Marlene tries to get Four to tell her where his team put it when he won but he refuses. Then someone else speaks up, "Navy Pier, my brother was on the winning team. They kept the flag at the carousel."
Will suggests we all head there and there's nowhere else for us to go, so we go. I take the time to load my paintball gun up as we walk, shaking the flashlight given to us on the train to get it to work.
"Stupid thing is broken," I complain, still tired from my lack of sleep. Pale hands take it from mine and I almost curse at them before seeing it's Four. "What–"
"You have to redo the batteries, we put them in backward to save their energy." He quickly unscrews the back and drops them into my hand.
"Oh, thanks." I smile awkwardly and he nods. Huh, he's always doing that to me. I shove the batteries back inside and am gifted with light.
That boy from early pokes fun at Marlene, "Scared of the dark, Mar?"
She lifts her lip at him, annoyed by his teasing. "If you want to step on broken glass, Uriah, be my guest." She snaps, but still... she shuts it off. Huh. I keep mine trained on the ground in front of me, I've stepped on plenty of glass in my life to never want to do so ever again.
There's a large round structure with boxes hanging precariously at different intervals, it looks familiar but I can't find the word to describe it. "Think about it. People used to ride that thing. For fun." Will says.
"They must have been Dauntless," Tris suggests with a smile.
Christina snorts, "Yea, but a lame version of Dauntless. A Dauntless Ferris wheel wouldn't have cars. You would just hang on tight with your hands, and good luck to you." I can't help but feel like Christina is right. But it also makes me sad that she says that, remembering the chasm incident.
The carousel is decrepit and aged. A few of the horses are missing limbs, most notably, their heads. I shudder. Four gets the flag from his jacket as we form a semicircle in front of him. "In ten minutes, the other team will pick their location, I suggest you take this time to formulate a strategy."
It's like he expects someone to say it, "We may not be Erudite, but mental preparedness is one aspect of your Dauntless training. Arguably, it is the most important aspect."
Will seems to want to take the lead as I begin looking for any kind of vantage point. The most obvious one is that stupid Ferris wheel. "Some people should stay here and guard, and some people should go out and scout the other team's location," Will suggests. It's not a half-bad idea, but it's not a plan.
"Yea? You think? Who put you in charge, transfer?" Marlene yanks the flag from his hands and I decide I'm not too fond of her because of it.
"No one," He argues, "But someone's got to do it." Right again.
"Maybe we should develop a more defensive strategy. Wait for them to come to us, then take them out." Christina says, I don't like that plan and shake my head at her.
Uriah scoffs at her idea, "That's the sissy way out, I vote we all go out. Hide the flag well enough that they can't find it." Another horrible idea.
Soon enough everyone is borderline arguing, I just wander off toward the Ferris wheel. Tris follows me. "Can't believe they're arguing." She says.
"I can, my mom always did say Dauntless were argumentative. Didn't really believe her until now." I hold onto my gun securely.
"Do you think we could climb that thing for a vantage point?" She wonders and I shrug.
"I was thinking the same thing, you're not afraid of heights, are you?" Tris shakes her head, "Good, but I am thinking you should watch down here. We don't know how much weight the ladder can hold."
Tris nods, "Okay, I'll make sure nobody shakes it or anything." I roll my eyes, "Kidding, I'll totally let them prank you."
"Not funny," I hand her my paintball gun, "Seriously watch my back."
"I will, don't worry, Rita." I can't help but worry anyway. I zip my jacket up to my neck and take a deep breath.
I begin to climb up the thin ladder, feeling more uneasy with each rung I pass. "Rita," That voice is right below me, I almost lose my footing but luckily I don't let go of the rung above me, but rather, grip it tighter.
"You cannot just sneak up on me like that, especially when we're fifteen feet up in the air," I snap, not even caring if it's my instructor I'm snapping at.
Four looks amused as he shakes his head, "Tris said you were coming up, it is my job to make sure none of you die in this process."
I sigh but nod, "Okay. Just don't do that ever again."
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