," Misha turned serious, sliding the glasses from her pocket and onto her nose as she sat down at her desk and pulled up the projection that worked as her screen. "Where do we want to start?"

"Well," Wallace said, sitting so his hip wasn't digging into the side of the chairs. "There've been complaints from some members about Erudites coming to Dauntless. I know we've been having technical problems and engineers have been asked to come but a few of our members have made harassment claims against them."

"Right. Do we know who they are?"

"I've pulled camera footage and sent it in the email," He said. "I've already logged this as a concern on the system."

"Good," She said, bringing something up on her screen. "Alright, let's begin with this then."

Over an hour and a half later, we finished up. We, or rather Wallace, discussed many small problems we have had with the Erudite people. While not all of it was negative, we talked about any improvements that could have happened.

I was allowed to record the meeting because Wallace asked me to make a report on it.

We were being escorted out when we were stopped to let another group of high-ranking Erudites pass us.

"Jeanine," He said, smiling as the woman stopped in front of us.

"Wallace, what are you doing here?" She asked, looking up and then at me. "Alexandria? Hmm. How is Dauntless treating you?"

"Well," I said. "I'm shadowing Wallace."

"Yes, she is," He said, looking at me and then at her. "Top of her class, this one. She's a candidate for leadership this year."

"I'm glad," She said. "Have you seen your mother yet?"

"No," I considered my words. "I know she is the busiest on a Tuesday."

"Very considerate of you, Alexandria," She paused. "Or do you go by something else now?"

"No, still Alexandria,"

She nodded, passing us without another word.

)()()(

"This isn't funny," I snapped, holding the black towel tight across my naked body. I was cold, and wet and still had some suds in my hair. "My water went cold. How the fuck did it go cold?"

"Your boiler is probably broken," Eric had to refrain from snorting as he let me into his apartment. "Go finish your shower in the guest room. I'll message Icarus about it. Stop dripping water all over my apartment."

"Cheers," I went straight for the shower.

I came out five minutes later, towelling my hair dry while I used a large towel around my body. "I'll bring it back… eventually."

"Whatever," He said, stalking over to his laptop at the table. "How's the training?"

"It's alright," I said. "Long day today. Wallace brought me over to Erudite and discussed some shit that's been going on with some of our members and theirs. I think security will be increased."

"You think?" He asked, looking at me as one eyebrow lifted.

"I think because I don't know," I rolled my eyes. "I haven't shadowed you yet so I don't have a clue what you do. All I know is that you do security and defence."

"That's the gist of it," He shrugged. "Go home before you freeze. And bring back my towel."

"I'll definitely know it's yours," I said. "All my towels are black."

"Good to know," He said, waving his hands. "Now scoot out of here and put some clothes on. Don't need a repeat of you and Aiden fighting."

"Whatever," I laughed.

)()()(

When it was Eric's turn to have me shadow him, he woke me up at the ass crack of down by barging into my apartment.

I hugged my pillow closer to myself, "Fuck off."

"Up and outta bed," He said, leaning at the door.

"I swear to fucking god, Eric," I turned my head to glare at him. "If you don't leave me alone…"

"You'll what?" He rolled his eyes. "Outta bed. You're stuck with me for the next two weeks. I've got shit to do today and I'm not waiting for your lazy ass to get up."

I looked over at the side table, the blue light of my clock glared at me.

"What?" I asked, sitting up and clutching the duvet to my chest as I now slept naked due to having my own place. "Eric… It's three-fifteen. In the fucking morning! What the fuck are you thinking? I literally went to bed at one!"

"I brought coffee," Eric said. "Will coffee persuade you to leave the bed?"

"Coffee from where?"

"The Ground House,"

"Hmm," That was good coffee right there. That place made good coffee and I couldn't argue with him on that. "Get out."

"No. Get out of bed."

"Eric," I calmly said. "I am naked under this. You and the rest of Dauntless have seen my bare asscheeks. Get the fuck out and I will get up."

He looked to the door and then to me.

"Shoo," I waved him away.

He smirked before leaving, closing the door as he did.

"Ass-fucking-hole," I muttered, shrugging the duvet off and getting ready.

It barely took me five minutes to get dressed.

Due to it slowly becoming early December, it was cold so I layered up. I had a turtleneck under my leather jacket. It was maroon and warm. I wiggled into a thong before putting on my jeans. I kept my shoes by the door so I left my room to get them.

My dining table was next to the windows too, and that was where Eric placed himself as I sat across from him with my boots in hand.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, slipping my shoes on and beginning to lace them up.

He slid the disposable cup across the table, perfectly executed as it landed inches from the edge. "There've been reports of Factionless going missing. One of them turned up, well, their corpse turned up. It was only an hour or two ago."

"Do you think they were killed?"

"I don't know," He said, standing as I finished and went for the cup. "I plan to find out. I guess you'll find out what I do now."

"I suppose so." I stood. "I'm ready to go."

He checked his watch, "Come on. I've got a squad ready at the train tracks."

"A squad?" We left my apartment. The door locked by itself.

"What? Did you think we only raised initiates to be fence guards?" He laughed. "We have a full police force, though we don't have to use it so the other factions don't really know about it."

"Ass."

I followed him through the compound. It was silent because of the time but parts of the Pit were lit with light because of drunk idiots. We went up the stairs to get to the top of the building, finding the tracks soon enough.

A group of four were standing there, rifles swung over their backs as they waited. They all had a badge on their right arm, black with a red star that had a huge DS on them, probably meaning Dauntless Squad.

"Hey, first flyer," Zeke smiled, shrugging his gun back when it shifted too much to the right. "Squad 3, this is Alexandria. First jumper and flyer of her year, and ranked first too."

I waved a hand in greeting.

"Zeke, Travis, Sue, Ryan," Eric said, gesturing to each one as he stated their names. "This is Squad 3. They're one of our SWAT teams. Enough introductions, train's coming."

The whistle came right after as we turned to see the light pierce through the dark. We ran with it, getting onto the carriage with ease before we settled. It would take us a couple of minutes to get to the Factionless area.

Eric went into his pocket, pulling out a badge while his other hand went to his back and handed me a gun. "Don't be stupid with it. Badge is so people know who you are. Don't take it off."

My badge, like Eric's, had the red star but instead of the DS for Dauntless Squad, it had DL for Dauntless Leader. I had seen ones like these before on Max when there was a slight unsettlement with the Factionless a couple of years ago. I don't know why I remember that but I do.

I pocketed the gun at my lower back, the band of my jeans keeping it settled next to my shirt. I slapped the badge onto my arm just as Eric did. I didn't say anything at his stupid comment but an insult had rolled to the tip of my tongue. I swallowed the insult.

I ran a hand through my hair before slipping it into a high ponytail to keep it out of my way.

We spent the next couple of minutes in silence until Eric popped his head out, and gestured before tossing himself off the train. We landed on a building that worked as a Factionless base. The only way to the roof was a steel ladder on the side of the three-story building,

I slipped a pair of thick gloves on. It was cold so it was fine. Eric went down first. It almost looked like he had slid down the whole thing but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I gripped the sides of the ladder, slipping my feet so they were on the outside of it and let myself fall. It was a controlled fall, the same thing Eric had done. The others followed quickly, doing the same to get down here with the least amount of time spent.

There were already several Dauntless members around here, herding people this way and that.

"I want everyone confined to the building around here," Eric yelled out, raising a hand to get everyone's attention. "Travis, you know what to do. Spitfire, you're with me."

I followed.

I was surprised with how many people were awake at this time but it was probably because it was the Factionless area. There were always Dauntless members around here as fights between the Factionless were common enough to need rule enforcement.

A perimeter had been set up, forcing people back and away from the body.

"What do we have?" Eric asked the Erudite standing near it.

"Well," He pushed his glasses up his nose, handing Eric a tablet. "Spencer Tate, thirty-two. Born Candor but dropped out when he was twenty. Foaming at the mouth suggests an overdose of something. There's an injection site at his neck, like the ones we use professionally."

"How long do you think he's been dead?"

"Couple hours, at most."

Eric nodded.

I stared at the body. It was skinny and tall, laying on its front but the head was turned to the side so I could see his lifeless face. After seeing Julian's dead body, this didn't faze me as much as it should have. I had become attuned to the ending of life.

"Get it back to Erudite," Eric said, handing back the tablet. "I want a report as soon as the autopsy is done."

"Of course."

Eric turned back to me, nodding before he began to stalk off again.

"What's happening now?" I asked.

"I'm going to give out orders and get people moving," He said. "I want this situation sorted out as soon as possible. I'm hungry."

"I'm just glad you brought me coffee,"

He gave me the side-eye, "I didn't want a repeat of your hungover self shouting at me before throwing the damn alarm clock at me."

"I've got good aim even when hungover," I snickered, following him but I stayed a step behind because I had no idea what was happening.

We walked through the Factionless building, between the rows of beds that lined the huge room. There were several Abnegation members already there, helping out.

One, a man, waved Eric over.

"Andrew," Eric greeted, neither of us expected to shake hands with an Abnegation. It wasn't in their nature. "Alexandria, our leadership candidate. She's shadowing me. That's why she's here."

He nodded, "I'm Andrew Prior. I heard about what happened and came to help, so if you need it, I'm here."

"I want everyone, and I mean everyone, inside tonight," Eric said, voice turning stern. "I don't want a single person on the streets for the rest of the night. Everything can go back to normal at eight am but not before then. Send everyone home. I'll have guards put on the buildings nearby so they're protected."

It was interesting to watch Eric interact with other people. He ordered and demanded with authority, getting out the right information to the right people. He was quick to get everything in order, getting updates from Squad 3 at fifteen-minute intervals.

He rubbed his bridge after he got a moment to himself, "I didn't think your first shadowing with me would be because of a body."

I shrugged. "I'm not fussed. I'm learning so, eh. It happens. I just wish it wasn't in the asscrack of dawn."

"So do fucking I," He yawned, covering his mouth. "Come on. Let's go back to the compound. There's no point in being here anymore. We won't get anything out of the Factionless when they're in shock. Everyone has their orders."

The bang of a gun stopped us in our tracks.

We looked for the source and the victim.

"That better have been you, Squad 3," Eric said, touching his badge. At my confused face, he jabbed a finger into my badge too, and I could hear something.

"Squad 3 deployed bullets as a warning," Travis' voice came through like a walkie-talkie would in the badge. "Some Factionless tried to leave. Violent but necessary."

"Keep an eye out," Eric said, turning on his heel as he nodded his head to the side. "And keep the damn bullets to a minimum. They're already scared shitless."

)()()(

Walker and I stood before the five leaders of Dauntless, arms tucked behind us in a military stance.

"You both are left," Max said as we were in his office. "Over the last two months, we have identified that you both are excellent candidates for leadership. The others have been told their verdicts and have been given what they were due so you don't have to worry about them. Now, you're going to be told what's happening."

"I'm retiring soon," Wallace said. "This body of mine can't keep up with the physical demands of a leader anymore and I've decided to retire. One of you is going to be replacing me. You'll both be working with me for the next few months, switching with other leaders when needed. Two weeks on with me, two weeks off with someone else."

We both stayed silent.

"One of you is going to be one of us, a leader. You will need to be balanced in all aspects of being a leader so sticking to one of us isn't going to help you," Leslie said. "Since both of you are candidates of one of the leaders, Eric and Icarus respectively, you'll most likely spend time with either them or Wallace. Your assignments will be uploaded to your accounts so check them regularly."

"Alexandria will be first," Wallace said. "I need to finish up the preparation for the New York. She'll be good with Erudite."

I nodded once.

)()()(

The two weeks went by too quickly and New Year came around way too soon.

There was nothing clinical about the way the Dauntless celebrated, nothing compared to the way Erudite would solemnly learn about all the different roots of New Year celebrations and traditions from the last couple thousand years.

The city was covered in snow, a foot thick in areas where there wasn't foot traffic. The Dauntless compound was freezing but everyone just suited up appropriately. There was always that idiot that didn't, getting frostbite on his middle finger this time. He was fine after a day in the Erudite hospital.

I helped Wallace plan the festival.

Every year, on New Year's eve, all of Dauntless went out to the rooftops of ruined buildings, going to the top and setting up all sorts of contraptions, foods, beverages, and music. It helped keep the children entertained during the darkest days of the year, and helped them get attuned to get over their fear of heights

Of course, the buildings had netting all around them, keeping everyone safe if they fell.

"There's always that one kid that falls," Wallace said as we stood on the nearest building to the Dauntless compound where all of the festivities would start. "Or jumps, or gets pushed. At least one every year. Usually, the teenagers try to jump, wanting to see how far they can get with a good run out. They do well until they land in a pile in the middle and someone has to fish them out of the nets."

"There's always gonna be the person who goes first," I said, watching as a thick platform was put between the edge of this building and the next. It would help everyone get building to building without jumping, safer for children and the elderly. "Wanting to show off to their friends. Someone's gonna jump."

"Ooo. There's always the first person that ignites it," He nodded before he snapped his fingers at me. "You're going to love the new year."

Wallace and I waited at the entrance, greeting people as they came up. The workers from before were the first to start the music, loud but we could still hear everything.

I rubbed my hands together. I wore many layers but it was still cold. I even had leather gloves on to try and fight the cold but it didn't help much. Wearing my warmest pair of jeans along with a turtleneck under a hoodie, I had lace-up boots that hid the warm, fluffy socks I had on. I finished the look with a thick fleece coat, the hood trimmed with fake fur.

"Oh, my," A woman exhaled as she came up to us, shaking hands with Wallace. "It looks wonderful."

Around the edges of the buildings, strings of lights were hanging, shifting colours as people trod up the stairs and onto the rooftops. This building had the food, the next had the dancing, the one to the left had drinks and more food and the left had a smaller dance area with children already congregated there as they chomped on sweets and fizzy drinks.

The roofs were salted so no snow would settle there, however, the kids' rooftop had a small patch that had snow slowly growing.

"This must be her?" The woman smiled, bleached hair in a french twist as wrinkles adorned her face. "I've heard good things about her from everyone. She'll do well."

She didn't even look at me as she left. I watched her leave earshot before I turned to Wallace with my question.

"That's Sandra," He answered, shaking his head at her retreating form. "She's the faction gossip. If anyone knows anything, it's her. She gossips like it is a race, never stopping. I don't know how she knows half the stuff she knows but she does what she knows well. It's a gift, I tell yah."

Sandra moved along, going to this person and that, getting positive reactions from them before she left and the people turned to each other to whisper. She didn't care if people whispered about her. She was someone I aspired to be, slightly. Only a little bit.

I wanted to be like the heroines I read about. The ones who didn't care about another's opinions and only did what was necessary or what she thought was needed. Someone who was feared yet respected because of how easily it was to destroy someone's reputation with only a few words.

It was nice to have an aspiration to get to.

While Eric was physically and emotionally scary as he could intimidate people, Wallace was respected because he could do what I aspired to do, to be respected and ruin reputations because he was respected by society and people.

It was nice to have a dream but I sort of felt like it was unachievable?

I didn't know.

I wasn't a person who was respected in Erudite because I was academically stupid but my IQ marks were high. It confused people but they went by my school instead of my ability.

I gave up caring within the year of starting upper education.

It took an hour or two before the adults came tumbling in with their alcohol, Wallace quickly scolding them and ordering them away to the adult rooftop with that shit.

All leaders and candidates had the communication badges on, telling people were leaders or leader candidates and still letting us communicate. Squad 1 was on duty tonight, they would be relieved at eleven PM before Squad 2 took over and had their four-hour shift.

With all of the leaders being up here and the recent increase of Factionless being killed, we were being careful. We didn't know if they were targeting the leaders or just random people to get reactions but it was better to be careful than get someone killed.

"Rooftop one is secure," The leader of Squad 1 said, a guy named Haas. "As is rooftops two, three and four."

Eric was patrolling the rooftops, being careful to not look like he was patrolling but Max didn't think it looked realistic.

"Alexandria, join Eric for patrols," He ordered. "Walker, go to Wallace on roof one. I want another soldier on the roof four where the kids are. How many guns do we have on there already?"

"Three," Eric said.

"And how many kids?"

Leslie spoke up this time, "Hundred and fiftyish. I count another couple hundred teens on the dance floor on roof 3."

"Okay,"

I dismissed myself from Wallace's side when Walker came over. It took a couple of minutes for me to find Eric but I caught sight of him eventually and wandered over like it was natural. With him being my mentor, no one batted an eye when we started walking together.

"Beanie?" I asked, referring to the black hat Eric had pulled down until they covered his ears.

"My ears are fucking freezing," He almost snapped, nursing a hot chocolate in his hands. "I always hate having piercings in the winter. Put your hood on for a second."

I furrowed my eyebrows but did as he asked.

He almost snorted, "The white fur reminds me of Empress."

I rolled my eyes before plopping the hood down again. "You're not wrong about the cold and piercings. My nose is cold, and my ears are too. This weather has made stretching my ears up to that final size take too fucking long."

"I remember the struggle," He laughed as we wandered and scanned everything and everyone.

We were in the food area right now, moving back onto roof one before going to roof three where the dancing was. From roof three, we went straight across to roof five where the adults were drinking and people were trying to climb the assortment of climbing contraptions.

Icarus' group had built them up last week, making sure to get nets below as we all knew there would be drunk adults trying to climb. One of the adults already got stuck. Their friend just shoved them until they fell off with a scream and landed on the nets with a yell of joy, wanting to go again.

"Shift change in ten minutes," Eric said, making it go through the badge.

"Got it," Hass replied.

"Still got another hour until midnight," I said as we watched people climb all over the metal contraption. I chuckled when another fell off the edge and landed on the nets. "I wonder what a Dauntless New Year is like. Erudite is just boring during this time of year."

"It's a lot better here," He said. "One, you get to drink, and two, we celebrate. We value having a good time in life because we don't know how long we're going to have it."

My friends were climbing onto the metal framing, some bits were loose so when they stepped on them, it collapsed from underneath them but they held on. As much as I wanted to join them, get higher and higher onto that framing until all I could feel would be the ice-cold wind, I was working.

"Come on, Alexis," Druid called out as he climbed. "Eric, let her off for a couple minutes. It's her first New Year!"

Eric rolled his eyes, "Go on. You only get the first Dauntless New Year once."

"Fuck yeah," I grinned, stripping off my thick coat before passing it off to him.

He didn't even blink when I pulled him in by the belt and put the gun I was given there, tucking it in so it would stay.

I was only allowed to get a gun after a very long seminar and lecture about gun safety before Eric spent three full days torturing me just so I knew how to properly handle it.

He slapped me on the arm, putting the badgecomm back onto my person, "Keep it on you."

There were two sets of climbing apparatus, one on the kids' roof and one here. Ours was bigger, larger and a lot more rickety than the kids' one, we had to tell parents to warn their kids off the adult one.

It felt like I was climbing the electrical tower again as the wind flew and small pieces of snow came down. It wasn't too bad, mostly because of the layers I was already wearing and the gloves helped some. It took a minute or two for me to catch up to my friends but I did.

"Since you're up there, Alexandria," Max said. "You might as well scope out the place. Where is Squad 2 located?"

I looked around, quickly picking out the sniper and spotter on one rooftop of a higher built building.

"Northeast building, spotter and sniper," I said. "Another two on the southwest building and one on both the northwest and southeast building but inside instead of on the roof."

"Good,"

That's all he said.

It was great actually. Max wasn't one to encourage stuff so getting anything better than a simple hum was progress. I could see Walker scowling all the way from over here as he stood next to Wallace who just slapped him across the head and tumbled on.

I could only afford to spend a few minutes up here, spending it joking and laughing with my friends before I had to go down. I did, grabbing my coat from Eric.

Eric looped a finger through the band of my jeans, pulling me really close until our chests were barely touching and he was whispering angrily into my ear, "Try that again and you won't like the ending… Or perhaps you will."

He shoved the gun back into its holster at the small of my back before he stepped back, smirking before he coughed and became serious again.

I just grinned before I moved along through the crowd with him.

No one would bat an eye at what happened, mostly because Eric was the leader for security and defence and could have been briefing me on something.

)()()(

"Ten!"

We began to count down to the new year. I stood with Eric as his friends and mine were around us, many having alcoholic drinks in hand.

"Nine!"

I had a shot glass of something strong. I was only allowed something alcoholic once tonight because I was technically working.

"Eight!"

Nickels was hanging onto my shoulders as we shouted out the numbers, laughing as Four and his friends were doing the same. They were a year older than us so they were still great to have as friends or acquaintances.

"Seven!"

The music never stopped, still loud and blaring by our voices carried like a wave over us all.

"Six!"

So many people had climbed onto the metal frames, others stood on the ledges of the building as they held onto each other. We were on that roof, full of people jumping with every second.

"Five!"

Four swung his arm over Eric's shoulder, both of them grinning like idiots as Four handed the youngest leader a shot glass. Shauna lunged until she had her arms over both their shoulders, laughing at their shocked expressions

"Four!"

Shauna somehow was able to get her hand onto my shoulder, pulling me closer and thus closer to Eric until I had no choice but to almost lean into him.

"Three!"

Druid was on Nickles' other side as the girls stood back and took a shot for every second.

"Two!"

I took my shot now as I knew I wouldn't be able to in a second. Eric did the same. Great minds think alike.

I didn't feel Nickles' hands on my back, twisting me towards Eric.

"One!"

Eric and I were pushed together by our friends. Chest to chest, we grinned and leaned closer.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

We were barely an inch from kissing when we heard the first set of gunshots go off, the fireworks barely even hiding the sound.

Before we even could think, both Eric and I had gone for our guns as everyone else just cheered. The metal framing rattled with bullets hitting it, people jumped off it straight away, fearful.

"GUNSHOTS!" Eric yelled into the badgecomms, sending it through the whole system as officers and soldiers reacted, grabbing their own pistols from their holsters.

"Get everyone inside!" Max almost screamed. "Get them jumping. Walker, get Wallace inside! He can't jump."

