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The sky was robins egg blue.I'd know, because I'd found a nest once. It'd been in this very tree, not more than four feet above from where I currently sat. It had been an awkward mess of twigs, dirt, feathers and hair with three tiny eggs nestled in the center of it.My younger brother hadn't believed me when I told him. Not that he would have argued with me. He'd never. It was just that such birds hadn't been seen since before the War. Crows, sparrows, birds of prey those were all that were left.But I knew what I saw.The eggs had matched a description from a textbook I'd read at school.So I'd pointed at the tall, old oak on the far side of the cabbage field and said, 'if you don't believe me, go see for yourself.'It had been a challenge, fighting words.I should have held my tongue. I should have known he couldn't climb that high, that he'd never reach the top where the nest had been. But I hadn't taken the time to think. I'd challenged him.And when he fell, it had been my fault.Asher had been afraid of heights, but I was always pushing him. Breaking the peace.I hadn't meant it. I just couldn't back down.The small boy, who'd lain at the base of the old oak tree with his amber hair and blank brown eyes was dead and it was all my fault.Each year I returned to the exact spot from which he had fallen so that I could remember. Remember to keep the peace, and hold my tongue. To be kind as my faction required.I could be kind.And when I didn't want to be, I could pretend. It was for peace's sake after all. It wouldn't kill me to sweep my aggression under the rug. To have another slice of bread at dinner because the Branson boy three doors down looked at me wrong.Peace wouldn't kill me, not like strife had killed Asher."You know, you're not supposed to be up there!" Lily Cole yelled from the bottom of the tree."I know." I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear before sighing. It was time to go. I whispered, "goodbye," and slipped from my perch, limbs working nimbly as I dropped from one branch to another.Lily Cole was a bright blonde with a round face and sparkling blue eyes. She loved red and had a voice like an angel. She also happened to be my closest friend."And yet..." She said, gesturing up at the tree. "If your mom catches you..."Lily never could finish a negative thought. I dropped down to the ground in front of the slender blonde."I know." I repeated as reassuringly as I could.I knew exactly what they'd do to me.Punishment was a rarity among Amity, but not unheard of. I'd be drugged. I was sixteen now and so I'd be treated as an adult. Rebellion was a vast crime.It disturbed the peace.After my brother's death there'd been a faction wide law laid down about climbing this tree. I'd be injected with the serum our bread was enhanced with. Forced into a more compliant and docile state. It was usually given to irate individuals, but my continual disobedience would warrant such a disciplinary action.Lily and I never spoke of what would happen. She didn't like the negativity of it. She was a natural. Amity was her home. But she also understood why I risked it. She'd loved my brother as much as I had."Good," Lily said with a nod. "It's time to go, the bus will be here any minute."On her last word excitement bled into her voice.Today was the day.The day of the aptitude test, and unlike every other sixteen year old in the city, Lily seemed to be ecstatic about it. But then again, the blonde had nothing to fear. She knew where she belonged.I shook my head and followed after her as she pulled me towards the road.About a half mile down was the bus stop. Kids ages five to sixteen were gathered there, waiting to be shuttled into the city.Amity's farms were beyond the fence, and those of us whose family's worked them, lived there as well. Our ride was the longest and bumpiest. The children dressed in yellow and red spent most of the time singing, laughing and playing silly little hand games.But not this morning. This morning was different. The aptitude test dominated the conversation and infused the bus's atmosphere with tension.We knew very little about the test. We couldn't prepare for it. And yet somehow it was able to determine which faction we belonged in.I couldn't imagine how.How could such a thing tell me where I belonged, when I didn't even know myself?!I could be kind. Would the test tell me Amity?Would I accept such a result and stay with my parents?I imagined myself like Lily, all smiles as I brought water to a worker in the field and sang songs by the fire at night. I really couldn't sing, tone-deaf, but it wasn't like anyone would say anything.It wouldn't be kind if they did.It would be a life of peace, of joy and kindness. A life of fairy tale happily ever-afters... and drugged food and faux smiles. Doing anything and everything to keep the peace. Because here in Amity it was peace that kept you safe.It's what kept people alive.After Asher, I could believe that. Did that make me Amity then?I wasn't like Lily, which faction I belonged in wasn't as obvious.I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, eyes staring out the window. I could see my reflection in the glass as we entered the city. I had almond eyes framed by straight brows. My eyes were green, just like my mother's. My face was square with predominant cheekbones, those I'd inherited from my father. I wasn't exactly remarkable to look at, a button nose and a thin upper lip finished off my features.The most notable asset I possessed was my hair.It was red, fire-engine red.The locks fell to the small of my back, which wasn't very far giving that I stood at a petite five foot two. Seated next to Lily I looked like a child. The slender blonde was a leggy five foot eight and it seemed she had yet to stop growing.Sometimes I envied her. I could see how the boys looked at her.She was slender and I was thick. Not with fat, but with soft, fleshy muscle. I worked the fields after school alongside my parents and helped my uncle out with his cattle farm on the weekends. He lived further south of the city, along with the other animal farmers. There weren't many, but their pastures provided beef and poultry for our city.My body was thick and fleshy from all the work.If I wound up as Amity after tomorrow, I'd likely marry a man that was too kind to have a preference in women's looks.I frowned at that. That wasn't what I wanted.Every girl wanted to be enamored and adored, and thought of as beautiful.I wanted to be beautiful.The bus came to a stop in front of the school. The Upper Levels building was the oldest out of the three schools. It was made out of steel and glass, just like all the other buildings around it. In front there was a large metal sculpture that the Dauntless loved to climb. They'd dare each other to go higher and higher, while Abnegation avoided it like the plague.Stiff's and mirrors, you'd think they were allergic to their own reflection by the way they acted.I glanced at the shiny metal surface as I walked by. Was I vain?Was wanting to be beautiful so wrong?Would the test tell me Abnegation?I visibly shuddered. Nothing against the Stiffs, but Abnegation just wasn't for me. I wasn't selfless. I'd gotten my brother killed in order to win a one-sided dispute.I obviously couldn't be Abnegation.So what about Dauntless?The metal pierced, ink stained hooligans were fascinating to me. They reminded me most of Amity out of the five factions. Not because of their beliefs, far from it! But their energy. They were wild. They climbed anything and everything. They feared nothing. They laughed loudly and ran freely.Dauntless dominated the city in a way that was unlike any other faction.I admired their strength.The Dauntless were peace keepers in their own right, and Amity respected them for that. But the way they acquired that peace was far from Amity's ways. They were warriors, ruthless and violent. Our first and only line of defense.Sometimes I'd watch them patrol the fence, wondering what it was exactly they were supposed to be protecting us from. Our farms stretched out farther than they patrolled and we hadn't come across anything that could be threatening to our city.Snakes, coyotes and wayward bear cubs did not apply to the Dauntless's threat watch, but that was all that was out there.Lily held the door into the school open for me and I smiled at her. "Thank you," I said kindly as I stepped into the building.The halls of the Upper Levels building were a river of color as all five factions came together to form a chemical mixture of chaos. There was no where else in the city where the factions mixed like this.It was both beautiful and horrifying at the same time.'A ticking time bomb,' an Erudite boy had once said. And I couldn't have agreed more as I was swallowed up by the current and propelled towards Advanced Mathematics when I really wanted Political Services instead.Our classes were cut in half today, so that we could attend all of them before taking the aptitude test after lunch. It would likely be my last time walking these halls, depending on my choice tomorrow, it would be my factions responsibility to finish my education.Amity initiates wouldn't return, I knew that for a fact.They'd be sent out into the fields, pushed in hard labor to test if they were actually peaceful folk as they learned to cultivate the ground. Then when they were worn out and tired their patience would be tested further. That's when most initiates snap.Patience was a virtue of love and kindness.It was a moral Amity lived by.I always pitied the poor souls that didn't make it.Becoming factionless was a fate worse than death.Lily and I parted ways as I finally reached my desired classroom, promising to meet up with each other at lunch.