I remember when I first saw Tris. First jumper apparently. Brave, for a transfer.

I remember the first time I saw Tris in the Pit. I remember her looking at a hamburger, perplexed. That was funny.

I was fourteen the day I first met Tris. My friends and I decided to stand on the ledges in the Pit, watching which of the Dauntless came back, and who transferred, like we had been doing for a few years already. Some toddlers ran past us, giggling, while their parents called them for dinner. Four led the transfers, no doubt, from the chasm. A fine line between bravery and idiocy, he would've told them.

"How long do you think they'll last, Theia?" Liam asked me, standing to my left.

"Oh, please Liam, don't tell me we're placing wagers on the transfers again? I can sense where this is going." An exasperated voice came from my right this time. It was Zoey, rolling her eyes at Liam.

I had known Liam and Zoey for as long as I could remember. We were practically inseparable.

"Well, I don't think the Stiff will last. Look at her, barely any muscle mass. Doesn't look like much of a fighter." Liam pointed out.

Zoey smirked. "She'd last longer than you. I recall you getting thrown to the floor in 5 seconds by Theia."

Liam made a sour face at this comment, protesting that I had the upper hand.

Most of the Dauntless teenagers and older kids would have hand to hand combat sessions, a sort of practice for when we became initiates. It was a fun way to pass the time too.

All three of us regularly took part in these. Most recently, a couple of hours ago in fact, Liam was put against me, and I won the fight.

It is mostly thanks to Four's advice that I am good as I am now.

It was of course two years ago I met Four. He and his fellow initiates had finally become members and were now getting on with the jobs they got, according to ranking. All the adults were talking about Four, who had come top in his class but didn't accept the offer of leadership. Instead, he opted for surveillance. This intrigued me and my friends. If you were offered leadership, surely you would want to take it?

The Dauntless kids were running the combat sessions again, as usual. I had been to a few now and was getting quite good. But one day, I was pitted against an older girl, she must have been around fourteen or fifteen. Due my non-existent experience in fighting those bigger than me, I lost. Some of the adults were watching us fight. Four was amongst that crowd. He came up to me as I backed out of our makeshift ring.

"Hey kid, you've got potential. But you know what you can do to beat the bigger kids?"

I shook my head.

"Look, you're quite small, you've still got some growing to do. Use it to your advantage. They throw a punch, you duck and hit their side or stomach quickly. A rapid punch from someone smaller than you is hard to block."

This seemed like the obvious tactic, but as I said, I was inexperienced.

Four told me to try it on him. He threw a punch, I ducked, just about, and jabbed him near his ribs.

"You'll be a force to be reckoned with if you choose Dauntless," he grinned.

If you choose Dauntless. If.

Thanks to Four's help, I gradually became better at winning against the bigger kids. So much better in fact, some people became jealous.

I was walking through the compound a month later, trying to clear my head after me, Liam and Zoey spent some time in the Pit completing a very difficult school assignment. The compound was near enough dead.

There was a shuffling sound behind me, sounding like feet. I stopped dead in my tracks, noticing the fear simulation room to my right. I turned around, only to be greeted by three kids, all of them around fourteen. They didn't look like they were about to invite me for some chocolate cake.

"Ha, look, it's the kid who thinks she's better than us," a boy jeered.

"Yeah, thinks she's a hotshot since she beat you, Leah," said one of the girls.

I never boasted about how much I had improved; these goons just seemed to be looking for an excuse to scare me.

The girl who I could only assume was Leah, stepped forward. Her face contorted into a nasty smile. Not the inviting you around for cake type of smile.

Leah finally spoke. "Well, I doubt she'll be thinking much of herself after I'm done with her."

Leah went straight in for a punch. Four's words resounded in my head.

They throw a punch, you duck and hit their side or stomach quickly.

I managed to get Leah in the stomach and kicked her in the back. She fell to her knees, trying to regain her senses. As she did so, the boy came for me.

He punched me around my cheekbone. It felt like a rock had been thrown at my face, it throbbed awfully. He put an arm around my neck next, restraining me. My shin got kicked too, pain flaring up my leg. I fell on both of my knees, and the same shin got stomped on. Could've sworn I heard a snap. I squirmed, trying to escape from his brutal hold.

I had just bitten my attackers' arm when Four burst out of the fear simulation room.

