There's a cool rush of air as I step through the heavy steel doors. Pausing, I tilt my head back and take in my surroundings. The Pit is a violent sea of dark fabric and heavy boots, piercings glimmering under the dim light. I forgot how loud it was in Dauntless; there are grunts and yells from the men in the cavernous room, and loud laughs from the women.

It's a far cry from where I have lived for the past 6 years. There, I spent my time in sterile labs, wearing a white lab coat over sensible blue blouses. I pored over books in the royal-hued library, sipping on carbonated drinks until my head swam from the sugar rush and the dense information that I was trying to absorb. I awoke many mornings with my face smashed against the pages of a dense medical text, still hunched over the library table. Due to my upbringing, though, it seemed normal to me.

I had grown up in Erudite, a place where you are expected to make intelligent contributions to society from birth until death. My father was an oncologist, and my mother a physicist. They worked constantly, carting me around from lab to library since I was born. I was always fascinated by my father's work; the way he was able to completely eradicate the strange cancer cells from patients' bodies seemed godlike to me. One night, as I laid in my bed under the blue and white covers pretending to sleep, I heard him downstairs whispering to my mother about how I would be a better doctor than him someday. He showed me how to interpret scans and write charts, and I began to fall in love with the precision and knowledge needed for the work. I was determined to follow in his footsteps one day.

As I grew older, I also found a friend in the bold, towheaded boy that was around my age. We played hide-and-seek in the stacks and chased each other around the lab with chemicals as our parents worked. He sat next to me silently at age 12 when my father was murdered in the War, uncomfortable, but still there. After that, our time together was filled with much less laughter, as a stoic air settled over us. We no longer played like children but trained like athletes, pushing each other to be faster, better, stronger. On the last day, he cryptically told me that I was going to be an incredible soldier, and that I would know where to find him. I cried as I watched his blood sizzle over the coals, whisked away a year before I could choose.

An interminable year later, it was my turn. I showed an equal aptitude for Erudite and Dauntless, but I knew my place. I craved excitement, adventure, and couldn't bear to stay in the faction where my father was slain. I was hopeful that I would glimpse my friend once I arrived at Dauntless, shortly after the choosing ceremony. However, he had been sent away on a year-long mission to round up any remaining factionless after the War. I was told he was now a leader, and my heart leapt with pride. I always knew that he would excel, even moreso than many of the Erudites that transferred to Dauntless.

Once I arrived at Dauntless, I put my all into my training, quickly learning the ropes. Just because he was absent, didn't mean that I couldn't still compete with him. My petite frame began to build muscle from all of the late nights and early mornings in the training room, and any leftover body fat quickly melted. I put my Erudite intuition into everything I was being taught. I learned to shoot with deadly accuracy, throw knives that never missed, and win a fight, even against the tallest and strongest Initiates.

So, it was no surprise when I ranked first in my class. After a brief celebration, I was faced with the daunting task of choosing my role. On a rainy, cold day I sat before Max at a dark table in the conference room, surrounded on all sides by glass that made the storm seem as if it was in the room. He must've seen me frown as I glanced down at the list of career choices.

"Ah, Miss Bousquet. I somehow suspected that you wouldn't find what you were looking for here."

My head snapped up. "You mean, I don't belong in Dauntless?"

Max snorted. "Of course you do, you were first in your class. Remember, Adelaide, it's no longer frowned upon to have an aptitude for more than one faction. The War is over."

I sit back in my chair, arms folded over my chest. Max grins, and I eye him coolly.

"Adelaide, Dauntless needs a physician. I was looking through your file, and besides your equal aptitude for Dauntless and Erudite, you have extensive medical training from shadowing your father as a child. Is that correct?"

I nod, interest piqued.

"I am offering you an opportunity to study medicine and become the primary care provider for Dauntless. You will complete 4 years of medical training, and an additional 2 years in various specialties before returning," he said, a more serious look replacing the grin on his face.

Wait, returning?

The look on my face must have said it all, because Max took a deep breath and continued, "Of course, we do not have the facilities nor the resources to complete this training here, so for the interim, you will need to return to Erudite. If you agree to this, your training starts immediately. What do you say?"

My throat feels dry, but I manage a swallow and a nod. And with that, I am whisked away to my home faction.