They're running. She doesn't know why, she doesn't know where, but she knows the cost of being left behind. Factionless doesn't scare her, but failure does. She should be at the head of the group running with the fastest of them, her legs are thick with muscle, she can run. But she forces herself slower, she stays in the middle of them, she doesn't let them see her strength.

The climbing she pauses at. Her arms can bear her weight, they pack a hell of a punch, but she's never climbed a building let alone a support system and at that moment the others were climbing up onto the train platform. She's slower at this, more cautious because falling will take more time than she has to spare, and there's nothing but the side of the metal to hold onto. Her fingers ache, her shoes lose traction, but she continues pulling herself higher refusing to do anything but make it to the top. And then a hand reaches for her - she'd have made it without help and quite frankly she doesn't want it - she lets the boy pull her onto the platform to stand with the others because a normal transfer should need help.

"You're not Dauntless born," he says knowing from her black and white attire she wasn't. Yet she'd been climbing a structure without rungs, effortlessly from his point of view – she'd be competition.

She stands breathless, life surging through her veins in a way it hadn't in a long time. This was fun. "Can't imagine how you guessed," she says not entirely serious but not fully joking either. It's a mix she often falls into, one that got her quite a few severe looks from Candors because sarcasm is seen as a form of deceit. "And from the blue suit I'm gonna guess you're not either," she remarks, her voice raising over the oncoming sound of metal and wind. Behind her is the train, and she knows they're gonna jump onto it before anyone even starts running. She looks back to see he knows it too, and is both excited and worried by it. Their eyes meet and she shrugs, because what are they gonna do but run after the train barreling past them.

The Erudite boy might've been taller than her, his legs taking longer strides covering more ground, but she's faster and she easily matches his pace. With the train on their left she runs with the boy between her and the open door, and they aren't gonna make it if he doesn't find the courage to pull himself in. Without thinking she quickly outpaces him and launches herself onto the train, and before her brain can process anything that's happening she's leaning back out of the door with a hand outstretched. It's his turn to take the help he doesn't want, and glancing hastily at her warm eyes he grabs her hand. In a blur of rushing movement he's sprawled on top of her panting from the running and the excitement of it all. And then she's shoving his shoulders throwing him off her as she sits up. "You're an okay runner, I'll give you that, but you need to work on committing," she tells him as they stand.

He smiles at her honesty, remembering her from the few classes they'd had together – she studied hard, harder than anyone he knew, and she still barely passed. "Will," he greets holding out a sweaty shaking hand.

"Emily," she says in return giving his hand a quick shake, and for a moment it feels like she could be. They don't know each other, he has no expectations of how she should act – she can be herself, be her version of Emily. "Well that was fun," she tells him with a quick twitch of her shoulders him laugh.

"Something like that," he admits staring down at her grinning face. He's seen her for years at school, only noticing her because she was quiet where most Candors their age weren't – but seeing her sharp cheeks rounded by her curled mouth, adding the glimmer of excitement in her dark eyes, he realizes it's the first time he's seen her smile.
He's about to remark on it, on how open and free she looks without the truth weighing on her shoulders, when a voice behind them calmly says, "get ready."

They both turn looking for what to get ready for, a stop maybe, a person. What they see is a few people in the train cars ahead of them begin jumping onto a rooftop, the sound of their whoops carrying on the wind.

"At this speed?" Will asks in sheer disbelief at the idea of jumping over the seven-story high gap. "Don't they know we could,"

"Hey brainiac," Emily cuts him off, "stop thinking. Jump far enough you'll have bruised knees." She didn't know if it was true, if what she was telling him might end in him missing the roof and falling to his death. But staying on the train would only end in factionless and she's not planning to stay.

An elbow juts out digging into her arm. "Birdy gets it."

Will and Emily turn to see a broad nosed shit-eating faced boy they both know as Peter. There aren't many people who like him, a fact even he's aware, but he carries himself as though if asked everyone would name him as their favorite. Will looks back to Emily, wondering if the two are friends, to see her head shaking and her eyes rolling as she moves to stand behind a boy whose shoulders are an inch above the top of her head.

