Break Through

by EJML-Isotope

Tris gets arrested the night of her choosing ceremony and is sent to Death Row, sentenced without a trial. At Death Row she meets a man who's been waiting for her. Realising something big is at work she has to save the factions before they're ruined forever. However this is easier said than done when you're constantly being watched for reasons unknown and it's suddenly all on you

This idea came to me in R.E (of all the subjects possible) when my R.E teacher told us that we would be studying Capital Punishment and therefore Death Row. My friend became scared by the amount of excitement I had for what is generally perceived as a sombre topic (people die there after all) but encouraged me, regarding the fact that I was probably a little insane when explaining it to her, to pursue the idea.

I would like to say right now that I cannot guarantee 100% accurate information about the going's on in Death Row. I have never been to Death Row, therefore, never experienced anything first hand. I will try to keep things as realistic as possible but please do not sue me if it's wrong.

Warnings (applicable throughout story, not just this chapter, in fact this chapter is mellow): Uh, well probably violence but nothing terrible. Normal amount of violence. There's probably no need for a warning but I feel the need to cover all bases.

Disclaimer: Do I need to do one? I do not own The Divergent Trilogy (all glory goes to Veronica Roth) I only own this particular idea.

Chapter 1

I do not know what to do.

That was my first thought when Caleb, my brother, reminded me that we had our aptitude tests coming up in a week, and I had best prepare myself for the choosing ceremony.

"It is important to choose what is right Beatrice," he had said to me as we walked to the bus stop along with Susan and Peter, our Abnegation friends.

Although I feel the word 'friends' is a little too strong for the relationship I harbour with the siblings. Caleb interacts with them better than I do. He always has.

It has been six days since Caleb had spoken to be about the tests, and I still do not know what to do.

I have always thought since a young age that I do not belong in the faction that is known as Abnegation; my birth faction; my home.

I do not deserve to walk amongst people that dedicate their lives to others without even pausing to think. I do not deserve to call myself an Abnegation when I cannot even donate my seat on a bus to a man or women, while other Abnegation donate their entire day to serving the other factions.

The Abnegation believe that putting others before one's self is the most important act, because it is self-sacrificing and therefore, honourable. The Abnegation do not believe in pride, but honour is different to pride. Although I do often wonder if the two do not work better when hand-in-hand.

I am not self-sacrificing. I am not free from the clutches of pride. I am not Abnegation enough.

I am not enough. How can I stay if I am not enough?

"Beatrice," a quiet voice says next to my ear. I turn almost frantically and stare into the eyes of Susan.

"Yes?" I ask unfolding my arms from across my chest-folded arms is not an Abnegation action because it is too defensive and intimidating, and we represent willingness and simplicity- and clasp them gently in my lap.

"It's time to get off the bus." She says, pointing timidly past my face and towards the bus doors.

I stare at it for a moment, not sure what to do, but Caleb touches my elbow- he is, of course, standing in the aisle after offering his seat to the Amity boy to his left- and apologises to the Candor women behind him that is asking him to get out of her way. His eyes meet mine and I can clearly see his reprimanding look which I have become so accustomed to seeing I am surprised it even affects me anymore.

We let a herd of Candor barge past us and a small group of Amity who actually smile and nod their thanks to us before exiting the bus.

I hurry on ahead as soon as the aisle is clear, wanting to put as much distance as possible between me and Caleb's scolding that is sure to come.

Once outside, I keep walking until I am inside the Hub where I can disappear into the crowd of multi-faction members waiting for their lessons to begin. I weave my way through a group of obnoxious Candor who are all involved in a debate and therefore far too busy to notice me, and then I mutter my apologies to the trio of Amity girls standing in a little group squealing excitedly.

I follow the curve of the wall as it juts out slightly. The wall is made entirely of windows and it provides the light for the main section of the Hub. I settle myself into the corner, my back pressing against the wall with my body tilted in to see out the windows.

I glance down at my watch and smile slightly. It is 7:25, which means the Dauntless train will be here any second.

The train rounds the slight bend that shields the track from sight and I bite back a grin as it speeds forwards, a light trail of smoke piping from its chimney.

It slows slightly as it dips closer to the ground; following the black steel track. Bodies coated in black clothing crowd in the train's doorways, and when the train completes its slight decent towards the ground and levels out, the Dauntless in the first three carriages leap forward.

I stare wide-eyed as a mass wave of black swamps the ground, and then starts moving forward at a rapid pace as they start their chase towards the school.

A group of Erudite that are standing not far from me stop their discussion on Amity's self-sufficient water resource and glance out the window. The bright light from outside reflects off a girl with dark brown hair spectacles as the dark haired boy behind her frowns. It is an awful expression on him as it drags at the corners of his already puckered mouth until his lips are completely turned down.

