𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆

𝟎𝟎𝟑

"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙣' 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙞𝙧
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣' 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙤𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠."

𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘦 - 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!"

Eric had to force his eyes not to roll as he surveyed the newest batch of initiates in front of him. They somehow managed to look even more pathetic than the group he'd trained the year before.

He soaked up their reverent glances with a smirk but quickly swallowed his pride. He had their attention and he wasn't about to lose it.

"I'm one of your leaders," he announced, gesturing to the cavern behind him. No use beating around the bush. The building had caved at the center sometime during the war, leaving behind a massive concrete crater. "If you want to enter Dauntless, this is your way in."

He made a point to kick a stray pebble off of the ledge he was perched on, pausing so that everyone could hear that there was no sound of impact. A few began to whisper nervously. Others gulped and shuffled to the outskirts of the group.

"If you don't have the guts to jump, you don't belong in Dauntless," Eric added, making sure they knew that their cowardice hadn't gone unnoticed.

There was more black in front of him than any other color. Less of the initiates were from foreign factions this year but there was a fair share of new faces too. Like the Erudite boy who raised his hand but didn't wait for permission before asking;

"Is there water at the bottom or something?"

Eric shrugged and cocked his head to the side. He remembered being Erudite—Curious and unrelenting, eager to absorb as much information as possible. But this kid would have to learn just as quickly as he did that there were more important things to worry about than being the smartest person in the room.

"Guess you'll have to find out."

The boy visibly deflated and the crowd began murmuring once more. Eric's eyes fanned over them with a bored sneer. Watching the initiates squirm was only fun as a first-year leader. But now the display of weakness made him even more apprehensive about the newest generation of Dauntless soldiers.

The Dauntlessborn were nudging each other, daring one another to accept the challenge and jump off of the roof. The Erudite silently studied the reactions of their peers while the Candor (of which there were only five) seemed just as content waiting for everyone else to figure it out for them.

Eric's eyes narrowed and his chin jerked upward. From behind the wall of initiates, his eye caught a flicker of something he could have sworn was yellow. It stood out against the stony grey rooftop. Like a ray of sunshine had materialized there, making everyone else pale in comparison to its light.

It'd been ages since anyone had seen yellow on this roof. Yellow meant Amity. Amity meant a whole new series of problems for him to deal with.

A few of the initiates got the message and parted down the middle so Eric could see once and for all just who'd been stupid enough to transfer all the way across the city. But his smirk faltered and his face went numb once he realized that it wasn't just any Amity.

It was you. 

(A/N: THIS IS SUPER SHORT JUST GIMME A SECOND. I SPLIT THIS CHAPTER IN HALF CAUSE IT DIDN'T FLOW RIGHT. Eric Coulter is sexy that's all).