The city beyond the train rose up out of the ground like jagged teeth on a serrated blade. The gray and black buildings pieced the orange and blue sky violently. It wasn't the most comforting image, so unlike what I was used to back in Amity, with its fields of green. But it was the perfect allegory for my future, or so I assumed as I watched the city before me begin to blur.
The train was picking up speed.
Slowly the car's occupants began to join me on the floor. Those with common sense sank to sitting positions as our speed increased. The others, well, they literally had their legs knocked out from under them. The Candors laughed just as they had at Peter and I moments ago. Their laughter was the last thing I heard before the sound of the roaring wind filled the train car.
I wasn't sure how long the deafening silence lasted, an hour or maybe more, I could hardly tell. Yet when the sun kissed the horizon someone shouted, "Get ready!" And heads shot up like daisies in the spring.
I scanned the train for whatever it was we were supposed to be preparing ourselves for, and saw nothing, but noted the gradual decline of our pace. A few brave souls stumbled towards the still open doorways in their own search and the Candor girl, Molly, gasped as she stared out beyond the car.
"They're jumping!" She exclaimed.
Four more bodies lunged for the doorway. And I, myself, was one of them, and gaped at what I found. The Dauntless in the cars ahead of ours were indeed jumping. Jumping out onto a single rooftop, several stories above the ground as the train passed by it. I had witnessed the Dauntless throwing themselves from the rushing train before. It was how they arrived for duty at the fence. I'd thought it was just another one of their games. A dare of sorts, just like when they would challenged one another to climb the sculpture out front of the Upper Levels building. But apparently, I was wrong.
'Did the train even stop?' I wondered.
"What if we don't jump?" A boy dressed in black and white asked.
"What do you think, Al?" Peter answered with a cock to his brow and a wicked twist to his lips. "You'd be factionless."
"Great," another Candor grumbled from her place alongside Beatrice Prior, "Because leaping off a moving train onto a rooftop makes perfect sense."
"Kind of what we signed up for," Molly pointed out.
I internally groaned. It was exactly what we signed on for. And it definitely didn't bode well for what we were undoubtably going to face once we reached Dauntless's headquarters. I silently prayed, asking for this to be Dauntless's initiation.
And anyways, 'How many Candors were on this train!?'
"Well, I am not jumping," a small voice declared, startling everyone within the car. "I'd rather be factionless than dead!" Tears wet the cheeks of a boy dressed in a yellow shirt and brown jeans.
An Amity!
My eyes widened, stunned. I wasn't the only one. A pompous air slipped from my chest, deflating.
"You got to," the Candor beside Prior said.
"No! I won't!" The boy shook his head. "Factionless is better than dead!" He repeated his sentiment. His voice was filled with panic and dread, and all I could think about was how I could have missed his transfer. 'How in the world!?'
"You can't force him," the Abnegation girl stated.
No, we couldn't force him, I agreed. But I wasn't about to just resign his fate to the factionless either.
"Factionless isn't better than death," I told him, shifting my stance to block his view of the approaching rooftop. "You can make the jump, any Amity could."
A few startled looks were directed my way as I said that. But I ignored them. I was lying. I hadn't a clue if the boy could make the jump. I knew for a fact that Lily couldn't - the girl couldn't jump for anything, let alone to save her life.
"You know, if you don't try, you'll fail." I challenged.
"It's better than dead."
"No, it's not."
"Yes it is!" He shouted, his eyes snapping up to mine. And man, weren't we a sight, two Amity arguing.
His eyes were dark blue, like deep reflecting pools. I smirked. "It's not very Amity of you to argue with me."
The boy blinked, then mumbled, "I'm not Amity."
"So I figured," an Amity wouldn't have chosen Dauntless. The boy had to have gotten the courageous on his test. "So prove it." I pushed, playing to one of my own buttons. I hadn't received a complete score of Dauntless like him, so I reasoned that the boy had to have a few hotspots that I could push, that were similar to my own.
"I can't," he said.
"Yes, you can," I replied and held out my hand towards him. "You know how to run. You can obviously jump, and heights can't scare you that bad, if you're here on this train."
I wiggled my fingers. "Come on, get up. You're going to jump with me."
The boy blinked again, startled and confused. "I-I'm what?!"
"You're going to jump with me."
"N-no, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. I need you to."
'I need you to prove a point for me,' I mentally continued, even if I had lied. I'd just declared before a train full of Candors that any Amity could make that jump. And now, I was bound and determined to prove that even a scared, whimpering boy - who didn't even want to - could make it.
