Infallible

Chapter 5

"Amity! Come on! It's been almost three weeks!"
  Eric was shouting down at Rae, who was curled up on the mat. He had just knocked her down yet again. Rae glared up at him, trying to catch her breath.
"You can't tell me that I haven't gotten better." She spat irritably. Eric scoffed.
"Incrementally." His words drawled mockingly as he reached a hand down to her. She reluctantly accepted, hopping back to her feet and ignoring her aching body.
"You might even be able to take a Dauntless born child at this point. With a lot of luck, maybe you'd actually win."
  Anger flashed in her eyes now as they began to circle each other.
Don't strike first. She reminded herself, even though all she really wanted to do was smack that smug look right off of Eric's face. They circled each other longer than necessary, him daring her to get impatient and lose her composure, as she had a habit of doing. Finally he stepped forward, one of his large legs swinging a kick right at her head. She ducked, and as she did so she threw her whole body into the fist she aimed at his distractingly exposed rib cage.
  He let out a small grunt as he fell back ever-so-slightly. He raised one eyebrow at her as she reassumed her defensive stance and waited for him to strike again. It didn't take long. In a flash of muscle, his fist came at her face. She flung herself to the side but she wasn't quite quick enough as his knuckles glanced off the side of her jaw. Refusing to allow herself to react to the pain, she used his sudden closeness to deliver a sharp upper cut to his own jaw.
  His eyes were wide as he looked down at her, a mix off irritation and something else she couldn't place. They circled each other again, slowly.
"If you don't make it through initiation, maybe your hippy father will welcome you back home. Picking flowers seems a much safer backup plan than ending up factionless, especially for such a pretty little girl."
  At the mention of her father, and the possibility of returning to him, she began to see red. Her eyes narrowed as he lunged her her again, his knuckles aimed for her throat, but she was quick. She sidestepped his fist and abruptly turned, sticking her foot out in front of his own. It worked. He fell heavily into the mat, rolling into his back, but before he could spring back up she jumped on him. Straddling his torso, she aimed a few punches at the side of his head. When she cocked back again to go for the nose, he sat up. The sudden shift of his large body beneath her knocked her backward, but the arms he'd snaked behind her back kept her held fast against him. She suddenly found herself nose to nose  with Eric, pinned against his body. Her legs were still wrapped around his hips as she now sat on his lap. Her breath caught in her throat at this unexpected closeness. His shirtless and sweating abdomen was pressed against her own shirtless and sweating abdomen, only the thin fabric of her sports bra separating them. They both breathed heavily for a few moments, glaring fiercely into each other's eyes, before Eric finally spoke.
"Now that was almost impressive, initiate." His voice was low and gravelly. "What was it that finally made you snap? The idea that you'll be factionless or the idea that you'll end up back in Amity for the rest of your life?"
  He sneered as he asked the question, and fresh fury bubbled up from somewhere deep within her.
"Neither." She lied. "It was the part when you told me I was pretty."
  She felt triumphant as her words had the effect she was hoping for. His eyes widened in surprise and his arms around her waist loosened their grip. She leaned back and then slammed her forehead down hard on his nose, hearing a sickening pop.
"What the fuck?!" He bellowed, and she scrambled to her feet as fast she she possibly could. She made a beeline for the doors of the training room, only stopping to look back once she reached them.
  He was sitting in the center of the mat, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stop the blood that was pouring out of both nostrils.
"Fuck!" He roared again, and she disappeared before he could send her packing right then and there.

***

  Eric didn't show up to training for the rest of that day, or the two days after. Training was reaching the end of Stage 1, and he hadn't shown up to their morning training sessions either. Both days she waited for him to storm in, possibly beat her to a bloody pulp or worse, kick her out of Dauntless. However, he remained absent. She didn't even see him in the Pit or the cafeteria. Anxiety pooled in her gut, wondering how he was reacting to the fact that she'd broken his nose. He was obviously irate. She spent much of her time cursing her stupidity, wishing she would have just let him win. Some time after lunch on the last day Four made an announcement:
"Everybody grab a vest, grab a gun... it's almost time to play some war games!"
  The Dauntless-borns, who had just entered the room, let out cheers and wasted no time gearing up. The transfers followed suit and before long, everyone was ready to go. There was an excited buzz among all the initiates. Even Eric, who had just stormed in the room, and Four seemed to share their enthusiasm as well.
