Everyone stood in a circle of the five factions, surrounding a smaller circle of glass bowels, holding a representing object of each faction. Gray stones for Abnegation, water for Erudite, earth for Amity, lit coals for Dauntless and glass for Candor. The responsibility of conducting the choosing ceremony rotates through the five factions, and this year it was the Abnegation's turn. Once the man calls my name, I will stand and walk to the centre of the bowls, take the knife offered to me and with a proud grin, cut my palm and drip my blood into the faction of my choosing.
Many of the other 16 year olds were visited by their parents before the ceremony began, but not me. I stood alone, surrounded by happy families because I didn't have one. Both my parents died jumping the train a few years ago. They decided to try together and when my mum tripped and fell, she pulled my dad down with her.
They were dead the second they hit the ground.
It doesn't bother me anymore.
Soon, everyone was seated and the ceremony began.
Marcus, the Abnegation man running the ceremony, stands at the podium between the Erudite and the Dauntless and clears his throat into the microphone. "Welcome," he says. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world"
I felt chills go over my spine. It sounded like such a great responsibility when put like that. What if we chose wrong?
"Our dependents are now sixteen. They stand on the precipice of adulthood, and it is now up to them to decide what kind of people they will be." Marcus's voice is solemn and gives equal weight to each word. "Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray."
For me, I believed that cowardice was the problem. That people didn't have the guts to stand up for what they believed in.
"Those who blamed aggression formed Amity."
The Amity exchange smiles. They are dressed comfortably, in red or yellow. I didn't really associate myself with them, but they seem rather, mystic and free. "Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite." Erudite were probably the most advanced of the factions, but suffered from arrogance because of it. "Those who blamed duplicity created Candor." And so they became smart ass' that can't keep their mouth shut. "Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation." An understandable trait. To be selfish was to wish all upon yourself. "And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless.
Many Dauntless people grinned amongst each other, and I was one of them.
"Working together, these five factions have lived in peace for many years, each contributing to a different sector of society. Abnegation has fulfilled our need for selfless leaders in government; Candor has provided us with trustworthy and sound leaders in law; Erudite has supplied us with intelligent teachers and researchers; Amity has given us understanding counselors and caretakers; and Dauntless provides us with protection from threats both within and without. But the reach of each faction is not limited to these areas. We give one another far more than can be adequately summarized. In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life."
Faction before Blood stands out in my mind as Marcus reads this passage. Out Factions were where we belonged. They became our family.
Marcus adds, "Apart from them, we would not survive." The silence that follows his words is heavier than other silences. It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death: to be factionless. Marcus continues, "Therefore this day marks a happy occasion—the day on which we receive our new initiates, who will work with us toward a better society and a better world." A round of applause erupts from the crowd. That's when the names began. One by one, the 16-year-olds are called up to chose their factions. And luckily for me, I was one of this first.
"Zania Young." Marcus calls and with pride, I march up to the bowls. With my right hand I took the knife, slid it across my left palm and thrust it out, dropping the blood into the Coals without a second thought.
I am Dauntless.
"James Tucker," Marcus says. James Tucker of the Dauntless is the first person to stumble on his way to the bowls. He throws his arms out and regains his balance before hitting the floor. His face turns red and he walks fast to the middle of the room. When he stands in the center, he looks from the Dauntless bowl to the Candor bowl—the orange flames that rise higher each moment, and the glass reflecting blue light. Marcus offers him the knife. He breathes deeply and, as he exhales, accepts the knife. Then he draws it across his palm with a jerk and holds his arm out to the side. His blood falls onto glass, and he is the first of us to switch factions. The first faction transfer. I narrow my eyes at him. Sure, his transfer wasn't exactly a surprise. Right from a child James had shown characteristics of someone not cut out for Dauntless. Every time he got hurt he would hide away and cry for days. He wasn't brave. He hated jumping from the train. It was only a matter of time.
When the last of the 16 year olds had chosen their factions, it was time to leave and like always, the Dauntless lead the way. And I lead them. I walked proudly at the front of the group, smiling and thanking those who congratulated us. As soon as the stairs came into sight, I began running with the rest of my faction following suit. We ran up the street as around the corner just as the horn of the train sounded. I continued to run and just as the first cart passed me, I did an aerial into it, landing perfectly on my feet. I turned to watch the other initiates, especially the transfers, to see how they do. Of course, their first jump will be rough, but not as rough as the departure.
Before I said getting off was the easiest right? Well not this time. This time they will be jumping into a building that is 7 stories into the air. Someone is going to lose their life; they always do.