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After lunch, when the Aptitude Test began, I found myself seated on the cafeteria's floor. Lily was beside me, her hands moving in a blur. Left. Right. Up. Down. Together, and then the pattern repeated. The momentum increased with each repetition, and the sound of giggling soon followed after as the girl Lily was playing with missed clapping her hands together on the third cycle in their game. "Ooh!" Lily squealed in delight. I rolled my eyes. Lily always won, the poor girl she was playing against didn't know what she'd gotten herself into.The test administrators called ten names at a time, one for each testing room. The administrators were mostly Abnegation volunteers, minus an Erudite gentleman and Dauntless woman. They'd test the Abnegation children. I looked over at the Stiffs' table.They were silent as they waited. Harmlessly, selfless in their quest to not impose their presence on the other factions or each other. I caught one of the girl's wandering eyes before she quickly looked away, ducking her head. I smirked.My faction would want me to reassure her, to tell her that the brief eye contact hadn't been oppressive. But I chose not too, and shifted my gaze to the other members of her faction. There were quite a few Stiffs in attendance this year, which meant that they'd be here longer than the rest of us. Selfless to the core.My eyes continued to drift over the other factions. A table of blue clothed Erudites were on my left. They were a studious bunch. Books and papers were scattered all over their table as they bickered back and forth about theories and sciences, and heaven-only-knows what else.Erudite currently had it out for Abnegation. I wondered if that's what these Erudite sixteen-year-olds were chatting so adamantly about. It wouldn't surprise me. They weren't above violence in the halls.Just opposite Erudite was a table of Candors. Candor wore black and white, just like the truth they believed in. If Erudite had it out for Abnegation, it was Candor that had it out for us Amity. They called us liars and deceivers. Accusing us of bending the truth in order to keep the peace, which, to be honest, was partly true. My faction was definitely comfortable with stretching the truth, especially if it would protect someone else's feelings. But we weren't any more deceitful than the other factions were. Every other faction told lies, minus Candor of course. I personally didn't understand why they had it out for us so viciously, it wasn't like we'd ever done anything to them.The Dauntless's table was the loudest. They sat just beside Amity on my right. They were laughing as they played a card game that had limbs flying every-which-way and one of the boys yelling when he got smacked upside the head. I wanted to laugh at that. "Let's go again," Lily prompted suddenly, drawing my attention back to her. "Aurora?"Apparently, it was my turn to play against her."Okay," I told her as I re-situated myself before her. My hands were posed to begin the rhythm of the intricate clapping game when an Abnegation woman entered the cafeteria and called out my name."Aurora Jacobs," the woman dressed all in gray said, and Lily had her arms wrapped around me in a hug before I could rise from the floor. "Good luck!" She said cheerfully.Two names from each faction were called and Lily's name was called just after mine. The blonde girl giggled. "You too," I teased affectionately.Ten sixteen-year-olds filed into a line. We were led down a hall of mirrors, where we were then distributed between ten doors. Behind each door was a room, mirrored like the hall. I had never been in this part of the school. It was only used for the Aptitude Test. I didn't look nervous, though I could have sworn that the beating of my heart was an audible sound. The door before me was open. I could easily see into the mirrored room beyond. Stepping in I noticed a man, an Abnegation. He was standing off to the side. "Come in," he greeted and gestured towards a chair.'The chair,' my mind corrected as I noticed it was basically the only piece of furniture in the room. It was a large chair, quite similar to that of a dentist's. It sat in the center of the room. It also had a machine beside it that had wires and do-dad's spewing out of it in all directions. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of having to sit in that chair.The Abnegation man smiled kindly at me and said, "Don't worry, it won't hurt you."I wasn't sure if I believed him, but I climbed up into the chair anyway.The man was dressed just like the Abnegation woman, in a formless multitude of gray. He messed with the machine for a moment, avoiding his reflection effortlessly. "You're good at that," I told him."At what?" He questioned, looking up at me."Ignoring your reflection in this mirrored box." I gestured toward the room as if to emphasize my point.He blushed at my words."So what's your name?" I continued conversationally. I could talk quite a bit when I was nervous. And as the Abnegation man pressed an electrode to my forehead, I had to admit that this wasn't very fun."Jonathan," he said with a nod of his head, an Abnegation greeting. "Aurora," I replied with a slight smile, though he likely already knew that. "It's nice to meet you.""It's nice to meet you too." Another electrode accompanied the first, followed by a handful of wires being attached to me as well as to Jonathan. "You will be offered a series of choices to test your aptitude for each faction." He explained. "The choices will continue in a linear fashion until only one faction remains."He handed me a vial of blue liquid. "Drink this, please.""What is it?" I questioned, staring at the unnaturally vivid liquid."Part of the test," Jonathan replied. "Ninety-five percent of those tested receive the faction of their birth." He added as if to reassure me.I swallowed dryly before taking a deep breath. I'd drink it on three.'One... Two.. Three...' I knocked the vial back and emptied it in one go.Blinking, I turned to hand the vial back to Jonathan and instantly found myself in an empty room. The vial was also absent from my hand. 'What the!?' I thought, looking around.The machine beside the chair was also missing, and when I got up to go for the door I realized it too was gone.
'What the hell did he give me!'
I touched my lips. I was used to serums, recognizing the effect they had on my body, the dizzy feeling in my head. But this, this was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before."Choose," a voice said and I spun around, eyes wide and searching.I noticed a table in the far corner of the room then. Two baskets sat on top of it, one held a knife and the other, a slab of meat.'Red meat... Beef... Cow...' My mind provided."Choose," the voice prompted again, and I grabbed the knife.I don't know if I'd chosen it on instinct, or just because it had been the closest thing to me, and the baskets had been fading. But when I heard a familiar growling sound I instantly regretted my choice.Turning once more, I found myself face-to-face with a snarling dog.He was big. A shepherd's dog. My uncle's neighbor had one just like him. Bear was his name. They were smart and brave creatures. They herded sheep and protected the flock for their owners. I'd seen Bear take down a fox once. He'd growled and snarled just like this one was currently doing.I swallowed and took a step back.The knife wasn't going to help me. It would just antagonize him. And I didn't want to have personal experience with those teeth, so I stashed the knife in the waist of my dirt-stained red jeans and turned my back on him. My uncle's neighbor said the best way to deal with an aggressive mutt was to ignore him. They weren't like people, they didn't get frustrated with you for ignoring them. It actually defused their anger.A soft whine was sounded a second later, and I chanced a glance over my shoulder, what I found brought a smile to my face. Instead of the aggressively snarling mutt was a whimpering, whining pup - with ears a little too big for his head. I immediately sunk down to my knees to see him.'He's gorgeous,' I thought to myself because no one else was there.The sound of a door opening caused me to lift my head, my fingers sinking into the puppy's fur.A girl stood before me. She was dressed in white and had a bright smile upon her lips. "Puppy!" She laughed. Her voice was filled with delight. She had her arms spread wide as she came towards us at a bouncing run. I had a brief thought about both the puppy and myself being tackled in her glee. Then the puppy at my feet growled and the smile on my lips faded away.'No!' I mentally screamed as the ferocious dog returned. He moved to lunge for the little girl and I instantly grabbed a hold of him. My hand connecting with the loose flesh at the back of his neck. The extra skin made an excellent handle and I tightened my grip.I was stronger than the mutt, and so I forced him to the ground. I shifted my weight next and pressed one knee into his back and the other onto his neck. He tried to snap at me, but my knee restricted the movements of his head. This wasn't the first time I'd been in this position, calves had to be pinned so that the farmers could inspect their hooves. My uncle had asked for my help last summer on his farm.Adrenaline coursed through my veins. I could hear my heart once again in my ears. I looked up to check on the little girl and found that she was gone.The dog too was suddenly missing from under me.That was really getting old... I wanted to mutter my thoughts out loud, but chose to hold my tongue. I didn't know if anyone was listening. But who would be listening?Wasn't I just inside my head?I frowned and picked myself up off the floor. The room shifted around me when I got to my feet, changing in a blur. It was a sickening effect, and I couldn't wait until I was done with this test. I placed my hand upon my stomach and took about three deep breaths.When everything came into focus again, I was no longer in the testing room. I was on a bus and I wasn't alone.I stood in the center of the aisle, there was a man to my right. He was reading a newspaper so I couldn't see his face. But his hands were scarred like he'd been burned. He was clenching the newspaper with those scarred hands like he wanted to crumple it or tear it to shreds. Whichever it was, it was obvious he was in a foul mood.I averted my eyes as he tore the paper away from his face. It wasn't polite to stare, and I didn't want him to cause a scene if he caught me looking at his hands. A scene would disrupt the peace."Do you know this guy?" He snapped, shoving the paper into my face.I took a half of a step back, my hand reaching out for a near by pole to balance myself. 