Revelation | ✓

Chapter 1

"Vae! You wanna come ziplining with us?" I look up from my breakfast and see Ryde standing with his friends, all of them in the standard Dauntless black. He jogs over and sits down next to me, sitting backwards on the cafeteria bench. "Well? You wanna come?"

"I'll ask my dad." I reply, taking another bite of toast.

"Alright. Where is he? I can come."

"Training room, like always."

He grabs my tray and helps me up, handing it back to me. "Run along and throw out your garbage, little one." I kick him in the shins and run to throw out my trash. I join him by the door and we walk the familiar Dauntless hallways to the training room.

Ryde's real name is Ryder, which is used just as often as his nickname. His dad is Uriah, and his mom is Marlene. Marlene had been kidnapped by the Erudite- or was it the factionless?- during the war, along with my mom's friends Lynn and Will.

Ryde is two years older than me. He's tall for his age- I barely reach his shoulder- and I'll say that training with our dads has worked well for him. He has dark brown hair that falls in a messy flop to just over his eyes, olive skin, and the darkest brown eyes I've ever seen. He's had maybe six girlfriends at the most.

We call each other's parents by their first names, so it's not surprise when he opens the training room door and yells, "Hey, Four!"

There's the sound of an knife hitting a target, and then my dad comes out from behind some punching bags.

I have no idea how I'm so short. I look like my dad in almost every other aspect of myself- same pin straight dark brown hair, same shaped eyes, same stiff posture- except my height and my eyes. Both of which I get from my mother, obviously.

No one knows how I got olive skin. Neither of my parents are as dark as me.

"Yes, Ryder?" My dad cleans off the knife in his hand with a tan cloth.

"Go ahead, Vae." Ryde steps back and gestures for me to speak. I glare at him.

"Ryde wants me to come ziplining with him and his friends." I say it quickly and squeeze my eyes shut, holding my breath.

My dad turns to Ryde. "Are any adults coming?"

"My dad and my uncle Zeke."

Dad smiles. "What makes you think that I should trust Uriah and Zeke with my daughter?"

"You shouldn't. But you can trust me."

At this Dad laughs. "Okay, who all is going?"

Ryde rattles off the names of a list of people that I've never heard of. "...and Maiya." Maiya's parents are Christina and Will. She's a pretty girl with darker skin and hair, but with green eyes like her father's. She's fourteen, a few months older than me, and has two younger sisters and a younger brother.

Dad looks over at me and sighs. "Alright. But you," he points at me with the knife, "don't do anything stupid. Your mother will have a fit if you get yourself killed."

I grin and hug him. "I won't. Thanks Dad!"

He hugs me back. "I love you, Vae."

I roll my eyes at him, but I still smile. "I love you too, Dad. Bye!"

Ryde and I leave, and he checks his watch. "Shit." He mutters.

"What?"

"We're going to miss the train. Let's go." He grabs my forearm and starts to sprint for the tracks.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As short as I am, I have no trouble keeping up with Ryde when running. I'm pretty fast when I sprint, but distance running- screw that.

We jump into the train car just as it's about to disappear. Uriah claps, sarcasm somehow evident. "Bravo."

Ryde rolls his eyes at his father. "We made it, right?"

"Yeah, but your dumbass almost missed the ledge. At least Vae over there knows what she's doing." Zeke claps him on the back.

Shauna shakes her head at her husband. "Oh, quiet, Zeke. No one wants to hear your opinion."

"Everyone wants to hear my opinion- I'm amazing."

There are sounds of muttered protests.

"Hey! No hating!" Everyone laughs at this.

Ryde sits down, and I do too. "Do you see what I'm related to?" He says, loud enough for his father, aunt, and uncle to hear. "Complete nutcases!"

"We love you too, Ryder." Shauna kicks him in the leg playfully.

Ryde rolls his eyes. "Of course she'd say that."