Hiiiii… *Guilty face* I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to publish this, but I kept revising it and I was just nervous and I wanted it to be good and stuff. If you aren't in this chapter don't fret, because you will be in the next one or the one after. Sorry again, and things will be coming much faster now. SORRY! – xoxo, lovelessinlove
"Britta, I'm serious. What if it's something bad?" Dax said, his blue eyes cutting into his friend's brown ones. Britta shook her head.
"Dax, I swear, you were meant to be born a stiff." She tapped her pencil on the edge of her desk. Dax should have been paying attention to the lesson. Britta didn't need to.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's just another ploy to try and get us off the roofs of the Desolates."
The government had been trying to stop the Dauntless youth from climbing onto the roofs of the rickety abandoned buildings known to the kids as the "Desolates" forever. Britta was positive the assembly for all of the to-be initiates, called by Iggy Matheson, the Dauntless leader, was to tell them that they could continue doing stunts on the Desolates as they wished. Iggy wasn't one to back down to the stiffs in the government building.
Dax had been worrying since it was announced that they were to get out of school early to attend the assembly.
"Britta and Dax, it is apparent that you two are not paying attention, and you are lucky that you are all to leave now, or I'd be giving you community service." The faction history teacher frowned at the two Dauntless teenagers, and dismissed the class.
Britta found it unusual that all the others were being dismissed, although it was a Dauntless Assembly. She shrugged it off and gathered her things, depositing them with the rest of her belongings and leaving with Dax to wait for the train.
The air was cool on her face as she stood near the train tracks with Dax and Xander, one of Dax's friends. She zipped up her black sweater and stood on her tiptoes to peer further down the tracks, looking for the lunchtime train.
"I was confused when everyone started getting up when we were dismissed," Xander said, his blond hair blowing away from his forehead.
"I thought it was a Dauntless assembly only."
Britta shook her head at Xander as Dax launched into conversation with a group of girls waiting on the platform with them.
"It's just an assembly. I don't know why you are all so worked up." Britta said, fingering the end of her french-braided hair.
Britta could feel the train's vibrations in the soles of her shoes now, and she braced herself for her jump onto the train.
It came racing around the corner, smooth on its tracks. Dax jumped in first, his arm muscles tightening as he pulled himself in. Britta rolled her eyes at the girls that were staring, and pulled herself in swiftly after Xander's surprisingly impressive jump into the car.
Xander grabbed her elbow when she stumbled, bashing into Dax's back.
"Sorry." She said, as the girls Dax was talking with chittered with laughter. She glared at them, and they glared back. That was the downside of growing up Dauntless. People knew your fears, and they weren't afraid of you.
"Leave her alone. You two aren't half as brave as her, and neither are you, Dax, if you're not defending her." Xander said, and Dax grunted like he was mad.
Dax had never stood up for me, and it was because I didn't want him to. Coming from Xander, it felt strange and also gratifying to Britta that someone would like her enough to defend her.
She gave him a tight smile, and he smiled back, his green eyes shining.
The train slowed at the Dauntless compound, and the group jumped out of the car. Britta landed, bending her knees to absorb the impact. She didn't stumble.
The Pit was empty at this time of day, the only people left were the oldest and the youngest. The rest were at work or school.
The group of 16 year olds climbed the stairs to the glass building overtop the Pit. They reached the first floor, where the assembly was being held, and joined the group of Dauntless adolescents.
They stood around, chatting for a few minutes while they waited for the assembly to begin and Iggy Matheson to start talking. Britta pulled a book out of her large pants pocket and read.
"Hello," Matheson began, peaking loudly and with confidence.
"Welcome to this assembly. You may not have noticed, but this is only one of five assemblies happening this very moment. One in each faction is taking place.
"I am here to tell you about the new law for faction initiates. By now, you have seen the large glass government building that has been being manufactured over the last months. This building is not, as you were told, a new government office, but an Initiate Centre." Iggy's words resonated throughout the silent first floor of the glass building. The fact that the government had been lying to her frustrated Britta. She didn't feel safe.
"The new law states that initiates from each faction must stay in that building until their training is complete and they are either a member of a faction, or factionless." Her last words started a din of whispers throughout the assembly. A restless teenager called out.
"Will we be allowed to see our parents?" There were a few murmurs of agreement to the question.
"There will be one day, before the initiation begins, for you to say goodbye to your parents. Then you will not see them until the day after your initiation is complete." Matheson nodded.
