Danger is Near

Chapter 24

I headed down to the Hall as Eric frustratedly ordered. 'The Gang' were already there so I went to sit at a table with them. As I approached them they all said 'hey' nervously. It was pretty hard to tell who was in and who wasn't, everyone's skill levels were practically even.

"I'm sooo nervous" I said skittishly.

Many of them agreed. I sat down in-between Peter and Molly. They had kindly made a little space for me to sit. "Thanks guys" I said cheerfully. Showing them how kind their gesture was. In fact, it was extremely kind coming from the two of them. But I guess I was on good terms with the both of them. See, the thing about Peter and Molly was; if you had done something to them that they weren't particularly happy with, they made your life hell. It was as simple as that.

We talked for a little bit, discussing who we thought wouldn't make it, until Max, Eric and a few other leaders walked out onto a balcony over looking the Hall.

They watched us. They examined us. They looked down on us; the initiates and Dauntless born beneath them. Probably enjoying being as powerful as they were. But we were used to this, they did it all the time.

A hush came over the crowd as people began to notice their 'arrival'.

"The first stage of your training is over. Now it is time to reveal your final rankings. Ten of you will be cut. Five of you from the 'initiate' group and another five from the 'Dauntless born' group. These final rankings have been reviewed and their will be no way to change them" Max announced. He then turned around to Eric signalling him to show the rankings on the big glass panel hanging on the wall.

Eric pressed some sort of device in his hand and the panel came to life.

I heard some people shout in glee and I saw some people turn to their friends, comforting them.

I was still searching for my name. I then saw it. Written in grey. Yes! I made it! I actually passed the first stage of training! I shouted in my head. I was officially a third of the way there.

I looked towards the rest of the guys. No one seemed to look glum or sad, so my smile grew bigger. It looked like everyone had made it. All twelve of us, oh, and Molly. I was so elated.

For the next hour and a bit we ate and celebrated with everyone else who made it through. The people who didn't make it were taken back to the dorm to collect their things. Then I believe they were extracted from the compound. To live factionless. I felt so sorry for them.

After lunch our group took a little walk around the compound. There was not much else to do. As we were walking around we were approached by a bunch of Dauntless borns.

"Congrats guys! Celebratory party tonight in the Pit. See you there!" one of them shouted as they passed us.

We turned to watch them walk away.

"We are definitely going" Peter preached. And I don't think any of us disagreed.

It was about seven o'clock. Christina, Tris, Amy, Matisse, Tess, Emma, Jem and myself were the only ones inside the dorm. We were getting ready for the party. I wore my tight, black dress. It ended mid thigh and was quite revealing. But I guess everything at Dauntless was like that. None of us had heels or any type of shoe like that so we ended up just wearing our combat boots with black socks. It looked really good. The boots 'dressed us down' which was good, because with heels, we probably would of looked like 'try hards'. We found some make up hanging around in the dorm so we used that to primp ourselves up.

"Ok. So should we head down now?" Tris innocently asked.

"No. We are gonna wait until the music starts up" I instructed as I layered my eyelashes in mascara.

"Well then, where is everybody else?" Tris questioned, hands on her hips.

"I don't know. But we aren't going to be 'early' " I retorted, turning and facing her.

"Lize is right" Amy backed me up. She was also stacking on tonnes of mascara.

"But then... Won't we be late?" Tris frowned.

She obviously didn't understand. Being early to a party just wasn't right.

"Honey, it's called being 'fashionably late'" I stated, gently.

"Yeah. Haven't you heard of that 'phrase'?" Amy piped in sassily.

"Ok, ok guys. Chill down" Christina cut in.

"Well, I'm going down now" Tris remarked.

"Fine" "I'll go down with you" Amy and Christina said at the same time.

"I'll join you two" Jem said kindly, following Tris and Christina up the stairs.

"See ya soon guys" Jem said as she turned and waved at the rest of us. She was such a sweet girl.

The rest of us sat on our beds and talked about how happy we were about getting through the first stage. As I sat there thinking, I couldn't help but think how excited I was to see Eric. I wondered how he would react when he saw me in this completely different attire. You think he'll like what he sees? I questioned myself. I sat there and continued to think before my thoughts were interrupted by a loud and growing sound. The music. It was time for us to head to the Pit.

"Whooo! Let's go" Matisse cheerfully squealed. She loved parties. She loved to let go and have fun. And she was great at dancing.

We walked out of the dorm and headed towards the Pit. The closer we got, the louder the music got.

When we entered the Pit everyone was already dancing wildly and drinking. The music was blaring and everyone seemed to be smiling and enjoying themselves. I looked up to the side of the Pit, where there was a ledge. I saw Eric and some of his friends standing up there. They all had beer in their hands and they were laughing. I wondered why they were standing there... Probably because Eric liked to look powerful and 'above everyone' all the time.

We headed deeper into the packed crowd.

This was only the beginning.