Innocence Lost

Chapter 93

Four's POV

6 years ago. . .

"Alright initiates, today we learn to fire a gun. Most of you have probably never held one so we'll start with the basics. 'It's not made of glass Four!'" Amar yells at me as I awkwardly hold the gun.

I feel my face blush and I dip my head down. Next to me Eric snickers and from within me comes a determination to do better than him. After all, what can a bookie know about shooting a weapon? I focus on what Amar is saying and adjust my feet accordingly.

"Remember, how you hold your gun determines the outcome of where your bullet will go. If you hold it loosely, the gun will control you. That's how deadly accidents happen so focus on your weapon"

Amar continues to show us how to stand and where to place our feet. I notice Eric pompously standing there, not practicing with the group. Amar notices too.

"What's wrong smart ass, don't understand what I'm telling you to do?" Amar shouts at him.

Eric's eyes flash anger "No, I've just read a lot about this and know what to do"

"Oh you read about it? Okay wise guy, show us how it's done then"

Eric looks slightly embarrassed but sets his jaw and turns toward the target. He raises his gun, fires, and misses the board completely. Amar laughs as well as most of the group.

"Well thank you for that great example about what reading about holding a gun will do for you and what practicing holding a gun will do for you"

Amar continues to describe the stance and then tells us to practice. I slowly set my feet, raise my arms, breathe in, breathe out, and fire. A hole appears within the target area.

"Nicely done stiff" Amar says as he walks by and then turns toward Eric "That's what listening does for you Eric, you should try it sometime"

The last thing I remember is Eric's deathly stare aimed at me while holding a loaded weapon.
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Present Day

Kate's POV

The next couple of days flew by. The initiates practiced shooting in the mornings and fighting in the afternoons in preparation of their first day of fights on Monday.

Zeke's big party was tomorrow night and I still didn't have a costume. That was the least of my worries. To be quite honest my mind has been elsewhere all week. Meghan is coming to Dauntless on Saturday, which means Jeanine's big project will be underway soon. Maybe it's a good thing I'm involved. I'll be able to know first hand what she has planned and with Four's help we can stop it.

After dinner Caroline, Amanda, and I go to one of Dauntless's many thrift shops, they usually carry a wide range of clothing, including costumes. I groan as I rifled through the rack. I had no idea what I was even looking for.

"That's it, I'm not going" I groan.

"Shut up party pooper. How about this?" Amanda pulls off a tight black short dress from one of the racks "I saw some long, black feathers in one of the furniture stores, I could make wings and be a fallen angel. What do you think?" She asks me.