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XXX

CHAPTER TWO (chp.8)

When I wake I follow routine. Turn the alarm off and walk over to the mirror, splashing my face with water. I take a few moment to make sure I have the right expression on. That my eyes aren't too light, who's going to be intimidated by someone with bright eyes?

Next I change, grabbing a jacket as I shuffle on my shoes and leave. I need to get to breakfast early today because there's some setting up to do for the initiates training. I can't help but wonder how they'll go.

How a certain Stiff will do.

The halls are empty as I walk through and when I reach the cafeteria there aren't many people there. At least Laurens here though. I grab my food and sit down across from her. "Eric's looking for you." She tells me.

I nod, not knowing what to say. Zeke crosses my mind and I look up. "Did you talk to Zeke yet? How'd Uriah go?" I'm not worried about the boy, but it will be interesting to see if he's as good as his brother brags.

"He's one of the best." She says regretfully.

She sounds so depressed I can't help but laugh. "I can see why that can upset you."

Lauren crosses her arms and pouts. "I tried to scare him yesterday." She hints, but won't elaborate.

Ah. She's disappointed she can't have as much fun as she was hoping. "I'm sure you'll get to him eventually." I want to mention the Stiff, ask her for her opinion, but the words die in my throat.

It doesn't matter anyway, because I hear Eric call my name across the room. I nod to Lauren, "gotta go." Then I stuff the rest of the food in my mouth and get up.

Eric stands to greet me, no doubt it's because he doesn't want to appear smaller than me. "I've got stuff to do today. You take them." His arms cross over his chest, daring me to disagree.

"I was planning to anyway," I start. "I assume you'll be there for tomorrow?" No one really explained to me just how involved in all this Eric would be. I had assumed that this sort of thing would happen, and had prepared myself just in case.

He nods then grins. "Have fun with them Four."

"Will do." I reply, because I know that's what he'd want to hear.

I can hear his laughter as I walk away. Something is very wrong with that man.

XXX

"The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight." They've all lined up in front of me, each with varying levels of focus. I give a gun to each of them, barely hesitating as I press a gun into the Stiffs palm. I don't look at her.

I'm not sure how she will do. Already I can see her hesitence in holding it, no doubt from her years as Abnegation. "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."

"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 weighed equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time."

It's normally easy to see who will do well in Stage one. I can tell that the Stiff may not be one of them. Is that possible, could she be cut so soon? Factionless?

Factionless.

I pause.

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear," I continue on, stopping myself from distraction. "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."

I wonder how different it would of been ten years ago. Whether each stage would of been easier or harder.

"But what…" The Candor boy, Peter, yawns through his words. "What does firing a gun have to do with…bravery?" He waves the gun around and I narrow my eyes.

I flip the gun in my hand, pressing it to Peters forehead and click a bullet into place.

The boy freezes with his lips parted, the yawn dead in his mouth. I can see it now, his eyes. A flash of Erics. This boy is trouble. "Wake. Up," I hiss. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it." Although I don't particularly want to, I lower my gun.

He's just like him, just like Eric. I can see it easily.

His eyes harden and I await a snard reply eagerly. But wisely he remains silent. "And to answer your question…you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself."

I turn on my heel at the end of the row. "This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch me." I take a deep breath and focus on the board, choosing a circle to target quickly. I grab the gun with both hands and adjust my feet, thinking back to when I learnt all this, I shoot.

It goes perfectly through the circle.

XXX

Unsurprisingly the Stiff performs poorly. As they break for lunch I can't help but be disappointed as I pack everything away. I shouldn't expect her to be able to fire a gun perfectly of course, but I was hoping for more than a few close hits.

At lunch I join Zeke and Shauna, slightly surprised to see her there. She normally sits with her family, but I suppose they must be busy. "Zeke was just telling me that a Stiff was first to jump." She begins, turning to me.

"Lauren was surprised as well," I reply. "She can't handle a gun though."

