Violet has tried to fit into Amity her whole life and has yet to succeeded. Instead of sticking around and hoping to please her father for years to come, she chooses another fate in Dauntless. Violet may be cunning and smart and very lethal, but can she survive initiation unscathed? What happens when she makes new friends and forms relationships? What happens when she falls in love with a certain brown-eyed Pedrad boy? What happens when the balance of the faction system is disrupted by a civil war? Told from the point of view of Violet herself, this is Affinity, A Divergent Story.
Your life can change in an instant.
It's a cliché, but like all clichés, it's the truth. Your life can change in a matter of minutes; it can change in a small moment or even in seconds.
My life changed the second my blood dripped into that bowl of smoldering coals.
The Dauntless roar and cheer and stand up for me, clapping obnoxiously as I make my way over to my new faction. Members with metal rings stuck in their faces clap me on the back and congratulate me as I find the next empty seat, my ears ringing from all the screams vibrating against my eardrums.
They aren't as loud as they were a minute ago though, when a small Abnegation girl chose Dauntless as well. She sits a few rows beneath me, her hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Beatrice, I think her name is. She probably won't get past the first few minutes of initiation.
I keep my eyes trained on my lap as the Choosing Ceremony continues, my fingers fiddling with the hem of my red dress. I could have stayed in my faction with my father, just like he wanted. But I betrayed him, and now he's all alone in the big, empty house. I feel a twinge of sadness for him, just for a moment, but it disappears quickly, because I remember what would have happened if I'd stayed.
But did I make the right choice? Maybe not. I'm plenty smart and I get good grades, but I don't think I'm Erudite material. My mother always told me that Erudite was about knowledge instead of intelligence anyway and there's only so much space in my brain. Most of it's filled with air and practical things, like how to make dinner or how to do the washing.
I can be honest, sure. But I do believe that there's a fine line between telling the truth and telling people secrets they don't need to know. I have things to keep to myself, like everyone other than the Candors.
I wouldn't call myself selfless. There was this time in my second year when I gave up my spot in the lunch line for a girl in a wheelchair but it was nothing compared to the amount of Abnegation who would put forth the effort to make sure she was first every day. Most of my intentions are selfish and I like being able to look in the mirror everyday I couldn't survive in Abnegation — it's much too stifling.
I'm kind. Or I can be kind. It's what I've been raised as all my life. When people see my red and yellow clothes and my long hair, they expect me to be nice all the time. They expect me to never get angry or get sad, like I'm born with only one emotion. I couldn't stay in Amity anyway. If I had, I wouldn't have been able to fill the expectations my father or my aunt Jo had for me, I'd be a failure.
So Dauntless it is. The brave faction, the warrior faction. The faction that's always loud and jumping from moving vehicles. They stomp their feet as someone else chooses this faction, the first since I chose.
The only empty seat is, of course, next to me. A boy with tan skin and unruly curly hair sits there, struggling to wrap the provided bandage around the slice on his palm. He must have cut a little too deep, because the blood is seeping out steadily from the wound, and the bandage won't stay put. My Amity habits, although annoying at times, would be helpful now.
"Let me," I tell the boy, my hands automatically flying over to aid him. I wrap the bandage around his palm in one swift motion, tying it at the end so that it stays in place.
"Thanks," he says. He then examines his hand, turning it over and flexing the muscles in his fingers. The boy looks up and beams at me, flashing me his blindingly white teeth. "I'm Uriah."
He holds out his uninjured hand. I shake it quickly. "I'm Violet."
He laughs lightly like I told him something funny. Uriah leans closer to me, like he's studying my face. I feel myself turning red. "You're pretty." He says it like it's common knowledge.
I keep my eyes on his. They're a lovely, mesmerizing deep brown color, with gold speckles around the irises. Although they're hard to see because of his skin tone, he has freckles on his nose and cheeks, much like mine. He's giving me a sly, flirtatious smile, and it's so exact that I'm sure he's spent hours perfecting it. Or maybe he does this often.
