Since the last chapter was on the short side, I've decided to give you all two chapters at once to make up for it.
Now would be a good time to mention that, to write this story, I will be using some elements from the book and some from the movie. For example, Eric will be portrayed as he is in the movie, but I will be writing the fights (pairings and order of appearance) as they are in the book.
I (unfortunately) do not own Divergent. Veronica Roth does.
After the last person chooses, it's time to leave. Dauntless exit first. Once we reach the stairs, everyone begins to run. Everyone around me begins to laugh and shout. By the time we reach the ground floor, I am exhausted. I begin to worry. If I'm already tired, what's going to happen when I get to Dauntless? The Abnegation girl next to me looks tired too. I can already tell that we will both be the underdogs in initiation. Rumor has it that there haven't been any Amity transfers that have survived Dauntless initiation and not many Abnegation transfer to Dauntless to begin with. Despite this fact and the burning in my muscles and lungs, I refuse to fail.
When we get outside, Dauntless spread out on the street, getting in the way of vehicles and other people trying to pass by. This feeling is exhilarating! I've never done this before. I mean, sure I've run before, but nothing like this. In Amity, we usually only run between the trucks and the fields while farming. But, this is running just for the sake of running. And I've never had more fun in my entire life that I am at this moment. I follow the Dauntless around a corner which is when I hear a very familiar sound: the sound of the train. It is then that I realize the first test in initiation: we have to jump on the train.
All of the Dauntless-born initiates are used to doing this, since I'm sure they've done it most of their lives, so they all pile in until only us transfers are left. I run ahead alongside the train car with a few of the other transfers, reach up, grab the side of the train, and throw myself in sideways. I'm not that tall or strong, but I manage to do it. I made it in! So far, so good. Seconds after I stand, a girl from Candor jumps in and bumps into me.
"Sorry." She says, sincerely, but out of breath.
"It's okay."
Moments later, she reaches outside of the car and helps the Abnegation transfer get in.
"You okay?" she asks her.
She nods.
"I'm Christina", the Candor girl says to us and then holds her hand out for me to shake.
"I'm Monica", I say as I shake her hand. We then glance at the other girl and she tells us that her name is Beatrice. We hold out our hands and she reluctantly shakes them, unsure of what to do since shaking hands isn't and Abnegation practice.
Wait. An Abnegation girl named Beatrice? That's when I realize that she is Beatrice Prior, Andrew Prior's daughter. Andrew Prior is one of Abnegation's council members. I think back to the Choosing Ceremony and remember that her brother, I think his name was Caleb, transferred to Erudite. I can't image how hard it must be for Mr. and Mrs. Prior, to have both of their children leave them. Then I think about how hard it must be for my mother to lose me, her only child, and it doesn't make me feel much better.
Beatrice suggests that we sit down, since it can be very easy to fall down while standing on a moving train. Christina and I agree and we all sit. In order to try to keep my mind off of the guilt I feel for leaving my mother, I decide to look around and see how many transfers we have.
There are eleven of us. There's one transfer from Abnegation: Beatrice. Five transfers from Candor: Christina and four others, three guys and one girl. The other four look pretty big and strong. I decide that it would be wise to keep my eye on them. There's three from Erudite, two guys and one girl. One of the boys also looks very big, strong, and intimidating. I should watch out for him. The other two don't seem so intimidating, but I'll watch out for them anyways, just in case. The intimidating boy and the girl seem very close, like they're dating, but I can't be sure. There was a third boy from Erudite, but he didn't make it onto the train. He will be factionless. I feel a flicker of sadness for him, but I do not dwell on it. The last two transfers are from Amity: myself and a boy named Danny. I don't know him very well.
"They're jumping!"
Beatrice and I look up. I've been sitting on the floor of the car in a small ball thinking for, well, I don't know how long. I assume that Beatrice has been doing the same.
When we look up, we look towards where Christina is pointing and we see that the Dauntless-born are jumping onto a roof. The train tracks are seven stories high and there is a large gap in between the tracks and the roof. This is a daredevil jump and, with one wrong move, you'll be dead. It's terrifying, but at the same time, the thought is kind of exhilarating.
"We have to jump onto the roof?" says the other Candor girl.
"Yeah, because that makes perfect sense Molly, jump out of a train and onto a roof", says one of the Candor boys.
"Well, this is kind of what we signed up for joining Dauntless Peter." At least now I know two of their names: Peter and Molly.
"Well I'm not doing it!" I look behind me and I see Danny, shaking his head, crying.
"Danny, you have to, or else you'll be factionless. Come on, it'll be okay." My Amity compassion immediately pops its head out at seeing Danny, crying and scared.
"No, it won't be okay! I'd rather be factionless than dead!" He cries as the rooftop starts to get closer.
"We can't force him", Beatrice says and, reluctantly, I agree with her.
