Tris was the first jumper, and I had to follow that performance.
My feet hit the net way harder then they should have. I shiverd and shook with fear as someone grabed my hand to pull me off of the net.
"Thanks." I spit out as I leap down from the net, onto a plat form.
People are already here, the born-dauntless. I've always wondered what it would be like to be a born-dauntless.
I stare at Tris and Christina as they make their way to the plat form where I'm standing. Peter in one corner, Al and Will in another. I'm not groupy, so I just stand here waiting for everyone.
"Braylee." They said before I could jump, "Now is where you re-create yourself, what's your new name?" I didn't expect this, So I thought there, for endless moments, like some car without batteries.
"Bray." quickly shouted before I took a giant step for man-kind. That was it. That was all I remember, until I woke up, and here I am, standing on the plat form.
I quickly move around so people don't see me, and so I can blend in well. I feel like a shadow, I move with the rest, but never talk and can't be seen.
Bray was supposed to be my new name. I was supposed to be a new person.
That thought run through me. If I ever had a chance of getting into Dauntless, I had to step up my game.
"Any volunteers?" I heard Four say, while he was scaling a knife. I was zoning out too long to understand the rest. I had to become Dauntless. I raised my hand.
"Me." I say as the knife gets thrown to me.
I stood up. Shaking. He handed me the knife. I just shook the fear off and stood behind the white tape line-indicating where to stand. I quietly listened to Four's instructions.
"Stand near this line. Throw the knife to the yellow circle on the target." I look at him point to the yellow circle. "The points go up by 10 for each layer. The white outer circle, is 10 points, and the yellow circle is 50 points-and everything in between." His low voice trembles, just like my body. I quickly nod with hesitation. I place my foot behind the white line and lunge forward hitting the knife in the red area. I curse in my head as I finish my example with a bright-red, blushing face.
He looked at me like I had failed.
I knew I had failed.
Then the gun shot ran through the room and rang for seconds.
I crouched down only to hear that that was the warning bell. I cursed inside my head as I saw Tris do the same. She was always talking to Christina, and always hated peter.
"Bray, right?" I zoned out long enough to not realize Tris was right next to me. I just stood there.
"Yes." I looked at her. She had never talked to me before. I swayed my long blonde hair as I turned around-not wanting a conversation. She stood there tapping her foot. Christina went to talk to Will, and here we were. I got up and waited there.
"How are you finding initiation?" Before I can say anything she adds, "People are getting cut tomorrow." I look at her, my mouth shut. She thinks I'm being ignorant.
"That-that's cool." I can't find the right words. I don't want to be factionless. I don't want to be factionless! Tris was going to hate me one way or another, so I might as well talk.
"Aren't you worried?" Her eyes turned crystal.
"Not especially." I spot Christina walking across the plat form to see me and Tris talking, and she comes up.
"I'll see you around." She grabs Christina's hand and runs out the door, to the rooms.
My eyes get lost in a daze. What was I doing in Dauntless initiation? There was no way I was going to get into this. This is terrible. My mother always said I was very smart, she said with Erudite, I would get an amazing job. She never said I was brave like this-but I did. Because I said so, I'm here. I only realized now how stupid this was. My aptitude test could only get me so far:
I had aptitude for Candor, Amity, Dauntless, then Erudite. Something told me to go to Candor, but my other side fought for Amity. I was absolutely sure the day of the aptitude test that I was going to go to Erudite,but my blood went somewhere else.