The Dustless crowd takes the stairs away from the Choosing Ceremony. We start slowly, but then the crowd starts yelling. Screaming with joy and sliding down the banisters. I manage to plaster a smile onto my face and keep up with the crowd. A Dustless born pushes past me. He looks at my plain navy clothes and snorts.
"Looks like a little Stain decided to join us!" he yells. Stain. I frown. I've heard people use that word before, but never to me. Bigger factions like Odorite and Dustless call the Bathnegation, Stains. I guess it's an insult. A mark that's stuck on an article of clothing, but refuses to leave. I turn to reply to him, but he's already at the front of the pack yelling like the rest of them. By the time we reach the door I am exhausted! The leader takes us to a room filled with doors, but there's only a few. Not enough for all of us. He passes out dusters. That's when I notice the filth of the room. Dust is packed almost up to our knees.
"Go!" he says. Everybody else seems to be cleaning the dust trying to get to a door. I spot a door that looks like nobody's going for it and swipe at the dust furiously. I cough and choke at the little particles flying everywhere. Almost there... There's another girl going for the same door I am. I dive for the door, grab the door knob and wrench it open. The door slams and locks behind me. She pounds on the door, still trapped in the dust room. I feel awful and almost open the door, but this is a competition. Only the best dusters get to stay in Dustless. I take in my surroundings again. We're standing on the edge of a railroad. A train is coming in the distance. Wind rushes by blowing my blonde hair into my face.
"What the mud is going on?" a Cleandor boy yells.
"I don't know!" I yell back. A few Dustless born sprint at the train and jump safely into one of the cars. I curse under my breath. This is nothing like Bathnegation buses. The train is almost gone. A girl from Candor reaches her arm out of one of the cars.
"Hey!" she yells. I sprint as hard as I can and grasp her hand. It's slippery from sweat, but I manage to get a foothold and she pulls me up.
"Thanks," I say. She nods. Her hair is a dark midnight black color which gently falls around her round face. She has chocolatey brown skin and dark hazel eyes.
"My name's Pristina, Cleandor," she says. "Yeah, Pristina like pristine! Apparently my parents wanted me to be the best washer in the world. So, their solution was to name me something clean sounding."
"I'm Beatide. Not sure where the name comes from, Bathnegation," I say. She laughs a little. I'm not in the mood for laughing. I can't stop thinking about the Ceremony. The look on my father's face and Caleb! Joining Odorite! I can't even think. Suddenly a boy next to us leaps out of the train. Pristina screams. Then I see it. Everybody is jumping off the train onto a 7 story building. This is a test.
"Holy Filth!" she yells.
"C'mon," I grab her hand "On the count of three... 1" The building is getting closer and closer...
"2" It's coming too fast!
"3!" I extend my arms and legs as far as they can reach and soar through the air. For a moment I look down 7 stories, I am flying... SLAM. My feet hit the concrete roof top. Not exactly the most graceful landing, but I made it. Pristina looks ok. The last car of the train passes, an Laundrity boy leaps. He falls short grasping onto the ledge I pull myself up to try to help him, but his knuckles turn white as his hand disappears and he falls...
•••
I gasp. Another one, dead.
Pain shoots through my right leg.
"Ow ow ow ow!" I say.
"If you think that's hard you're a long way from home, Stain." a big muscly boy behind me says. The same boy who called me Stain the first time.
"My name is Beatide," I snap at him. He tilts his head. Just the slightest bit, but it makes a cracking noise. I wish I could say I wasn't intimidated, but I was.
"I don't care what your name is, Stain. You don't belong here. You're gonna die. So, be a good little Stain and run along to the factionless," he says. He turns around to leave, but then turns around for a second.
"Oh, in case you were wondering, my name is Greaser. Remember it. It's the name of the person who will crush you smaller than a piece of dust." I catch my breath and stumble over to Pristina.
"Alright! Regroup!" the leader yells. "Congrats, you made it this far, now, the real test." I try to swallow my fear down, but it gets caught in my throat. He gestures to the other ledge. I look down. It's just a dark pit. He shrugs and looks at the rest of us like we're supposed to know what to do. Does he expect us to commit suicide? Then I realize. This is a test of bravery. To see who really belongs here. I remember Greaser's words. "You don't belong here. You're gonna die." I do belong, because this is the faction I chose. I carefully pull myself up onto the ledge, my legs still are sore from the jump to the roof . I stare down in the the abyss below me. Without thinking I do the best and stupidest thing that I have ever done in my whole life. I step forward.
There's nothing there to step on.
•••
Darkness. That's the only thing I remember. It was dark, it was cold, and I was scared. But then... I saw a light. Coming faster and faster. Describing how fast I was falling is almost impossible. Below me I finally saw what would be my doom. At the bottom of this "pit" was a pool. I pulled my arms to my chest and with a thud I landed. It should've killed me, but it didn't. It wasn't a pool of water! It was a pool full of dust. I poke my head up from the dust and scream. Not a scream of terror, but a scream of fun and joy. Then I hear laughter and I hoist myself out of the pool. A crowd of Dustless greet me.
"First jumper congrats!"
"Good job!"
"You're off to a great start!" I sigh. This is only the start. I look around. It's very dark, but a few lights make it light enough so I could see everyone. This must be the Dustless Compound.
"3 cheers for umm- what's your name?" one man says. I smile. I'm not Beatide anymore. Beatide wouldn't be the first to jump off a 7 story building.
"Tide," I say. "My name is Tide." I hear more poofs of dust as more kids jump. I find Pristina covered in dust.
"You're covered in dust." I say. She raises her eyebrows.
"I'm covered in dust?" I look down at my own clothes. Caked in dark gray dust particles. I shrug.
"Nice Job," a voice from behind me says. I turn around. A boy about 18 is standing next to me. He was tall with light brown hair. He had a nice smile.
"My name is Floor. Welcome to Dustless."