Delirium (A Divergent Fanfiction)

Chapter Three: The Transfer

I had slit my hand and the blood had fallen. I had made my choice. The steam of the blood on the hot coals drifted to my face and I inhaled the moisture. As I accepted a napkin and turned around, I avoided making any eye contact with my Father as I feared seeing the hurt in his eyes. I stood behind the Dauntless born initiates that had decided to remain in their faction and soaked up as much blood from my hand as I could. Both Dauntless members and initiates proudly thumped me on my shoulders as I joined them. I wiped most of the blood from my hand off with the napkin and the rest I failed to scrub off I wiped onto my skirt.

I had never contemplated transferring to Dauntless and was surprised at how calm I remained, as if I was at peace with my choice. The rest of the initiates had soon chosen to stay in their faction or transfer. By the time there were no more initiates left to choose, I glanced around me, realizing I was the only Amity to transfer to Dauntless. It must have been more surprising to everyone else than me considering I had gone from a faction devout of aggression to a faction that thrived on it. The Dauntless-borns that surrounded me were taller than I was. They're all dressed in black: a Dauntless trademark.

As soon as the ceremony was over, the Dauntless headed towards the door, before the other factions. I followed along with the pack, acting as if that was where I was meant to be and had been my whole life. I walked with my head held high like the rest as I followed the dark-clothed group to a staircase rather than the elevator. All the Dauntless-borns suddenly broke into a sprint and I couldn't help but smile as I joined in, a chorus of shouting and whooping drifting around me. I continued smiling even when we had reached the first floor and bursted through the door. I was engulfed by crisp air and I closed my eyes as I breathed it in. The cool air felt soothing in my burning lungs. I took deep breaths and slowed my heart rate. The transfers around me were huffing along as they followed the Dauntless, but I kept up with little effort, blending into the pack, though my clothing set me apart.

"What the hell is going on?!" An Erudite boy exclaimed as he fell behind in the group.

"Just keep running!" I shouted back to him, a large grin stretching across my face as I turned back around. I thanked the open fields of Amity that had unknowingly helped me prepare for the amount of running we had done. I enjoyed running and over the years I had gotten reasonably good at it.

I gaped in amazement as the Dauntless led the initiates through a turn and to the whir of a train as it chugged along. "No way." I said quietly to myself, excited as I remembered my previous desires to jump from and into the moving train as the Dauntless always did. I saw the Erudite boy's face fall, his jaw dropping as he spotted the train.

"Are we--" he began. "Are we supposed to jump that thing?!" His voice was full of shock and what almost sounded like disgust.

"They aren't called "Dauntless" for nothing!" I responded, staring at my reflection in the train windows. The blob of Dauntless formed a line at the edge of the train tracks. The doors of the train cars were all open, inviting us in. The Dauntless members piled into the train cars and left the initiates to flounder before working up the courage to jump on the train. I was the first one on, leaping as soon as the first empty train car could reach me. My feet slammed onto the floor of the train and I tumbled forward, completing a somersault before pulling myself to my feet. I grabbed one of the bars suspended on the side of the train as several other initiates piled into the train car, which was the sixth train car from the last. I found myself in a car of only Dauntless-born initiates, leaving the other transfers behind. The other initiates were out of breath, as was I, but they wore different expressions. I still had the thrilled smile glued on my face while the others seemed to be realizing this was one part of their faction they wouldn't have minded leaving.

Adrenaline pumped through my body as I stood up straight, taking my hands off my knees as I had rested as I struggled for breath. I turned around to look out the window, seeing the glowing sun as it sunk behind the horizon, lighting the sky with brilliant orange and pink shades. My lean body was being tested by the wind drifting through the open train door as I struggled to keep my balance. Leaning my back against the wall of the train helped as I steadied myself and continued admiring the sight that was visible out the train window over the city building tops.