Dauntless was different. It was loud, it was tough, and on her third day, she had been shot. Needless to say, it was a shocking wake-up call to the blonde. However, she seemed to have been improving since her first day. She distinctly remembered throwing a knife for the first time and completely missing; now, sheâs managed to secure almost a dead-on hit 85 percent of the time.
However, she knew that she was being judged, and her rank and security in Dauntless on the line. The pressure was intense, to say the least, and with the rest of the initiates eyes on her, as well as the trainers and leaders, she needed to make a good impression. And this was her only shot.
Stepping towards the door, the blonde took a deep breath. She had told herself that she needed to complete the course in fifteen minutes or less. She was still below the line, and although sheâd moved up a good ten rankings, she was still in danger of being cut â something that was on her list of eight biggest fears.
âKarma, once you step through those doors, your time will begin. There are absolutely no do-overs. Good luck.â The blonde rolled her eyes at the disembodied voice, stepping through the open doors. She whipped around when she heard the whoosh of the door shutting behind her, quickly shooting back forward to see a bullet whiz past her head. âHOLY SHIT.â She shouted, darting to the side. Apparently, while she was shooting, sheâd have to be dodging bullets at the same time.
Reaching for one of the guns, Karma waited until the bullets had ceased, before popping up and aiming at one of the six targets within the room. She fired quickly, beaming when the bullet actually hit the target. âYes.â She whispered, a bright smile gracing her features.
However, the expression didnât last long, as the sounds of gunshots once again and she felt a blinding pain in her bicep. Glancing down, Karma groaned. âFucking fantastic.â She muttered, shooting up the rest of the targets as quickly as she could.
2:13.
Fuck. Karma sighed, tearing a piece of her shirt off and tying it around the fresh bullet wound. She sprinted through the door, skidding back and to the side when she noticed that there was only a small platform for her to stand on, and three platforms across the room that held each of the targets. But as she reached for the set of knives, she felt a cold, sharp pain across the side of her face. Reaching up, she ignored the pain in her forearm, groaning when she felt blood on her fingertips. âReally?!âShe shouted, rolling her eyes. âAre you trying to land everyone in the infirmary?â She grunted, regaining her balance and chucking the first knife. She secretly prayed that they all stuck, as the crashing waves below the platforms was enough to scare her stiff.
Drowning. One of Karmaâs seven fears. She idly wondered if the leaders based the course off of each initiateâs personal fears list. Once the knife hit the target and stuck, she exhaled the breath she hadnât realized sheâd been holding. Sure, it wasnât a bulls-eye like she had hoped, but it was close enough, and turned to face the next target. She threw the second knife and cursed under her breath, watching as it bounced off the edge of the target, sinking into the water.
The blonde froze. The waves crashed below her relentlessly, and she backed up against the wall. She knew that sheâd have to go retrieve the weapon, but she couldnât seem to move. Glancing up at the red numbers on the mirrored wall, she sucked in a deep breath. 5:47. She knew she had to ace the obstacle course if she wanted to move up in the rankings, so she took in a deep breath of air and jumped off the platform, into the chilly water.
It was dark under the water, and she could feel her heavy jacket weighing her down. Shrugging out of the leather item, she headed towards the bottom, fishing around for the weapon. It wasnât until she felt a slice in her hand that she knew she had found it. Ignoring the stinging pain in her hand, she kicked her way up to the top, climbing back onto the platform. 6:23. Fuck, thought the blonde. She had wasted almost a full minute looking for the knife and immediately threw it again, beaming when it stuck to the target, in the upper corner. At least it stuck. Gripping the final knife, she glanced at the target, ducking to avoid another knife coming towards her. She threw once more, sighing when it stuck to the bottom center of the target. Immediately, a platform seemed to rise out of the water, and the blonde sprinted across and towards the open door.
7:07.
Karma groaned when she realized which room she had entered. Archery. She hadnât been working much with the bow, as she hadnât thought that it was an effective means for fighting. However, she should have known that if they were being taught, theyâd have to be tested. Hastily picking up the bow, she sees an arrow come flying towards her and immediately swerves out of the way, watches as it sticks into the wall. Noting that she had six arrows and three targets, the blonde twirls around and grabs the arrow that missed her, adding it to her arsenal. Just as she does, another grazes her thigh, cutting into the lightweight fabric of her leggings. âAre you fucking kidding me? Weâd better get new outfits for this shit.â She shouted, grabbing the other arrow and preparing herself for the targets.
