Chapter 13

Riley tried to be interested in the game. She really did. But her mind kept drifting back to the events that happened only an hour ago. Seeing her father in Dauntless sent her spiraling, but hiding in Eric's apartment was mortifying.

Out of all the doors she could have opened. It had to be his. He didn't yell at her as she expected, and he even walked her to the train. At first, she was sure it was a joke, but she was wrong. Eric was kind to her, even zipping up her vest to keep her safe. Riley couldn't understand why he acted so different with her but was too afraid to ask. "Riley," the voice belonged to her brother. "Stay focused."

"Sorry, T-" his name nearly fell from her mouth. "Four."

He raised an eyebrow, questing if she was alright without speaking. She gave him a weak nod. Their team was split into two groups, thanks to Tris, who spotted their vibrant flag in the tower. Riley was near her brother, and Tris was on his other side. Her body was hunched over as they all walked in a huddle towards the tower. "I can see them," Edward called out when he spotted Al looking over the wall on the opposite side.

"Go," Will shouted. She was in the group going for the flag while the other half went after Eric.

Suddenly, flares were thrown at them, a tactic to allow Eric's team to see them better. The darts began flying from the other side. "Stay with me," Four spoke to the small group. They slowly started migrating in between the boxes, yet to be seen by the others. Once they were steady, he glanced at Tris. "Go."

"Come on, Christina." The two girls began traveling towards the tower. Riley was tasked with staying by Four's side to cover him.

"Get them," Eric's voice roared over the group. She couldn't tell how far away he was.

"You good," Four was the only one by her. Their team was now split into pairs.

"Yeah," Riley had her back pressed into the metal crates.

"Good. Cover me." She moved onto her knees and set the gun on top of the box. As Four ran forward, she shot at anyone near him. It took him only a few seconds to get to the other side. "Riley, come on." Four lifted his gun to cover her. Riley shifted back to her feet and began shuffling towards him.

"Okay." Once on by his side, they ran across the gravel path towards another box. Riley raised her gun as Meg turned the corner, firing two shots straight into her leg.

Meanwhile, Four had pushed forward. He grabbed the barrel of Mike's gun. There was someone with him, and Four used his body as a shield to protect himself. "Stay down," Four leaned back into the metal frame. He held his gun in front of him as he waited.

Riley watched as he moved ahead to shoot but was nearly hit in the face by the other person. Suddenly, an idea formed in her head. She waved her hand at Four, catching his attention. Using her hands, she gestured to him, signaling she would go around and get them from the other side. He nodded.

Being as quiet as possible, she stayed close to the ground and crawled around the box to get the person. But she was only able to take one step around the back when she heard a pained groan. It didn't sound like Four, and she relaxed. Rounding the corner with her gun up, her eyes found Eric on the ground. He had been hit by two darts, one in the leg and the other in the chest.

Four stood above him, his gun still aimed at him. Riley looked up but noticed an approaching blond man. It was Edward. He raised his weapon to shoot Four, but luckily Riley detected him. "Four," she called out. Without wasting any time, she pulled the trigger twice. The first dart missed, but the second hit him in the thigh.

"Ah," Edward cried out, dropping to the ground.

Four turned to the man, a smirk appearing on his face. "Nice timing."

"Thank you," Riley glanced down at Eric yet again. His eyes were on her, and he ripped the dart from his chest.

"Come on." She didn't need to be told twice. Moving cautiously around Eric, she joined her brother's side. The two hopped back onto the path. Their guns pointed at anyone approaching. "Keep your eyes trained on the alleys."

"Got it," Riley peered around a corner, but there was nothing. Four copied her actions, but a dart went whirling past his head. He rolled on the ground, firing his gun and hitting the person in the chest. They collapsed to the ground, revealing themselves to be Ethan. At that moment, Tris's voice screaming in joy caught their attention. The cheering was instant when people noticed the neon flag in her hands. They had won the game. Riley beamed up at her friends. Christina and Tris cheerfully waved the flag in the air. "That was fun."

Four glanced at her, "you thought so?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "More fun than running around the building."

He chuckled and motioned for them to start heading back to the trains. "Can I ask you something," he lowered his voice, not wanting anyone to hear their conversation.

"Of course," Riley started to grow nervous.

The other initiates had begun making their way towards the tracks as well, but remained far enough away that they couldn't hear them. "Why were you walking with Eric?"

Her cheeks flushed, but the dark sky masked them. "I ran into him," it wasn't a complete lie.

"And he just walked with you?"

"Kinda," Riley didn't know what to say. "I was hiding from someone, and he found me."