"You won't refuse me, will you?"
Love, peace, joy, and harmony... These things were bred into us from the cradle. I couldn't force him to jump, so instead I was going to give him a reason to. I told him I needed him outright. Anyone born from Amity wouldn't be able to refuse such a blatant request. It would be mean and unfriendly if he did.
I watched silently as he wavered, eyes flicking between me and the open doorway. He wasn't brave. His tear stained cheeks were evidence to that. But he was kind. I smiled brightly as he slipped his hand in mine, and so was I. It would have been unloving to leave him on the train. To a fate I'd been raised to believe was worse than death. The Amity part of me just couldn't and wouldn't allow it.
"Stupid Hippies," Peter mumbled as those in the train car began to get ready.
The Abnegation girl linked her hand with the dark skinned Candor. Peter and Molly lined themselves up with the open doorway, Al not far behind them with an Erudite boy.
"On three," Prior and her new friend agreed. "One...two..." I never heard them say three.
Peter, Molly and the others had vacated their doorway before the two girls had even begun their count down, and I moved up quickly behind them, tugging the Amity-boy along with me. As the number two left their lips, I nodded to the boy and we jumped. A weightless feeling touched my body and then came the smash and grind of the gravel covered rooftop.
The Amity-boy and I broke apart before we touched down.
Pain rocked through me as I hit the roof, skidding a moment. I hissed along with the gravel. Man, grass was so much softer than this! Laughter rang out around me with a few groans and shouts. It seemed like everyone made it off the train with relative success. Peter was grinning like an idiot, having landed on his feet. Molly winced, holding her ankle and the Abnegation transfer was busy dusting gravel off her face - at least I wasn't the only one to wipe out after hitting the rooftop.
The Amity-boy was laid out flat on his back, staring up at the sky. I shook my head and glanced down at my own form as I picked myself up. My red denim pants had withstood the gravel but the right arm and hem of my shirt hadn't. Small holes and tears littered the crimson fabric. I sighed as I brushed myself off. I was thankful that I hadn't taken my mother's advice and worn a long skirt. The soft cotton would have most certainly been torn to shreds by now. If not by the climb to the train or this final leap onto the rooftop, but then by my own hands. I never could move in a skirt and I would've most definitely ripped it in order to be free from its confining restraint.
Small nicks and cuts accompanied the torn clothing, lying just beneath. I cringed as I picked a few pieces of rock and grit from a two inch long scrape on my right arm. It wasn't my first encounter with blood or tattered flesh and it was undoubtedly not going to be my last.
A wail suddenly shattered the adrenaline induced euphoria of the rooftop and my head joined a handful of others that shot sideways at the sound, eyes searching for the source. A Dauntless-born girl stood along the roof's edge, screaming, her attention held captive by something below. A Dauntless-born boy held her around the waist, trying to restrain her so she didn't end up throwing herself off in her despair.
It was the same way my father had held onto my mother after she'd been told of Asher's death. I didn't need to look over the roof's edge to know there was a body laid out on the pavement below. The Amity-boy turned to me. I schooled my expression and stated, "I said any Amity could make the jump, never said anything about a Dauntless-born," and walked past him.
My words might've sounded cold to him, but I was struggling not to replace the dead body, seven stories below us, with that of Asher's.
This situation was to similar too that of Asher's death. I'd challenged the Amity-boy on the train just as I had Asher, pushing him to do something he knew he couldn't do on his own. Something that could have easily meant his death. I shut my eyes as I tried to shut out the Dauntless-girl's cries. I could have killed someone else just to prove another stupid point (and a lie at that)! I balled my hands up into fists, wanting to scream. Dauntless was supposed to be different than Amity. It wasn't supposed to remind me of Asher!
A hand touched my shoulder and my eyes shot open in response. "Thank you," The Amity-boy whispered.
Astonishment was threatening to overwhelm me and push me into tears as my emotions ran high. I had only been able to sputter at the Amity-boy, floundering at how to respond. Thankfully, I was interrupted as a man shouted, "Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!"
He stood on the opposite side of the roof, casually perched on the ledge as if someone hadn't just fallen to their death. He was dark-skinned and his hair was graying at his temples. "This is the members' entrance to our compound," he gestured over the edge. "And if you can't muster the will to jump, you don't belong in Dauntless. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."
