A/N: Hi! A quick shout out to Ia Iz and FallenMinds-my first reviewers! Thanks again, guys. I do appreciate constructive critisism, or any comments or predictions you might have. Here is the second chapter! Oh, and bear with me, as I have to go back to school tomorrow, so updates won't be this quick for a while. So, I have given you guys a longer chapter! Yay!
Caleb's POV
The swirling colors come to a halt, and with a bright flash that no one else seems to notice, I am back at the Hub, where Choosing Ceremony is taking place. Seeing my father, my mother and Tris, I almost want to break down crying and embrace them where they stand. But no, I can't. Instead I reach out to Tris-wait, it's Beatrice now-and clutch her hand for all I'm worth. I am terrified that if I don't hold on to something, my very being will slowly unravel. She looks so small now, with only a hint of the strong, independent woman I know she will be. I breathe out a slow, shaky breath, willing myself to focus on only what is happening, and nothing else.
Marcus is at the podium between Erudite and Dauntless—something I can only register as symbolism of what I will change. He clears his throat into the microphone. He welcomes us, and explains a bit about why we are here-as if we didn't already know. Beatrice squeezes my fingers. Hard. I guess we're both pretty nervous. As I listen to Marcus' speech, it amazes me how much it sounds like the issue with GDs, yet how could anyone here possibly know about that? They do not know that this is only an experiment.
"...divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray," Marcus says. Well, he's not wrong...the factions were created to get rid of certain qualities...they just don't know it was genes the founders were trying to fix. He goes on to list the factions and their reasons for forming.
"Those who blamed aggression formed Amity. Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite." My old faction. A twinge of sadness strikes through me. It was a shame, how Jeanie Matthews corrupted the faction. I will not be joining them this time around.
"Those who blamed duplicity created Candor. Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation. And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless." I will not be a coward. I will not be a traitor. I will not fail my family again. The factions mean nothing-I have to save the people I love. I must gain redemption. This time, I will make it right. This time, I will not let anyone take my family from me. However, I can't help but feel nervous. It feels like I am betraying my faction.
I am broken from my musings by a round of applause. Macus has finished his speech, and they have started Choosing. One by one, each sixteen year old goes to the center of the room. One by one, they choose a faction. James Tucker is the first faction transfer. I grow nervous-my name is about to be called. I am next. Marcus will call my name any time no- "Caleb Prior."
I steel myself for my decision. Squeezing Beatrice's hand one last time, I walk to the center of the room. I cast a final glance at her over my shoulder, and then turn to Marcus to receive the knife. My hands are steady and deft as I press the knife into one hand. I watch my blood pool in my palm. Inhale. Exhale. Thrusting my hand out to my left, I let my blood sizzle on Dauntless coals. I have chosen.
My legs are stiff as I march over to where the Dauntless are, and I stand behind the Dauntless-born initiates. I watch as Beatrice approaches the bowls. Her eyes stray in my direction, and I nod to her encouragingly. She has to choose Dauntless. If my choice somehow affects her and she doesn't, all my plans will fall apart. Her footsteps falter, and I see her set her jaw, determined as always. She takes the knife from Marcus and drags it down her left hand. She holds both hands close, and I see her shudder. Come on Tris, I think. She opens her eyes and her arm shoots out. At first her blood drips on the carpet between Abnegation and Dauntless, and my breath gets caught in my throat. NO. But then she moves her hand forward, and her blood joins mine on the coals of the brave.
After the last girl chooses Amity, it's time to go. The Dauntless have to go first, and I find myself passing by the Abnegation. I can't imagine how mad my parents will be, but I have to look back. I regret that I did. The expression of accusation on my father's face is heart wrenching, and my mother, her smile fading when her eyes leave Beatrice, gives me a puzzled look. Both their reactions make me uneasy. I try to shrug it off.
I start to look through the sea of Dauntless to find Beatrice, or, Tris. I'm not entirely sure when she chose to change her name. There was so much I didn't know about her. I intend to change that this time. This time, I will be the brother she always deserved.
The Dauntless lead us to the stairs, and suddenly everyone is running down them, laughing and shouting. The slap of shoes on concrete echoes all around me. I feel slightly confused as my Erudite mind tries to figure out the meaning of such actions. Silently scolding myself, I remind myself that this is Dauntless, so of course they would do something wild and crazy. I am annoyed that I am stuck, confined to my way of thinking, and so I try not to think-just run. The rhythmic pounding, my legs burning, I actually start to enjoy myself and this freedom, when we reach the first floor.
