The Fourth Eaton

Chapter 4 🔪 My Turn

When I awake, it takes a moment for me to remember what day it is. Then I remember. Choosing Day. The day I get to join my brother in Dauntless. All my worries from yesterday have dissipated. I have aptitude for Dauntless. I should be able to pass initiation, and I'll also get to see Tobias.

Marcus is gone, as per usual on Choosing Days. Thank goodness for that. I get up, shower, and dress. If I had any Dauntless clothes, I would have worn them under my baggy Abnegation ones, but I don't. So, I just pull on another gray shirt and slacks. At least these ones aren't as boring as all my other ones. These are slightly tighter, and they actually have some sort of a design - gray swirls. I only wear this outfit on special occasions. Not that we have many of those. Celebrating too many holidays would be self-indulgent. So the Abnegation only have a handful, and even those are mostly spent volunteering for long hours.

I plod downstairs, make myself breakfast, then sit down at the dining table. Alone. I still remember how up until a year ago, me and Toby would do everything we could together. Cook our meals. Eat. Walk to school. We were each other's best friends. Of course, after he joined Dauntless, he must have made some new friends. Even though Tobias was quiet, I can't imagine him not having anyone to hang out with. And when I transfer, I'll make some friends, too. I just hope that they'll be good ones, as good as Tobias.

I finish my plain breakfast of scrambled eggs and put the plates in the sink. Marcus will have to wash those later, because I'm never stepping foot in this house again. I pull on my shoes, open the door, and walk out. I don't look back.

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I decided to walk to the Hub, because I don't want a repeat of last year's uncomfortable, claustrophobic experience. And Tobias isn't here to snap me out of it, either. As I walk through the factionless sector, I see tired faces peeking out to look at me. They don't seem to care about an Abnegation girl walking alone through their sector, and turn away almost as soon as they spot me.

The Hub is only maybe a quarter mile away when one of the factionless jumps in front of me. I stumble backwards, nearly falling over but catching my balance. At a closer glance, the blur that leaped in front of me is a young girl. She seems vaguely familiar. Her dark hair flows over her shoulders, neat. That's unusual for the factionless. Her face does have dirt on it, though.

I stare at her, racking my brain for when I could have possibly seen her before, and then it strikes me like a lightning bolt. This is the girl who I gave the comb to a year ago, before Tobias' aptitude test.

She just looks at me for a second, then holds out her hand. I take it, awkwardly. Handshakes are a Dauntless greeting. Perhaps one of her parents was once Dauntless. We shake, and I'm surprised at how strong her handshake is.

The girl opens her mouth. "Choose wisely." she says, her voice low and melodic, before darting back into the shadows. I stare at the spot where she disappeared, my mind spinning. How did she know I was the girl who gave her the comb? How did she know I was choosing today?

I shake my head and continue. That encounter made no sense.

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Once I reach the top of the stairs, enclosed in a cloud of gray, I feel someone grab my arm. I tense immediately, and turn to see Marcus. On the outside, he looks kind, like someone who you could trust. But I look into his eyes, and see the person he really is. His eyes are technically dark blue. That's where Tobias gets his eye color from. But to me, they always look as black as a starless night.

"You know what to choose, Camilla." Marcus says, his eyes latched onto mine. He tightens his grip on my arm for a second, and I know it will leave a bruise. Then, he lets go, gives me a polite, perfect Abnegation smile, and goes to his seat.