  Eric was still sporting fading bruises underneath both his eyes, and hadn't acknowledged Rae when he'd entered the training room. The rest of the initiates had whispered amongst themselves about what could have happened to him. Rae never revealed that it was her who had done it. Nobody knew about her morning training with Eric, and she had every intention of keeping it that way. Also, she doubted that anyone would believe her. She was a small girl from Amity, and he was every inch a Dauntless soldier who was twice her size. Of course nobody dared ask Eric what happened.
  The two trainers lead the way up and out of the Dauntless compound, and on to the train. As the train made it's way along the track, Eric finally caught Rae's gaze. In an instant, she was reminded of what had happened the last time they had been on this train together. Eric must have had the same thought, because she swore she saw the ghost of a smug smile spread across his lips. Four cleared his throat.
"The rules are simple. It's basically a game of capture the flag. Your guns are loaded with special bullets, they simulate the sensation of a real gun shot." A nervous murmur ran through the crowd.
"Two teams, Four and I will take turns choosing our teammates. Ladies first." Eric nodded to Four, indicating that he could choose first.
"Don't mind if I do." Replied Four, rolling his eyes before calling out, "Rae! My team."
Rae was kind of shocked to be picked first, and by Four. She hadn't really talked to him much, other than bits of advice he gave her during training. She walked over to stand by his side and glanced over at Eric... he seemed annoyed, but wasted no time shouting,
"Jordan!"
Jordan was the first ranking initiate, so it was no surprise there. They continued to pick their team in turns and Rae was pleased to see that Deidra was on her team, although so was Zachariah, and Jackson got stuck on the opposing team.
The two teams jumped from the trains in separate places, and Rae found herself close to Four. He told them to begin making a plan and immediately a Dauntless-born and an Erudite-born began debating on the best course of action. Rae was listening to their discussion and she agreed with the Dauntless-born initiate's plan to send someone to scout the other team's location first. Four seemed to agree too, so that's what they did. Both Four and the Dauntless-born initiate disappeared into the darkness, while the rest of them decided where to hide their own flag and talked about what to do once the other team's flag was spotted. After about 10 minutes the two men returned. They had seen the other teams flag. The initiates hiding their own flag, returned, having hidden it successfully at the top of a roller coaster.
  All of them quickly got in groups of two and three to attack from all sides of the tower where the other team's flag was being kept, except five initiates who were to stand guard over their flag. Deidra was chosen by Four to stay behind and guard the flag, due to her excellent marksmanship. As her and Rae wished each other good luck, Four spoke,
"Rae, you're the smallest. Eric will be least likely to see you coming. He will be leading the strongest force of people so once we find Eric, we find their strongest point. We will distract them, you'll stay behind and get Eric when he's least expecting it. Got it?"
Rae blinked a few times, instantly getting nervous. He expected her to take down Eric? He was three times Rae's size.
"Ummm...I don't know Four... you want me to take out Eric?"
"Yes, I do. He's over-confident, it's the last thing he would expect. We'll distract him, you get in your shot when he's busy with us. He'll probably stay behind to guard the tower, so that's where you make your move. Then Stephen, you and Xander run in and grab the flag. " Everyone nodded, even though Rae still wasn't so sure this would work.
They broke up and Rae followed her teammates. When they drew close to the tower, Four held up his hand. He motioned Stephen and Xavier to go the long way around, and wait for their opportunity to grab the flag.
"Spread out." He whispered to them, and they all began to disperse, surrounding the tower. He kept a light hold on Rae's elbow, indicating that she was to stay put. They were well covered where they were. All of a sudden they heard Eric's booming voice,
"Over there!"
One of the groups had been seen. Luckily it was on the opposite side of the tower. All the initiates on the opposing team ran to where the disturbance was, while Eric took up his post at the door facing the action. Rae's path to him looked like it was completely clear. Four nudged her.
"That's your cue. I'm gonna go help the others, you get in there and get as close as you can, then take him down. We're counting on you. Shoot him where it hurts. Good luck, Rae." He ran toward the fight, and Rae took a deep breath before plunging forward, sticking to the shadows and being as light on her feet as she could. She reached the base of the tower and aimed her eyes down the scope of her gun. She began to slowly make her way around the base of the tower, praying that Eric would still be turned slightly away from her. With her finger firmly on the trigger she took one more small step and saw him. Rae was in luck as he was still focused on the fight, shooting random shots here and there. Before she could chicken out she yelled,
"HEY!"
