A/N: Hiiii I'm back! My trip was wonderful, we drove to Branson, MO and had a few days of fun. I got back yesterday evening. Fortunately, I had this prewritten chapter, because I'm having slight writer's block right now. Hope you enjoy!
For a few seconds I just stare up at him, shock and relief and happiness crashing through me. I want to hug him, but before I can, he asks, "Name, initiate?"
Does he remember me? Does he recognize me? There's no way he's forgotten what I look like after only a year. I look right into his eyes, trying to hide my desperation.
He looks back, and in his eyes, I see the light of recognition. Thank goodness. But I also see something else. I see my own desperation mirrored in his eyes. I see a message. But what it is eludes me.
Suddenly, the answer hits me. He doesn't want anyone to know that we know each other. Why, I'm not sure. But I trust my brother's judgement.
I break eye contact - we were only looking into each other's eyes for a second. "Um..."
I hesitate. Camilla is an Abnegation name. I'm the daughter of one of the most influential Abnegation leaders. Is that really how I want to be recognized here?
"You can pick a new one, but choose wisely. You don't get to pick again." Tobias tells me.
The answer is no. I don't want to be Camilla Eaton, not in Dauntless. I don't want to be tied to my past.
"Cammi." I finally say. I look back into Tobias' eyes, and I see pride there. "My name is Cammi."
Tobias looks over his shoulder. "Second jumper, Cammi!" Tobias' voice is just as I remember it; deep, comforting. Except it's louder than I've ever heard before. You don't exactly get many opportunities to scream, being an Abnegation child in an abusive household, at least on purpose.
I hear a crowd starting to cheer. I squint in the dark, and, suddenly, I see them; so many of them, cheering and driving their fists into the air. Tobias grabs my arms and helps me down from the raised platform. In the process, he manages to get close enough to whisper, "Later."
I give him a small nod, so only he sees it, and let go of his hands. I start walking over to the first jumper, the beautiful Dauntless-born girl. As I do, I hear a girl's voice to my side, talking. "Four, I don't believe it. We don't get any Abnegation transfers for over ten years, then we suddenly get two in two consecutive years. What have they started putting in the water over there?" I turn to see a dark-haired girl that has three silver rings through one of her eyebrows.
Tobias replies, "I don't know, Lauren." I remember Tori talking about Tobias. She said that Four was Tobias' Dauntless name. Why Four?
I stand beside the first jumper. I want to think about it, but, before I have the chance, I hear another person hit the net. I glance over to see that it's Rowan.
I wasn't planning to talk to anyone, but, apparently, the first jumper had different plans.
"Hi, I'm Juniper." She holds out her hand, and I shake it, awkwardly. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to handshakes.
"Cammi."
"Yeah, I heard." She flashes me a smile, and it seems sincere. "You were impressive, you know. Most transfers scream the whole way down, you just had a short outburst near the top."
For some reason, being complimented by this Dauntless-born makes me proud. "Thanks. Your backflip was amazing."
She smiles even brighter. "You think so? I've been working to perfect it so I could flip into the net on Choosing Day."
Right then, Rowan walks up to join us. "Hey, Juniper!" They hug. I wonder what the relationship between them is.
When they separate, Rowan continues his conversation. "Congrats. Although we all knew you would be the first jumper. I see you've met... " He trails off and stares at me. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to ask your real name on the train."
I laugh. "Well, I told you I didn't need one. It's Cammi."
Rowan chuckles, turning to Juniper. "Well, this is Cammi, also known as That Girl Who Kicked Zayden's Ass."
Juniper laughs, a bright laugh that lights up her whole face. "You were the one who did that? You got more zest in you than what shows, Cammi!"
I feel a blush starting to creep up my neck. I'm not used to so much attention. "Thanks. Anyway, why was everyone cheering for you? And how did Rowan know you were going to be the first jumper?" I'm curious about Juniper. She looks like one of those stuck-up girls, but she's actually really nice.
"Well, my name is Juniper. That's a kind of tree. But if you remove the n and the i, and replace them with an m, you get Jumper. Some people in the compound say my parents named me that so I would be the first jumper."