Leah and her fellow female goon ran away instantly.

Four, with pure rage consuming his eyes, grabbed my attacker and pulled him off me, throwing him to the floor. He need not do more, since the boy scrambled to his feet, and sprinted off.

The fury dissipated from Four's eyes, instead concern replaced them. "Can you get up Theia?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I replied nonchalantly. I tried to haul myself up, but as soon as I put weight on my right leg, I yelped and fell to the ground once again.

"Seems you won't be fine kid. It's possibly a break if you can't even put weight on it."

"No, not a break! I'll be stuck at home if it is. Won't be able to go out with Zoey and Liam." This likelihood didn't make me so happy. I wouldn't be able to join my friends in all the fun, and possibly stupid things (by non-Dauntless standards) we did together.

Four smiled slightly. "I admire your high spirits, but I think you'd better get to the infirmary and get that leg checked out, don't you? Come on, I'll help you."

After this, Four became protective of me, like the big brother I never had. He always watched out for me, even if I necessarily didn't need it.

So that is how I met Four.

Liam got over his humiliation. He made a very good suggestion of going down to join everyone else for dinner. It was hamburgers today; they were quite delicious.

We all climbed off our ledge, following the aromatic scent of the burgers. We passed Tris, who sat in between Four and a Candor initiate, Christina.

As we passed the table, she looked in my direction. I glanced back at her, but not for long.

"Hey, I think I know you." she spoke.

I turned back, signalling to Liam and Zoey to carry on. "Well, I don't know you, only your name, first jumper, am I right?"

"Yes, I was. Wait, you're the girl that was climbing the statue last year, but you fell and broke your leg. I got the nurse for you."

I remember that day. Not a lot of the younger Dauntless would climb the statue at school, but I was one of the few who did. I had gotten quite high; only to lose my footing and fall. That was the second time I had broken my leg, I wondered if I would break it this year and make it a hat trick.

Four spoke up. "I remember that day. You were so annoyed. I think your aunt Atlanta had to ground you to your house to get rest. You wouldn't keep still."

Memories, awful memories, flooded back. Those weeks of not being able to do anything, again. I had to be driven to school instead of taking the train. I had to stay at the house with my aunt. She was out most of the time though, as she worked in a clothes shop.

I had lived with my aunt for as long as I could remember, my parents had died when I was a baby. They were found at the bottom of the chasm apparently. It was suspected to have been an unfortunate loss of balance, which was weird. My aunt said they were never careless around the chasm. So, my aunt had taken me in, she was my only family left. She had raised me, but some of the Dauntless also had a hand in my upbringing. Mostly combat tips of course.

Tris looked confused. "Do you know each other?"

"Yeah, he's like my overly concerned and protective big brother," I laughed.

"Please, I think that's an over-exaggeration kid. That reminds me, did you complete your English assignment due tomorrow?" Four asked, trying to be subtle.

"What? How do you know about that?"

"I might've heard Liam talking about it."

"Ugh."

"Well, did you do it?"

"Not all of it."

"Are you planning on finishing it?"

"I might, if I can be bothered."

"If you can be bothered… how would you feel if I told your aunt about your lack of concern towards your assignment?"

"You wouldn't"

"I would."

"Wow."

I stared at Four, trying to win this. But I realised I'd rather not get yelled at by my aunt. I accepted defeat and told Four I would finish the assignment.

The next day, with my finished English assignment, I went to school. We took the train as usual. I slung my backpack across my shoulder and ran with Liam and Zoey alongside the train. I paced out my running with the speed of the train and watched as Zoey jumped on to the car with ease, helping Liam up, then me.

"So, you know the Abnegation transfer?" Liam asked me, raising his voice over the wind rushing by us.

"No, I don't. But she was the girl who got the nurse for me last year, when I broke my leg."

"Oh, okay. So, will you be climbing the statue today?"

Zoey scoffed. "Are you actually asking that question to her ? Of course she'll be climbing the statue."

That was the main reason I was known among the Dauntless teenagers. Ever since I was young, younger than most kids when they started to climb, I had always scaled the statue every day religiously, apart from the years I had broken my leg.

The train was now about to pass by school. I prepared myself and jumped, letting myself roll on to the floor. Dust covered my black jacket and backpack.

