Venus Eaton is desperate to escape the abuse of her previous faction although she is unaware and unprepared of the ordeals of Dauntless initiation. She is a stranger to her own brother until he accuses her of murdering their mother, and finds out th...
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VENUS
A SHAKY sigh escapes my lips as I glance up at the structure, my lips pressed together. I hear Kathleen shuffle beside me.
"Should I go instead?" She says. "You're hurt, you won't be able to climb-"
"What makes you think that?" I give her a harsh look before placing one foot on one of the navy metal rungs. Up close, they are actually scratched and partly brown with rust, and I wonder if they'll hold my weight.
With a shrug, I push my entire weight onto the single bar, resting myself against the verticle ones that run up to the very top. They are too steep to climb, so I reach across. My fingers skin the main Viking ship structure. If I get inside, I can climb up the crossbars which will be a lot easier.
"Hurry up, initiate." Eric grumbles behind me, and I clench my teeth. I had forgotten he was following me until now, so I hurriedly cling to the edge of the ship as I pull myself into the belly of it. I let out a gasp of pain as I push my self up. Suprise washes over me as the ship rocks a little and I fall backward into a seat.
"Get up."
"You were quick?"I say to him. I'm sitting on a seat in one of the rows, although at his voice I quickly scramble to my feet. The ship rocks again, and I grip onto his arm to stop myself from falling again.
"It's okay." He says, although his voice is just as emotionless as it was before. I look down, before glancing across at the criss-cross rungs on the other side.
"We can't keep them waiting," I say, and smile a little before I walk away from him toward the rungs. After a moment he follows me, and I try my best to ignore the swing of the ship, using the seats for support until my hands clutch the cold metal.
"I'll climb," I explain. "You can wait down here until I'm done."
"What's the point in that? If you fall, I won't be there to help you." He snaps, and I roll my eyes as I place one foot on the metal. "I'm your leader. I do whatever I want." I let out a sigh. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, literally anything.
"Fine, then." He probably wouldn't help me if I fell, so bringing him along wouldn't do any harm anyway.
I begin climbing. The rungs are positioned in a slant, so it's easy for me to climb. Another step and a gust of wind presses against the side of my face.
I shake my head to move my hair from my sight, but it doesn't and the second step I take misses the bar completely. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just misstepped until I hear a bar thump against the ground. The ship trembles again and I let out a shriek, waiting for my body to plummet although... it doesn't.
Eric's large hand clamps around one of my hips, and I feel his palm squeezing my bare skin. My breath hitches in my throat, I would've scrambled away if I could but up here, the only way is down. I focus on my trembling fingers as he pushes me forward, regaining my balance.