"Oh, I'm not that useless," Wallace grumbled but still walked inside.

Everyone around us began to race to the sides, jumping off the ledges in successions. Anyone pregnant was quickly escorted inside through the entrances since it was dangerous for them to jump. If a kid was too young to jump, an adult grab them and jumped.

Trying to get a couple of thousand people out off of the roofs was difficult but jumping was effective as people took turns and made sure everyone below was off before they leapt.

I scanned the dark skyline, "Squad 2, they're on the southeast building, two stories down from the top. Third window from the left."

"Roger!"

"How'd you catch that?" Eric asked as people ran past us. We made our way to the middle roof, keeping an eye on that specific spot on the southeast building now.

"Erudite New Year," I said. "I'm used to trying to find small stuff in the dark. Used to try and watch the Dauntless party. Never was close enough for a good enough look."

"Well," He said. "You've got a great look at it. I want that building swept, Squad 4. Take Squad 3 with you. They're ready."

"Joseph!" A girl screamed, grabbing our attention.

Max nodded for us to go over to the kids' roof, finding a girl standing next to the children's climbing apparatus.

"Fuck," Eric muttered, putting away his gun as he picked up the girl. She was barely eight so she was light. "He can't get down. He's too scared."

The poor boy was on the very top of the apparatus. It swung with the wind as one bracing beam had been shot through and he was too scared to move now. He didn't want to fall.

I flipped the safety switch of my gun, holstering it before I walked over to the ledge where the apparatus started.

"What are you doing?" Eric demanded.

"I'm going up," I said as if it was obvious. "He's not coming and this thing isn't going to last long enough. I'll go up and jump with him."

"It's too dangerous,"

"He's a kid, he's barely six." I stepped onto the ledge, taking off my gloves and pocketing them before I put my hands onto the thick bars. "Someone has to help him."

I climbed.

The kids' apparatus was mostly squared with thick bars so their little hands could grab onto it. The kids had to be over five to climb this, and ten without parents there.

The kids' parents rushed over, taking the girl from Eric as I went up to get Joseph. Eric calmed them down, telling them the plan before the father jumped with the girl in his arms and the mother stayed to watch me.

The damned contraption was moving more as I went up, forcing me to recalculate everything as soon as anything else changed.

"Come on, Joseph," I said when I was halfway up the five metres of metal. "Try to get to me."

He cried, holding on for dear life on the very top.

He wasn't going to be moving.

The metal bars shifted as I climbed up, the heel of my combat boots allowed me to hook onto the bars without fear of falling, and my hands kept me steady every time I had to swing with the metal.

It took the better part of three minutes to climb up but it felt like so much longer. I had started on the sturdier bit, but as I went up and to the right, it felt like the whole thing was swinging more and more. It probably was.

Joseph wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, so I hurried my climbing and shifting as I heard the bars creak and wane. There were a few thick cables keeping the apparatus up and it would still drop a few feet if it wasn't attached to the building.

I went faster, holding my hand out as Joseph cried. He almost launched himself onto me when he could, wrapping himself around me. I hugged him close before I looked down.

The darkness of the gaps between buildings scared me because I didn't know exactly where everything was, but I had an idea and that was enough.

"I'm jumping with him!" I yelled down to Eric and the mother. "I won't be able to make it down with him. Jumping is safer."

"Go! Go!" Eric shouted back, quickly turning to talk to the mother.

His eyes were on me and I leaned back and unhooked my feet from the bars, letting gravity take me.

I held my breath as the wind lashed at my face. Joseph clung to me and I kept him close so he didn't fly off me mid-fall. I only let him go after I settled in the safety of the net.

People were panicking down here. The nets were several dozen feet above the ground, making sure that if anyone fell, no one would touch the ground.

"Threat has been caught!" Hass shouted through the badgecomms.

I took a breath of relief.

"Alexandria!" Eric's voice was thick through the comms. "Are you and the kid alright?"

"We're good," I said. The edge of one of the buildings was perfectly aligned with the nets, letting us be gently rolled to the edge and into the building. "Kid's rattled but he's good. He's with dad now."

My heart was fast in my chest, painfully contracting and releasing with each breath. I felt a pain in my chest. I don't think it was my heart.

I pressed a hand to my left rib cage, just under my bust and hissed.

I either bruised or broke a rib, perhaps cracked it if I was lucky. The boy's elbow must have gone into my chest when we fell but the adrenaline didn't let me feel it until afterwards.

I ignored it, starting to help calm the people down here. I was technically the highest-ranked person here, or I would be soon enough.

Giving out orders that were part of the protocol, people began to calm down, getting kids and teens back up to the apartments. Some officers were down here, so I ordered a few to sweep the corridors before letting everyone back in. Other officers would stay to help whoever was left to jump.

I could deal with a little pain as I breathed when I had a job.

I'd go to the infirmary later.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It took over five hours to get the whole situation sorted. People were sent back to their apartments, and a couple of officers roamed down each corridor of each floor. Heavy-duty rifles were situated over their shoulders as they marched in pairs. They checked everyone's IDs if they were not in their apartments.

All five leaders had a meeting, and Walker and I had to sit it out since we didn't have the clearance just yet for it. Eric had enforced a curfew tonight, getting everyone back into their apartments as soon as possible before the allowed personnel wandered the halls.

I sat in my apartment just as it was turning five am. I had showered but now I just sat in my clean underwear and a loose top. I sat on the couch, a cup of cold coffee and a small dish of sliced up apples sat on the coffee table before me. I had curled up with my laptop, doing a report of what I saw during the incident earlier.

I was tired and my ribcage refused to let me sleep. I had seen the doctor. I already knew how long it would take to heal so seeing him was only a formality. I had the knowledge and the internet to go by.

Periodically, I would eat one of the apple slices as I edited my statement to make sure there weren't any mistakes because I knew Eric would make me run a mile for every mistake.

The five-beat knock at the door meant it was Eric at the door.

"Come in!" I shouted, sitting up properly on the sofa as he did so.

He was still wearing what he was from all night. He was tired, with slight bags under his eyes but it wasn't worse than normal. A couple more people had been killed since we found that Spencer guy dead. The other factions were pressuring Eric to find the person responsible.

He was tired but he was alert, just as a Dauntless leader should be.

"What's up?" I asked, unexpecting the answer he was going to give me.

"We're going to the Merciless Mart," He stated, walking over to where I sat on the sofa. "The shooter is in custody. Dress quickly, I need to debrief the squad. We're transporting him to Candor at six AM."

"What?" I stood up quickly, dislodging the laptop from my lap.

He barely glanced down at my slightly undressed state, only looking at the cropped hem of my top where it barely concealed my ribcage.

"Where'd that bruise come from?" Eric asked, cold fingers lifting the edge of my shirt to show off the pink bruise. It wouldn't turn purple for another day or two. "Was that from the fall?"

"Yeah," I said. "I already went to the doc to get it checked out. It's a hairline crack. I'll be fine. He gave me some healing accelerant so it should heal by the end of the day."

He nodded stiffly, "Good. You're still going. Bring your gun. You'll change your clothes again at the Crypt anyway. You'll need to be suited up before we go."

"Suited up?" I gave him a look, "Does that mean I'm—"

"You're doing a quick SWAT rotation," He said, smirking at my sudden excited look. "You'll be observing mostly but it'll be good for you to understand what's happening with our law enforcement areas. I want to leave by six so put some clothes on. A T-shirt and jeans will do. You'll get other clothes at the Crypt."

He used both hands, gesturing, "Hurry up."

I snorted, closing the lid of my laptop before taking it into my bedroom where I quickly put on jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of socks. I grabbed my jacket on the way out, turning to Eric, "You coming?"

)()()(

The Crypt was under the Dauntless compound, working as the place where all of the heavy-duty machinery, weapons and vehicles were.

We had to go to the elevator near the Pire, one that needed to have clearance to even get on since it went straight down to the Crypt.

It was even darker down here, fluorescent lights flickering a little as we came off the elevator. It opened up to a huge room, almost warehouse-style with how everything was organised. To the left, there were dozens of cars, vans, and motorcycles, equipped as needed in dark colourings. To the right, rows upon rows of guns, knives and other weapons sat on weapon racks.

We walked in, going straight to the large table with screens above it. Squad 3 was standing around the table along with Max, discussing something.

"Good, you brought her," Max stated. "Did you get any sleep, Alexandria?"

"Not a wink," I said, "I was finishing up my statement when he came."

Max nodded. "Both of you, suit up and get a coffee. It's gonna be a long night."

Eric gently tapped the back of his hand against my chest, alerting me to him moving away as I was supposed to follow. He led me to the side, going into a locker room with several dozen lockers lining the two walls with another row in the middle to split the space. Bathroom was to the side and had a couple of showers.

"Your locker's number's thirty-two," Eric said, going straight to his locker which was apparently only a couple of lockers down from mine.

I opened the locker, pressing my thumb into the small pad before I took a look inside. There was already a uniform there for me, a whole set including shoes and everything.

Eric stripped his top off straight away, hanging his stuff back up in the locker as he put on the thin tank top before a long-sleeved shirt. It had a small logo on the side, DL along with the red star. SWAT was written just under it along with DAUNTLESS POLICE.

I took off my jacket, putting it on the bench between the rows of lockers before I pulled off my thin shirt. It was cold as I stood up in only my dark sports bra, grabbing the shirt similar to Eric's which sat in my locker.

"No," Eric said, quickening coming over and going through my locker to find the tank top before he handed me it. "This first. It's bulletproof. We got rid of the bulletproof vests for SWAT, these work better."

I nodded, dropping the long-sleeved shirt and grabbing the tank top. I pulled it on, "Any more orders of clothes should I know?"

"Those," He pointed to the two sets of trousers before he went back to his own locker. "The thinner set first."

Undoing his belt, he shucked the trousers he was wearing down to his ankles before taking them off completely. Eric smirked as I stared for a second. He wore tight-fitting briefs, letting me stare for only half a second before he pulled up the thinner pair of trousers.

These trousers moulded to his ass beautifully, but the sight was obstructed when the thicker set of combat trousers went on. They had pockets on the lower thighs.

I did the same, taking my boots off along with my jeans before putting the thin pair of trousers on. They were soft to the touch and warm. The combat trousers were slightly thicker but just as soft and light. I pulled the long-sleeve shirt on, tucking it in a little before I zipped and buckled my trousers tightly.

"Anything else?" I asked, looking over at him as we both sat down to put the new, thicker set of boots on. They had steel toes and heels, I could tell as I put them on. They were heavier than my normal boots but I could deal with them, they felt good and sturdy.

"Knife, gun, jacket, and you'll be good to go, spitfire," He did as he said, putting a knife on the inside of his left boot, his gun in the thigh holster on his right side.

I took a look at the jacket I was going to put on next, pulling it off the hanger to see my last name on the bag in bold letters. I pulled the thick jacket on, zipping it up quickly since it was cold still.

Eric put his stuff away, tucking his shoes at the bottom of the locker.

"I didn't know your last name was Coulter," I commented as he turned his back to me to pick up the last of his stuff and put his previous jacket in the locker.

"It's so no one confuses us with anyone else," He said. "I've got my last name, Max has his, you have yours. First names are popular in Dauntless but there's safety issues so our last names help identify us."

"Oh, right,"

"Come on. Coffee then briefing,"

In the next five minutes, everyone had a coffee and we stood around the table. A new hologram came upon it, showing the whole city before a small, dotted path that weaved throughout the streets of Chicago.

"As we all know, the suspect is in custody," Max said, pointing to the dotted line. "Squad 1 will be taking him to the Merciless Mart, but you will be leading in front in another car. I want Sue and Ryan on motorbikes behind, the rest in the car. Alexandria, you're here to watch and observe, that's all."

After another couple of minutes of debriefing, Max pulled both Eric and me to the side, to talk to us in private.

"You're going to Candor to watch a live integration between Dauntless and Candor, which can be brutal," He said to me. "Our methods can be inhumane but it's the only way to get the needed information. I just hope you never have to deal with a Dauntless execution."

I nodded, "Yeah, I know of them. Three leaders, three guns, one bullet. I've seen Candor trials before, but not ones that dealt with Dauntless problems. My mum used to say those were too graphic for me to watch. I watched some violent criminal trials but never the murder ones. You think this is the guy who's killing Factionless?"

"Maybe," Eric said. "I don't know yet. Apparently, some of the Factionless were thinking of moving out of Chicago, but it would take several months for their applications to be done. Spencer Tate was supposed to leave this month but he was killed before he could. It could be linked because we don't usually have this much violent crime, especially not against a faction like last night was."

"Alright, I want you to find out everything you can with the Candor," He told Eric before giving him a quick order to get me a knife. When he was out of earshot, Max turned to me, "Whatever you see in that trial room, don't let it change the way you see Eric."

"It won't," I looked him in the eye. "I presume you saw what I did to both Wyett and that other guy. That was me protecting myself and my friends. I will do worse to protect my faction."

"I hope you aren't telling me this to butter me up into making you a leader," He smiled.

"Well, we'll have to wait to see if what I say is true," I smile back, turning as Eric came back with a heavy-duty combat knife. I slipped it into my left boot.

"Twenty minutes until you leave," Max said, watching as we nodded. "I'll take you by your word, Alexandria. Good luck with your first observation."

We watched as Max left.

"What was that about?" Eric asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

I had a good clue about what Max was talking about. Even as a leadership candidate, I knew I would have to make tough calls eventually, that the decisions I would make wouldn't aline with my morals or with the law. I was here to keep Dauntless, to keep it ordered.

Eric would do what was necessary to get the information. He could be violent, or kind. Merciless, or hold mercy for everyone. He couldn't be kind or merciful, he had a faction to protect, especially since this guy shot at Dauntless, shot at children and adults alike as they celebrated.

Max was scared seeing Eric like that would change the way I would see him but it wouldn't. I saw the bastard with his cat, the way he was kind and fed her too much because she begged. But I had seen him as he overlooked me as I hung onto that ledge.

He was human.

Both of us were Erudite-born and raised but we were Dauntless now.

The cold calculation of Erudite and the bold ruthlessness of Dauntless would make sure we knew when to be reckless and when to be careful.

It might've been the reason Max paired us together, to have another who could be like Eric but be good with the people. I needed a mentor who could keep up with me, sharp word against sharp word, teaching me the ropes of the job before I was even an official candidate.

I was being groomed for the position long before I even realised, now I finally realised. I didn't complain. Many factions did this, Erudite tried with me but changing my faction had changed their plans. That was why there were always a few options in each year.

Eric was more reckless about bravery than me, I already knew that. He was reckless but he knew exactly when to be cowardly when there was actual danger. An example would be the double hanging of Wyett and me, giving us a choice to hang for two or five minutes.

He didn't think I would be able to do the five minutes. He was impressed I was able to do it, and even moreso when I did it even through the pain of a dislocated shoulder.

)()()(

The way to the Merciless Mart was mostly quiet, besides for the comments Eric pushed over the badgecomms to everyone to make sure we all knew the plan.

Get the suspect into the interrogation room without him escaping. He was already handcuffed twice over, and someone had put a tracker onto him already.

Merciless Mart was huge, a wide cement building overlooking the huge river. We didn't go through the front, no, we went to the back and had four guns on him at all times as we escorted him inside.

Eric and I were in the front with Travis right behind us.

A Candor woman was escorting us to an interrogation room, warily glancing around because of the suspect.

The woman brought us to a huge room, it was dark with empty spaces instead of windows lining the three-story room. It could have filled most of Candor in here. The floor was white marble with the black Candor symbol in the middle. Yellow lights lined the walls, making the room glow.

There were tiered benches against all the walls, acting as a large amphitheatre to watch and listen to what was happening below. A single chair sat in the black circle of Candor.

Eric gestured with three figures, holding them up before pointing towards the chair. Three people nudged the shooter suspect towards the chair, he hadn't said a word yet. As he sat down, another person comes up towards us.

Jack Kang, the representative leader of Candor, shook Eric's hand first before my own.

"Hello," He said. "Max informed me of the circumstances of her attending. The integration will begin at seven, that's in ten minutes."

Eric nodded, "Okay. I don't want anyone who doesn't need to be in here. Only those authorised since this is against a whole faction."

"I will stay to make sure everything goes according to plan," He said. "Please, sit on the benches."

Eric looked at me, "Sit with him and watch. No one is allowed to interfere with what is happening."

I walked with Jack to the benches, sitting at the front. We were quite far away from them.

I was glad it was cold here because the last glance Eric sent me as I sat was… strange.

I had never seen the look of regret on his face before. It was regret mixed with fear. With what Max had said, I think it had to do with my opinion of Eric, of how it could all change by this interrogation. I couldn't resolve Eric's fear because I didn't know why he cared for my opinion. I knew what I hoped but I couldn't tell myself it was that.

I was not stupid enough to think you could start caring for a person within only a few months of knowing them.

Another chair was brought out for Eric, letting him twist the shooter's chair until one sat on each side of the unbalanced scales of the Candor symbol. It allowed Jack and I to see them better, even though there was a holographic screen brought up between us so we could see both of their faces at all times.

There were only four people in the room, the rest of our Dauntless members were standing outside or in the cars.

One last person was allowed into the room before the doors were sealed off. This was a private and confidential interrogation.

The old man walked over to Eric and the shooter, holding a black box in his equally dark hands. "My name is Niles. I will be one of your questioners. Be still as I inject you."

The cloudy blue liquid was injected and the guy gasped as the needle went in. That was the first sound I had heard from him.

"I will ask you a series of simple questions so that you can grow accustomed to the serum as it takes full effect," Niles said, standing next to Eric. "Now. What is your name?"

The guy slouched a lot but his chains and handcuffs didn't let him do much. He scowled and squirmed in his seat, trying to get out but failing. He didn't want to speak, only talking through gritted teeth, "Trident."

His voice was thick and scratchy, going up and down in pitch but still remaining thick like a smoker's.

Niles sighed, "Is that your nickname or your real name?"

"Neither."

"Why do you call yourself Trident?"

"...It is what we are."

Eric nodded, "What is your full, legal name?"

"Dent Moore!" He snapped

"What are the names of your parents?" Niles asked.

He opened his mouth, clamping it shut before muttering, "Diane and Nicholas Moore."

"What faction are you from?"

"Why does that matter?" He snapped.

Jack's eyebrows raised of their own accord, surprise entrapping his face. He leaned towards me, whispering, "It's difficult, even for the trained, to not answer questions immediately. It means he is strong-willed and has something to hide."

I nodded, "We'll find out soon enough."

"Because we want to know,"

He rolled his eyes, "Doesn't mean you have to know which faction I could or couldn't be part of."

"Are you from any of our factions or are you an outlander?"

Outlanders were people not from this city.

A hundred years ago, we found out we weren't alone.

Other cities had begun to figure it out too, opening their walls completely as soon as they found out others were alive after the war and disease had left the land. We were careful, though.

Chicago refused to suddenly open their doors to new people, taking us over ten years before we allowed any visitors and then another twenty before people were allowed to move into Chicago. Not many left, there wasn't a point when we had everything we needed here.

Many Factionless people left, finding that they didn't fit into our system.

Divergents were the reason the cities opened, finding out about the Bureau of Genetic Welfare and their experiments before they spread the word. Our government kept it a secret for over a year, getting everything sorted before they announced it to the whole city a hundred years ago.

For every thousand people we had in Chicago, there was an outlander. They came from one of the cities outside, taking part in our government and our ruling before they settled down and had children. There were only about twelve other people who were a quarter or half outlander, creating a larger chance of us being Divergent.

My father was one such child and that meant I was a quarter outlander. It wasn't on any public file. The leaders were the only ones that got to see what our lineage was.

It was nice to know about my heritage. While my dad was raised in Candor because of his father but his mother was an outlander ambassador for a different city. She had been dead for a couple of years now, old age as nasty flu took my grandfather not long ago.

"Neither!" He almost shouted. "You can't make us become part of you! Trident can't be controlled!"

"Who the fuck is Trident?" Eric said.

"We are Trident."

"Who's we?"

"We are."

Niles spoke up again, "Is Trident a group or a group of people?"

"It is us," Dent said, jerking in his seat. "We are the children of the original three! You cannot us into one of the five false factions."

"False factions?" Jack muttered.

I leaned over this time, "In early the early twenty-second century, there were three factions called Prudence, Temperance, and Justice. I believe this group called Trident refers to the three-pointed weapon which was the symbol back then before the people split the city into five factions. There wasn't enough stability with three factions so we created five."

Jack nodded, "I remember now. So there's an underground group still running as Trident then?"

"I would think so," I shifted on the bench, leaning back against the small wall behind me. "We try to keep track of the Factionless but it doesn't always work. If they stayed away from the centre of the city and the compounds, they'll most likely be undetectable. We've got so many ruins, I wouldn't be surprised if they made one their own."

We went silent after that, continuing to listen to the interrogation.

"You were never in the choosing ceremony?"

"As if," He laughed, "Your pathetic system does not work. It does more harm than good."

"Why did you take Dauntless at midnight?" Eric asked. "You shot at children."

"Because Dauntless is an abomination!" He snapped again, shaking in his seat in laughter. "Dauntless, the brave? No, you're ruthless. You've killed so many of my people because we didn't fit into your system!"

"Do you mean the Factionless attack a decade ago?"

I was eight when that happened. There was a fight that broke out between Factionless members. When a Dauntless officer came to break it up, the officer was killed and then more came. A lot of people died that day, Dauntless, Factionless and Abnegation alike.

"You killed too many just because one of your members was hurt,"

Eric looked at him.

I recognised that look. He had given Wyett the same look when Wyett tried to attack me after realising his rank would be lowered to last.

The set of his jaw was dangerous. His eyes darkened and the tiniest of cruel smiles appeared on his lips.

"Did we?" He said. "How many did we kill?"

"You killed thirty of our members!" Dent shouted.

"Was that it? I thought there would be more," The way Eric sat back in his chair, calm and relaxed like he was only talking about the weather. "Pity."