Christina holds her hands out to Beatrice and I. "I don't think that I can do it unless someone drags me". We both take her hands and Beatrice counts to three. On three, we jump out of the train. I feel a moment of weightlessness, almost like flying, and then I hit solid ground and gravel. I feel pain in my legs, for those are what hit the ground first. I also notice some small tears in my yellow skirt, but nothing too major.
"Well, that was fun", Christina says, in between giggles.
I have a feeling that Christina will fit in well here with the other thrill seekers of Dauntless. Beatrice and I are brushing the gravel off of our clothes. When I finally stand, I look around at the other initiates. All of the initiates made it, except for Danny. Once again, I feel sorry for him as my Amity instincts kick in.
Once we all are back on our feet, we all make our way to one side of the roof, where there is a group of people waiting for us. There's one man standing on the ledge of the roof. Very Dauntless of him. He is tall and seems to have a muscular build, which I'm guessing is important for a Dauntless member to have. He has short blonde hair, cold blue eyes, and two black piercings above his right eyebrow as well as one in each ear. He has a stern, serious, and cold look on his face. Too many, it would appear to be intimidating, but I find it to be a bit attractive. Wait, what? I've never found a boy to be attractive before. None of the boys at Amity provoked my interest. But, for some reason, this guy does. Strange. He refocuses my attention when he begins to speak.
"Listen up! I'm Eric. I'm one of your leaders." He's a leader? That probably means he's off limits. Why am I thinking these things? Curse Amity and their free love lifestyle! "Several stories below us is an entrance to the compound. If you want to get into Dauntless, this is the way in."
"We just jumped and now they want us to jump again?" Christina whispers to Beatrice and I.
"Is there water at the bottom or something?" one of the Erudite boys asks.
Eric smirks at him before answering. "Who knows? I guess you'll have to find out." He pauses. "Or not." After a moment of silence he says, "Well someone has to go first. Who's it going to be?"
We all stand around looking at each other, begging those around us to go first so we don't have to. After a few moments of hushed murmuring, Beatrice says, "Me", and then walks up to the ledge.
As she approaches it, Eric jumps down and moves out of her way. She pauses for a moment to take of her long coat off.
"All right Stiff, take it off!" Peter says. "Put it back on." he says, quieter. He and some of the others begin to chuckle. I can already tell that I'm not going to like Peter at all.
After she takes her coat off, she carefully gets up onto the ledge. She pauses again, I guess to catch her breath and get used to the idea that she's about to jump off of a roof into the unknown.
"Today initiate", Eric says. Really? She's about to jump off a roof into who knows where and you want her to hurry up? Wow, what a jerk. Suddenly, he is starting to seem slightly less attractive.
Beatrice takes one last deep breath and steps off of the roof. Christina and I, along with a few of the others, gasp. After a few moments, I hear a noise. It sounds like she fell into a net. That must be what's at the bottom. Eric then checks his watch. Seconds go by before he says, "Okay, whose next?"
Before I can stop myself, I step forward and say that I will go. If a girl from Abnegation was the first jumper, I will be the second. She and I will be the underdogs here, so we have to do something to prove ourselves worthy of Dauntless. She has just taken her first step to doing this, and now I will take mine.
I approach the ledge and get ready to step up on it, but Eric grabs my arm and stops me.
"You're Amity, huh?" I thought that fact would be obvious, given what I'm wearing. I wan't to make a snarky response, but I decide against it and just nod.
"Are you aware that no Amity has ever survived our initiation before?"
"Yes, I am."
He smirks at me and then says, "We'll see how long you last". He then takes a step closer and whispers, "Personally, I hope you make it. It would be a shame to make you factionless. The factionless sector is a dangerous place for a pretty thing like you". He steps back, leaving me stunned and waiting for me to jump.
He thinks I'm pretty? This leaves me confused, for I've never thought of myself in that way before.
I snap out of my stupor and get up onto the ledge. I take a deep breath and then, I jump. I gasp as I freefall several stories. However, I'm proud that I don't scream. It feels like the fall was over before it started because, before I know it, I hit the net. After I bounce a few times from the impact, I come to a stop in the net.
"First a Stiff, now an Amity? What's the world coming to?" I hear someone say.
Before I have time to think, someone pulls me out of the net and helps me stand upright. The man that helps me out of the net looks like he's the same height and build as Eric, except this man is tan with brown hair, brown eyes, and no piercings.
"What's your name?"
"Monica."
He turns away from me to look at the group of Dauntless in the room. "Second jumper, Monica!"
Then he turns back to me. "Welcome to Dauntless."
"Thanks."
Someone comes up behind me and leads me over to where Beatrice is.
"Hey Beatrice. We made it!"
"Yeah, we did. And it's actually Tris now."
"Tris. I like that."
As I look around the compound, I realize for the first time that I can really see myself being here. It's at that moment that I know: I will be Dauntless.