"Choose."

A cold voice echoed through the room as my eyes opened to see an endless sea of mirrors and myself in the reflection. I turned to see two pillars, one with a knife and one with cheese. Without hesitation, I picked up the knife and readied myself for whatever would come.

As soon as the knife was in my hand, the pillars disappeared and I could suddenly hear a dog barking from behind me. I turned to see it running towards me, rabid and crazed. Before I could do anything, the dog changed its course towards a young girl in gray clothing.

"Puppy!" she yelled.

I immediately ran in front of her and stabbed the dog without a second thought, killing it instantly.

My eyes opened to see a clear room with Ophelia, the Dauntless volunteer that helped with the aptitude testing.

"My result?" I asked.

"Dauntless," she said, seeming slightly shocked. "Without a doubt."

"Okay," I replied, leaving and going back into the main room with my classmates.

My walk home was quick and filled with dread for the coming night. Marcus would ask me what faction I received on my aptitude test. Even though we are not allowed to talk about our results, he would pressure me into answering. I was a terrible liar, and Marcus could smell my bluff from a mile away. The only thing left to do was to avoid the subject entirely.

It was the only way I would survive the night.

"Anything other than Abnegation, girl, and I swear I'll kill you," he had said the night before. I began to tremble as my house came into view. All I could do then was hope that the worst would not come tonight.

Walking into the house, I noticed my father at the table, newspaper in hand. That was never good, especially with the new Erudite articles coming out accusing him of beating Tobias. Little did they know how true they were, but Marcus would never allow any kind of validation to cross our mouths. He would kill us before that happened.

"How was the test?" he grumbled, barely looking up.

"It was good," I replied. "Quite easy."

That did not satisfy him. "What were your results?"

"We are not allowed to disclose that information," I said as confidently as I could, but it came out as a whisper.

"We both know that I am the exception," he replied with anger lacing his eyes. "I won't ask again, girl. What were your results?"

"Abnegation," I said, looking him straight in the eye and hoping he would buy it. "As expected."

Without breaking eye contact, he slowly stood. "You better not be lying to me, girl."

"It doesn't matter what my results were, it matters what faction I will be choosing tomorrow," I trembled.

"That might be the case, but I wouldn't want to have someone who doesn't belong in my faction. Are you lying to me?"

I swallowed hard, and he took that as his answer. Before I could even take a breath, he grabbed my hair and threw me into the bathroom. Without another word, he turned on the bathtub and hit me with his belt while it filled. After it had reached a certain level, he took my hair yet again and thrust my head into the water, holding it there as I tried to scream for help. I could feel the water entering my lungs, and it wasn't long before I thought that I would die there. Never in my life had I ever felt so helpless, struggling for air and feeling the pain of the torture.

After almost a minute and a half, he pulled me up, beginning to whip me yet again. Without a word, he took my arm with bruising force and shoved me into the closet. Screaming, I cried and begged for him to let me out, still coughing up water.

I could assume there would be no bed for me tonight, no dinner, and I wasn't even sure if he would let me attend the Choosing Ceremony at all.

I fell asleep that night crying like I never had before.

The next morning, a bright light woke me as Marcus shoved me into my room and told me to get dressed. He had to leave early, as always, and this year I would walk alone to the ceremony.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that I had walked with Tobias to the very place where he was able to make the choice to escape the hell that he left me in. But it had only been a year. In that year, Marcus had taken every hope I had ever had and crushed it with his torture and abuse. Every ounce of happiness had been taken, and all that was left was the fact that there was no one to ever help me but myself. No one else would be there for me. It would be even worse to get close to someone who would eventually leave you or break you beyond repair.

It was Amity's turn to lead the Choosing Ceremony, and when Marcus sat next to me, he grasped my wrist with enough force to bruise it.

"I know you'll make the right choice," he said with a growl.

He took my silence as confirmation. Before long, the calling of names had begun. I spaced out until I finally heard the words that would take me from the hell I had lived my whole life.

"Eaton, Abrielle."

I walked to the stage with as much confidence as I could muster, and took the blade to my hand. Without hesitation, I let my blood drip onto the burning coals.

"Dauntless!"

There was a hush as the crowd realized what had happened before the Dauntless erupted into cheers, some even standing and hollering. The other factions clapped politely, but Abnegation remained silent. I didn't dare to look behind me, knowing that my father's face would haunt me.

After the Choosing Ceremony had concluded, I ran with the other Dauntless and began to climb the poles leading to the train landing. As the train began to pass, the other members started to run and jump on, and I quickly followed suit. It was certainly a struggle, but I made it in the end. I said nothing to those in the car around me, letting the noise drown out my thoughts of Marcus, Tobias, and what lied ahead.

An influx of noise brought me from my thoughts as the Dauntless started to jump from the train and onto a rooftop. Without hesitation, I did the same, rolling a little less neatly but still just as efficiently. A girl dressed in blue clothes landed not far from me, and offered me a hand as she got up.

"Hadley," she said with a slight smile.

"Okay," I responded. It was rude, but she had never asked for my own name. I took her hand, and without another glance at her, I walked towards the men standing on a ledge.