I rush out the door among the crowd and am met with crisp, cold dusk air. The yellow-orange orb that is the sun reflects off of the Hub, shining against the black glass. We run down the street and around the corner at a sprint. As piercing as a knife, the train horn cuts through the air.
The Dauntless spread into a line-more organization than I ever thought possible of them. The train comes quickly, each car door open for the Dauntless to fill. Groups of Dauntless board, until only the new initiates are left. I try to remember how to do this-its been awhile since I've had a reason to use the trains this way. I run alongside it, mostly the Dauntless-born initiates with me. I grab a handle and swing myself in, my muscles straining. I stumble into the car, mostly pleased with how I managed.
Looking out of the train, I see most of the transfers jogging alongside my car. They throw themselves inside, not strong enough to pull themselves in. I wonder if I would have been able to do that the first time around. I hope no one noticed.
My attention is drawn away from my thoughts as a small thump reverberates through the car. I turn in time to see a Candor girl-Christina, I realize-pull my sister into the car. They talk, and I think I see Tris glance over her shoulder once, and they shake hands. Huh. I hadn't realized she had made friends with Christina before they even got to the Dauntless compound. They move to a corner of the car and continue talking.
I go further into the car too, not wanting to risk falling out, and slide down the wall till I'm sitting. Tris has been avoiding me. Trying to think back, I think it's because I put up such a good act of being selfless. In her mind, it was obvious she wouldn't be in Abnegation-but how could I not be? And to take away her choice to be free...ugh. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Really, like Tobias said, I only did what was logically right for an Stiff to do. I just hope this doesn't put a rift between us.
Thunk. I look up.
"Hey," an Erudite boy has sat next to me.
"Hi," I reply. He looks at me and says, "I'm Will." Will. That is the name of Christina's long-dead boyfriend. The one my sister killed. I swallow. He continues talking, "I think we're going to Dauntless headquarters, but, uh...I'm kind of nervous." I glance at him sideways. From what I gathered, Will hadn't exactly been the nervous type. He adds, "Well, the Dauntless born initiates might know what they're in for, but we're doing this completely blind."
That's true, I think. Even after all I'd been through, I still have no idea what initiation was like for Tris. Tobias said something about stages, but we mainly focused on the physical aspect. With a start, realize that I will have to go through my fear landscape, and the thought makes my stomach churn. They can't find out I'm from the future.
I clear my throat, "I'm Caleb. And yeah, I guess we are kind of flying it blind. But I don't think the Dauntless-born initiates know anymore than we do. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair." Will raises an eyebrow at me, "And since when are the Dauntless concerned with being fair?" he asks. I shake my head.
"You have a point," I say, "I guess we'll just have to try harder than anyone else."
"They're jumping off!" A boy shouts. Will and I stand up. I stretch, cracking my joints. We've been sitting for at least half an hour, and my body is stiff from lack of movement. We move to where the other faction transfers stand in a line.
"We have to jump too, then," a Candor girl says.
"Great," a Candor boy-Peter, I realize with a start-replies, "because that makes perfect sense, Molly. Leap off a train and onto a roof."
"This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter," the girl retorts.
"Come on," I say to Will. We go over to the edge of the car, and I grab onto a handle so I don't lose my balance. I wait till the rooftop is close, then I turn to him so I can be heard over the wind.
"On three!" I shout. "One...two...THREE!" On three we both jump off. There is a brief second of weightlessness, almost like I'm flying, and then we both land on hard gravel. We keep running with the momentum, finally slowing to a stop. I laugh. It doesn't surprise me that it's more fun when your sister isn't dragging you off it while your both being chased. I'm actually kind of proud that I didn't do a face plant onto the roof. I suppose I've had more 'practice' than the other initiates.
Suddenly I hear a scream. Looking around, it's coming from a Dauntless girl who is standing at the edge of the roof looking over the side, screeching. A Dauntless boy holds her back from falling, saying, "Rita. Rita, calm down. Rita-" moving over to see what she's looking at, my stomach drops. A girl-no, it's just a body now-is spread eagled on the pavement below us, her arms twisted and bent in all the wrong places. I run my hand through my hair. NO. I've failed. I was supposed to come back to STOP deaths from happening-but how am I supposed to stop something I didn't know was going to happen?
Suddenly my mission seems a whole lot more complicated than I first thought-not that it was ever easy. But now, I will have to be constantly alert. Now, I have to notice everything to stop all that I can. I can't just assume the deaths and tragedy I know about are the only ones that happened. Now I really AM flying it blind.
A/N: Okay, so that's the first chapter of A Second Chance. What do you think so far? What could I be doing better? Hm...these questions seems like ones that require answers that must be submitted via a REVIEW!