It was Faction History first period; we would be learning about the early Amity and what it was like. I had visited Amity once when I was 10, it was a school trip. A small number of us stayed for a week. I was fascinated by the animals, especially the horses. I remember riding one, I learnt the very basics during my stay. I still love horses, even now.

Amity was always a faction that had always appealed to me. I loved the kindness of the Amity at school, and their life just seemed so great. I did of course love Dauntless, but I wondered where I would turn to when I reached 16. The calm, relaxed life at Amity, or the hectic and wild life at Dauntless?

The whole day I thought about this matter. Even Zoey and Liam noticed I was off. I kept contemplating the pros and cons of living in each faction. At least in Amity you could grow old peacefully, in Dauntless they offered you death or being factionless once you showed signs of physical deterioration. But in Amity you couldn't have the same fun as you did in Dauntless. I would miss my aunt and Four too.

Due to my intense thoughts, a day passed quickly. Then some more. Soon it was Friday. This was one day I wasn't thinking about factions, because Aunt Atlanta had finally agreed to my persistent begging to get a tattoo. I had no tattoos or piercings on my body, I wasn't interested in having them covering my face or engulfing my body, a small tattoo would do, maybe on my arm.

I ran home once I reached the compound, perhaps I was a bit too over excited.

"Woah there. No hello for your aunt?" My aunt said, she was sat at the table writing something. But she didn't seem okay. Her eyes flitted around, they reminded me of a rabbit being hunted by a fox.

"Hello." I replied, concern showing in my voice. "Are you okay, you seem peaky?"

"No, no I'm fine."

"Really? You don't seem it. Do you want me to stay? I can always cancel. I'm sure Zoey and Liam wouldn't mind."

"No. You need to go." Her voice sounded urgent now, increasingly insistent. "The three of you have been looking forward to this for so long. Now go, and don't go too overboard with the tattoo!"

I smiled and left with a final glance back.

I met Liam and Zoey at the tattoo parlour. They were already discussing what they were going to get. Zoey was eyeing a Dauntless logo, and Liam was checking out a lion head tattoo. I already knew what I wanted. I wanted a horse tattoo, maybe a rearing one.

Zoey and Liam got theirs first. Zoey got the Dauntless logo on her upper arm, and Liam got his lion tattoo around his collarbone. The lions jaw was agape. Now it was my turn. I went for a rearing horse on the inside of my wrist.

As I got the tattoo it hurt of course, but I sat through the pain, anticipating the result. I thought of my aunt as the tattoo started to take shape. The unsettled look in her eyes had made me feel the same. Zoey wanted to visit the chasm, so we would take a quick walk, and I would go straight home to check on my aunt.

I was lost in my thoughts when the tattoo artist finished. "There, it's done. Will I be seeing you again soon?" he asked.

"Maybe. Doubt my aunt will let me get another until I'm 16." I was probably right.

All three of us left for the chasm. Zoey was fawning over mine and Liam's tattoos the whole walk. She finally stopped when we reached the chasm, where a large crowd was gathered.

I saw Four, he was stood watching some of the Dauntless pull up something from the chasm. Tris also stood there. She turned, saw me and whispered "Oh no."

Four looked behind him, and immediately walked in my direction, his eyes overcome with grief. Why were they overcome with grief? And why was Tris saying oh no?

"Four, what's happening? Why is everyone around the chasm?"

"Look kid…" he started to say. But I didn't let him finish. Whatever was being pulled up was now in sight. It looked awfully like a body.

I tried to go forward and see what, or who it might be. But Four wouldn't let me. He stepped in front me and put his hands on my shoulders in an attempt to stop me.

"Theia, I think it would be best if you stayed here." His voice was now soft and empathetic, he really didn't want me to go any further.

But I wanted to know what he was stopping me from seeing. I shrugged off Four's hands from my shoulders, but he tried to stop me again as soon as I ran ahead.

But now I understood why Four didn't let me go ahead. The thing that was being pulled up was a person.

That person was my aunt.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I stared at her body, broken and lifeless. Her body was limp on the ropes pulling her up. Blood coated her once beautiful hair, black, like mine. I stood like a statue, watching my aunt. Four turned me away from her direction and tried to comfort me. I was grateful for his brotherly embrace, but it barely gave me any solace.

My aunt was dead. Nothing would bring her back now.