Chapter 16

Chapter 16.

My muscles ache and feel swollen. I struggle to get my trousers to go past my leg. My body is covered in cuts and bruises, initiation is having its effects on me physically and mentally. I briefly look in the mirror to see what I look like, my body seems toned and my shoulders more broad. I guess I am filling out to be a woman. Yesterday we had to run through the city and the streets of the faction less and nearly force myself to ignore their cries and begs for food. In Abnegation I would have gladly given them my last bit of food. But I'm not in Abnegation no more. The day before that we all had to scale the rock face of the chasm which nearly killed me.

Today we were woken by Four and ordered to meet him by the train station in five minutes, where we are going I don't know. I tie my hair up and run to along with the other transfers until I catch up with Connor. His usually tidy brown hair is messy and a little all over the place...but his thread tugs at my body to be constantly drawn to him. Even with a black eye.

We all walk along the chasm. “I wonder where we are going.” He says. “Maybe to invade another faction.” He mutters. I draw a small smile. “I doubt it.” I say. To be honest I am a little annoyed with him, it has been three days since our...contact and he hasn't even acknowledged it. But as I have said before me and him will never happen. So I don't understand why I have my hopes up. We walk outside of the headquarters, the sky above is like a dark grey and the city still has the dim flickering street lights turned on. Most people are asleep.

“Maybe we are going outside of the fence.” Connor says to me.

“Maybe...” I reply silently. We walk to the train tracks in silence. “What do you think is out there. Outside of the city?” I ask a question which has been tugging at me since I was a child. Connor raises an eyebrow. “I don't know, places that never recovered from the war I guess. Cities such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis” He answers. I remember those cities from a history class years ago. Chicago was part of a country called the United States along with those cities that he mentioned.

“What about you?” He asks.

I look down to the grey stone flooring. “Perhaps we were put in here.” I say quietly. I don't know why but I've always believed that we were deliberately put in here. Put in the faction system, when I asked Marcus what was beyond the metal fence he always seemed so distant. Maybe he knows the true reason behind the factions. Maybe that is where we are going today. It unnerves me a little that we may be exploring the cracks and crannies of Chicago but I get a feeling of excitement. I may even get a little explanation what my Divergence means. I hear the rattling of the train tracks and the sound of a buzzing engine.

I turn my head and see two faint red lights head towards us. A few of us prepare to jump onto it. Again the thought of having to jump on a moving train makes me feel nauseous, last time doing it I would have either ended up dead or faction less if I wasn't for Connor's help.

I follow him running as the train passes us, he is the first one on to the train. Shayne follows, helping Olivia on, I grip the metal rail and wince at my aching muscles pinch me. I find the strength and pull myself into the car. I rest my head in relief and accomplishment. Eventually everyone gets on. Four stands in the centre of us with Uriah standing beside him.

“Alright. As I can see some of you are bruised and battered mentally...and physically. But our harsh teaching is put in place for a purpose. To make sure you don't quit and to see who has what it takes to succeed in this faction.” Four says glancing his eyes through us. Oliver stares at me in frustration. He grits his chipped tooth and points at it. My doing. In Abnegation I would have never have done that. Uriah clears his throat. It is strange seeing him like this. In charge. The other night I saw him with Marlene and he seemed...normal. But now he is proudly holding his head up and standing tall to address us.

“As Dauntless you will be required to protect the habitants of this city against the outside -” Uriah begins.

“But the outside is dead nobody is alive out there just us!” Jessica shouts in distaste. Like she knows everything. Uriah stares at her with his dark brown eyes and folds his arms. “Well KNOW IT ALL that could change at any time. Which is why we need to be on guard at all times. Now some of you may end up guarding the fence perhaps the most important job in the city. Which is why you need to be in your guard at all times. Daydreaming is an absolute no, no. Another point of Dauntless initiation is to see who is the best out of those who pass.” Uriah explains taking Jessica down a peg or two. “Now first stage is nearly over but work still needs to be done, this is the easy part. The hard part hasn't begun yet.” Four says.

I swallow hard at that fact. The hard part hasn't begun yet? What else is there? If I am struggling at this point then I know for certain that I am going to end up dead.

The train stops in Amity. Fields, trees, the colors of red and yellow are the only things my eyes show me for miles. As soon as we step off the car my nose is filled by the smell of fresh fruit and flowers. This is a glimpse of what could have been my new life if I had chosen Amity. A few people who are picking blueberries stare at us as we walk, though I cannot say I am surprised. Dauntless and Amity are two different factions there are people smiling happily and carrying baskets of fruit; then there are us dressed in black, focused whilst our instructors carry guns. We all follow them to the fence. My feet walk slowly on grass until a girl shouts my name.

