Numinous

Chapter 5

Four led us down a couple hallways and down a long spiraling staircase. Silence came to a halt when we reached the end of the hall and it opened to a giant room. Indistinct talking filled the large room with noise. The roof was high in the air covered by, bringing light into the building. We all glanced around taking it all in.

"This is The Pit. The center of life here at Dauntless." Four turned his attention back to us. It made sense to be called The Pit, because that is what it was. Literally a pit in the ground with stairs and pathways that branch off to places like food, clothing, supplies, and leisure activities.

"ill show you the Chasm next." He leads us to the right of the pit. I can see a railing up ahead. I then hear water, roaring, moving fast and crashing against rocks.

"the Chasm here helps remind us the fine line between bravery and idiocy. You jump, you die, no way for anyone to survive." Four continued leading us down another series of hallways until we entered our dormitories.

"You're gonna be sleeping here for the next ten weeks" walking into the room I noticed that there were many cots placed everywhere.

"Girls or boys?" a transfer asked.

"Both." Four answered getting a mix of responses back, "If you love this you're gonna love the bathroom." Four quietly chuckled. 'Please be single stalls with doors' I mentally crossed my fingers. There were none, no partitions to provide privacy. The showers had no doors on them either. A sick feeling rose in my stomach at the thought of taking a shower in front of everyone; not only that, but the fact of possibly being attacked while in such a vulnerable state. 'This will be fun'.

"You should feel right at home, Candor. Everything out in the open." Four addressed to Christina, leaving us but not before adding "Get changed".

I quickly walked to one of the cots in the far corner, deciding that this one would be mine. Under our cots, we had trunks. Opening them, we found to be clothes. Calling out the sizes in our trunks people began trading clothing so they would have something that would fit better.

"Hey" a soft voice spoke tapping my shoulder, "could we switch clothes? Mine don't fit me right and I think yours might work better." Nodding, we traded clothes and found that 'yes' it was a good idea to trade.

"I'm Natharia" she stuck her hand out to me. She transferred from Erudite, I could tell by her old clothes but also their custom handshake greeting. In Amity, we always greeted with firm embraces. I slowly reached my hand out to her, "you can call me Nat though!"

"I'm Maeve" we continued changing. My mind kept racing back to when I asked the leader Eric to pinky promise me. Pinky promise? A freakin pinky promise? What am I five? Not only did I embarrass myself, but Eric too. I made a Dauntless leader look like a fool in front of new initiates. I don't even know why my brain decided to ask him to 'pinky promise' me; the words literally flew out of my mouth and it's going to cost me.

After everyone was changed we were led to a large burning pit to throw our old factions clothes into. I ripped the collar of my Amity dress and the remnants away. I could quickly fold it around my wrist as a bracelet of sorts; I wanted a reminder of my family back in Amity.

We found our way into the mess hall. Loud talking and rock music filled the air. Many of the Dauntless members were eyeing us. Walking around I went to take a seat in an open spot when – "This table is for leaders only" I quickly spun around to see Eric behind me with an intense glare on his face.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know." I apologized and went to walk away when his hand gripped my wrist tightly. I looked back to him with flight fear.

"What the h*ll is that?" he forcibly asked, motioning to my makeshift bracelet.

"I-I just wanted something to remember my family by." I spoke softly.

"Faction Before Blood initiate."

"I'm technically still Amity, right? I mean, I may be in Dauntless clothing but I'm not really a member until I complete initiation." Why? Why Maeve did I have to open my god*mn mouth? Eric's eyes narrowed, brows furrowed in anger. He was about to speak when my new hero came in to save this poor damsel in distress.

"Hey, Maeve! I got us a seat right here, come on!" It was Natharia! Oh, how I owe her my life. I look at her, and then back to Eric with pleading eyes; he released his grip on my wrist and I padded my way quickly to Nat.

"Thank you, thank you, Thank You!" I quietly praised her, sitting down next to her.

"No problem! I thought he was gonna eat you alive!" he exclaimed with laughter. I nervously laughed back, grabbing the food in front of me. I was awkwardly introduced to some of the people at my table that I didn't already meet; Peter, Molly, Will, and Al.

"Have you never seen a hamburger before?" Christina questioned someone. Looking over I realize she was talking about Tris who was trying to eat a hamburger with a fork and knife.

"No, I've seen one. I just have never eaten one." Tris looked at how others were eating theirs.

"Abnegation eat plain food. Plant-based diet with no sauces and a minimum of seasoning" the Erudite transfer Will informed. They went on bickering about factions and the whole 'my horse is bigger than your horse' brigade. Learning my lesson with Eric I decided to stay out of it. Luckily, I did because Four scolded them about it. He told them we 'were Dauntless now'. Nat hit my arm as a warning not to say anything to him. I resumed eating.

Alarms started blaring pulling me from my thoughts. I immediately perked up wondering what was going on. The other initiates wondering the same thing. Cups began clattering intensely against the table. The clanking continued until a man appeared above us looking down upon us.

"Initiates, stand." The man said, I'm pretty sure that's Max, the head leader of Dauntless. We all stood obediently. "You have chosen to join the warrior faction. Tasked with the defense of this city and all its inhabitants. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery and the courage that drives one person to stand up for another. Respect that. Do us proud." With that he walked away, everyone cheering and clapping.

Next thing you know, we are being lifted into the air. Passed around and praised for deciding to choose them. The rest of the day was spent laughing and getting to know each other. I'm not one for crowds so I didn't speak all that much, I still enjoyed it though.