"I bet you say that to all the girls," I counter.
He looks genuinely taken back. "I can assure you, I don't." He pulls away, sitting back in his chair. He looks at his hand again, fiddling with the bandage. "When did you learn how to do this sort of thing, anyway?"
"My mother was a nurse," I tell him.
He replies but I can only see his lips moving because the crowd is so loud. There must be another transfer. He laughs as the noise dies once again. "My mom works by the fence," he says eventually.
I smile at him. "Maybe I knew her," I say.
The Choosing Ceremony must be over because all the Dauntless stand and start to file out quickly, jumping over rows and sliding down rails. Uriah grabs my hand and grins. "Do you know what happens next?" he asks.
He pulls me from my seat and we jog out of the Hubs main entrance. I'm laughing now, and we run down the stairs so fast that pain shoots up my legs, but I don't mind it. Uriah doesn't let go of my hand as we run; instead, he grips it tightly, shouting along with all the other Dauntless.
We run until the train tracks outside of the Hub are visible. The blaring of a horn can be heard in the distance over the cheering. "Listen Vi," Uriah says, like we've known each other for years. "We're going to have to jump. It's not hard, but it takes practice. We can do it together." I nod my head as the train speeds closer. Uriah tugs on my arm and we're running again.
I pump my legs faster than I ever have, trying to stay close to the train. Without letting go of my hand, Uriah latches on to the handle of an empty car and pops open the door.
And then he swings me up into the air.
I'm weightless, cradled by nothing but the air around me. I lean into the sudden momentum supporting my body, and land roughly inside the train car, quickly scurrying away from the edge so that I don't fall out.
Uriah still hangs from the handle and he's grinning wildly at me. My eyes are wide and I can feel a smile creeping on to my lips and I'm laughing, because now we're two stories up and he's crazy. He swings himself inside and pushes his body against the metal wall with his feet.
My heart is pumping loudly in my ears. "Wow," I say.
"Wow? That's all you have to say?" Uriah laughs.
I nod. "Wow."
He laughs again and it makes my heart soar. We're giggling together and he takes my hand again, his eyes never leaving mine. "You're something else Violet," he tells me.
I'm still looking into his eyes. I open my mouth to speak but before I can say anything, someone shouts loudly, "Uriah!"
Two girls, one with fair skin and mousy brown hair and the other completely bald headed and sporting a frown, stand in front of us. They lower themselves on to the floor of the cart and sit cross legged. The one with hair cocks an eyebrow, "Who's this?" She asks.
Uriah's grinning again. "This is Violet." He says. "Violet, this is Lynn and Marlene."
They both look down at our conjoined hands and two things happen, Marlene frowns deeply and Lynn replaces hers with a large smile. "I think we're going to be great friends, Violet," Lynn tells me.
Marlene nods in agreement but it doesn't seem very genuine.
"So what happens next?" I ask them.
"We're jumping," Lynn says.
The only time I've ever jumped from something that was moving was when I was about twelve. My father was driving his truck into the center of our faction and I was leaning over the side, watching the fields as they flew by. I slipped and fell off and broke my leg, and I remember the Erudite doctor who told me it would only take a few months to heal.
Before I can ask any more questions, people start to rise and stand near the edge of the train, preparing to jump. My head is out the door and I look to my left, people jump onto a roof covered in gravel. Our car inches closer, and when it's just meters away, I feel someone grab my hand.
Of course it's Uriah. "We'll jump together again, okay?" he says. I nod.
A few Dauntless-born jump. Lynn flies like a bird in the air and lands on her feet like a cat. Uriah runs forward, dragging me with him. I close my eyes and hope we make it.
I'm weightless again for a moment, my heart dropping into my stomach. Wind whips around me, and I can't hear anything. I open my eyes just in time, and I bend my knees before I hit the roof. I only stumble a bit, and the jolt of pain coming from my legs is barely noticeable. Uriah laughs and I stifle a giggle.
