Thank you guys for all the alerts and favorites! And thank you Marie Fox, Zizi385, hugabunny12, and Jessy Ann for the reviews!
All honesty, updates probably won't come this fast after the first couple of chapters because some of them are already half writtenish. And writer block always has a way to mess things up lol.
I hope you guys like it!
The ceremony didn't last for much longer. As soon as the last name was read and the last dependent choose their faction, the Dauntless were on their feet. Before I left the room, I made sure to look back and find my father. He stood among the other leaders, but was paying no attention to them. His eyes bore into mine and he wore a look of disgust on his face. That face would usually terrify me, but now, it told me that I did something right. I did something for me, not for him.
As I looked away from my father, I noticed that the Dauntless were all headed for the stairs. I looked at Jake confused, but he just smiled at me. I always thought the Abnegation were the only faction to take the stairs. I guess I was wrong.
As soon as the first Dauntless hit the first step they broke into a run. We filed down the stairs and out of the Hub. I gasped for air as I struggled to keep up with the rest of them. Jake and Aidan stayed at my pace, although due to their lean builds I'm sure they could run much faster. We ran towards the train tracks and once we got to the edge of the metal lines I stoped and caught my breath. The other Dauntless however were bouncing on the balls of their feet, unfazed by the run and ready to go.
"Here it comes!" Someone shouted as a horn sounded in the distance. The train came around the corner and began to slow slightly, I assume so we can jump on. The Dauntless after all were the only faction to use the trains on a daily basis.
"Are we supposed to hop on that thing?" An Amity boy asks.
"Yup," I sigh. I still haven't caught my breath when I see the Dauntless begin to run again. I don't want to move. My leg and lung are screaming and brurning with pain. I just want to sit and rest.
"Let's go, Alexandra!" Aidan pulls me with him as he began to run. To keep up with him, I'm forced to run as well. The train starts to glide alongside us as we continue to run. After a few cars pass, Jake jumps and grabs a handle on the outside of the car, slipping into the car with ease.
"Your turn," Aidan smirked, his breath even and controlled. I give him a hesitant look before jumping and latching on to the side of the train. I almost lose my grip when Jake pulls me in. As soon as I'm in, my legs give from under me and I sit along the metal wall. Jake plops down next to my and Aidan pulls himself in the car.
"You guys are insane," I huffed as my lungs struggled to obtain oxygen. Both boys smirked at me, trying to hide their amusement.
"You're one of us now, so that makes you insane too," Jake nudged me and I chuckled.
The rest of the train ride was quiet. I had never realized how peaceful a train ride actually was. I looked around at the rest of the people in the car. A majority were Dauntless, but the transfers stuck out like a sore thumb among the sea of black. There were four Erudite, three Candor, two Amity and myself. One of the Candor boys stood out to me though. I recognized him, unlike the other transfers who I had never seen before. I cringed as soon as I realized who he was.
At lunch one day at school he began haggling me about the theories that the Abnegation were stealing food. He accused us of being corrupt and being the most selfish faction of all. He had shoved me and I fell. But thankfully, before he could do anything else, Jake stepped in. I would have defended myself, but if I did, that wouldn't have been Abnegation of me. If I had protecting myself, my father probably would have beat me and called me selfish.
Jake had stepped in and pushed him aside, telling him to back off. The Candor boy brushed Jake off and walked away. Jake helped me up and made sure I was okay. That was the first day I had ever met Jake. After that we became good friends and he introduced me to his Dauntless friends.
Jake and Aidan got to their feet after about a half hour ride. I raised an eyebrow and Jake offered me a hand. "Hope you're not afraid of heights." I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. I'd never been anyplace of significant hight so I wouldn't know. I didn't understand the grounds for his concern until I looked out of the open train door. The train had slowed down over the past few minutes and now I knew why. We neared a rooftop that was about seven stories up. As the first car came parallel to the roof, Dauntless began jumping from the train to the roof.
I turned my head as I heard one of the two Amity transfers, a girl with blond hair and brown eyes, begin to freak out. "They want us to jump? No, way. I won't do it." I left Jake's side and stumbled over to her.
"If you don't want to be factionless you have to," I said to her sternly. "I'm Alexandra, by the way. Come on," I grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the door. I gave Jake and Aidan a slight nod and they proceed to jump without me.
