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Katie was making a horrible mistake.
She knew she had made many bad choices in her life but currently standing underneath the train track bridge as all the other chosen Dauntless members start climbing up the metal pillars without a second thought and hurrying to the tracks.
Gulping a little as she was never good at sports, she wondering how she ever thought was a Dauntless was ever a good pick for her, and knew she was going to die.
Shaking her head to be rid of all her ill and scary thoughts, she patted down her violet dress and soon started climbing up. Being one of the last to actually get climbing but she felt much calmer knowing someone wasn't going to look up her dress as they climbed below her. She knew she'd have to get out of her comfort zone but she still hated the thought of showing her body or underwear to mere strangers so soon.
Her grey cardigan sleeves were pulled over her hands, making her grip worse but stopping the old, rusty and sharp metal from digging into her hands and cutting them while she climbed and jumped up.
Making good time for it being her first time ever and standing a little away from the edge once she was the top. Glancing down to the members dressed in blacks and reds that showed they were born in the Dauntless fraction and knew what they were doing. She knew she'd just have to follow them along and copy what they do to reach her new fraction.
But than she heard the train horn from behind and turned to find it steaming towards them with great speed. Stepping back, close to the edge and hoping the force of air won't shove her over completely. Glancing back to the Dauntless young adults and finding them to be cheering and whooping like a bunch of dunks while they started running along the sides of the tracks.
Dread filled her as she had a really bad feeling over what was heading her way next and soon got running after them. Silently praying to wrong in her life over this next stage of her life. The smoke blinding her as the front of the train whipped past and as she coughed up her insides, the first lot of Dauntless born adults were grabbing train handles on the outside and sliding the train doors open.
Orders for everyone to run along and hop in if they wanted to reach their new fraction in time to be welcomed and accepted. Katie wasn't the best runner, she hated any form of exercise that wasn't throwing things in annoyance when she couldn't figure a problem out.
But she still ran, she won't allow herself to become frictionless so early on in the next stage of her life. Her parents were proud over her, no matter what she would have chosen and she knew her brother was silently praying for her happiness as he worked.
She couldn't let their good will and kindness down by giving up so soon.
And she never grinned prouder as she grabbed the train handle and yanked herself inside the train. A few of the Dauntless was still standing by the open doors, holding hands out and helping to pull others in that were struggling a little. Most had already sat down against the walls, catching their breaths and resting up while they could. Letting strangers chose their own fate by either getting on the train by themselves or not at all.
Katie slid down, a little close to the open door but not close enough to fall out if she get's shoved by anyone who might sit beside her. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back and catching her breath while her heart stayed beating like mad inside her chest.
"Congrats, you made it" A voice spoke from her left and she felt someone slide down against the wall, sitting beside her.
"Is it me or are they trying to kill us?" Katie wheezed out as she opened her eyes, still red in the face and struggling to breath a little but was alive enough to add slight humour to her tone.
"Nah, I'm rather certain they are trying to kill us" The man beside her answered with a smug smirk as she snorted over his response.
Katie glanced to him, taking notice over him wearing worn and old looking Dauntless clothes. Black jeans and black polo top but a red and white leather jacket with a golden stripe. His boots where black and red, his clothing stating he was a Dauntless born kid. He was slightly taller than her by a few inches and held a rather toned body, showing he was using to working out unlike her. Pale skin that almost seemed sickly but brought out his dark eyes and his pure black, silky hair in the form of an old fashion mullet.
"Katie" Katie introduced herself with a grin, holding her hand out.
"Keith" Keith, the strange man beside her, introduced himself with a small smirk and shook her hand with his black leather, fingerless gloved hands, using both to shake her single one offered to him.
"A pleasure to meet you. At least now one person know what name to place on my brave as I drop dread from drowning in my own sweat" Katie smiled, letting her hands drop back into her dress skirt as Keith rested back and sloughing a little beside her.
