The Leader

20

I open my eyes and the room is pitch black. I raise my hand and wave it in front of my face, but I cannot make out the outline of it in the dark. I blink and raise a brow at the sight in front of me: three overhead lights illuminate three figures before me. Each person's face is blurry, and I cannot decipher who it is.

"Take it," a deep voice says.

I glance to my left. Max is illuminated by an overhead light with his hand outstretched to me. In his hand is a handgun.

"What do I need that for?" I ask, my heart rate quickening.

"If you truly want to be Dauntless," Max says, his mouth tilting up to form a malicious smirk, "you have to shoot one of them."

He yanks my arm and forces the gun in my hand, tightening my fingers around the handle. My hand feels heavy. I have held and shot a gun before, but I have never been forced to shoot an actual person. My hands shake and my heart beats out of my chest as I take a look at the three figures.

My breath catches in my throat.

On the far left is Fern, the woman who took me in when I was seven. In the middle is Tera, her eyes wide and her shoulders shaking. On the right is Eric, his face is stone cold, not revealing any emotion. All three are people I care about and have grown to love.

"All you have to do is shoot one of them," his voice taunts, "and you will become a member of Dauntless."

"I can't," I say, shaking my head. I squat down and set the gun on the ground. "I refuse to shoot anyone, especially when they've done no wrong."

"Don't you want to be Dauntless?" he sneers, moving closer.

"If that is what I have to do to be a Dauntless member," I say, "then I don't belong here."

"Well, I guess you're right." He shoves me down and swipes the gun. He raises it up and points it at me. "You're no use to us, so I might as well kill you."

The gun fires and I feel a burning sensation in my shoulder before Max fades away and my eyes droop and close.

***
My eyes fly open. Four is sitting at the monitor, a shocked look on his face.

"That was... interesting, to say the least," he says, scooting the chair away from the monitor.

"Yeah, it was something." I sit up and touch my shoulder where I had gotten shot in the landscape.

"That reminded me of one of my own fears." He runs his hand through his hair before his eyes lock on mine. "I was told to shoot someone too, but I didn't refuse like you did."

"Wow, that just felt so real," I say.

He nods and scoots his chair back to the monitor. I take that as my cue to leave. I slide out of the chair and walk to the door.

"Rori," Four says as soon as my hand touches the door handle.

"Yeah?"

"Eric will come around," he says. "But be careful."

"I will," I say with a nod. "See you later, Four."

He raises a hand and I push the door open. I smile at my friends and say, "I'll meet you guys at lunch."

I leave the waiting room and decide to walk around the building. Since being here in Dauntless, I have hardly done any exploring. The are only a few places I've been to besides the dormitory, cafeteria, and training room. I've been to the Pit, the roof, Eric's apartment, the infirmary, and the daycare.