"Why are you doing this? For me, I mean." The girl asked me.
"I've seen how the factionless live. It's not a place you want to be," I looked out and at the roof. The end of the roof was nearing. If we didn't jump now, we wouldn't make it. "On three," my heart began to race.
"One," my chest began to tighten.
"Two," my palms began to sweat.
"Three!" We raced forward, leaping from the train to the roof. For a mere second, I felt weightless, free. It was exhilarating. As gravity pulled me towards the roof, I tried to regain my balance, but failed to do so as I tumbled into the gravel. The bruise on my face ached as it came into contact with the ground. I pushed myself up to my knees to inspect my injuries. Surprisingly, I didn't have any, just some awkward impressions from where the gravel had been. I got to my feet and looked for the Amity girl. She had made it and landed not far from me. I made my way over to her and helped her to her feet. "My name is Olivia, by the way," she smiled.
"Nice to meet you," I smiled back and we made our way over to the group of initiates. They had formed a group near the ledge. There was a man standing on the ledge with his arms crossed. He had gauges in both ears and a piercing above his right eyebrow. He had tattoos running up his neck and down his forearms. But the thing that stood out the most was his piercing blue/grey eyes. They were cold and haunting, sending a shiver down my spine.
Once everyone had mad it to the group the man spoke, "Alright, listen up!" all of the whispers in the crowd died down. "I'm Eric, I'm one of your leaders," He shifted on the ledge so he was looking towards the ground. He seemed comfortable up there, which was completly astonishing since we were over 70 feet above the ground. A drop from this hieght would kill you. "If you wanna enter Dauntless, this is the way in," he turned back so he was facing us. He intertwined his fingers and rested his hands in front of him, "And if you don't have the guts to jump, then you don't belong here."
"What's at the bottom? Is there water or something?" One of the Erudite boys asked.
"I guess you'll find out," Eric replied, smirking. A worried look spread across the Erudite boy's features. "Or not."
"Seriously? What's with all the jumping?" I whispered to Jake, who stood next to me. He smiled and shrugged. Obviously these jumps weren't fazing him. Aidan, on the other hand, was getting paler by the second.
"Well, someones gotta go first, who's it gonna be?" Eric's question was met by silence. Something in me was pulling me towards the ledge. I should be the first one. It would be the Dauntless thing to do, right? The faster they saw me as Dauntless, the quicker they forgot that I was Abnegation.
I stepped forward and through the crowd of initiates. Jake tried to grab my arm, but I pulled it away from him. This was my chance to separate from my Abnegation ways. As I stepped in front of Eric, he hopped off the ledge, giving me a questionable look. Maybe it was the bruise on my face. Or maybe he didn't believe that out of all of the people on the this roof I would be the first to jump. My eyes connected with his for a brief moment and my chest became tight. His attention was drawn off me by the Candor boy that I had recognized from earlier. "A Stiff? This'll be interesting. She'll probably slip and get another bruise on the other side of her face."
I looked back and scowled at him. He had a smirk on his face. His brown hair was neatly combed and his brown eyes judged me from a distance. I brushed his comment off and stepped onto the edge. I instantly almost lost my balance, but managed to regain it. I looked down, which wasn't the smartest decision, and saw a gaping hole in the concrete below. It had no bottom as far as I could see.
I must have been standing up there for awhile because Eric's voice nearly made me slip. "Any day, Initiate," I could hear by the tone of his voice that he was annoyed. I turned slightly and faced him. At this point I was annoyed myself.
"If someone asked you to jump off a goddamn building for the first time I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate them rushing you, now would you?" From Eric's expression I could tell that he was just as surprised my retort as I was. "Didn't think so," I mumbled. Eric's shock turned to rage within a few seconds. He was just about to speak, but I didn't give him the chance as I stepped off the ledge and into the abyss waiting below.
I felt as if I was falling for minutes, not seconds, as the wind rushed past me. I was too amazed and terrified to scream. Once I passed through the hole in the ground I landed on something and instantly bounced back up several feet before dropping back down. Once the bouncing stopped, my fingers curled around the rope I was laying on. It was a net! I wanted to laugh, but didn't get the chance as the right side of the net sunk and I rolled near the edge. I caught myself before I fell off and was met by a familiar pair of blue eye. A pair of blue eyes that I haven't seen in a year.
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