"Pity?" Dent looked almost crazy as he struggled but still failed to get out of his restraints. "You killed my people!"

"Why should I care about them?"

"Because they're people!"

"And? They're not my people. You attacked my people, the people I swore to protect,"

"Don't worry, we plan to kill your fucking people!. All of them! Start the city over with the pure children of Trident!"

"Is that your plan? To kill all of us?"

"Oh, we'll keep the pretty ones," Dent leered before he leaned forward as much as his restraints would. "Your girl's pretty. Our kids would be beautiful, my blood, her appearance. Shame she's one of you. Could've been useful, at least on her bac—"

I cringed at the sudden punch Eric landed on Dent's nose.

He stood up, walked the couple of feet and leaned over Dent, his hands crushing Dent's wrists until Dent shook with pain.

"Don't speak of her like that," Eric muttered angrily. "If you think us killing your people is bad, wait until you threaten us. We'll do worse than just killing you."

"Eric," Niles warned. "His hands are turning blue. Release him."

It took a moment for Eric to do so, his eyes flickering between Dent's before he released him and went back to his own seat.

"That hurt!" He clenched his hands to regain feeling. "Damn factioned. Too narrow-minded!"

"Dent," I said loudly, getting his attention, "What do you think of Divergents?"

"Oh," He seemed to perk up at that. "Beautiful, beautiful Divergents. All of Trident is Divergent. We're the perfect children. We are supposed to save the city. We are the people the artefact spoke of a hundred years ago. We're supposed to save the city from the outlanders."

Eric looked over at me, the screen version of him turned his face away. He gestured with two fingers.

"Excuse me," I muttered to Jack before coming over.

Eric stood up, walking a few paces over to me before he leaned closer to me, "He likes Divergents more than the factioned. If you speak to him, he might divulge more information. Manipulate him. You know the script of what you're supposed to ask?"

"Yeah, a little," I said and he nodded.

"Don't worry, a screen will appear in front of your lap," He said, walking back over to the chair. He let me sit down and a holographic screen did appear over my lap, only for my eyes.

"Dent, this is Alexandria," Eric said, circling Dent like a predator. "She'll like to ask you some questions. She's a Divergent."

I smiled as Dent's eyes turned to me, wide.

"You're one of us," He said, eyes narrowing to a soft look. "Why are you sitting there?"

"I don't know, why am I?" I leaned forward a little, crossing one knee over the other. "What's the plan then?"

His face scrunched up as if he was in pain.

"Dent, you can tell me," I smiled softly again, making sure my voice was soft and kind and reassuring. "If I'm one of you, why wouldn't you tell me the plan? I could help."

"You d-d-don't have th-th-the ch-chip," His whole body shook like he was shivering.

I furrowed my eyebrows to confer confusion. "Yes, I do. Do you?"

"Of c-c-course, I do!" He breathed heavier as he began to look panicked. "W-why don't you? You're-you're one of u-us. You sh-should have one. No, n-no. You're a t-traitor!"

"I'm not a traitor," I calmly said. "Why would you think that?"

"Be-because you d-don't have a-a ch-chip!" He struggled in his chair like a mad man, like he was going crazy in the chair.

"Dent, what are you feeling right now?" I was curious. The look in his eyes told me of panic and pain.

"I'm-I'm hot. Boiling hot, like my skin is burning!" He clenched and unclenched his hands, seeming to gauge the strength of the restraints before he struggled more and more.

"Eric," I stood up, watching as Niles stepped far away.

"Why is your skin burning?" Niles asked.

"I don't know,"

"Why don't you know?"

"I don't know!" Dent shouted, struggled more and more, making his handcuffs and leg restraint rattle until we heard the clink of broken metal.

"Why?!" Niles asked again.

"Niles, stop!" Eric yelled, going for his gun just as I was. We both aimed at Dent as he had one hand free now but he struggled. "Dent Moore, stay still! Don't move!"

"I can't! I don't know!" He shouted again as he flared his body outwards, one foot becoming loose until all of his limbs were loose and he stood up like he had ants in his pants. "I can't! I won't! I don't know! I can't! I won't! I don't know!"

He repeated the words as he clutched his head.

"What don't you—"

"Shut up!" Eric almost screamed at Niles, making the older man jump.

"You're safe, Dent," I tried. "We're safe."

"Nonono, we're not. No, we're not safe. Not safe. Not saf—" He leapt towards Eric.

I aimed for his knee caps and shot them both with a clean bullseye but it didn't deter him. It didn't seem like he knew pain as he attacked Eric with his hands. He clawed at him but Eric just shot him in the chest twice.

That didn't work either.

Dent latched onto Eric like a leach, scratching and clawing at him like an animal.

I acted quickly, knotting my hands into the back of Dent's shirt until I could pull him away. While it worked to get him away from Eric, Dent was taller than me and leaned into me too much. I fell onto my ass with him on me.

He twisted until he began to claw at me.

I protected my face with one arm while the other tried to leverage him off me. He was too heavy, even heavier than Wyett even though this one was skinnier. I felt crushed under his weight, enough so that my breath was gone as he got a good, hit into one of my ribs.

I felt it crack more. I bit my lip to prevent the scream.

I pulled a hand to it, suddenly free from Dent's weight as Eric had him on the ground.

Eric straddled Dent's chest, punching him in the face as we knew weapons wouldn't work. Each punch seemed to slow Dent down, a dazed expression on his face until he smiled, teeth covered with blood from his split lip.

I had never seen that look on Eric's face. It almost scared me, almost.

Pure, unadulterated rage, the type you only saw when something truly bad happened.

I had only seen this look once before, and that was when I was in Amity and a father found out his daughter was touched inappropriately and unwantedly. The teen boy had been beaten close to death.

Eric didn't stop his savage punches until Dent relaxed under him, slouching as Dent lent his head back to the floor and Eric heaved breaths out.

A long line down both sides of his neck appeared, opening his skin up like a valley and letting the blood pour out. It stained the white floor as life left Dent.

Eric stood up like nothing was wrong, knees and hands stained bloody red.

"That's on record, right?" Eric asked, looking at Jack. "That's on camera? I didn't kill him. Something in him killed him. His body needs to be given to Erudite for autopsy. I want to find out what killed him."

I was careful to sit up, breathing heavy and hissing when I felt the rib move. I had to still myself from moving, letting myself get used to the pain.

"Alexandria," Eric kneeled next to me, "Are you alright?"

"Couple cuts, a few bruises and a for sure broken rib," I smiled, frowning only when I tasted blood on my lips. "I bit my lip too. How wonderful."

"You're done," He said, slowly helping me up. "I'm sending you back to Dauntless until you're healed. You can report to Max after you've had some sleep."

"What? No, I'm fine," I insisted.

He pressed on my rib, making me whimper in pain. It burned.

"No, you're not," Eric gave me a dark look which said for me to not argue. "You're benched until that rib is healed completely. I mean it."

"Fine," I huffed quietly.

"And you're going to visit the doctor again,"

"I don't need him, I have the healing accelerant pills,"

Eric grabbed my arm tightly, wrapping his hand around my bicep as he pulled me closer until his breath was on my ear. "You'll listen and go to the fucking doctor, Alexandria Voltaire, or so help, I will—"

"Will what?" I snapped back quietly. "Fine, I'll go to the doc but don't make empty threats. They don't suit you."

"A good Dauntless knows their limits," He said.

"A great Dauntless pushes past them."

"You're not a great Dauntless,"

That hit me like a sucker punch to the stomach.

I sneered, snatching my arm out of his hand before I moved to stand right in front of him. I hissed, my face a couple of inches away from his, "I fucking will be."

I touched my side as I slowly strutted over to the now opened door, leaving Eric and his clenched jaw.

I took the train, climbing on even with the pain in my side.

I saw with one of my legs out of the door, feeling the cold of the wind was nice.

The quiet was even nicer.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Eric didn't come back to his apartment that day.

Max sent me a message to tell me to look after Empress. The bastard was too selfish to tell me him-fucking-self.

I took her in, grabbing all of her stuff as the message said that Eric wouldn't be back all week.

She wasn't much trouble but she did follow me around the compound. It wasn't much of a hazard but I did have to stop her from following me into the kitchen.

"Hey," I said as I came into Max's office, "I've got the paperwork you requested. Remind me to never break any of the trainees' hands."

He held out a hand for them, not looking up from what he was typing, "Well, you shouldn't have broken it in the first place."

I shrugged as I sat down, "Those damn trainee officers are annoying. They're a couple of years older but that doesn't mean they get to disrespect me. I'm already pissed enough as it is."

Because Eric was trying to sort out shit with Candor and Erudite, he requested that I take over some of the officer training to keep me busy for the week. I wasn't allowed to do any active duty yet, so walking and light running was all I could do as my rib needed even more time to heal up properly.

Science had only improved so much in the last couple hundred years. Instant healing was still years away.

"You did as you should have," He said. "But next time, don't complain about the paperwork you have to do afterwards. Eric had a crap ton to do after he made you hang on that railing. He also had to do even more when he brought that one back."

He looked to Empress who sat in the other chair like it was her throne. She licked her paw as if to say we should be grateful for her presence.

"I would hope so," I reached over to scratch her behind the ear. "Can I request some time off in March? It's my dad's thirty-five birthday."

"As long as you do an absence form, you can," He said. "I know how Amity can party. You'll have the worst hangover after that party."

"I can imagine," I huffed my breath out slowly, "I remember my father's thirtieth. Wasn't allowed to drink yet but damn, the morning after was horrendous."

Amity was one of the most relaxed factions about birth and transfer. They allowed me to visit my father whenever it was convenient for me and my mother. I spent long weekends and summers at Amity. Most winters were spent with my mother in the warmth of our apartment in Erudite. It was nice, having the exposure to two factions.

I wasn't the only one with a dual faction family unit. There were plenty of us, the double-faction children. We took on whichever parent's faction we stayed in more, mine being Erudite.

Being a double-faction child, there used to be a prejudice against them a couple of decades ago. It used to be illegal, to be a family made of more than one faction. The government used to say it was dangerous. It could cause Divergents, something they used to fear until a hundred years ago when they found out the truth.

I was glad it was like that. Divergents were no longer killed. We were safe.

)()()(

Since we found out about Trident, everything went a little stricter. There were everyday patrols in the Factionless areas, keeping count of people.

This time, being Eric couldn't do it, I had to go down to the Factionless marketplace, keeping an eye on everyone as officers walked around with rifles. It was both a demand from Eric and a request from Wallace, to keep the Factionless safe and informed of what was going on.

They only got told that some people were being killed and that was the reason for the increased patrols.

I didn't have a rifle, only my handgun on my thigh along with a knife in my boot. I wore my normal outfit of jeans but I wore a set of bulletproof underclothes to keep safe. I wore the jacket with my last name.

The snow crunched under my boots as I walked the mindless rows of Factionless selling stuff. Surprisingly, they were good at making stuff. It actually helped our economy to support the Factionless, otherwise, they would drain it even more.

It was still cold but people were milling around as other faction people came by and brought stuff from them. It was mostly Abnegation and Amity members but there were quite a few Dauntless, Candor and even Erudite members too.

I walked down the rows, careful to keep away from stalls since I was here to patrol and not buy.

Catching sight of a small stall with a holographic sign saying 'Puppies', I went over there.

"Aren't they cold?" I asked, kneeling to look at the wide cage. It was made of wires but the bottom had thick blankets. A dozen puppies sat in there, all dark and tan and playful.

"Nah," The woman at the stall smiled, sitting with her rottweiler laying next to her. "There's a heating mat in there. Are you interested in getting a dog? They're great company."

She leaned down, petting the dog she had next to her.

"I'm not looking for a pet," I said, standing up. "I was just checking they were fine. It's cold out here, and they're only small."

"Oh, yeah, they're small right now but wait until— For fucks' sake, not again!" She stood, grabbing the puppy that had started to climb up the wiring of the cage. It was open-topped so they could be picked up. "This one keeps escaping today."

"Escape artist, that one," I smiled as the dark puppy in her hands yawned and then yipped in excitement. "Cute."

"Yeah, they are." She sat down again, sighing.

I nodded, stepping away.

I glanced at each stall as I walked slowly down the row. There were antique clocks, clothing, shoes, jewellery, and customised phone cases. There was a lot of variety of stuff around here. I stopped at one where someone was becoming rowdy, giving the person a look that said test me and see what happens.

A tiny whimper made me look down, seeing a pouting, rottweiler puppy pawing at my boot. I picked it up, my hands wrapping around its body easily as it was that small. It looked like the runt of the litter.

Going back over to the woman with the puppies, I smiled, "I think you lost one."

"Again?" She huffed, taking him from me. "He keeps escaping."

"He followed me down the road," I said, pausing as the puppy wiggled, yipped and whimpered in the woman's hands.

She held him at arm's length when he nipped at her shirt, biting a hole into it. "Bastard."

"That he is," I bit the inside of my lip, imaging my life with a puppy and perhaps a dog later on. It looked like a good life, with a good companion, "I'll take the bastard. He's too cute not to take. How much?"

"No, take him!" She thrust him towards me. "He's more trouble than he's worth."

He gave me pleading eyes as he hung limply in her hands. I took him into my own, watching him perk up and bark happily.

"No, I'm serious, how much?"

"Discount, twenty points," She said. "I usually give 'em away for fifty but this one keeps escaping. Takes me ages to find him."

I twisted my wrist, activating my watch and scanning the tiny barcode on her stall, adding the full fifty to her account without her knowing. I also brought a little collar for him, black with tiny silver studs to accent his chocolate eyes.

I now had a puppy to train.

)()()(

Loki's favourite thing to do was annoy Empress.

He was a quarter of her size, yet he acted as if he was twice as big as her by the way he pounced onto her to play. It was adorable to watch until Eric came by to retrieve Empress a couple of days later and Loki growled, all tiny but vicious.

Eric came into the apartment after I let him in, letting me get Empress's stuff.

He crouched, tilting his head at Loki as the rottweiler puppy just growled and yipped at him.

"You got a dog?" He asked, "Since when did you have a dog? Ouch, and he's vicious."

"He takes after me," I smiled, getting the rest of Empress' toys and putting them in her napping basket. "I got him a couple of days ago when I was patrolling. Bastard escaped his cage and followed me. I brought him from the woman who was selling dogs. Vaccinated, chipped and yapping now."

"What did you name him?"

"Loki, after the trickster god in Norse mythology," I said. "He's an escape artist. I gave up putting him in the cage. He likes my pillow too much."

"What did Max say about him?" Eric poked the puppy in the chest very gently, watching him latch onto his hand, holding on with his teeth but only to play.

"Max fell in love," I laughed at the memory. "Old man tried to remain cold but one look from his puppy eyes, and Max had him on his lap."

"He's cute enough," Eric mused, standing up as I came over.

"Loki, cage," I said. We both watched as he perked up and walked over to the cage in the corner of the apartment, right next to the window. He sat in there, waiting. "He's been training well. Here's her stuff. Good luck."

"Why good luck?"

"Oh, I've been spoiling the feline," I patted him on the chest, smiling slyly before handing him the basket.

)()()(

"You're a bitch," Eric glared at me as soon as I opened my door the next morning.

"Am I?" I sipped at the hot coffee I had in hand, already dressed while Eric was standing in a dark shirt and sweatpants as he held onto a meowing Empress.

"What did you do?" He asked. "She's been meowing for the last half hour. What did you do?"

"You'll have to figure it out," I said. "She's your problem. You'll have to excuse me, Max's waiting for me in his office. Loki, come on, baby."

Loki, dressed in the smallest vest they had for dogs and a black collar with VOLTAIRE in bright white around his neck, trotted over to me before sitting down at my feet.

"Good boy," I crouched, scratching his ear and giving him a treat from my pocket.

"If I sit, will you give me a treat?"

He smirked. I felt the urge to either throw a chair or myself at him. I was still pissed about his comment from the interrogation but I didn't know if he forgot about it or not. While I could hold a grudge, it didn't mean I was going to be rude when I didn't need to be.

"You'll get a slap across your face, Coulter, if you don't wipe that smirk off your face," I said, not looking up as I rewarded Loki. I stood, "I'm not in the mood, Eric. I really do need to leave. Max is expecting me."

"Alright," He said, stepping back and letting me close the door to my apartment as we stood in the hallway. "What time do you think you'll be free? I need a sparring partner."

"Uh, probably not until after lunch. I've already agreed to meet up with Zeke for some gun training," I said. "Max wants me to do some more weapons training."

"Why wasn't I informed? I'm your mentor,"

"Walker requested a shadowing with you. He doesn't like the fact I got to go to Candor with you and see the interrogation when he didn't."

Eric frowned, "He isn't on track."

"He's not on track? Why? Is he behind on stuff?"

"Behind is an understatement,"

I smiled, "Better for me then. I'm off."

"See yah,"

)()()(

I walked up to the PIre, having to carry Loki up the steep stairs but I put him down when we were on the right level.

The whole compound was still dark. Even the Pire with its glass walls was like walking through shadows with tiny lights hooked to the ceilings so no one suddenly face planted the ground.

I knocked on Max's door, looking through the glass walls.

Walker was in there with him. Max held up a hand to say to wait and so I did. Walker stormed out of there, only sending a deep glare and sneer to me before he went straight past me.

Max waved me in. I sat on the chair in front of the desk, Loki laying by my feet like a good boy.

"What's up with him?" I asked.

"I told him some news that he didn't like," He said, sitting back in his chair. "But you might like. The other leaders and I have decided. On the twenty-eighth of February, the next leader will be announced."

"And?" I sat up straight, having a hopeful clue of what was going to happen but I needed confirmation. "That's the end of next month."

"Yes," He smirked, "You'll be spending the next month and a bit training going to other factions to see how the leaders work. Your first position will be in Erudite and you'll be spending two weeks at each place. You'll only spend a week at Erudite due to the timing. It starts on the fourteenth, a week from now."

I leaned forward, "Does that mean I'm the next leader?"

He nodded once. "Wallace will be retiring in April so he can help get you situated. Follow me."

"Where're we going?" I asked, standing up as I followed.

We went down the hall, and down to the elevator which went all the way up and down the Pire and even down to the Crypt. The elevator stopped at the bottom level of the Pire, the one that touched the top of the compound.

We went to a set of double doors, going into the large room.

"This was Wallace's office," Max said as I looked at the huge, empty room. There was a table and a chair but not much else. "He emptied it for you."

Behind the desk, a window overlooked the Pit and all of the paths that worked their way up to the shops and other levels.

I stared out of it, at Dauntless slowly becoming alive as morning came and people piled into the Pit.

"This is mine?" I asked. "All of this?"

"The whole floor," He stated, walking over. "In the meantime, you'll become acquainted with Wallace and his team. They're wonderful people, they'll help you settle in before you take over at the end of April."

I had to sit down, leaning against the table for a second. "I can't believe this."

"That we chose you to be a leader?"

"That I had the ability to be one," I looked at him. "In Erudite, we're based on our grades and our IQ. The higher our IQ, the higher and better our jobs. That's how Jeanine Mathews was appointed, that's how everyone is appointed. I was groomed to be one of her helpers but my decision to come here changed their plans."

"I'm glad you made the decision to transfer," Max smiled. "We need more new blood in our ranks. I doubt we'll be adding anyone new in the next few years. Two new leaders in two years is more than enough for a while."

"Eric's only a year older than me, isn't he?" I asked as Max nodded.

"He's turning twenty mid-May," He mentioned. "He's done well as our security leader. You'll do well with our people, Alexandria. Amity father, Erudite mother, Dauntless member."

"Yeah, I hope so," I sighed. "Wallace showed me the ropes but I don't know if I have the hang of them yet. I'm not a people pleaser like he is."

"We don't need a people pleaser, we need someone who can keep everyone under control," He tilted his head as he stood before me, crossing his arms loosely. "You've got a good reputation with people, especially when you caught the spiker. And then the situation with the kid a couple of weeks ago."

"I don't even like people," I admitted quickly. "I really don't like people. They're annoying and needy."

"Think of this as a job, one you're going to be doing for the next while," Max said. "All you have to do is keep them under control. Keep them happy and listen to any concerns. Wallace works with all of the Dauntless leaders, myself included. I started out as a security leader, like Eric."

"You worked your way up?"

"Yeah. I started off as an officer and worked my way up for five years, eventually, I got asked if I wanted the security leader position and I took it. I was promoted a couple of years ago when the other guy died."

I nodded, "Even though I've been training for this, I've only had a couple of months' worth of training. I don't feel ready."

"Eric told me what happened at the interrogation, and I watched the footage," He said. "You did it right. You're Divergent, you're good with mind games and telling the truth from lies. Keeping this faction, keeping this city safe is harder than you think. You'll do things you'll regret. You'll have to live with blood on your hands, at some point."

"I'm ready for that, Max. We're still in a closed city, our laws are our own," I told him. "I'm not scared to bloody my hands to keep this city safe."

"You might not mind it now, but when you have to do your first Dauntless execution and you have the bullet," He turned solemn. "It changes you, taking a life."

"I'd rather have the change soon then," I said. "I'm going to do my duty to this faction and to this city."

"I'm glad to hear it," Max placed a hand on my bicep, squeezing in reassurance before he turned to leave, "I just hope you don't change completely."

As he left, I spoke up, "I may be young but I'm not a child. I know what I signed up for when I came to Dauntless and when I began leadership training. I watched Eric almost beat Dent Moore to death because he attacked me. That's the anger of a leader."

"No, that's the anger of a man possessed," Max said, stopping at the door. "Get comfortable, sort some furniture out for the room. Wallace will be with you in about half an hour."

"Cheers," I nodded in thanks as I watched Max close the door as he left.

I went to the window, watching as the world, my world, came to life as the day began. There were already people climbing up the stairs, going to shops to open them up for the day. Some people went down the stairs and down to the canteen for breakfast.