"Yeah, these Dauntless brats are truly wild and hold a death wish. I thought I was bad but now, I'm thinking I've been rather sane" Keith groaned out, knowing he'd be feeling all of his body parts in the morning thanks to the unexpected rush work out.
"You aren't one?" Katie asked a little surprised, assuming he was by his clothing. Katie herself was on the short side with a slim but curvy body. She wasn't flat chested thanks to late puberty hitting her last year and filling her out in all the right places. She had fair skin with adorable freckles dotted across her cheeks and nose, a pair of round and nerdy looking glasses pushed up her nose. She had long, pretty hazel hair that ended at her lower back and was left with a lilac hair back keeping her face out of her face, didn't work much against a train in the end. Big and gorgeous golden eyes with a warrior flame lit within them and pure intelligence.
"I was born into factionless. My father was Amity while my mom was Dauntless it seems. But apparently my mom was kicked out and became factionless and well, she met my Dad when he was on a supply run. He thought she was still in a fraction and she never said she wasn't. They fell in love, talking on his supply runs and well, became a secret couple. Mom ended up having me and at some point, dropped me off to my father before disappearing, assuming starved to death on the streets somewhere. Father took well care of me but there was a fire during a supply run he took me on with him, a train had crashed along the Amity tracks and he died. I survived but no one came to collect me .. left me to be factionless" Keith mumbled back with his life story as he wasn't completely ashamed over his past and knew he could trust his newly gained friend beside him. Plus, being a year older than everyone else had it's perks since he's been working to join Dauntless for years at this point and must have held a head start on training by now.
"And due to the law stating everyone must take the test, those born in factionless can take a test with the other fraction children every five years. My parents were trying to gain a new law so every factionless that turned twenty one would take the test like everyone else their age instead of having to wait until the special five year gap happened. It stopped them joining up older than those around them and making them seem the odd ones out" Katie frowned as she held her chin, thinking over it all and knowing it wasn't fair on those born in the factionless to be suffering like they were when it came to their chance of taking a test to chose a new fraction once they were twenty one. But instead, once the mark of five years of normal testing has happened, they allow one test to hold all the factionless children to take the test and chose. Leaving them to always be older than any other twenty one year old around them, unless they were lucky enough to turn the same age that year. Her parents had been fighting to make it fairer for them but two fractions kept arguing against it.
"Lucky for me, I'm only an extra year older than everyone else here and I'm short for my age so no one will notice. I was lucky the five year gap for frictionless to take tests had lined up to just be a year after my twenty first birthday" Keith admitted with a light shrug as he knew it could have been a lot worse for him and he was lucky he seemed as young as the rest around him.
"I'm surprised you just blurted out such a secretive. I could have made your life a living hell by telling everything over this" Katie replied with a raised eyebrow as she knew she was a private person and knew how risky it was for Keith to tell her all of this.
"You won't" Keith simply stated, rather certain she wouldn't.
"Because I was originally Abnegation? Hate to break the news but I have just joined up with Dauntless" Katie scoffed back as she rolled her eyes, not wanting him to think she'd follow her home fraction rules anymore.
"Not because of your old fraction but because I overheard your conversation with Lotor. The frictionless are sent to sit in the Abnegation area during the choosing ceremony. I was close by and overheard you speaking with Lotor. You've got some fire in your eyes and a whole lot of guts" Keith answered with an impressed look and knowing she'd be someone to trust his secret and life with now they're a so called "family" in Dauntless.
Flashback,
Back at the choosing ceremony..
"Factions, please gather in your assigned areas" A voice spoke from the back of the wall and gaining all families to quickly hurry away with their child or children towards their fraction area and finding seats. Iverson moving to the stage that held the five fractions bowls, a knife laid upon a white cushion with napkins neatly placed beside it.
"Morning, Lotor" Colleen greeted the leader of Erudite even as he stood at the age of just twenty eight years old. He was tall with bold shoulders and a bit of muscle to his body. Light tan skin that held no imperfections and he dressed proudly in his navy blue and burgundy clothing. Light purple eyes that held a slight mist to them and he had long, straight white hair reaching his lower back with a single strand over his forehead.
