Transparent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book One) ©

Chapter 17

                “Everyone listen up, today’s your first day of training and it’s important that you pay close attention. First, you’ll all be learning to shoot a gun, second, you’ll be taught how to fight and win.” Amar announced as he went along our tightly formed line and handed each of us guns.

                I stifled a loud exhale, my body still protesting the lack of sleep, and I rubbed at my eyes. We’d only had about six hours of real slumber, so I wasn’t the only one who was a little off their game. Dan, who stood next to me, kept dropping his head and then jerking up in alarm, and a few of the other’s kept yawning aloud.

                “Your initiation will be divided into three stages, and we’ll be measuring your progress and ranking you according to how you perform in each. Each stage will not be weighed equally though, so it is possible for you to improve your ranking over time.”

                It was a nice weight off my shoulders to know there was a chance to recover from a bad rank, but I quickly reminded myself not to rely too heavily on that; I had to think as if I were already a part of this faction, and that meant pushing the thought of failure from my mind. In my head, I had to visualize myself as a dauntless member.

                “We believe that to eliminate cowardice, we must be prepared to take on any challenge. For that reason, each stage of initiation is intended to help prepare you in different ways to act without hesitation in the midst of fear. The first will deal with primarily physical challenges, the second with emotions, and the third with mental abilities.”

                I didn’t look at the gun in my hand, but I could feel its solid weight. I gripped it firmly, and kept my eyes on Amar. I’d never held a real weapon in my hand, so this was all a revelation to me. I part of me felt completely comfortable with it in my hand, while another quietly disapproved of having so much power.

                Amar flicked the safety off his gun and then turned to look at one of the square plywood targets. He spread his feet, and then with both hands wrapped around the pistol, he fired. The shot was shockingly loud, with the sound echoing around the room, and I felt Grace flinch beside me. I cocked my head to the side and couldn’t help but admire Amar’s precision; the bullet had gone through the very center of the target.

                “You’ll all be able to do this eventually, with a lot of practice and commitment. No go ahead and try it yourselves.” Amar said as he slipped his gun into the holster on his belt.

                I turned towards my own target, feeling a sort of childish excitement envelop my senses, and tried to mimic what I’d seen Amar do. I spread my feet a little, and then squared my back, wrapping my hands around the handle of the gun. I was surprised to feel my heart beat slow, completely tranquil and at ease, and felt my vision grow sharper as I eyed the bull’s-eye.

                Lifting the gun up and away from my body, I kept myself as grounded as possible while I pulled the trigger. A loud bang erupted from the pistol, and was soon followed by the sound of the others shooting. The recoil surprised me, but I had made sure to keep my arms firm and steady, so I’d had no problem keeping my aim. The amity boy, Billy, hadn’t been as lucky; the force of the gun going off had actually sent his hands back and into his nose, leaving him red-faced and cursing under his breath.

                I found myself grinning when I saw that, while my bullet had not actually hit the center, it had at least made it onto the board. I fired again, and each time I was pleased to see that my aim was steadily improving. It was on the second mag, short for magazine which was what Amar had told us the cartridges of ammunition were called, that I finally managed to hit the center of the target.