"And they were right!" Rowan claps Juniper on the back, hard enough to make me wince. But Juniper doesn't seem fazed by the rough show of affection. "Juniper here is the first jumper! But her Dauntless fame doesn't end there. When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, gun shooting, and knife throwing, she's the best one you'll find from our initiate class. I don't even mind getting my ass kicked by her, she's too good for anyone else our age."
By now, Juniper is the one blushing. Her cheeks are flushed and her smile is tight with embarrassment. "Oh, come on, Rowan." She smacks his arm playfully. "I'm not all that."
By this time, several more initiates have jumped, mostly Dauntless-borns, and joined us against the wall. I look back just in time to see Lavender land on the net. She was the ninth one to jump.
She rushes over to me and envelopes me in a hug. I stiffen, partially from the pain of her touching my back, which has been whipped far too many times, and partially from the unusual gesture. The Amity greet each other by hugging, while the Abnegation just bow their heads, due to their distaste of physical contact. The only people who have ever hugged me are my mother and Tobias.
Lavender finally lets go, and I notice that Rowan and Juniper are staring at us. I feel my cheeks begin to heat up again. "Rowan, Juniper, this is Lavender. Lavender, this is Rowan and Juniper."
"Oh, right! You're the first and third jumpers!" She exclaims, sending a huge smile in their direction.
"And you're the Amity that's about to overcome the power of the bread." Rowan shoots back, grinning at her.
Lavender makes a face. "Don't talk about the bread. I figured out what was going on with it when I was thirteen-"
"How the heck did you do that?" Rowan breaks in. "Some Amity don't realize it their whole lives."
"Oh, I broke into one of the kitchen drawers that holds the recipe books." She says innocently.
Juniper, Rowan, and I just stare at her.
"What?" She asks, casually. "I wanted to bake some special cookies. It was a complete accident that I found out."
"Yep." Juniper says, slinging an arm around Lavender's shoulders. "You definitely belong in Dauntless."
Lavender beams. "Continue your story." urges Rowan. "This is way more interesting than listening to stories of Amity strumming banjos and farming all day."
Lavender makes another face. "I never could get the hang of the banjo. The guitar was even worse. Anyways, I found out what was going on with it when I was thirteen, and I never ate another bite. I hope the Dauntless have better bread, because I really miss it. Not the peace serum, I mean just the taste of bread."
"Oh, trust me, we have great bread. It's not as good as our cake, though." Rowan assures her.
Ethan then makes his way over to us, followed by Tobias - or should I call him Four? Ethan must have been the last jumper. Understandable, with his fear of heights.
"Initiates, follow us!"
They lead us down one of the many dark hallways that make up the Dauntless compound. They're lit by dim blue lanterns at large intervals. The stone tunnels are narrow, and the ceiling slopes down. It's not good for my claustrophobia. I can't imagine Tobias having an easy time in these tunnels either. But he looks perfectly fine, hardly tense. So he's either gotten over his claustrophobia or is hiding it well. I would bet that it's the latter.
Abruptly, everyone stops. I just manage to save my face from smacking into an Erudite girl, one of two. Lauren and Tobias turn to face us. Their arms are crossed, and their expressions are stern.
"This is where we split up." Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place."
She smiles and waves them towards her. "Have fun with him." Rowan whispers in my ear, jerking his thumb at Tobias. Oh, believe me, I will.
Juniper comes up from behind us, and, with a final wave, they break off from the transfers and follow Lauren and the rest of the Dauntless-borns. I examine who is left. The majority of the initiates were originally from Dauntless, so only eight people are left. There are three Candor transfers, three Erudite transfers, one Amity transfer, and one Abnegation transfer; me.
Tobias starts talking to us. "Most of the time, I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor. My name is Four."
"Four? The number Four? What happened, one through three were taken?" Zayden snorts. He really needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut. (A/N: Yes, that's a joke from the movie, but I needed one for this part, don't kill me)
Tobias walks up to Zayden and leans down, so he is right in his face. His eyes are narrowed, and his glare is hostile. "Is there a problem, transfer?"