I know what he is frowning at. The Dauntless who are about to crash through the Hub's door in about two minutes will immediately start causing chaos, something the Erudite despise because chaos is illogical and uncontrollable.

I do not feel the same way. There is something about chaos that is thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Something that sends a slight jolt of sweet anticipation through my veins whenever chaos or excitement is near. But I never get to participate; the Abnegation do not participate in chaos, only the background grafting of pleasing others'.

I turn towards the door, waiting for them to swing open and the Dauntless to stampede into the room, and for the Erudite next to me to huddle into another corner, away from the chaos.

I glance down at my watch and watch the seconds tick down. Finally, the little hand hits 7:27 and just as I am about the look up to eye the doors Caleb stands in front of me and blocks my view.

The doors swing open, indicated by the new block of light illuminating the room and I am too late.

They have already swarmed into the room.

I sigh and frown up at Caleb who is frowning down at me. I open my mouth to snap at him and a bright slash of yellow and red catches my peripheral vision and I shift my eyes quickly to see two Amity girls laughing and braiding each other's hair.

I realise with a burst of clarity that I could never be Amity. They do everything they can to prevent and disperse any conflict, as they see peace as the best way forward. I am the opposite of their manifesto: I ignite conflict too quickly and am often too late to disperse it. Not that we see much of it around the Abnegation faction.

I am not shocked to discover that this realisation doesn't surprise me. I always knew I could never be Amity.

I bite my tongue to stop the retort bubbling on my lips and stare back at Caleb.

He is still frowning down at me, his murky green eyes calculating and reprimanding.

I am not shocked to see this either.

"Beatrice," he begins gravelly.

I clamp my teeth down on my tongue harder, tasting blood. I hope my clenched jaw isn't too noticeable.

"I don't understand what is wrong with you this morning, but I must ask you to stop it. It's not favourable." He says.

It's not favourable.

Meaning, it's not Abnegation enough.

Against my better judgement I open my mouth, "Are you asking or demanding Caleb?" My voice is too sharp, but more importantly too loud. The Abnegation are not known for their boldness and by speaking so uncharacteristically loud, I have unintentionally grabbed the attention of a few Dauntless standing not too far from us.

Caleb glances away, looking painfully ashamed while I meet their eyes, daring them to say something. On impulse I lift my eyebrows at them and some go slightly slacked jawed, eyes wide with disbelief.

This would be their first time of meeting a daring Abnegation.

Hopefully it won't be the last time they see me…

I shake that thought from my head and turn back to Caleb who has finally managed to look me in the eye again.

There is a sudden tension in the air, and I do not know how to deal with it. There has been tension between me and Caleb before but nothing quite as thick as this.

I cough to diffuse the silence between us and look down, forcing myself to at least act embarrassed by my actions.

"I'm sorry Caleb. I don't know what's wrong with me," I peek up from under my lashes to gauge his expression. He seems to believe me as his cool calculated gaze has softened slightly.

"It won't happen again," I say quietly, bowing my head and clasping my hands tightly to calm myself.

In the last six minutes I have already eliminated a possible two factions.

I could never be Candor; I lie too easily and have too many private thoughts to have any incentive to tell the truth.

"It's time for class," He says quietly, touching my elbow lightly.

I try not to run as I make my way to my first class.

I avoid Caleb's gaze for the majority of the day, only engaging in conversation when necessary. It is hard to refuse conversation with someone amongst the Abnegation as nobody quarrels with each other. Siblings who refuse to interact is unheard of.

The time to catch the bus home doesn't come soon enough and I try to keep to the slow calm pace at which the Abnegation travel, but I often find myself surging ahead, only stopped when I trip the tall boy in front of me by treading on his heels. I recognise the boy as one of the Dauntless that looked at me when I reproached Caleb. He was the only one that wasn't overly shocked by my behaviour.

I wonder why that is.

Every time I step on him he will glance over his shoulder at me and raise his eyebrows. I want to raise mine back and stick my tongue out at him but I know that such an action would never be overlooked by any Abnegation, especially not Caleb.

Despite the fact that the Abnegation are not judgmental on people, it is certainly frowned upon when you do unfavourable things. At least Caleb and my Father frown upon me when I do something I am not supposed to.

I do not understand this concept.

Maybe it's because I am not truly Abnegation.

I breathe a small sigh of relief when I see the double doors that lead outside the Hub, and I hurry forward, no longer caring about treading on the boy in front. He doesn't seem to care either. Sometimes, when I stumble too far into him, I can see the corner of his mouth lift as he smiles.

