Dauntless

The Train Jump

Authors Note

Anonymous Kay

Hey Guys... If you like this story you'll also adore "Another Choice"By:OnCloudTen. Please continue. I do not own Divergent –Kay? Get it. Got it. Good.

Caleb's P.O.V.

I train my eyes on the floor and stand behind the Dauntless-born initiates who chose to return to their own faction. They are all taller than I am, so even when I lift my head, I see only black-clothed shoulders. I refuse to look at my sister because even now I can feel her shocked eyes glued to me. She was probably hiding it when she got up. But now when barely anyone's looking she lets out her shock. When the last girl makes her choice—Amity—it's time to leave. The Dauntless exit first. I walk past the gray-clothed men and women who were my faction, staring determinedly at the back of someone's head and I realized I had turned back and am now staring at the back of Beatrice's head. She turns and says quietly "We need to talk!" and I nod.

But I have to see my parents one more time. I look over my shoulder at the last second before I pass them, and immediately wish I hadn't. My father's eyes burn into mine with a look of accusation. At first, when I feel the heat behind my eyes, I think he's found a way to set me on fire, to punish me for what I've done, but no—I'm about to cry.

Beside him, my mother is smiling.

The people behind me press me forward, away from my family, who will be the last ones to leave. They may even stay to stack the chairs and clean the bowls.

I glance at the boy to my left, who was Erudite and now looks as pale and nervous as I should feel. I spent all my time worrying about which faction I would choose and never considered what would happen if I chose Dauntless. What waits for me at Dauntless headquarters?

The crowd of Dauntless leading us go to the stairs instead of the elevators. I thought only the Abnegation used the stairs.

Then everyone starts running. I hear whoops and shouts and laughter all around me, and dozens of thundering feet moving at different rhythms. It is not a selfless act for the Dauntless to take the stairs; it is a wild act.

"What the hell is going on?" the boy next to me shouts at my sister.

I see her just shake her head and keep running. I am breathless when we reach the first floor, and the Dauntless burst through the exit. Outside, the air is crisp and cold and the sky is orange from the setting sun. It reflects off the black glass of the Hub.

The Dauntless sprawl across the street, blocking the path of a bus, and I sprint to catch up to the back of the crowd. My confusion dissipates as I run. I have not run anywhere in a long time. Abnegation discourages anything done strictly for my own enjoyment, and that is what this is: my lungs burning, my muscles aching, the fierce pleasure of a flat-out sprint. I follow the Dauntless down the street and around the corner and hear a familiar sound: the train horn.

"Oh no," mumbles the Erudite boy. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?"

"Yes," Beatrice says, breathless. I would make a smart joke but I'm out of breath.

The crowd spreads out in a long line. The train glides toward us on steel rails, its light flashing, its horn blaring. The door of each car is open, waiting for the Dauntless to pile in, and they do, group by group, until only the new initiates are left. The Dauntless-born initiates are used to doing this by now, so in a second it's just faction transfers left.

I step forward with a few others and start jogging. We run with the car for a few steps and then throw ourselves sideways. I pull myself into the car. As I do so I look in front of me seeing a Candor girl grab Beatrice and pull her in. And in I go.

I hear a shout and look over my shoulder. A short Erudite boy with red hair pumps his arms as he tries to catch up to the train. An Erudite girl by the door reaches out to grab the boy's hand, straining, but he is too far behind. He falls to his knees next to the tracks as we sail away, and puts his head in his hands.

I feel uneasy. He just failed Dauntless initiation. He is factionless now. It could happen at any moment.

"You all right?" the Candor girl who helped Beatrice asks her briskly. She is tall, with dark brown skin and short hair. Pretty.

Beatrice nods.

"I'm Christina," she says, offering Beatrice her hand.

She hasn't shaken a hand in a long time either. The Abnegation greeted one another by bowing heads, a sign of respect. She takes her hand, uncertainly, and shakes it twice, hoping I didn't squeeze too hard or not hard enough.

