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"They just keep these lying around?" I ask

"Yeah, but they aren’t loaded" Uriah pulls up his shirt There is a gun stuck under the waistband of his pants, right under a tattoo I stare at the tattoo, trying to figure out what it is, but then he lets his shirt fall "Okay," he says "Go stand in front of a target"

Marlene walks away, a skip in her step

"You aren’t seriously going to shoot at her, are you?" I ask Uriah

"It’s not a real gun," says Lynn quietly "It’s got plastic pellets in it The worst it’ll do is sting her face, ive her a welt What do you think we are, stupid?"

Marlene stands in front of one of the targets and sets the un

"Wait!" calls out Marlene She breaks off a piece of the muffin and pops it into her ives Uriah a thuood," I say to Lynn

She nods "Uriah’s second I’m first Marlene’s fourth"

"You’re only first by a hair," says Uriah as he aier The muffin falls off Marlene’s head She didn’t even blink

"We both win!" she shouts

"You miss your old faction?" Lynn asks me

"So"

Marlene picks up the round and bites into it Uriah shouts, "Gross!"

"Initiation’s supposed to wear us down to e really are That’s what Eric says, anyway," Lynn says She arches an eyebrow

"Four says it’s to prepare us"

"Well, they don’t agree on much"

I nod Four told me that Eric’s vision for Dauntless is not what it’s supposed to be, but I wish he would tell li when I juht h Has he read the Dauntless manifesto? Is that what he believes in--in ordinary acts of bravery?

The door to the training room opens Shauna, Zeke, and Four walk in just as Uriah fires at another target The plastic pellet bounces off the center of the target and rolls along the ground

"I thought I heard so in here," says Four

"Turns out it’s my idiot brother," says Zeke "You’re not supposed to be in here after hours Careful, or Four will tell Eric, and then you’ll be as good as scalped"

Uriah wrinkles his nose at his brother and puts the pellet gun away Marlene crosses the roo bites of her muffin, and Four steps away from the door to let us file out

"You wouldn’t tell Eric," says Lynn, eyeing Four suspiciously

"No, I wouldn’t," he says As I pass him, he rests his hand on the top ofbetween my shoulder blades I shiver I hope he can’t tell

The others walk down the hallway, Zeke and Uriah shoving each other, Marlene splitting herin front I start to follow them

"Wait a second," Four says I turn toward hi which version of Four I’ll see now--the one who scolds me, or the one who climbs Ferris wheels with me He smiles a little, but the smile doesn’t spread to his eyes, which look tense and worried

"You belong here, you know that?" he says "You belong with us It’ll be over soon, so just hold on, okay?"

He scratches behind his ear and looks away, like he’s embarrassed by what he said

I stare at him I feelso bold, but I could just as easily walk away I am not sure which option is smarter, or better I am not sure that I care

I reach out and take his hand His fingers slide between mine I can’t breathe

I stare up at hi moment, we stay that way Then I pull my hand away and run after Uriah and Lynn and Marlene Maybe now he thinks I’et back to the dormitory before anyone else does, and when they start to trickle in, I get into bed and pretend to be asleep I don’t need any of the to react this hen I do well If I can h initiation, I will be Dauntless, and I won’t have to see them anymore

I don’t need theot with them is a hed in this dark place was because of them I don’t want to lose them But I feel like I have already

After at least a half hour of racing thoughts, I roll onto my back and open one to bed Probably exhausted fro fro theet a drink of water I’ My bare feetthe wall to keepfountain

I tug my hair over one shoulder and bend over As soon as the water touches my lips, I hear voices at the end of the hallway I creep closer to the the dark to keep ns of it" Eric’s voice Signs of what?

"Well, you wouldn’t have seen much of it yet," someone replies A female voice; cold and familiar, but fa shows you nothing The sient rebels are, if there are any, so ill have to exae several tio cold I lean forward, my back pressed to the stone, to see who the faet the reason I had Max appoint you," the voice says "Your first priority is always finding theet"

I shift a few inches forward, hoping I a the strings; she is responsible for Eric’s leadership position; she is the one antsto see therabs me from behind