Recklessly (Divergent Fanfic) #Completed

Chapter 4 - Get Up

Corrine

I didn't sleep at all. Drea, one of the other transfer girls, had more than embarrassed me before dinner last night, and I was worried she would do something again.

She stole my clothes and towel, forcing me to walk through the room naked, in front of everyone. I was mortified and disgusted. They all laughed, my brother ran over to me with a blanket, which was even more embarrassing.

"Who knew there was a body under those Abnegation clothes." Drea laughed.

I only let myself cry for a minute before I put on clothes and went to the Pit where everyone else had gone. Drea had pushed me, after everything else she still had to do that. I held back the tears and sat down across from one of instructors, Eric.

He was fascinating. And beautiful. But I just looked down at my hands and only spoke to him when he asked why I wasn't eating. But soon, he left too.

So needless to say, when someone flipped on our lights and started banging loudly on the pipes, I was still awake. Everyone groaned and sat up, looking over to see Eric and Four standing at the door.

"Be in the training room in ten minutes. Don't make us wait." Four says.

I slept in my clothes last night so I wouldn't have to change. I was given tight black pants, they clung to my legs, and I wasn't used to it. My black tank top exposed my arms, and I wasn't used to that either. I slid on the tall white socks I was given and laced up the boots as quick as I could, going to stand by my brother.

"Ready for this?" He asks.

"Was this a mistake?" I whisper to him.

"What? No. Of course not. Don't let what Drea did make you question your decision. There's no going back, Cor."

"Yeah yeah, I know. I um, I'm just nervous I guess." I rubbed my arm and watched him lace up his boots.

"I'll help you, okay? We have to help each other." He gives me a small smile. And I'm thankful. Thankful that Finn did this with me. As much as I might feel like I'm alone, I never truly will be, as long as he's here.

"Okay." I smile back. He pays my shoulder and we walk to the training room together.

"Today, is the first day of the first stage. This is the physical stage. You're going to be ranked throughout this process, and if you're in the bottom three, you're out. You're factionless." Eric announces.

Everyone whispers and worries.

"Now I'm freaking out." Marie whispers in my ear. I bite into my lip, knowing I would have to work twice as hard to keep up.

"Today, is about endurance. So you're going to run. And you're going to keep running until we tell you to stop. Understood?" Eric says with authority in his voice.

I'm not in bad shape. However, exercise wasn't something I did or was required to do in Abnegation. My heart was already pounding in my chest with worry. We all line up. The training room is basically a giant warehouse. It stretches out quite far and I can hardly imagine myself running up and down it once, let alone long periods of time.

Eric motions for us to begin. He stands at one end and Four stands at the other. We all take off running to the other end and back again.

"Faster." Eric says.

I push my legs as hard as I can, my breath already coming quicker.

It's felt like hours since we started doing this, and very well may have been hours. Sweat is pouring out of every pour of my body, my knees are wobbly and feet sting.

"Come on Corrine, keep going." My brother says breathlessly beside me. I don't answer him, I just turn on my heel and run to the other side again.

More time passes, and my body will not allow me to run another inch. I collapse to my knees and dry heave. My stomach lurches over and over, but nothing comes up.

"Stop! That's enough." Four yells. He kneels down beside me and touches my shoulder. I flinch away.

"I'm okay." I gasp out.

"You're not. Can you stand?" He asks.

I turn my head slowly to look at home. His face is kind and his eyebrows are scrunched with worry. I nod, wrapping and arm around my stomach as he helps me up.

"What's the problem?" Eric asks as he jobs over.

"She's done. They're all done. They've been at it for three hours." Four tells him, still hold my elbow.

"So you're just going to let them quit when they get tired?" Eric says.

"They aren't quitting. I'm stopping them. And I'm taking this one to the infirmary." Four drags me behind him and pulls me away from Eric. His eyes lock with mine for a second before I turn away, and he looks so angry. Yelling at the rest of the initiates to get out.

Four pulls me through a few corridors until we reach an office. He steps through the door and drags me in after him. I look at him with wide eyes.

"Breathe. You'll be fine." He states.

I let out a long breath that I didn't even know I was holding in.

"Wh-what am I doing in here?" I feel dizzy and light headed.

"The nurse is going to pump you full of fluids before you pass out." He leads me to a hospital bed and makes me lie down.

"I'm going to get so much shit for this." I say, closing my eyes.

"What kind of Abnegation talks like that?" He laughs.

"I'm not Abnegation anymore, I'm Dauntless." I smile at him as the nurse puts a needle in my arm and sets up an IV. The smirk appears once more.

I don't hear anything else, my body shuts down and I drift off to sleep.

When I wake up, it's not Four standing next to my bed, it's Eric.

"Finally decided to wake up?" He says. I can tell if he's angry or not.

"Um, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was out for so long." I try to sit up and my body objects.

"Just stay still." He says walking closer to my bed.

"Sorry." I say quietly.

"Stop apologizing. You're going to have to toughen up if you're going to make it. I can...I can help you." He looks down at his feet, arms behind his back.

"Help me how?" I say.

"Extra training. Help you build your endurance. I don't want to see you in here anymore." He says the last part in almost a whisper.

"Okay. I guess I could use the help."

"Good. You scan start meeting me an hour before everyone else gets there. Um..feel better, Corrine." He nods and turns on his heel and walks away.

I like the way my name sounded leaving his lips more than I should of. Eric is intimidating but also fascinating. And for some reason, I want him to open up to me. To talk to me and tell me everything about him. But that could never happen.

He's a leader here, and I'm just an initiate who might not make it.