A mismatched cluster of youths stood before him, bunched unnaturally close together. The collective uncertainty and alarm radiating from the group seemed to bolster his already inflated confidence as he addressed the collection of initiates.
"All right, listen up. I'm Eric. I'm one of your leaders," he announced to the crowd gathered beneath him.
His cold eyes scanned the group as he spoke. Dauntless-born dressed in various combinations of black and red far outnumbered the few individuals adorned in blue and black and white. Eric scoffed inwardly as he caught sight of the two Amity transfers dressed in bright orange and yellow. They wouldn't last long.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes he continued, "If you want to enter Dauntless, this is the way in." He glanced casually down into the darkness far below, empty and engulfing. He had grown so accustomed to this view that he hardly noticed the monstrous height of the building anymore, but these kids would.
He fought back another slight smirk before turning back to the group, "if you don't have the guts to jump, then you don't belong in Dauntless."
This was the first test. Lines had to be drawn. Unwavering lines to divide the brave and the cowardly. The meek had no place in this faction, and he alone had been charged with ensuring the continued strength of Dauntless. A single weak link would compromise the entire structure of the faction and the system they were responsible for protecting.
"Is there water at the bottom or something?" A brown haired boy, formerly of erudite, chirped uncertainly. His brows knitted with genuine concern.
Eric felt flash of disgust and rage as he answered. "I guess you'll find out…or not," he added in a venomously condescending tone. He paused for a long moment before speaking again, savoring the palpable discomfort he had created.
"Well someone's gotta go first. Who's it gunna be?" he challenged. His eyes scanned the cluster of unworthy children beneath him, as they shifted uncomfortably, desperately looking around at each other.
Eric felt the corners of his mouth turning up. The prospect of selecting one of the more pitiful initiates to jump first and watching them refuse and fail was simply too appealing to resist. Just as his chest filled with the giddy anticipation of which Amity transfer he would select, a small voice from the back of the group cut violently through his obvious enjoyment.
"Me," the voice stated with an out-of-place confidence. The speaker was a stiff dressed in distinctive grey. Eric hadn't even noticed her as he appraised the group from his perch above the drop, but now her face was the only clear object he could make out from his dull surroundings.
His gut churned with a scorching wrath as she stepped forward, the silent crowd parting as the Stiff approached the edge of the building.
He clenched his jaw tight enough to splinter his teeth as she took a slow step forward and peered tentatively into the darkness. The considerable height must have made her think twice about her decision because she glanced back nervously, meeting Eric's bitter expression of resolve. Back down and fail. His stare was an unrelenting challenge.
Turning back to the edge of the building, the stiff began removing her baggy grey sweater from her thin body. One of the Candor transfers catcalled something nonsensical, earning him a few chuckles from the rest of the group, but Eric's attention was fixed on the girl now climbing up onto the wall where he had been standing just a few moments before.
As she wavered for a moment, her body slightly off balance, he found himself hoping she would lose control and tumble off of the building. A just end for a stiff daring to be Dauntless.
The girl stood motionless on the lip of the building for an extended moment, a gust of air from below sweeping her untidy blond hair around her face.
Eric's impatience bubbled to the surface. "Today, initiate," he barked. His eyes narrowed, a balloon of rage swelling in his chest.
Without warning she stepped off of the ledge, a small gasp on her lips, and vanished without a scream into the darkness of Dauntless.