Zayden's eyes have dilated in fear. He shakes his head, three times, quickly. He's clearly afraid.
"What's your name?" His voice is quiet. Dangerous.
"Zayden." He sounds more like he's squealing than talking at this point.
"Well, Zayden. There's a reason I joined Dauntless, not Candor, and that reason is not so I could put up with Candor smart-mouths." He spits at Zayden. I stare at Tobias, half shocked and half horrified. Who has my brother become? Is this an act, or is this his nature now? "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"
Zayden nods, his lips pursed.
"As I was saying. We are about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It is the center of life here in Dauntless."
Tobias turns around and starts walking toward the end of the hallway, which ends in shadow. All of the transfer initiates follow, like obedient puppies. Everyone is silent.
I can hear Zayden grumbling something under his breath to Dante, but I can't make out what it is.
There is a set of double doors at the end of the hallway, and Tobias pushes them open. We all walk into 'the Pit', and, I swear, every transfer initiate's jaw drops.
'Pit' describes this place perfectly. It is a massive underground cavern, so big that I can't even see the other end of it. It is organized into several stories, and into the walls of each of these stories, there are stores for everything and activities of every kind. The carved stone paths and steps that connect them are precarious, and there aren't any railings. Just watching young Dauntless children run along them makes my stomach churn.
There is a lot of sunlight for an underground cavern, and I soon realize that it comes from the glass roof of the Pit. Above the glass, there is a building that lets in a lot of sun. It would have looked like any other building from the train. No wonder nobody knows where Dauntless headquarters are. Blue lanterns light up the Pit in random places, getting brighter as the sun goes down.
The Pit is full of Dauntless, hundreds of them. They are dressed in black, of course, and they weave in and out of the shops, talk in the Pit, and just mingle. Strangely, there aren't any old Dauntless.
I allow myself to think of the orderly streets of Abnegation for a second, then compare it to the Dauntless chaos. I realize that I prefer this, this huge place full of excitement and fun and life, rather than the dull lifestyle I would have had in Abnegation, if I had, for some reason, stayed.
"If you'll follow me," says Tobias, after letting us observe the Pit for about half a minute, "I'll show you the Chasm."
As Tobias leads us to the Chasm, I see black ink poking out from the collar of his T-shirt. A tattoo. Tobias' appearance, compared to many other Dauntless, is very tame, but he does have something Dauntless on him.
Tobias leads us to the right side of the Pit, and as we approach, I hear water roaring. It's dark, so I can't see much until I realize that the floor has ended at an iron barrier. I look over the end, and stand, mesmerized, by the underground river that flows several stories below us. Water hits the wall and sprays upward towards us. Parts of the river are calmer, but the side farthest to the right is completely wild and untamed.
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" Tobias yells, fighting to be heard above the river's symphony. "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned."
We all start moving away from the railing. Lavender and Ethan have been beside me his whole time, but only now do any of us speak. "Wow." Lavender says.
"Yeah. Wow." I echo.
We start walking across the Pit, to a gigantic hole in the wall. As we walk toward it, I look around. It's a well-lit room filled with long tables and benches. There are lots of people, and the sound of clinking dishes and chatter fills the room. A dining hall.
We walk inside, and the Dauntless stand. They start applauding us. They clap, stomp their feet, shout, and cheer. The noise makes me smile. A quick glance over at Lavender and Ethan tells me that they're smiling as well.
We look for seats, and, somehow, we end up at a mostly empty table at the end of the room, where my brother is sitting. I sit between Lavender and Tobias, and Ethan sits across from Lavender. I look at what's being served, and I stare, confused, at the round meat pieces that sit between two circular bread slices. This is not something we had in Abnegation.
Tobias nudges me with his shoulder and hands me some red sauce in a bowl. "Those are hamburgers. The meat is beef. Put this on it. It's called ketchup." He explains quietly. He must have noticed the puzzled glances I kept throwing at the 'hamburger'.