I am pondering over the possible reason why this makes me want to smile too when someone yells, "Zeke! Hurry up."

The boy in front launches himself down the five steps leading up to the Hub's entrance and then he is running into a group of Dauntless and they are all running in a mesmerising chaos towards the train.

I am about to hurry down the steps to follow them further when a hand swings into my chest, pinning me to the wall.

I whip my head round abruptly, fighting between the decision of kicking or shoving the person away from me when I see that the person is Caleb.

I stare for a moment, confused, until I feel elbows digging into my ribs as a crowd of Candor and Erudite shove their way through the doorway. The Amity hang back, not wanting to get involved in the pushing and shoving of the other factions.

I feel a slight tightening in my chest as I stare at the side of Caleb's face as he nods at the ignorant Erudite and Candor that are just walking past us. Some of them acknowledge us with nods others with spoken thanks, but it is not enough for me. They should all say thank you.

But the Abnegation are not there to be acknowledged.

But the ignorance of the other factions is not why my chest feels suddenly tight. I am Abnegation and therefore, it is my nature to put others before myself, but it only occurred to me after Caleb shoved me against the wall, to even think about letting others pass me. In fact, I went to the complete opposite ideas of the Abnegation and think about violence before peace.

I cannot stay here and stand amongst the Abnegation for much longer.

I need space.

I need freedom.

I need the Dauntless.

As soon as this thought is in my mind I am wiggling sideways, away from Caleb and into the flood of Erudite and Candor that are still leaving the building. I yelp and flail my arms backwards acting as if I am trying to get back to Caleb, but as soon as the crowd engulfs me and I can no longer see Caleb or Susan or Peter, I barge through the crowd and break out into a run, flying down the steps and pumping my arms to gain speed.

I am running towards the train.

I am gasping by the time I reach the stretch of ground that all the Dauntless are occupying, waiting for the train.

The train rounds the corner behind me and slows, doing its usual dip towards the ground. The Dauntless jog alongside it and without any hesitation leap sideways, throwing their bodies into the carriage.

The younger Dauntless are still jogging alongside the train. Yells carry through the air and moments later the remaining Dauntless throw themselves towards the carriages.

The train is speeding away with all the Dauntless safely on it. Without much thought, I am racing forward again, my feet pounding on the ground. I push myself faster until I reach the last carriage which is going up the slight incline before it rounds the next corner and disappears from sight. I chase it up the slight hill and launch myself forwards.

My blood pounds in my ears and adrenalin sings through my veins as I cling desperately to the handle on the back of the carriage. I am dangling ungracefully from the back of the train and all I can think about is getting inside the train.

I swing myself round feet first and grunt as my ribcage smashes into the handle that I am clinging to. I hook my feet round the inside curve of the carriage which is the outline of the doorway and pull, easing my body half inside the carriage.

Carefully, with my heart in my throat, I push myself away from the handle but towards the doorway. I shove my hands against the handle one last time and quickly let go of it. I collapse on the carriage floor, gasping and shaking as the adrenalin hammers through my veins.

All I can think is that I just broke faction rules, and jumped onto the Dauntless train.

And I love the feeling of power and recklessness and freedom.

I shuffle towards the doorway and peek out. Cool air is the first thing that hits me, but I see no Dauntless is looking down in my direction so I swivel on my butt and stick my legs out the train. It is a wonderful feeling.

A little while later, I hear whoops from further down the train and I quickly yank my legs in, tucking them round the curve of my butt so that I am balance on the side of my butt. I stick my head out the train and see a flat roof stretching out for a distance about the length of two carriages but no one looks like they are getting off here.

Just as I am about to lean back into the carriage the boy that I kept stepping on while leaving the Hub leans so far out the carriage I want to scream at him to stop, but a big part of me admires his courage.

Suddenly, he leaps forward, sailing through the air. I choke back a gasp as cheers echo down the length of the train. The other Dauntless are admiring his bravery.

Of course they would be.

I am admiring it too.

He hits the edge of the roof hard and rolls forward, absorbing the impact so that he doesn't break a bone.

My carriage is quickly nearing the last edge of the roof and if I miss this opportunity I will be on the train with the rest of Dauntless for goodness knows how long, going goodness knows where.

I stand on shaking legs and step back from the doorway. It is better to jump too far forward so that I hit the flat of the roof rather than the edge, than to not jump far enough and miss the roof completely.

I take a deep breath and dive, launching myself across the gap. For one breathless moment I am flying, and nothing can touch me, but then I hit the roof hard on my ankles.

I bend at the last minute to diffuse the impact but I don't diffuse it enough as my knees judder and I sink to the gravel flooring of the roof.