The office window couldn't be seen from the Pit or any of the shops. It was one-way glass that made the outside look like the stone walls.

I couldn't believe this office was mine.

There were several, smaller offices all along this floor. They belonged to other members of the team I now belonged to.

"Morning, Wallace," I greeted as the old man came in. "What are we doing today?"

"Check your watch," He said, smiling. "Your schedule has been updated."

My schedule.

Mine.

My duties.

It was strange to think I was a leader now.

I liked it.

)()()(

Loki was a hit with the people who visited my office.

Wallace introduced me to his, now my secretary. He was a skinny man with dark hair and vines tattooed onto his skin, going from below his collar, up his throat and onto his left cheek.

Hawks was pleasant enough, though a little too blunt as we ran through the schedule for the day. He was happy to alter my lunch, letting me take a break to go and do a session with Zeke.

Zeke showed me some gun manoeuvres, teaching me some SWAT level stuff since I found it interesting.

I didn't know what was going to happen with the Trident situation so it was better to be prepared for a hostile situation. I didn't want to be taken by surprise if I was forced into fighting or the like.

"You're always so busy," Druid complained as we sat down in the canteen for dinner. "Gods, what do they torture you with up there?"

"Not a lot," I said, "Finishing up some shit. The paperwork's a bitch though. I've never had a hand cramp from having to sign my name so often. I gave up with the full name, AV it is for me!" I chuckled, shaking my right hand before picking up my fork to bring some food to my mouth. "How's nursing, Rori?"

"It's going good, boring but good," She said, flicking her red hair out of her face. "We've got plenty of idiots around us so there's always people to practice my needlework on."

Seleca sat with Loki in her lap, petting him and feeding him tiny pieces of meat from her plate.

I let her, seeing no problem as he wasn't on duty at the moment.

Rottweilers were good guard and rescue dogs, and that was what I was training Loki to be. He was going to be a guard dog. He did well with Eric, yapping and barking at him even if he was tiny still.

"How's your shoulder?" Rori asked me.

"It's alright," I said, rolling my right shoulder. "The tattoo was a little painful. Not too bad but it keeps scaring me every time I look at it."

Nickels laughed at that, "I'm not fucking surprised, you have a fucking black widow on your shoulder."

A massive web consumed my right shoulder, going down my bicep halfway. The centre of the web was on my shoulder joint and a black widow sat there, waiting. She was facing the same way I was, watching everyone around me, laying in wait for a poor mate to come along and be eaten.

I still hate spiders but this was a chance to help me get over my fear. Seeing her all day, every day might heighten my tolerance for them.

It stung like a motherfucker as thousands of needles had pierced my skin to imprint my little widow on my shoulder.

"I like her," I stuck my tongue out, dodging the piece of bread he threw at me. "Ass."

"Bet my beautiful ass," He smirked. "Any more additions we should know about? PIercings? Tattoos?"

I shrugged, "I plan to have my nipples pierced soon but besides that, nothing planned. My widow was the newest one. Might get my medusa pierced," I said, touching my cupid's bow. "I like the look of them."

"Yesss," Francey said, "That'll look good. Both of them, I mean, or all three? I don't know, don't care. They'll look cool."

"I'm not looking forward to the pain of them, though," I said.

"Yes, the pain is a little pinchy," Seleca said from experience. "When I got mine done, it pinched more than anything. The jewellery was the worst part."

"I would think so."

)()()(

I was cleared for active duty and I was glad for it.

Since my coming to Dauntless, I had gained weight but lost fat. I was stronger than when I first came here. I no longer had the stubborn fat around my stomach but some stayed to keep me healthy and warm. I had a coupe calluses on my hands and feet but nothing I major I couldn't deal with.

A couple of scars lined my body. I had a nasty one on the side of my right hand, right under where my pink met my palm. That one was from the knife-throwing sessions we had.

One of the boys was next to me and had thrown when I was getting my knives from the target board, and his knife flung to the left where I was, landing on my target as I brought my hand up to get one of my knives.

It had sliced the side of my hand, going in deep enough that I needed stitches but it healed well. All that was left was a thin, pink scar, not really noticeable unless you looked for it.

Surprisingly, I didn't have a lot of scars. Most of them were small and unnoticeable. A cut here, a slice there. It was all wear and tear more or less.

I sat in my office, finishing off paperwork about a concern someone had when Hawks knocked at my door. Wallace had retired for the day so Hawks went straight to me.

"Hey, Alexis," He said, saying the shortened version of my name since it could be a mouthful. "You've got a visitor. He's not on the schedule but you've got time right now, right?"

"Uh," I looked at the paper documents in front of me before nodding, "Yeah, a couple minutes. Send him in."

Hawks nodded, letting the person in.

It was Aiden.

"Aiden," I greeted. "Take a seat. What's wrong?"

"Look, I don't need this counselling bullshit you've been trained for," He said, but he still sat down. "I just want to know if you found out anything about Julian's death. I know he wouldn't kill himself. He's my brother."

I paused, thinking before I brought up the holographic computer screen. It was darkened from the back so Aiden couldn't see anything but I brought up a database of files of everyone in Dauntless.

Typing in Julian's first name, I paused again, "What's his last name?"

"Terren," He said. "Same as mine."

I nodded, typing that in and bringing up Julian's file.

It had his name, age, faction, family, physical appearance, stuff like that. It also had comments from his training, dotted down into bullet points at the bottom where it said additional notes. I looked at his status. It said, INITIATE, DECEASED BEFORE MEMBERSHIP.

I clicked on that, looking at the report from Erudite's morgue where the autopsy was. They had found a tiny chip with bionic tendrils that attached themselves to his jugular and windpipe. It didn't do any damage to him but they had found it nonetheless.

Why wasn't this flagged down as suspicious?

I brought a message board to the whole Leadership team as I spoke to Aiden.

"Right now, I don't know why he would kill himself," I lied, putting my perfect mask of compassion on. "There's nothing in his file that tells us of his state when he died. He was healthy and doing decently at training. It was ruled a suicide but there is a comment about it being suspicious. I'll look into it for you if you'd like?"

"Please," He stood, quickly walking away before he paused at the door. Aiden turned back to me, "Thank you."

"Faction before blood but family is still important," I said, letting him leave.

I put my message in the chat.

A - Aiden Terren came to me to talk about Julian's death. They're half-brothers. I looked into Julian's file and it said something about there being a bionic chip in his throat? It wasn't the cause of death but it reminded me of the interrogation with Dent Moore.

E- I see your point. I saw the file too but didn't link it. Dent Moore bled out without an external reason so a chip could be a reason. Erudite hasn't finished with his body yet so we don't know. I'm checking up with them later this week. I'll see if they found a chip.

M - Could Julian have been with Trident?

E - I don't know. I'll have an officer posted near Julian's mother's house. I doubt Abnegation will be happy but it can't be helped.

A - Have the other leaders been informed? I mean from the other factions?"

M - They have an idea of what is happening but I don't want to scare anyone yet so I'm holding back until Dent Moore's body has been released back to us.

A - If he's back by the end of the week, I could spend some of my time in the other factions informing them of what we know? I wouldn't mind and it wouldn't take long anyway.

W - I think that might be a good way for A to get the trust of other factions. We all know how getting their trust is difficult. Took me years.

I - Good luck with Abnegation. They're the most untrusting of us.

L - With good reason. A will do fine.

M - I'll discuss this further with A in person.

I sat back in my seat.

How could they have missed something like this?

To be fair, Julian's death was ruled a suicide so it wouldn't have been linked to Dent Moore and Trident because that only happen a week or so ago.

I was worried about there being a secret society under the city and, as more days went by and more information was found, I felt like my worries were well-founded.

Trident could stop us from advancing as we should. I hoped the city would open within my lifetime, letting people come and go as they wished, like five hundred years ago before the war and plague.

The likeliness of this decreased with every new thing we began to find out about Trident.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

In a roomful of blue and white, I was the only one wearing black and a gun.

I stood at the front of the room with Jeanine Mathews, stiff and wary as I knew they were all judging me, all but a very few.

A long table sat in front of us, twelve chairs with ten of them full. My chair would be at the other end while Jeanine would sit at the head.

"Hello everyone," She greeted. "As you all know, for the next week, I will be shadowed by Alexandria Voltaire. Yes, she is the daughter of our very own Morgana Voltaire. Alexandria is the newest Leader in Dauntless and she is doing a shadowing rotation with all faction leaders as she is the ambassador leader of her own faction. You have done well for yourself, Alexandria."

"I know, thank you," I sat at my end of the room as the meeting began.

"Since introductions are finished, let us begin," Jeanine said, sitting down and opening up her tablet. "Steven, how have the grades for this year's final class been?"

"We've had a few stragglers but the teachers are pushing them," He said, sitting to her left. "The lowest we have is a D plus but we want them at a C before the end of this school term. However, there is a problem with the educat…"

Watching the way Jeanine Mathews worked with her leadership team was nothing new to me. My own mother was sitting a few seats away, intently listening to what was happening and giving comments when needed.

I grew up in meetings like this, though anything that was private or confidential I wouldn't attend. I remembered times I used to sit at this very table, a stack of books next to me as I read through them while the adults spoke about stuff.

Maybe I was suited for leadership?

Was I groomed for leadership? Did Jeanine and the other leaders have an agreement on who they wanted for the next generation? Both Eric and I were Erudite-born, and we became leaders within the year of us finishing basic initiation. It just seemed a little too convenient but I wasn't going to complain.

)()()(

I forgot how suffocating Erudite could be.

I had to hide on the second day.

I didn't want my apparent IQ to be the one thing that made people respect me. It annoyed me how much people stopped, paused and asked what my IQ was each time they saw me with Jeanine. Many Erudites thought Dauntless members were stupid so every time I stated my number, they were surprised at how high it was.

I remembered a time when I thought it was alright to ask the question but now, as I stood in my leather jacket, black jeans and combat boot combo, I finally felt the prejudice people had against us.

I had to get somewhere where I wasn't being judged for wearing the black of my jacket and the piercings I now sported.

Jeanine had advised me that it would be best that I try and maintain a low image while shadowing her but I refused to be anything but myself. She respected that, telling me to be careful with the gun in its holster but otherwise, she left me alone on what I wore.

I learned a lot in the week I was there, and I was glad to move on to Abnegation next.

Until I met Marcus Eaton.

"I would appreciate it if you did not wear such… items," He said, looking at my piercings and then my thick jacket and comfy jeans as we sat in his office. "The weapons included."

"Why?" I asked. "I have the right to wear what I wish, Marcus. And these weapons are my right as it is stated in our laws. I have been trained and guided in the right direction of how and when to use them."

"We Abenegation do not like the selfish wish for self-expression, Alexandria," He said. "And I would appreciate it if you referred to me as Mr Eaton."

"I'm not Abnegation," I said, looking him square in the eyes without missing a blink. "I'll be selfish and self-indulgent in the way I dress and express myself, Marcus. I have a feeling we will not get along if you think you can decide the way I handle myself."

"We have rules in Abnegation for a reason,"

"Yes, rules in Abnegation for Abnegation members," I smiled, tilting my head. "I don't expect you to catch the train to go to Dauntless or around the city, now do I? Or be able to handle a gun or know how to take down a man double your size? We have different expectations for our factions which we don't put on the other four factions."

His lips thinned but a knock at the door stopped it.

"Come in," He said, watching as the door opened to reveal another man. "Andrew. Good, you're here. This is the Dauntless candidate I told you was going to be shadowing some of the council members. I'm busy today so I would appreciate it if you could let her shadow you for the day if that is alright with you?"

"Yes, of course," He said instantly, bowing his head a little in greeting. "Andrew Prior."

"Alexandria Voltaire," I greeted back, standing up and looking at Marcus. "Does that mean I follow Andrew around today?"

"Yes, if you don't mind," Marcus said, telling me rather than asking.

I just curled my lips into a tiny smile, letting him know I disapproved but acknowledged what he said.

I followed Andrew Prior around for the day.

He was like Leslie. He helped the Factionless with their food rations, making sure they had enough food, water, and clothing to last through the winter.

All of the Factionless were moved into secure areas of the city, where thousands of beds lined the floors of a few buildings and Dauntless members were patrolling the buildings. The building was situated near enough Dauntless that it wouldn't take more than ten minutes for a SWAT team to get here.

We wanted to make sure they would stay safe. With a few Factionless people being murdered over the last few months, security increased. They weren't happy with it, Andrew told me, but they understood the need.

Andrew and I walked down the lengths of the floor, pausing as Andrew spoke to some Factionless people when they approached us. A lot of them just thanked him for what he did, asking about the next step would be after the patrols would end. He didn't know when the patrolling would stop, he told them, but he would tell them when he did.

)()()(

Someone started yelling.

It got our attention straight away, especially since my training with Eric had made me cautious of all loud sounds of distress.

We went over to the crowd appearing around a small family. It was a young mother with her two children and a Dauntless officer manhandling the little boy. He couldn't have been more than six or so and he was crying as the man shook him.

"Leon!" Andrew sternly said as the Factionless split to let us come through to the centre. "Let the boy go. He hasn't done anything to you."

"He's a little thief, Prior," Leon snapped at us, shaking the boy's arm. "He barged into me and tried to take my knife from my belt."

"He's a kid," I said, "Leave him alone."

"You," Leon pointed to me before sneering, "Go back to your station, officer!"

"Excuse me?" I stepped forward, watching as he let the boy go but raised his other hand to get the handgun at his side. I let him. He pointed it at me, point-blank in the forehead. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It's none of your business," He waved the gun. "Go away before I shoot you for insubordination."

"Right," I licked my dry lips. "You do that, Leon. See where that lands you, mate."

"Mate?" He laughed, "I'm not your fucking frien—"

When his finger twitched, barely enough to be noticeable but I saw it, I pushed the gun barrel up as my other hand went to push at his wrist. He pulled the trigger. The bullet went up to the cement ceiling as I was able to unhook his finger and grip on the gun.

I tossed the gun to the side, taking out my own and shooting a stun dart into his knees. He grunted in pain, falling onto his knees before landing onto his hands.

"No, you're not my friend. You're my subordinate, soldier," I crouched to his level. "You'll be reprimanded for your misconduct today. Who's your supervisor?"

His lips curled back in a sneer, "You're not my superior."

I sighed. Not everyone knew who I was. Plenty of Dauntless members didn't have a clue who the candidates for leadership were. Some knew me because I had been with Wallace and the other leaders more often than not.

"Right," I stood as other officers came over. I recognised one so I waved them over. "Daith, good. You know who I am, right?"

He snorted, looking at Leon, "Man, what did you do?"

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"That's Alexandria," He said. "Voltaire, as in Eric's mentee and a leadership candidate. You've chosen the wrong person to piss off. Alexis, I'll sort him out."

Alexis.

I had begun to like that name. It wasn't a mouthful but still had a kick.

"Good," I said. "I'll tell Eric to expect him soon enough."

Daith nodded.

Andrew was comforting the mother and kids as I came over.

"It's sorted," I said to Andrew. "Has this been a problem before?"

"Leon's always had a bad temper. He just can't stand the kids," He said.

I hummed, making a note of that in my head. "Do you want me to remove or replace him? He shouldn't be near children if he keeps threatening them."

"If you're able."

"I will try,"

He smiled at me, almost surprised at the fact I was helping him.

I realised what Wallace meant by creating connections now. Doing things to make the community better made people happier. Happy people meant a better economy and a better life in general.

I lowered my eyes to the kid.

Children shouldn't be threatened.

They hadn't done anything wrong.

This just made me angrier.

)()()(

I didn't know what time it was when I walked into my apartment but I knew it was late.

I shrugged my jacket off, leaving me in the light-coloured turtleneck I had chosen for the day before I unzipped my boots and put them on the rack near the door.

Why was it so quiet?

I remembered I had left Loki in Eric's care since I was away most of the day.

Surprisingly, the dog took orders well from him but my orders seemed to always precede his. Loki was a mummy's boy for sure.

Eric chuckled when he caught sight of me at his door, "You look like the walking dead."

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes. "Abnegation is so fucking boring. I'm exhausted. Baby."

My little boy ran from where he was, jumping off the sofa and straight into my arms as I crouched down. I smiled sleepily as I hugged him.

Loki was getting big now. I had him for a few weeks now but he had grown a lot in that time. He was bigger now, taller with lanky limbs and floppy ears he would grow into. He had an adorable smile when he sat and wagged his tail.

He would be a handsome dog.

"Where're you going next?" Eric asked, leaning against the door in a simple long-sleeved shirt. . "I mean, Amity or Candor. Which is next on your list?"

"I've got Candor then Amity," I said. "Did you find out about Dent Moore's body yet? I asked about it when I was in Erudite but they wouldn't tell me because my status doesn't transfer to confidentiality until the end of February."

He nodded me in, closing the door when I walked in. I went to the sofa, sitting there with Loki in my lap until Empress appeared and curled under my arm for attention too.

"Coffee?" He asked and I nodded.

It took a moment but Eric sat on the other side of the sofa, putting down both coffee cups on the coffee table before us.

"Where do I begin?" He said, sipping at his coffee before putting it down again. "Yeah, Dent did have the chip. They found it attached to his voicebox but somehow the tendrils attached themselves to his jugular anyway. I had them compare the chips. Dent's was older, a lot older which suggests he got it a long time before Julian."

"But Julian? A member of Trident?" I bit my lip a little, chewing the inside of my cheek as I brought my socked feet up and curled them under me on the sofa. "Like, seriously, Julian? He was always so mild-mannered. Has the Supreme Council said anything yet?"

The Supreme Council was all five leaders of Dauntless, meaning Max, Jeanine, Jack, Marcus, and Johanna. While we had the normal council which consists of mostly Abnegation members, the Supreme Council dealt with all the factions and all threats against us. Every five years, they voted to either open or stay closed to the rest of the world, besides that, we didn't know what they voted on but they had bi-monthly meetings.

"Not that I know of," He sighed. "Max had a meeting on the fifteenth but he didn't say anything when I asked. He probably won't bring it up until after all the factions have been told a first-person view."

I clicked my tongue, "Amity left. Jack saw what we saw so informing him doesn't do anything."

"Exactly. Two weeks of Candor and then you're off to the fields of Amity," He made a face.

"Oi," I laughed. "My dad's Amity. It's not that bad. I'm going back to Amity in March for a weekend anyway."

"Why? What's happening?" He looked up, eyes wary and concerned.

Aw, he looked like a puppy.

Focus!

"My dad's thirty-fifth birthday. Amity is weird about the birthdays of their leaders."

"Your dad's a leader?"

I tilted my head side to side, "Ish. He manages people more than being an actual leader. He helps with finding jobs for Amity and Factionless people. Not everyone is in the fields all the time."

"True," He nodded. "I couldn't imagine ploughing a field all summer long. It's something I can't imagine myself doing long-term."

"Were you groomed for Dauntless?

He froze, "Why?"

"I've just been thinking," I said. "We're both Erudite-born, both finished initiation in the top three, and we became leaders, or becoming in my case. Two new leaders from Erudite in two years. Isn't that suspicious?"

"Alright, I get where you're coming from," Eric said, drinking his coffee again. "I was groomed but not in the way you think. I showed an aptitude for Dauntless since I was young. I was smart but I was a violent kid, a bully even. I beat up Dauntless kids if they thought they could bully my friends. I was about thirteen when it started. My focus was no longer on getting the best grades as it was every Erudite's. I was taught military and army defence mechanisms, manoeuvres and such, learning the trade of keeping people safe. It's why I was chosen to be a leader so soon."

"And me?" I hesitantly asked. "You put me up as a candidate for leadership even before I finished initiation."

"Erudite keeps track of its members," He said. "I don't know much about your childhood even though you're only a year younger than me. All I know is that you weren't the most academic but you manipulated your teachers a lot."

I paused, my mouth open before I closed it and laughed. I grabbed my coffee, drinking before holding it in my hands, the warmth sinking into me. "Not wrong. I don't like people. Never have, never will. But I know when it's appropriate to be rude and when it's necessary to be nice. You catch more flies with honey."

"You'd be a shit Candor," He smirked. "I can just imagine it now. Little, spunky Alexrandia Voltaire, the mouth of a sailor and glare to boot."

"I'd get into so much trouble if I was in Candor," I smiled softly. "Maybe we both were groomed? You for defence, me for manipulation of people."

He laughed. It was a beautiful thing.

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know."

It turned quiet again but I interrupted it when I saw the tattoos poke out from under his collar.

"Okay, here's another question," I sat up straighter, dislodging Loki until he crawled over to Eric and sat in his lip instead. "Traitor. Anyway, that tattoo on your back, Fearless in morse code. Why?"

"That?" He asked. "Oh, that's one of the things the leaders get the privilege of. Max took me to get it tattooed after I was announced as the next leader. He and the others have it too. You'll be having me dragging you to the tattoo shop."

"You?"

"Of course," He faked a gasp. "I get the privilege since I'm your mentor and I vouched for you as a leadership candidate."

"I only have two tattoos right now," I said. "I plan for more soon enough but I don't have the time yet."

"Two? I thought you only had the set of eyes."

"No, I got another recently," I shifted until I could start pulling at my turtleneck.

He raised his eyebrows, smirking as I took it off. I threw it into his face before showing him the tattoo on my shoulder.

"It's one of your fears," He said, scanning the tattoo before he leaned forward and made me change my position so he could look at the way it curved around my shoulder. "It's good. Tori did it?"

"Yeah,"

"Good, she's done my ones and they all came out great," He leaned back, tossing my turtleneck back to me. I put it back on. "What other tattoos are you getting?"

"I was thinking starburst on my left leg, from my ankle up to my hips," I said, watching him pull a pleasant face at it. His lips pulled down into a frown but it was his way of agreeing with something.

"Any colour choices or just plain?"

"Black and gold, I think. I want hundreds of them, all detailed,"

He made a pained face, "That's gonna hurt a lot."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's why I've put them off. Do you have any planned?"