As Eric turned, she squeezed the trigger down. The effect was almost instantaneous, as Eric fell to the ground, growling in pain. She had hit him very high up on his thigh.
"STEPHEN, HE'S DOWN!" Rae shouted scanning the mass of shooters. Then she saw both Stephen and Xander as they rounded the other side of the tower and entered it. Rae smiled and as she turned her attention back to Eric, who had been laying near her feet, she felt a sharp pain explode through her side. She dropped to the ground screaming.
"Hurts like a bitch, huh?" Sneered Eric, his gun pointed at her from where he was kneeling a few feet away. "Get over here." He said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to him. He yanked the dart from her rib cage and tossed it to the side. "You have the audacity to shoot me? Do you realize what I could do to you?" He asked quietly.
Rae vaguely heard the sound of gunfire be replaced with the sound of cheering. Neither her or Eric were paying much attention though, as the initiates began celebrating their victory, or cursing their defeat. He had his hands gripped tightly around her arms and he pulled her closer to him. Nobody else was paying attention to them either.
"I guess that maybe I'd like to find out." Rae bit her lip once she had said it. She looked up at him, waiting for a response, when he lifted her from the ground and began walking quickly around to the back of the tower. Once they were safely out of view of the others he shoved her against the wall, wrapping her legs around his waist. Grabbing ahold of her ponytail, he pulled down. As her face was forced up toward his, he kissed her hard.
"Damn it, Rae." He murmured between kisses. As his lips began to make their way down her jaw line, he used his other hand to unzip her vest and then reached up her shirt. He caressed her skin all the way up until he reached her sports bra, at which point he slipped his hand underneath it and firmly grasped her, lightly running his thumbs over her hardening nipple. She moaned lightly and he bit her lip. Just then the sound of voices approaching made them stop what they were doing. Eric abruptly returned Rae back to a standing position and they blended in with the noisy crowd that was making their way back to the trains. They walked side by side in silence, but the energy between them was still very much alive. Rae tried her best to hold back a smile as Deidra caught up to her, smiling excitedly, followed by a humble looking Jackson.
"Now THAT was awesome!" She exclaimed, not noticing Eric standing to Rae's other side. We should do more of that kind of training!"
"You got lucky!" Teased Jackson. "I guarantee if we had a rematch you wouldn't be so cocky!"
"You're cute when you're jealous." Deidra teased right back. Rae shook her head at their flirting. She wasn't the only one to notice as Eric made a not-so-quiet gagging noise, making Rae giggle. Deidra looked around and realized that Eric was walking next to them. She didn't say another word, and Rae thought she saw a little bit of a blush form on her cheeks, along with a slight look of confusion.
Back in the train, Rae expected Eric to go his separate way, but he stayed near her. They didn't speak, they just listened to the chatter of the initiates around them. Every now and then, Eric would look down at her and make eye contact, a hint of a smile on his still- bruised yet handsome features.
Rae's heart was pounding and she couldn't slow it down. She knew she wanted Eric, badly. However, she knew it was very risky. The man was dangerous. He was mean, and ruthless, yet Rae found herself drawn to him in an almost desperate way. She had never wanted someone like this in her whole life. Now that Rae was free, it was her choice who she wanted... And Rae wanted him. She could only hope he wanted her as badly. He gave her such mixed signals.
Back at the Dauntless compound, they filed out of the train and the initiates began making their away either to the dorms or the Pit. Rae hesitated, wanting to say something to Eric but not knowing what to say. She stood there for a moment with her eyes on the floor, people pushing past her. She soon lost her nerve, not able to think of anything that didn't sound completely stupid, and began to make her way towards the stairs along with the last of the crowd. 
She was half relieved, half terrified when she felt a strong arm around her waist, lifting her off her feet.
"Did I tell you that you could leave yet?" Growled Eric quietly in her ear.
"No." Answered Rae breathlessly. Her stomach was doing flips, as now both of his arms were tightening around her, pulling her close to his chest.
"That's right, I didn't." His lips brushed light as a feather against her ear and a shiver ran down Rae's spine. "In fact, I have somewhere I'd like you to be. Come with me." It wasn't a question, but Rae felt him tense. He was waiting for her to answer, as if he was afraid she would say no. Before Rae could lose her cool, she answered,
"Yes... Okay."