OVERTHROW - Eric Coulter

Chapter 3

My pulse quickened, my heart throbbed frantically as I tried to catch my breath. I placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm myself, accompanied by a burst of laughter. I had never felt more alive; the adrenaline coursing through my body was incredible.

From the moment I let the drops of blood fall onto the hot coals, I felt the bonds on my hands and the weight on my back disappear. I could sense my blood boiling as Marcus shouted "Dauntless," and that faction cheered and applauded wildly. I could feel my father's gaze boring into my back. He was not just angry; he was furious. After all, he had forced me to promise to stay in Amity, but I couldn't care less. I decided to leave because I knew that once they called my name, the faction system would protect me from his arrogant and vile way of upbringing. I was free to choose whichever faction I wanted, and just like the slogan of Erudite promoted, "Faction before blood," my father couldn't do anything about it.

And now I was sitting on the floor of the train. I climbed onto a carriage from a considerably high height and jumped onto it. I chose Dauntless, and I'm not going to back down.

"You did it," chuckled a red-haired girl beside me. From her attire, I could tell she was from Erudite. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tiana." She extended her hand, and I accepted it with a smile.

"Grace," I replied as we let go of each other's hand and sighed.

"It's incredible. Few from Amity leave the faction, and those who transfer to Dauntless are almost nonexistent," she remarked, surprised.

"Yeah, gathering fruits and singing while pretending to be happy is not my thing," I said indifferently.

She chuckled.

"It's good that you dared to escape. It's a drastic change of faction," she nodded with a laugh.

I nodded without saying another word and we waited to get off the train.

I exchanged a few words with Tiana. She was pleasant and really good company compared to the girls from Amity. She was outgoing, sarcastic, witty, and intelligent. I don't know what awaits me in Dauntless, but I want her as a friend.

"Get ready, we've arrived," a voice from the back announced.

We both decided to stand up and approached the door to witness our arrival at Dauntless. However, to our surprise, they started jumping.

"It must be a damn joke," I spoke in surprise.

"What if you don't jump?" a guy from Abnegation asked.

"What do you think? You end up factionless," scoffed a black-haired woman from Candor.

And gradually, as they reached the roof, they jumped, until it was Tiana's and my turn.

"Together?" she asked, stepping back.

"Together," I nodded, and on the count of 3, we were already jumping.

We fell, tumbling several times. The stones hurt my whole body, several of my clothes tore, and with adrenaline, I burst into laughter. This was madness.

"Alright, listen up," an authoritative voice spoke.

Tiana and I got up and approached the man who spoke, a man who I found quite attractive, with light brown hair; I might even dare to say he's blond. He had two tattoos on his neck and the eyebrow piercing that gave him a dangerous look.

"I'm Eric, one of your leaders," he introduced himself. "If you want to enter Dauntless, this is the way. If you don't have the guts, you shouldn't be in Dauntless."

"Is there water down there?" a guy asked.

"You'll find out, or not," he smiled ironically.
"Someone's gonna be first. Who's it gonna be?" he asked, looking around.

Silence filled the air, and it was amusing to see that not even those born in Dauntless had the courage to be the first.

"I'll do it," I raised my voice, and all eyes turned to me.

The leader stepped aside and let me pass. I couldn't help it, as I passed by him, I turned to look at him, meeting the blue of his eyes once again, and once more, in agreement with my hormones, my leader was a Greek God. I walked to the edge and saw a hole in the floor beneath the building, darkness prevailing in the place.

"Enough sun for today, Amity," a woman's shout echoed. I could identify her as the one who responded to the guy from Abnegation on the train.

Ignoring her comment, I climbed onto the ledge, thanking my sixth sense for making me wear loose orange pants. I closed my eyes and let myself fall, feeling the air rush past my body. My heart began to race, as the constant thought of my painful death was inevitable.

However, a large black net prevented it. I opened my eyes to see a huge net at the bottom of the hole, breaking my fall. I laughed and sighed, wanting to do it again. The net moved along with me, and I reached the edge, seeing the man responsible for this. A brown-haired man with cinnamon-colored skin raised an eyebrow.

"Amity, this is new," he smiled. "What, did someone push you?" he asked, amused.

"No," I frowned.

He took me by the armpits and helped me down.
"Your name," he demanded.

Grace," I replied.

"First jumper, Grace!" shouted the brown-haired man. "Welcome to Dauntless."

*********************

Tiana was the second jumper, then there were unfamiliar faces until no one else jumped.

"Dauntless-born with Lauren, transfers with me," he said, and the Dauntless-born followed the girl who exited the area. "I usually work in intelligence, but during training, I'll be your instructor. Call me Four," he introduced himself, inspecting everyone. "Follow me," and without further ado, we did.

Who names themselves Four? Maybe we'll meet someone named Two or Three. I chuckled at my silly thought. We descended a spiral staircase, the path was long with several corridors, most of them dark. At the end of the hallway, we entered a large area flooded with natural light, filled with several Dauntless.

"This is the Pit, the center of life in Dauntless," explained Four.

The transfers, including myself, looked around the place in amazement. It was enormous, with too many people and too much noise, but I liked it. We left the area, learned about the chasm and its history, then entered the dormitories.

"You'll be sleeping here for the next 10 weeks. Your clothes are on each bed. Change," Four entered and turned on the lights, revealing the large number of beds.

"Men or women?" asked Tiana.

"Both," he smirked ironically, seeing how most were discontent. "I can tell you'll love the communal bathroom." He gestured towards the bathroom as he heard the dissatisfied murmurs. "Get ready, you have 10 minutes." It was the last thing he said before leaving.

I turned to Tiana, who was looking at the showers with distaste. I chuckled, nudging her to get her attention.

"For the next 10 weeks, I've got your back in the bathroom, and you've got mine. Deal?" I raised my eyebrow, extending my hand.

"Deal," she nodded, shaking my hand.