"Beatrice," She says.

I walk over to them. I hold my hand out to Christina. She takes it and shakes twice firmly. "Caleb... Beatrice's sister!" I say over the wind. "Thank you for saving my sister from falling out of the train."

"Do you know where we're going?" She has to shout over the wind, which blows harder through the open doors by the second. The train is picking up speed. I sit down. It will be easier to keep my balance if I'm low to the ground. She raises an eyebrow at me.

"A fast train means wind," Beatrice says. "Wind means falling out. Get down."

I sit next to Beatrice and Christina sits next to me, inching back to lean against the wall.

"I guess we're going to Dauntless headquarters," Beatrice says, "but I don't know where that is."

"Does anyone?" She shakes her head, grinning. "It's like they just popped out of a hole in the ground or something."

Then the wind rushes through the car, and the other faction transfers, hit with bursts of air, fall on top of one another. I watch Christina laugh without hearing her and see Beatrice a smile.

Over my left shoulder, orange light from the setting sun reflects off the glass buildings, and I can faintly see the rows of gray houses that used to be my home.

It's my turn to make dinner tonight. Who will take my place—my mother or my father? And when they clear out my room, what will they discover? Did I always know that I would choose Dauntless? And if I did, did I not notice?

I close my eyes and picture my mother and father sitting at the dinner table in silence. Is it a lingering hint of selflessness that makes my throat tighten at the thought of them, or is it selfishness, because I know I will never be their son again?

+ + +

"They're jumping off!"

I lift my head. My neck aches. I have been curled up with my back against the wall for at least a half hour, listening to the roaring wind and watching the city smear past us. I sit forward. The train has slowed down in the past few minutes, and I see that the boy who shouted is right: The Dauntless in the cars ahead of us are jumping out as the train passes a rooftop. The tracks are seven stories up.

The idea of leaping out of a moving train onto a rooftop, knowing there is a gap between the edge of the roof and the edge of the track, makes me want to puke. I push myself up and stumble to the opposite side of the car, where the other faction transfers stand in a line. I stand right after Christina and Beatrice.

"We have to jump off too, then," a Candor girl says. She has a large nose and crooked teeth.

"Great," a Candor boy replies, "because that makes perfect sense, Molly. Leap off a train onto a roof."

"This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter," the girl points out.

"Well, I'm not doing it," says an Amity boy behind me. He has olive skin and wears a brown shirt—he is the only transfer from Amity. His cheeks shine with tears.

"You've got to," Christina says, "or you fail. Come on, it'll be all right."

"No, it won't! I'd rather be factionless than dead!" The Amity boy shakes his head. He sounds panicky. He keeps shaking his head and staring at the rooftop, which is getting closer by the second.

I definitely agree with him. I would rather be empty than dead.

"You can't force him," Beatrice says, glancing at Christina. Her brown eyes are wide, and she presses her lips together so hard they change color. She offers Beatrice her hand. I during all this can barely talk and probably won't be talking for a while. I'm too shocked and scared.

"Here," she says. Beatrice raise an eyebrow at her hand, about, but she adds, "I just . . . can't do it unless someone drags me."

Beatrice takes her hand and they stand at the edge of the car. As it passes the roof, she count, "One . . . two . . . three!" as I go to a different door and on three I launch off the train car at the same time as them.

A weightless moment, and then my feet slam into solid ground and pain prickles through my shins. The jarring landing sends me sprawling on the rooftop. I turn and I see Beatrice release Christina's hand. She's laughing. I can only tell what I'm doing since I am practically speechless. I can tell I'm watching over Beatrice as her older brother.

"That was fun," Christina says.

Christina will fit in with Dauntless thrill seekers. I see Beatrice brush grains of rock from her cheek. All the initiates except the Amity boy made it onto the roof, with varying levels of success. The Candor girl with crooked teeth, Molly, holds her ankle, wincing, and Peter, the Candor boy with shiny hair, grins proudly—he must have landed on his feet.

