III

 " All in all that I know

There's nothin' here to run from

'Cos yeah, everybody here has

Got somebody to lean on"

"Don't Panic" -Coldplay

The hour was early, the night still evident outside as the sun had hardly begun its ascent. But the initiates were up, most of them grumbling and some of them pulling the scratchy blankets or the flat pillows over their heads to try to drown out the noise. Harper was already lacing her boots when some of the slackers were just getting out of bed. She had her medium-length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, it was not the most flattering look but it was one she was familiar with. Plus, for whatever physical activity they would be doing, she wanted her hair pulled back and out of her face. 

After she made her bed, not that it was required, she glanced down at the unswept floors and pursed her lips together. Seeing that there were still people showering and dressing, Harper got down on the floor and did her quick morning routine to warm herself up; push ups, planks, jumping jacks, and other exercises that she had worked hard to make them easy for herself. A few people glanced her way, some of them looked worried that they had not prepared themselves for Dauntless like she had, but all those people didn't have Harper's mission.

Taking authority, though not speaking up, Harper disappeared from the sleeping quarters after a quick bite to eat and made her way down to where they were be training. A few people were in there, the room was long with various punching bags, gym equipment and a fighting ring in the center. There was a small box filled with chalk for hands and feet, wraps were sitting sprawled out around it. More people shuffled in behind Harper and within a few minutes, every single transfer initiate was there, anxious, nervous, excited. The room was filled with a handful of emotions, and it could be felt. Harper hid her distrust, fear, and anxiety behind a mask of solidity. She stood taller than the others, she looked more prepared. Perhaps this would make her stand out more, but she needed Eric to notice her sooner or later.

In came Eric, followed by a tall black-haired woman. She looked as though she could get someone to do as they were told without even saying what it was they were to do. A strong authoritative figure, it appeared, matched with her build which was muscular and curvy. Harper studied her, wondered if she knew what Eric and Jeanine were up to, or if she was as oblivious as most people were. She had to assume that everyone was against her, in order to keep herself safe. The tattooed, pierced leader of Dauntless looked pitifully at the group of initiates in front of him.

"Initiates," Eric started, the way he seemed to keep addressing them. Harper wondered if he would ever bother to learn their names, or if he would never address them again once they were no longer initiates. Surely some of the initiates would reach ranks that he would associate with, though. All the leaders of all the factions would overlook some of the training and the initiation, but most only focused on the final test. Eric continued, his chiseled jaw tight. "Carson here is going to be training you."

The black-haired woman stood tall and walked ahead of Eric. "I will ensure that each and every one of you are worth protecting the factions. Listen to everything I tell you, and you might survive the first tests."

"What are the first tests?" A blonde girl asked.

"Physical tests will be done, to see how strong you are." She watched with a gentle smirk as some of the people looked weary. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you are well trained. After that, the mental strength tests. Don't worry about those yet."

"So when do we begin?" Harper asked, feeling as though Eric was staring through her when he wasn't even looking at her. His attention, however, was brought to her when she spoke up.

He unfolded his arms from across his broad chest. "Now. What's your name?"

"Harper."

"Well, Harper..." He smirked and walked right up to her, getting close in her face. She felt the warmth of his body radiating, she could smell his minty-fresh breath, and she could see the ripples of his irises. His flesh was a pale ivory, his teeth even whiter. The black tattoos upon his skin made him look tougher, they accented the black plugs in his ear lobes and the studs above his eyebrow. "Why don't you show us what you've got?"

"Eager to see me work up a sweat?" Harper threw at him with a fiery confidence that got Carson to give a deep laugh, and a few initiates to chuckle. Her green eyes met with his, she held his gaze, though she was about a foot shorter than him.

Eric's eyebrows narrowed, and that smirk stayed on his lips. "Don't think yourself so glorious, Harper. Words don't get you far here."

"Oh, I doubt that," she snarled back at him.

"Alright!" Carson raised her hands. "Harper, give me twenty, I want your nose to touch the ground with every push up. Everyone else, pick something to do and I'll come around to assist, teach, and hopefully be impressed with what I see."

The initiates scuttled off to the punching bags and some even ventured to the throwing knives station. There were knives laid out along the table, giving a lot of trust to these young initiates. Harper was standing under the watchful glare of Eric, his smirk there, but it no longer had a light, playful feel, but an ominous one. She wasted no time as she dropped down to the concrete floor and placed her hands shoulder width apart. The layer of dust upon the floor was difficult to breathe in as she lowered herself down for her first push up, her nose hitting the grey floor, and she pushed back up to plank. She repeated this, each time her nose touching the ground. Eric stood over her, wanting to make a comment about her form, but she was doing nothing wrong, and Eric was actually impressed by what she was capable of.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty," Eric finished the count with a casual tone to his voice, as if he weren't impressed. Harper ignored him and continued, she was not going to go to fatigue, but she would go until Eric began to think of her as strong. She had to be the perfect Dauntless if she wanted him to notice her, to begin to let her in, to spill his dirty secrets. "You can stop now."

Harper didn't look up at him as she pushed into her twenty-fifth push up with ease, only a mild sweat upon her brow. She breathed out heavily, and then held herself in plank to reply to him. "I wasn't doing them for your viewing pleasure."

"Get up," he growled.

Harper growled and pushed herself up into a squat and then raised to a stand, wishing she were taller to look more intimidating as she was face to face with Eric again. This time, however, there was something dangerous in his eyes that reminded her why she was here. Eric was not someone to mess around with, not someone to get on their bad side.

"I won't have you constantly battling me in front of these people," he said a deep voice.

"Why? I thought Erudite's liked a challenge, a little debating?" There was a bounce to her voice.

"I'm not Erudite; I'm Dauntless."

"Are you?" She raised both of her eyebrows and again regretted that her temper and sharp wit was coming out at Eric. He just rubbed her the wrong way, obviously this was due to the pre-determined opinion on him, making her judgement biased already. She had thought of all the things she would say to Eric when she got to the bottom of the secrets and the lies, but they were slipping out already, and the world was not ready for this yet. She turned away from him, not in a defeated way, but in a way that a royal would turn from the serfs.

Eric grabbed her arm. "Uh uh, not so fast."

"I did the damn push ups," she growled, looking over her shoulder at him like he wasn't worth her time. Already they had gained an audience, as many people had looked their way and stopped their training.

It was Carson that came over. "Eric, if you're going to distract the people I'm training, I'm going to have to ask you to take this outside the gym."

"No, we're done here." Eric released Harper's arm and shook his head, leaving the gym and leaving Harper with an empty feeling in her stomach. She had crossed a line again, leaving herself exposed, vulnerable, and now everyone would be looking at her.