The Soldier

Target

My shoulder was roughly shaken, a rude awakening from sleep. "Wake up Olivia!"

I feebly swatted at the hand, "Go away Braden." I mumbled, turning over to smash my face into the pillow. "Fifteen more minutes."

"Fine, but by then you'll be late and Four will be here personally to wake you up, and I'm sure you don't want that." Jenna's voice faded slightly as she moved away from my side.

My eyes snapped open. Shit, I had forgotten where I was. I looked up to see the other transfers in various stages of getting ready for the day. There was a pile of assorted black fabrics in the middle of the room that must have been dropped off sometime this morning. People were riffling through the materials, picking out clothes to wear for the day.

I threw back the covers to sit up and placed my bare feet on the cold floor. Jenna sat on her bed across from me, already dressed. She grabbed the bundle of fabric next to her and tossed it to me. "Here, I got you some clothes. I think we're around the same size." She bent over and started lacing up her shoes.

I yawned and ran my fingers through my hair, wincing as I untangled several strands. "Thanks."

She shrugged. "Calvin should be back soon with some food, that is if he hasn't gotten lost and ended up in some Amity field."

I offered a small laugh at her joke and quickly stripped out of the Erudite costume to put on the lightweight training clothes. We ran into Calvin as we exited the dormitory, his hands full of muffins and bananas. We choked down breakfast as we half-walked, half-jogged to the third floor.

Being back in a room full of punching bags and targets was oddly comforting. I was looking forward to this, exercise was going to be a good stress reliever and I was still a bundle of nerves.

The ten of us lined up side by side along one end of the training room while Eric, the Dauntless leader from yesterday on the rooftop, paced in front of us, giving information about today's itinerary. I tried to focus on his words but it was hard to not keep glancing up at the security camera in the room. Knowing that there was someone from outside the fence watching me, making sure I blended in, was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But now was not the time to get distracted. Cameras were in almost every room of the compound and I was going to have to get used to them.

I tried to concentrate on what Eric was saying, staring at the tattoos on his neck to help me focus. "The first stage of initiation will be physically demanding on each of you..." Eric stopped his pacing in front of me and made a point to look down at Calvin before he continued. ".... some of you more than others."

Snickers and whispers of affirmation from the Erudites transfers filled the room and Calvin's face flushed, the tips of his ears turning red. He looked angry and embarrassed. I hadn't paid attention to it before, but Calvin was only slightly bigger than Susan, the girl from Amity. I had been too distracted by yesterday's events to notice the contrast between Calvin and the rest of the initiate boys.

"That's enough." Eric silenced the laughter, taking control of the room again. I was jerked out of my thoughts and paid attention as well. No wonder he was chosen as a leader, everything from his presence to his voice demanded respect and obedience. "Four and I will now demonstrate some combat techniques and I suggest you pay attention. Your rankings official began the moment you walked into the room and tomorrow you will start fighting each other."

Four and Eric ran through hitting and blocking techniques and the initiates were quiet, absorbing as much information as possible. It was obvious that for teaching purposes Eric wasn't using a lot of force but I imagined that if it came down to it, if Eric started throwing real punches, Four would get hurt. Eric looked like he could cause some real damage. I thought about how I would react to the mock blows Eric was throwing. He was fast, but I would have to be faster. I would dodge his fists, stay out of his reach, and then try to catch him off guard. Get him to lose his balance and then land some blows. Or something.