"I am not staying in the same building as a bunch of stiffs!" Called an irritated voice.
"If you are refusing, you are scared, and you are a coward. Those who grow up Dauntless are not cowards. Is that clear?" Iggy Matheson's voice was harsh as she said this, and Britta could tell she meant what she said. Those who refused were cowards.
"You are to pack your things now. Your choosing ceremony will happen tomorrow, as planned, but in the Initiate Centre. You are dismissed."
Britta filed out with the rest of the initiates, Xander brushing against her the whole way.
Dax turned on her as soon as they were in a hallway alone.
"I told you, Britta, I told you something was up." He said, blue eyes glinting.
"It's nothing Dax, so we have to stay in the same building as the other initiates? Fine." She leaned over to drink from the water fountain, pulling a loose strand of hair from the stream of water.
Dax sighed heavily behind her.
"Fine, let's just go. My mom will be waiting for us. You're still coming for dinner, right?" Dax asked, turning to Britta, who was wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Yeah, but I guess I'll have to leave earlier if I have to pack my things." She started again along the hallway.
The walked in silence towards where they lived. Dax and Britta's families lived next to each other on the Dauntless compound, and Britta would often head over to Dax's house for a change in scenery.
"Hi, Mrs. Holloway." Britta said to the sharp-faced source of Dax's blue eyes.
"Hi, Britta. How's your mom doing?" Mrs. Holloway was always working at the large desk in the corner of the Holloway's living space. She was a scribe for the Dauntless leaders, recording all of the stunuts filed in to be approved by the leaders.
Now she had a large stack of papers next to her, and her shoulder length brown hair was pinned back.
"She's fine." Britta said, making her way to Dax's room. Dax followed two feet behind her, fiddling with the wrapper on his granola bar.
Britta sat on the only made corner of Dax's bed, picking a book off of his sparse book shelf. She ran her fingers over the smooth cover, and sighed.
"Dax, don't be mad at me." She said, looking at him leaning against his small dresser, his arms crossed.
"I'm not." He said bluntly.
"I know you are. You're mad because I was rude, and I'm saying I'm sorry, okay?"
It was Dax's turn to sigh.
"It's fine, whatever." He said, opening his drawers and stuffing his clothes into a bag. They were all black, and suitable for running.
"Maybe I should go home. My mom and dad will worry. They don't know about the building yet." Britta said, getting up off of the bed.
"Yeah. Bye." Dax said, distracted by something in his drawers.
Britta left his room and the house after explaining herself to Mrs. Holloway.
Her house was quiet when she entered it. The only reason she knew anyone was home was the familiar smell of macaroni and cheese wafting from the kitchen.
"Rory?" She called out, and heard a crash. A string of curse words came to her ears, and she recognised her older brother's deep voice.
"Britta! Come help me pick this stuff up." He called, and she complied.
His back was facing her, and he was picking up fallen bowls, his light brown hair in disarray.
"Where's mom?" Britta asked him, and he looked at her with eyes that matched her own.
"I thought you were eating at your boyfriend's place." He said, mocking her.
"Dax isn't my boyfriend, and you know that." Britta said, placing the last of the bowl glass in the garbage incinerator.
"There was a change of plans." She looked at Rory pointedly. He smiled a small smile.
"I couldn't tell you, Britta. Iggy made all of us initiate trainers swear on it." He said.
"Faction before blood." Britta muttered.
"It's amazing inside, Britt. They've got a vegetation roof, and a zip line course, a running track, and, you'll like this, a library." He sounded really fired up about training the initiates in the new building, but Britta was skeptical. Despite the library and running track, which she knew she would frequent often, she didn't like the idea of staying in the same building as the scheming Erudites.
Rory continued making his macaroni, and Britta went to her room, her questions still unanswered.
She slumped on her bed with the familiar pink-burgundy sheets and blankets.
She was going to miss her parents. She was lucky, getting to see Rory every day practically, but she knew she'd have a few nights where she'd miss her mom's warm tea and her dad's joking tone.
She got a black duffle bag out of her closet, putting her favourite books inside, her water bottle for running, her running shoes, and her collection of coloured hair elastics. She could get any clothing she needed from the pit before she left. She made a mental note to ask Rory if the building had a place for her to get clothes in.
She heard the door open, and the sound of her mother's voice floated into her room.
