The Initiate chapter 13

Chapter 13.

We sit around Olivia’s bed; me and Connor. Shayne is in the dorm we asked Jason to look over him before we left to see Olivia. She lies on the bed, her eyes have black circles around them and her nose is swollen and purple. Her lips are covered in cuts.

“Where’s Shayne?” she asks after taking a bite of the muffin me and Connor snuck into here.

“He’s back in dorm; Eric punished him after he stopped the fight between you and Jessica. Shayne had to hang off the chasm for three minutes.” Connor says. I learned he won his fight against another Candor transfer.

Olivia sighs and shakes her head. “I’m never going to pass am I? I owe you guys one for saving me countless times this week.” She says pushing a strand of ginger hair out of her way.

“Don’t be stupid, we are transfers from the opposite factions of this one. We’ll be fine and we’re friends right we have each other’s back.” I say.

“Where am I on the leader board?” Olivia asks. I look down to my knees, Olivia and I are both below the line, considering we both easily lost our fights. We are both in danger of failing initiation and becoming factionless. “Well?”She asks.

“We’re both below the line, but Eric put us in unfair fights.” I say.

“You maybe, but it turns out I am a coward.” Olivia says she lays her head back down on the white pillow and sighs. “Anyways I’ve got some good news the docs have checked me over again earlier today; nothing more than cuts and bruises luckily I’ll be out tomorrow.” I smile, hopefully her fight with Jessica will be something that will make Olivia fight harder. I know it will with me.

The next day we were all fighting again; Olivia lost her fight to Lewis yet another unfair fight thanks to me pissing off Eric, Connor on the other hand won his fight easily against Oliver and Shayne beat another male from Erudite. I don’t have any matches today so I just work on my punching and kicking on the leather pads. I hit them that hard my arms are the same colour as some of the Dauntless’ hair. My loose fitting black t-shirt is now sticking to me because of the sweat that is coming out of me. The pain of my bullet wound isn’t noticeable and my body seems less fragile. Connor and the live pulse he carries that almost electrifies me with his stare walks over drenched in sweat. He has a cut lip but Oliver has a broken nose.

I try not being distracted but he pulls me back into the trance I get when he is near. “Any reason why you are here?” I ask slightly angry. Angry at the fact he distracts me so easily without having to do much.

“Just checking the local competition out and here to tell you that your technique is all wrong.” He replies smiling again. He wipes off the last of the blood coming out of his cut lip with a tissue. I look at him, I frown at him. “Really?” I ask.

He nods his head before speaking. “Yeah. You’re skinny so you don’t have any strength so I would suggest you use your elbows as they are the hardest part of your body. And you’re quite tall so you could potentially be quick and be able to kick to your opponents head when you have the right chance. Another thing is that you are flat footed which can greatly limit your agility, stay on the balls of your feet as you will be able to move quickly.” He explains. I am astounded by how much he knows about fighting. No wonder he has won his two fights easily.

“How do you know all of this?” I ask.

“I’m Erudite we know everything.” He says. “And me and my friend Edward use to do a lot of hand to hand combat for fun. We even used to study it at point in Erudite, a-along with…my older brother.” He looks down to the floor and scratches the back of his long neck, his sweat glistened in the blue lights that hang from the ceiling.

“Did Edward come to Dauntless?” I ask leaning on the punch bag. I don’t want to ask about his brother, by the looks and sounds of it he and Connor were close and to this day his death still affects Connor.

“He did yeah, from what I heard he was doing well until somebody stabbed him in the eye with a butter knife because they were second and wanted to be first. It didn’t work out for them though they ended up fifth in overall initiation.” I receive a feeling of sickness and shock in my body, I want to pass initiation like the next person but I wouldn’t go that far to pass. I guess even with the faction system bad people still exist.

“Oh right what happened to Edward?” I ask untying my hair and sweeping it over to the right side of my body.

“It was a malicious attack so if Edward decided to stay he would have likely to be attacked again. Also Dauntless wouldn’t want a one eyed soldier now would they? So he decided to leave and become factionless with his girlfriend. I haven’t seen Edward or Myra in years they may not be alive being factionless and all.” He says. I rewind my mind back through the many factionless I have seen on a day to day basis, trying to rekindle a figure of a young, one eyed male to try and reassure to Connor that his friend may be alive. I sigh that my effort was in vain. Connor looks at me again and he comes closer, close enough that I feel the heat come off his body. “Keep tension here.” he puts his hand tightly on my stomach enough to take my breath away.

I now understand why Abnegation believe that physical is powerful and shouldn’t be overused, normally I would flinch back but this has left me wanting more. Eventually sparring finishes for the day and we have free time before dinner. Of course with me not fighting today I haven’t moved at all, I’m still over the red line.

I agree to meet Shayne and Olivia after I have had a shower. My cheeks are still hot from Connor’s light touch. I get changed into the black dress I bought the other day. The whole aptitude test and the choosing ceremony officially feel like they were taken place a thousand years ago. I tie my wet hair up into a bun; before I realise that it doesn’t fit with what I am wearing. The girl who looks at back at me through the mirror has lost her innocence, her normality and the chains that held her down. Obviously Dauntless is a completely different world from Abnegation even looking in this mirror for as long as I am doing now is still strange to me. I get a feeling that I need to ask someone if it is ok to do so. I pull out the eyeliner pencil and carefully draw around my eyes until they look subtly noticeable. I don’t look like a young girl now, I look and feel like an adult. I swipe my hair over my right shoulder, as it normally does when I have been in the shower it goes wavy.

“Well you look pretty.” A male’s voice behind of me says loudly. I look into the mirror again I see Connor in a pair of dark grey jeans, dark blue sneakers and…shirtless. His toned and built body is slightly wet along with his hair. My heart races to the sight I am seeing right now. I whip my body around nearly breaking my neck and making me seem a little too excited. I stare at him a little too long. “You alright?” He asks twice before I have registered he has even spoke.

“Y-yeah I’m ok. Sorry in Abnegation we don’t really see guys walking around shirtless, I’m guess I need to realise that I am no longer a stiff. Thanks for today; hopefully I won’t get beaten as bad as I did yesterday.” I reply scratching my head, hardly to try and punish myself for being awkward.

“Don’t be. I should be the one apologising I forgot that Abnegation’s don’t really touch each other and it was wrong for me to touch you within only knowing you for a few days. I’m sorry.” He says, he throws over a folded long sleeve black t-shirt.

“No don’t be sorry!” I shout a little too loudly. I swallow the build of embarrassment and open my mouth again. “It’s ok; it is ok I need to be less like a stiff and more like Dauntless.” I say despite it being easier said than done. At the end of the day I’m still Divergent (even the thought sends chills racing down my spine) I still have an equal aptitude for Amity, Candor and of course Dauntless. Connor shakes his head and pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “Ok glad to know we are cool.” He smirks. “I’m starving wanna go and eat?”

“Yeah ok.” I reply feeling sweat form on my scalp. The feeling of his body heat and the feeling of a pulse running through my body from when he touched me comes back tingling my body into a shock of satisfaction. And I don’t think that they will be going away anytime soon.

 I don't want them to go either.