Chapter 1
I took my seat in the large auditorium, mother at my side. Choosing day had finally arrived, and for me it couldn't have come sooner. I glanced to my sole parent and she smiled softly, took my hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. Her eyes welled up as Marcus, our reigning body, began his speech. She knew my decision, not because I had told her, but because growing up I was never like the other Amity children, I was always different, even though I tried my best not to be. She knew for certain I would transfer, to which faction she wasn't sure, as I had never told her my test results from the previous day.
My father never had a presence in my life; in fact, I knew barely anything about him. His name was James; he had brown hair, green eyes, and left my mum and me before I even entered this world. That's all I know, and care to know. Thankfully I had inherited my mother's genes, red hair the colour of copper, with flashes of gold and bright blue eyes that tinted green in the light. I was average height, and very curvy, too curvy for a sixteen year old girl in the midst of an identity crisis. And so I always covered up in baggy tasteless clothes of yellow and burgundy.
"Clementine Monroe" My name was called. My mum sighed sharply, closing her eyes and giving my hand one last squeeze. I stood as Marcus called my name again. I looked around the giant hall as everyone turned their gaze towards me. I gulped, squeezing past the knees of everyone in my row, and tiptoeing down the steep steps towards the slab of marble that held the five bowls representing each faction.
Stone for Abnegation, the selfless. Water for Erudite, the intelligent. Earth for Amity, the peaceful. Coals for Dauntless, the brave. Glass for Candor, the truthful.
I stopped before the table before me and looked over each bowl, except the one containing earth. I took a sharp breath as I dug into my hand with the ceremonial knife, clenching my fist as the blood began to pool in my palm. I took one last look along the line of options before making my decision. I reached over and squeezed my fist tightly over the contents of the basin and the blood oozed and dripped directly in the middle of it. The coals sizzled in response to my choice.
"Dauntless," Marcus announced to the crowd as the sea of black jumped into hollers, shouts, whistles and applause. Never had I felt so welcome in a group of people as I approached the Dauntless faction. I glanced one last time towards my mother who was showing a heap of mixed emotions, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her cheeks tear soaked and her nose damp and red. But she had the most beaming smile on her face. I smiled back, crumpling my nose and showcasing my little dimples.
"Congratulations," A tall dauntless women said with a welcoming smile, ushering me to my seat. The rest of the choosing ceremony went by quite quickly for a four hour event, mainly because I was stuck in my own little world. I had so many questions, ambitions, thoughts and feelings, and they all wanted to burst out of me that very second.
"Come on Amity, it's time to go home," The tall women said, extending her hand. Everyone around me was already up and out of there seats, raring to go. I slid my hand into hers and she heaved me from my seat. "You ready?" She asked with a cocked brow as I tried to look back over the bustling crowd for my mum. There was no such luck. I hesitated for a second before answering.
"Born ready," I said confidently, following the rest of the faction out the doors and down the street. Suddenly everyone began to break into a run. I smiled and laughed to myself as I broke into a sprint. I loved running, and it felt so right here in dauntless. I picked up the pace and began to overtake the crowd, but came to a halt as the few dauntless born intimates ahead of me began to climb the foundations of the train tracks that sat above. I smiled as I saw Erudite and Candor boys struggling to get their footing, and being aided by our superiors. I guess climbing doesn't come naturally to everyone?
I gripped onto the metal work and began to scamper up the beams leading to the tracks. I was in my element, until we reached the tracks. The train began to corner the track, heading straight forward, but not making any effort to slow or stop.
"We have to jump!" A dauntless boy shouted, addressing the new recruits. As insane as it sounded, I trusted the dauntless and jumped, landing on my arse, but at least inside the carriage, some others weren't so lucky.
"That was pretty brave for an Amity," An erudite girl chimed from beside me. She too had landed on the carriage floor, but hadn't been so fortunate; she had a bloody nose and a lump forming on her shiny forehead.
"Are you okay?" I asked pointing to her wound.
"Yeah, I face planted the carriage, but its just a surface wound, I should be fine, I don't feel a concussion coming on," She informed me.
"Sounds like you're the brave one," I laughed off. Secretly the sight of blood disturbed me, a bad quality of a dauntless, but I hoped I'd have no reason to see any in my lifetime.