"We just jumped, now they want us to jump again?" The dark-skinned Candor girl alongside Beatrice Prior mumbled and I imagined the leaders of Dauntless liked the phrase; I say jump, you ask how high.
Prior shrugged.
"Is there water at the bottom?" A tall Erudite boy questioned next.
"Who knows?" Max looked amused. "Well, someone's got to go first. Who is it going to be?"
Glances were tossed amongst the initiates, while others preferred to study the ground. No one looked eager to jump — and I didn't blame them. Even though that's all that's been asked of us up until now, I found myself hesitant. The Amity-boy shifted beside me and I threw him a cautious smile. 'Sorry, buddy, not this time.' I thought, waiting for someone else to go first.
"Me."
Heads whipped around in incredulity as Beatrice Prior stepped forward.
'Well, we all just got shown up by an Abnegation.' I smiled at her victory.
Max dropped down from the ledge, his eyes tracking the blonde-haired girl as she walked towards him. The wind whipped through her clothes, making the gray fabric of her dress snap. She looked over the edge, then suddenly back at Max.
My curiosity peeked.
The older man simply raised an eyebrow. And I wondered what she saw. She shrugged off her gray sweater, only to reveal more gray clothing underneath. Was there water at the bottom, just as the Erudite-boy had asked? Was that the reason why she was stripping off her outer layer?
"Yeah, Stiff! Take it off!" Peter mockingly-teased. And the snickers that followed only encouraged him to continue, "Put it back on."
Molly swatted his arm in her amusement as she laughed.
I merely rolled my eyes at the immaturity of my fellow initiates.
Prior climbed up onto the ledge and I shifted from my place next to the Amity-boy. I wanted to see her drop. I wanted to hear if there was a splash. I dashed forward just as she jumped off the ledge, my heart in my throat. There was a hole in the concrete below, she disappeared through it and into the darkness. Silence followed.
No scream or splash.
"Well, aren't you a curious one?" Max chuckled.
And I merely shook my head. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, heart beating fast. The excitement from Beatrice's jump had my eyes sparkling and I looked up at the Dauntless leader. "Not really." I said, "I didn't even get a hint of Erudite on my aptitude test."
Max laughed outright. "Looks like we have our next jumper!" He announced to the rooftop.
My eyes went wide in reply, and I gulped.
I spared a worried glance towards the Amity-boy before I climbed up on the ledge. I didn't want to think about if I would see him at the bottom or not, wondering if he would jump. We couldn't do this one together, and I was regrettably thankful for that. I couldn't hold his hand here in Dauntless, even if I wanted to be kind. I couldn't be responsible for his death. I wouldn't be his murderer.
I looked down at the gaping hole in the concrete. It looked ominous and dark.
Max cleared his throat and I chose not to think. I bent my legs and leapt off the rooftop.
The wind howled as the ground rushed towards me. Darkness engulfed me and I closed my eyes.
For two beats I was left wondering, then suddenly I was bouncing back upwards. A net had caught my descent and tossed be back up into the air. My limbs stung from the impact but my heart soared at the fact that I wasn't dead.
I giggled as I came to a stop, cradled within the center of the net.
Faceless hands sought me out, they pulled me towards the edge. I rolled off the net and into the arms of a young man. He had serious deep-set eyes, messy brown hair and a full lower lip. I gave him a confident smile in greeting, but he didn't even crack his lips in the slightest as he helped me right myself.
'Such a warm welcoming committee,' I thought.
"Shit! Really!? You've got to be kidding me!" a voice groaned in exasperation from behind the him. It belonged to a dark-haired girl that had three silver rings piercing her right eyebrow. "First a Stiff, and now a banjo strummin' softy!"
I was a little startled at her words. Seriously, what was it with these people and name calling? First the Candors and now the Dauntless - it was one thing to think such things within your head, but it was a completely other thing to say them out loud. The Amity in me reared its head as I scrunched my nose up in disgust. The young man seemed to pick up on my displeasure instantly and smirked in response.
"Lauren," he chided the dark-haired girl half-heartedly.
"Yeah, yeah." She muttered and grumbled, "They're here for a reason. But really! Where the fuck are the Dauntless-born initiates!?"
I glanced up at the hole in the ceiling as if to answer her question and the young man just shook his head.
"Name?" He asked me.
"Aurora… Aurora Jacobs," I replied.
"Second Jumper - Aurora!" He announced and cheers and shouts filled the room.
A/N: Sorry for the wait!