The boy is Al, a gentle giant, who she's honestly surprised to see in Dauntless – more so after he nervously asked what would happen if they didn't jump. Her first day posing as Emily at the school everyone stared and whispered about the poor girl who's mother left her; he'd been so quick to come up to her and say how sorry he was. If he didn't stay in Candor she would've guessed Amity as his choice, but never Dauntless. And she has to give him a gentle shove to get him to start running so he'd leap off and she could follow after.

She almost keeps her footing, knowing if she straightens her legs and hits the ground like it's a continuation of the train than she wouldn't have to scrape the gravel – but she's Candor born, this shouldn't be easy for her, so she lets herself stumble. Will hits his knees beside her, dirtying his blue suit, and he looks to her laughing. "A graceful pair we are," she admits letting herself laugh with him.

"I thought you'd land on your feet," he tells her thinking he might've been wrong before, she might not be better than him.

Pulling her mouth into a wry smirk she stands dusting off her own knees to find a few small holes had been torn into her black trousers. She considers being irritated, they were a good pair of pants, and she should've landed on her feet like she first wanted. But she only gives a short sigh before her eyes are scanning the people in front of her for who was in charge.

"Alright listen up. I'm Eric, one of your leaders," a deep voice calls gathering the initiates in front of him to listen. The Dauntless born unphased while the transfers don't know what crazy thing they'll be asked to do next. Eric stands, clothed in black pale skin marred by dark painted lines and a piercing above his right brow, on a ledge the width of his foot calmer than any man with a lethal drop behind him should be. "If you wanna enter Dauntless this is the way in. And if you don't have the guts to jump," he looks at the drop behind him, masked from the initiates' view knowing their imaginations were running wild, "then you don't belong in Dauntless."

"Is there water at the bottom or something?" Will's voice is quieter than it normally is, less sure of himself than he'd been a few minutes ago.

Emily knew that answer was gonna be no, it wouldn't be as easy as water – if she's right, and she hopes she is, they wouldn't be able to see the bottom. This was a test, a test of their will, and she wonders how many would refuse to do it.

Eric turns to the boy seeing in the blue of his clothes where the curiosity came from. "Guess you'll find out," he answers not caring to put his mind at ease. And then adds with a shrug, "or not."

Will's resolve begins cracking, hearing in their new leader's snide response the answer is no. They're just gonna jump, seven stories, and hope not to die. When a shoulder brushes his arm he turns to his left to see Emily, a girl he didn't know the name of before today. Her brows are drawn together but her face isn't afraid, and then she shrugs. That small rise and lowering of her shoulders, first at jumping on the train and now as they're about to jump to their possible deaths, leaves him with the same assurance. Oh well, that's what her shoulders were saying – they were being told to jump, so oh well they're gonna jump. He's able to nod his agreement and turn back to Eric, his tattooed neck, his pierced brow and ears, his cold eyes. Will's nervous, but he isn't afraid.

"Someone's gotta go first, who's it gonna be?"

Emily expects someone born in Dauntless to step up, to be excited because this is more or less what they grew up with. But for several long silent seconds they stand there looking to each other with no one wanting to be first. Emily doesn't mind it, she knows much more will be asked of them in the coming days what with all the failed initiates becoming Factionless bitter and angry with many stories to tell. "Be good enough to pass initiation but not enough to get noticed." Those words ring in her ears holding her still as she keeps waiting.

"Me."

They all turn to see what brave girl had volunteered first to find her wearing the color of Abnegation as she slowly walks forward. They watch her look over the side of the building to see what she'll be jumping into, conviction not found in her small in shoulders. But still she climbs onto the ledge, stands there seconds too long before Eric voices his impatience. And then she jumps.

They wait for screams, they wait for the sound of her body hitting the ground, but all they hear is the soft wind blowing in their ears.

"Who's next?"

The next few minutes dragged slowly on. The second jumper hesitated in stepping forward, as did the third. But a pace began to pick up until nearing the end of the group a few fought their way forward to jump next.

