Second Chance

Chapter 8

It was neck to neck again until Four was in front of me. I could not believe he had come before me and was now in the lead. How did he do that? I thought to myself. Four won the race and were brought back to Dauntless before me. I huffed and walked to Four, and said,

"How did you do that?"

"Do what? I just ran." Four stated.

"But you were behind me, and then you stopped. Then, somehow, you were in front of me. Did you cheat?" I asked.

"No, you need to learn that there are no rules for a Dauntless race. I just tricked you into believing that you were winning and then sprinted in front of you to win." Four explained how he did it.

I ignored Four and returned to the Dauntless compound to prepare for visiting day. I walked into my room, and Chris waited for me like she did daily.

"How was your run? I heard that there was a race. What do you think of your first Dauntless race?" Chris asked.

"My run was fine, and yes, you are right that I had my first race. It was me against Four. Four won," I explained.

"Of course, he would win. He knows how to manipulate people to win." Chris stated.

"Yeah, I learned that. Let's get going. The parents should be here soon." I said, walking out to the Pit.

Everyone gathered around the Pit to wait for Max to give us a speech before visiting day started.

"Listen up, you know the rules. We have to go by them while visiting day is going on. So that means, when you fight, go by the rules and not your way. It's the school's way today. Now go and greet your families." Max said, walking away from everyone.

I walked with Chris out of Dauntless to catch the train. We all started to run to the train. I watched everyone get onto the train swiftly. I knew I had to do that so that everyone would no longer tease me. I started out in a run and jumped to grab the bar to pull myself up into the train. Everyone started to cheer for me, and then I heard Lauren say,

"You did it without the help of Four. Now let's see you land it."

I looked around and noticed that Four was not there. Why doesn't he come? Doesn't he want to see his family? I thought to myself.

"What Four doesn't come and see his family?" I asked Chris.

"He never comes. He stays at the Dauntless compound, and then he comes out when we bring our parents back to Dauntless. He stands with Max as the teacher's assistant. I don't think I have ever seen a family member come to see Four." Chris explained.

Before I could say anything or ask Chris another question, I heard the warning,

"Get ready!"

Everyone started to jump off the train onto the pavement or grass. I started with a sprint and jumped off the train. I tumbled onto the grass and hit my shoulder on the pavement. Chris helped me, and I began dusting off the dirt from my clothes.

"How did you do?" Eric asked, placing his hand on my shoulder, which I hit.

"Alright." I said through my teeth.

Eric walked away, grinning with a few snickers. I looked over my shoulder to see if he was far enough away before saying,

"Oww."

"Beatrice! Over here!" A male screamed from the crowd.

I looked at the crowd and saw Austin there. I ran over to him and gave him a hug. It was great to see him again. I turned to face my parents.