"Not right now," He said. "I've got my important ones so I'm not exactly in a rush to get more. Maybe I'll get a full sleeve, I don't know."

I nodded, "I like sleeves. I'm just thinking about where would I get the leadership tattoos. I'm thinking about my collarbone or something."

"Easy to show off then," He agreed, his eyes falling down to where the tattoo would be one day. "It would be an interesting placement."

I yawned, feeling the day getting to me. I checked my watch.

"Fuck, it's almost midnight," I muttered before looking up at him. "I need to go to sleep."

He nodded upwards once, "Off you trot to bed then. See yah later."

I waved a hand as I left.

)()()(

My time in Candor went quickly and I found myself in the train carriage on my way to Amity before I knew it.

It was mid-February and Loki was just about turning five months old. He was heavy and getting too big for his vests now, so he wore his collar with pride as he sat on the train with me.

It actually wasn't hard to get him onto the train. It slowed down in certain areas, and if you found the right one, Loki could jump onto the train by himself.

It didn't snow anymore but it was still cold so I still wore my jacket and layers.

Loki and I jumped off the train near the border, getting a lift from some fence guards to Amity land.

We were dropped off right in the middle of Amity. The people watched both of us leave the car, the guard telling us he would come back at about five to get us before the shift changed.

Johanna Reyes stood there, waiting for me to walk up to her. She held a hand out for me to shake, which I did but her handshake was soft. She wasn't used to shaking hands, I didn't think any Amity members were, or Abenagtion. It was usually just Candor, Erudite and Dauntless that shook hands.

"Hello, Alexandria," She greeted. "And who is this?"

She smiled, looking down at my dog who sat at my feet now.

"Loki," I said. "I got him a couple of weeks ago. He's a good dog."

"I hope so," She nodded, looking back up at me. "While you shadow me, I do have some rules for you to follow. Come, let's walk and talk."

We began to walk through the hard ground of the worn path through Amity, going past people alike as they whispered and mumbled under their breath.

"I know you carry weapons," She said. "How many?"

"Two," I said honestly. "Gun and a knife."

She nodded. "We wish that you do not discharge your weapon or use your knife, unless necessary. If you can, don't bring them but we understand that it is part of your uniform so we allow it. I suspect you will be approached by many young people to talk about your weapons. Please do not discuss it. If they wish to learn, they may learn at school."

"Okay, anything else?" I asked.

"The peace serum is in the bread," She said. "If you do not wish to be under the influence of it, do not eat the bread."

"I know about the peace serum," I said. "Dante's my dad."

"Ah, yes, I remember now." She smiled. "He has missed you."

I smiled thinly.

)()()(

"Why does it burn so much?" I hissed as I lay on the tattoo table. Tori leaned over me, tattoo gun in hand as she blocked out the dark black boxes just under my collarbone.

The morse code curved from the end of my right collarbone, going left to the middle where it dipped down at the end of the FEAR and then curled back up to the left collarbone to finish LESS near the other side. The dots and dashes were large even with the border.

There was a border on both sides of it so the edge of it was just under my bone. The whole thing was a good inch and a half thick, readable from a distance and it hurt like a bitch.

"Why did I agree to this?" I groaned as the needle hit my bone again.

"Because you want to look badass," Tori said, wiping away some ink before she continued.

I turned my head to look at Eric who was watching the whole process with a smug smirk on his lips. "I hate you."

"Hate you too," He said.

I was wearing a low tank top today even though it was still cold.

"Not long now," Tori said. "We're got to finish off the last few dots and we are done."

I sighed when she finished. She stood up, grabbed a black pad and put it onto my tattoo, covering it completely before she activated the healing agent in it.

When she finished, I stood up and walked over to the mirror.

The dots and dashes were done so other people could see them.

Dot. Dot. Dash. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dash. Dot. Dash. Dot.

That was under my right collarbone, going from the edge inwards to the middle.

Dot. Dash. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot.

That went from the centre to the left edge.

Fear and less now sat on my sternum forever.

It was bold and beautiful.

Eric stood behind me in the mirror, smiling, "Looks good. Max will be pleased."

"I hope fucking so," I said, shrugging into my jacket from Eric as he offered it. "It stings still."

"Max's gonna announce it in about half an hour," Eric said, checking his watch for the time. "You'll probably want to get to the Pit and find your friends before it starts."

I shook with excitement and nerves.

Eric and I both walked to the Pit, leaving Tori to clean up before she joined her own group in the Pit.

I zipped up my jacket before we got there, making sure no one else saw it before it was time.

I found my friends, sitting on the surface of raised levels in the Pit. I joined them there, watching as people rallied around and asked why the whole faction was told to come here. Some people were sitting on the steps, others on the floor and some climbs onto a boulder or two to see better.

Max stood on one such boulder, his back to the Chasm.

Eric and Wallace stood closest to him, with Icarus on Eric's side and Leslie on Wallace's.

All of them had their leadership marks uncovered, or as much as they could. Leslie wore a long skirt with two slits on either side, showing off the morse code on her thighs. Icarus and Wallace both had short-sleeved shirts on, their code on their arms while Max didn't even have to do anything different since his codes were on the back of his hands. Eric had a low cut shirt on, letting his marks peak out from the back of his shirt.

When Max raised his hands, many people went quiet but not all so Eric did a high-pitched whistle and that silenced everyone.

"Good evening, everyone," Max greeted. "You're probably wondering why I called for this meeting of the whole faction. As you all know, for the last few months, a leadership program has been taking place. Out of five candidates, we have chosen one. One to join us. Wallace is ageing, his body no longer being able to keep up."

"I'm old, Max, not crippled!" Wallace laughed, it made some of the faction laugh. "Get on with it."

Max grinned, rubbing his hands together before he fished into his pocket. He held out one fist, a pair of dog tags hanging on the chain clasped in his hand. "Tonight, this will be around the neck of one of our members, granting them the title and duty of leader. They have shown the qualities we are looking for as Dauntless, brave but not stupid. Confident but not brash. Can you guess who?"

People shouted out names. It all mumbled together.

"Many of you won't be surprised by our choice," Wallace said loudly. "We have chosen well once again."

"Eric, our youngest leader, was the one to vouch for this person," Max said, handing him the dog tags. "So we will give him the honour to award our next leader with their tags."

Everyone waited in anticipation, holding breaths as they waited for someone to step forward, to make a move.

I smiled just as many others did.

Eric grinned, feral and proud, looking me square in the eyes.

"Are you coming or do I have to drag you over here, spitfire?"

I unzipped my jacket, listening to the howls of the brave as Druid took my jacket off me and Nickles shoved me forward. I climbed off the boulder, walking through the crowd as everyone touched my shoulders, back and collarbone in congratulations. They cheered, roaring rather than yelling in triumph in making another leader.

Eric held a hand out as I put my foot into one of the crevices of the boulder the leaders stood on. I grabbed it, getting pulled up almost completely by him.

"Alexandria Voltaire!" He almost had to shout to get his voice across the room. "Do you wish to change your name as your title does?"

"I do," I nodded.

The room quieted as they waited.

"What will your leader name be?"

"Alexis."

Eric gently put the dog tags around my neck, his fingers lingering on the metal for a moment too long.

He tugged on them once for good luck, grinning as he leaned in, "This doesn't mean I'll go easy on you?"

"You've been going easy on me?" I grinned, "I know. I could tell."

He gave me a small glare but it was more of amusement than anger. Something flashed across his eyes but it was gone before I could properly decipher it.

He grabbed my right hand, lifting it up with his.

"Alexis!"

It was shouted across the room, across the Pit, across the compound. Variations of the name came along as it muddled together, becoming a roar and howl instead of words.

I felt good.

The dog tags were cold but they were… they gave me a sense of purpose now.

I knew my place in my world.

Why did his hand feel so good in mine?

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I didn’t realise how much paperwork being a leader actually was. 

There were mounds of it on my desk, and this was the pile that had been filtered digitally through already. So many requests, demands, concerns to sign and look at. There wasn’t enough time in the day to do them so I, using my Erudite skills from schooling, created a small program that would filter the paperwork into little files I could either print off to sign or reply to. 

It helped to create a to-do list for every day, seeing if I needed to speak to anyone or look into any more concerns. 

I had to deal with a civil dispute while Wallace sat in the background, watching me sort the situation out between the two quarrelling parties.

)()()(

I made myself a coffee, sipping it gently as when my watch pinged. The screen showed itself without a prompt, meaning it was a mandatory message I needed to see. 

I swore as knocking came at my door before it opened to reveal Eric.  

His face was pale but his jaw was set firmly. I could already see the anger waving off him in tides. He tossed me a set of clothes, closing the door behind him as he stood in my apartment.

“Put it on,” He said. “A suicide bomber in the city centre, near the Factionless zone.”

I unfolded the clothes he gave me. It was just a jumpsuit, black with tiny bits of boning to keep its structure. Stripping off my shirt and trousers there, I shoved them to the side as I ran the new jumpsuit up my body and zipped it up in the front.

“This is new,” I said, feeling the fabric shrink to fit me perfectly like a second skin. I left the zip a couple of inches undone, so my leadership marks could be seen but I untucked my dog tags just as Eric did to his. “Do I need clothes over it?”

He tossed another thing at me, “No, just your jacket.”

I didn’t realise he was wearing the same thing as I was. The new jumpsuit I wore was skintight and was shiny like leather, hard but breathable as I put on my named jacket.

I found my gun, holding it before I realised that the jumpsuit suddenly had a holster on the right thigh. It had just appeared. Nano-tech. Something Erudite had been working on for a couple of years. 

“Leave him here,” He said, nodding to Loki who was ready with his vest on.

We went into the hallway. Other people were running up and down it, grabbing coats and jackets for themselves as they dressed. It was late in the evening and most people were ready for bed when the message came through. 

“We’re taking the train,” Eric said as we began our trek up to the surface. “Erudite is sending a wave of trains to get as many people away from the city centre as possible.”

“Where are the Factionless being sent?” I asked as we more or less ran. Loki kept up well. 

“Abnegation is taking as many as they can but they have limited room,” We went through the last door, exposing the dark night sky to us as we jogged over to the train tracks and waited. “The rest, we’re sending to Amity. They’ve got plenty of food and space. I need you to contact them.”

“Johanna?” I nodded, bringing up the call function on my watch before I put the call chip to my neck, attaching it so I could hear and speak. “Johanna? It’s Alexis.”

“Yes, I heard about what happened,” She said, sounding concerned but confident. “What do you need?”

“Can we house some of the Factionless at Amity? We’ll send as many as we can to Abnegation but there’s only so much space,” I asked. “The injured are going straight to the Erudite hospital. Trains are gonna be sent to take them.”

“Can we be sure that there isn’t another bomber in the Factionless you send?” 

She was justified in asking this, she still had her faction to protect.

“Dauntless members will be taking people in waves, checking everyone before we send them,” I said. “I need an answer. I’m on my way to the city centre to help with casualties.”

Eric leaned in, “We’re meeting up with other people already there. Getting debriefed on what happened.”

I nodded.

“Of course,” Johanna said earnestly. “Send them when you can. We’ll prepare here.”

“Thanks, I mean it,” I said, ending the call quickly. “Done. She’s willing to take people in. what even happened?”

“Suicide bomber,” He glanced to the side, nodding as the train stormed down the railing and we began to run to stay caught up with it. 

Eric leapt onto it first, me right behind him. I misstepped but he caught my arm, shaking his head as he pulled me in. 

“The dog had less trouble than you,” He laughed, watching as Loki stayed up with the train before he leapt onto it. 

He was getting even bigger now, and fatter. 

I patted his head, “Good boy.”

“Woof,” Eric snickered.

“You won’t get any treats if you keep that up,” I smiled as he did. Loki wagged his tail as he sniffed around the train carriage. “Away from the edge. So, suicide bomber? Any clue who it was?”

“I’m thinking Trident member,” He said, watching me nod, “But I don’t know if there is enough of the body to even see if they’re a member or not.”

“Have the Erudite found a way to see if anyone is a Trident member or not?” I asked, holding onto the railings on the inside of the car.  “Maybe a metal detector? Would that work?”

“You can feel it in someone’s throat,” He said, gesturing vaguely to his own. “Press on the jugulars and the tendrils are there.”

I nodded, touching my own neck. I felt my pulse, steady but quick. I was used to having this quick heartbeat now, adrenaline flowed through me constantly. I needed to be ready to fight at random times.

“No, not there,” He said, striding over the few paces that separated us before he moved my hand to make my fingers touch the jugular veins right under my jaw. “It stays there on the veins. For men, since that’s all we had of the Trident members, we’ve found that the chip can be found right behind the adam’s apple. If you press, you can find it.”

“Adam’s apple? Can you feel it through the cartilage of the Adam’s apple?” I asked as he guided my hand to his throat.

“Press gently,” He said.

I did. He had the startings of stubble on his face and neck, barely-there because he shaved every day. I felt the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as my fingers touched his skiing, pressing gently on it before I nodded, dropped my hand and smiled.

“Hm. Will I need to check people before they get onto the trains?” I questioned as the train took a harsh turn and jolted us closer for a second before we could straighten ourselves again. “Or am I on information recon?”

“I don’t know yet,” He took a big breath in before exhaling slowly. “I need a first-person view of what happened and what needs to happen. The first response team can only give me so much information. Max is on his way to Hub to have a meeting with the other faction leaders.”

I nodded. “And the rest? Or is it just us going to the situation?”

“Wallace isn’t joining us for the obvious reasons, but Icarus and Leslie are keeping watch on the compound,” 

“Right.”

It turned silent as the train chudded along the tracks towards the city centre. 

It was a mess. People milled around aimlessly as Dauntless members tried to get some sort of order but couldn’t as Factionless people were too busy being scared and getting away from the building. 

The building we had them in had a massive hole in one of the higher levels, and debris was falling. People were running away from the building, trying to not get hit by falling rocks. 

“Find a way to get them moving,” Eric said, trusting me enough to do my job.

A group of SWAT members and Dauntless people stood near a newly erected tent, using it as a base for now. Eric went over to them, leaving me to stare around at the mess. 

There were several cars already here, some heavily armoured and so tall, that not even Eric or Druid could see over them.

Climbing onto the top of one of them, I put my fingers to my mouth and whistled. The piercing sound echoed, getting the attention of loads of people around me. 

“Listen up,” I shouted, seeing out of the corner of my eye that someone had a megaphone in their hands and was lifting it up to me. I grabbed it, thanking them before I spoke through it. “Everyone, listen up. I want the injured guided towards the Hub. Medics, start triaging them. People who can walk, over to the left. I want everyone away from that building.”

I handed back the megaphone and getting off the car. I made my way through the moving crowd towards the group of Dauntless. 

“I got them moving,” I said, stopping next to them as I glanced at the projected screens. 

A video was playing. 

The suicide bomber made threats and then opened her vest to show the bomb strapped all around her midsection before she detonated it. 

People screamed as she exploded, leaving nothing but a bloody splatter all across the building

“How many we lost?” I asked. 

One made a face, “We don’t have an estimate yet. People were running and our officers couldn’t get a head count.”

“Is it just the one bomber?” Eric questioned, his hands holding the large glass tablet in his hands. “Or could there be more?”

I glanced to the side, to the people moving towards the two allocated areas. There were others that questioned the guards on the whereabouts of their loved ones. No one had a clue of what really happened, not yet. 

Even we didn’t know and we had the camera feed to show us. 

“Why are there so many Abnegations here?” I turned to the man who seemed to be in charge. 

He shrugged, “They showed up to help.”

“Right, so you don’t know anything,” It wasn’t a question. I looked to Eric, “I’ll find an Abnegation leader to find out. Loki, stay.”

I slinked away like I wasn’t even there before. I was a shadow through a light room, seen but ignored unless I did something spectacular. When I approached the group of Abenagatons helping the Factionless move to the Hub or towards other areas, they barely glanced at me before they returned to their selfless deeds. 

It didn’t take long to find Andrew Prior helping a guy walk. 

“Andrew,” I said loudly, getting his attention. 

“Alexandria,” He breathed out a happy sigh. Another member came to relieve him of the guy he was helping so he could speak to me.

“It’s Alexis now,” I said. “Why are there so many of you here? Abengations, I mean.”

“We’re here to help,” He said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Do you not want us to help?”

“It’s not that. It’s dangerous for Abnegations around here. It’s dangerous for anyone who isn’t trained for this,” I kept glancing around at everyone, scanning each and every face. “I’d prefer it if you’d get everyone home. We’ll be sending the first lot of Factionless as soon as we figure out a way to triage them.”

“We can’t just leave. There are people that need help.”

I looked at him, “Then stay in the safety zones and away from the building. We’re having people scour through the building to make sure we haven’t missed anyone.”

“Dad?” A girl around my age walked up to us. “Where do you want us?”

“Beatrice, this is Alexis,” He introduced us. “She’s a Dauntless leader. This is my daughter, Beatrice.”

“Minors aren’t to be near this place, Andrew,” I said. “Please. Get any minors away from here. I don’t want them hurt when they don’t need to be.”

“No, I can help,” Beatrice said, her hands clenched by her sides. “I know a little bit of first aid.”

I nodded my head towards the Hub. “Triarge’s over there. Keep away from the buildings and if anyone gives you a hard time, get an officer.” 

She nodded, quickly walking over to a boy and grabbing him to help with the injured.

“Next time, don’t bring any minors,” I stated firmly. “Regardless of how safe you may think you are, it’s not worth the risk of untrained lives.”

Andrew nodded. “I understand.”

)()()(

Eric and I stood in the tent again, this time alone as we overlooked the footage again. The others were given their orders and we were left to discuss our next course of action. 

“Andrew Prior went back with the first set of Factionless,” I informed him, a glass tablet in my hands as I looked through the database of who we already sent off. “I’m gonna send off the next three hundred within the half-hour, giving Abnegation enough time to settle the first set.”

“We’ve set up a refuge in one of the buildings near Dauntless,” He said. “But I want only those we have checked and have documentation on. I’m not risking the safety of our faction for a member of Trident to hurt us.”

“Do you truly think that Trident is part of this?”

He looked at me, “Who else would do this? That floor had children. A sane person wouldn’t even think of it so it has to be one of these terrorist bastards.”

I bit the inside of my lip, “Yeah, you’re right.”

Someone called Eric’s name faintly, getting closer and louder but Eric seemed to ignore them so I did too.

“Who’s that?” I whispered, watching him lean over the table onto his hands as he scanned the screens again.

He tensed up a lot, “My father, I suspect. Along with my mother. Look, I don’t want to deal with them. Can you get rid of them? Please?”

That was a first. 

I had never heard Eric ask me to do something like that. He seemed tenser than normal. Was he scared of his parents? Or was it that he didn’t want to speak to them? It wasn’t my business so I didn’t pry into it, only walking over to the pair of adults and asking them to leave.

“No,” The woman snapped, smoothing her blue suit jacket as she stood up straight. “I will not take commands from a child.”

“Is that right?” I didn’t even bother to glare. I was too tired to do that and their snotty little glances weren’t helping. “I won’t ask again. You do not have permission to be in this tent. Leave, or we will arrest you for obstructing police matters.”

“We don’t need permission to speak to our son,” She said, glaring at me. I saw where Eric got his blue eyes from. 

“No, you don’t need permission. But when he’s working, you do,” I said. “But right now, as you can clearly see, there is an emergency situation so him working trumps you needing to talk to him. There’s a hierarchy for a reason.”

I waved a hand at a pair of officers. They came over instantly, wondering what I needed.

“I need both of these Erudites escorted out of here,” I stated. 

The man frowned, glaring at me through his thin glasses, “Who’re you to demand we leave? I doubt you even have clearance to be in the tent.”

I untucked my dog tags from under my zipped jacket, his eyes widening before the woman grabbed one, looking at it with a sneer before she almost instantly calmed down.

“Oh, dear,” She said, putting a hand on her husband’s chest. “It’s Voltaire’s daughter. You know the one? The… double-factioned daughter.”

I had enough. Turning to the officers, I ordered them to escort the Erudites away. They followed my orders promptly, herding them away as the mother sneered when she realised she didn't hurt my feelings. 

I went back over to Eric, leaning against the table as I crossed my arms, “They’re insufferable, your parents.”

“I’ve lived with them, I know,” He smirked as he side-eyed me. “Thanks for that.”

“It’s alright,” I smiled back. “I think they needed to be brought down a peg or two. They called me a child.”

“Well, you’re only nineteen.”

I jabbed him in the arm, “So are you. Barely. You’re twenty in May, Max told me.”

“Did he? Why?”

“Dunno. He showed me my office right after telling me I was to replace Wallace. We spoke about me being so young and then he said you weren’t far off.”  I said. “You just have a little more experience than me at this.”

He shook his head, concentrating on the videos and looking at the list of Factionless people unaccounted for. 

)()()(

We took a car back to the compound. 

We let some other people be in charge during the night, letting them take over and make sure everything ran smoothly. 

We split ways at our apartments. 

My coffee was cold. 

By the time I had gotten something to eat and emptied my coffee cup, a dripping wet Eric was standing at my door with only a white towel hanging low off his hips.

I smirked, leaning against the doorframe, “Showers not working?”

“Ice. Cold. Water.” He gritted through his teeth. “Please tell me you have hot water?”

I shrugged, letting him in before I shut the door.  “Mine worked this morning. To be honest, I probably use more hot water than you do.”

“I swear…” He shook his head at me, walking straight into the guest bedroom.

I heard the shower going before he groaned with satisfaction. I had to stop myself from laughing, closing the door to the guest room and just going to change in my room.

I was still in my combat outfit from earlier. Unlike Eric, I didn’t strip down straight away and go into the shower. I wanted some food in my system before I went to bed. It was really late and everyone was tired.

Dressing in only a large t-shirt I got oversized just so I could sleep in it, I walked out of my room just as Eric finished up his shower. 

He dried himself with one of my black towels, making his hair stand on its ends. I smiled at it, finding it endearing that he was comfortable enough with me to be like that. 

