Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. Credits go to Veronica Roth, excluding my OCs.

The good news is, Tori then rolls her eyes and smiles slightly. "Although, of course, I was exactly like you at when I was your age, so I can't blame you very much. By the way, dinner is soon, so I can walk you there."

The bad news is, I fall off the wooden board.

Yup. That's just how pathetically stupid I am. I look up to talk to Rey and Savannah and misplace my steps, and before I know it, I'm falling.

There's no guardian angel. There's no heroic Rey, or heroic Savannah, or even heroic Tori (if by a miniscule chance I survive this, I'm going to chew them out for this).

I scream in terror, but the wind whips the words out of my mouth. I'm certain I'm going to die, or at least fall unconscious.

I want to say goodbye to Cassie one last time. Just one more.

I'm sorry, baby sister. I did everything I could. I love you.

Then I thud down on something that is feels just slightly better than landing on jagged rocks.

My screaming abruptly comes to a stop. Pain shoots through my whole body, but not awful pain. Just like the kind of pain I felt when I jumped into Dauntless.

Wow, they make this fall out to be a lot harder than it actually is, I think, slightly relieved, and then realize why they did it.

There's no freakin' way to get to the top. I'm trapped down here.

I can barely see Tori, Rey, or Savannah, and the white, rushing water is so loud I can't hear them either. I know Tori is trying to tell me something, but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.

Then I see one tiny figure run off. It looks suspiciously like Rey. For a second I'm appalled as to why she abandoned me, but then realize that she probably went to get a ladder or something.

But I'm wrong. A few minutes later, she returns with another person – very large, muscular, and bulky.

Four.

"Initiate!" His voice is so loud I can hear him perfectly, somehow. Then I realize he's holding something up to his mouth. I can't see what it is, but I guess it's a microphone or amplifier. "Look to your right!"

I do. Jagged rocks stick out the whole way up. My eyes widen as I realize what he means.

"You know what to do!" his voice booms. "Do not be afraid! You are a Dauntless initiate!"

I stand up as best as I can, wobbling a little on the unsteady net. Then I make my way over to the jagged rocks.

Am I really going to do this? I gaze up at the wooden board, a hundred feet up. It seems slightly ridiculous.

If my parents could see me now …

That thought makes me chuckle, and I tell myself it's now or never. I grasp the highest rocks I can and heave myself up, trying to find footholds to rest my feet in.

I feel like I'm going to drop for a second from the exertion, but then I find a rock I could rest both feet on that's slightly too close to my hands for comfort.

Perfect. That leaves me just enough room to let go of one hand and grasp a higher rock with my right hand.

I repeat that process forever. My arms and legs begin to ache, and all of a sudden I feel a hot liquid trickling down my hand.

My hands are bleeding from the sharp rocks. I cry out in pain as that specific cut makes contact with another sharp point, but there's nothing I can do about it.

I begin sobbing. I can't do this. It's not right. There should be someone to save me. A ladder or something. My tears join with the blood now flowing from my palms and drip down into the roaring white water below.

I'm not Dauntless. I know I'm not. I'm going to become factionless.

I'm going to become factionless. I remember the hunched, moaning figures near Abnegation when I was walking Cassie to Amity for her physical therapy sessions. Abnegation is almost the poorest faction, yet they take the responsibility of feeding the factionless.

If I ever get out of here alive, I promise, I will do my best to ensure the factionless lead better lives.

Instinctively, I look down. I'm only about ten feet up. It's hopeless. I can't do it.

My tears begin to pour and so does my blood. I feel so, so weak. I haven't done this much exercise since – since never. I've never felt like my bones and muscles were turning to fire and jelly at the same time with my fear adrenaline so high.

"Initiate!" Four's voice booms. "Catch!"

All of a sudden, something flies down to me. I take a leap of faith – and a physical one too – and jump onto it, grasping with all my might.

It wavers for a second, then holds tight. I realize it's a rope.

"You have to climb up!" His voice echoes what he's saying. "We can't pull you!"

I grit my teeth and grasp a higher spot on the rope, heaving myself up. It's nerve-wracking and exhausting, but at least it's a little better than climbing up those jagged rocks.

I make faster progress than before, developing a steady rhythm as I place one hand in front of the other, one foot a little higher than the other.

Finally, finally, I reach the top. My tears are mixed with blood – on my face – and my hands are a mess, my palms almost completely red with blood.

Tori pulls me up with surprising strength and I collapse on the board, unable to move.

"Not every initiate can climb up a rope that well," Four tells me. "Although foolish to fall like that, it was very Dauntless of you to not give up. There are many members who would."

Is that … is that a compliment? I want to look at Four, to see if he's really telling the truth, but I can barely move my eyeballs around my eyes, much less my head (he's standing behind me).

"You're going to have to walk to the infirmary," he tells me. "We don't carry Dauntless around here."

I can't even groan, I'm too tired. Rey and Savannah pull me up, concerned about me, and they lift my arms and put them on their shoulders so I can hobble along.

"No," Four says sharply. "She can walk."

I suck in a huge breath of air and stumble a little, trying my best to walk across the last bit of the board.

"Four, she should at least get some help until we're on the other side," Tori pleads, but I can't see her. "We both know she won't have the strength to get back up if she falls again."

"The initiate can handle it, Tori. Don't contradict me."

"Your wife wouldn't like it very much if you insulted me, would she, Four?"

There is a long pause, until Four finally snaps, "Get her across. No more."

"Savannah, you take her right side. I'll take her left," Tori instructs. I know Rey would mean well, but honestly, Savannah seems a little stronger than her.

I feel them lift me up with their combined effort and carry me gently across. It hurts a bit, but I barely feel it. My whole body has pretty much shut down.

As soon as they gently put me down, I collapse. My legs just can't support me. I feel my eyes rolling back in my head, and the last thing I hear is Four cursing loudly.