The last of our car jump. Marlene rolls a few times on impact, gravel sticking to her cheeks. I help her wipe it off. "I thought you'd done this before?" I ask.
"We're supposed to act like we don't expect it, so the transfers don't feel like they're at a disadvantage. Just like the net at the bottom of the hole in the roof," She explains.
"Net?" I say, "There's a net at the—"
A Dauntless girl with dark hair and fair skin jumps from the next car. She trips on the edge of the car, and falls forward. I'm so close to the tracks that I could have reached out to save her. Her body falls to ground and when she lands, she splatters uncomfortably on the pavement. I hope for a second that she's survived, but the blood that pools around her cracked skull says otherwise.
"Rita!" someone screams. I am horrified.
I back away from the edge of the roof, my back hitting Uriah's chest. He takes my hand again, like it's something we've always done. "It's okay, Vi. People die here all the time. It's a part of life," he tells me.
The sunshines brightly and someone hushes Rita's crying family. I squint and look forward. I see an older man walking along the raised edge of the roof carelessly, swaying his body as he turns back and forth.
"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction" He glares at us, and stops walking, jumping down from the edge and landing on his feet. I notice that he's much older than any Dauntless I've seen, most of Dauntless is younger people, around twenty or thirty. He has deep wrinkles and gray spots in his otherwise brown hair. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates will have the privilege of going first."
Nobody moves, except for the crowd of members, who step aside, forming a wide path for the initiates. No one looks eager to leap off the building, many brushing off dirt from their pants that wasn't there in the first place.
A small, very short, blonde girl dressed in grey Abnegation clothes steps forward, her hair falling from the twist at the nape of her neck from the wind. Beatrice made it. People laugh as she steps forward, as she removes her oversized shirt. Max snickers at her as she steps on to the roof's edge.
Her shoulders move up and down like she's taking deep breaths. And then she's gone.
Max tells us to form a line so that we can jump. Uriah jumps second, I jump right after him.
I do not care, I do not think. I jump.
I'm weightless again, the air whipping around me and blowing my dress in all sorts of directions. The blue sky in front of me turns into brick walls and broken windows, I close my eyes and let my arms free from my chest.
I hit the net so hard that I lose the breath I was holding, and it takes a few moments for my lungs to refill again. The ropes bounce for a second before the side dips and hands come up to help me out. I accept the offer. I'm pulled roughly from the net and set on the ground with ease, probably because I'm so skinny.
I would have fallen face-first onto a wooden platform beneath me if a young man didn't stop me from toppling over.
He sets me aside with a chuckle. Uriah stands with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "That was fun wasn't it?" he asks.
I nod. I stand by him as I wait for all the initiates jump. Marlene jumps fifth, Lynn seventh.
The man who pulled me from the net starts walking down one of the many hallways connected to the net room, as well as another instructor named Lauren. All of the initiates follow them down a dimly lit hallway, until there is a crossroads.
This is where we divide," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
Marlene places a hand on my shoulder. "Dinner is in about forty minutes. Look for us." She tells me. Uriah smiles so bright brightly I can see it in the darkness and Lynn hasn't sneered at me. I wave at them and my cheeks heat up when I feel Uriah's hand brush my waist.
Then they are gone and only replaced by darkness.
"Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next two months or so, I am your instructor," The man says. I turn to him. "My name is Four."
"Four? Like the number?"someone says. The Candor girl from earlier, Christina.
"Yes." Four says. "Why? Is There a problem?"
"No."
"Good." We walk down the other hallway and it starts to get brighter. I can hear a large group of people ahead. Four talks as we continue "We're about to enter the Pit. You'll love it someday. It's—"
"The Pit? Clever name." Christina crosses her arms and looks at Four
He flies in front of her and gets into her face. "What's your name?" he asks
"Christina," She squeaks. She looks terrified.
"Well Christina, if I wanted to hear Candor smart-mouths,I would have joined their faction," he seethes. "First thing you learn from me: keep your mouth shut. Clear?"
