chapter two. | They're Jumping!

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A short while later, I'm running and jumping on a train. I land in the cart and laugh hysterically. I can feel the stares of others, but I pay them no mind. I'm free. I'm free from my abusive father. I'm going to see my brother again. Tobias. The name hits me like a brick. I get to see him again. A smile is immediately on my face. Until I see someone running beside the train. It's an Erudite transfer. I help her onto the train and she lands on top of me. We both laugh before we sit down.
"Thanks." She says, breathlessly.
"No problem," I smile, "I'm Ellianna."
"Adaline."

Adaline and I sit there for the rest of the ride in silence. It's a comfortable silence though. Soon enough, I hear someone scream,
"THEY'RE JUMPING!"
Adaline and I both race towards the front of the train car and are met with people jumping from the train to a rooftop. I should be scared. Terrified, even. Like the other initiates. I'm not though. And that is what scares me.
Adaline shakes my shoulder. I guess I went off into my own world.
"What?"
"We have to jump. Like now."
I turn my head to see a Candor boy, Jason, jump off the train.
"Then let's jump." I grab her hand and run, pulling her with me. Then, we jump. It's like flying. Magical and free. Until we landed on the gravel rooftop.

I stood up, pulling Adaline up with me. I noticed no one, but Adaline looking my way so I quickly stripped off my dress.
"Why are you undressing, Ellianna?!" Adaline's eyes looked as though they were going to burst out of their sockets. I finally got the dress off and took my bun down, letting my brown locks cascade a little past my shoulders.
"I had clothes on underneath. My brother gave them to me before he transferred."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I'm most likely going to see-" I was interrupted by a loud, male voice. I stood on my tiptoes to see who was talking. There was a male with blonde hair pushed back with lots of gel, lots of piercings, and block tattoos going down either side of his neck and forearms.
"Listen up! My name is Eric! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" The man, Eric, shouts and stands on the ledge like it's a sidewalk. Like someone didn't just fall to her death from it. "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."
"You want us to jump off a building?!" An Erudite transfer, Maya I think, squeaks.
Eric smirks, "Yes. So who's going first?"
No one stepped up. Not even the dauntless born. I don't hesitate when I walk to the ledge. My mind is almost completely blank. All I'm thinking about is seeing my brother.
"Why is the Stiff wearing those clothes?" Jason yells.
"I don't know.." Eric mutters under his breath and looks at me like I have three heads. I step onto the ledge as I hear Jason speak to his friends,
"Seems like the Stiff is scandalous." He and his friends, Addison and Tyler, snicker. Well, Addison sounds like a dying cat.
"You can rot in hell!" I yell at him and flip him off before falling off the ledge. I don't scream in terror. I smile and scream in delight.

I land on a wide net. I feel someone grab my arms and pull me down from the net. Then, I see those dark, stormy blue eyes that I have always been able to find comfort in. I feel tears well up in my eyes. I don't say anything. I can't say anything. We both just stare at each other. This staring contest of sorts lasts for a few minutes before he cracks a small smile.
"What's your name?" My older brother, who I haven't seen in a little over a year, asks me. I look at him like he's stupid, then I realize what he's talking about.
I stutter, "I-It's Ellian.." I trail off, thinking. Do I really want to keep my given name? I want to leave my abnegation life in the past. The name Ellianna just doesn't suit me anymore, "My name's Ellia."
Tobias smiles and then shouts into the dark void of Dauntless, "FIRST JUMPER: ELLIA!" Then he turns to me and smiles wider, "Welcome to Dauntless." I hear shouts and whoops.

As my eyes adjust to the darkness of Dauntless, I see the bodies and faces of dauntless members. I let them pull me into their crowd of chaos. I hear a scream then hear Tobias yell, "SECOND JUMPER: ADALINE."
I smile as Adaline is moved next to me. Maybe this won't be as bad as Marcus made it sound.
_____________________________
After the last person has jumped and the dauntless born initiates are gone, Tobias turns towards us and speaks,
"Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor," he says. "My name is Four." I almost laugh, but then I remember that I also changed my name. I understand why he doesn't want to be associated with his past.
"Four? Like the number?" A transfer boy from Candor asks, laughing. I count all the transfers. There's five Candor transfers, three boys and two girls, two Amity transfers, two girls, and three Erudite transfers, two girls and one boy. Then there's me. So, there are ten transfers in all.
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" My brother asks, his voice laced with deathly quiet.
"No." The boy squeaks. I lean over to Adaline and whisper,
"He looks like he's about to pee himself." She laughs quietly, trying to keep her voice low.
Four's eyes skirt to mine before going back to talking,
""Good. We're about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It's-" He was cut off by the same Candor boy.
"The Pit?," he snickers, "Clever name."
By now, To-Four looks calmly, how do I say this, pissed off. I watch as he slowly walks toward the boy.
"What's your name?"
"Xander." I swear I heard him squeak.
"Well, Xander, the first lesson you'll learn from me is, if you want to survive here, is to keep your opinions to yourself and keep your big mouth shut. Understand?"
I laugh quietly as Xander nods, shaking all over, then cover it with a cough as Four's head shoots in my direction.
He smirks, something I have never seen my brother do, and turns around,
"Follow me."
_____________________________
I don't really pay attention to the tour. I don't realize it's over until I feel Adaline drag me over to two beds in the corner. They both have trunks under them.
"You have five minutes to get to dinner. Get dressed." I watch Four walk out and catch sight of black ink creeping along his neck on either side. That's new.

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⏰ Last updated: Feb 04, 2020 ⏰

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