WELCOME TO DAUNTLESS
FOUR POV
Choosing Day. More importantly it's Tris's Choosing Day. I walk into the dining hall with excitement in my stomach. I find Zeke and Shauna sitting at our usual table and I sit down across from them. They seem to be in an argument over something, not sure what, so I decide not to say anything and just eat. No use getting in the middle of one of their arguments, I learnt that the hard way. They will fight over the most mundane trivial matter ask you your opinion and then just when you think they will break up they have made up and you are the bad guy. I think they fight just so they can make up. I don't understand them or relationships at all.
Watching them together just makes me realise what I miss. Tris. Not the fighting part but the having someone there for you part. I have missed her. I still remember the last words she spoke to me two years ago and I just hope I heard her right. I wasn't exactly coherent when she spoke and now I am like a bundle of nervous energy waiting to explode. Three hours in the gym last night has not helped to calm me down.
"Four," says Zeke.
I look up from my plate to see both Zeke and Shauna staring at me.
"Huh," I say.
"Man I have been calling your name for the last five minutes. What is wrong with you?" Zeke says.
"Nothing, just thinking," I say. I'm trying to keep my voice level and monotone. I don't want Zeke and Shauna analysing my feelings this morning.
"Are you sure?" Shauna asks.
"Yes," I say.
"We were just talking about initiation," Zeke says.
"What about it?" I ask.
"Do you think Uriah and Lynn will pick Dauntless?" Zeke asks. "I'm starting to worry that they will decide to change factions today."
"Have you seen Lynn's haircut?" I ask. Lynn had her hair buzz cut yesterday. "What faction is she going to go to other than Dauntless with that?"
"She could change her mind at the last minute?" Shauna says.
"Shauna she is your sister, shouldn't you know the answer to this question better than anyone else?" I ask.
"I don't know Four. Choosing Day is overwhelming what if she makes some crazy decision?" Shauna says.
"What? Like choosing Dauntless," I say. I'm trying to make a joke of it. Calm them both down. I can't see Uriah or Lynn leaving they are just to Dauntless, especially Lynn. Uriah maybe but I couldn't imagine him leaving Zeke or his mum. Lucky for me they both find my comment funny enough that they laugh.
"Are you going to the ceremony?" Zeke asks.
I shake my head. There is no way I would be seen at any event that Marcus will be at. "No I have to be here with Lauren to pull the initiates out of the net," I say.
"Are you taking transfers or Dauntless-born this year?" Shauna says.
"Lauren gets the Dauntless-born," I say.
"What if you get someone like Eric?" Shauna says.
"There is always someone like Eric Shauna. Lucky for me I only have to put up with them while initiation is on and then I can let them loose in Dauntless to terrorise everyone else," I say. Unfortunately Eric is overseeing training this year. Which means I will have to put up with him for at least the first stage of training. The thought makes me sick.
"Are you coming to the net?" I ask.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see how Uriah reacts to having to jump in the net. I bet he screams like a girl," Zeke says.
"He could always trip on the ledge," I say with a grin. Remembering how Zeke jumped of the roof.
"Hey at least I was first jumper," he says. He likes to rub that in, especially because I was the last jumper.
I get up to go. I have a lot to do before the initiates arrive.
"Four," Shauna says. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine Shauna. Just a lot on my mind," I say. And with that I walk out of the dining hall.
I check my watch. The first initiate should be jumping any minute. I am bouncing on the balls of my toes, the nervous energy is pulsing through me as I wait, hoping to see her again.
I look over to see Lauren playing with one of the rings in her eyebrow. She looks almost bored. I try to crane my neck to see the top of the building from the ground, but all I can see is sky.
"Bet you it's one of my Dauntless-borns," She says.
"It's always a Dauntless-born. No bet," I say.
I don't really care who jumps first as long as she jumps. What if she doesn't jump? What if she isn't standing on that roof right now? What will that mean? It means I may just have to take my mother up on her ridiculous offer and leave this place, become factionless.
Then I see her.
Not a black streak like I was expecting, but gray, tumbling through the air. I hear a small sigh come from my lips and with it I can feel my shoulders and neck muscles relax just a bit. I hear a snap of the net pulling taught around the metal supports, and it shifts to cradle her. For a second I stare, not believing what I am seeing. She is really here. Then I put my hand out, into the net, so she can reach it.
She wraps her fingers around mine and I feel the familiar jolt of electricity that comes from contact from her and I realise just how much I have missed her. I pull her across and I whisper, "Just go along with it, I will explain later." I pull her over the side and I grab her arm to steady her. I can see the smile on her face her eyes are wide and bright blue.
"Thank you," she says.
"Can't believe it," Lauren says. "A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of."
"There's a reason why she left them, Lauren," I say.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Um . . ." she says. She hesitates and I know it is because she thinks I am asking her the most stupid question in the world. I know her name and of course she knows that. Just play along I am pleading with my eyes. It is dangerous here and I can't have people knowing about us, it will put her life in danger especially during initiation.
