Dauntless- A fanfic of Divergent

Chapter 7- Alex

The word of Tyson’s pure humiliation reaches Shauna pretty quick. Zeke enters the hall pretending to throw knives like a ninja, and Shauna rushes over to me. She grips my shoulders “That. Was. Epic.” I glance at Jake, who is standing near us, and say “Shh!” She looks and smirks “What cu’ ‘fraid of ninja?” I can’t help but laugh at this. “Only about a week until we combine groups…” I mention. She perks up a bit. “Heck ya!” And before I can really tell whats going on, I’m racing around the dining hall on Zeke’s shoulder again. “Really!?” I yell. He puts me down again. “Anyways, us Dauntless born-“ Shauna starts, but is cut off by Zeke “Um, I think you mean cool kids.” She rolls her eyes “Ok, cool kids, are going on a secret mission tonight.” She says, raising an eyebrow. “Wanna come?” Zeke finishes in a hushed tone. They must have known each other for a long time to finish each other’s sentences like that. I smile “What kind of a mission? Not one to overthrow Natalie, I hope.” Shauna chuckles and mumbles “I wish.” Zeke shakes his head. “Mostly we get to act like Superman.”

And here I am again, running with a large group of Dauntless. Up many stairs, to the top of a building we had to take the train to get to. Its pretty windy up here, but the view is amazing. I’ve never really minded heights, obviously. It’s exhilarating. I can make out a metal cable stretching from the building out over the city. I can’t tell how far it goes. A pile of black harnesses lie on the ground. I catch my breath “No way.” I say to Shauna. “Yes way!!” She shoves me forward. Zeke has a harness waiting. “It’s tradition.” He explains and tightens the straps. His fingers brush my back, and I shiver. What was that? “Nervous?” he asks. I look over into his deep hazel eyes, almost getting lost in them again. This really is an odd time to be thinking about him. Shouldn’t I be thinking about my possible death or something? “Not one bit.” I say, without a hint of apprehension in my voice, and he lets go.

I scream as I go plummeting off of the building and down the zip line. I am laughing and screaming at the same time. This is amazing! The wind rushes in my face, blowing my ponytail around my back. My eyes are watering from the wind, but I hardly notice. My heart pounds so hard I think it will explode. I let out a whoop and spread my arms like a bird. I come over a low point, and gradually slow down as the sun sets over the buildings. I’m only a few feet off the ground, over an old mattress. I wipe tears out of my eyes and attempt to undo my harness. I’m having a bit of trouble, my fingers are cold from the wind. A familiar laugh comes whizzing down, and I panic, knowing that Shauna will run into me if I’m still up here. I fumble with the buckle, and finally get it loose. I don’t think, I just drop, a split second before Shauna runs over where I was. I stand and catch her feet, ignoring the slight ache in my ankle. She undoes the buckle much faster than I did, and drops down. We look at each other, and burst out laughing. “That was… way to close.” I say between gasps of air. She nods, and we stand there, watching the others come down the line. Our faces are red, our hair is a mess, but I’ve never felt so unhuman. In a good way.

I am rather surprised by how much my muscles hurt the next morning. My companions and I hobble rather than walk to breakfast. At least we wake up on time now. Alex is acting weird. She seems more quite than ever. I notice Tyson hovering around her, almost domineering, possessive. What is going on between them? I feel like I should do something, but I’m not sure what.

“Today we begin personal combat. You will be taught the basics, then participate in 4 days’ worth of fights. How you do in these will determine your rank.” Cunningham says. Good thing I’ve practiced.

“Try to relax your legs, Cal. You’re standing on the balls of your feet like a ballerina.” Four criticizes as we practice some basic punches. I’ve never learned the exact names or types of them, I used to just go hit things when I was upset. We’re currently doing a 3 punch routine. I say the names over and over again. Hook, jab, uppercut. Hook, jab, uppercut. My knuckles are turning red. These bags are rough, and they don’t give very much. Next year’s transfers are lucky. They get new gyms.

I talk to Alex after we are let out. I am worried, she’s only been nice to me, and something’s obviously wrong. I know it might not be any of my business, but I don’t want anyone to get hurt. She reluctantly agrees to chat. “So, how are things?” I ask, trying to get at least a 2 word answer. “Um, fine, I guess.” Wow, 4. “That’s not true.” I say. Her face turns red. “Well, its stressful, you know? I’m not the strongest person. I’m not doing very well.” She admits. This might be easier than I thought. “I know how you feel. You know you can talk to me anytime, right?” I say. She nods, and her expression flashes agitation, maybe even confusion. “Can I tell you about something else then?” she says. This surprises me. “Um, yeah, totally.” She pulls her long sleeves down, a bit shyly. “So you know Tyson, right?” I nod. “I’ve liked him for a really long time. I told him back in Candor. We’ve kind of been going out since then.” I blink, shocked. Nobody knew this. He didn’t act a lot like a boyfriend. “Kind of.” She stresses, seeing my expression. “But he…” she struggles with the words, her voice breaking a bit. “He hit me the other day.” My feelings change from shock to fury. “Oh my god Alex, why do you stay around him?” She crosses her arms “I… I don’t know. I think I love him, Cal.” She says, finally breaking into tears. I pull her into a hug. She continues to talk in sobs “I love him, but he hurts me, I don’t know what to do!” I look at her “Alex, you need to stand up for yourself. You’re Dauntless now.” She takes a deep breath, calming down a bit. “Ok. If you think so, its probably right. I will, tonight.” I didn’t realize she looked up to me that much. “Good. But do what you think is right.” I say. She hugs me again “Thanks Cal. You’re a really good friend. And person.” I grin a bit. “Hey, I like to help people. You included. Especially you.” She smiles, wiping tears off of her cheek. “I have to go.” She says, standing and walking off. “Bye.” I say quietly, she’s already out of earshot. I feel strangely protective of her. Like a sister.