"Jump? Are you crazy?" the Erudite girl - who'd been so devastated over Chris - blurts out. "That's mental!"
"You saw what happened to Chris. You want that to happen to you too?" Miles threatens. "Just jump. You won't die, unless you miss the ledge."
With that, as the roof draws nearer, Miles takes his position near the doorway, bracing himself to jump.
"You're not scared of heights too, are you?" Brooklyn asks me.
"No," I say. "But that doesn't make it any easier."
The train pulls up alongside the roof and keeps going. Initiates and transfers alike begin to leap out of the train - some of them holding hands, others going one-by-one. Miles lets out a whoop of exhilaration and leaps out, disappearing from sight. The Amity girl smooths back her hair and grins before she jumps out too.
"You can do it. You're a Dauntless boy now, aren't you?" Brooklyn says to me encouragingly. "Come on. We'll jump together."
At that moment, Vincent and Robert jump out too, together. The Erudite girls clutch onto each other. The one who'd been crying over Chris clutches her glasses fearfully before the two of them leap out in unison.
The two Stiffs are left. I realize one of them is Katrina, who I met briefly before the Aptitude test. People I've only just met are now just popping up all over the place, aren't they? I thought to myself. The Amity girl, Katrina...
"Come on! No sense in faltering now! We have to go!" Brooklyn insists.
Nodding, I get behind her. She offers me her hand and, after a pause, I take it. Squeezing it for support, I nod one more time and together, we jump out of the train.
I feel my feet leave the floor and for a moment, we hang, suspended, in mid-air. The rooftop looms up towards me and I bend my knees just as I slam into the roof.
I barely manage to avoid rolling right back off the ledge and for a second, I lay there, panting. Now that the fear is gone, excitement is all that remains, coursing through my veins.
"Now, Frank!"
I look up just in time to see the two Stiffs jump from the train as well - Katrina and Frank holding hands. We all made it off the train. All eight initiates. I breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps there won't be another 'Chris' incident like last time.
Brooklyn helps me to my feet. "You alright?"
"Actually, yeah. I feel fine," I say. "Once the initial fright is gone, I actually started to enjoy that."
"Hmph. Well, come on," she says.
She beckons me to follow and we join the other initiates at the other edge of the roof. There, everyone is crowded around a tall, dark-skinned bald man, who stands at the ledge, waiting for us all to gather. Satisfied, he opens his mouth and begins to speak in a gruff, commanding voice.
"Welcome, initiates. My name is Freeman, and I'll be one of your many instructors during Dauntless initiation. In a few minutes, you'll all be entering the Dauntless compound and be shown to your living quarters, and the details of initiation will be explained to you by my colleagues and I. But before that, you're going to have to get into the compound."
Freeman gestures behind him, to the wide open space hanging across the edge of the roof. "The Dauntless compound is just behind me. All you need to do is get down there."
There is a moment of hesitation as people ponder his words.
"Wait, are you suggesting...are you saying we have to jump? Again?" one Erudite girl splutters, sounding disbelieving.
"Perhaps," Freeman says, folding his arms. "Does this pose much of a challenge to you? Would you perhaps like to take the stairs? How about I give you a nice little lollipop too for walking down on your own without me showing you the way?"
There is a moment of stunned silence. "We don't have all day, initiates. Would one of you idiots please get this over with?" Freeman asks.
"I'll do it!"
The Amity girl steps out of the crowd, looking thoroughly disgruntled. She steps up to the edge of the roof as everyone gives her a wide berth. Holding out her arms, like she's about to take flight, we all hear her take a deep breath before she leans forward and pitches over the edge. There's no screaming or shrieking to be heard. There isn't the sound of a crash. She just...tumbles over. Silently. There's no sound or indication as to whether she survived or if she's lying at the bottom of the ground in a bloody mess.
Freeman looks over the edge, before turning back to us. "She's done. Who's next?"
Vincent puffs out his chest. "I'll g-"
"Me first, transfer," Miles says, pushing past him.
Vincent flushes red in anger as Miles takes his position on the edge of the roof. The Dauntless-borns are chattering amongst themselves.
"Go, Miles!" one of them cries out and Miles turns back to shoot them a confident smile and a thumbs-up.
"Hey! I'm going too!" Vincent insists, stepping back out of the crowd. "We can go together!"
"Not if I go first," Miles snaps.
He takes a little jump and flies off the edge. Vincent rushes over to the edge and peers down.
"There's a hole," he reports back to the rest of us. "There's a hole in the ground."
"Next!" Freeman barks.
Vincent goes next, then Robert, and the Dauntless-borns start volunteering one after another. The numbers begin trickling down. Before Brooklyn goes, she gives me a wink. "Don't wait too long, Markus." Then she falls and is gone.
