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Chapter 20

Freya's behavior lingered in my mind; I couldn't shake off that feeling that she was telling me my father was in danger. Sometimes my mind played tricks on me, suggesting that Freya might be in danger, and my father could be the cause.

I didn't know how to interpret the situation or if I should do anything about it. And if I did decide to act, what were the chances of success?

I need to investigate Norman; there must be a record in Amity of all those born there.

I walked quickly through the pit, finished eating, and went to leave the plate in the dining area. I didn't see any of my friends or acquaintances along the way, so without any distractions, I swiftly headed to the training room, where I eagerly awaited Four's lesson, one that I might even enjoy, since Genesis wouldn't be there. I entered the training room; at least two people were training in one corner of the ring, and despite their presence, the place looked empty. I continued walking to the back, where we usually took our training. I could make out Eric's back, who was standing in front of the board, his head was turned downwards, occasionally lifting it to check the board.

I frowned as I approached him because Four was nowhere to be seen around. I positioned myself beside him carefully, trying to be as stealthy as possible. As I got closer, I could see the screen in his hands, which he was typing on rapidly, and it seemed to be connected to the board as it moved accordingly.

"You're late."his voice was hoarse, a voice that hadn't uttered a word in quite a while, sounding demanding.

"Sorry." I apologized. "Freya said to finish eating."

"Mm-hm."he responded disinterestedly.

"And Four ? Freya said he would supervise the training," I asked.

"He won't."he replied bluntly.

"So, am I doing it alone then?" I asked, not understanding.

"I'll do it," he stated without taking his eyes off the screen.

I nodded slowly. Freya asked me to keep my distance from him. This won't be convenient.

I opened my mouth to speak, lifted my gaze, and immediately, my name on the board caught my attention.

"Why am I number four?" I asked indignantly. "Who is Mike?" I asked again.

Eric sighed wearily, glancing at me with annoyance. "Don't you ever get tired of asking?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, especially not when I'm number four."I responded indignantly.

His face showed someone who hadn't had a good day, someone who wasn't happy and just wanted silence.

"Mike is a born Dauntless , alright? Born
Dauntless and you train separately, but you'll be classified together. There was a change in organization for you, where you're number one." he said with irony. "I wouldn't worry about that board, Grace. This one here."he pointed to the one in front of us, "is the one that matters, the one you should be concerned about right now," he said, lowering the screen and turning it off.

"Why are they showing us this just now?" I asked.

"It was Four's job to do it, but Genesis insisted. You were below the line, I spoke with Max and Freya, and now I have to do it and show it," he shrugged, turning to face me.

I nodded in surprise. "Thank you."

"I'm giving you too many chances, Grace. At the end of the first stage, I want to see you in first place, understood?" he demanded. "Otherwise, I'll disqualify you myself in the second stage. Now, why aren't you warming up?"

******************

I inhaled all the air my lungs could take, my chest hurt, demanding more air, a break, or to end its suffering once and for all. I collapsed to the floor while shaking my head, urgently needing water and a towel as I was sweating profusely.

Four and Genesis were definitely the kindest and most gentle compared to Eric. He was determined to torture me in ways I never thought possible, subjecting me to an exercise that made me doubt my physical condition.

Everything was fine when I started warming up and hitting the punching bag. Then, with a malicious smile, he said, "let's go with the big exercise." and we left the Dauntless facilities. He put a vest on my back that he called "weighted," a vest with 10 kilograms of weight on it, and then everything got worse. There came a point where my vision blurred, and I thought I might pass out, but his threats kept me from giving up.

I completed the exercise with my mind in another world, my only salvation to end that torture was to distract my mind while finishing. And so it was, Eric shouted "Stop" abruptly, and I collapsed to the ground.

It consisted of a 2.5 km run, 150 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats, all with that stupid vest on.

A water bottle hit my legs, followed by a small towel, and I looked up to see the cause of the miracle. Eric nodded, smiling.

Regardless of his nice smile, I grabbed the water, taking a big gulp, savoring the sensation for several seconds.

"You completed the Murph in less than two hours. I should promote you to leader right now," he said as he took his screen and typed something I couldn't see.

I nodded casually, took a towel, and started drying my face. Once my face was dry, I lowered it and tried to unfasten the vest, but I couldn't.

"Better help me with this first," I pleaded wearily.

I noticed him putting away the screen, then he leaned in to grab me by the armpits and lift me up as if I weighed nothing. With effort, I stood while he unfastened the stupid vest that I hated. He took it off and left it on the ground. I smiled without showing my teeth and sat back down beside the garment to continue drinking water.

"So, a leader, huh? Sounds good," I nodded, watching the sun set between the mountains. "Did Mike do that badly?" I raised an eyebrow.

"From the table, you're the only one who completed the Murph. In fact, it's forbidden," he shrugged.

I stopped drinking water to look at him seriously. "Forbidden?"

"Yeah, the last person who tried it was two years ago. They say he died, so they banned it," he recounted as if it were the most normal thing.

"Did you risk my life by making me do an exercise that's forbidden?" I asked, still unable to fully believe it.

He turned without any expression, pursed his lips slightly, and nodded as if it weren't a big deal. "I could have died."I spoke angrily.

"But you didn't."he shrugged. "The infirmary is nearby, in case you passed out I planned to take you there. Death in the Murph isn't instantaneous." he explained. "You should feel good, not everyone completes it. It'll be beneficial for your record."

"Beneficial? It's forbidden. They could fire you if they find out you made me do the Murph despite knowing its consequences."

Eric smiled, took out his screen, and squatted down, showing me the glass screen with blue and white letters. My photo was in the top left corner, my data listed below, and underneath was the description.