"Think about it," I say, smiling a little. Trying to reassure her it is okay and that I will explain all of this later. "You don't get to pick again."
"Tris," she says.
"Tris," Lauren says. "Make the announcement Four."
"First jumper-Tris!" I announce over my shoulder to the crowd of Dauntless members who have gathered to watch the initiates jump.
I touch a hand to Tris's back to guide her toward the stairs. Before she takes the first step I smile and say, "Welcome to Dauntless."
I turn back to the net and think I must be dreaming. Another gray blur has just landed in the net.
"Did they send the wrong initiates here?" asks Lauren. I look over to her and just shrug. I hope not.
I help the other Abnegation transfer out of the net and I must have a look of shock on my face. I'm surprised to see Susan Black looking back at me. I am wondering why she chose Dauntless she was always the epitome of Abnegation. She looks scared out of her wits and I have to wonder if that is from the jump or is there more to it.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Suzy," she says. She is looking closely at me and I am hoping she hasn't realised who I am. I help her down from the platform and she walks over and stands with Tris.
"Isn't that-," she starts to say to Tris. She knows who I am. But she doesn't get the chance to finish. I can't see what Tris has done to cut off her words as my focus is trying to get the next jumper out of the net, a Candor girl.
TRIS POV
I nudge Susan, or should I now say Suzy in the ribs with my elbows. I'm not sure what is going on but Tobias seems to have changed his name too. Just like Susan and I have just done. Obviously people know him as Four here and I'm sure he will explain it to me later. At least I hope so. I was so nervous to see him again. It wasn't that I didn't want to come to Dauntless anyway but after two years apart I didn't know what to expect, I still don't. But I do know that the spark that was there before is still there and I felt it like a jolt of electricity waking me up out of hibernation.
Once all the initiates are standing on solid ground again, Lauren and Four lead us down a narrow tunnel. The walls are made of stone, and the ceiling slopes, so I feel like I am descending deep into the heart of the earth. I think Christina was right, the Dauntless just pop out of a hole in the ground. The tunnel is lit at long intervals.
"This is where we divide," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me, I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
I watch as the Dauntless-born initiates follow Lauren and dissolve into the shadows of the Dauntless compound. I look around to see that there are ten initiates left. Susan and I are from Abnegation, then there are five from Candor including Christina and three from Erudite, there are no Amity transfers, well there was one but he decided to stay on the train. So now he is just factionless.
"Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor," Tobias says. "My name is Four."
Susan looks at me and I just raise my eyebrow and shrug, no I don't know what is going on I am trying to tell her.
"Four? Like the number?" Christina asks.
"Yes," he says. "Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Good. We're about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It—"
Christina snickers. "The Pit? Clever name."
Tobias walks up to Christina 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 says. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"
She nods.
Tobias 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," I reply. I feel like I don't know him at all. This is not the Tobias I last saw two years ago. I'm not sure if I like Four but I need to try not to judge until I get the chance to talk to him.
Four pushes a set of double doors open and we walk into the place he called "the Pit."
"Oh," whispers Christina. "I get it."
"Pit" is the best word for it. It 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.
"If you follow me," says Four, "I'll show you the chasm.
He waves us forward. We are now in a better lit area of Dauntless and I am able to take in Four's appearance. He has grown taller in the two years since I last saw him; he now towers over my small frame. He still has his hair cut in the same Abnegation style that he always did but his physique has changed dramatically. He isn't the boy he was, I can see muscles bulging from under his T-shirt, not bulking but well chiselled and proportionate to his slender frame. I can feel myself blushing as I am checking him out. I can see a tattoo peeking out from the collar of his T-shirt and I am curious to know what it is.
I am taken from my observations and thoughts of Four when I hear a roar of water, fast moving water crashing against rocks. I look over the side of a railing and I see that the floor drops off at a sharp angle, and several stories below us is a river. Gushing water strikes the wall beneath me and sprays upward. To my left, the water is calmer, but to my right, it is white, battling with rock.
"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."
"This is incredible," says Susan, as we all move away from the railing.
"Incredible is the word," I say, nodding.
Four leads the group of initiates across the Pit toward a gaping hole in the wall. The room beyond is well-lit enough that I can see where we're going: a dining hall full of people and clattering silverware. When we walk in, the Dauntless inside stand. They applaud. They stamp their feet. They shout. The noise surrounds me and fills me. Christina and Susan are both smiling and I can't help but smile with them.
We look for empty seats. Christina and I discover a mostly empty table at the side of the room, and I find myself sitting between her and Four. Susan is sitting across from me. In the centre of the table is a platter of food I don't recognize: circular pieces of meat wedged between round bread slices. I pinch one between my fingers, unsure what to make of it.
Four nudges me with his elbow.
"It's beef," he says. "Put this on it." He passes me a small bowl full of red sauce and lets our hands brush a little longer than what would be socially acceptable. I see Susan look at me with a raised eyebrow.