"Get ready to jump!"
Alex did not need a reminder of the next steps. Even though she was a Transfer she knew exactly what was going to happen. Over the last few years, she had been observing the greeting of new initiates from a roof nearby. It had been a long time since Alex made the decision to transfer to Dauntless and boy, she prepared. As an Erudite-born, Alex had no struggles finding books about fighting techniques or the different weapons used by Dauntless but sooner or later she realized that reading books would not be enough. So, she started training. Every day she spent hours running through empty districts, climbing walls and buildings, boxing with sacks of corn, which she had stolen from the Amity district. Over the years she challenged herself to go further, higher, faster.
Instead of spending her time on social occasions, Alex would sneak into other fractions to learn how to get in and out unnoticed. Not that she really cared about life in other fractions, but even though she knew from an incredibly young age where she really belonged, growing up in Erudite made her a little bit noisy. More importantly, it also taught her to think logical, analyse and keep track of her surroundings. Dauntless on the other hand was a wild fraction that valued courage above all else.
Was she brave? To Alex' anger, that was a question she did not have the answer to. Sure, she did a lot of things other people would fear, but she would always find herself calculating the risks. Was it really brave to break into the Candor building, after spending weeks observing it, knowing farewell that she was capable of getting in and out without being seen? For Alex, being brave meant to overcome your fears and well - Her thoughts were interrupted by a Dauntless-born boy who bumped into her arm on his way to jump out of the train.
Enough of your past thought Alex and focused on the spot she wanted to land on. The train that took new initiates from the choosing ceremony to the Dauntless headquarter was still going at full speed. About two meters away the rooftop of one of the Dauntless buildings started - in between a 15-meter-deep abyss. Alex took a few steps back, still focusing on the spot she chose to land on and made a leap out of the train and onto the rooftop. Gravel crunched under her feet as she stepped on the roof and deliberately lost her balance. She doubted that any of the other transfers had taken the trouble to practice getting on and off trains in dauntless style as she did. However, part of her plan was not to show her real potential until she got a clear picture of the competition. When it came to fighting bigger and stronger guys Alex had learned the hard way, that them underestimating her and the element of surprise were two of her greatest friends. Since she was not the tallest nor biggest girl, underestimating her was a mistake many people did. Her long dark hair and green eyes gave her the ultimate weapon of looking innocent. So, she would play the role of the innocent inquisitive bookworm longing for some adventure after her time in Erudite. Dauntless undertook one of the most difficult and toughest training courses for initiation and she wanted to take every advantage she could get. She heard enough stories of initiates eliminating their competition. Horror stories ranged from broken bones over one initiate mysteriously waking up with a stabbed eye to dead initiates being found in the river that flew through the Dauntless quartier. Alex knew what she was capable of and she really did not want to make herself a target by showing her potential right from the beginning.
A light breeze blew through her hair as she made her way to the Dauntless members waiting on the other side of the roof. Alex quickly scanned through the other initiates and added the observed features to her mental list of initiates, which already included among others how long they took to make the decision to go to Dauntless at the choosing ceremony, how they performed on getting to and on the train and now their mental state on the roof. Alex detached her gaze from a Candor girl who was trying to hide her shaky hands in the pockets of her pants and nervously looked towards the edge of the roof. There, five well-trained Dauntless members stood in their black uniforms. They all wore tattoos or piercings, one stood out with his blue hair, but they all shared the aura of animalistic strength. One of them, the youngest guy, caught her eye. With his big muscles, the tattoos on his arms and neck, and the piercings above his eyebrow he looked like the embodiment of Dauntless. He effortlessly jumped on the wall surrounding the roof and spoke up. "I'm Eric, one of your leaders."
Eric Coulter. Transfer from Erudite. Alex started to remember what she knew about the youngest Dauntless leader, but got interrupted as he continued to speak:
"If you want to enter Dauntless, this is the way in and if you don't have the guts to jump then you don't belong in Dauntless."
The other initiates started to exchange confused looks and at the sight of this, Alex could not help but think of a frightened herd of sheep. You can't really blame them, she reminded herself. Until now, no one knew the leaders and their … methods. It was a thin line between gaining recognition of the dauntless leaders and becoming a lesson about the risks of blindly following orders for the other initiates. Dauntless was not particularly known for his caring nature, what was the price of losing one young and naive initiate?
At least that was something Dauntless had in common with her former home. Erudite was always a competition, but unlike in a fight, there were no winners. Based on their values Erudite should be an open-minded place for discussions to broaden one's mind. However, over the last few years, one mantra defined the atmosphere in Erudite. Knowledge is power. Unfortunately, this development led to a quite toxic atmosphere, driven by greed for knowledge and power.
The other initiates still had not moved an inch and no one looked like they were planning to any time soon.
Alex had seen dozens of people jump through the hole last year. Once again had she eliminated the possible fear by watching the initiation last year. Finally, a Dauntless-born found his courage again and made the first jump. Alex waited until only about half of the people were left on the roof, before climbing on the little wall and making the jump herself.
Adrenalin rushed through her body and the wind tore at her clothes, but before she knew it, the free fall took an end and she safely landed in the net under the hole. Still dazed by the adrenaline rush and the joy she had felt from her fall, she let herself be lifted out of the net by two strong hands. A man with dark hair and eyes caught her gaze. His face seemed stern and almost expressionless and yet there was a kindness that flashed in his eyes.
„Your name?", asked a calm voice.
"Alex", she said.
"Well, welcome to Dauntless, Alex", the guy answered and she could not help but smile as the brown-eyed man announced her name to an audience of Dauntless members. It was answered by a loud cheer and applause and she took her place next to her new fellow members.
One by one the remaining initiates came falling through the hole and joined Alex and the others. Later she would spend her entire attention on her competition but for now? For now, Alex allowed herself to soak in every detail so she would never forget this moment. The first time being in Dauntless and just … enjoying it. No looking out for guards or security cameras, no hiding, and no role-plays, just herself standing freely in Dauntless - being part of Dauntless. Alex could not help but smile at that thought.
They were standing in a big hall, enlightened mostly by the hole in the roof. The massive concrete walls next to the hole created a somewhat warehouse atmosphere but towards the other end of the hall, the building seemed to slowly shift into a passage carved into a dark rock.
After everyone made their way off the roof into the Dauntless building, the guy who helped the initiates out of the net spoke up.
"Welcome to Dauntless. My name is Four and I will be one of your trainers. My colleague Lauren will train the Dauntless-born initiates while I will be training the Transfers."
Eric stood next to Four, his arms crossed in front of his chest, overviewing the initiates. His gaze landed on Alex and she focused her gaze on Four again who just announced that he would give the Transfers a tour of the headquarter now. Alex joined the other Transfers on their way to the dark passageway on the other side of the room. Since many parts of the Dauntless headquarter were equipped with security cameras, Alex' trips to Dauntless had always been short and mostly in abandoned parts of the area.
While walking through the dark passageways, Alex started mapping out the Dauntless head quarter internally, taking notes of all the security cameras. At first, they only passed by storage rooms, but as they moved further into the heart of the headquarter, the corridors filled more and more with life. The pit was the centre of Dauntless, where the most diverse shops and bars were spread over 4 floors. The tour ended after dinner at the Initiates' dormitories. Alex fell exhausted into the bed she had chosen in a corner of the room. The day unfolded again before her inner eye and an unbelievable feeling of happiness and joy spread through her body as she took her place in Dauntless, the place she dreamed of since she was eight.
The place she now called home.