"Someone warn the transfers. They are going to need to be prepared." I order, knowing that someone will acknowledge it. I am not sure why, but people tend to listen to me. I was told once it was because I was a natural born leader, and I liked the sound of it, but something about leading people churned the nerves in my stomach. Would I be like many before me who crashed under the pressure or craved more power and were corrupted? A friend of mine, Uriah, smiled and took of to the back carts where the transfers were certain to be. The ride was guaranteed to be at least twenty minutes, but by the looks of things, we aren't taking the direct route so that could add a minimum of ten minutes.
Uriah returned soon after.
"They're panicking like drowning rats." He laughed at his own lame simile, but it worked well enough. Of course they were going to panic. I decided to head back there myself, telling Uriah to warn me before we get to the building.
The second I walk into their cart, I knew there were few true Dauntless.
"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.
"Listen to you all," I started, eyebrows furrowed and with a shake of my head, "we haven't even made it to the compound and you're already cowering from a risk. Pathetic."
"And who do you think you are?" The Peter boy spat. He was tall and quite muscly. Definitely built for Dauntless, but his attitude was not.
"Someone who has been doing this long enough to know that this jump will be one of the easiest things you will do in this faction. Don't think you can handle it then you better stay on board the train. This jump takes the lives of even the most experienced Dauntless so if you haven't got the guts to do it then don't. Because inside that compound you will be living your darkest fears. Think about that." I retorted harshly. "You chose this Faction, so suck it up, eat a spoon of concrete and get over yourself."
I left the cart before anyone could reply. Uriah was standing on the other side of the door, smirking at me while leaning against the wall.
"That's why we love you, Zah. Straight to the point." He teased, following me back to the front cart. I sneered at him as the building came into view. We prepared to jump. Most of us started bouncing on our feet to prepare. The second the roof arrived, we jumped. Nothing to fancy because there were too many people on the roof to have any room to recover. I was the first one off, followed by Uriah.
"We finally get to see the-" Uriah was cut of by a deadly scream. We turn around seeing Rita screaming at the top of her lungs and sobbing. I knew without looking that someone didn't make it. And it would be someone I knew. But I didn't look and I didn't console her. They chose this, they have to put up with the consequences.
Max, one of five Dauntless leaders, stands at the edge of the roof, surrounded by many members. Finally, the members entrance.
""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.
"Didn't he just say that?" I retort, honestly sick of the transfers stupidity. They just jumped off of a train. Why is this any more surprising? "Yes," Max says. He looks amused.
"Is there water at the bottom or something?"
"Who knows?" He raises his eyebrows.
The crowd splits in half, making a wide path for us. I keep my eyes on the stiff, who looks like she would be eager. She seems to know a bit about this sort of thing. As I expected, she walks forward to jump, so I step up beside her. The Abnegation girl looked at me, shocked.
"Let's jump together. I ah, have a reputation of being a leader." I say, rubbing the back of my neck. The girl visibly relaxed and nodded, stripping her grey shirt off, earning cat calls and shouts. I laughed as her cheeks turned red with blood blush.
I held my hand out to her. "Zania."
"Beatrice." She replied, shaking my hand rather hesitantly. That was when I remembered Abnegation's don't like physical contact. But Dauntless do and she is Dauntless now. I took a hold of her hand and stepped back, giving us room to run. Beatrice gasped as I ran forward, pulling her with me and jumped, spinning in a circle while holding both her hands, so we were flat in the air as if skydiving. Soon, Beatrice was laughing with me as we fell into the black hole.
I felt the impact and then as if being engulfed. The net at the bottom to catch us knocks the breath out of me briefly, but not as bad as a net of arms does, so I recover quickly. I grab hold of Lauren's hand, an instructor here for initiates, and allow her to pull me out while Four, another instructor and systems operator, pulls out Beatrice. She seems almost entranced by him for a few moments.
"Can't believe it," Lauren says, shaking her head briefly. A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of." "There's a reason why she left them, Lauren," Four says. His voice is deep, and it rumbles. "What's your name?"
"Um …" Beatrice hesitates. "Think about it," he says, a faint smile curling his lips. "You don't get to pick again."
"Tris," She says firmly.
I smile at Beatrice-Tris happily. She was perfect for Dauntless. She was her own person. She knew who she was and what she wanted.
"Make the announcement Four." Lauren says as we step forward towards a crowd.
"First jumpers - Zania and Tris!" Four shouts over his shoulder.
They cheer and pump their fists, and then another person drops into the net. Her screams follow her down. She was a Candor girl and made a very good choice.