She nods vigorously. Four continues walking. He pushes open two large doors, and light pours in.
"Pit" might be the best word for it. It is an underground cavern so huge I can't see the other end of it from where I stand, at the bottom. Uneven rock walls rise several stories above my head. Built into the stone walls are places for food, clothing, supplies, leisure activities. Narrow paths and steps carved from rock connect them. There are no barriers to keep people from falling over the side.
Light shines in from above. Forming the roof of the Pit are panes of glass and, above them, a building that lets in sunlight. It must have looked like just another city building when we passed it on the train.
People are laughing and talking, hugging and creating, and couples are kissing. They are all dressed in black and all have tattoos and unnatural hair coloring. It's loud in here, buts it's a nice loud.
What Four shows us next is incredible. The Chasm, a ravine filled with rapidly running water and sharp rocks, flows below us. The water is blue like the lights that hang all over the compound. "The Chasm reminds us that there's a fine line between bravery and idiocy. A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life," Four explains.
The water swirls around and washes over the rocks so fast that for a moment I can actually see myself hitting the rapids head-on and being thrown around until my neck snaps and I'm bleeding uncontrollably. The thought is unsettling.
In Amity, suicide is considered unkind. No one ever commits, and if they do you don't hear about it. There's always a mysterious accident that covers things up, all for the sake of peace.
I look away from the chasm Chasm just as Four beings to walk away.
I see that Abnegation girl again, Tris is what her friends keep calling her. It's extraordinary that she's made it this far. Her hair out of its bun almost completely and a wide smile on her face, like she's enjoying herself.
It's strange to see someone who should be so uptight let loose and be free.
Four takes us to the cafeteria next, and I let my eyes roam over the crowd until I find Uriah, Marlene, and Lynn. They sit as far back from the doors as possible at a small circular table, assortments of food placed in front of them, talking like I'm sure they would any other day. At first I'm reluctant to join them and ruin the familiar flow of a longtime friendship, but I know if they didn't want to get to know me they wouldn't have invited me to sit with them.
I muster up the courage to walk across the cafeteria and join them. My face must be the same shade as my bright red dress, which stands out in the sea of dark grey and black. I let my head hang low as the hem swishes above my knees.
The only available space at their circular table is in between Uriah and Lynn. When I slide into the empty space, everyone stops speaking and smiles, their eyes trained on mine.
"How'd you like the compound?" Marlene asks.
"It was nice." I say softly, looking down at my lap. "I think I'm going to like it here."
The answer must please her, because she doesn't prod further. The three of them continue their previous conversation, talking animatedly amongst themselves.
My attention wavers towards the food at the center of the table. Round patties of cooked beef lay in a tray next to some bread rolls, and when I see them my face falls. Meat must be a large part of the Dauntless diet.
The Amity don't consume meat, because we don't believe in killing living things, even livestock. It's seen as immoral to kill something as innocent as a chicken, we even divert from consuming eggs, because some believe it's killing what could be potential life. I've never even see cooked meat until today.
"Aren't you going to eat something?" Lynn asks, nudging me with her elbow.
I shake my head. "I'm vegetarian." I say.
"Oh." She shrugs like she couldn't care less. "Are you going to come with us tonight?"
"Come where?" I reply. I didn't even know I was invited anywhere.
"Weren't you listening?" Marlene questions, chuckling at my obliviousness. "I want to get my nose pierced. You should get something too. And some clothes. Red stands out way too much in here."
"Yeah, Vi." Uriah adds as he picks up another meat patty with his fork. "Then we're going drinking, to celebrate. You should come."
"Okay." I tell them.
Maybe this Dauntless thing won't be so bad.
Thank you to anyone reading this Chapter! It means a lot to me that you took the time to read my story. Please review or PM me, I need as much feed back as I can get!
Also, I would like to thank my Beta TimeTravel6! She's a wonderful beta and her stories are great too, if you'd like to check them out.
Xox - Kenna