Looping the towel over his shoulders, the other hung on his hips, showing off the deep V he had and the muscles on his stomach. 

I just admired the view without being too obvious, or so I thought as Eric smirked.

I rolled my eyes and scowled, “I’m going to bed. Show yourself out. Loki, bedtime.”

“Yeah, yeah,” He said, walking over until he was a foot away from me. 

Both of our watches pinged.

“Apparently we’re gonna be having visitors?” I hummed as we both looked at our messages. “Damn it. Outlanders.”

“We’re not the only place that has had trouble with Trident then,” He tutted. “We’ll sort this out tomorrow. Good night.”

He reached out, a hand on my bicep for barely a second before he strutted away. I didn’t know if he was swaying his hips more than normal but he had a nice butt in that towel.

I curled up with Loki in my bed, the damn dog took up too much of the bed.

)()()(

Max, Eric and I all stood before the Fringe, the rolling plains outside the fences of Chicago and way past the Amity farms. To get out here, you needed vaccinations and injections because there was a little bit of toxicity left but not enough to harm if you had what was needed. 

There were several cars around us, filled with officers ready to escort us and our soon to arrive guests back to the city limits. Wallace sat in one of the cars but his knees hurt from the cold and wind.

It was windy out here but enough not to deter us from standing there to wait. I had my dark hair in two dutch braids so they stayed in place for the day.

Two large cars approached, silver and black with dark armour on the sides. 

Seven people climbed out of the cars, all men. 

While most of them stayed by the cars, leaning on them or halfway standing while they also had a hand or foot in the car, three of them walked over to us, glancing us over with a critical eye. They all wore camo gear, looking like army soldiers from the old movies.

“You are…” The shortest of them all asked, looking down at a glass pad in their hands. “Dauntless? We were informed you were going to escort us into the city.”

“Yes, we are Dauntless,” Max said firmly, letting his diplomatic mask on. “I am Max, leader of Dauntless. These are the other leaders of Dauntless, Eric, our general officer of defence and security, and Alexis, our faction ambassador and liaison.”

Hearing my title wasn’t anything new but it still made me feel important.

“They’re both so… young,” The main man said, thining his lips into a frown.

“We’re a closed city,” Max said. “We don’t usually contact anyone out of our city so there isn’t a big need for experience over skill and quality of work.”

The man nodded stiffly, “How many of your leaders are Divergent?”

“Why does that matter?” 

The outlander looked insulted at that, “Because Divergents are superior. We are genetically and mentally better.”

“We don’t discuss the nature of anyone, let alone to outlanders,” Max refrained from glaring but Eric did it for him.

Eric stood, arms crossed stiffly at his chest as the leather of his jacket strained against his arms. 

“It seems like I hit a nerve,” The outlander laughed. “What’s wrong, boy?”

“The status of any citizen of Chicago is private,” I interrupted, hands tucked behind me in a confident stance. “You may not question or even ask any of us about our status, unless it is relevant to our case.”

“Your Divergent status is relevant to us because all Trident members are Divergents,” He said. “We need to know who to rule out straight away. Even someone who does not fit into your little social experiment of factions can be a member of Trident.”

Max nodded, “The only Divergent leader in Dauntless we have is Alexis. The other factions keep their numbers of Divergents confidential since we do not need to know. If you wish to find out, you will have to confer with Erudite to get the full numbers.”

“We have ruled out many high-ranking people in our faction already,” I said. “We do not have many examples of Trident members identified. We have had three so far, all dead. Our Factionless, those who are much more likely to be Divergent, are being killed off. We suspect Trident at the moment.”

I waited a moment, stepping forward, “If you would please get back into your car, you may follow us into the city. However, you all will wear a band that will be visible at all times.”

I handed the main guy a set of green bands. It was the colour for outlanders since it wasn’t used in any of our factions. I already could tell none of the outlander men would want to wear it but I stood firm.

“Either you wear it, or you are not coming into our city,” I warned, going back to stand with Eric and Max. “There is no option of you coming into our city without them. That is one of our non-negotiable conditions.”

“You’re a firecracker, aren’t you?” The man smiled, pulling the band on without his eyes leaving mine. 

I let my face stay calm and blank but I had the urge to hit him. 

“I prefer spitfire,” I twisted on my heels and stalked over to the armoured cars we came in. 

)()()(

After two long hours of discussing what we had done to the outlanders, I was to show them to their place of residence for the next while. 

They were actually given the initiate dorms because it was in the centre of the compound and could be monitored easily. They didn’t complain but I knew one or two of them were ready to but the main man, Elijah Gaines, gave a hard stare to the others to keep them quiet. 

I left them there, warning them that if they were to leave the room without the armbands, we would know. 

I wandered the halls of Dauntless until I went down to the lowest levels, carefully getting down to the bottom of the Chasm where a platform had been built. 

Music came from there, several dozen people crowded around the edge of the platform as they watched two people fight in the middle.

It was a fight ring, one that the leaders knew about. As long as no one got killed or injured enough to not do their duties, we allowed them to get their frustrations out in whatever healthy way they could find. 

Being the leader for our people’s welfare, I went down here once or twice a week, seeing how people fought. 

Seleca handed me a flask of rum, letting me drink and feel the burn of it go down my throat before I sat next to her on the ground. We watched the matches, people betting here and there as she kept score and gave out the winning to the right person. 

Sometimes it was nice to watch the fights, sometimes it was good to be part of it.

Even as a leader, I had frustrations that could only be taken out by fighting, and everyone who partook knew this.

No one went easy on anyone, especially on me. 

They would get in more trouble if they went easy on me than if I broke my jaw. 

I still won all my fights, ending up with bruised and bleeding knuckles each and every time. 

I welcomed the pain, letting me refocus on my tasks at hand.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

By the morning, three people were lynched outside the Hub, hanging by their necks with thick cables instead of ropes. They didn't have chips, one being an Amity member and the other two being Factionless.

They were taken down before the morning rush and sent to the Erudite hospital to be autopsied.

No one actually lived near the Hub, those buildings were all offices or workplaces so no one had heard the group appearing in the dead of night to hang them meters above the door.

We had a video of Trident.

All their members wore masks that hide the lower parts of their faces, the three prongs of a trident on the grey masks. One over the nose and the other two going up their jaws in a distorted view.

We were lucky we got a view of them this time. We still weren't sure of how many members there were, or how old any of them could be.

Patrols increased around the city. Erudite created more cameras to put around the place and Icarus and his lot had them embedded so well that it would take a lot of force to get rid or even move them.

)()()(

March still came and I took a good three days off. I knew Amity liked to party, so I planned to do some work on a Friday beforehand so I could justify being drunk for two out of the four days. So from Friday night to Monday night, I was free to do what I wished but I was still reachable if there was a need.

Unsurprisingly, Wallace and Eric joined me in Amity. Eric wanted to discuss some security measures with the Dauntless stationed on the edges of the Amity fields, keeping to the new plan we had made to try and keep the deaths to a minimum.

We hadn't announced Trident to the city yet. We didn't have cause to tell the other factions just yet, no need to worry them. But we did tell them there were some dangerous people in the city, unknown to us still.

Wallace left a couple of hours ago, leaving Eric and me to part with the Amity lot to show good faith as my father and a few others were the birthday people.

In Amity, it was getting warmer now, so I was able to ditch the thick layers for simple jeans and a tight-fitting tank top with my jacket as a final layer.

I was glad I wasn't a stupid drunk.

I sat on one of the tables, my back against the walls as all of the tables were pushed to the sides. I had a rum bottle in my hand, sitting loosely there as music and singing and overall joy came from the center of the barn.

I had already congratulated my father on reaching another year of life,

Needing a little time to myself after all of the dancing with the Amity people, I had to sit down and so I did.

Soon enough, Eric joined me on the table, climbing on before he sat next to me, legs spread out while I had one knee bent and the other was laying under it. I didn't even need to ask if he wanted my alcohol, passing him the bottle with ease. He took it, taking a gulp or two before he put it between us.

A girl a couple of years older than us walked past, winking as she set down a pair of Amity beers.

I picked it up, looking at it with a cautious eye. Sitting up straight, I yelled for my dad, gesturing to the bottles before making a loopy face.

He laughed and shook his head, "No serum! You're good!"

I nodded, passing one to Eric.

"What was that about?" He asked, watching as I put the bottle tip to the table and slammed my hand into it to open it. He didn't have his jacket on, his muscles showing through the dark of his shirt as he put the bottle cap into his elbow, and clenched his forearm and bicep together before he was able to open the cap with only his arms.

"Show off," I sipped at my beer, tasting raspberry and sweetness instead of the tanginess that I didn't like. "I made sure there wasn't any Peace Serum in it. I don't fancy being that loopy tonight."

"Why not? I heard it's… fun to be that peaceful. You don't worry, you don't hate," He said. "It might help you."

I snorted, drinking more, "Nah, rather have my wits about me."

"And you're drinking and mixing alcohol?"

"Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear," I said, winking. "I've been around enough Amity and Dauntless people to know how to not chuck my guts. Don't fancy doing that again."

"Again?" Eric looked at me, smirking, "What's the story there?"

"Well," I started, smiling at the memory. "I had just turned sixteen, and that's the drinking age here. I was here for my dad's birthday, like now, and I was finally allowed to drink. I didn't eat enough and had too much, and I mean too much to drink. I was drinking alcohol like it was water."

"Oh, so nothing out of the ordinary," He laughed when I slugged him in the arm. "Where were you sick then?"

"I was sick twice," I said, lifting two fingers up on one hand. "Once near the bin, luckily, and then once again in the toilet. That reminds me, are we taking the train back? Cause that's not gonna happen tonight."

"Unless you would like to fall to your death when you try and jump onto it," He leaned close, warm and solid against my arm as he laughed again. "No. We can probably stay the night here. There's space somewhere."

I hummed, "I doubt there'll be room. Most of the places were taken over by the Factionless, remember? I'll probably crash at my old place."

He raised an eyebrow, blue eyes looking into mine like he was looking into my soul, "You have an old place here?"

"Well," I grinned, looking away for a moment before I returned to gazing at him, "It's more of a hideaway."

"Hideaway?"

"Barn. It's a barn. You'd be surprised how well-mannered some of these children are. After dark, they don't do anything that would get them in trouble. Going to the barns is out of the question for them." I looked at him, "Do you fancy sleeping in the same place as all of Amity? A lot of people snore. It echoes. Badly."

"You know what?" He said, poking my bare arm. "I might join you in the barn. I'm glad you don't snore."

He brought up the rum bottle to his lips, lifting his chin as he drank. His adam's apple bobbed, bringing my attention to his pale neck and to the code of tattoos there.

"What time is it?" He suddenly asked, looking at his watch before he looked at me. His face was full of surprise, eyes wide and innocent. "Oh shit. It's half three in the morning already. Damn."

"Oh, shit, is it?" I stood on the table, leaving my bottles and shit there before I quickly jumped off. "I need to dance with my dad at least once."

"Dance?" Eric followed me off the tables. "You? You're going to dance?"

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, turning to walk a couple of steps backward until we reached the crowd. I handed him my gun but kept my knife on me.

Eric stayed away, not wanting to be pulled in just as I was.

I was drunk enough to let myself be pulled in, standing next to my dad and a stranger as we held hands and began to dance in lines.

We all stood on the hardwood of the open barn.

It started with everyone doing simple tapping on the floor, using our feet to make noise and clapping once in a while.

Out of all of the lines, two males dressed in dark trousers and bright mustard poet shirts came forward. They tapped across the wooden platform, once, twice and thrice, each time doing a couple of twists and turns here and there to increase the tapping.

When they finished, simple tapping and clapping turned to proper drumming as some went to the sides and sat on the tables, thumping their hands and feet against anything. The sound that came from each person was the sound a drum would make.

My dad stepped forward, being the birthday man. The drumming stopped, letting him tap away with his feet at the wood to the tune befitting the dance. His feet moved but his torso stayed still as he was light-footed but loud against the wood. He held his arms out as he turned, keeping balance and stopping whenever the drum began.

Everyone else joined in, stepping and jumping quicker as the pace quickened. More and more people joined in now, slowly approaching the middle as they lined up to start tapping away in the silence.

The tune changed as only a few of them tapped their feet against the floor, moving forwards before going back to line up. It changed again when the other dancers joined in. We got into a good rhythm again as the music started.

My Dad found me in the sea of red and orange with ease, pulling me towards him and closer to the middle as everyone made room for us.

He had pulled me to the section he knew I liked the most, where we had to cross one foot in front of the other and where the music silenced to listen to our perfectly in-sync taps. We pivoted only on our heels, turning our feet to one side and then the other a few times. It allowed me to get the rhythm before the proper dance started again.

I might have been wearing boots and jeans but it didn't stop me from dancing.

It took the music increasing its pace for the dance to end with one foot on the ground while the other was crossed over the leg to make the toe touch the floor.

The barn echoed with laughter, claps and cheers.

I kissed my dad on the cheek, leaving the center where more dancing happened.

"Cheers," I said, getting my gun from Eric.

"That looked fun," He said. "How long did it take you to learn that?"

"I don't know. A few weeks? I didn't get taught it. I just picked it up on my weekends here."

He nodded in understanding, arms crossed over his chest. With viper reflexes, he pulled me closer when someone tripped near me. Luckily, I didn't get any of the beer they had split but I yawned.

"I might go to bed," I said, feeling the last few days get to me suddenly. The warmth of the alcohol didn't help. "I'm exhausted."

He helped me up, letting me stand on my own because I wasn't drunk enough to need help with that shit. I knew I was drunk but I still had my wits about myself, and I was still capable of standing.

"When does this end?" He asked, making me laugh.

I patted him on the chest gently, "It doesn't. Think of Dauntless and then triple it. That's how Amity people party." I winked, walking over to my dad with ease. I said my goodnights before I slowly strolled out of the barn.

"Where are you going?" Eric caught up with me.

"To sleep, remember?" I said. "You joining me or are you going to party some more?"

He looked back as we began to walk out of that building and onto the path. "I'll go with you. I didn't plan to party so there's no point with partying with strangers."

I nodded, "I'm gonna grab some blankets and shit and we can head to my dad's barn."

"His barn?"

"Yeah. He likes building stuff so he keeps some of his shit there."

It didn't take long for us to get the needed supplies before we went to the barn. I opened it with ease, remembering the code for the padlock since it was my birthday.

It was dark inside and a lot quieter. We sighed in relief at that.

There was a single ladder that went up to the second level of the whole place. We didn't pay attention to any of the shit in here, just wanting to go to sleep by now. We climbed, Eric let me go first but I didn't know if he was being gentlemanly or if he wanted to look at my ass as I went up. I didn't care.

"Here's home for the night," I said, dropping the blankets and pillows onto the wooden floor.

I had to pull the thin mattress from the edge into the middle, king-sized but still thin. It took up most of the space here. There was less space up here but it was still good. It even had a pair of windows, showing us the clear night sky.

I pulled off my shirt with ease before I groaned, throwing the shirt into a pile on the floor.

"What's wrong?" He asked, checking his gun over and seeing how many bullets he had.

"I'm wearing a sports bra," I groaned before pouting.

He looked confused, glancing at my chest and then at my face, "And what's the problem?"

"Depends if you give a shit about me wearing a bra to sleep," I asked, kneeling to set out the bottom blanket on the mattress before fluffing up the pillows and setting the other blankets up too.

"No, I don't care, Alexis," He said, pulling his own shirt off and folding it. "I've seen your bare ass. Shit. The whole faction saw that pretty thong you wore that day. Shameless."

I shrugged, undoing the zippers on my boots before toeing them off. I put my socks in each boot.

"It's too hot for clothes in this shithole," I said, hands on my hips. "Do you care?"

"Care about what?"

"How much either of us is wearing to sleep."

He rolled his eyes before he locked them to mine, undoing the buttons on his trousers and then the zipper. He didn't look away as he took them off, but I glanced down as he did so, catching sight of something that made me look away to try and reinforce my barriers.

I yawned again, rubbing my hands down my face.

"I give fucking up," I muttered, taking off my own trousers before laying them next to my boots and shirt.

Eric went quiet behind me. I looked over, pushing my hair out of my face as I saw the way he had to grit his jaw.

"What?" I said. He looked down at my red thong, bright compared to the lighting around us. "You've seen me in less. Get over it."

I turned around, bending over to pick up my gun from the floor.

Hands lanced themselves around my hips as I stood up, turning me around as I grinned. He took the gun from me, putting the safety on before chucking it next to my boots.

"You're a little minx," Eric muttered, watching me smile. "You planned this."

"No," I still smiled. "I did not. I planned to sleep here from the beginning. Never knew you were going to join me in Amity."

His hands were warm as he pulled my hips closer to him. His eyes were bright even in the dull of the room, playful as he shook his head.

He was taller than me so I had to look up, but that gave him just enough of an angle to press his lips to mine. His hands secured me closer to him, letting us kiss for a small moment before we split.

It barely took another moment before we kissed again, more passionately this time. I held his face in my palms to reign his face closer, kissing him desperately. His hands traced up my back, soft and firm as I stopped. He pushed me closer again, seeing the self-satisfied grin on my face.

I gasped into his mouth when he bit my bottom lip lightly, making me loop my arms around his shoulders to keep our lips connected.

He gently pushed me back, his hands on the side of my ribcage where the bottom hem of the sports bra was. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

He helped me out of the sports bra, dropping it to the floor as he began to pepper kisses down from my neck onto my chest. He kneeled, and it was a hot sight as he peppered more kisses down my breasts and then onto my stomach as I stood still and felt everything. One of his hands was clutching my hip,

He mouthed his way up and down my torso, focusing on my pierced nipples to gently tug at them. I moaned, loving the slight pinch I got from them. He smirked at that, standing up.

He kissed me again, tracing a free hand down my body to make me shiver as he tried to memorise me.

"Careful," He warned, making me pause before I no longer felt the floor beneath me.

"Eric!" I squeaked, holding onto him as he lifted me over his shoulder, gently patting my ass as he walked the small distance to the covered mattress.

He put me down gently, quickly climbing onto me.

With a kiss on my forehead, he pulled on my bottom lip when he kissed me again, making me grin like a cat. That spurred him on, making him repeat it several times until I licked my lips. My tongue darted out to trace my lip from one side to the other.

I sat up a little, using an elbow to prop myself up before taking a decent handful of his hair and yanking him a little closer until our lips almost met.

One of his arms was tucked under my back, keeping me raised from the mattress as he trailed his kisses down from my lips to my jaw and then to my collarbone where my codes were.

He set a soft kiss on my lips, bringing his mouth back up to my ear as he muttered, "I think you're wearing a little too much."

I smiled, gasping as I felt his hands drift to the edge of my thong before he ripped the side.

"I like this pair!" I said. "What am I—" He stopped me with a kiss before I continued— "going to wear tomorrow?"

"That's a problem for another time," Eric grinned this time.

He laughed, watching as my ample chest was heaving, flush with arousal as my nipple peaks were taunt and begging to be touched. I only had a silver bar through each nipple, bringing attention to them nonetheless.

Doing as my body demanded, he lowered himself until he could trail soft, wet kisses down my chin to the centre of my throat, down the trachea to my collarbone and finally to the centre of my breasts. His tongue darted out, tasting the skin there.

The small patch of spit he left turned cold as wind whistled but we didn't stop.

He lowered his lips to one nipple, licking once before capturing it while the other hand kneaded the other and pinched gently. He tugged the piercing very gently, knowing it could be sensitive.

I arched into his mouth, gasping and letting him know he was doing a good job as my hands latched onto his hair in a way to encourage him.

After a time he knew would be too short, he switched to the other, getting it as hard and wet as its perfect twin as I arched up again when he very gently put pressure onto the peak with his teeth.

Eric kneeled between my legs, leaning forward so he was over me. The sight of him licking his lips was enticing and beautiful. He didn't take his gaze from mine as his hand roamed down my body, touching and adding pressure to my little aching bud, flicking it once with his thumb to make me grab at the sheets with clenched hands.

I was wet.

Unbelievably wet from just simple foreplay.

Gods, what kind of effect did this man have on me?

I moaned into his mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck to get him closer to make sure I memorised exactly how he tasted. When he leaned back, watching my mouth as I licked my lips again, he just stared.

He began to move down, setting wet, open kisses against my chest again, letting each nipple become peaks in his mouth before he went further down as he shifted his knees back.

The faintest of kisses and nips and bites were put onto my breasts, then to their underside and then my soft stomach before he worked his way down to my hips.

Eric nipped at my hips gently, kissing the skin.

I bit the inside of my lip, propping myself up with my elbows to watch him.

Instead, Eric reached for the pillows, making me sit so I could lay with a pillow at the small of my back.

"Comfortable?" He asked, once against kneeling between my knees and had his hands trailing all around my body.

I nodded, arching into his touch again.

He leaned forward, lathering my chest with sloppy pecks before he reached my mouth and put hot kisses there. I pulled his lip into my mouth, getting his attention.

Eric paused, taking his time to put his mouth onto my skin again. He nipped at my throat, making me whine and whimper before he suckled on a certain spot which just made me gasp.

"Don't bite me," He growled the words out, words vibrating into my skin as he ran his nose down my skin. "Otherwise, I will be tempted to return the favour."

"Not a bad idea," I licked my lips.

"Temptress," He muttered into my mouth as one hand cupped my jaw and the other was playing with my now exposed pearl of nerves. I gasped into his mouth again, almost thrusting my hips into his hand to get some more friction. "Beautiful."

Eric stopped his hand, putting it into the area between my trimmed pelvis and my thigh and making me spread my legs wide so he could kneel closer. As he moved so he could kiss his way down my torso, down both breasts to my ribs to my stomach and finally pelvis and then the trimmed area of hair that hide my most intimate bits, I grinned.

He had a hungry and feral look in his eyes, making me clench and perhaps even a little wetter with the way he smiled with teeth too sharp and dangerous.