After all the initiates jump, Lauren and Four lead us down through the compound in the direction of the pit. I just hope we don't have to sit through a tour of the place. It isn't long until we stop and Lauren and Four turn to face us.
"This is where we divide," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates, except for Zania, are with me. Zania, Max orders you to be with Four. I assume the rest you don't need a tour of the place."
"What? Why do I have to stay with the transfers? Four is fully capable of handling them himself." I argue. I guess I probably shouldn't if Max ordered it himself, but I couldn't help it. What good could it possibly do by having me with the transfers? Lauren didn't answer me though. She just smiled and beckoned the other Dauntless-Born to follow her.
"Most of the time I work in the control room but for the next few weeks I am your instructor." Four says, "My name is Four."
The Erudite girl who jumped after Tris and I, asks, "Four? Like the number?"
"Yes," Four says. "Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Good. We're about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It—"
The Erudite girl snickers. "The Pit? Clever name."
Four walks up to her and leans his face close to hers. His eyes narrow, and for a second he just stares at her. "What's your name?" he asks quietly.
"Christina," she squeaks.
"Well, Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," he hisses. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?" She nods.
Four starts toward the shadow at the end of the tunnel. The crowd of initiates moves on in silence.
"What a jerk," she mumbles.
"I guess he doesn't like to be laughed at," Tris replies.
"Or he is right. Don't like it, leave." I snap. That Christina girl really is starting to get on my nerves, but what other option do I have? I can't march up to Max and demand an answer, he has much more to deal with than a petty initiate. Maybe this will be good. I will definitely be the top of this group because I have done it all before. I smirk. Yes, maybe it will be a good thing.
Four pushes a set of double doors open, and we walk into The Pit.
"Oh," whispers Christina. "I get it."
I give her a sharp look and she quickly shuts her mouth. Being Dauntless-Born, I'm pretty sure I must intimidate them somewhat, plus my little show on the train must have scared them. Peter, the Candor boy that snapped at me on the train, walked up beside me. He glanced out the corner of his eye at me, before holding out his hand.
"I'm Peter." He says. I fold my hand into his and shake it firmly. He has a good handshake but then again, so do most boys of his stature.
"Zania." I reply. He grins and nods.
"I know. I watched you climb the structure outside the school." He says. If it wasn't a big event, I would have found him creepy. I just nod in reply. He was silent for a while after that.
The Pit is an underground cavern so huge I can't see the other end of it from where I stand, at the bottom.
Uneven rock walls rise several stories above my head. Built into the stone walls are places for food, clothing, supplies, leisure activities.
Narrow paths and steps carved from rock connect them. There are no barriers to keep people from falling over the side. A slant of orange light stretches across one of the rock walls. Forming the roof of the Pit are panes of glass and, above them, a building that lets in sunlight. Blue lanterns dangle at random intervals above the stone paths, similar to the ones that lit the Choosing room. They grow brighter as the sunlight dies.
Four was right when he said that the transfers would grow to love the pit. I do. It is the perfect place to test your bravery. That is if you stick to the Pit and I have a feeling the next thing we will be looking at is the Chasm.
If you follow me," says Four, "I'll show you the chasm."
Yep. We follow Four over to the right side of the Pit where the light is dimmer. We approach the railing that stops us from falling over the side. The Chasm is a gushing pit of water where rapids roll and smash about on the side of the platform.
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" Four shouts. "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned."
"Is that true?" Peter whispers beside me. The right side of my lip pulls up in a sad expression and I nod.
"Yes. It happens all too often for various reasons." I explain to him softly. Peter gulps and nods, looking over the edge one final time.
Four leads us towards the dining room which is in the other side of the Pit. It is probably one of the most lit places in the whole compound. Glass plates and silverware clatter together amongst the chattering people inside. As we walk in, the room erupts into applause and chants, knowing this would happen, however, I was prepared. I smiled and waved as I made my way through the room, talking to various members that I knew and accepting their congratulations. By the time I made my way to the table the other initiates sat at, the only spot was either next to or across from Four. I took the latter.
Tris eyes the hamburgers in the centre of the table strangely, pinching one between her fingers, unsure what to make of it. Four nudges her with his elbow.
"It's beef," he says. "Put this on it." He passes Tris A small bowl full of tomato sauce. "You've never had a hamburger before?" asks Christina, her eyes wide.
"No," Tris says "Is that what it's called?"
"Stiffs eat plain food," Four says, nodding at Christina. "Why?" she asks.
Tris shrugs. "Extravagance is considered self-indulgent and unnecessary."
Christina smirks. "No wonder you left."
