I love the Divergent Trilogy! Even if he is incredibly evil, I have a certain fondness for Eric's character. I love his hatred for Four and wanted to play around with where it came from. It's not canon at all, but that's the fun of fanfiction.
I have a link to Rhys and Kadence on my profile, go check 'em out.
I'd gone through all the tests that were supposed to tell me where I belonged and wasn't surprised by the results. I wasn't meant to be in Amity, I was meant to be in Dauntless. I wasn't the kind to be happy doing nothing and picking apples to the redundent tones of a banjo for the rest of my life. I couldn't be here with him watching my every move, taunting me with the secret that he and I shared.
I couldn't keep track of the times I got into trouble for fighting on the compound. One time a girl hit me with a rotten apple, by accident she swore, and I gave her a black eye, by accident I swore. I had to take the Peace Serum and go back to picking apples like a zombie. I hated that Serum more than anything, it took out away all of my fight and reminded me of that night...
It would hurt my mom when I changed Factions, but I couldn't let that stop me. I wanted to tell her more than anything that I wasn't staying, except that was against the rules. I couldn't share my results or tell anyone my decisions. It felt almost cruel to not warn her, but I stuck begrudgingly to the rules.
I sat with my Faction in the quickly filling Hub, my yellow bellbottoms and red peasant top present despite my intense hatred for them. They were too loose and happy, plus the red totally clashed with my hair. My hair was red, something almost unheard of within the Factions, and swinging from my head in a long, rope-like braid that I'd sported since childhood.
I'd thought ahead and worn running shoes instead of my normal brown sandals. When I wasn't being happy-go-lucky with my Faction, I watched the Dauntless. I knew that they ran everywhere they went, along with other various acrobatics, and I knew I couldn't keep up with them in my flimsy sandals. I saw my mother looking at my shoes when we left the house that morning and watched her face fall. She knew I wasn't coming back after the Ceremony.
She held my hand the entire Ceremony introduction, almost like she was willing me to stay with her. I loved my mother, but I couldn't stand to work near him anymore. Plus I was tired of sticky hands and banjo music. I wanted to run and pierce body parts and get tattoos and be free in way that Amity didn't understand, even if they were the "free" Faction.
"Crabtree, Maryhsa."
"I love you so much, be safe over there," mom whispered before squeezing my hand and letting me go.
I walked up to the stage and held the knife tightly in my hand. I took a deep, centering breath before I sliced through the tender skin of my palm. It stung worse than the time I got bit by that wasp in the fields with my brothers. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind when another burn of guilt coursed through my body. I let my blood drip over the smoking coals, sizzling in a way that sent a thrill through my entire body: there was no going back now. I was now Dauntless.
The section of the building that was dressed in black erupted in whoops of laughter and cheers as they enveloped me. I had just joined them, yet I felt like I belonged with them in a way I'd never felt with the Amity. They were loud and unapologetic about it, something that I've always wanted to be. I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I'd chosen the right Faction.
A seat was quickly made for me as a girl moved over onto some random guy's lap. It seemed like the normal thing for them to do, she wasn't the only one sitting like that. There were multiple people crammed into the small seats that filled The Hub. They even looked happy to be sitting like that and even more so that people were joining their Faction.
At the end of the Choosing Ceremony there were fourteen Faction switches to Dauntless and thirteen people stayed with the Faction. That meant there were twenty-seven people that were joining this Faction and turning their backs on their old one. The remnants of my guilt vanished when I realized that other people had switched to Dauntless with me, including a boy from Abnegation which surprised almost everyone. That didn't happen very often because the Factions were almost polar opposites.
Dauntless was the first Faction to leave the Choosing Ceremony and they did it in normal Dauntless-Style: a full run. I felt a jovial laugh bubble out of my chest, something that hadn't happened in a long time, at the feeling. I even tore my hair out of the braid and let it fly out behind me. This was what freedom felt like.
