𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆

𝟎𝟏𝟒

"𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.
𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩.
𝙄 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙥, 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙥.
𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩."

𝘔𝘐𝘋𝘋𝘓𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘕𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 - 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘋𝘶𝘩𝘦

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

"Amity."

A kick jostled your sleeping form as someone's boot dug into the flesh of your hip. You groaned and rolled over in your sleep. The dormitories were cold and wet and the insulated shock blanket that they provided you with did practically nothing to protect against the elements. Most nights you ended up stealing Peter's training pullovers while he slept, but he never tried to make fun of you for it when he saw you wearing one the next morning.

"(Y/N)."

"Mhm?" you hum without yet opening your eyes.

Another kick. "Wake up," the voice hissed. "Now."

You slipped slowly back into consciousness, becoming increasingly aware that not only was there someone standing over your bed with a boot hovering over the mattress, but you also knew exactly who it was. With one eye cracked open, you propped your head on the pillow to inspect him in the dim light filtering in from the hallway.

"Eric?" you croaked, trying to rub the sleep from your stubborn eyes.

"Rise and shine, initiate." His voice was lowered but not lacking in command. Eric towered over your bed, painting you in shadows. Sitting up, you ran a hand down your face. "What's going on?" you asked, voice stifled by a yawn.

"You're meeting me in the pit. Five minutes. Get dressed." Eric took his foot off of your cot. "If you're still in bed by then I won't hesitate to drag you out myself."

You nodded, still half asleep and not yet aware of your surroundings. Your muscle memory guided you into your uniform a little while after Eric finally disappeared out of the initiate's quarters. It was impossible to tell what time it was when you were underground, but with everyone else asleep around you, you suspected it had to be at least well past curfew.

Peter stirred in the cot beside yours and you froze halfway through shrugging off his pullover. You sat in that awkward position for a moment or two before he stilled and you folded up the garment on top of your pillow. Taking your boots in your hands, you jogged out of the open doors and into the light streaming in through the glass roof over the pit.

The entire compound was eerily silent. You'd never seen it so empty before with every corner of every facility usually buzzing with people. Especially the cafeteria, which was where you found Eric waiting for you with his back resting against one of the supportive cement posts.

"What time is it?" you yawn, bending over to put on your shoes. Your voice echoed across the bare walls of the room.

"Five AM," Eric nodded toward you – a silent order for you to hurry up with what you were doing.

"Oh," you squeaked. He seemed agitated – even more so than Four had been the day before at the wall. You were still curious about why exactly he'd chosen to wake you up hours before everyone else, but you figured that if you stayed quiet you would figure it out.

He led the two of you through the long corridor of training facilities before taking you up a red-lit spiral staircase that opened up onto the roof; the very same roof that he pushed you off of at the beginning of the summer.