Suddenly I remember about the fighting that the Stiff will no doubt take place in. My stomach quivers. Knowing eric he'll love to mess with her, she's small, no doubt entertaining to watch be beaten to a pulp.

Zeke laughs. "No Stiff ever get's used to those things quickly," He lets out another chuckle. "I'd be shocked to hear otherwise."

Shauna nods, agreeing. "I'm sure she'll be alright with other things. Abnegation transfers always have trouble with firearms," She pauses. "At least that's what I've heard."

I know I need to calm down, because my hands are clenched and I know there's a grimace on my face. What does it matter? She's not important.

My hands relax slightly and I let out a breath. She'll be alright, I'll make sure she can fight.

After a few moments I remember about the conversation I had about Uriah. "Did you end up catching up with Lauren?"

Zeke nods, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "I never doubted him."

No, he wouldn't have. Zeke and Uriah are some of the closest brothers I'd seen. I doubt I would believe it if he ranked anything other than first. Speaking of which, Uriah enters the room looking exhausted and Zeke jumps up.

"Go." Shauna tells him. "Don't embarrass him in front of the other initiates though." She smirks as he leaves, as though she knows he's going to do exactly that.

Zeke immediately pulls Uriah into a hug, causing the boy to groan in protest and his friends to laugh. "You're worried about the Stiff." Shauna says suddenly.

I would have started and immediately denied her request, had I not spent two years gaining my composure. I turn back to her slowly and shrug. "Not worried, I just think it's going to be a waste teaching her. It's clear she isn't going to make it."

Her eyes flash and she's suddenly leaning closer to me. "Don't give me that bullshit. We've known each other for years now, I can tell when something's bothering you." She leans back then and I cross my arms.

Nobody should know about the girl, about Tris. About the fact I spend far too much time looking at her. Thinking about her.

I turn my head.

I don't need help.

XXX

Today I won't have to watch the Stiff fight. I'm glad and annoyed at the same time. I just want to get it over with, see whether she will do well or fail. I stand in the middle and eye each of the initiates.

"As I said this morning," I begin, "next you will learn how to fight. The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenges —which you will need, if you intend to survive life as a Dauntless.

"We will go over technique today, and tomorrow you will start to fight each other," There were an odd number of them, I wonder who Eric is going to sit out. "So I recommend that you pay attention. Those who don't learn fast will get hurt."

I name a few different punches, demonstrating each one as I do. I'm glad to see each of their eyes glued on me, especially the Stiffs. She needed to pay attention and learn quickly.

When they go off to try it themselves I watch the boy, Peter, closely for a few moments. Unfortunately he's pretty good. I don't bother suggesting he pay attention to his footing, which I notice is sloppy. If someone was fast enough they could knock him off his feet.

Next I watch Edward and am pleased to find that he doesn't have too many faults. "If you're going up against someone of the same size, change to this." I quickly show him a different way to punch that would work perfectly against Peter.

It aims low which is a little difficult to perfect, but the boy picks it up quickly.

I move onto the girls, the loudmouth Candor is pretty good, but I don't admit it. "Don't keep your knees bent so much, it leaves you open for this."

As I knock in her knee and force her arm behind her back she begins to panic. "Fix it."

Then I walk off.

She's still crouched on the ground when I stand behind the Stiff.

Hopefully she'll realise her place now. Better I scare her than Eric. He wouldn't soften the blow like I had.

I turn my attention to the Stiff and follow her body carefully. It was a greedy thing to do, but I felt like I deserved it. Surprisingly enough she was attacking the bag without hesitence. "You don't have much muscle," I decide, "which means you're better off using your knees and elbows. You can put more power behind them."

Before I can stop myself my hand is pressed against his stomach, my fingers curling around her ribcage. She turns and stares at me, her mouth slightly open.

Stop looking at her.

"Never forget to keep tension here," I finish quietly. What was I doing?

Swiftly I lift my hand and walk away, hurrying to find another initiate to distract myself with.

That comes in the form of a very hesitant Al. If he was having this much trouble hitting a punching bag, I didn't want to know how he'd do in fights.

XXX

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