Forever 10♥ {Book 1}

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

I reluctantly put a small smile on my face and shook everyone's hand. Max didn't need to tell me what factions each of them came from. It was obvious by how they dressed. But Max told us anyway.

"Gwendolyn or 'Gwen,' is from Abnegation. Jason is from Erudite. Elena is from Amity. And Bella is from Candor."

"Nice to meet you," Tobias said. "I'm Four and this is Six."

"Your names are numbers?" asked Bella.

"Yes." I said. "Is something wrong with that?"

Before Bella could reply, Jason opened his mouth. "Their actual names aren't numbers. It's the amount of fears they have." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You must be really smart to figure that out," Elena said to Jason. It seems like someone has a little crush.

"Yes." I said a bit sarcastically. "Absolutely brilliant."

Jason glared at me. Tobias saw this and put his arm around me protectively. Bella raised her eyes at this.

Gwen, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up. "Yes, yes. We all agree that Jason is a genius. Can we get down to business now?"

I have never seen a sassy Abnegation. This Gwen character was starting to grow on me. Even though we just met.

"Yes." Max said. I realized he was glaring at Jason. It gave me the feeling that they had some kind of past. Maybe Jason transferred from Dauntless. Max is pretty young. Maybe they were friends but then Jason transferred and Max felt betrayed. Whatever it was, Max obviously wasn't over it. "These four are going to be going over the Dauntless initiation with you two. You can go to the leaders meeting room."

As Max led us to our destination, there was silence. There was a lot of tension in the air as we walked along. Max opened a door and ushered us in. He didn't enter the room. Instead, he turned around and closed the door behind him.

"Let's begin." Gwen said, breaking the intense silence. "Will you please explain how Dauntless initiation works?"

Tobias began to explain. "After the choosing ceremony, the new initiates run and jump onto a moving train. As soon as they choose Dauntless, initiation begins. After a little train ride, they jump onto the roof of a building. If they don't get on the train, they're factionless. If they don't jump off the train, they're factionless. If they don't make it onto the roof, they're dead." Tobias paused to take a breath. "Then, Max," Jason glowered at his name. "introduces them to Dauntless. The he says they have to jump off of the roof. The first jumper goes, and then the rest follow. They jump onto a net. Then we give them a tour of the compound. After that, the first stage of initiation begins."

"And what is the first stage of initiation exactly?" asked Bella.

"It's physical stuff. We teach them how to shoot guns and how to fight." I explained.

"They fight each other. Correct?" asked Jason.

"Yes. They learn hand-to-hand combat by fighting each other." I said.

"Why is it necessary for them to learn how to fight and shoot?" asked Gwen.

"In case they need to protect themselves." Tobias told them. "If they or someone they love is under attack, they need to be able to try and get rid of the threat."

"And what, exactly, is that threat?" questioned Gwen.

"Most of the time, it is other people. We live in a dangerous world. You never know when someone is going to try and stab you in the back." Tobias paused. "Sometimes it's your own family." I knew Tobias was thinking about Marcus.