"I'm Jayne," She smiled, holding out her hand. I took it hesitantly. For some reason she gripped onto mine and shook it mid air. She laughed as my hand went floppy.
"Never done a hand shake before?" She asked.
"No, is that a greeting?" I asked, she nodded her head yes. "We don't do that in Amity," I said matter-o-factly.
"What do you do?" She asked curiously.
"We hug," I said simply.
"Of course you do," A dauntless member laughed from above. "Fucking pansies, I'll tell you now there won't be any of that in dauntless, not unless it's a great big bone crushing bear hug," He mocked.
"Peter don't you have babies to snatch?" A dauntless girl with a black bob and exotic skin hissed from the other side of the carriage. Peter scrunched up his face and spat at the girl, before turning and making his way to one of the other carriages.
"Sorry about him, he's a bit of an arsehole," The girl said before getting back to her group.
"Anyways what's your name I didn't catch it?" Jayne asked.
"Clementine," I said softly. It was a curse that my name would forever remind me of the hell I grew up in.
"Like the orange?"
"Yep," I said nodding my head.
"You Amity sure do have very imaginative names,"
Our conversation was cut off by an announcement from the very same girl who had just defended us.
"Get ready to jump!" She called, moving towards the train doors, and punching the button on the wall, causing them to slide apart.
"We have to jump again?" Jayne asked shocked.
"It seems so, you ready?" I asked, clambering to my feet. Jayne hauled herself up and looked at me with a worried look.
"I think so," Just then bodies cloaked in black flew from the train and onto the roof tops opposite, the jump was a good couple of meters.
"Want to take a running leap?" I asked.
"Good idea," She said, backing up against the wall. "One… Two…. Three!" She yelled, and we both took off into a run and hurled through the air. We hit the gravelled roof top like a ton of bricks, rolling to a stop.
"Urgh," I groaned, sitting up and looking around. Everyone was gathering by the ledge. "Come on I think we have to go over there," I said, pulling Jayne to her feet and dusting off my knees. We limped over and joined the crowd.
"Alright listen up," A voice boomed over the crowd. "I'm Eric, one of your leaders," He said, jumping up onto the ledge. He was tall, big built and looked as mean as dauntless could come. Piercing adorned his eyebrow and tattoo's lay on his neck and arms.
"You want to enter dauntless, this is the way in," He announced, glancing over the edge of the building. "If you don't have the balls to jump, then you don't belong here," He said with a sharp edge to his striking words.
"Is there something down there to catch us? Surely we'd be no use to society dead," I asked suddenly, the questions finally exploding out of me.
"I guess you'll find out, you're going to be first jumper," He said monotonously, motioning for me to join him on the ledge. Everyone turned to stare as my once flushed face turned ghostly white. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, weaving my way through the crowd. I stopped at the ledge and leaned over, looking below. Just darkness. Eric stepped down casually from his spot. "Today initiate," he spat in my ear. Shivers ran down my neck as I jumped away from his bark. I pulled myself up to the ledge and stood above the hole in the ground. I stared into the darkness and hoped for a sign of landing gear. But it was still just darkness. "Don't make me push you," He growled. I closed my eyes and went for it, leaping as far as I could in order to clear the ground below and make it into the hole. My baggy pants and top flapped as I fell through the air. It felt as if my stomach was reaching up into my throat, and I thought I just might be sick, but then a soft a net encased meat the bottom, sending me into a bounce and taking my fall. I let out the breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding and rolled over the edge where a Dauntless girl pulled the net down, allowing me to exit with my dignity in tact.
"What's your name?" She asked, it was a simple question but I just couldn't answer it. "Don't be shy, I'm Tris, you can pick a new name if you want, I was formally Beatrice," She smiled.
"Clem, I'm Clem" I finally answered.
"First jumper, Clem!" She cried out to the waiting crowd. "Go stand over there while the rest of them make it down, and welcome to Dauntless" I followed her instruction and waited and watched as the rest of the initiates dropped in one by one. They divided us up into transfers and Dauntless born before addressing us.
"Dauntless born go with Peter, transfers stay with me," Tris announced. The Dauntless born were led away by the arsehole Peter from the train, leaving just the eight of us transfers left. "During your training I will be your instructor, my name is Tris for those who don't know," She said, throwing a smiley glance my way. "Now who wants to see your living quarters?"