Emily remains quiet as she observes, stepping forward as more and more initiates jumped. She looks up once at Will, not so worried anymore but not comfortable either, and then at Al who's starting to sweat. That is the moment she decides she owes him for his kindness; always opening the door for her, holding her books when she had too many because up until three years ago she'd never been to school though he didn't know that, asking if she was alright after her 'mother' left. She decides she won't leave without him, at least this once. Now she's left with how to convince him to jump on his own, cause from Eric's stern face she doesn't think he'd take kindly to her having to push him.

There's only a handful of them now. Two Candor transfers who changed their minds about being in Dauntless, only it was too late to go back, and Molly minus Peter and Drew. And of course she and Al – Will having already left her.

"You think they're all down there waiting for us?"

At the quiet unsure voice Al turns to see Emily, a girl he'd always liked because she was never mean. She wasn't like she used to be, she didn't smile as much or laugh as often, but she'd been one of the few Candors that knew when it was time to stop talking. "Yeah of course they are," he assures her quickly. "Why don't," he turns to the ledge with a newfound resolve, "why don't I go first."

"Really?"

With one look at her hopeful face he straightens himself and steps forward. Eric watches the large boy walk past, his broad shoulders betraying him because Eric already decided he wouldn't make it if it took this long for him to jump in the first place. And then he looks at the girl, having heard her timid voice, and he's got half a mind to cut her right then if after almost 30 people jumped she's still scared. But soon as the boy turns his back to her those wide eyes close and a smile pulls on her mouth – she'd gotten him to find the courage to jump. Eric already knows he'll have to watch her, make sure she doesn't do it again.

With Al gone Emily steps forward, the word pussy echoing in her mind but she doesn't say it aloud. It's as she'd known, the bottom was out of sight – she already resigned herself to death for treason, nothing scares her anymore.

"You're not gonna encourage them?"

She turns to Eric, finds that up close his pale eyes are even colder and more lifeless than they appear at a distance, and that frigid gaze is set on her with such intensity she knows he heard her talking to Al. He was listening for anyone to prove they didn't belong – he thought he'd caught her, now his mind's changed and he's waiting impatiently for what she'd say. So she looks over her shoulder at the two initiates who stood at the ledge with their stubbornness too great to allow them to jump and Molly who she doesn't really know apart from Peter. And then she turns back to Eric and callously tells him, "I don't know them."

He watches her for any hesitation and finds none. Without first looking at where she'd fall she climbs on the ledge, pausing then but only to see where her body needed to go, before she turns on her heel and lets go with arms outstretched to fall like a flightless bird. Eric waits until she disappears before turning his eyes away, already knowing she'd be trouble.

The net jolts her, sends her back up into the air before she lands on it again, and she lies with the cords vibrating beneath her. Her heart's pounding, her breaths are short, and her mouth is grinning. From the top of roof they'd been jumping into darkness, but from below the sky was bright laughing at their foolishness.

Hands pull at the net forcing her off, and then they're grabbing her waist lifting her off it as if she was a small child. And she finds herself staring at a man with his mother's nose, her jaw, her mouth, her hardened eyes – this was Tobias, the second part of her plan.

"Took you long enough," he says unkindly. "What's your name?" he demands.

She hesitates then, stares at him more daring than she should've before answering, "Emily."

"Congratulations Emily, on being one of the last to jump."

He's quick to turn away, knowing second to last to come down would be one of the first to go. And she's quick to step away from him, not letting on that she knows him.

There are phases to her mission – something she took to calling it recently when it fully hit her she wouldn't come out of it alive. The first phase was to make it to Dauntless, including the three years for Emily to turn sixteen and then of course initiation which may prove to be the hardest part. The second will come after she passes, get to Tobias show him Evelyn had a plan and her 'soldiers' were just as good as theirs – the proof was Emily, because she'd infiltrated Dauntless under Tobias' nose, hell he even trained her. The third falls somewhere between one and two; get close to a leader in any way she can to get inside information. If she was right then it would be Eric, a former Erudite, who was working with Jeanine. So Eric is the one Emily wants. And she already had his attention, now she just needed to keep it.