"Britta? What's this about a building?"
Apparently, she did know about the Initiate Building.
"Ma, you've got nothing to worry about, I'll be there the whole time she is." Rory said, his mouth full of macaroni as Britta walked into the kitchen.
"I'm not worried; I just want to know where my daughter and son will be living for the next few weeks." She said, placing her uniform and ever-present gun case on the bench in the front hallway. Unlike Rory and Mack, Britta's father, her mother hadn't placed high in the rankings, and was one of the last to choose her occupation. She was a guard, guarding against something that Britta never could name.
Rory explained the concept of the building to their mother, and with each of his words, Britta found excitement rising in her chest. The building would be amazing to live in, she knew that, but the thought of being contained in it for weeks didn't please her.
When her father got home, Rory explained again, although her father seemed a lot more enthusiastic than her mother did.
"That sounds amazing. I wish they had that when I was going through initiation." He smiled his kind smile, and told Britta to go to her room to contemplate her choice for the choosing ceremony tomorrow.
Now that was something Britta had no trouble deciding her opinion about. Her serum simulation had been reflexes for her. She took the knife from the basket, but didn't kill the dog. She lied about the book, and when the dog came after the little girl, she jumped in front and stabbed it.
Somehow, with these results, the simulation came up with Erudite.
Britta had always known she was more for the strategic parts of stunts, and that she was one of the smarter Dauntless in her classes, but never had she thought she was close to Erudite level. The Erudites were cocky know-it-alls, and Britta did not wish to be one of them.
She had no trouble deciding that she wouldn't leave Dauntless.
Instead of contemplating where she would live and how she would act the rest of her life, she read. She was there for around an hour before Dax came into her room, flinging himself down on the brown armchair in the corner.
"Hi," He said.
"Hi." Britta replied, distracted by the faraway world described by some Erudite author.
"I really want to tell you my results." He said, looking at her intently from his perch on the chair.
Britta looked up now, un-amused.
"You can't, Dax."
"I know, but I want to."
Britta sighed, memorising her page number and closing the book.
"At least we'll be together tomorrow, right?" Britta said, trying to encourage Dax and make him feel less upset about it. Dax had always been high strung, but more so in the weeks that brought them closer to deciding their factions.
"I'll still be your friend, no matter what you choose. I'll still love you." He said, his blue eyes flashing.
Britta was sure he meant as a friend, but his intensity unsettled her. She picked up her book again, falling into the words again. Dax stayed in her room, sitting beside her on the bed. He read over her shoulder every so often, and fiddled with a few knick-knacks Britta kept on her windowsill.
After a while, Rory came in, eyeing Dax suspiciously, telling him that his mom was here, and she wanted him to come home.
Dax nodded, and got up from Britta's bed, saying his goodbyes and leaving with his mother.
"Watch it, Britt." Rory said.
Britta scoffed and rolled her eyes. Rory was a sucker for the protective older brother routine.
After a while longer of reading, Britta felt her eyelids drooping. She undid her braid, and lay down on the bed, closing her eyes. She was out in minutes.
She dreamt that Dax had chosen Dauntless. She was proud, clapping along with the others, but when her turn came, she let her blood drip for Erudite, not on the sizzling coals of Dauntless. She turned to the audience, expecting applause, but all that were there were faceless zombies, Dax and her family from and centre.
Britta woke with a start. She was tangled in her blankets, still wearing her black jeans and shirt from the day before. She waited patiently for her heart to stop racing, and went to her drawers. She put on a pair of black pants rolled up at the cuffs to look like capris, and a black t-shirt. Her usual black sneakers were slipped over new socks, and she was out the door.
She put her hair into a ponytail on her way to the Pit, tying it tight so it wouldn't slip out during the day. A few of her shorter hairs hung down in her face, wispy and red.
She passed by a few people from her school. Restless, like her on the morning of the end of their former lives in Dauntless.
She headed into the first exercise room, passing through to the change room, taking with her the things she had gotten from the pit that morning and her duffle bag for the building. She changed into her running clothes, and got on the high tech tread mill. She started the program, and she ran. The pounding of her feet was the only thing she concentrated on as she fell into her rhythm. She barely even noticed when the machine sped up, only altering her legs' speed to keep up.
Dax came in around a half hour after Britta was finished running. She was stretching her legs, pulling her foot towards her back.