I contain a groan of pain as the gravel digs into my knees through my grey cotton Abnegation gear and roll sideways so that I hit the small ledge.

I stretch my body along the small wall of the ledge and stare up at the small overhang that points towards the centre of the roof, blocking my view of the sky.

Once I catch my breath I risk a glance sideways and see that the boy is staring right at me. I swallow a yelp and try to look contrite.

I must have done a bad job as he grins and shakes his head. "Never met an Abnegation like you before," he says jovially.

I shrug, which scrapes my shoulders against the gravel but I manage not to wince as I say, "I'm not exactly the ordinary Abnegation stereotype." Why am I admitting this to him? I don't even know him!

He grins and I realise that he is quite handsome. Dark tanned skin and dark hair. "Indeed," he says. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how are you planning on getting off this roof?"

I balk. I really should've thought this through. But then something occurs to me. "Don't you want to know why I'm here?" And then I curse myself for asking because I don't know why I'm here. Why didn't I ask something that diverted attention away from me, like how do you plan on getting off this roof, or why are you the only Dauntless on this roof while the others stayed on the train?

He shrugs. "I'm sure things will clear up shortly. The train loops round in a bout another half hour or so. Wait here, and stay low although nobody should come up here. Get back on the train and go back to your faction. You have a big day tomorrow Beatrice."

What? "How do you know my name?"

He smirks. "I couldn't help but take an interest in the little Abnegation girl that caused such a shocking scene in the Hub." And then he is stepping backward at a quick walk, shooting me a wink before he walks straight off the edge of the roof that is facing towards Dauntless headquarters.

I stare in amazement and can't help but yearn for a life like this; a life of risk and excitement and freedom.

I lose track of time after about ten minutes of staying curled up under the ledge and I let my mind wander. I think about the Abnegation and their motives and why it's important to honour my birth faction, but every time I think of something Abnegation related a Dauntless related counter-point is always there to confuse me again.

I am surprised to find myself thinking about the Erudite and their motives and traits as a faction. My father has never had any patience for the Erudite and from the things I've heard about them, they are not nice people but I believe it's important to at least think about the faction because despite my yearning for a Dauntless life, I am too curious for an Abnegation and Erudite is the best place to be for satisfying the thirst for knowledge.

The chugging of the train brings me out of my speculations and I roll carefully out from under the ledge and sit up, peeping over the roof's edge to see if anyone is around.

It's empty.

I jump up and shake the gravel from my clothes before stepping up onto the ledge and taking a deep breath. All I have to do is get onto the train. I did it earlier on so I can do it again.

That is the logical solution.

The first carriage of the train sails by, and I am too frozen to jump onto it. The second…third…fourth carriages all go by and I am still not moving.

How can I live a Dauntless life if I cannot master this simple requirement?

I can't.

This realisation is enough to get me moving and I throw my body forwards, arms outstretched as I reach for a handle on the train.

My clothes snap around me as the wind pushes against my body and my fingertips touch a handle. I curl my palm around it and swing myself forward, into the carriage.

I sit in the corner, adrenalin still pumping through my veins. I allow a small laugh to escape me; it is breathless but happy.

I feel happy.

It is a good feeling.

It is only when I arrive at the top of my street back in the Abnegation faction do I think about my family and what they are going to do when I walk into the house almost three and a half hours late from school.

I can't exactly tell them that I impulsively decided to visit the Dauntless and Erudite headquarters, on the Dauntless train after arguing with Caleb and almost disobeying every single Abnegation rule there is.

My father would never be able to look at me again and my brother would give me that scolding look he has perfected just for me over the last sixteen years.

I do not know what my mother would do, but it surely wouldn't be good.

I take a few deep breaths and remind myself sternly that I jumped on and off a moving train today with no supervision or help; I'm sure I can deal with my disappointed and probably worried family.

I tell myself that I will count to three, and then I will walk into the house and face whatever is waiting for me.

One.

Two.

Three.

I walk up our grey stoned garden path and ease open the front door.

The first thing I see is my mother's uncharacteristically curious face which is paler than usual-probably an effect from worrying about my whereabouts for the past three hours- and what looks like a smile playing along the edges of her lips.

I stare at her, confused, until she steps forward and I am in her arms, and she is holding me, and I am holding onto her so tightly my arms ache. I feel tears well up in my eyes and blink rapidly to clear them.

Something in my chest loosens and I feel like I can breathe again; my selfless mother loves me, no matter how selfish I may be.

I do not want to leave her.

Okay, so that's the first chapter. Thoughts? Although, I must object to any possible flames. I think I'm finally getting the hang of using semi-colons. Without the computer autocorrecting it I mean. Whoop!