I step up next, determined not to be the last one on the roof. There's only three Dauntless-borns left, along with Frank the Stiff and the Nose who'd cried over Chris.
Taking my position on the ledge, I see Vincent wasn't lying. There's a wide gaping hole in the ground that seemingly leads down into nothingness. It's black as far as I can see; pitch black. Perhaps all those who jumped really are lying down in that hole, dead, in a bloody mess of flesh and pulp. Maybe there's water at the bottom. Or an inflatable bounce-house. I miss those.
This jump doesn't terrify me as much as the one on the train did. I'd always had a bit of a minor phobia of fast speeds. But now, I was standing on firm ground and only had to take one step off to reach the compound. I could do this. It wouldn't be as tough.
Taking a deep breath, I prepare to step off when I feel hands push me from behind.
Yelping, I trip and caught completely unaware, I begin falling. The wind whistles through my ears and the gaping hole looms up ahead of me. The ground swallows me up and I only fall a short distance more before I land onto something.
Rope.
It's a rope net.
I lay on my back for a while, looking up at the sky. I see the shape of a head sticking out from where the rooftop once was - whoever pushed me was looking down.
"Get up, initiate."
I turn around to see a young woman standing by the edge of the rope net, holding out a hand to pull me off the net. I grab it and she lifts me out easily, as if I was no heavier than a pillow.
"Name?" she asks.
"Markus Woodley," I answer.
She announces my name, saying I am the 13th jumper. Unlucky? I don't know. As a Candor, I never really believed in superstition. There were just so many false ones in the world out there that no one knew what to believe in anymore.
The next person flies down and lands, entangled in the rope net. The woman helps Frank out and he stumbles over next to me.
"Did you push me?" I ask.
"What? Oh, no, it wasn't me," he says evasively.
"Who was it then?" I ask.
"One of the Dauntless-borns. I don't know. He probably thought it was funny. And besides, many people have grudges against the Candor," Frank says, looking at me apologetically.
"I'm not Candor anymore," is my reply.
*
When all the initiates have dropped onto the net like stones, I rejoin my group of initiates. Frank stands next to me and points out one of the Dauntless-borns.
"That's the guy who pushed you," he says.
The boy Frank points out has choppy, chestnut hair, a regal-seeming expression plastered on his face and hawk-like features. His eyes meet mine and glint with cruel amusement. Smiling teasingly at me, he waves in my direction. I don't wave back.
"Alright, gather around, monkeys."
I turn to see Freeman gliding over towards us, the woman who'd pulled me out of the net next to him.
"We're going to split you guys into two groups. Dauntless-borns follow me. Initiates follow Ila over here. Your respective instructors will explain the process of initiation over to you, and in the case of the faction transfers, they will also give you guys a complementary tour of our compound," Freeman says.
"Transfers, with me!" Ila calls out and meekly, the rest of us peel away from the crowd to join her.
"See you later," Brooklyn whispers to me and I nod at her.
*
Ila leads us around the compound, showing us locations like the "Pit", the heart of the Dauntless compound where most of the faction activities take place. She also shows us the tattoo parlor, a place she says almost every Dauntless visits during initiation, advising us to think about getting a tattoo as well, as if to show that we belong to Dauntless now.
I'm not sure how I feel about the idea. Most Candor are actually pretty receptive to vices. My father smokes; Alfred's known as a heavy drinker; Maurice's uncle was once a druggie - I think it's almost a bit of a joke, that Candor are always the ones getting involved in addictions and vices. I, for one, have always found smoking repulsive, and drugs a foolish choice. Yet, the idea of a tattoo sounds...thrilling. I might have thought it dumb before, but now that I'm in Dauntless, the idea appeals to me. Perhaps I should get one.
"And this is the Chasm," Ila says, leading us across the walkway, pointing down at the raging river below.
I take one look at the water crashing against the sharp rocks and feel my confidence falter.
"The purpose of the Chasm is to serve as a reminder: that there's a fine line between bravery and idiocy," Ila says. "People have fallen down there before, and they've been dashed against the rocks. Some jump on purpose. Others, by accident, or as punishment. I suggest you all be careful around this area."
"It's a long way down," Katrina remarks, peering down into the water.
"Exactly, so if I were you, I'd best watch my step," Ila warns and she leads on.
*
"These here will be where you sleep," Ila says.
She opens the door and leads the eight of us into a co-ed dormitory. There are a total of nine beds. The Nose who'd been crying over Chris - and is still sniffling every few minutes - chokes up as she counts them and buries her face in the other Nose's shoulder.
"Oh, would you stop crying already? It's not like your boyfriend died or anything, so would you just quit your sniffling?" the Amity girl snaps at her.
The other Erudite girl shoots a glare at her, but the one crying over Chris casts the Amity girl a teary look. "Chris wasn't my boyfriend, he was my brother. He was only a few months older than me. We'd agreed to go to Dauntless together. And I know he'd rather be factionless than dead."
