Chapter 1
I gasp as I wake myself up from the dream. Or rather, the nightmare. A light sheen of sweat covers my entire body and I can feel my hands shaking. I drop my head into my hands. Trying to slow my heart, I breathe deeply and focus only on the simple actions. In. Out. In. Out. The nightmare vanishes from my mind, but I know it's not truly gone. It'll appear again tonight, like it always does... Every night.
I don't try to go back to sleep, afraid of what might happen if I close my eyes and give myself over to my mind. Instead, I shower, hoping that the hot water will clear my mind. It usually does and today, I find, is no exception. Drying myself off quickly, I pull on a black t-shirt and pants; standard Dauntless clothing. For a second, my mind flashes to a different time. A time from before... from when I wasn't Dauntless.
Today, exactly two years ago, I took my aptitude test. The memory is clear as crystal, even after all this time. I remember the anxiety, the indecision. I didn't know what to do. I chose Dauntless.
So many others will be asked, forced, to make the decision tomorrow. The decision that will essentially decide the rest of their lives. Our society is comprised of five factions, which arose out of the impurities of a preexisting system. Each faction believes differently about what caused the destruction of that system.
The Erudite blame ignorance for said destruction and therefore, they value intelligence. I wouldn't describe them all as smart, though they'd like to believe they are. They crave knowledge, always eager for more information. They wear blue. Electric blue business clothes. Sometimes, they even wear glasses, but I'd bet that the majority doesn’t need them. Stupid as it may seem, I think they believe the glasses make them look smarter. Yeah… right.
The Candor blame dishonesty and therefore, they value honesty and truth. But really, they're just a bunch of assholes. They pride themselves in the fact that they don't have a filter. They say everything and anything on their minds regardless of the extent of their insincerity. Candor wear only black and white, symbolizing the straightforward black and white of words on a page. They don't shut up and I make a point to avoid them when I can.
The Amity, well, they blame hostility and cruelty and therefore, they value kindness. They live outside of the fence and manage the farms that provide the rest of the factions with food. They wear red and yellow. I haven't had much experience with them over the years. The only way to keep the peace between my faction and theirs is with minimal contact.
Which brings me to Dauntless. My faction.
The Dauntless blame cowardice as the reason for the failure of the previous system. Therefore, we value bravery. We wear black. We have tattoos and piercings and, to be honest, we probably act like idiots. But I believe there's a beauty in our recklessness. A reason behind it. Or, at least, there used to be. Dauntless is turning into something else, something that goes against the true Dauntless virtues. The leaders are turning Dauntless into something cruel…it’s probably why we don’t get along well with Amity.
And then there's Abnegation. The Abnegation blame selfishness and therefore, they value selflessness. They work to attract the least amount of attention as possible. They wear gray, baggy clothing that covers most of their skin. They put others before themselves and dedicate their lives to the aid of others.
A pang shoots through my chest as I think about Abnegation. My mouth becomes dry and I feel a lump in my throat, preventing me from swallowing. I shut my eyes and shake my head, forcing the thoughts away. My head needs to be clear. Today, I am meeting with Lauren to go over the training schedule. For the next few weeks, I forfeit my job in the control room for the task of training initiates.
Today, all sixteen year-olds will take their aptitude test, which will tell them what faction they "belong" in. Tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony, where they will pick a faction. The choice is permanent and unchanging. All of the factions have an initiation that must be completed before they can officially enter the faction as a member. These initiations are representative of the values of each faction. Dauntless initiation is centered on controlling fear, learning not to be afraid. Enter me. The instructor.
I find my way to the Dining hall, taking in the dark atmosphere of the Dauntless Compound as I go. Spotting her dark hair easily in the large room, I make my way over to where she’s sitting.
“We should go over the plans for training the initiates.” I say, sliding into the seat on her right.
“Hi to you too, Four.” Lauren says, her voice teasing. I catch her rolling her eyes. “You sure you want the transfers again? They’re always harder to train then the Dauntless-born.”
“I’m fine with it.” I reply, watching her shake her head incredulously at me. What she doesn’t know is that I actually prefer training the transfer initiates. I don’t know why, but I find peace in the training room for the transfers. The familiarity of it. Of the two years that I’ve been here, it’s been the one thing that has remained constant. I take comfort in that.
“Okay. Do you want to call the shots this year or…?” She asks me, trailing off at the end.
“We’ll start with physical training. Guns, Fighting, and then knife throwing. Then, we’ll do the fear simulations and obviously, we’ll do the fear landscape last. We’ll announce the rankings after each stage.” I tell her, my voice and face expressionless. Lauren nods once, in agreement with my plan, and leaves the table. I sigh. I’m hoping things will go back to normal between us, but it’s already been almost a year. After training the initiates last year, Lauren suggested that her and I date or whatever it was that she said. I told her no. Simple as that, but I don’t think she’s gotten over it.
I don’t have much time to dwell on the issue, though. Zeke occupies Lauren’s seat and clamps an arm around my shoulder.
“Four! You won’t believe the dream I had last night! Something about green guns…I don’t know. But it was weird. Oh, and Uriah’s pretty excited for the aptitude tests today, a little nervous too. I told him not to worry about…” Rolling my eyes to myself, I tune out Zeke’s voice for a chance at some peace and quiet. I grab a muffin from the center of the table and break small pieces off before putting them in my mouth. Banana flavored. Somehow, I can’t seem to get over the idea of food with flavor. My appreciation for the Dauntless food never wavers.