This caught Four's attention. "Who," his tone was stern. "Did someone threaten you?"

"No," she huffed. "I saw," Riley fumbled with the words. "I saw Dad."

There was a silence, and in that quietness, she could feel a pair of eyes on her. Craning her neck to see who it was, she locked eyes with Eric. "Listen to me," Four grabbed her arm. They stopped in the middle of the path. It caught the other leader's attention. "You did the right thing, but be careful. Eric is not your friend, okay?"

"Tobias." His name spilled from her lips, and she mentally cursed at herself. "Four, I mean Four."

"Go," he whispered. "People are looking." Riley wanted to question him, but the stern look on his face told her to keep her mouth closed. Not wanting to create a scene, she began shuffling down the path.

She thought about his words, wanting to know why he said what he did. They weren't friends, at least, she didn't think so. Eric was sometimes kind to her, but he could have pitied her. Riley wasn't sure what was going on, but her thoughts were interrupted by Christina. The shorter girl jumped on her back and instantly slid to the ground. "Look," the dark-haired girl shoved the bright flag in her face. "We won!"

"I know," Riley laughed, pushing the item away from her. "I was there." Christina rolled her eyes and continued to twirl the flag around. Her body was shaking with joy, clearly thrilled about capturing the flag.

Al moved to Riley's free side, nearly on top of her. Their arms brushed together every few steps. She hardly noticed him, too busy thinking. Trying to be sly, she took a quick look at Eric, but yet again, he was already staring at her. "I'm so happy," Christina bounced up and down. "We should do something?"

Will sighed, "like what?" Riley knew he cared for Christina, but her outgoing and excentric nature always startled him.

Christina gasped, "we should get tattoos!" There was a chorus of no's and boo from Al. "You guys are so boring."

"It took me forever to decided on one tattoo," Will argued. "I can't imagine doing another one."

"Fine," Christina mumbled in defeat.

~~~~~~~~~~

Riley laughed as Christina stumbled, her foot slipping off the step. Will was quick with his actions, his arm slipping around her waist to keep her steady. "Why, thank you," Christina grinned, her head falling back.

They were waiting for the final results on the scoreboard. Riley's heart was racing at the thought of possibly going home. Tris was by their side, a glum look on her face. There was a very high chance she would be leaving tonight, but still, the group held out hope she might stay.

Riley's eyes landed on Eric once more. He was standing across the room, having just walked down the stairs. It was a sign they had finished scoring the initiates. His eyes quickly found her, as if he was searching for her. Riley looked away almost immediately, but her eyes went back to him after a couple of seconds.

To her surprise, he had yet to look away. Riley fought the urge to turn away and held his gaze. She tilted her head to the side, wondering what he was thinking at that moment. Perhaps it was a look of sympathy, knowing she would be leaving. Or maybe it was something else. Something she wanted so desperately to understand. To her disappointment, Al stepped in front of her.

She leaned back, away from him, and his shoulder slightly dropped. "Why were you walking with Eric earlier?" The question came tumbling from his mouth Al.

"What?"

Al shifted nervously, "you're with him a lot. Any reason why?"

"Woah," Christina spoke first. "Could you be any less subtle?"

"Christina," Will nudged her.

Riley had a confused look on her face, not understanding why he was asking. "What are you talking about?" Will slapped a hand over the shorter girl's mouth, keeping her from speaking.

"Nothing," Al shook his head.

Will let his hand drop, and the girl smirked. Christina seemed to know something that she didn't. Riley didn't like the way Al was staring at her. He had a look of pain and possibly envy? However, when she went to ask, someone spoke first. "Gather round." Everyone was up and out of their seats in a flash. Riley slid off the metal table and stayed close to Christina's side. Wanting to distance herself from Al and his odd line of constant questioning. "If you are ranked above the red line, you will be moving to the second stage of training." Max stood above them. "If you are below, we will waste no more time with you." Riley was growing nervous. "Here are your rankings."

The leaderboard began to light up, and Riley nearly gasped. Will was the highest on the list in their group. He was ranked seven. Behind him in spot eight was her name. The cheers began to grow louder and louder with more names appearing.

Riley had no been expecting to be ranked this high. In spot nine was Christina. The names kept appearing, and Tris's name appeared in spot twenty. Al was spot twenty-one, the last name above the red line. "Oh my god," Christina cheered. "You made it."

Riley smiled at the girl, a surge of happiness bubbling inside. "You get to stay!" Tris didn't speak, still in a state of shock. Christina threw an arm over the two girls' shoulders, bringing them in for a group hug. They couldn't be happier.