The Soldier

Immersion

The initiates were a huddled mass of excitement, the recent adrenaline resulted in a high which caused easy smiles and laughs among the group. I found myself between Calvin and Jenna, listening to Calvin recount his experience in great detail.

"--I know Calvin," Jenna interrupted, growing impatient at his rambling, "we all had to do it."

Calvin persisted anyway. "But we all experienced it a little differently, right? Anyway, so get this, as I was about to jump--"

"Alright, that's enough." The man who helped us out of the net stood in front of the group and silence fell as he started to speak. "My name is Four. Lauren and I will be in charge of the rest of the initiation process. At this point the group will be divided and the Dauntless-born initiates will be trained separately from the transfers. Those that are Dauntless-born will go with Lauren and the rest of you will stay with me." Half of the initiates left the group and followed a woman around a corner and out of sight.

At a signal from Four, the rest of the group followed him and he led us deeper into the compound. The air felt denser and it grew darker as we descended. I reached out and touched the walls, the rock felt cold and foreign on my fingertips. Up ahead, a bright light shined down the hallway and our sight was restored as the group entered an underground cavern. Four introduced us to our surroundings, "This is the Pit, the main source of social life here in Dauntless." He pointed above us at the rooms carved out of the rock. "Up there is where you'll find everything you'll need: clothing store, tattoo place, bar...

.... and my tablet and the rest of my supplies." I mentally finished his sentence, looking to the third floor and following the path with my eyes. I pictured Braden trying to be inconspicuous as he climbed the stairs, but inferring from how he acted outside of The Hub, he was most likely a bundle of nerves while he planted the materials. I wondered if I was standing where my friend had been only a couple of hours before. Was he still here or had he left before people started coming back from the Choosing Ceremony? I scanned through the people milling about the Pit, looking for a familiar face. Seeing none, I felt a pain in my chest, realizing that now I was truly alone.

"You can trade your allotted monthly points for any clothing or necessities, but it is against the rules for you guys to drink during initiation. Intoxicated initiates will not be tolerated and anyone under the influence will be punished. Save the celebrations for when you're one of us." With that warning, Four led us through an opening carved through the stone and into a room full of tables and benches with people eating and shouting. At the first empty table we passed, he instructed us to sit and eat, saying that he would be back to pick us up in about half an hour after he had taken care of some business.

Sitting down with my fellow initiates, I was able to get a closer look at what the competition would be for the next several weeks. Apart from Calvin and Jenna, there was another boy dressed in black and white, making that three from Candor, one from Amity, and the remaining six, including me, from Erudite. Despite having just arrived at the compound, the ten of us had divided into three distinct groups. At one end of the table was the first jumper, the small Amity girl, and two others, a girl from Erudite and the Candor boy. On the opposite side of the table was the rest of the Erudites and it was obvious from how they acted that the three boys and the remaining Erudite girl were already on familiar terms. They isolated themselves from the rest of the group, leaning towards each other and using indistinguishable, hushed words.

Calvin, Jenna, and I sat between the two groups. My companions were deep in discussion, most likely bringing up an earlier argument. I bit into my hamburger, studying the other initiates, sizing them up. From the look of it, my competition is going to be the group of Erudites to my left. Their presence was like a challenge and my mind began to list the various fighting and defensive moves I could perform. I was sure I could take them. I was beginning to look forward to our training.