Pinching the arrow back, Karma aims for the first target, tilting her body weight onto her right leg to avoid another whizzing arrow. The pain in her thigh from her previous bullet wound momentarily causing her to lose her balance. And as she fell, she felt another arrow hit her, lodging itself in her foot. âSon of a bitch!â She cried out, yanking the piece of wood out. âWell, at least now I have nine instead of sixâŚâ She muttered, trying to find the silver lining in the shitty situation she had been placed in. Oh how she wished she had chosen to remain in AmityâŚ
Finally regaining her balance, Karma pulled the bow taut, pinching the first arrow between her finger. She released the wire, watching the arrow sail through the air before sticking the bottom rung of the target. Better than nothing⌠she thought, setting herself up to hit the next target. Thankfully, the targets were stationary, and slightly larger, despite their being farther away. Rubbing her fingers in the dirt to counteract the sweatiness of her hands, Karma aimed again, this time missing the second target.
And the third.
And the fourth.
The blonde was thanking herself for grabbing the extra arrows that had tried to harm her, as she was running out of ammunition to hit the targets with. However, she had found the perfect angle to hit the middle target, and releasing the bow, watched as the fifth arrow struck just above the center of the bulls-eye. Suppressing her excitement to keep her concentration intact, Karma once again loaded herself, pinching the arrow with her thumb and index finger, pulling the wire back until it was taut at a 45 degree angle. She let the arrow go, watching it stick to the top corner of the target. Better than nothing, apparently, as the door opened behind them. Scrambling to her feet and avoiding the arrows still shooting out at her, the blonde rushed to the fourth room, stopping and pressing herself against the wall at the sight before her.
9:19.
One large box sat in the middle of the room, three dummies visible through the makeshift âwindows.â The flames that erupted from the entirety of the box made the room feel twice as hot, and the layer of sweat coating the blondeâs body wasnât helping. Fire. Karmaâs second biggest fear.
âYou must rescue the three dummies in the fire. The longer you wait, the larger the flames will become. The dummies are coated in flame-resistant material, but can only last so long. Failure to retrieve the dummies before they become engulfed in flames will result in termination of the test.â The disembodied voice instructed, and Karma turned to face the mirrored wall.
âFuck you!â She shouted angrily, still pressed up against the wall. Of all things, it had to be fire. She knew she was wasting time, and that if she failed, she would undoubtedly be kicked out of Dauntless.
11:54.
âPull yourself together, Katerina.â The blonde whispered to herself, her birth name sounding foreign against her lips. âYou can do this. Prove yourself. Prove to not only yourself, but your family and everyone in Dauntless that you belong.â
The blonde finally sprinted forward, ducking into the building through the tiny opening at the bottom. Through the burning flames, she spotted the first of three dummies and reached out, hissing when one of the flames licked at her forearm. âGreat. Iâm going to look like a train wreck after this..â She muttered, yanking on the dummyâs leg and  dragging it towards her. Luckily, the second wasnât far off, and only having to stretch a bit, grabbed hold of itâs arm, pulling it towards the first. She proceeded to remove her shirt, tearing it up the seams to create one large piece of fabric, and tied the two dummies together, dragging them out through the larger opening on the side.
Dropping them off in front of the mirrored wall, Karma gave the finger to the mirror, knowing that the leaders were watching her intently before ducking back into the building. However, the flames had seemed to grow, not only in size, but in brightness and temperature. Unfortunately, the third dummy was not as easily spotted in the heavy fire as the first two. Dodging the harsh flames, she delved further into the cage, finally spotting the third dummy. It held a couple burn marks, from where the fire had begun to eat away at the material. Rushing over, she grunted, the dummy heavier than the two combined. Untying the bright red ribbon from her blonde hair, Karma tied the thick fabric around the neck of the dummy, hooking it through her belt loop. She found it easier to support some of the weight on her good arm, dragging the rest with support from her belt. And after what felt like minutes, she finally emerged from the cage, the dummy burnt, but not flaming. Untying the ribbon from the dummyâs neck, she looped it through her belt, not wanting to lose yet another piece of clothing. The familiar sound of the door opening was like Karmaâs saving grace, and ducked through the door to the next room.
13:37.