The people in front were running along the train tracks and what was happening finally set in. They arrived by train, rolling and jumping out of them gracefully so it only made sense that that was how we would get to the Dauntless compound. The idea sent a shock of excitement and fear coursing through me as I pumped my legs harder to keep up with the group.
I watched the first few make it onto the train, planting their feet shoulder's length apart before tossing their entire body weight at the opening in the car. I knew I hadn't been trained like the Dauntless-born initiates, but I followed their lead regaurdless. I took another calming breath before launching my body. I barely hit the floor inside, but hands reached out and pulled me to safety. I did the same for the Abnegation boy and a girl in Candor white.
"Kadence," the Candor girl said to the two of us.
Kadence was a tall girl with shoulder length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She had a bright smile that reminded me on sunshine. There was something about her eyes that told me she had trouble telling the truth all the time. I assumed that was why she changed Factions, that or she wanted adventure and freedom like I did.
"Marhysa," I replied. "It's nice to meet you."
"Tobias," he told us quietly without meeting either of our eyes.
Tobias is tall and slender built with deep-set eyes and long eyelashes. He had short brown hair with tanned skin, much like most of the Abnegation. The entire time we sat on the floor of that train car he never met anyone's eyes. He just looked out the opening and watched the scenery pass us by.
Kadence gabbed on and on about anything and everything while Tobias and I sat silently together. I liked that he didn't need to talk all the time, he could appreciate the silence. I was like that a lot, but no one in Amity ever understood it. They were all loud and happy constantly and expected everyone else to be like that too. I could see him and I being friends.
"They're jumping onto that rooftop!" someone cried in surprise from the front of the car.
"Are we supposed to follow them?" another person asked, a whole lot less excited than the first one who spoke.
I made my way over to the open door with Kadence and Tobias close behind me. We were quickly approaching a rooftop and people were indeed jumping off onto it. You could tell who were the leaders and the Dauntless-born because they looked like this was nothing new to them. The rest of us, I wasn't so sure about.
Yet again, I made sure to watch how the others jumped and landed. The ones who took it on their feet and ran a bit after stayed upright while the others fell. I glanced over and saw that Tobias saw that as well.
"Land on your feet and jog it out," I shouted to Kadence before taking her hand and Tobias'. "Jump together on three! One, two, THREE!"
We all jumped off of the speeding locomotive together and hit the gravel-covered roof at about the same time. Kadence stumbled and fell, but Tobias and I stayed on our feet. We released hands somewhere in the air but landed near each other. I used the same hand to pull Kadence to her feet and pat her back. Then I realized that Tobias and I were the only people not dressed in black standing when the train vanished and a surge of confidence coursed through me.
I held up my palm to Tobias and saw him look at it curiously. Then I remembered that physical contact was pretty much forbidden in Abnegation. It was almost funny how unaware he was of some things.
"It's a high five. People do it to celebrate doing something cool," I explained to him. "You slap your palm against it."
He nodded slowly before hitting my hand with his gently. He could take a few lessons, but something told me he was a quick learner. For the first time, I saw a smile tug at the corners of his lips. I was going to comment on it, but a shrill scream drew all of our attention to the ledge of the building.
There was a girl with brown hair braided down her back and a few locks of it escaping. She was wearing black and white, a Candor or she used to be. Everyone was staring at her, but no one was making a move to see what was wrong. Then I realized that someone must not have made it onto the rooftop when they jumped.
I ignored the others and crouched down beside the girl. "His name was Trent! He and I came here together! What am I supposed to do?"
"You move on with this," a boy in blue told her cruelly before I could respond to her. "People die every day, be glad that you're not the one that's painting the sidewalk with your blood."
As harsh as his words were, I knew that he was right. She couldn't be weak and part of Dauntless, that wasn't an acceptable combination. Despite that, I stood up and offered the girl my hand to pull her up to her feet. I held her waist as she put herself back together quickly. I couldn't help it, some Amity traits died hard and I wasn't sure I wanted to lose this side of myself.