'So much for not causing a scene.'I looked at the paper, narrowing my gaze. The man in the photo was unremarkable, yet somehow I felt as if I knew him. 'But from where?'The Headline above the photo read: "Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!"'Murderer!?' I thought in shock.The young man in the photo didn't look like a murderer. He looked like he could be Abnegation, and they were sure as hell were not murderers. "Well," the man pressed. "Do you?" I looked from him to the paper and then back again. This wasn't a good idea - this man was hostile. I couldn't tell him that the man in the photo looked familiar. He seemed like he'd hurt me to get back at him. The man before me wore thick sunglasses and had a scar on the side of his face. The scar was exactly like the ones on his hands, a burn scar. Had the man in the photo done this to him?"Tell me!" He yelled, "Do you know him?"I swallowed to clear my throat. "Sir-" I started, but the man stood up suddenly. He cut me off and invaded my personal space. His breath smelt like cigarettes and his lips were turned up in a snarl.I needed to resolve this situation, then this would end. The baskets, the dog and the little girl had all disappeared when I made a choice. I shook my head, no."You're lying," he accused. "You're lying!"
'I was...'
The man shoved me then, "You're a liar!"At the physical contact something in me snapped. I gritted my teeth and glared up at him. "Don't touch me.""Then tell me the truth." The man's voice dropped an octave and if I hadn't thought he sounded aggressive before, he sure as hell did now. He was positively threatening.My right hand moved between us and I grabbed the knife in the waistband of my jeans. "Back off," I nearly growled back at him.If he wanted to play intimidating games, I could play.His eyes dropped to the knife in my hand and he stepped back. "But if you know him," he said in almost a whisper, "You could save me."I frowned. What did he mean? The murderer was apprehended."You're safe," I told him, my hand still gripping the blade."You could save me...""I'm sorry," I said. I didn't trust him to tell him the truth. "I don't know him."I woke to the sensation of my heart beating in my head and the world spinning when I opened my eyes. It was nauseating. I hated serums. Why did Erudite have to keep creating them? Couldn't the test have been given the traditional way, with paper and a pen?I was back in the testing room. Jonathan still standing at my side. He was busy tapping away on the machine. His movements were frantic and rushed. I knew nothing about the machine or how it monitored the test, but the way Jonathan was acting made me think something was not right.I reach up and pulled the electrodes from my forehead, letting the wires fall back against the chair. "What's wrong?" I questioned, fingers rubbing along my temples. "Just a minute," he mumbled. The buttons he pushed sounded like they were being jabbed with great force, and I closed my eyes at the beating sound. It so wasn't mixing well with the thumping in my head. There had to be something wrong with the machine, I reasoned as Jonathan's silence progressed. I didn't care if it had crapped out. I wasn't going to retake that test. The man-on-the-bus had been intimidating, but I could face my uncle's rampaging cattle, so other than calming him down that situation hadn't been so terrible.No, it had been my response to him that frightened me. I threatened him, and I'd done it on instinct.Amity didn't threaten. They abhorred violence of any kind. So what did that mean?Was I not Amity?Jonathan chose that moment to shift beside me. His fingers coming away from the machine's keys. He touched my arm and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Aurora, you need to stay here. This is very important. Can you do that for me?"I nodded, wordlessly.Something was wrong, seriously wrong. And I didn't think it had anything to do with the machine.I watched him walk out of the room, my gaze shifting from the door to the mirrored wall a crossed from me. My clothing was like any other's in Amity. Dirt littered my red jeans, and my hair disappeared into the red of my jacket. The top I wore underneath was a lighter red. And I had a few pieces of yellow jewelry Lily made for me scattered about my frame. The choker at my neck was my favorite piece. Lily had given it to me the day we buried Asher in the ground. His name was engraved on the inside of it, the letters resting against my pulse.Asher wouldn't have been able to handle the man-on-the-bus. He would have been frightened and scared.I wonder if that was what was wrong, how I'd dealt with that man. Was Jonathan reporting me?I looked back at the door.They'd drug me if they thought I was dangerous. And threatening that man on the bus as I had, I could see how they might believe me to be so. But this wasn't like Asher's tree. I didn't want to be drugged. It wasn't worth it.I pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, and resting my chin upon my knees. I waited like that for about five minutes more before Jonathan returned to me."Sorry to keep you waiting." He said, closing the door. He was serious as he stood before me. His eyes meeting my own. "Aurora," he started, "Your test was inconclusive."I opened my mouth to ask, 'what does that mean?' But Jonathan held up his hand to silence me. "Normally," he continued to explain, "after stage one in the test, when either the knife or the meat are chosen, it eliminates a faction. In this case Amity."I gaped at him. So I wasn't Amity..."But as you moved on to stage two... You... Well..." He seemed to be searching for the right words. "You didn't use the knife on the dog, which was a traditional Dauntless response. Instead, you used your knowledge from Amity's farms to come to a peaceful resolution.""This reinstated Amity as a possibility." He wrung his hands in front of him. "I've never seen that happen before." His words were but a whisper and I felt the color drain from my face.Was there something wrong with me?Jonathan cleared his throat. "By stage three, you had yet to effectively rule out any of the five factions. You pulled heavily on your ties with Amity to subdue the dog when it attempted to attack the little girl. But pinning him as you did was both brave and selfless."Amity, Dauntless and Abnegation."I manually prompt a fourth stage in an attempt to exclude at least one of the factions. And it worked!" I couldn't tell if the slight touch of excitement in his mild-mannered voice was genuine or from exasperation. "Lying to the man-on-the-bus instantly eliminated Candor from your test results. It was as the situation progressed that Abnegation was also eliminated as you chose to defend yourself and continue in the lie rather than save him."Thankfully, Jonathan didn't pause long enough for me to dwell on the fact that I'd actually threatened him instead."I have also altered your test results to exclude Erudite, because none of your responses originated from a scholarly-intelligence or curiosity. As an example, you did not seek to inquire about the man-on-the-bus's situation in order to resolve the conflict.""So then, what are you saying?" I asked. "I am Amity, and Dauntless?""Yes," he nodded."How can that be?" That was not possible. I couldn't belong to two factions. I could only pick one. "But I can't be both," I said. Both, together, didn't have a faction. Was I factionless?To live factionless wasn't just to live in poverty and discomfort. It meant to be separate from the community. To be alone..."What does this mean for me?" I questioned, my mind trying to understand."It means you are... Divergent.""Aurora, this is very important. You cannot share this information with anyone," Jonathan's voice was grave, "ever."Never?"Divergence... It's dangerous to our society. It cannot be controlled." He gestured toward me, "You, a Divergent cannot conform. You do not fit within the faction system."I scooted to the edge of the chair, feet dropping to the floor. I didn't like where this was going. Jonathan had said he'd never seen someone do what I'd done on the test before. Silently admitting that he'd never known another Divergent. I wasn't safe here. He could have easily reported me when he'd left the room. I had to leave."Aurora," he said, stopping me from rising from the chair. "I verbally delivered your test results and erased all record of you from the machine. I reported that there was a problem with the machine and that you'd received Dauntless on your test.""Dauntless?" I question breathlessly. So he hadn't reported me.Jonathan nodded, "You had chosen the knife and threatened the man at the end of the test."'And Amity would never do that,' my mind finished, 'even for peace's sake.' "Ultimately, the choice is yours though." He added reassuringly.My head was spinning, trying to understand. I was divergent, Dauntless and Amity. I was dangerous, a threat to society. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, not Mom or Dad, or even Lily. I was in danger. Yet no one knew, Jonathan made sure of that. I looked up to the Abnegation man."Thank you," I told him and rose from the chair."You have a big decision to make tomorrow." He admitted, attempting a smile. It looked forced to me. "Just don't tell anyone, you should be safe that way."I nodded in understanding. I wouldn't breathe a word to a soul.He held the door open for me. And I returned to the hall of mirrors, my reflection paler than when I had went in. My future faction was nearly as undecided, but now, the choice was mine - solely mine.As an Amity-born, I'd never had such a thing as this. A choice of such great magnitude. Everything was voted on in Amity. If it wasn't unanimous it wasn't done.I worried my lower lip as I slunk back out into the cafeteria. Lily wasn't back yet and the other sixteen-year-olds in Amity paid me no mind. I dropped down into an empty chair, forgoing the floor, and tilted the chair back against the wall.Divergent. Why was it so dangerous?Factionless. Not belonging anywhere.I wondered if the two were really so different from each other.A Divergent didn't fit into the system. They couldn't be controlled. I thought of the bread of Amity and their peace serum, how it affected the mind and body. How it controlled aggressive and irate individuals by subduing them and forcing them into a calm and happy state.It took more than a single slice of bread to calm me. Was that because I was divergent?Was that what Jonathan had meant?Lily returned to the cafeteria. A happy countenance absent from her face. I touched the back of the chair beside me and she slid into it without a word. I wondered if she had encountered the man-on-the-bus in her test as well. Lily wouldn't have faired that any better than Asher. And I dropped my arm around her.Lily buried her face into my shoulder and we both sat there in silence until it was time to go.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Choosing a different faction would mean I'd have to leave my family. Permanently.I listened to my mom as she moved about in the kitchen. The sound of a knife tapping down on a cutting board filtered through the walls. My mom was a beautiful woman. She had amber hair that sparkled in the sun. Her skin was dark, suntanned from many hours working in the fields. She specialized in herbs, keeping her own garden just alongside our house.I momentarily wondered if she was going to add one of her many spices to our dinner tonight. Basil was my favorite. Then, I heard her voice call for me and I dragged myself off of our living room couch and wandered into the kitchen.Her waist length hair was braided back from her face and I smiled at the sight before me.My mother was petite, with freckles sprinkled a crossed her nose. She had a smile that could light up a room. That smile was now turned towards me and she had flour both on her hands and in her hair as she'd been attempting to push back a stray lock that had escaped her braid."Need help?" I teased."Please," she said in a half-hearted exasperated tone.I walked toward her and she leaned forward. My fingers slipped along the strand before tucking it back behind her ear."Thank you," she said with a smile."You're welcome," I replied, looking over at what she was making.Dough was laid out over a pie plate. Vegetables were strewn over the cutting board. And cubes of raw beef were off to the side, she was making a meat pie."Do you need any help?" I offered, slipping off my jacket and rolling up my sleeves. My shirt was a lighter red than my jacket, but my hair didn't disappear into it any less. Everything about me blended into Amity's colors, making me invisible."Sure, that would be great." My mother pointed to a strainer that sat beside the sink. "Can you rinse off the vegetables I just chopped?"I nodded and silently cleared the cutting board. Carrots, potatoes, and celery were mixed and tossed together as I rinsed them all at once. The water from the tap was cool on my hands.My mom moved onto the meat, dropping it into an empty bowl before pouring a cup of broth over it. She added fresh rosemary and thyme from her garden and then a half a teaspoon of black pepper. I scrunched up my nose at the smell of the pepper that lingered in the air.The vegetables I'd rinsed were added next. My mom gently mixed the ingredients together, making sure none of them slipped over the side of the bowl before she emptied it into the pie pan."Can you hand me the top layer of dough resting over there, please?" She pointed to a section of counter that was covered in flour."Sure," I said and scampered over to it. The rolled out dough was both thin and fragile. I made sure not to tear it as I picked it up and carried it over to her.But instead of taking it from me, my mother guided my hands over the pie. "You do it," she said, taking a step back. Heat pricked behind my eyes at her silent approval as I slipped the final layer of dough onto the pie. I knew she couldn't ask me about the test. But as we pinched the edges of the pie closed, I wished she would.I wanted her to ask if the test went well, so that I could lie and say it did. I wanted to tell her that I wrapped Lily in my arms afterward and that the blonde was smiling once again by the time we got on the bus. I wanted to know if her silent approval would last no matter what I chose tomorrow.But I really wanted her to know that I hadn't got just Amity on the test."There," she said after sliding the compiled pie into the oven. "All done." I wanted her to know that I'd gotten Amity, and Dauntless, and that I was Divergent.I shook my head to clear my thoughts, blinking back the tears in my eyes and forcing a smile. For tonight I was Amity, and I would be all night long. I'd make my choice tomorrow, and so the disheartening thoughts could wait until then.I would enjoy tonight for it may very well be my last with them."Lily said that the Palmers were having the bonfire tonight and that everyone was invited," I informed as cheerfully as I could."Oh?" My mother said, washing the flour off her hands. "I thought it was the Branson's turn tonight."I made a face and my mother shook her head with a laugh. "Really Aurora, Tommy is a good boy."'Right,' I thought sarcastically to myself. 'And I'm Candor's queen!'Tommy Branson lived three doors down and couldn't keep his hands to himself. He was exactly a year and a half younger than me and stood three inches taller. Our father's worked together in the fields. I wondered if they'd gotten the corn-picker fixed yet."I won't deny that he can be good," I said. I wasn't allowed to verbally disagree with her. But I'd found a loop hole in only partly agreeing with her years ago. It sounded like a yes, but was really a no.The sideways glance I received from her told me she knew exactly what I was up to, but she didn't call me on it. She never did. That would be initiating a conflict.I smiled as I bit into my bottom lip. "Here," she teased and tossed me a damp rag, "make yourself useful."I giggled and began wiping the flour off the counters while she washed up the few dishes she had dirtied making dinner."Your father will be home soon, can you set the table for me."I nodded. It was usually my job to set the table. I'd been doing it since before Asher died. It had been his job to take out the trash after dinner, while Mom and Dad took care of the dishes.The house had felt empty after Asher's death. I'd taken it upon myself to take out the trash. I'd felt guilty after his death and hadn't wanted to burden my parents in their sorrow. If I chose Dauntless tomorrow, who'd set the table and take out the trash?How empty would the house feel if I was gone?I felt like Lily and didn't want to finish those unpleasant thoughts. But I would have to, at some point. I'd have to make a decision tomorrow whether I wanted to or not. 'Tomorrow,' I reminded myself. I'd make the decision tomorrow.As my mom finished the dishes and moved to put them away, she started to sing. Her voice was soft, not much louder than a hummed tune. It was soothing and I let myself get swept away in it's melody.I finished wiping off the counters and then wandered over to the table. My dad's tablet was on it. So I flicked it on before picking it up. The latest news bulletin was scrawled a crossed the top of the screen. It was a report from Erudite. My eyes widened as I read it. Erudite was accusing Marcus Eton - a council member - of violence and cruelty towards his son, Tobias Eton. They were saying that was The reason why the boy transferred (the report read: defected) from Abnegation to Dauntless two years ago."Mom?" I asked. "Have you seen this?"I held the tablet out to her.She closed a cupboard door and wiped her hands off on the apron she had tied around her waist. "What is it?""They say a council member..." I trailed off as she took the tablet from my hand. I wasn't allowed to talk about things like violence or cruelty. I mentally rolled my eyes. "They say that's why Tobias Eton transferred."My mother read over the article with a frown upon her lips."Do you think that's why he transferred?" I asked."Well, if the boy was running away from such savagery he ran in the wrong direction." Her voice wasn't harsh as she spoke, but her words stung nonetheless.Is that what she'd think of me, if I transferred? That I wanted the brutality of violence instead of peace. I thought of the man on the bus and how I'd needed the threat of violence to bring about peace."Don't worry about it, sweetheart." My mother said, handing the tablet back to me.I clicked the electronic device off without sparing the report a second look, and asked, "Why do people transfer?"A single eyebrow rose on my mother's face before she answered my question. "Children defect for many different reasons.""Some do not agree with their birth faction's believes." She added after moment and I knew she was thinking of the Candor boy who'd transferred into Amity last year.I nodded and turned, leaving the kitchen.My mother had used the same word the report had used to describe a transfer. Defect.My Amity was showing, I realized, because I didn't like that word. It wasn't kind.My desire to tell my mother about my test results dwindled. She saw Dauntless as violent and cruel. She thought transferring was a betrayal of one's faction's believes. And she called a transfer defective.Well, now I know what she'd think of me. If I choose Dauntless tomorrow it wouldn't just mean leaving my family. It would mean loosing them. Permanently.