“Sonia, Sonia!” I turn my head and see a girl with palish skin, platinum curly blond hair donning a red dress that flows in the wind as she runs towards me. She smiles and I notice the gap in her front two teeth. Cheryl Lopham.

She greets me with hug, she smells of strawberries. “Oh it's so nice to see you. How are you?” she asks me. She puts her soft hand on my shoulders, I flinch at her touching my bruises. She lowers her eyebrows and focuses on my face (a slight bruise on my cheek and a slightly busted lip) from the look of her face I can tell what she is mentally asking me, “What the hell has happened to you?” The change of thick Abnegation grey robes to black t-shirts that have my arms exposed and parts of my shoulder as well as bruises will be a shock.

“It is nothing Cheryl, really. They come with initiation, I mean look at us.” I say trying to reassure her, make this situation seem lighter and to try and convince her the scars on my arms are from initiation. Not my own father...I should cover them up; but it is a sign to everybody who has dared to hurt me that I am still alive and I will keep fighting. That these scars are just mere gold engravings on a trophy. Cheryl's look of concern doesn't disappear. Instead it remains on her face like a tattoo.

“But S-Sonia you're covered in bruises...I always thought you were clumsy but this just -” She begins to speak as she moves her fingers to the tattoo on my left wrist. “A tattoo? My gosh you have changed going on at this rate, the next time I'll see you will have a lip piercing and a shaved head. You look older. You look like Dauntless.” She says breaking a smile. I look to the floor, If only I could act like a Dauntless. She didn't know I was transferring to Dauntless (well neither did I until the last moment) and I feel as though I have let her down. I checked my name on the board last night. I'm still in red Olivia won her fight against Oliver two days ago after Shayne distracted him.

“My name is Ruby now. I never like Sonia.” is the only thing I can say out of my sudden sensation of disappointment. A smile creeps up on her face not a happy one but rather a sympathetic one. One that says that she is only smiling because I'm a stupid little girl. I can't say I feel any different, all I am is a girl trying to play a grown ups game. “Bold and brave. As I have always known you.” She says quietly. I smile slightly though as soon as Four's shouting happens it quickly dissapears.

“Ruby, Ruby! Get back here. This isn't a quick meeting” He sharply spits. I nearly fall into the nearby rose bush from the similarities in the tone of his voice how it matches Marcus'.

“I need to get going. Bye.” I quickly say to Cheryl as she stares in astonishment at Four's face. Probably realising he looks like the boy who lived next door to her in Abnegation. Because he is the boy who lived next door in Abnegation. Tobias Eaton. The boy who defied against his father and became Four.

I turn my back on Cheryl one more time and rush up with the others. Of course Jessica, Lewis and Oliver with his chipped tooth are waiting to say something negative about me. “Oh look, look another Stiff. Did her parents beat her as well.” Jessica says gingerly.

“Wouldn't surprise me considering that it seems as though child-abuse is a regular fashion in that scum of a faction.” Oliver says. I am about to stab into him by using a comeback but Four responds quickly.

“Erudite know it alls; this isn't a meeting. You are training to be soldiers so concentrate.” He orders.

We all walk in silence to the fence that is wrapped around the city like a large metal snake. The fence is only slightly smaller than the Hub building and covered in black dots; the Dauntless guarding the city and risking their lives. It is now I realise that maybe, just maybe there is only a small line in selflessness and bravery. We walk up a set of metal steps and stand on a platform to overlook the outside world. The world beyond the Amity farms. I am stood in between Connor and Olivia who is laughing with Shayne. The big question rolls of my tongue. “What do you think is out there beyond the Amity farms?” I ask. Shayne looks at me with his deep brown eyes. “Unicorns.” he responds in a high voice mocking Olivia from the other day. I try hard not to break out in a laughing fit because if I do I'll look stupid and maybe accidentally press down on the trigger of my gun. Olivia glares at him then back hands the top of his arm. Then she looks at me, “Maybe there isn't anything out there. Perhaps desserts and wastelands. We might just be the only people alive in this world.” She says in a lower voice. She turns her face to see Four who was smiling at my question. “What about you Four?” she asks.

“I think they built the fence for a reason.” He simply says. I move my eyes along the fence carefully taking in each and every turn, metal pole, nuts and bolts I can see. Nothing, except the gates to allow the Amity out on to the farms. Which leads me to think;

'Maybe we aren't suppose to be isolated from the rest of the world...'