"Yeah," Tris says, rolling her eyes. "It was just because of the food."
I snort, trying to contain my laughter. Christina, as oblivious as she is, just smiles contently and continues eating. The edge of Four's lip pulls up in amusement.
The doors to the cafeteria open and a hush falls over the crowd. That could only mean one thing. I look up and see Eric, one of the five Dauntless leaders, standing in the doorway. He catches me eyes very briefly before they move on. His footsteps echo through the silent room as he approaches the back of the room. That was until I notice he was heading directly for our table.
Eric has many piercings in his face, but that's just in his eyebrows, lips and nose. It suits him though. His hair is long and black and his eyes, grey and cold.
"Who's that?" hisses Christina. "His name is Eric," says Four. "He's a Dauntless leader." "Seriously? But he's so young." Four gives her a grave look. "Age doesn't matter here."
"Keep your mouths shut and speak only if he speaks to you." I hiss to them quietly and sit up taller, signalling them to do so as well.
Eric takes a seat right next to Four and catches my eye once again, but offers no greeting. I have never spoken to Eric before or for that matter, seen him up so close. He was a Dauntless leader and had better things to do than worry about children. At 18 years old, I'm sure he has never had a girlfriend.
"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" he asks, nodding to Christina and Tris and his eyes once again catch mine. It sends a shiver down my spine. He has heard.
This is the Eric who's record I smashed. And he knows about it.
Four says, "This is Tris and Christina."
"Ooh, a Stiff," says Eric, smirking at Tris. "We'll see how long you last."
"She will last." I say before I can bite the words back and now that they are out there I don't stop. Even the sharp look Four gives me isn't enough. "She was the first jumper."
Eric eyes me off again and then looks to Tris. I see in his eyes that he is almost impressed.
"I'm Zania by the way, in case you were interested." I spat sarcastically, feeling somewhat offended that he didn't ask for my name. Eric raises an eyebrow at me.
"Oh, I know who you are. 9 minutes and 12 seconds and also first jumper. Impressive." He comments. I almost thought against biting back and accepting the complement, but it wasn't in my nature.
"Better than you." I smirk. I didn't know what I expected his reply to be, something harsh definitely, but instead he cracked a smile and laughed, something that shocked even Four.
"What have you been doing lately, Four?" he asks.
Four lifts a shoulder. "Nothing, really," he says.
"Max tells me he keeps trying to meet with you, and you don't show up," Eric says. "He requested that I find out what's going on with you."
Four looks at Eric for a few seconds before saying, "Tell him that I am satisfied with the position I currently hold."
"So he wants to give you a job."
Eric's right eye twitched ever so slightly. Perhaps he saw four as a potential threat to his position. A silly idea when you look at Eric's accomplishments. He was definitely suited for the position.
"So it would seem," Four says. "And you aren't interested."
"I haven't been interested for two years."
"Well," says Eric. "Let's hope he gets the point, then."
Eric claps Four on the back and then looks over at me, catching my eye. Eric leant over the table offering me his hand. After the initial shock, I took his hand and shook it firmly. "Zania."
"Eric." I said as a simple goodbye. Eric's lip twitched at the side as he walked away. Four looked at me after he left. "That wasn't so bad." I said.
"You're definitely Dauntless." Was all he said before turning back to Tris. I tried to sort out my thoughts.
So, the emotionless and unpleasant Eric sat at our table. That much is easy to figure out, he was told by Max to talk to Four.
He knew who I was. Again understandable since I smashed his record.
But he teased me. He didn't even tease Four and he knew him.
He shook my hand. He didn't do that to Tris or Christina.
Maybe he is watching me. Maybe he is planning on getting back at me.

After dinner, the transfers and myself wait outside the cafeteria for Four, but apparently that wasn't the case when Eric arrives and stands before us. He catches my eye and a shadow of a smirk graces his lips. I almost flinch under his stare. Without saying a word, he flicks his head for us to follow him. I, of course, follow immediately with the transfers coming up behind me. I had my arms crossed and my head bowed, so when Eric speaks to me in a low voice I jump.
"Hey." He says. A shiver runs over my spine. His voice was enticingly low, probably to keep the initiates behind us from hearing.
I look up at him and in an equally low voice, whisper, "Hello, Eric."
"I understand this doesn't seem fair to you," Eric began, not even checking to make sure the initiates were behind us. Eric had one of those auras that made you do as he wants without saying a word. He was scary to say the least. "But I assure you there is a very good reason."
"And what might that be?" I ask.