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I stood in a sea of red and yellow. Just another forgettable face in the crowd. Lily and her family were to my left, my own parents on my right. We stood outside of the elevator, waiting our turn when a gentleman from Abnegation offered us his faction's spot in line. I was both relieved and distressed by his act of selflessness for it meant I was that much closer to having to decide.I twisted my hands under my jacket, using the cloth to hide my unrest.My father, a tall brunette man, smiled as the elevator doors opened and the first wave of Amity boarded the car. He was so positive and sure as he spoke to Lilly's father. A booming sound was his voice. I wondered if he couldn't feel the tension, the heavy weight of doubt that filled the air.Or maybe he was just not effected by it. Having reached a transcended peace and joy above the thick uncertainty and dread that the possibility of losing a child to a simple choice could bring.Perhaps it was neither. Maybe he was just that confident that I would be returning home that night as an Amity initiate.That idea was infuriating as much as it was calming. To be seen as that predictable caused me to question if he even knew me. And yet to have the assurance of one's Father was an appealing thought. I sighed and resigned myself to stare at the increasing numbers above the elevator door instead of attempting to make since of my father's behavior or my tangled nerves.The Hub was the tallest building in the city. The top of the black metal structure disappeared in the clouds. We would ride the elevator to the twentieth floor, where the Choosing Ceremony would be held.Lily linked her arm with mine and bumped my shoulder with hers. "You're being awfully quiet," she whispered loudly in my ear."Just thinking," I replied and forced a closed mouth grin."Well, stop it," she teased, "you're being too serious."I nodded, because there was nothing I could say.The elevator dinged a second later and Lily literally skipped beside me as we exited the car. The auditorium we stepped into was arranged in a half circle. The sixteen-year-olds of every faction would stand in the center of the room. We'd be lined up in alphabetical order, where the speaker would call us forward in reverse, Z-to-A.I unlinked myself from Lily, and hugged the blonde girl for what could possibly be the last time. If I didn't choose Amity I wouldn't be allowed to say goodbye. She placed a quick kiss to my cheek. It was Lily's way of telling me that everything would be fine, and then she bounced off toward the head of the line. Her family following her at a more leisurely pace. I turned back to my parents then.My father stood in front of me with my mother off to my side. I hugged her first as heat prickled behind my eyes. "I love you," she said."I love you too," I replied.Her fingers ran down my back, sliding through my hair. I turned to look up at my father. He had a smile on his face as he leaned in to scoop me up in his arms. His hug was a force to be reckoned with and I always imagined it was like a bear's. "You're a good girl," he told me. I smiled genuinely at his praise."And we're proud of you." He added releasing me.I didn't watch them as they left for their seats. My thoughts spiraling downward at his words. They were proud of me, it was a beautiful thought. One I hoped would last. But my mother's words from the day before about Dauntless and defects echoed in my head.Our families would sit behind us, arranged by faction and mixed into the crowd. Not every member of each faction came to the Choosing Ceremony. But enough would come so that there would be a large audience to witness us decide.I steeled myself as I found my position in the line. Jacobs was my last name and so I was somewhere in the middle. An Erudite girl named Vera Jefferson was on my left and a Candor boy named Peter Hayes was on my right.A blonde woman dressed in navy blue took to the stage, an Erudite. Her voice was clear as it rang out through the room. The crowd settled and the ceremony began. "The faction system is a living being, composed of cells," Jeanine Mathews said, her brilliant blue eyes regarding the crowd and a teasing smirk touched her lips. "All of you." She paced from one side of the stage to the other as her gaze shifted to the line of sixteen-year-olds in the center of the room. "And the only way it can survive and thrive is for each of you to claim your rightful place. The future belongs to those," the woman paused for dramatic effect, "Who know where they belong."The audience erupted into applause and the sound was thunderous at my back.Each year the responsibility of conducting the Choosing Ceremony rotated. This year it was Abnegation's turn and so Marcus Eton climbed to the stage.Dressed in his white button down and grey slacks, vest and blazer the man didn't look capable of the cruelty and violence that he was accused of. His hair was dusted with aging grey that tied his light brown hair into Abnegation's colors. He was almost forgettable to look at, but the lights from the stage lit his deep blue eyes just enough to catch the room's attention. "Welcome," he began, "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world."Unlike Jeanine Mathews, Marcus Eton did not move about the stage as he spoke. Instead he stood, rigidly stiff, in front of the five bowls that sat in the center of stage. Each bowl represented one of the five factions. Within the bowl was an element that symbolized the faction it represented. From left to right: Dauntless's bowl sat with flaming coals. Abnegation's held smooth grey stones. Candor's bowl was dead center, filled to the brim with sharped edged glass - just like their tongues. Erudite beside them was symbolized by cool, clear water. And Amity was on the far right, our bowl was filled with earth.It was over one of those bowls that I would have to allow my blood to drip, thus choosing the faction in which I would belong to for the rest of my life. There was no going back, no second chances.'Choose wisely, Aurora.' I told myself silently."Our dependence are now sixteen. They stand on the precipice of adulthood, and it is now up to them to decide what kind of people they will be." Eton's voice was solemn and gave equaling weight to each word as his blue eyes shifted to us, who were about to choose. "When we leave this room you will no longer be dependent but full-fledged members of our society."Adults."Decades ago our ancestors realized that it was not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality – of mankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray.""Those who blamed aggression formed Amity." He said and my mind immediately thought of Asher. His death came by my aggressive words, so I could indeed believe as Amity did."Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite." His eyes didn't even flicker towards the faction, who condemned him. "Those who blamed duplicity created Candor." I mentally rolled my eyes, their razor-edged tongues had more reason to cause war than all the factions combined."Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation. And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless."'Cowardice.' I replayed the word in my head. I wasn't sure if I'd ever thought of Dauntless in such a light. What was cowardice?All the times I had to sweep my problems under the rug, or allow Tommy Branson's hands to wander in a greeting hug. Every time I bit my tongue instead of saying what I thought was right. It was cowardice, fear of aggression that kept me from acting. But it wasn't my own cowardice. It was Amity's.Marcus Eton had even said so himself. Amity blamed aggression, even to the point of fearing it.All these years, it had been fear. Amity's stifling rules that had kept me silent and still. Binding me so that all that was left to express was forced smiles and pretended good-will.Who was I beyond Amity's hold?The aptitude test was supposed to answer that question, but instead it only made the matter worse. I was Divergent. Amity and Dauntless, Jonathan had said. Asher's death flickered through my mind one more time. Peaceful words would have saved him. Amity's believes proved true.But then the situation with the man on the bus replayed and I could not doubt Dauntless's ways either.I wanted to pace, to scream out my frustration. But I didn't move from my place in line. Eton was talking again but I ignored him as he continued his speech. If I was called to the center of the stage and held my bleeding hand over the earth filled Amity bowl my life would go back to exactly what it had always been. A tranquilized existence with kind lies.I didn't want that. I wanted to be free.'Dauntless,' I heard Jonathan's voice in my head exactly as he'd sounded the day before. He had said the result he'd chosen like it was the most obvious conclusion. Free to be myself in the test's simulation, I'd snapped and showed aggression on the bus.Was that me, beyond Amity?Was I brave?"Faction before blood," Marcus Eton said and I was startled from my thoughts when the entire auditorium replied. "Faction before blood!""Jonathan Ziegler." The first name was called."James Tucker."The Dauntless-born stumbled, falling flat on his face. A few snickers sounded throughout the room and the boys face turned beat red. Quickly, as fast as he could, he picked himself up off the floor and made his way to the center of the stage.Marcus Eton's face was impassive as he handed the boy a clean knife. James took it and looked from one bowl to another. I noted, surprisingly that his attention seemed to switch between only two of the bowls. Rather than giving them a general sweeping glance as many of the other sixteen-year-olds had done before him.He was contemplating which to decide, I realized with interest. He'd be the first transfer this year if he did not choose Dauntless.I followed his head as it flickered