Chasing Dauntless (A Divergent OC Fanfic in Dauntless)

Chapter One

Chapter one! Yay!

"Jessica Layton."

I rose.

I gave my parents one last look as I stood up. They looked hopeful, but I could see the sadness in their eyes: they knew I wasn't staying in Erudite. I'd scored a solid Dauntless on my aptitude test. I had actually done all the challenges they had thrown my way the way I knew a Dauntless would do it, to secure my aptitude. I had changed the subject when my parents asked what I got. I knew they knew.

I slowly walked to the stage and climbed the steps. Our head Erudite stood patiently behind the five small tables.

I went to the tables. I stared at all of them. Last chance to decide differently, I thought. But I knew I wouldn't choose differently.

I had been different since I was a little girl.

Even as a toddler, I would try to run through our modest, modern Erudite home. When I grew older, I would try to scale first steps, several at a time, then up into first-floor windows, then more and more. I had always made sure nobody saw. When I had to do math, I adored calculating exponential decay: finding out how fast someone may fall. Ever since I first noticed the Dauntless running through the town center, I longed to be a part of them, running, untroubled, free.

Finally, I could.

I grabbed the knife from the white table.

I didn't hesitate pressing the blade into my palm, instantly drawing more blood than needed, never flinching. I held my hand over the Dauntless bowl, the coals in it waiting for my joining.

At last, my blood dripped into it, sizzling in the bowl.

"Dauntless," the head Erudite announced. Before I turned around, the Dauntless started cheering and yelling like no other groups had. I turned and faced my new faction: the sea of people, dressed in black, piercings and tattoos everywhere.

I couldn't wait to shed these blue clothes I'd worn forever, the modest blue dresses, sharply cut, always boring.

I walked down to the Dauntless seating. Who I took as the head Dauntless stood. He was a young man, with a short black mowhawk a swirled tattoo reaching up from his shirt and onto the side of his face. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Welcome to Dauntless," he said, smiling widely, speaking loudly over the roaring Dauntless. "Welcome to your new faction." He gestured to an empty seat beside his. We sat down.

Over the clapping of the next new, random initiate, he leaned over and whispered, "I'm Alexander. I'm the head Dauntless." I nodded. I didn't have time to say my name, and it had already been announced.

About twenty people transferred to Dauntless, from all of the factions. I was the only Erudite initiate.

The second the ceremony was over, the Dauntless rose. Us new initiates stood unsurely once we saw everyone else had. Alexander bolted from his seat and headed for the back. He slammed open the back door. Everybody followed.

Once in the street, everybody started whooping and cheering. I cheered along with everybody once I noticed people were yelling.

I was so unused to everything already: the unorganized running through the streets, not caring who we disturbed. Even though I was never truly Erudite, I had grown accustomed to their ways: organization, logic, problem and solution. I adored these Dauntless ways: easygoing yet intense, unanxious, unbothered.

The Dauntless people, blocking traffic everywhere, finally make a sudden stop. When I heard the telltale train horn, I had a feeling I know what's going to happen. I exchanged knowing, excited smiles with an Amity girl next to me. Her long skirt was balled in her hands to keep her from tripping. Strands of her long, sun-bleached hair had fallen out of its braid. There was a lightness, an obviously new fire, a happiness in her hazel eyes. I suddenly know this girl was like me: not meant for her faction, trying to be brave in a place not meant for bravery.

The elongated crowd of Dauntless moved forward. I could see people hanging on to the side of the train, then going in. I rushed forward, pushing through the crowd, something I had never done before. I shoved people aside and made a wild grab for a handle on the train. I grabbed it, and it jarred my arm forward. One of my feet managed to make a hold on the train, but not the rest of me. I was being pulled, the wind whipping through my loose, long hair. I tried to reach for the handle, but the forward motion and wind wouldn't let my arm. Suddenly, a strong, obviously male hand grabbed my loose arm. He hoisted me onto the train. All I caught were clear brown eyes before being jostled by other people, obstructing my view of whoever pulled me on. Seconds later, I was pushed forward by the Amity girl who made it onto the train. We smile at each other, and move to a different part of the train to be out of the way.

"Hannah," the girl said loudly. "Jessica," I said back. We laughed over the sheer loudness of the train. "I've waited for this for a long time," Hannah said. "Same here," I said back.

I noticed a tall guy with light brown hair fumbling with something at the door of the train. Suddenly, the train door opened, even though we were on an elevated track, about one hundred feet up. There was a building several yards away from the train track. The guy backed up, then darted forward. He leaped out the open door of the train. He flew through the air for a second, then landed and rolled on the flat, gravel roof of the building. People started streaming out of the train.

I glanced at Hannah, then shoved my way to the opening made for people jumping out of the train. I ran straight forward, then pushed off the train. I was airborn, weightless for a few seconds, then landed hard on the gravel.

I tried to roll off the force, but it only kind of worked. I waited for Hannah for a few seconds, but when she didn't show, I went on by myself. The Dauntless were slowly walking towards the other end of the building. I caught up to the group.

I noticed it was the new Dauntless in the group, including Dauntless-raised teens. I saw Hannah at the other end of the group. I was far on the other end. The guy who had jumped out of the train first walked to the front of the group. Unlike everyone else, he was already dressed in black. I realized he must be one of the instructors. He stood in front of us and crossed his arms. He was pretty tan, with clear brown eyes, messy brown hair. He was also pretty handsome. I realized this must be the guy who had helped me onto the train. I had only seen those brown eyes once before.

"Someone's gotta go first," he said, staring into the middle of the group. I quickly glanced at the group, then strode forward. I had been dying to do something like this for ages. The guy looked a little surprised, but stepped back. I walked over to the edge of the building. Another shorter, wide building was at the bottom, a large, extremely messy hole made in the flat roof. Darkness waited at the bottom. There was a few deadly feet of roof directly below me, so I needed to go forward. I backed up, then took a running start and leaped from the building. I soared through the air for two, three, five, ten seconds. I saw the hole rise over me. I finally plunged onto a thin sheet of fabric, strung loosely. I still plummeted downward, then sprang back up. I instantly realized it was a neck. I flipped over in the air and landed on my knees and palms. A slender, lean woman with tattoos all over her arms held down a side of the net, and I crawled over.

"First jumper," she said when I crawled over. She held out her arm to help me down, but I jumped off by myself. I landed on my feet, then bent my knees to cushion my fall. I stood up straighter and dusted myself off. "That's good," she said, then gestured me over away from the net. I stood several yards away.

People started to jump down, some screaming, some laying still for a few seconds before crawling over. Very few instantly started to go to the edge like I had. Finally, I saw the handsome Dauntless guy with the brown hair fall. He was expressionless as he fell, and landed skillfully and quickly crawled to the edge of the net like I had. He hopped down without the help of the woman, and landed on both feet, one hand pressed to the ground artfully. He stood up, and calmly walked over to the Dauntless group.

"Initiates with me," he called. "Dauntless-born with me," the woman called.

We seperated into our groups: a slew of rainbow-clothed, uncertain teens with the guy, the confident, Dauntless raised going with the woman. She led them down a dark hall with high, arched ceilings that quickly turned. Within seconds, they had all jogged off and out of sight.