Then I hear a wail. I tune it out of my head, while Beatrice Goes toward it. Beatrice comes toward me.

"My elbow stings." She says. She pulls up her sleeve up to examine it, her hand shaking. Some of the skin is peeling off, but it isn't bleeding.

"Ooh. *Scandalous*! A Stiff's flashing some skin!"

I lift my head. "Stiff" is slang for Abnegation. Peter points at Beatrice, smirking. I hear laughter. Beatrice cheeks heat up, and she lets her sleeves fall.

"Bug off 'El Dorko' or at least shut your mouth so no flies fly in!" I yell at him. I reach into my pocket and grab a first aid kit. At least my body realized I was going to choose dauntless. I had stuffed my pockets with medical supplies before I left. I pull out a sterile band aid.

I pass her the band aid. "Here you go Beatrice!" I say. She pulls up her sleeve again and puts it on gently.

"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" shouts a man at the other end of the roof. He is older than the others, with deep creases in his dark skin and gray hair at his temples, and he stands on the ledge like it's a sidewalk. Like someone didn't just fall to her death from it. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."

"You want us to jump off a ledge?" asks an Erudite girl. She is a few inches taller than I am, with mousy brown hair and big lips. Her mouth hangs open.

I don't know why it shocks her.

"Yes," Max says. He looks amused.

"Is there water at the bottom or something?"

"Who knows?" He raises his eyebrows.

The crowd in front of the initiates splits in half, making a wide path for us. I look around. No one looks eager to leap off the building—their eyes are everywhere but on Max. Some of them nurse minor wounds or brush gravel from their clothes. I glance at Peter. He is picking at one of his cuticles. Trying to act casual.

I see Beatrice walk toward the ledge and hear snickers at her.

Max steps aside, leaving her way clear. She walks up to the edge and look down. Wind whips through her clothes, making the fabric snap. The building I'm on forms one side of a square with three other buildings.

She steps onto the ledge. I can hear her teeth chatter. I know she won't back down now. Not with all the people betting she'll fail behind her. Her hands fumble along the collar of her shirt and find the button that secures it shut. After a few tries, she undos the hooks from collar to hem, and pulls it off her shoulders.

Beneath it, she wears a gray T-shirt. I've never seen her in it before. she balls up my outer shirt and look over her shoulder, at Peter. She throws the ball of fabric at him. It hits him in the chest. He stares at her. I hear catcalls and shouts at her. She must of been still angry at him.

She looks at the hole again. She bends her knees and jumps.

I hear a "First jumper—Tris!" from the bottom of the hole.

"Let her 'Bro Boy' follow her down!" I hear from Peter. Then Max looks at me. "Do you accept his challenge?" Max asks. I stand tall and say "Yes!"

Max steps aside, leaving my way clear. I walk up to the edge and know not to look down but just jump. I don't think. I just bend my knees and jump.

The air howls in my ears as the ground surges toward me, growing and expanding, or I surge toward the ground, my heart pounding so fast it hurts, every muscle in my body tensing as the falling sensation drags at my stomach. The hole surrounds me and I drop into darkness.

I hit something hard. It gives way beneath me and cradles my body. The impact knocks the wind out of me and I wheeze, struggling to breathe again. My arms and legs sting.

A net. There is a net at the bottom of the hole. I look up at the building and laugh, half relieved and half hysterical. My body shakes and I cover my face with my hands. I just jumped off a roof.

I have to stand on solid ground again. I jump out onto the ground and see something.

I see a boy with her hands on my sisters back saying, "Welcome to Dauntless."

Then another person lands into the net. It's Christina. Her screams follow her down. Christina. Everyone laughs, but they follow their laughter with more cheering.

I stare the boy down. I am going to teach him a lesson real soon about what will happen if he makes a wrong move around her. Real soon indeed.

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