I feel my cheeks flush slightly as I notice that nobody else had any trouble identifying the new food. Thankfully, my friends didn't notice my predicament.
"I had the same reaction as you, don't worry." Tobias chuckles quietly, probably in recollection of a memory.
I want to talk to my brother more, but, suddenly, the dining hall falls silent. I look over my shoulder, to see a young man stride in. This man must be important, for it to be so quiet when he walks in. His hair is long and dark, and it looks like he put too much hair gel in it. The only reason I know what that is is because I see a lot of Candor boys wear it in my school. His face is covered with a lot of piercings. I mean, a lot. In some standards, he could be handsome, but I get a menacing aura off of him. His cold eyes confirm that he is not someone who you want to mess with.
"Who's that?" Lavender questions, her voice trembling slightly.
"He's a Dauntless leader." Tobias hisses back. "His name is Eric."
Lavender's eyes widen. I can guess what's running through her mind. This guy looks so young. How is he a leader? He is either very brave - which I doubt - or very ruthless.
Eric is scanning the room, and his eyes rest on us. He starts sauntering over to our table. Beside me, I can tell that Tobias is growing tense.
He stops when he's standing right behind me and Tobias. "Well, well, well, who are these three?" His voice makes me shiver. It's cold, just like his eyes, and venomous.
"This is Ethan, Lavender, and Cammi." Tobias responds, without looking at Eric.
Eric looks at me and wiggles his eyebrows. "Ooh, a Stiff. How long do you think you're going to last in Dauntless?" He is smiling, and his smile is hideous.
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself. "A good long time." I snap back.
Tobias glares at me. I don't think he's angry, he's just telling me to cool it. I look up and meet Eric's eyes. His smile has turned to a frown, and his expression is irritated. "That mouth won't get you anywhere in Dauntless, you got that?" He says, leaning a bit closer to me. I can smell his stale breath, and want to vomit, preferably all over him. I can feel Tobias tensing even more.
I know it wasn't smart to respond to Eric's taunting the first time, and I'm certainly not going to ask him to reprimand me again. I nod, once, my jaw set. Eric leans back again and smiles. "Good."
He turns his attention to my brother. "Four, have you been up to something recently?"
"Nothing much." Tobias replies, never looking up from his meal.
Eric starts tapping his fingers against the table. The sound is distracting, which I would guess is his intention.
I don't think Tobias and Eric are friends. Tobias wouldn't be so tense if Eric was a friend. But what is Tobias to Eric then? An enemy? But why would Tobias be Eric's enemy, if Eric is a leader and Tobias is not?
"Well, you better give Max an answer soon, buddy." Eric says, never ceasing tapping on the table. "You know he doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"He already has his answer." Tobias' tone is flat. "How many times have I told him no?"
"Well, I'll make sure to let Max know that." Eric finally stops tapping, and claps Tobias on the shoulder. I wince. That looks painful. Then, with a final wink at us, he walks away.
I want to ask Tobias about Eric, but I probably shouldn't, not in front of Lavender and Ethan.
I hear a Dauntless member call Four's name, and Tobias turns away. I look at Lavender and Ethan, who are both staring at me. "What?" I question.
"Nothing." Ethan replies. "Except for the fact that you challenged both Zayden and Eric in the same day."
"So?"
"You got some serious guts. Just be careful, you don't want to get scalped." Ethan shakes his head, in awe or disappointment, I can't tell. Lavender wraps her arm around me.
I reply, "I thought my guts would get gutted, not scalped."
A/N: There you go! You might be wondering why the speech that Four gives in this book is nearly the same as the one in Divergent. Well, it is obvious that this speech was memorized, committed to memory as part of the job of being initiation instructor. I don't know about you, but if I were to memorize a speech, it would be nearly the same every time I gave it. I wouldn't bother trying to change the order or the words or anything, because that's the point of memorization.
I bet you can guess what comes next... Next chapter will be up soon, I'm not exactly sure when. I want to have it up sometime between today and Friday, but I can't make any guarantees.
Byeeee!