Chapter One
Disclaimer - I do not own Divergent. Rights go to Veronica Roth.
A/N - Thank you for clicking on my story. This is the first chapter in what I hope will be a successful and unique fanfic. I know that 'if the war never happened' fics are common, but trust me when I say this will take a new and hopefully never before seen twist.
#
I wonder aimlessly in the midst of hundreds of Dauntless bodies gathered in the Pit. People pressed against each other to dance to the pounding music that shakes the walls of the compound. And I love it. This is all for the new members of Dauntless. The party, the lights, the music; everything is for us. We passed initiation and now we're members.
It's more than I could have hoped for. After all, I came in weak and with the name 'Stiff" like it was stamped on my forehead. Now I am number one in my initiate class, I've gotten a new nickname, a number, just like Four. I am Six. I am Tris. I am Dauntless.
"So, Six, how's it feel?" Eric's voice finds its way to my ears.
I turn and find him leaning against the stone wall, a brown bottle in his hand. He smiles at me.
"Honestly," I say. "It's great. Amazing, really."
"You're ranked first. That'll follow you forever, ya know." He takes a swig from his bottle. He's a little more personable when he's drinking. "You get first choice in your job. You could be a leader, like me. You could do great things, Six." His eyes pierce mine.
I chew on my cheek. I don't want to be a leader like Eric. He's cruel and brutal and everything a leader of Dauntless shouldn't be. "Yeah. I could," I say simply.
He takes a step closer to me. "Tomorrow you choose. Choose wisely, Six, because you only get to once. But for now," he takes another drink and gestures to the Pit, "enjoy yourself."
He turns on his heel and saunters away from me. 'At least he didn't torture me,' I think.
But he is right. I only get to choose once as to what job I want and I want it to be something I will love for the rest of my life. But I know choosing will be the second most difficult thing I've ever done, apart from choosing to become Dauntless and leaving my family. 'Faction before blood,' I think wryly.
Brightly colored strobing lights illuminate the Pit and the wriggling bodies in it. The air is pungent with alcohol. I look for Tobias in the mosh, although it's not easy being as short as I am. I push my way into the crowd, getting claps on the shoulder, congratulations and other forms of flattery for my triumph on being first.
"Tris!"
I turn at the sound of my name and see Uriah crowd surfing above me, his grin spread from ear to ear. I smile at him.
"If you're looking for Four, he passed me off somewhere over there," he shouts over the music and points me in the right direction as he sails away on his Dauntless ocean.
I find Tobias sitting near the tattoo parlor talking with Tori. He meets my eyes and smiles softly. He beckons me over to join them.
"Tris," Tori says as she hugs me. "I am so proud of you." She leans back and looks at me. "Not that little Abnegation girl anymore, are you?"
"Not in the slightest," I reply.
"Definitely not," Tobias adds.
"Well, how about a new tattoo? My congratulatory gift for you. On the house," she says and pulls me inside the parlor and sets me in her chair.
My tattoo collection seems to keep growing. It's an addiction, the sting of the needle on my skin, the feeling of being able to personalize my body to my liking. I love it.
"What would you like, Tris?" Tori asks, needle already in hand. Looks like I have no choice.
I think for a minute. I want every one of my tattoos to have a meaning. I want for them to have a story behind the ink.
"Six." I say. "I want the number six."
Tori smiles and gets to work. Ten minutes later I am finished with my tattoo adorning the back of my neck, a roman numeral six, "VI".
"Looks great, Six." Tobias winks at me. "Now let's go enjoy the party, after all, it's for you." He takes my hand and leads me back into the crowd for a night full of dancing, drinking and bad decisions.
#
There is nothing worse than waking up when you really don't want to. This is one of those days. Today is the day I will choose the rest of my life, whether that be an aspiring Dauntless leader or working the fence, I must choose today. But on a brighter note, I get to finally have my own place. I'm getting real tired of seeing Peter everytime I wake up.
"Aye, Stiff!" Peter hollers across the room to me. "If you're in line to be my new leader then I'd rather be factionless."