"That's stupid. Why better factionless than dead? I'd rather be alive and humiliated than dead but with dignity. What use is dignity if we're buried five feet under the ground?" Vincent asks out loud.
"Perhaps dignity is of no use to you since you don't have a spot of dignity in the first place," the other Nose snaps at him.
Vincent opens his mouth to retort but Robert shushes him. Ila is tapping the floor with her foot, looking impatient. "Are we quite finished here? If so, then let's carry on with the tour. Anyway, this is the dormitory where all of you shall sleep. You are free to choose your own beds. The first stage of initiation begins tomorrow."
She crosses her arms, clearing her throat. "Initiation is split into three stages. Stage One is physical - you'll be participating in fights against each other. Luckily, there's an even number of you so it should be easy to pair you guys off. Stage Two and Three are mental - and their details shall remain confidential until Stage One is completed. Just know that by the end of Stage One, three initiates will be cut."
"What?" I blurt out.
"You heard me," Ila says coolly. "If you don't get in a good ranking in Stage One, you'll be cut off from the list of initiates. You'll be booted from this compound and be made to live factionless."
She smiles coldly. "Just like our dear Chris. So, how about you guys not mess it up?"
*
When it's dinner time, I'm sitting at a lone table, on my own, eating from a plate of salmon steak and beef stew, when Brooklyn slides into the seat across from mine.
"Hey," she greets warmly.
"Hey," I say.
"So, how's your first day of initiation going?" she asks. "Everything you were expecting?"
I wave a hand to indicate the others. The people in the Pit are rowdy. Many are chatting with each other at the top of their voices as they eat. Food is even flying around on a couple instances. I watch as the Dauntless-born - who Frank said had pushed me off the roof - slams his friend's face into a plate of pie, much to both of their amusement.
"It's not Candor, that's for sure," I say.
"I don't know about that. After all, doesn't it take bravery to be honest?" she asks, her eyes glinting.
"By the way, I heard about how Brett pushed you off the roof. I apologize on his behalf. He can be such a jerk sometimes," Brooklyn says.
"It's okay. I'll just have to get used to it," I say.
"That's the spirit, Mark. See? You'll fit in fine," she says encouragingly.
"What if I don't make it past initiation though?" I point out. "Three of us are going to get cut by the end of Stage One."
"That includes the Dauntless-born too," she says. "There are ten Dauntless-born, including yours truly, and eight of you initiates. Three of the eighteen of us will get cut. As long as you stay in a high ranking, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Doesn't that give you an unfair advantage, though?" I accuse. "You and Miles and Brett and all your little Dauntless-born friends have trained for this all your lives."
"That's just Stage One. Stages Two and Three, we've never trained for," she says.
"Stage One is the stage where people get cut," I say.
"So's Stage Three. Optimism is key, Markus," she says, tapping her temple knowingly as she gets up to leave.
*
I step out of the showers, one hand still clutching a towel and drying my hair. I head into the dormitory, moving towards the bed I'd chosen, when I hear sniffling coming from the corner. Dinner's still ongoing and most of the others are still chowing down. I turn to see Chris's sister huddled in between two beds, rocking back and forth, her knees brought up to her chest.
"Are you alright?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
She sniffs. "No."
"Where's your friend? She ditched you?" I ask blatantly.
She shakes her head. "She's...well, she's in the bathroom."
"I didn't see her," I say.
"She's in the girls' room, you dunce," she snaps at me.
I raise my hands, as if in a gesture of surrender. "Fine. Excuse me for just trying to start a conversation."
"Why would I want to start a conversation with you? Candor like you, you'd probably go spouting every word I say to those loudmouth buddies of yours," she spits.
"Firstly, Robert and Vincent are just as much my friends as they are yours. Secondly, I'm not Candor anymore, and neither are they. And come to think of it, you aren't either. You're Dauntless now. You'll have to get over Chris," I say. "What would your brother say if he saw you like this?"
She glares at me. "You could've helped him."
"What? That seems like a weird thing for him to say-"
"No. I mean back when we were running, to catch up to the train. You and him were the last two. You could have grabbed his arm, helped him get on, but you cared only for yourself," she accuses. "You claim to no longer be a Candor, but you think only of yourself."
"Well, yeah. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a Stiff," I say. "And I was trying to be nice to you, but I see you're a piece of work, huh?"
"I am Dauntless, after all. It's not exactly sunshine and rainbows here, you know," she points out, still sniffling.
The door opens and the other Nose comes in. She takes one look at her friend and lets out a gasp. "Bonnie, don't tell me you're still crying! Come on, you've got to let Chris go! He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this!"
Bonnie sniffs, and I roll my eyes, giving up on the Erudite altogether.