Damn, I had a thing for dangerous men.

With a nod from me, he moved until he was perfect in view and the grin he had as he went down just made me quiver. There was nothing to muffle my noises, each groan, moan and gasp was out into the air.

I was glad we were a decent way away from anyone. This barn was secluded enough.

When he swung my legs over his shoulders, getting me closer to his talented mouth as his tongue searched for my cunt for the taste he desired and craved, my hands latched onto his hair.

Going up one side and then around the clit but never quite touching it, his tongue traced down again. He flicked the bud with his tongue, making me thrust up but his hands kept me in place as he stared upwards at me, eyes locked but I couldn't look away.

The sight of him there, tongue deep in me as he brought me pleasure was too beautiful.

My hips thrusted upwards but he kept me in place as he ate me out like I was a glorious dessert. Each lick made me groan because he would stop before he got to the clit, but on every third try, he would tongue around it before going down to the entrance again.

Somehow I kept quiet, only letting out noises instead of words so he set out to get a way for me to be a little louder.

He brought me higher and higher on the hormones of bliss, waiting until he started to feel me clench around his tongue and fingers before completely stopping.

I swore.

Loudly.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

It had a long whine at the end as I cursed his name as he raised his head away from me.

He took pity and traced a finger down the lips there, up, around, and down, close to the clit but barely not there.

I propped myself up again, "Is this how it will be? Okay then."

I grabbed him by the shoulders, getting him to sit where I had been while I straddled his hips. He barely had time to react before I was grinding down on his clothed cock.

His hands flew to my hips, trying to still me but I pinned them so they were just above his head. As I rolled my hips, getting a little bit of friction but not enough to get off, he realised I was doing it for his pleasure, to get him hard and aching for me just as he made me.

My breasts were barely brushing his chest as I was leaning over him and moving her hips.

Eric allowed the rhythmic movements of my hips grating against him as he saw pleasure start to build in both of them, but he didn't want to end this prematurely. He had to get me to move a little as he ripped off his underwear, revealing his cock as it strained in the air.

I wrapped my hand around his cock, gently stroking it up and down until it pulsated in my hand and his hands were clenching the sheets.

"I'm so glad for that birth control shot," I muttered, bringing my mouth to his tip and letting my tongue do a quick swipe over his slit. He gasped with the warmth of my mouth around him, but it soon went away because I sat up, rubbing a finger down the edges of my lips. "Just means we don't need condoms."

I straddled him again, letting his cock rub against the inside of my thigh but not touching me. I aligned it, grinding my hips a little as his hands clenched onto my hips as I did so. Moaning a little as it hit my clit, I stopped before I aligned the cock with my hole and sank.

We both groaned as we connected. I let him slide right into my wet pussy with ease.

He placed his hands on my hips again, letting me have control for now as I moved and ground against him. My eyes were hooded in ecstasy as I rode him and my hands trailed all around him. I felt good, warm and like home, as I rode him at my speed, slow but long, I kept at it until my knees began to hurt and I let him have control.

Eric wrapped my arms around his neck, securing me by my thighs and ass before moving so I was on my back and he was above me.

I locked my ankles behind his hips, keeping him as close as possible as he used his arms to keep from completely laying on me. Watching his face as he was in me was beautiful, his features contorted but he never took his eyes off me.

I bit my lip, grating my hips against him as I felt him pulse inside of me and he began to slowly thrust into me. I gasped, groaning and clinging closer to him as he began to add different techniques to find what I liked. He found them, using his muscles to move his hips.

He ground himself into me at just the right angle to make me whine, gasping into his ear which just spurred him on.

Every time he kissed my moans away, I pressed my chest closer so I could feel him against me. He suckled my lower lip into his mouth, teasing me as he gently bit into it before smiling at my groans of pleasure.

He rucked an arm below the bend of my back, arching me closer to him to accommodate his cock in me and letting him in even more. He buried his face into my shoulder, holding the back of my neck closer to him. I closed my eyes as he touched my neck, kissing areas of it as he fucked me.

I had a thing about my neck and upper back. It was just too pleasurable to have someone touch it sexually. I gasped and whined each time he touched it and he knew I liked it already.

My nails raked down his neck and back. I let a soft smile appear onto my face as I knew it would leave marks on his tattoed back. I had a feeling I had a couple of hickies all across my breasts and collarbones, especially just below the skin of the codes.

He nipped at my skin, almost hard enough to bruise straight away but I liked it. I liked the effect he had on so I let him do what he liked. He nipped and suckled my skin, leaving me to gasp and wiggle in his arms but he never stopped his little signatures on my skin.

His thrusts slowed with a groan from both of us, neither wanting to slow down at all.

I leaned my head back, trying to get my pussy even closer to his cock even though he was already in me and thrusting.

My neck was completely exposed as he trailed kisses and nibbled down my shoulders and chest. I was completely vulnerable to him and his exploitation of my newfound turn on. He trailed harsh kisses down the side of my throat, suckling the pulse before biting into the meaty bit of my throat with a grunt.

Each and every one of his bites and suckle would leave a mark.

I almost screamed when he did, but it wasn't painful. It was pure pleasure and simple pressure on my skin.

Eric leaned back, shifting his thighs until they were under mine, pulling me closer to him until i allowed him deeper into me. My ass was raised a littler more than the rest of me, getting him the access he requested and it gave us both pleasure.

When he grabbed one of my hips, he thrust hard and fast, using his other hand to rub his thumb against my clit. I curled my toes in pleasure, moving my hips in time with his thrusts before I dug my heels into his back to urge him further into me until a grunting mess above me.

He was beautiful.

He edged me further and further up the high steepness of pleasure, so close to the tip, meters away, feet, inches but I couldn't get there. My stomach flexed and tried to work a climax out, failing to and causing me to rest an arm over my eyes in frustration as I bit into my lower lip to try and add another layer of something.

"I'm close," He muttered into me neck, his breath hot but somehow sharp against my skin. He kissed my skin, tasting the salt but he didn't stop his thrusts.

I gasped with each rougher thrust he began. I clung to him now, letting him have more control so I could have more pleasure. He lowered his mouth to kiss my breath away.

He pressed me closer to him, making me arch into him as he more or less lifted me until my arms were around his neck and he thrusted up into me. One arm was hooked around my waist, keeping me tight against him but he brought a hand down to my clit again, firmly but gently playing with it until he worked me through my first orgasm and then straight into another.

It was almost like I could taste lightning as my thighs trembled and I buried my moans into his neck, wet and sloppy kisses there as I left my marks.

He came too, hot and fast and beautifully as he groaned into the side of my neck. He pressed me into the mattress as he finished, a last few thrusts to end before he breathed loudly.

It took us both several long seconds to realise it was over.

My hands stroked down his back, tracing his Leadership codes as I let him take his time to collect himself. He caught his breath, rolling to the side and taking his wilting cock out of me. We gasped, sighing as we laid next to each other.

I yawned silently, grabbing the blankets and passing him one. I was always tired after alcohol and good sex, so I gave him the choice to fall asleep too.

Standing, I grabbed our guns, handing him his to put where he liked while I put mine just above where my head would be.

I climbed back into the mattress covered in blankets, fluffing up my pillow. When my head hit the pillow, I was almost gone but I felt arms wrap themselves around me. The blanket was pulled up across my shoulders as another's body heat kept me nice and toasty throughout the night.

He traced designs into my skin as he lay behind me, almost spooning me as we soon enough fell asleep.

I just hoped he knew this didn't mean anything. While it was completely consensual, we were both drunk and found a way to get rid of our frustrations. It didn't mean we were in a relationship. It didn't mean it would happen again.

For fuck's sake, we were both leaders, and he was my mentor before so it could have looked like favoritism when it wasn't.

I wanted it all to work out but maybe this wasn't it. Maybe we weren't destined together at this point in time. Maybe never. Fate wasn't something I could control. No one could.

We could only watch as our fate revealed our rise or our downfalls.

But I'd do everything I could to save my city.

Dauntless became my true home. I found myself better in ways I didn't think I would have otherwise.

I changed, a little I hoped, as a person, growing into myself a bit more.

For better or for worse, I wouldn't know.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Even with the help of the outlanders, not much happened with regards to Trident and that situation. I didn't interact much with them, getting my information about them from some of the people lower in my department.

What I got told was not very nice.

After a long day of people coming into my office and several hundred complaints being filed, I stormed into Eric's office with my tablet in hand.

"If I get one more complaint about the outlanders misusing their power and going into someone's apartment to ransack it again," I warned, walking straight up to his desk as Eric looked up from the small stack of papers he was reading. "It will be your ass on the line."

"Well, hello, Alexis," He smiled, putting his pen down before he leaned back and interlocked his fingers on his stomach. "How was your day? Mine was great, thank you for asking."

"Eric," I said seriously. "Five different apartments, and three community halls. They don't have the right to be going through our people's homes even if they may suspect Trident. They don't even bother to report what they've done. Even if this is to keep us safe, this isn't the right thing for our people. They're scared enough already."

"Close the door," He said, sitting up properly as he activated his computer projection screen. It popped up just as I did as he asked, closing the door.

"What're you doing?" I asked before he gestured for me to come over to his side.

"I'm checking the security footage," Eric mumbled, looking at his screen. I went around the desk so I could see the screen too, leaning onto one hand on the desk to stabilise myself.

And there it was on camera.

Eric had assigned a small number of officers for the outlanders to have use of. They were now seen barging into people's apartments during pure daylight when no one would be in there. If anyone tried to stop them, they were stunned with stun darts and told to leave until the evening while they tore the places apart.

We didn't have shots of the inside because it was against our policies to have cameras inside apartments. The community halls were much like the Amity sleeping arrangement, with large numbers of beds, dressers and sleep mats. There were cameras in there because there were also minors sleeping with families and it was a safety precaution for everyone.

I ran both my hands down my face in frustration. "They're here to help but all they're fucking doing is terrorising them!"

Eric didn't look happy either, turning his head to look at me sincerely, "You can tell them to back off. Put it in a report, and gather all the complaints. You'll be able to make it so they can't do anything without someone's approval. I'd only do that if you had the time to let them bother you every minute of the day."

"That's the thing," I sighed. "I don't want to give them any access to our people without due cause. They go in on a whim and it's scaring everyone. I bet if I limit their access, I'm going to have a grumpy man at my office every hour of the day. What stops them from doing this without informing me?"

"If they don't tell you and it is without a very good reason," He stared at me. "You will be, legally, allowed to kick them out of the city."

"Out of the city?" I asked. "I have that power?"

"You're our ambassador and liaison," He smirked. "You're stuck with the wellbeing of this city on your shoulders, and that means kicking out troublemakers."

I knew I had power but I didn't realise how far it went.

I nodded, picking up the tablet, "Should I tell Max?"

"Inform him about what's happening and make your decision clear on the matter," He nodded too. "I'd put the report in myself but you heard how they think of Factioned. You'd get a better response than I would."

)()()(

It did not get a good response.

Elijah, the leader of the little group of outlanders, was not a happy camper, standing in my office as he paced the length and tried to chew me out about our practices and policies about safety.

"If I am not given the reins to conduct what is needed, we will not find Trident!" He stated, flaring his arms out in anger. "You cannot order me to stop these searches. We need them to find out anything about Trident."

"I can and I will," I stared at him. "You are an outlander. You are invading our people's privacy. You don't get to come into this city and start acting like you are in charge. There are rules and regulations that need to be met, most of which you've ignored in your pursuit of Trident."

"Erudite doesn't care that I'm invading privacy, as you say, they want results and that's what they're getting,"

"Are they?" I shook my head in disbelief, flipping through the paper document of all he had done in the last month on him being here. "I don't see a single accomplishment that happened from invading their privacy. Nothing about finding anything in their homes. You have no foot to stand on here. You will back down or you will be barred from the city."

He laughed coldly, looking at me like I was scum. I didn't react when he slammed his hands on the table, pointing a finger at me.

"How do you know what I've accomplished here?" He smirked. "You don't have the clearance to know. You're barely a leader. You're a social worker if that. You're here to make sure your people are happy and safe. I'm keeping them safe even if it means their privacy is invaded."

"I may be a social worker, as you say," I stood from my chair, hearing as Loki snapped his jaws in the bed next to the desk. "But I have a higher clearance level than you. You're only here because you have your own problem with a Trident branch. If our branch doesn't help you with your problem, there isn't a reason for you to be here."

"I won't be told my place by a kid,"

"No, you're being told your place by a leader of Dauntless." I stared at him, leaving my natural, cold glare to appear. "I've already reported your disregard for the privacy of our people and our laws. You've had your warning. If I get anymore more complaints about you or your men, I will do everything in my power, which is quite influential in this faction and the rest, to get you out of this city. Don't test this 'kid' because she's got more power in this city than you do."

My face must have shown him that I was being serious, and I doubt he would go against me when I threaten to disbar him from the city.

I was still on a probationary period and would be until September. It was precautionary and just meant that the other leaders would be keeping an eye on what I was doing.

I didn't mind. Wallace said I was doing well, and he was proud to leave me behind in Dauntless as he moved to the Erudite compound.

I was doing well as ambassador and liaison between the factions, especially during the unsettle that was Trident trying to shock the city.

It would be another week before we announced the Trident situation to the lower members of the other factions. The supreme council knew but not their slightly lower members. I was classed as a lower member of the leadership but since I was one of the few who figured out Trident, I was already in the know.

Wallace left at the end of April, he handed me a set of keys, more symbolic than anything else.

"You will do things that make even the devil quake to keep this city safe." He told me before he left in the armoured car to the Erudite compound. "Do it and do it without hesitation."

And I would.

I didn't know what I would have to do to keep this city safe but I had a feeling it wouldn't be easy. Nothing would be, not when it came for me to go against Trident or anyone who threatened my city.

You get a little possessive of a city when you became a leader, the newfound respect for the simple virtues it held would become a part of your life so quickly.

)()()(

I woke up the next day, half asleep as I walked around my apartment in only my thong. I was supposed to attend a meeting this morning, but I didn't sleep well last time. I didn't remember my dream but it still made my heart beat in my chest like a hummingbird.

Loki ran to the door, yapping at it before he went quiet. He looked back at me and then tapped the floor right against the door.

I opened the door an inch, letting Empress slink into my apartment without care.

No one could control that feline.

She jumped up onto the kitchen island, sitting up here and waited for some food. She and Loki were the only reasons I had meat in my apartment. I fed them both, making them go quiet with their whining and beginnings as I got dressed.

As it was getting slowly warmer, I didn't need to bundle up all the time. A tank top and dark jeans did it for me in this weather. All I needed to bring was my jacket and I'd be good.

A knocking at the door came and I yelled for them to come in, walking out of my room with my toothbrush in my mouth.

"Mornin'," I said through a mouthful of toothpaste froth. I pointed to the kitchen. "Cat is there. I'll be out in a min'."

I went into my bathroom to spit the toothpaste out and rinse the brush. I patted my mouth dry before turning to the door to find all three standing.

"We gonna grab coffee before we go?" I asked, going to my wardrobe to pick up a polished pair of combat boots.

He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, looking at me, "Sure. The Ground House?"

"Where else?" I slipped on my boots before I ushered both animals into their respective places. "Don't kill each other."

"I'm more concerned about her killing him,"

I shrugged, "To be fair, yeah. Sounds about right."

"How'd she escape my apartment?" He asked as we left my place and started going down the hall.

"I have no clue," I said. "She will always find a way."

"That she does,"

)()()(

A city-wide meeting of the leaders took place.

Leslie and Icarus didn't go, mostly because we needed at least two people to stay back and look after the place. Dauntless was more likely to be attacked again, especially with what Dent Moore had said.

All of us went to the Hub, sitting around one of the large tables in a conference room. Each faction had about three people.

Amity had Johanna, Seth and Dante, my father.

Candor had Jack, Niles and Rose.

Abnegation with Marcus, Andrew, Elain and Tony.

Jeanine sat with Steven, Morgana, my mother, and Misha, my aunt.

Hmm. It did seem like leadership was in my blood. Both parents and an aunt being a leader or something similar couldn't just be a coincidence, my Erudite upbringing told me.

I didn't care though, I would earn my place regardless of how I was groomed for my position.

Sixteen people attended the meeting, all sitting around the round glass table so we could all see and hear each other.

I sat on Max's left side with Eric on his other side.

It went Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite, meaning I had Steven on my left while Eric had Tony on his right.

"Good to see everyone," Jeanine began. "I'm glad everyone was able to make it. First, I'd like to address the fact that this is Alexis' first meeting as a faction leader. She worked her way up quickly."

Everyone clapped politely. Eric snickered but stopped when Max gave him a pointed look.

"I was told you had something to address, Alexis," Jeanine said. "Please start with that."

I double-tapped the glass table in front of me, bringing up the video I had prepared. I swiped my hand towards the middle of the table, letting the video be brought up as a hologram.

"I've had so many complaints about the outlanders," I started as the video started, showing off security videos of the outlanders. Several different clips came on, scrolling through each quickly before the video stopped and the hologram disappeared. "I've warned Elijah but he didn't believe me. He does not believe that I have authority over him or his group, nor does he believe Eric. I, frankly, have had enough of my people being scared and fearful of what they will do next. I've had reports of assault and verbal harassment by many people and that doesn't even include the shops they've ransacked in pursuit of who they claim could be Trident."

I paused to let it sink in, "I petition to ban them from the city, or at least the ones who keep making trouble."

"I'll give each faction a moment to discuss," Jeanine said, turning to her own people.

I could feel the eyes of my family members, staring at me as if they didn't realise how much I had changed in so little time. Just about eight months had passed since they last properly saw me in September, and now it was early May.

A person could change a lot within that time, and I did.

My probation year would be over by December.

My plans for this year's new recruits would be implicated, helping the initiates thrive instead of fail.

I couldn't wait.

)()()(

I tried to take my dinners at the canteen, mostly because that would be the only time I would see my friends. I usually saw most of them at the table, finding them in the crowd with ease.

Only after becoming a leader, did I see the colours that the Dauntless wore on their jackets and realised what they meant.

Grey were Max's people, the leaders, us.

We all wore a band of grey around the bicep of our sleeved jackets. Another band was just under it, coloured with our individual departments. Mine was purple, not for any particular reason but I didn't mind the colour. It was the same one that Wallace and every single person before him had.

Eric had a strip of blue on his jackets and liked to wear dark navy shirts. Icarus had a stripe of red on the hems of his trousers, or he wore a dark maroon shirt. Leslie wore orange t-shirts and tank tops.

All of us had our colours alongside the grey strip but our people also wore our colours too. The inside of their jackets was usually the expected colour but they had other options too.

Hawk, my assistant, liked to wear plum purple trousers. Some of the Swat people like Zeke wore Eric's colour of blue since they were part of the security department. Druid was working his way up from the bottom of Icarius' department, wearing a bright red shirt under his jacket all the time.

Then there were people like Rori and Nickels, who were in nursing and tattooing respectively. They didn't wear any bright versions of the colours but they were allowed to have muted tones.

It really did help identify people at a moment's glance.

I sat down at a table, placing the semi-filled tray of food down as I greeted everyone.

"Exhausted?" Druid asked as I took a relief sigh.

"Exhausted as always," I said, picking up my fork and looking at the pasta salad I chose for dinner. It was creamy with small pieces of assorted vegetables to add texture and flavour. "And ravenous. Rori still doing her rotation in Erudite?"

"Yep," Nickels smacked his lips. "I've got a shift in Amity tomorrow. A nice and early start for me. Lovely." He grimaced at that.

"Lovely," I made a face. "Really don't like early mornings but I can never escape them."

Selene laughed, "You and mornings don't get along unless there are inhumane amounts of caffeine involved."

I pointed my fork at her, "You bet your ass on that. If I didn't have coffee, I don't think I'd even be sitting here. I'd still be in bed!"

"Now that's just lazy," Elijah's voice came from behind me, making me turn around with a questioning look on my face. He stood with an armful of files and I noticed his green armband was not on.

"Excuse me?" I didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me even a little confused. "As you can see, I'm eating here. Whatever this is can wait."

He gritted his teeth, "No, it can't. Since you decided to tell Erudite what I've been overseeing, I have been forced to do so much paperwork that I cannot even do half the things I need to. I went by your office but you weren't there. These are for you."

He threw the files onto the table, making them spray out and go into the trays.

My friends saw this coming, picking up their trays and drinks before they could be toppled over.

"Dude," Druid sneered, "What the fuck?"

Elijah barely glanced at him, staring at me and my reaction instead.

My poker face was good, hiding my slowly growing rage as I plainly stared at him. I glanced at one of the files, seeing a picture had slid out and I picked it up.

It was a picture of three people, of a woman wearing only her underwear and a bra with fresh bruises all along her arms and torso. She was shielding two children behind her as the background showed the darkness of the sleeping community halls and her sleeping area completely messed up.

The time stamp was from only a few days ago and the back explained.

The outlanders had suspected the woman had links to the Trident and would have some sort of recording device on her.

She didn't.

I held the picture between the tips of my pointer and middle fingers, gesturing with it towards Elijah before letting it slip from my grip. It fell to the ground as I stood, opening up a few more files to see a few more similar files, of men and women, and sometimes even teens and children in similar states of undress and bruises and cuts.

I had to take a slow, calming breath through my nose, before I looked at Elijah's eyes, hooded in his understanding of what he thought was his triumph over my power.

What he forget, and what he should have as one himself, a leader had different types of power and used them when necessary.

Like now, I knew a diplomatic approach wouldn't work anymore.

I tried that route and it failed.

The next type was my favourite and most effective in getting short-term goals.

I stood and faced him.

If I could face Wyatt, even after he tried to strangle me, even after I hung for five minutes on a close-to dislocated shoulder.

If I could face Dent Moore, even watching him being bloodied by Eric's hands and still bleed out from his neck wound.

If I could face Leon, even with his trigger-happy finger while he pointed a gun at my forehead, even when he tried to shoot me.