"Good morning, Holts. How is Mitch holding up?" Lotor greeted back with a friendly smile, acting concern over their own leader after such rumours were released over him beating his missing child in the past.
"As well as can be expected" Sam answered with a sadden frown, knowing his old friend was struggling to prove his innocence against such rumours aimed at him. It didn't help that Iverson adopted son had deflected as soon as his test came around and no one held a clue on how to track him down since.
"We need to find out who's behind these rumors" Lotor admitted with a trouble look.
"I think we all know who it is" Colleen bitterly responded, a knowing looking in her eyes as she looked towards the younger male. Only one fraction would gain from such rumours leaked over Iverson and it was Erudite.
"If it's someone from Erudite, I promise I'll find out who" Lotor promised straight away and looking a little taken back over the blame being placed in his fraction direction.
"Of course you would" Sam scoffed back as he already knew that was a lot of bull from the man mouth. Erudite was picking this fight and they were using dirty moves to do so.
"This must be your youngest. I had no clue over her choosing, today. You must be Matthew beloved little sister. He often spoke over you he first arrived in our fraction" Lotor quickly changed the topic and looked towards Katie who was happily hiding behind her parents and silently listening in to the conversation.
"I wouldn't have known if he did or not. Fraction before Blood, after all" Katie started with a pointed look as she reminded him over the saying spoken by Erudite.
"Well, you seem to have a big decision to make, today. I'm sure your parents will support whatever choice you make" Lotor smiled back pleasantly, trying to keep the mood nice and breakable for them all since this wasn't the play for any disagreements or arguments.
"There's not supposed to be a choice" Katie shot back without missing a beat as she shuffled past her worried parents and looking straight towards Lotor unimpressed.
"Excuse me?" Lotor asked with confusion.
"The test should tell us what to do" Katie answered as if it was obvious since every child is told to trust into the test and allow it to show you into your perfect fraction.
"You're still free to choose" Lotor argued back lightly, frowning a little.
"But you don't really want that" Katie admitted with a light shrug, she's already had a bad feeling coming from this guy and a pretty good read on him.
"Katie" Sam scolded as he placed a hand on his daughter shoulder, grounding her back to where they all stood right now.
"I want you to choose who you truly are... and where you truly belong. Not on a whim. Not because you wish you were someone you're not... but because you honestly know yourself. I want you to choose wisely. And I know you will" Lotor sternly replied as he kept a straight face while looking towards her and desperately needed her to understand that they all had a chance to choose. Already holding faith in her making the right one after noticing how smart she seemed over life already.
"As long as they full into a fraction. Otherwise you're left for dead as a frictionless. They chose wrongly while trying to find themselves and now left to suffer for it" Katie commented as she crossed her arms over her stomach and not noticing how she caught Keith attention even more with that statement.
"If you don't mind, Lotor. I'll like to be taking my family to our seats before they're all the good ones are taken up" Sam quickly spoke up and soon excusing his small family and heading towards some still free chairs in the centre.
End of Flashback..
"Only because they're doing everything they can to discredit us right now. Erudite, I mean. They believe that they should bethe governing faction, not us" Katie grumbled back, the fire in her eyes blazing once again as she glared at a spot on the floor.
"Yeah. Us factionless hear a lot of rumours and gossip over the other fractions. Good and the bad. I don't trust Lotor" Keith admitted with a frown, worry clear in his eyes as he hasn't been hearing much good over Erudite future plans and ideas.
"Neither do I" Katie sighed, lowering her head in concern.
"I think we're going to be rather good friends" Keith announced as he sat up a little better and nudged her with his elbow.
"I hope so. I'm not so good with strangers or the whole making friends. I was seen as a loner, my brother was my only friend in my fraction" Katie muttered back shyly as she's never gotten along with anyone outside her family before and feared messing this up.
"I was known as a lone wolf. But I won't mind adding to my pack" Keith smirked back, knowing they were rather similar.