Stepping into the final room, Karma gave herself a moment to check out her surroundings. A rock climbing wall, a balance beam over a bed of hot coals, a series of ropes, and one single rope, suspended over a bed of spikes, all leading to the last platform which was a bright red circle on the ground. Naturally, the walls were dotted with open holes; no doubt heavy fire would be an aspect in her agility.
However, this is where Karma knew that she could make up for lost time. Being from Amity, she had been trained in gymnastics from a young age, as a way to get out some pent up energy in the children. Rushing towards the wall, Karma ducked, the now-familiar sound emerging before the firing of bullets a clear indicator of what to come.
Waiting out the bullets, the blonde jumped up, grabbing onto the rocks as high as she could. Being 5â 8â, she was taller than most of the other girls, giving her an advantage. She didnât have as much to climb, and with her legs being rather long, she could swing over before actually reaching the top. She moved quickly, and groaned when the all-too familiar sound of the bullets ringing through her ears. She couldnât risk dropping off the wall, not halfway up. Hooking her foot into one of the small crannies, pressing herself as close to the wall as she could. One of the bullets grazed her back, and Karma fought the urge to arch backwards, knowing that if she did, a bullet would surely find its way into her head.
Ignoring the burning in her upper back, she continued on, using mainly her upper arm strength to scale the wall, trying to keep her legs as high as she could. She finally reached a point to which she could swing her legs over, and did just that, hopping off the top of the wall. She landed steadily on the balls of her feet, wincing at the various injuries that she had obtained during her test. However, she could see the door ending the test now, and knew that she could push her body to its breaking point. She needed to finish the test, there was no way around it.
Stopping for a moment, Karma felt a fairly familiar rumble in her stomach. Oh no⌠A violent round of nausea hit her, causing her to heave, but not throw up, as there was nothing in her stomach to throw up. The blonde caught her breath, glancing at the rest of the course. It seemed easier, especially with her gymnastic background. Leaping easily up onto the beam, Karma began to quickly skip across the beam, slipping into a split, her head resting on her thigh as another round of bullets fired across the room. Luckily, she had managed to get low enough to avoid the bullets, that seemed to be above her head, even at the lowest point. Once the silence captured the room again, Karma raised herself up, crossing the rest of the beam and grabbing onto the first rope.
Naturally, there was a dull, burning fire underneath the ropes. Not enough to cause severe injuries, but enough to slow one down and rake up time. Luckily, Karma had been working on her upper body strength, and swung across easily, landing gracefully on her feet. She knew that her natural flexibility would prove impressive to the leaders, and arched her back, ignoring the searing pain from the bullet that grazed her, her hands hitting the floor and leaving her in a back bend as a final round of bullets rang through the room.
Final obstacle. Karma assessed the rope, leaning forward and grabbing onto it. She pulled it towards her, stepping backwards as far as she could. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around the rope as she swung over the spikes, landing on the platform, stomach down. A loud buzzer sounded and the blonde glanced up at the bright red numbers on the wall.
15:51.
Tears pooled in Karmaâs eyes, a range of emotions flooding over her. She was in pain; the injuries she had acquired in the past sixteen minutes was enough to kill a person who hadnât been trained extensively to withstand them. She was upset; sixteen minutes was not the time the blonde had hoped for. Her personal goal had been under ten minutes, but the hold-up in the weight-lifting room had been one of her major downfalls. She was proud; she had actually finished the test. Sure, she was battered, bloody, and bruised, but she had finished. She had proven that she was tough, that she wasnât one to just give up.
Pushing up on her palms, Karma unsteadily scrambled to her feet, brushing the dust off her leggings. She took a moment to assess each injury she had gotten during the duration of the test. A fresh bullet wound to her left bicep, check. The wound looked more severe now that she had shedded her jacket and shirt. A three-inch gash on her left cheek, check. Damn the knife that she had failed to dodge in time. Two smaller stab wounds, one in her lower left thigh, and one in the top of her right foot, from the arrows, no doubt. First-degree burns on both arms, as well as her stomach, check. And of course, the brush-burn across her back from the heat o the bullet casing that grazed her back on the rock wall. It was inevitable that she would be spending at least a week in the infirmary.
âCongratulations, Karma. Your official time was 15 minutes and 51 seconds. Outside the door, a nurse is waiting to escort you to the infirmary, where your injuries and burns will be properly treated.â The disembodied voice instructed, the final door sliding open.