"Listen up! I'm Max, one of the leaders of your new faction," a man shouted from the other side of the building. He was standing on the edge like it was nothing and I felt the girl beside me stiffen slightly at the sight. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to the compound. If can't muster enough courage to enter that way, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."
He was gesturing to the black hole that was made by four buildings. We were standing on the rooftop of one of them, but the other three were empty. He basically wanted us to jump off of a ledge to prove our bravery.
"You want us to jump off a ledge?!"
"Yes," Max said simply, smiling.
"Is there something at the bottom that's going to catch us when we do?" a girl in blue asked, eyeing the hole suspiciously from her safe distance from it.
"Who's brave enough to find out?" Max asked, his smile gone off his lips but still lighting up his eyes.
I looked around and saw that even the Dauntless-born were reluctant to jump. I thought about what was happening and realized that they wouldn't kill us. That was a stupid idea for any of us to have. They were reckless and thrill-seeking, not murderers so I made my decision. I chose this Faction for a reason and I was going to prove it to everyone on this rooftop including myself.
"Me."
It seemed like I wasn't the only one with that thought. Tobias had stepped forward at the same time as me. I looked over at him with a smile and saw him return it quickly. It was another instance in which I could see us being good friends.
"Okay, transfers, figure it out," Max said, his grin back and blazing. "This would have to be a first, no one ever volunteers at the same time, especially transfers."
"Ladies first," the boy in blue from earlier said. "And I mean the fire crotch, not the stiff."
I whipped around and flipped him off with seething eyes before I stepped up onto the ledge. Tobias made no move to stop me, I think he realized that I had an intense desire to prove myself. I would thank him later on, but right now I held my breath and closed my eyes as I stepped over. I could hear the laughter of the others follow me down along with that feeling of freedom that I associated with Dauntless. The wind whipping around my ears and the free-fall feeling was something that I had to remember for the rest of my life.
Suddenly something itchy and constricting wrapped around my entire body and knocked the air out of my lungs. I took mental note of what it felt like and realized that I was in a net; that was what was supposed to catch us at the bottom! That jovial laugh from earlier was back as I rolled out of it and into someone's waiting arms.
"What's your name, transfer? Choose carefully, you only get one chance," the man said, sitting me on my feet securely on the ground and echoing my laugh.
Marhysa was the name I had in Amity, the last thing I had of my mother. I wanted a part of it to stay close, but I didn't want the same one. I wanted something new and edgy, something that would make me fit in with Dauntless even more.
"Rhys, my name is Rhys," I smiled at him.
The man's smile never wavered as he turned around and presented me to the crowd of Dauntless behind him. "First jumper –Rhys! Welcome to Dauntless."
The crowd of black erupted in cheers, much like the ones at the Choosing Ceremony earlier. I laughed as I stumbled drunkenly down the steps to stand with them. I was the first jumper, I had to wait for the others before my new life could begin.
Tobias followed soon after, only changing his name to T. I didn't question it much, maybe he had a past he was trying to out run, too. He came over and stood beside of me as we waited for the other initiates to follow our fearless lead.
"Thank you," I whispered to him as a boy in black made his appearance.
I knew he knew what I was thanking him for. He let me prove myself to the group of initiates because I was just the slight redhead with a temper. Now I was first jumper and no one could take that from me.
He nodded and smiled at me again, but it was just the corners of his lips. I figured that was as much of a smile as I was going to get so I took it. I even reached out and squeezed his hands, laughing quietly at the shade of pink his cheeks turned at the touch.
I couldn't help it, I was from Amity. We gave out touches freely, almost too freely when some people were involved… but that was a story for another day. He wasn't going to ruin this for me, I was free as a bird and even he couldn't clip my wings.
I really like this story, I hope you guys do too. Maybe leave a review and tell me what you think about it or maybe leave one saying what you'd like to see. I don't mind, just tell me SOMETHING. Thaaaaaaaanks :)