❝ I knew, from that moment on,
that nobody could ever confess,
they love me, without the splintered thought of you
running through my mind.
Consciously or not, my soul will always be tangled
with you. ❝
Aurora Matthews, the daughter of Jeanine Matt...
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When all the initiates stand on solid ground again, Lauren and Four lead us down a narrow tunnel. The walls are made of stone, and the ceiling slopes, so I feel like I am descending deep into the heart of the earth. The tunnel is lit at long intervals, so in the dark space between each dim lamp, I notice faint glimpses of people reaching their hands out to touch someone else to see where they are going but for me the darkness was something I was used to.
The whole crowd stopped, and our three leaders stood in front of us, arms folded.
"This is where we divide," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
She smiles and beckons toward the Dauntless-born initiates. They break away from the group and dissolve into the shadows. I watch the last heel pass out of the light and look at those of us who are left. Most of the initiates were from Dauntless, so only nine people remained. Of those, I am alongside the familiar faces of some Erudite transfers, there are no Amity transfers. The rest are from Candor and, surprisingly, Abnegation.
Four addresses us next. "Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor," he says. "My name is Four."
Sarai asks, "Four? Like the number?"
"Yes," Four says. "Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Good. We're about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It—"
Sarai snickers. "The Pit? Clever name."
Four walks up to Sarai and leans his face close to hers. His eyes narrow, and for a second, he just stares at her.
"What's your name?" he asks quietly.
"Sarai," she squeaks.
"Well, Sarai, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," he hisses. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"
She nods.
Four starts toward the shadow at the end of the tunnel. The crowd of initiates moves on in silence.
"What a jerk," she mumbles.
"I guess he doesn't like to be laughed at," I reply.
From the reaction of others, it seemed like they understood that it would probably be wise to be careful around Four. He seemed placid to me on the platform, but something about that stillness makes many wary, I think I was the only one who was smart enough to see that his intimidation was an act.
As an Erudite born we learn the key stages of sociology, psychology, math, science, engineering and the history of our faction. Which in return gave me the knowledge to understand the emotion and reaction of others, through time, I was able to manipulate their emotions and find a scientific route to the research I was doing. And for four, well, he didn't scare me one bit.