If I could face a man, even when he thought he was better than me, thought he could use his power to get his way, thought he was better than everyone else.

I could face Elijah with my eyes closed.

It didn't take much to grab the back of his head and slam his face into the table where all of the files were. I held him there, using a foot to kick his feet from under him until all that was holding him up was my hand and his knees.

The hall went quiet, not silent enough to drop a pin but many people looked over to see what was happening.

I leaned over him, making sure he could feel my breath on his face as I hissed my words out.

"You don't get to disrespect my faction," My hand tightened in his hair, making his gasp in pain as his glasses were skewed over his nose when I pushed him harder against the table. I grinned, seeing fear come over his face, "I'll show you what happens when it, rarely, does occur."

I pulled him off the table, letting him stand on unsure feet before I began to shove him towards the door.

"Move your ass," I took a moment to pause as he got back to his feet, fixing his skewed glasses before I jutted my chin out. I glanced around the canteen, finding Hawk only a couple of tables over. I gestured with two fingers and he came over.

"Get me Eric and have him round up the rest of the outlanders," I said to him.

Hawk winked and took off, picking up his phone to start the process.

Elijah didn't walk when I went past him, only staring at me. So I grabbed the back of his neck and led him through the halls, making sure to drag him a little too much for comfort as I saw several of his men be dragged in by security members and some by other members of the faction.

They followed me into Community Hall 1, it even said it on the expansion of the double doors before the room.

The room was huge with plenty of space for the selection of beds, mattresses and cots. Anyone and everyone could take a cot here. Every member was entitled to an apartment but not everyone wanted one, some decided to stay in halls such as these to sleep with friends and family and other members.

It was mainly empty right now, but as I dragged Elijah and had his men behind me, it filled up quickly with so many members of Dauntless, I almost didn't expect it.

I found the woman whose picture I saw first and she still had bruises on her arms as she tended to her children.

Kicking Elijah's legs, I made him fall in front of her. He kneeled as he tried to stand up but I stopped him with a kick to the stomach.

"Right," I said loudly, turning to the rest of his group. "This is unacceptable. I let you be guests in this city, and I can make you trespassers just as easily. If you think I will stand for this tyrannical act that your leader has started, you are greatly wrong. If you think I won't punish each and every one of you, with a Dauntless execution, you are wrong."

"You don't have the right to—"

I kicked him again, making him slump and gasp in pain.

"I've had enough of you," I gripped his hair, quickly slamming his head into the ground before keeping it in my hand. "Now shut up while I talk."

Some of the outlanders looked shocked at what I did. I didn't know if they were surprised by what I did or what I was capable of, or if they were surprised I was allowed to do it.

"I will be the bad guy if you continue to question what I will do for this faction," I stared at each and every set of outlanders' eyes, glaring before I allowed the feral smile that threatened them to appear. "If you go against me again, go against this faction and harm its members, or members of any faction in this city, the only way you'll leave the city walls is in a body bag. Got it?"

I let go of Elijah's hair.

I didn't care for his state, nor did I care for the scene I started and finished.

Eric appeared as soon as I got to the double doors, leaving along side me. I didn't see him in the crowd but he had been there, watching.

"Quite a scene," He said.

"I did what I needed to,"

He smirked, slinging an arm over my shoulders before pulling me close to his side, "Good job. You're coming along well."

"Fuck off!" I laughed, swatting his hands away when he tried to go for my hair. "Don't make me do what I did to Elijah to you."

He grimaced before snickering, "Nah, I prefer my nose intact."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I had another tattoo done that night.

I had worn shorts as Tori worked her way from my left hip, down my thigh and to my ankles.

Around a hundred sunbursts, starbursts, beams whatever they were called, were overlapping on my leg, covering it from high over my hip to past my ankle. They were all black, with a few scattered in with gold, red, purple, pink, all the shades of the rainbow.

I loved it but it was a long process. I did some work on my tablet and watch while she worked, letting me finish some paperwork that I had been putting off.

They stung as I pulled my jeans on the next morning but I could ignore the pain.

Eric came into my apartment just as I started my day, both his hands full of coffee from the Ground House. He strode up to me, handing me one of them before rubbing a hand down his freshly shaven chin.

When he grinned, I narrowed my eyes at him, not trusting the almost smug and sheepish look on his face.

"Well," He started, his tongue darting out to touch his bottom lip.

"That doesn't sound good," I said, pausing to take a draw of the sweet, hazelnut coffee. "What did you do?"

"Well." He began again, letting one shoulder hit the wall as he watched me move around my kitchen and give Loki a quick morning treat. "Someone has to go to a conference in the City of New York in a week."

"Fuck that," I instantly said, scowling. "That city is supposed to be really bad for Factioned city people. I've been to Detroit but my mother said that New York is horrible."

"It can't be helped." He shrugged. "Guess who's the lucky lady that gets to go?"

I grumbled, "No…"

"Give the girl a gift," Eric snickered. "We're leaving tomorrow. Pack a bag for two weeks. I don't know how long we're gonna be."

"We?" I asked. "Eric, that city is unsafe for Factioned people."

He sent me a look, "You're not gonna be going alone. Max wouldn't allow you anyway."

"Why? Why did they ask for me?"

He made a dismissive noise, "I think it has to do with what Elijah had done. I don't think that city is happy about it either. They probably want you to speak on what happened."

"Did Elijah and his men go back fine?"

"Yeah. They reported to their supervisors as soon as they got back, including about the incident from what Max mentioned."

I sighed, "Alright. What do I even need to pack?"

"I don't know what the weather will be like so do what you will," He glanced at his watch, reading the notification that came up before crossing his arms again. "You will need smart clothes along with practical ones. And an evening dress."

"Evening dress?"

"Yep," He frowned at the thought. "I have to wear a penguin suit so you sure as fuck have to wear a dress."

I felt my nostril flare in annoyance, "I get to fucking choose it,"

He gave me a look that said he knew exactly what I was thinking, "Nothing overly slutty."

"Fine." I glared at him. "Can I bring my gun?"

"No."

I pouted.

)()()(

"Slow the fuck down!" Eric almost screamed at me as he clutched the side handle of the car.

"I need to fucking pee and you said we need to be in Ontario, Canada before we can stop the car," I shouted back. "So we are going to be there!"

"Damn it," He mumbled as I was weaving through the other cars on the road.

Surprisingly, there were several cars on the motorway. It didn't take much for me to speed through them. With our licence plate, we wouldn't be stopped unless we did something really stupid. But speeding a little was acceptable.

"Fine!" He gestured to an oncoming sign. "There! There are facilities and we can get dinner. Now, will you slow the fuck down before you kill us?"

"Okay," I smiled, carefully slowly the car down before indicating the car to go down the side road and into a small town.

We found a diner nearby, one that was friendly towards many travellers through the continent. We sat and ordered an easy dinner before I went to pee. We had cheeseburgers and greasy fries.

"Where are we staying?" I asked after finishing a mouthful of fries. "I don't fancy staying in the car, regardless of how large it is."

Eric twisted his forearm, turning his watch on and letting a small projection of it stay on the table. It turned into a map, one that showed everything available. "There's a small motel nearby. We'll see about getting a room there."

"Alright."

)()()(

I dropped my bag on my motel bed, letting Eric have the first shower.

He walked straight out of that shower, not even bothering to turn the water on. He looked a little pale. "You don't want to go in there."

"Why?" I asked. There was a temptation to go in there now. "What's in there?"

"A centipede in the bathtub,"

I rolled my eyes, going straight into there. There was, in fact, a centipede in the bathtub. It was massive, fat and a foot long as it sat in the tub. I grimaced. While I didn't mind bugs, I still didn't like them.

I grabbed a towel from the side, picking up the wiggling bug with my hand covered before plopping it down the toilet and flushing it away. I sighed, dropping the towel before opening the curtain of the shower.

I ran.

Eric grabbed both of our bags and packed us back in the car before we drove for an hour or two more until we found a decent place to sleep.

)()()(

Unsurprisingly, we got along well during the long ride to the City of New York. He quizzed me on a lot of stuff, on what I'd learned over the last few months or so. He even quizzed me on parts of my training during the initiation period.

Eric was driving when we got to the border of New York State.

We slowed as we reached the border crossing, stopping before the huge gates as a guard approached the car on Eric's side.

The guard tapped on the glass, letting Eric roll down the window. "IDs."

"Here you go," I said, handing the guard both holographic identification cards which were issued to us before we left. They were, as their names indicated, IDs. They'd tell anyone who looked at them how old we were and our genetic coding and our city.

The guard looked at them, twisting his wrist up to bring a hologram screen up before checking them against records. He nodded, giving them back to me and almost completely ignoring Eric.

"Who does the canine belong to?" He asked.

"Me," I leaned my head a little to see him better. "We were told we wouldn't need documentation for him."

"Is he chipped?"

I nodded.

He looked satisfied. "As long as the canine is chipped and has had all the necessary vaccinations, he's free to come with you. And the factioned man? Is he with you?"

"Yes," I had to refrain from glaring at the man. "We're here for a conference of the city leaders."

"A factioned is not allowed in without authorisation, especially from a closed city," He said. "Are you escorting him in, Ms Voltaire? If so, he can join you in the city."

"Yes, I am,"

He nodded. "Good. I will have his ID authorised. You will be informed at your destination later."

We were on our way after that.

"Weird," I muttered as Eric rolled the windows up again. His hands were white on the steering wheel. "Are you okay?"

He took a calming breath, "Yeah, I just don't like this city."

"Nor do I."

"We'll be at the city in about forty minutes," He said. "You can take a nap."

"Cheers."

It didn't take much for me to nod off.

)()()(

Eric gently woke me up, careful to not jostle me otherwise I'd punch him by accident. He learnt his lesson from the last time.

"Are we there?" I asked, yawning before I opened my eyes.

Instinctively, I reached for my gun but it wasn't there. I didn't like the fact it wasn't there, but we weren't law enforcement out here, we were almost ambassadors of sorts. We couldn't bring weapons to another city.

People surrounded the car, dressed in different shades of white to grey to black. One woman, dressed in a sleek black suit with a beautiful rose-coloured blouse, had a silver band sewn into her sleeve. The rest had a strip of bronze around their arms.

I looked at Eric who wasn't panicking. Because of that, I tried to calm down too.

"They're our welcome party," He said, pressing my seat belt button to undo it. "Come on."

I turned to get out, quickly finding the door being opened for me by one of the men with a bronze band. I wasn't quite freaked out by it but it was strange.

They didn't make a move to open the door for Loki so I did that, letting him jump out of the car and land next to me. He waited, letting me grab his lead just in case.

"Hi," I said. "Alexis. Eric."

"Yes," The woman had a thin smile on her lips but it was pleasant. "I'm Reelie. I'll be your guide for your time in the City of New York. I understand that Ms Voltaire is a Divergent whilst Mr Coulter is Factioned. Because you are a restricted pair, the council thought it was better for you to have a guide to help your transition during this time."

"Alright," Eric said, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "What's happening first?"

"First, we will be bringing you to the hotel," Reelie said. "We have a room booked for a stay. The others will bring your vehicle."

"Room? Singular?" He asked.

"Yes," Reelie nodded as we followed her to the sleek black car. "As a restricted pair visiting the city, you have to be roomed together to ensure that the behaviour of the factioned is appropriate, otherwise the hotel would not let you into the building. When we arrive, appropriate clothing will be provided."

"Appropriate?" I asked as we got into the car. It was large and Reelie sat across from us in the back. Loki sat between me and Eric, half on my lap more than he was on the seats. "What's wrong with what we're wearing?"

"In a few minutes, you will see," Reelie smiled thinly.

I gave Eric a look but he just shrugged and I went back to petting Loki.

In truth, I did see what Reelie meant by appropriate clothing.

God, there was a big divide in the classes in this city. Sure, we had a sort of dress code, but that was to help identify us.

I could instantly tell who was who, but we didn't have much of a wealth divide but here, there was. Here, it looked like an old-era prison with the way some wore their outfits.

The factioned were dressed up smartly, wearing iron white shirts and dark grey trousers and skirts, and some had black instead of grey. They had bands of bronze or silver around their arms or on the hems of their clothes.

I asked about that.

"Oh, the bands are to help identify our status," She said, pointing to the two bands on her blazer. "I'm Silver, meaning I am an assistant to a Gold or work for an establishment which caters to them personally. Bronze are your other workings, food, labour, office."

"Who are the Golds?" Eric asked. "I don't see any gold bands."

"Don't be silly. Golds don't need bands. You know who's Gold and who isn't.".

I nodded, realising, "Golds are Divergents, Eric."

He glanced outside again, staring at the flashy individuals that wore too bright colours with so many shades of this and that and bags and shoes. They were fashionable yet very much impractical, wearing stuff that wouldn't be in the workplace. I supposed they didn't have to work, not like the rest of them. They were elites, set high above the rest purely because of their blood and lack of faction.

"They get treated like royalty, I see," He said under his breath.

"No," Reelie frowned. "They get treated as they should. Golds, or Divergent as you know them, are genetically purer than the rest of us. Why shouldn't they be treated better?"

I nudged Eric subtly, shaking my head to which he knew to drop the topic. "I see. We don't have this hierarchy of Divegents being better so we have a harder time understanding."

"It's fine. Perhaps you will come to like the city and stay,"

I very much doubted that.

)()()(

The hotel we were staying in was extravagant, even by New York standards.

A whole group of silver bands were standing before us as we got into the reception area. They were all smiling and being polite. I didn't like their falseness, especially when the manager came up to us and shook Eric's hand but looked almost scandalous when I put mine out. The manager was surprised I would even offer to touch him voluntarily.

I didn't like this place already but I tried to power through it.

We got situated in our room, a nice suite on one of the top floors. The bedroom itself was the size of my apartment. Then the living room area was even bigger. When I saw the beds they provided for us, and listening to the manager explain, I bristled in anger but I knew this wasn't the right time.

With there being a larger than a king-sized bed, I was surprised with the small cot the manager had insisted was for the use of the 'factioned man'. I kept my expression plain and when he left, I just frowned.

"Not a fucking chance," I shook my head as I opened up my suitcase. "These rules are pissing me right off."

Eric laughed, "And you were telling me to play nice when you look like you're ready to hit the next person that comes in here."

"Because they're all prejudiced sons of bitches!"

"It's fine," He shrugged. "We're only stuck here for the next week and a bit. Nothing I can't handle."

"You're not sleeping on that cot," I said instantly. "It's a foot too small and I'm not having you complain about your neck or your back all week."

He smirked at that before a knock at the door interrupted us.

Eric opened it, revealing Reelie with a whole rack of clothes which she brought in with her.

"I had to go get this rack," She said, pulling it in before separating half of the black clothing bags to one side and pushing the other away too. "The bags with the gold lining are Alexis', and the others are Eric's. Pick one and put it on, we have other things to attend to soon. I'll wait in the lounge. Please come out when you are ready."

She left with a scathing look to Eric to follow her out. He didn't, going to the rack and pulling the zip.

He snorted, lifting out a grey shirt and slacks, "What am I? Abnegation? Fuck that. Max said nothing about having to dress like them."

"He said it wasn't expected but it would be polite," I said, opening one of mine up before frowning. I pulled out the lemon yellow dress, long but form-fitting, enough so that it would be impractical. "Uh, no."

I went through the rest. While I liked a good dress, I didn't like ones I couldn't move in. Even if I was in a place where I didn't need to fight or keep peace physically, I liked the option.

"Why are they such ugly colours?" I picked up another dress, orange this time with stripes. "I'll look like a bee in that."

Eric snorted, finding the darkest grey shirt before putting it on. That was the only piece he wore from there, wearing the rest of his own clothes. He was not going to be wearing those little loafers they left for him.

I tried to not laugh at the simple thought of Eric wearing something similar to what Abnegations wore. It was hard to even imagine and hilarious.

I was just glad I brought my own clothes, including some dresses but I just continued to wear my basic outfit. I couldn't be bothered to get changed.

We went down to the lounge and Reelie's face said that she expected us to have gotten changed. It quickly changed into a pleasant smile.

Loki sat at a heel at my feet, only moving when I did. He was being very good as he was surrounded by strangers.

"You have a small conference to attend later this week," Reelie said. "Outfits will be provided where necessary. However, the schedule is quite free today. There are just a few appearances and acquaintances you need to make before you can settle for the night."

And that's what we did. We met a few people, and had dinner with someone from a semi-high position in the government before we were allowed to retire for the night.

)()()(

I didn't know when we woke up and I didn't care.

The bed was warm and I refused to get out of the bed when Eric did, letting him take the first shower as Loki snuck into the bed.

Eric laughed when he came out, drying his hair with a towel, "Your dog took my space."

"You left it open," I grumbled into Loki's warmth, opening one eye to glance at Eric. "Gym?"

"Yeah, get up,"

I sat up with a grumble, stretching with a yawn before I got dressed. A sports bra and leggings would do for now. I'd take a shower later.

We went down to the gym, finding it was still early in the morning when we awoke. Loki stayed in the room for now.

The gym was high-tech and spacious so Eric and I started on stretches in silence before we got on the treadmills.

After our warmups, we did pushups. I did my sets while Eric started another set, making me sit on his back while he did them.

"Move it," I told him, watching him push himself up. "One. Two. Three. Four. You're doing at least twenty before I'm getting off."

"Yeah?" He turned his head a little to glance at me. "I'm getting to forty then."

"Try it,"

I felt him work through all of the pushups, sitting steadily on his back as he did them. He got to the thirties and I felt him begin to tire but he did them. I got off after that, holding out a hand to help him up.

Then we began to do some friendly sparring, needing to wake up some more before we had to deal with other people.

We circled each other, carefully planning our steps as we went. Eric had an advantage over me when we sparred. He was the one to teach me all the techniques so he knew how to evade mine better than I did his. He just forgot that he wasn't my only teacher during that time.

We weren't sparring to win, just to practise our mavours this time. We wanted to work up a sweat and make sure our muscles were working properly, remembering our training.

It wasn't until we were sure we remembered, perfectly, and then we began to fight for real. Nothing major but we let ourselves get into the groove of fighting, attacking and defending as needed.

Eric had me in a headlock, just enough to immobilise me, when a whole group came into the gym, armed with guns and little armour.

"Hands up!" One of them shouted. "Let her go!"

But Eric had already let me go. He did as soon as we caught sight of them. He stood so he was in front of me, ever the protector.

They trained their guns at Eric and not me.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" I sidestepped Eric.

"We got word that you were being attacked,"

"Attacked?" I asked.

"He had you in a headlock,"

"Yeah, because we're sparring," I said it like it was obvious. "You've put your guns on two ambassadors of a closed city. Put your guns down before I turn this into a diplomatic matter!"

They quickly holstered their guns, filtering out of the room when I waved my hand.

"Stupid fuckers," I grabbed my water bottle from the side. I took a drink from it with a scowl.

"Come on before they actually manage to have their safety off this time," Eric said.

"You saw that too?"

"Yeah. You would think that if they had guns, they would know how to use them,"

Reelie came storming in, her hurried footsteps in her heels the first thing we heard before she came into the gym.

"I heard what happened. What happened to have guards come?"

"We were sparring," I gestured to both of us. "And they thought we were properly fighting. We were but not aggressively. We always spar. There's nothing dangerous about it."

"It's always dangerous when a Bronze decides to fight," She said.

My blood boiled at her tone. She was calling Eric a Bronze, someone who only did labour work and shit because they were factioned.

"A Bronze?" I made sure my tone was full of disbelief. "He's not a Bronze. We are both Ambassadors, Reelie, and I suggest you start treating us as such or there will be more problems than just us simply sparring. You don't want the word back home is that you have been negligent in the manner in which you treat us. I doubt Chicago would be happy to hear that."

"Alexis," Eric touched my elbow, giving me a look. "Come on. It's not a big deal."

I lowered my voice, hissing at him, "It is when they're treating you like shit. It's the same as when Chicago didn't know, treating all Divergents like they're abominations." I turned back to Reelie, "I expect this to never happen again or I will inform our city about the discrepancies in the way you've treated us."

I left for my room.

)()()(

I wasn't happy for the rest of the day and Eric could tell. After a day of supervised sightseeing, we came back to the hotel and Eric drew a bath.

"Go take a fucking bath," He threw a towel at me while I sat on the bed, taking my shoes off. "You've been grumpy all day and I refuse to go to bed when you're like this. You'll be even fucking worse in the morning otherwise."

"Asshole,"

"Bath. Go." He crossed his arms. "I ordered some green tea so that'll come soon. Get your ass in that bathtub and relax."

"What if I don't want to take a bath?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes. I could see the fury in his eyes and it just made me more tempted to piss him off.

"I put fucking bubbles in it, Alexis," He snapped at me. "I made a monstrosity of a bubble bath for you so get your pretty little ass into that bath before I shove you in it."

"Aww," I stood up, taking the towel with me. "You think my ass is pretty?"

He shoved me into the bathroom with a scowl as I laughed, letting him.

He really did make me a bath, complete with a cup of green tea which he brought in a couple of minutes later. Loki followed him into the bathroom while I was in the bath, yipping and barking playfully. It wasn't until Eric bent over to hand me my cup that Loki decided to jump on Eric.

I barely got my tea out of the way before Eric was shoved into the bathtub, Loki following him right after.

"Loki!" I shouted as the dog just grinned at me. "You're a bastard."

He jumped out of the bath, leaving Eric to fumble his way out of it. I pushed him out before I got out too, finding that there wasn't much water left after two people and a dog went in.

I wrapped my towel around me, pointing at the door, "Out."

Loki dutifully followed my orders, trotting out of the bathroom to leave a wet Eric and me in my towel.

"I hate your dog," Eric said, stripping off his wet layers. His hair stuck to his forehead. "I really do."

"You're just mad you took an involuntary bath," I snickered, walking out to get my clothes from my bag. I changed into a tank top and new underwear. "Serves you right for making me take one."

"Shut up,"