"Initiates," a powerful voice spoke. "My name is Max. I am one of your leaders here in Dauntless. Beside me is Eric, a leader in training. I expect you to show him the same respect that you show me. Your first test is to jump off this ledge into our headquarters." With a dramatic pause, he looked around us. "Now, who will go first?"

Everyone seemed to back slowly away from the ledge, but I walked forward without a word. I stepped onto the ledge, my skirt and sweater whipping around me in the wind. Looking down, I could see nothing, but I knew that my clothing would hinder my jump.

"Sometime today, initiate," Eric growled next to me.

I turned to him and glared as I took off my cardigan, and hoisted up my skirt. A few people started to whistle, but before I could hear any of their words, I had already jumped.

It seemed as if I had been falling forever until I hit a net, jarring me back into reality. Before I knew it, I was tumbling towards the ground and caught by a man at the bottom. As I looked up, a flash of recognition came through his dark blue eyes.

"Not a word," I hissed. His eyes widened at my harsh tone, but he obliged by my request.

After a second, he cleared his throat. "What is your name, initiate?"

"Abrielle," I replied in a cold voice, doing my best to sound devoid of all emotion.

"First jumper, Abrielle!" he announced to a roaring crowd. I was led down past the net to more people where I then waited for the rest of the initiates to join me. Soon after, we were rounded up by the instructors.

"My name is Lauren," a tall, black-haired girl announced. "I'll be training the Dauntless-born initiates." She then pointed to Tobias. "This is Four, he will be one of the instructors for the transfers." For the first time since I had left the net, I met his eyes at the mention of his new name. Slowly and almost inconceivably, he shook his head, asking me to not question it.

"You've already met Eric," Lauren continued. "He will be training the transfers with Four as well."

We split up into the Dauntless-born and transfers and "Four" began to lead the tour. He led us into the Pit, the training area, and finally into our living quarters.

"Dinner is in 30 minutes. You should be changed into your new clothes in 15. Burn your old clothes before you leave, and then head to the dining hall," he finished.

"Wait, are we all sleeping in the same area?" a Candor girl asked.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Four shot back, clearly annoyed.

As I realized the predicament, I grew cold. If I had to change in front of my fellow initiates, they would see the bruising, the cuts, and the scars. The one gift of Abnegation was the thick clothing that could cover my wounds. I had a feeling Dauntless clothing would not be the same.

Tobias met my eyes and then looked towards the door. He wanted me to be the first one ready so we could talk. It had been a signal we would use when we were children, and I was surprised he remembered. I sent a small nod, knowing that he would know how to deal with having everything out in the open. Otherwise, I was not going to take any other advice. I didn't want any special treatment just because I was his sister.

Very carefully, I pulled off my Abnegation clothing and immediately replaced it with the black tank top and jacket, leggings, and boots that were my size. Without a second thought, I threw my former clothes into the fire, feeling a little more freed in the process.

The girl who had helped me up on the roof- Hadley- chose the bunk beside mine and continued to try to make conversation. I continued to ignore her, but she was relentless.

"I know you probably don't want to be friends, but I don't care. You're going to be my new project. I promise you, by the end of initiation you'll accept my friendship and be stuck with me," she stated. When I didn't respond, she finally left and said that she was using the bathroom.

Like Tobias had requested, I was the first one out of the dorms. He was leaning against the wall, waiting for me. It didn't take long for him to wrap me up into his strong arms and bury his face in my hair. I froze, but then relaxed into the hug. I hadn't felt a hug so loving, so safe in far too long. I missed the comfort that he provided, and I realized how much I had missed him.

"God, I've missed you so much," he whispered. "I can't even imagine what you've been through."

Taking a breath, I stepped back. "I've missed you too," I said, but a little too harshly.

"Abri, I'm so sorry, I'll never forgive myself for leaving you with that monster," he started, but I immediately interrupted.

"No, T, I don't blame you. You did what you needed to do and I can't hold that against you. Don't feel guilty for it." He moved in to hug me again, but I stopped him. "But you need to know that I'm not the same girl from our childhood. After you left, Marcus took everything to a whole new level. I can't blame you for leaving me, but I need to figure out how to cope with everything I went through, and I need to do that alone. I'm sorry," I finished. He nodded slowly.

"I assume you don't want any special treatment," he said. "Or for anyone to know that we're family."

"You're correct," I responded. "I don't want there to be accusations of nepotism, and I just need some space."

"Okay," he whispered, pulling me into one last hug before turning around and leaving.

Before he had gotten too far, I yelled "Wait!" He turned, confused at my interjection. "How did you hide the scars?"

"Tattoos," he replied with a small smirk. He then turned once again and made his way to the hall.

Against my better judgement, I waited for Hadley to be ready so that we could walk together. I figured I could possibly need someone by my side through training.

"I'm Abrielle," I finally said as we began to walk to dinner.

"Finally, a name," she replied with a laugh. "I was beginning to think that you were a Jane Doe."

We laughed, and it wasn't long before I realized how much I enjoyed her company. Growing up, I had never enjoyed friendships because I only ever needed Tobias. After he left, I didn't bother making any friends because I had not only enough on my plate but I was going to leave anyway. It felt strangely nice to have someone that seemed to actually care.

And it was at that moment that I realized things could actually be different in Dauntless.

My life could be better.