back and forth. He took a deep breath and then sliced into his hand.I bit into my bottom lip as I watched him reach out over Candor's bowl, blood fell upon glass."Candor." Marcus announced and the room erupted into applause and muttered outcries.I smiled at the boy's bravery, and tracked him off the stage and into the welcoming arms of Candor.The Dauntless would see him as a traitor no doubt. But his family could still see him if they so chose. Visiting Day was only a week and a half away. I wondered if they would?Most likely though they were as their faction and would see his transfer as a betrayal. Exactly as my parents would. I clenched my hands into fists at my side. Why couldn't everyone just be happy for the kid?He'd likely gotten Candor on his aptitude test. And as Jeanine Mathews had said, he knew where he belonged. Wasn't that the whole point of this?Everyone being where they belonged. It wasn't about one faction verses the other. It was about us all working together, finding peace and purpose in the factions we fit best in. So he'd chosen Candor over Dauntless. I could be happy for him, even if I was the only one.I paid attention to each transfer as if they were my life line."Morgan Stokes."A Candor boy."Amity." My mother would be pleased."Will Simmons"An Erudite boy."Dauntless.""Samantha Robinson."A Candor girl."Abnegation.""Caleb Prior."An Abnegation boy."Erudite."The outraged cries and muttering voices that filled the room were louder this time than with any other transfer so far. I watched as Caleb Prior chose not to turn and regard his former faction as he left the stage. I couldn't blame him, I wouldn't have been able to either. Everyone knew the tension between Erudite and Abnegation. The boy'd been brave to choose his faction's foe.Marcus Eton raised his voice, attempting to calm the murmuring crowd."Beatrice Prior," he announced Caleb Prior's sister and the room zeroed in on the girl like a hawk would its prey.The Abnegation girl's back was ramrod straight as she moved to the center of the stage. But I could still see the slight glance she threw to her brother, and the ever so slight nod of his head. Whatever was about to happen he approved. I looked back to the girl.Her steps faltered before she reached Eton, but she took the fresh knife with steady hands. She cut her palm quickly and then with a gasp her blood sizzled on burning coals."Dauntless."The following bout of mumbled words and gasping voices were nearly as loud as they were for her brother. I could hear the crowd wonder if the rumors about Abnegation were true.I didn't look toward Marcus Eton to speculate along with the crowd. I followed Beatrice Prior as she walked steadily towards Dauntless - thinking, if she could make it, so could I.Six more transfers were announced and then my name was called."Aurora Jacobs."I stepped out from my place in line. I didn't look toward Lilly or even behind me at my parents. I put one foot in front of the other, setting my resolve to do what was right for me. My courage to choose as I desired grew with each transfer as they'd decided to leave their birth faction behind.I was Divergent, so there was no one right choice for me. But I knew as I approached the bowls that in Amity a part of me wouldn't survive. It'd be snuffed out and buried along side Asher in the ground. I didn't want that, I would rather die fully than live partially as a lie.Maybe Dauntless wouldn't be better, but I would never know if I didn't try.I took the knife from Marcus Eton and looked down at the blade. The edge was sharp, it didn't drag against the skin. Blood pooled in my hand and my eyes flickered up to the five bowls - porcelain white and shiny in the stage's light.I spared one glance, a final look, toward the right. Amity's bowl was filled with rich, warm earth and I decided that it wouldn't be mine. I lifted my left hand as my eyes slid down the line. Dauntless's coals burned bright and they hissed as I dropped my blood into their flame."Dauntless," Marcus Eton's voice proclaimed.I watched Lily as she chose Amity, not even sparing a glance for the other bowls on the stage. I smiled. I was happy that she'd chosen exactly where she belonged.It was amazing how drastically one simple choice could change my life. This morning when I woke up I had belonged to Amity. Their laws of peace and harmony having dictated my life for the last sixteen years, even up to a few moments ago. It was shocking to think that their rules no longer applied to me.I still felt like I could simply walk back across the room and be as I was.But a drop of blood and a simple choice had changed my life forever. I could no longer call Amity my home.I stood now before a living mountain of black, declaring myself a Dauntless Initiate and my new faction before the blood of my family. I was a bright contrast against the Dauntless, dressed in Amity's red and yellow. I knew that my parent's eyes were on me. Being brave, just as my new faction would require me to be, I looked toward Amity's section of the audience. And noted that nearly the entire faction was staring at me. Some whispered, others pointed, an Amity choosing Dauntless was rare. But it was my mother's and father's faces that concerned me.There was confusion written in the crease of my father's brow. He truly had not expected me to choose anything else but Amity.I wondered if he was still proud of me. His earlier words of praise felt like a lead stone in my stomach. I swallowed to keep the bile down. Anger was sure to follow or so I imagined as my eyes slid down to my mother's face. Her eyes were visibly red, even from this side of the room. But I knew they weren't watery. The look upon her countenance was that of accusation. She was likely thinking of our conversation yesterday. I bet she was wondering if I'd known then that I wouldn't choose Amity.I was defective now, I reminded myself, a betrayer of Amity's beliefs.She would convince my father that I'd known. And he too would become angry.There was nothing I could do to appease their anger. I'd made my choice and I had made it for me. So I lifted my head and met my mother's gaze.I would miss them, just as I missed Asher. So like I had done at Asher's tree yesterday, I whisper "goodbye," under my breath and turned away.
'Faction before blood.'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So I'd chosen... Now what?The Dauntless were the first to leave. Unlike Amity, the Dauntless took the stairs. Twenty flights of stairs to be exact, and the Dauntless took them at a run. The energy in the stairwell was intoxicating. My voice soon joined the laughter that echoed off the walls. Whoops and shouts quickly followed as our downward spiral progressed. It was amazing how the sound of our voices carried above the thunderous chaotic beat of our feet.I watched as a Dauntless-born initiate began to take the stairs two at a time. 'He's crazy,' I thought, knowing full well that my legs would never allow me to do that. I was too short. And if I tried I would likely end up tumbling head first down the stairs.Hitting the next landing, the boy shot a look back over his shoulder at me. "Gotta keep up, Amity," he laughed and I felt my nose scrunch up in response.Did he seriously just challenge me? 'Fighting words,' my mind muttered, but I didn't stop to think about them twice. I grabbed a hold of the railing and jumped over the edge. It was just like jumping a farmer's fence. And I landed just in front of him on the next set of steps. He had to slam on the brakes or we were both going to fall down the stairs."Hey!" He hollered and it was my turn to laugh."Now, who's got to keep up?" I said with a large grin, and took off running again before him.He smirked at my words.We kept up with each other in a similar manner, minus me jumping any more rails. When we reached the ground floor the Dauntless spilled out into the street. They stopped traffic with their presence, and the other factions' members walking, quickly got out of our way. Most of the transfers fell behind as we hit the flat ground. They weren't used to running, but I was. A few blocks away from the Hub we turned a corner and a familiar noise signaled where we were going. I looked up toward the train tracks that ran high above the city's street. Only the Dauntless took the train. It wasn't even hard to imagine why as I watched the black clad bodies begin to climb. They looked like spiders, and the city was most definitely their web. Everything that existed within the fence was Dauntless’s domain. I skidded to a stop beneath the overpass and the Dauntless-born boy smiled at me, his teeth a brilliant white against his skin. He was tall, with dark skin and brown hair. I could even see that he had a tattoo on the back of his neck along his ear, but I wasn't close enough to him to make out what it was of. "Going up," he said as if he were going to ride in an elevator, and grabbed a hold of the support beam that the Dauntless were using as a makeshift ladder.'Going up,' was a bit of an understatement, I thought as I tried to follow the boy up the steel beam. It sure as hell wasn't like climbing a tree. A tree had branches and niches where one could easily place their feet. The beam had none of those as it was slick and smooth. And I cursed my Amity-issued shoes as my foot slipped on the flat surface. The clogs really weren't made for this.This was obviously part of Dauntless’s initiation. They were already trying to weed out the pack. If we couldn't climb the overpass and make it to the train, if we were afraid of heights and froze in fear we were no good to them.By the time I reached the top of the structure my knuckles were white, my palms were raw and the cut from the Choosing Ceremony stung in protest. I brushed my hands off on my red jeans, trying to dull the tingling sensation in them before looking back over the edge. We were at least four stories above the ground, and I was undeniably thankful that I wasn't one of those who was afraid of heights.The platform we stood on wasn't much more than a steel lip that ran along the railway's edge. Everyone was standing single file, with a few daredevils attempting to pass each other in line. The boy from the stairwell was one of those devils. He hopped the person beside him, and I shook my head thinking he was indeed crazy. And I decided not to follow him any longer, my eyes turning to scan the rest of the crowd that stood around me.The Dauntless members themselves weren't any less wild than the born initiate was. They bumped and jostled one another as the train's horn blew a second time.When the train finally came into view, it glided toward us with its lights flashing and its car doors opened wide. The bays were empty and waiting, waiting for us to pile in."Oh no," an Erudite boy mumbled a few paces down from me. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?""Yes,"Beatrice Prior, the only Abnegation transfer replied as the crowd took off running again. The Dauntless members were the first to board the train, and the born initiates were definitely used to this. I watched with wide eyes as they leapt and climbed up into the moving cars. It took them less than a minute, and then it was just us faction transfers left on the platform.Oh, it so wasn't surprising, why only Dauntless took the train!A Candor boy was in front of me; he grabbed a hold of the doorway's edge and hoisted himself up into the car. He made it look so easy. Not being nearly as tall as him, I didn't trust that I would be able to grasp hold of the train and still keep my footing. So instead, I picked up my pace. Running until I was basically equal with the center of the car's doorway, and then jumped, throwing my body sideways. It wasn't the most graceful move, but it was effective nonetheless. I was successfully on the train!However, the momentum of the jump caused me to roll, and suddenly, I found myself crashing into another's body, knocking his legs right out from under him — the Candor boy! "Damn it, Softy! Get off of me!" He yelled, his face mere inches away from mine."Technically you're on top," I squeaked, squished under his weight. "So why don't you get off of me." My voice wasn't nearly as loud as his, but I could hear the slight hint of aggression in it. The others on the train merely snickered in reply."Got a new girlfriend, Peter?" A girl adorned in black and white teased. "Shut up, Molly!" Our bodies were entangled, a mess of limbs and tousled red hair. It took a moment and then the boy, Peter, got his legs up and under him. He rose off of me, and I scurried back towards the train car's metal wall."Stupid Hippie shouldn't even be here." He said, shooting an angry glare back at me. I recognized the boy then, with his jaded eyes so not unlike the color of my own, and his shiny black hair. He'd been the Candor to my right at the Choosing Ceremony. Peter Hayes, he'd chosen Dauntless after me. I bit into my lower lip and straightened my back against the wall. I was secretly pleased with the fact that the Candor’s transfer had been up staged by an Amity. He might have the size and the hostility in order to ‘be here’ as he said, in Dauntless, but the crowd of witnesses at the choosing ceremony and the Dauntless leaders we traveled with wouldn’t remember his transfer, his choice. Not after my own. It was this hidden pleasure that helped me hold my tongue. As I previously noted, Peter had size on his side, and I wasn’t stupid enough to pick a fight – even if it was one only with words, for my Amity upbringing wouldn't allow me to fathom doing anything else (and that in itself was a stretch), no matter how much he ruffled my feathers – with a boy that was literally twice my size. So instead I ducked my head and brought my knees to my chest as I turned my gaze towards the still open doorway.I was surprised how well I'd spoken back to him, especially with his open animosity towards me. And although, I was currently withdrawn from those on the train - and they, in turn, chose to ignore me, after Peter’s words failed to gain any further reply - I realized that I wasn’t afraid or flustered. In the aptitude simulation I’d been a bit out of sorts with the-man-on-the-bus. But here, the minuscule bite in my words had been released without a second thought - in reality. Maybe it was because that man in the simulation had been an unknown, and Peter was a Candor. I had after-all been dealing with Candors my entire life. They were always up in people’s faces, the bigmouths that they were. Maybe that's why, unlike every other time, where I'd brushed my responses under the rug, I’d freely spoken my mind. Amity would undoubtably be shocked, and their culture bred into me did indeed scold me for having caused such a scene. But I wasn’t under Amity’s thumb any longer. And though I had no doubt my retort wasn’t exactly up to Dauntless’s bar. I was quite proud of myself anyway.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The city beyond the train rose up out of the ground like jagged teeth on a serrated blade. The gray and black buildings pieced the orange and blue sky violently. It wasn’t the most comforting image, so unlike what I was used to back in Amity, with its fields of green. But it was the perfect allegory for my future, or so I assumed as I watched the city before me begin to blur. The train was picking up speed. Slowly the car’s occupants began to join me on the floor. Those with common sense sank to sitting positions as our speed increased. The others, well, they literally had their legs knocked out from under them. The Candors laughed just as they had at Peter and I moments ago. Their laughter was the last thing I heard before the sound of the roaring wind filled the train car. I wasn’t sure how long the deafening silence lasted, an hour or maybe more, I could hardly tell. Yet when the sun kissed the horizon someone shouted, "Get ready!" And heads shot up like daisies in the spring. I scanned the train for whatever it was we were supposed to be preparing ourselves for, and saw nothing, but noted the gradual decline of our pace. A few brave souls stumbled towards the still open doorways in their own search and the Candor girl, Molly, gasped as she stared out beyond the car. "They're jumping!" She exclaimed.Four more bodies lunged for the doorway. And I, myself, was one of them, and gaped at what I found. The Dauntless in the cars ahead of ours were indeed jumping. Jumping out onto a single rooftop, several stories above the ground as the train passed by it. I had witnessed the Dauntless throwing themselves from the rushing train before. It was how they arrived for duty at the fence. I'd thought it was just another one of their games. A dare of sorts, just like when they would challenged one another to climb the sculpture out front of the Upper Levels building. But apparently, I was wrong.'Did the train even stop?' I wondered."What if we don't jump?" A boy dressed in black and white asked."What do you think, Al?" Peter answered with a cock to his brow and a wicked twist to his lips. "You'd be factionless.”"Great," another Candor grumbled from her place alongside Beatrice Prior, “Because leaping off a moving train onto a rooftop makes perfect sense.""Kind of what we signed up for," Molly pointed out. I internally groaned. It was exactly what we signed on for. And it definitely didn't bode well for what we were undoubtably going to face once we reached Dauntless's headquarters. I silently prayed, asking for this to be Dauntless’s initiation.And anyways, ’How many Candors were on this train!’"Well, I am not jumping," a small voice declared, startling everyone within the car. "I'd rather be factionless than dead!" Tears wet the cheeks of a boy dressed in a yellow shirt and brown jeans. An Amity! My eyes widened, stunned. I wasn't the only one. A pompous air slipped from my chest, deflating."You got to," the Candor beside Prior said."No! I won't!" The boy shook his head. "Factionless is better than dead!" He repeated his sentiment. His voice was filled with panic and dread, and all I could think about was how I could have missed his transfer. ’How in the world!?’ "You can't force him," the Abnegation girl stated.No, we couldn't force him, I agreed. But I wasn't about to just resign his fate to the factionless either.“Factionless isn’t better than death,” I told him, shifting my stance to block his view. “You can make the jump, any Amity could.”A few startled looks were directed my way as I said that. But I ignored them. I was lying. I hadn't a clue if the boy could make the jump. I knew for a fact that Lily couldn’t - the girl couldn’t jump for anything, let alone to save her life. “You know, if you don't try, you'll fail.” I challenged."It's better than dead."“No, it's not.""Yes it is!" He shouted, his eyes snapping up at me. And, man weren’t we a sight, two Amity arguing.His eyes were dark blue, like deep reflecting pools. I smirked. "It's not very Amity of you to argue with me."The boy blinked, then mumbled, "I'm not Amity."“So I figured," an Amity wouldn't have chosen Dauntless. The boy had to have gotten the Courageous on his test. "So prove it." I pushed, playing to one of my own buttons. I hadn't received a complete score of Dauntless like him, so I reasoned the boy had to have a few hotspots that I could push that were similar my own. "I can't," he said."Yes you can," I replied and held out my hand towards him. "You know how to run. You can obviously jump, and heights can't scare you that bad, if you’re here on this train." I wiggle my fingers at him. "Come on, get up. You're going to jump with me."The boy blinked again, startled and confused. "I-I'm what?!""You're going to jump with me.""N-no, I'm not."“Yes, you are. I need you to." 