"Morning." Britta said to Dax in greeting, shaking her arms out, finished with her stretches.
"Hey, Britta." Dax said. He seemed in much better spirits this morning, heading towards the weights, whistling.
"I told Xander he should come with us today to get to the building so we can all stay near each other. I hope you don't mind." He said, pulling the cord weights down with his usual ease.
"That's fine." Britta said, taking a long swig from her water bottle.
Britta changed back into her clothes for the day after showering and drying her hair; neatly braiding it, save for the few wisps that stayed eternally out.
Dax was dressed and ready when she got out, and he was talking with Xander, who had presumably arrived while she was showering.
"Ready?" Dax asked Britta, and she nodded, grabbing her bag and smiling at Xander.
They left the Dauntless compound together, hopping on the train, Britta not stumbling this time.
When Britta saw the large, shiny building rising up out of the train window she gasped.
It was huge; the glass windows were cut in asymmetrical shapes. Octagons, parallelograms and the sort, and all the windows were varying shades of blue. Britta could see the trees on the green roof peeking out over the top of the building, and the zip line structure with its lines going all the way to the ground.
She grabbed Dax's arm and smiled at him as the train slowed. His muscles were tense, and Britta was sure hers were too. That thought was confirmed when she jumped off the train and the rigidness of her landing jarred her teeth and gave her a headache.
"It's colossal." Xander said as he grabbed Britta's arm to straighten her.
Britta and Dax nodded their agreement.
The air spelt different here on the border of Abnegation and Erudite. It was humid and thick in Britta's nose, so unlike the metallic air of the Dauntless compound. Her t-shirt stuck to her lower back with her sweat.
"Well, we should go in, I guess. We've only got three hours until our parents get here for the ceremony." Dax said, leading the way to the revolving door that served as the entrance to the Initiate Building.
Britta sighed as they entered the air conditioned first floor. It was a large, cavernous room, with high ceilings, and many, many halls leading off into other areas. Big signs served as directions for the mass of initiates that were already there. Perhaps the biggest sign of all screamed at them in all caps about what the building contained.
WELCOME TO THE INITIATE TRAINING BUILDING. YOU BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY HERE.
1ST FLOOR – CAFETERIA, NECCESSITIES WAREHOUSE, RECREATION CENTER
2ND FLOOR – ABNEGATION
3RD FLOOR – CANDOR
4TH FLOOR – AMITY
5TH FLOOR – ERUDITE
6TH FLOOR – DAUNTLESS
A woman with a round face and a kind smile greeted them. Judging from her red clothing and dark tan, she was from Amity.
"You three are from Dauntless, aren't you?" She nodded, confirming her thought without their answer.
"Names, please." She smiled kindly at Dax, who told her his name quickly. She checked something off on the papers on her clipboard and handed him a card. It had his school photo from this year on it, as well as his name, his identification number, and a barcode.
When Britta told the woman her name, she was also handed a card, and the same for Xander after her.
"After your cermemony, the seal of the faction you choose will be placed on your card, and your barcode will be activated. You scan your barcode in the elevator, and it will take you to the right floor." She paused, gesturing to the row of elevators along the wall by the sign saying "Cafeteria".
"For now, it doesn't do much except help you get the things you need and make sure you don't eat anything you're allergic to." The woman finished.
"I'm Cassidy, by the way, you can ask me any questions you have tonight, but tomorrow your initiate trainers will take care of that." She nodded, finishing her speech.
She left them alone when a group of black-and-white clad Candor initiates filed in through the entrance.
"What now?" Xander asked the inevitable question.
"Rory's got to be here somewhere. Maybe he can get us some sort of tour." Britta said, and walked over to a map detailing what was kept on the first floor.
"There's a recreation room. I'll bet anything that he's there." She said, starting towards the sign that read recreation room.
"Rory." She called when she saw him, his tall frame bent over a mind game.
"Give me a sec, Britt." He replied quickly, and Britta turned to find that she was alone with her brother. Somewhere along her road, she had lost Dax and Xander. She stepped back from her brother's side, frustrated, and heard a yelp.
"Watch where you're standing." She said before turning to the person she had stepped on.
It was a girl about her age, with a blonde bob with her bangs swept to the side. Light freckles sprayed across the girl's nose, and Britta felt jealous. She wished she could have gotten away with minimal freckles instead of the hundreds she had thanks to her red hair.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were the one that stepped on me." The girl said, her greenish-gold eyes glinting.