"Grace Cyprian, even knowing the consequences of the Murph, was willing to do it, accepting the consequences. Eric Coulter supervised the training. Results: SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED IN A TIME OF 01:46:08."

"It says there that I accepted even knowing the consequences. I don't remember you warning me, or even mentioning what I was doing," I pointed out the screen he was tucking into his vest.

"If I had told you not to do it, you wouldn't have wanted to," he replied.

"Clearly not, my life was at stake," I retorted.

"Are you Dauntless? A Dauntless doesn't fear anything, Grace. Fear makes you a coward and closes doors. You finished the Murph, completed a training routine that not everyone finishes, especially not in that time. If you want to be a leader, start by forgetting about fear. Having this description in your record will only make your leadership position more evident," he spoke with annoyance.

I fell silent, not lowering my gaze from his remarkable eyes as I processed the situation. I mentally slapped myself, reaching the conclusion that he was right.

I nodded, clearing my throat. "You're right."

"I always am," he remarked, standing up. "Now get up, we're not done yet."

******************

"It's past 8, shouldn't we be sleeping?" I suggested, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed. "I mean, tomorrow is a long day, and I suffer from insomnia."I shrugged.

He gave me a 20-minute break while he left. He didn't give details and just exited the training room, saying he needed to fix some things. In reality, it took him 30 minutes. When he returned, he told me to follow him.

We left the Dauntless facilities and entered a warehouse in front of it. At first glance, there was a hallway, and at the end, a locker where Eric opened it, revealing several weapons. And here we were, for my part, I watched as Eric chose a weapon and loaded a cartridge.

"It's still early; we still have firearms training. Four notes that you lack coordination, and I've seen the footage; your feet are clumsy." he said, closing the locker. "Here, load it."he handed me the gun.

I took it and the cartridge, loaded it without any problems, with a successful "click" at the end. He nodded, turned around, and entered a door halfway down the hallway.

"This is a simulation with obstacles, one of the best Dauntless has."I followed him as he opened a screen attached to the wall, causing the lights to come on. "You enter through that door, and the simulation begins. There are no aluminum men here; they're holograms and they're fast. Don't get distracted, and don't let your fear freeze you; I'll be watching you through this screen."

I nodded. "If I don't succeed on the first try, will you disqualify me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No." he assured. "I have other methods of torture." He shrugged.

"You know how to motivate."I commented sarcastically, and entered through that door.

Without saying a word, I closed the door behind me, the lock clicking immediately, sending shivers down my spine. I exhaled, gripping the gun tightly. There was an arrow on the wall pointing to the right, so I followed it, taking my first step to the right. Suddenly, a light illuminated behind me, making me turn quickly. Instinctively, I fired, and the red hologram holding a gun disintegrated. I observed the weapon—it wasn't real; it was technology that interacted with the holograms.

"Don't just stand there; time is precious."Eric's voice echoed from the camera in the upper left corner.

Startled, I nodded and continued walking down the hallway. As I reached the end, I stopped, leaning against the wall with the gun ready. I took a deep breath, calming myself, and quickly peeked around the corner, aiming the gun. Three holograms appeared again, and I shot them successfully.

With my heart pounding uncontrollably, I headed toward a staircase. The arrow indicated I should go upstairs, so I followed it.

I admit it was thrilling; I was really enjoying the adrenaline rush every time the holograms appeared, and I took them down. I climbed the stairs, and then things escalated quickly. I ran to an old sofa to take cover and slowly took out the holograms one by one.

Most of them were armed, some with guns and others with axes, so I targeted the ones with firearms first. After dealing with them, I stood up, but my intuition told me it wasn't over yet. With my gun ready, I walked cautiously, all my senses on high alert. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a red hologram hiding behind a door—Dauntless' technology was impressive.

Without hesitation, I fired and successfully took out the hologram. Then I descended the other set of yellow stairs indicated by the arrow.

I shot another hologram at the end of the stairs, and before descending fully, I peeked to both sides. With a surge of bravery, I cautiously stepped out of the hallway, rounding the corner and heading towards the door marking the end. I was halfway there when, on instinct, I turned back and saw five holograms running towards me with axes, quickening my pulse. I sprinted towards the door and, once leaning against it, I began shooting at each one. I opened the door and stepped out backwards, bumping into Eric.

I turned around, startled, ready to aim and shoot again, but he took the gun and lowered it. I cleared my throat, lowering the gun completely. "Sorry," I murmured.

He nodded and walked over to the screen. "That was good, I'll give you at least a 7," he said as he typed on the screen. "The simulation also gives you a 7," he added, shrugging.

"But why a 7?" I asked, approaching him as he stood in front of the screen.

"Hiding in the sofa was a stupid move; you got shot. See, right there," he pointed at the video footage on the screen, rewinding to the moment I was hiding in the sofa. "Right at that moment," he indicated my knee, where a small red ball clearly pierced through. "You could have hidden here," he pointed to the metal wall near the stairs, on the other side of the sofa.

I huffed in annoyance. "I want to do it again," I said, grabbing the gun and heading towards the main door, only to find it blocked.

I turned to Eric, who had a mocking expression mixed with amusement. "You'll try again tomorrow," he said, approaching me with confident yet slow steps. He took the gun from my arms, maintaining eye contact as our hands connected. Lowering his head to bring his face close to mine, he whispered, "It wasn't so bad, but I want a 10 tomorrow." His voice was husky, and he smiled, showing curiosity as he scrutinized my face. I held back a sigh.

"You won't disqualify me, will you?" I whispered.

"No, I'm not done with you yet." he replied.

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