𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒, divergent

⁰², A DAUNTLESS HAMBURGER

  Bravery wasn't about knowing what to do, it was about figuring it out in motion.

  And, while Marlowe was selfish and greedy, she wasn't cruel. So she held onto the handle on the inside of the train car and reached far for the Amity girl. Her eyes lit up, quickly grabbing onto Marlowe's hand. It was bumpy, as they worked together, but no matter, the girls ended up in a heap inside the train and this was all that mattered.

  "Thank you," The Amity girl breathed out, "I mean— I wouldn't have—"

  "You could've," Marlowe informed, "I swear your fingers were on the train. You just had to believe in yourself a little."

  "Sounds like bullshit," A dark-haired boy, cloaked in black clothing informed, looking down at the girls. A Dauntless born. Not that he wouldn't have to earn his place just as much as they would. "We got a Stiff two years in a row, that has to be a record."

  "How lucky for Dauntless."

  His eyebrow cocked up briefly, seeming to size Marlowe up for a minute.

  "I'm East."

  "Nice name," Marlowe noted dryly, attitude already aligning with the Dauntless born.

  "I'm Persephone," The Amity girl spoke up, smiling despite the growing tension.

  "Got a name, Stiff?"

  "Lowe."

  Marlowe Prior was Abnegation. She was the hungry. The starved. She was a thin mockery of what she could be. Abandoning the weight of her first name was simply step one in becoming this entire version of her.

  "And I have the weird name," East sighed to himself, "Good luck, you'll need it."

  And she didn't exactly believe him. Marlowe thought it was just some heavy comment meant to instill fear in new recruits. Until people started jumping off the train.

  "They're crazy," Persephone laughed, watching East leap alongside two other Dauntless born onto the safety of a rooftop.

  Marlowe looked to the left, realizing they were nearing the end of the building.

  "Yeah, well, I guess so are we," Marlowe breathed out, "On three."

  "There's a gap!"

  "One."

  "I can't!"

  "Two!"

  "Lowe—!"

  "Three!"

  Despite Persephone's shaky arguments, when Marlowe shouted the number, both girls went tumbling from the train. Persephone hit the pebbles harshly, and Marlowe somehow gracefully rolled, landing face-up on the roof.

  "Well, we're not Factionless yet," Marlowe breathed out, making Persephone laugh shortly.

  "Hey!" The teens quickly gathered themselves, joining the crowd of initiates as a gravelly voice spoke up, "Listen! My name is Max, I am one of the leaders of your new faction! Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."

  No one was eager to jump. Until Marlowe began to step forward and East saw it too quickly, his feet moving faster and stationing him on the ledge of this seemingly endless fall. Dauntless born were silent, not cheering, because they weren't sure if East would survive or not.

  But he wiped off the fear, grinned, and cannonballed into nothing-ness.

  "Who's next?"

  Marlowe wasn't letting anyone take this from her. She shoved through the crowd, opposing the gray clothes she wore. The brunette stared down, searching for something only to be met with shrewd darkness. She smiled lightly at Persephone's supportive cheer, turning to set eyes on the girl before allowing her body to fall backward.