Stay Away | Eric Coulter [1]

ten

     I stared at my target with a frustrated sigh. So far, I'd only managed to hit it once. Once. And just barely, too.

Tobias had given us a demo early and had hit the bull-eye three times in a row. It was a pride-filled moment watching my brother excel at what he did. It kind of made me want to yell at the top of my lungs and let the world know that that's my brother. Fortunately for all of us, I refrained from it.

Now, the high from being a proud sister is gone and all I could think of is how much it sucked-ass that Tobias is better at this than I am- you know, friendly sibling competition and all that jazz.

I took a deep breath, taking aim once again and tried again.

This time, the bullet had gone rogue and I watched in horror as it ricochets off a metal box by the wall, narrowly missing the leg of the initiate beside me on its trip back like a bullet straight from hell.

Drew- I'm pretty sure that's what his name is- stumbles back in shock. As soon as he recovers, his face turns an ugly shade of red as he turns to me.

"Hey! Watch it, stiff!" He yells.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen-"

"Sorry?" Drew cuts me off, taking a threatening step toward me. The dude looks so pissed that it makes me stumble back in fear that he might turn violent. "You could've killed me."

Tall, broad shoulders intercepts Drew before he could take another step closer, standing between us like he was some kind of human shield.

"How dramatic," Eric's voice states in a bored tone, "At the angle it was going, that bullet would've grazed you at best."

I peer over Eric's side to see what was going on, just in time to see him snatching Drew's gun out of his hand and raising it to his chest.

"But this one would definitely do some damage," He says so casually that one might think he was talking about the weather, and not threatening another guy's life. "Now, stop whining just because a bullet almost hit you. It didn't. If I hear you complaining one more time, you'll have two choices; either I shoot you, or you're out. Am I clear, initiate?"

"Yes," Drew answers with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Good," Eric drops his gun, glancing over his shoulder at me and looking me over as if he was checking for injuries. Seemingly satisfied by his assessment, he says, "Continue."

Everyone hurriedly turns their attention back to what they're doing. Still, they all remain eerily silent.

As I return my gaze to my target and raise my gun to take aim, I feel my brother leaning over when he walks by.

"Try not to get anyone killed, will you?" He says before continuing to pace down the row.

✧

    "Alright, everyone is to be in the Pit in an hour." Eric announces, "Now, go for your damn break."

Everyone disperses and I trailed behind them once again, watching them interact with their cliques. With Uriah and the others being in a separate group, it meant that I was alone during training. Not that I minded, but it would've been nice to have someone to talk to.

"Except for you," Eric stops me as I pass him with an outstretched hand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tobias's movements falter in the midst of packing up the guns.

"You can leave the guns, Four." He says to my brother, who's giving him major stink-eye.

Tobias's eyes dart between Eric and I. There's a tick in his jaw that shows just how unhappy he is by the turn of events.

"What for?" He asks.

Eric turns at raises a brow at my brother, "The last I checked, I'm the one in charge here. And you...Your job is to follow orders."

Tobias doesn't make any move to go, squaring up with Eric with his hands filled with a crate of guns as in challenge.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Eric snaps, "Go! Don't make me repeat myself."

Reluctantly, Tobias drops the crate on the ground, glaring daggers at Eric as he backs away towards the exit. If looks could kill, Eric would definitely be dead by now.

"What do you want, Eric?" I huff when the door slams shut behind Tobias.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now?" Amusement flickers in his gaze, "You sucked at shooting. Keep that up and you'll never make it in Dauntless." He deadpans.

I scoffed, "Good to know."

I make a move to push past him, but his arm shoots out and wraps around my waist, pulling me back to stand in front of him.

"What now?"

"I'm going to help you," He says.

"Wow, how generous of you." I muster as much sarcasm as I could, "But I think I'll pass. I'd rather eat."

I start towards the exit again, only for him to reach his arm out again. He snags me around the waist like he did before, hauling me against his chest with one muscled arm.

"I wasn't asking," His arm stays securely around my waist as if he thinks I'll make a run for it as soon as he lets me go- and he's not wrong too- as his icy gaze bores into mine. "Pick up a damn gun, initiate. You're mine for the next hour, so you can forget about lunch."

I cross my arms over my chest, well aware that it makes me look like a petulant five-year-old who was refused some candy. "You're an asshole."

"So, I've been told," Eric replies with an air of nonchalance that makes me want to smack him in the back of his head.

He shoves the crate of guns towards me with the toe of his boot, "Hurry up and grab one. I don't like having to repeat myself, initiate."

I raise my chin, meeting his gaze. "That isn't my name."

"Is it not?" Eric feigns confusion, "Damn, I always wondered why all of you had the same names."

His joke takes me aback so much so that I sputter out a surprised laugh. That was probably the last thing I expected from him.

It doesn't pass my notice how the corner of his lips tip up slightly like he's trying his best to hold in a laugh of his own. But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes.

His expression remains as stoic as ever as he reaches down and shoves a gun into my chest, "Now, quit wasting my time."