I sigh as I get dressed. Black lacy shirt that shows my birds on my collarbone, tight black skinny jeans and black boots. Black is the new gray.
The new members and myself file in silently to the packed cafeteria. The other Dauntless members don't cheer as loudly as usual, most nursing a hangover from the night before. I sit with Uriah, Will and Christina and reach for a muffin. Uriah seems to be one of the many with a severe hangover. He lays his head on the table and groans.
"Hey, buddy!" Zeke yells in Uriah's ear as he sits next to him, causing Uriah to groan louder. "You don't look so good." Zeke grins at us.
"Shouldn't drink so much. You have a lifetime for that, don't do it all in one night," Tobias adds as he slips into the seat next to Zeke. He smiles at me.
The cafeteria is filled with the light chatter of the Dauntless, still lost in the land between dreaming and awakeness. I chew on my muffin and ponder the choices I will have to make for the upteenth time. Being a leader does not really appeal to me. For one, I would have to work alongside Eric everyday for the rest of my Dauntless life. No thanks. I also cannot forget what I am. Divergent. If they found about me then I would be finished. Tori's tattoo parlor seemed like a good idea until I remembered I can't draw to save my life and would never trust myself to ink another person's skin. I could work in the control room with Tobias, but I'm not very good at computer technology. I sigh heavily. I have no idea what I want to do.
"Quit stressing, Tris," says Christina. "You'll figure it out."
"Yeah," Will says. "You only have about 143 different jobs to choose from and maybe about a third of that number you could be qualified for, and a fourth of that third you would be good at and-"
Christina glares at him. "Shut up, will ya?"
A hush falls upon the cafeteria. I look up from my muffin and see Eric standing above the crowd.
"Today, myself and the other leaders, will assist in helping each new member to decide what occupation to take up." He pauses and looks straight at me. "Of course, our number one ranking initiate is always offered a job among the leaders. It will be up to her to decide whether or not to take it. And she would be a fool to refuse." The crowd chuckles quietly. "She will also be offered the part-time job of initiate trainer. You will be assigned an apartment. You can choose a roommate or you can choose to live on your own. You will now be alotted your default amount of points plus the amount of points your occupation of choice pays you." His cold eyes sweep the crowd, once again landing on me. "Let us welcome our new members graciously." The Dauntless whoop and howl into the air, fist pumping through their hangovers. "New members, follow me."
I stand and look to Tobias. His eyes meet mine as I pass. I'm on my way to choose my future.
We meet in the Pit. There are tables set up where we are to pick our occupation and given our apartment number and key. I stand in line and wait for my turn.
"Ah, Tris. Welcome." A Dauntless man greets me, his eyes just as cold as Eric's but his demeanor personable. "What have you decided?"
I look down at the list of jobs. So many to choose from and so little time to choose. I thumb through the booklet and pick one at random. Weapons Developer. The description reads:
As a weapons developer, it will be your job to design, assemble and test new weapons. These weapons, whether lethal or beneficial, will be used throughout the compound and then distributed to the factions. Each weapon you make will be sent to the leaders after thorough inspection for a final run down. If it passes the test you will be given extra points for any weapon that passes. Your bi-weekly points payment is 1,500, plus 250 points for any new weapon designed.
I could do this. I could design more weapons meant for de-arming, not killing. I could maybe save lives by developing a new weapon not meant to kill.
"Weapons Developer," I say with confidence.
The man looks at me with amusement. "Not going to follow up with the leader position?" I shake my head. "Alright then." He logs my choice into a glass tablet. No going back now.
I walk to the table where I will be assigned my apartment.
"Six. Your apartment will be on the fourth floor, number 422. Here is your key. All new members are assigned that same apartment style. If you so choose, after you've aquired enough points, you can choose to buy a new one. Welcome to Dauntless." This member is someone I've never seen before. She hands me the key without a second glance.
I have my own apartment. I am a weapons developer. I am a full fledged Dauntless. I smile and make my way to my new life.