'I need you to prove a point for me,' I mentally continued, even if I had lied. I'd just declared before a train full of Candors that any Amity could make that jump. And now, I was bound and determined to prove that even a scared, whimpering boy -- who didn't even want to -- could make it."You won't refuse me, will you?"Love, peace, joy, and harmony... These things were bred into us from the cradle. I couldn't force him to jump, so instead I was giving him a reason to. I told him I needed him outright. Anyone born from Amity wouldn't be able to refuse such a blatant request. It would be mean and unfriendly if he did.I watched silently as he wavered, eyes flicking between me and the open doorway. He wasn't brave. His tear stained cheeks were evidence to that. But he was kind.I smiled brightly as he slipped his hand in mine, and so was I. It would have been unloving to leave him on the train. To a fate I'd been raised to believe was worse than death. The Amity part of me just couldn’t and wouldn’t allow it."Stupid Hippies," Peter mumbled as those in the train car began to get ready. The Abnegation girl linked her hand with the dark skinned Candor. Peter and Molly lined themselves up with the open doorway, Al not far behind them with an Erudite boy. "On three," Prior and her new friend agreed. "One...two..." I never heard them say three.Peter, Molly and the others had vacated their doorway before the two girls had even begun their count down, and I moved up quickly behind them, tugging the Amity-boy along with me. As the number two left their lips, I nodded to the boy and we jumped. A weightless feeling touched my body and then came the smash and grind of the gravel covered rooftop. The Amity-boy and I broke apart before we touched down.Pain rocked through me as I hit the roof, skidding a moment. I hissed along with the gravel. Man, grass was so much softer than this! Laughter rang out around me with a few groans and shouts. It seemed like everyone made it off the train with relative success. Peter was grinning like an idiot, having landed on his feet. Molly winced, holding her ankle and the Abnegation transfer was busy dusting gravel off her face - at least I wasn't the only one to wipe out after hitting the rooftop.The Amity-boy was laid out flat on his back, staring up at the sky. I shook my head and glanced down at my own form as I picked myself up. My red denim pants had withstood the gravel but the right arm and hem of my shirt hadn't. Small holes and tears littered the crimson fabric. I sighed as I brushed myself off. I was thankful that I hadn't taken my mother's advice and worn a long skirt. The soft cotton would have most certainly been torn to shreds by now. If not by the climb to the train or this final leap onto the rooftop, but then by my own hands. I never could move in a skirt and I would’ve most definitely ripped it in order to be free from its confining restraint.Small nicks and cuts accompanied the torn clothing, lying just beneath. I cringed as I picked a few pieces of rock and grit from a two inch long scrape on my right arm. It wasn't my first encounter with blood or tattered flesh and it was undoubtedly not going to be my last.A wail suddenly shattered the adrenaline induced euphoria of the rooftop and my head joined a handful of others that shot sideways at the sound, eyes searching for the source. A Dauntless-born girl stood along the roof's edge, screaming, her attention held captive by something below. A Dauntless-born boy held her around the waist, trying to restrain her so she didn't end up throwing herself off in her despair.It was the same way my father had held onto my mother after she'd been told of Asher's death. I didn't need to look over the roof's edge to know there was a body laid out on the pavement below. The Amity-boy turned to look at me. I schooled my expression and stated, “I said any Amity could make the jump, never said anything about a Dauntless-born,” and walked past him.My words might’ve sounded cold to him, but I was struggling not to replace the dead body, seven stories below us, with that of Asher’s.This situation was to similar too that of Asher’s death. I’d challenged the Amity-boy on the train just as I had Asher, pushing him to do something he knew he couldn’t do on his own. Something that could have easily meant his death. I shut my eyes as I tried to shut out the Dauntless girl’s cries. I could have killed someone else just to prove another stupid point (and a lie at that)! I balled my hands up into fists, wanting to scream. Dauntless was supposed to be different than Amity. It wasn’t supposed to remind me of Asher!A hand touched my shoulder and my eyes shot open in response. “Thank you,” The Amity-boy whispered.Astonishment was threatening to overwhelm me and push me into tears as my emotions ran high. I had only been able to sputter at the Amity-boy, floundering at how to respond. Thankfully, I was interrupted as a man shouted, “Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!” He stood on the opposite side of the roof, casually perched on the ledge as if someone hadn’t just fallen to their death. He was dark-skinned and his hair was graying at his temples. “This is the members’ entrance to our compound,” he gestured over the edge. “And if you can’t muster the will to jump, you don’t belong in Dauntless. Our initiates have the privilege of going first.”“We just jumped, now they want us to jump again?” The dark-skinned Candor girl alongside Beatrice Prior mumbled and I imagined the leaders of Dauntless liked the phrase; I say jump, you ask how high.Prior shrugged.“Is there water at the bottom?” A tall Erudite boy questioned next.“Who knows?” Max looked amused. “Well, someone’s got to go first. Who is it going to be?”Glances were tossed amongst the initiates, while others preferred to study the ground. No one looked eager to jump — and I didn’t blame them. Even though, that’s all that’s been asked of us up until now, I found myself hesitant. The Amity-boy shifted beside me and I threw him a cautious smile. ’Sorry, buddy, not this time.’ I thought, waiting for someone else to go first.“Me.”Heads whipped around in incredulity as Beatrice Prior stepped forward. ’Well, we all just got shown up by an Abnegation.’ I smiled at her victory.Max dropped down from the ledge, his eyes tracking the blonde-haired girl as she walked towards him. The wind whipped through her clothes, making the gray fabric of her dress snap. She looked over the edge, then suddenly back at Max.My curiosity peeked. The older man simply raised an eyebrow. And I wondered what she saw. She shrugged off her gray sweater, only to reveal more gray clothing underneath. Was there water at the bottom, just as the Erudite-boy had asked? Was that the reason why she was stripping off her outer layer?“Yeah, Stiff! Take it off!” Peter mockingly-teased. And the snickers that followed only encouraged him to continue, “Put it back on.”Molly swatted his arm in her amusement as she laughed.I merely rolled my eyes at the immaturity of my fellow initiates.Prior climbed up onto the ledge and I shifted from my place next to the Amity-boy. I wanted to see her drop. I wanted to hear if there was a splash. I dashed forward just as she jumped off the ledge, my heart in my throat. There was a hole in the concrete below, she disappeared through it and into the darkness. Silence followed.No scream or splash.“Well, aren’t you a curious one?” Max chuckled.And I merely shook my head. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, heart beating fast. The excitement from Beatrice’s jump had my eyes sparkling and I looked up at the Dauntless leader. “Not really.” I said, “I didn’t even get a hint of Erudite on my aptitude test.” Max laughed outright. “Looks like we have our next jumper!” He announced to the rooftop. My eyes went wide in reply, and I gulped.I spared a worried glance towards the Amity-boy before I climbed up on the ledge. I didn’t want to think about if I would see him at the bottom or not, wondering if he would jump. We couldn’t do this one together, and I was regrettably thankful for that. I couldn’t hold his hand here in Dauntless, even if I wanted to be kind. I couldn’t be responsible for his death. I wouldn’t be his murderer.I looked down at the gaping hole in the concrete. It looked ominous and dark. Max cleared his throat and I chose not to think. I bent my legs and leapt off the rooftop. The wind howled as the ground rushed towards me. Darkness engulfed me and I closed my eyes.For two beats I was left wondering, then suddenly I was bouncing back upwards. A net had caught my descent and tossed be back up into the air. My limbs stung from the impact but my heart soared at the fact that I wasn’t dead.I giggled as I came to a stop, cradled within the center of the net.Faceless hands sought me out, they pulled me towards the edge. I rolled off the net and into the arms of a young man. He had serious deep-set eyes, messy brown hair and a full lower lip. I gave him a confident smile in greeting, but he didn’t even crack his lips in the slightest as he helped me right myself. ’Such a warm welcoming committee,’ I thought.“Shit! Really!? You’ve got to be kidding me!” a voice groaned in exasperation from behind him. It belonged to a dark-haired girl that had three silver rings piercing her right eyebrow. “First a Stiff, and now a banjo strummin’ softy!”I was a little startled at her words. Seriously, what was it with these people and name calling? First the Candors and now the Dauntless - it was one thing to think such things within your head, but it was a completely other thing to say them out loud. The Amity in me reared its head as I scrunched my nose up in disgust. The young man seemed to pick up on my displeasure instantly and smirked in response.“Lauren,” he chided the dark-haired girl half-heartedly.“Yeah, yeah.” She grumbled, “They’re here for a reason.” Then said much louder,” But really! Where the fuck are the Dauntless-born initiates!?”I glanced up at the hole in the ceiling as if to answer her question and the young man just shook his head. “Name?” He asked me. “Aurora… Aurora Jacobs,” I replied.“Second Jumper - Aurora!” He announced and cheers and shouts filled the room.