"Max feels that if you could beat my record by such a margin maybe there are other comparable features as well. And since I'm supervising the transfers during training it would be a good chance to compare things." Eric explained. His talked rather casually compared to when he spoke with Four; high and dignified. He saw Four as a competitor while I was just a new initiate. I didn't pose a threat.
"Well, I guess that kind of makes sense. And who says transfers won't have any skill. I mean, you're a Dauntless leader and you were Erudite, right?" As I say it, I wish I could take it back. Eric's eyes go hard and he backs off from me. I didn't notice till he moved that we were practically bumping shoulders. Perhaps Eric had a bad experience at Erudite. I don't know.
Eric stops in front of a wooden door and folds his arms. I decide to step back and stand around him with the other initiates. "For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," he says. "I am one of five leaders of the Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously here, so I volunteered to oversee most of your training."
Even though I already knew this information, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I was going to be compared against Eric and that thought alone was scary enough.
"Some ground rules," he says. "You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. Zania, I expect you to make sure they are on time. Shouldn't be hard for you. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation."
"Do you want them 30 seconds faster?" I grin, once again not thinking of the consequences. Eric smirks at me and without commenting, makes an airy snort. The kind when you try not to laugh or, like Eric, aren't the type to show amusement.
"You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless," Eric adds. "Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks."
"In the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you are already. So I expect—"
"Rankings?" Squeaked a mousy haired Erudite girl. "Why are we ranked?"
Eric smiles, and in the blue light, his smile looks wicked, like it was cut into his face with a knife. "Your ranking serves two purposes," he says. "The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available."
I smirk and await for the second reason. Those of us who are Dauntless-Born know this already, it is drummed into our heads before initiation, but the shock of the transfers when they find out is always priceless.
"The second purpose," he says, "is that only the top ten initiates are made members."
They all freeze. It was like a momentary lapse in time, until Christina says "What?"
"There are eleven Dauntless-borns, and nine of you," Eric continues. "Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test."
The initiates will be cut in half by the end of the initiation and being Dauntless-Born, I have a huge a advantage. But there are a few people amongst the group of transfers that worry me. My friends will be getting cut to make way for them and I can only hope it's the ones I don't particularly like.
"What do we do if we're cut?" Peter says.
"You leave the Dauntless compound," says Eric indifferently, "and live factionless."
The mousy-haired girl clamps her hand over her mouth and stifles a sob.
"But that's … not fair!" the broad-shouldered Candor girl, Molly, says. Even though she sounds angry, she looks terrified. "If we had known—"
"Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" Eric snaps. "Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."
I smirk as I said the same to them on the train ride to the compound. Eric pushes the door to the dormitory open.
"You chose us," he says. "Now we have to choose you."
The initiates quickly make their way into the room to avoid being in Eric's presence any longer. I walk in last, knowing that I was the calmest out of this than anybody. But just as I reach the door, it swings shut in front of me.
"Zania," Eric says, "Keep a close eye on them. Some will give you a run for your money."
"I noticed," I mumbled, feeling the nerves of being alone with Eric hit me, "but what's life without a challenge."
"That's a brave answer."
"I'm a brave girl." I reply, meeting Eric's gaze steadily. His eyes, I noticed, were brighter than they were a moment ago, with pride? Or amusement?
"Alright then. Goodnight." With that, Eric walked away and left me outside the dormitory. I walked in and seen everyone's eyes on me.
"Did you know about this?" Peter demands the second I am in the doorway. I smirk and nod.
"Of course I knew about it. I'm Dauntless-Born. I've seen what the initiation does to people." I retort, standing in the middle of the room with the others gather around.
"You knew and you still stayed?" Asks Christina, her eyes wide.
"Of course. I am Dauntless. Those of us who are Dauntless-Born knew what we risked coming into initiation and liked the challenge." I say. The mousy haired girl shook her head fearfully.
"Listen closely," I order, waiting for everyone's attention to be on me, "People will become faction-less and people will die during initiation but you grow up and move on and learn to act through fear." I say wisely. A few of the transfers looked dazed, but others, like Tris and Peter, only look more determined. I grinned and moved to a bed kicking Molly out of her spot on the far side of the room next to the window so that I could sleep there.
"Hay!" She exclaims, getting right in my face.
"Problem? Because you and I both know ill come out of this as the winner." I meet her stare evenly, with hard eyes. Molly grunts and backs down, knowing that she is defeated. "Really? You don't even have the bravery to stand up for yourself!"
Molly just ignores me and unpacks on a different bed. With a shake of my head, I strip down out of my clothing, ignoring the stares and gapes of the others and climb into bed in just my underwear. I was fast asleep before most were even in bed.