I am lost in my thoughts. Today brings back a flood of memories that I’d rather not relive, but it seems I have no choice. The memories play out in my mind over and over. My aptitude test. My result. The Choosing Ceremony. My choice. Before I get too caught up in my own mind, Zeke interrupts me, only now realizing that I haven’t been listening.
“Hey!” Zeke yells at me with annoyance. “Were you listening to anything I was saying?”
I look at him with a sheepish smile on my face. “I think you said something about Uriah.” I say.
He glares at me for a moment and then his goofy smile returns. Zeke isn’t one to hold grudges and he doesn’t get offended too easily. We’re the same age and we went through initiation together, though he was born Dauntless and I was a transfer. I’d have to say that he’s my best friend here. I smile as I think about that. I never expected to find friends here. In the moment that I had to choose a faction, I was fixated on Dauntless as an escape, as a safe haven. And so the idea that I might have friends here…that I might do well in this faction, never occurred to me.
But I’m glad of my choice. Of the friends that I’ve come to know, though I do wish that I was able to open myself up completely to them…to tell them all of my past and the reason for my transferring to Dauntless. I just can’t.
Another thing that has come to surprise me is that I perform well in Dauntless. I was ranked first among my fellow initiates, something that seemed to surprise everyone. There’s one other thing. The fear landscape takes you through simulations of every fear that you have. Most people have around eight to thirteen fears. Me? I have four, the record for lowest number of fears. Thus my nickname, Four.
The day drags on. Everyone is pumped up for the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow. Me? I feel like I’ve been slammed into a brick wall with the memories that are threatening to drown me. Memories of my past. I try to block them out, immerse myself in conversation with Zeke or Shauna or Lauren, but nothing works. Instead, I feel like I’m reliving every moment from those two years ago. As the day draws closer to night, I separate myself from my friends and walk back to my apartment, eager to clear my mind for tomorrow’s events.
Stripping off my shirt, I fall into my bed and close my eyes. I hope for a dreamless night, though I know my night will be anything but.
I’m jolted out of the dream, the nightmare, covered in sweat. I breathe deeply to steady my heartbeat and check the clock to my right. 10:37. A feeling of relief floods through me as I realize that I can go straight to the net, to wait for the initiates, after I get ready. I take a quick shower and then slip on a clean T-shirt and pair of pants, both black of course. Debating whether or not to stop by the dining hall to grab a quick breakfast, I quickly decide to skip it this morning and head straight for the net.
While I wait for the time to come, the cavern surrounding the net fills up with other Dauntless members, eager to catch a glimpse of this years’ initiates. I have to admit that I’m a little eager too. I hear Lauren walk up behind me. We don’t talk. We just wait. Ten more minutes pass before I can hear Max, one of the leaders of Dauntless, speaking to the initiates from the ledge, some 200 feet above us, though I can’t see him. All I see is the small opening initiates are required to jump through at the beginning of initiation. And I know that it will start soon. Excitement pulses through my body.
Then, a body drops from the opening above us and hits the net. What’s strange, though, is that I didn’t hear the initiate scream…or make even the smallest of sounds. My eyes focus on the body, surrounded by gray clothing. Abnegation, then. And not just Abnegation… an Abnegation girl. She looks up and I hear a small laugh escape from her lips. Did she really just… laugh? I shake my head at the idea.
I offer her my hand to help her off of the net and onto solid ground, but as she grabs my hand and begins pulling herself towards the edge of the net, she stumbles and nearly falls flat on her face. I catch her before she does and return my hands to my sides.
“Thank you,” She says.
“Can’t believe it,” Lauren says from behind me. “A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of.”
“There’s a reason she left them, Lauren,” I snap at her, a little annoyed at her derogatory nickname for the Abnegation. My eyes make contact with the girl. “What’s your name?”
“Um…” She hesitates and suddenly I’m reminded of that time, two years ago, when I was in the exact same position as her, hoping to start over…a new life…a new name.
“Think about it,” I tell her, a small smile framing my lips. “You don’t get to pick again.”
“Tris,” She says.
“Tris,” I hear Lauren repeat from behind me. “Make the announcement, Four.”
I look out to the crowd surrounding the net and shout, “First jumper—Tris!”
Cheers erupt from all around us just as another initiate drops onto the net, a scream following her down. The crowd laughs at this, but then begins to cheer even louder, threatening to make me deaf.
On impulse, I place my hand on Tris’s back and look her squarely in the light blue of her eyes.
“Welcome to Dauntless.” I say.
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Hey guys! This is the updated version of Chapter 1, so if you've read DIVERGENT: Tobias before, you may have been confused as to why this has changed! Well, my first chapter one was pretty bad in my eyes so I decided to rewrite it. I think someone who read it now, without reading Divergent (Which I don't recommend), would still understand it!
Tell me what you think of the new Chapter one! :) <4
Comments and votes are always appreciated!
-Amanda
***Just clearing up something! I recommend reading Divergent to anyone and everyone!!! What I was trying to say is that I don't recommend anyone reading my story without first reading Divergent. Okay. I'm done.