A Candor. Britta should have noticed the white shirt and black skirt before now.
"Britta, don't." Dax chose that moment to reappear from where ever he had gone. Xander was with him.
The Candor girl looked up at Dax, and Britta prepared herself for another swooning, but the girl just scowled and looked back to Britta.
Britta's face softened.
"Sorry, I acted like a jerk. I'm Britta." She stuck out her hand in a feeble attempt at reconciliation.
"Catherine. Cath." She took Britta's hand and shook it lightly.
"I'm Dax." Dax came forward, pushing Britta slightly into Xander.
He shook Cath's hand too, and she smiled politely at him. Britta was surprised. Dax wasn't usually the type to introduce himself first. He usually waited until the other person asked him for his name. Britta wondered why this girl was the exception. She was quite pretty, with her slim frame and heart shaped face, but Dax was around tons of pretty Dauntless girls every day.
"Hi." She said back to him, and turned to Britta, her hand still in Dax's.
"Look, no hard feelings, okay?" She said, reclaiming her hand and clasping it in the other behind her back.
"Okay." Britta said, still wondering about Dax's reaction.
Rory finished his game with a flash of lights and a few choice words at his loss, and turned.
"Who's this?" He asked, always the blunt one.
"Cath." The owner of the name said herself, smiling at Rory.
"You thinking about choosing Dauntless, Cath? We could use a few willowy ones like you." Cath shook her head and smiled.
"Not allowed to say." She said, turning to leave. She waved behind her back, and went over to a group of other Candors.
"Maybe I was wrong about him being your boyfriend, Britt." Rory said, looking at Dax, who frowned. Britta wished with all her heart that Rory wouldn't talk about those things around Xander.
"Dax is not my boyfriend, Rory. Leave him alone." Britta said, and looked over at Dax, who had a slight flush to his face. So he did think Cath was pretty.
Xander stood of to the side awkwardly, and smiled.
"I know he isn't because if he was, he wouldn't be wishing so hard to be Cath's." Rory grinned and Dax launched himself at him in an effort to shut Rory up.
Britta laughed along with Xander as Dax tried to beat her brother up. Neither of them came out with injuries, except for Dax's embarrassment.
"Okay, okay guys. That's enough." A middle-aged man came up to them. He was an Erudite, and his glasses glinted as he watched Dax and Rory stand up and brush themselves off.
When the Erudite man was sure they wouldn't break out in another fist fight, he left. Britta and Xander were sitting on two stools, drinking water when an announcement came on the PA.
"ALL INITIATES PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE AUDITORIUM FOR THE CHOOSING CEREMONY. IT WILL BEGIN IN TEN MINUTES."
Britta was squished inbetween a stiff and a hardplace. Yes, she was sitting next to a boy from Abnegation, and a wall.
The stiff had asked her if she wanted to switch places, but she said no.
Cath was an A, so she was called up as one of the first. Britta had expected her to be a true and real Candor and let her blood run over the glass that symbolised Candor, but she didn't. She bled for Amity, the faction that worshiped kindness. She went to stand behind the Amities, the first initiate to transfer to that faction.
Xander was the second of the people she knew to perform their ceremony. He slit his arm carefully, and let his blood drip into the flaming coals that represented Dauntless. He would be staying.
Dax was next. He looked unbearably nervous, and he stood there for a while, his arm dripping blood, until he walked over to the bowl containing grass, and let his blood run over it.
Britta froze. Dax was leaving her. He was going to Amity.
She had never really noticed, but Dax was one of the kindest people she had ever met. He always had nice words for people who needed them, and he was always the first to agree to something that would help someone, no matter how crazy it was.
He wasn't leaving just for a girl, he was leaving because he needed to.
He stood two people away from Cath, and they looked at each other. They each let the other have a small smile of reassurance. Dax looked out to Britta, and she nodded at him. He looked instantly less strained and upset.
Britta was so deep in her ocean of thoughts and worries, she almost didn't hear her name. Only the freedom and space she now had because of the Stiff's depart clued her in to that it was her turn.
She got up and walked to the stage, her heart pounding. She didn't know why she was so nervous.
The people standing on the stage looked at her unwaveringly. She was handed a knife. She cut her arm, and it stung. She headed over to the bowl filled with the burning coals of Dauntless and let her blood drip in. It was done. She would either be Dauntless or factionless.