Transparent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book One) ©

Chapter 15

                The air seemed to form invisible claws that grasped at my skin and clothes, and the wind howled and echoed in my ears. My heart seemed to stop altogether, while somehow simultaneously beating at double its normal speed. My pulse thundered loudly in my ears and all my muscles tightened involuntarily. The darkness was swallowing me whole.

                Panic never set in though, because though I had no clue what was at the end, I was proud of the fact that I’d acted. I relaxed then, letting my body wilt, and waited for my impending doom. It never came.

                My freefall was suddenly cut short when my body connected with something hard. The breath was knocked out of me, and I felt a sting when various long and thin ropes seemed to dig into my skin. A net? I felt my body nestle into the webbing, almost as if it were a hammock, and I found myself laughing. I’d just jumped from a building and lived. Was really brave, or just mad?

                A hand stretched out to me from the edge of the net, and I rolled over twice and then latched onto it. With a grunt, I pulled myself across and landed on what appeared to be wooden floor. We stood on a platform that was about ten feet above the ground, and around us was an open cavern.

                “Nice entrance,” said the boy who’d helped me out. He grinned and I heard other people talking loudly behind him. “What’s your name?”

                I could pick a new name, just like Danny; make up a whole new identify and just start over from scratch. No divergence, no history, just what I created.

                But no, why would I want to completely erase myself? Yes, my divergence was dangerous, but it also made me the person I was, and whether I liked it or not I knew deep down that even with a new name I’d still be me. I could try, and I would, but I’d still forever be Sage.

                “Sage,” I answered; my voice steady and confident.

                “Welcome to dauntless.” He grinned and then turned and shouted to the crowd. “First jumper, Sage!”

                The crowd, who’d been mostly hidden in the shadows, pushed forward and began to cheer, woot, and pump their fists in the air. Shortly after, I heard Danny’s familiar laughter as he came flying down the and into the net.  It wasn’t long before everyone had jumped and we were all standing in a semi-formed mob. Max came down last and he congratulated us before pointing back at the first boy who’d helped us out, and another boy who was just walking up.

                “What’s up guys, my name is Amar,” he presented himself and then nodded at the red-headed boy next to him. “And this is Red. We’re glad you all made it this far, but there’s much more to cover. So quiet down and follow us.”

                We all nodded and followed closely behind Amar and Red as they proceeded to lead us through various narrow tunnels. The whole place seemed to be subterranean, and from what I could see the walls and ceiling were made of stone. A little voice in the back of my head, probably my sense of reason, anxiously pointed out that if something were to happen we’d be basically trapped down here. I ignored the urge to ask where the nearest exit or window was, and instead tried to focus on memorizing the layout.

                Luckily, the tunnels all seemed to be lit at evenly spaced intervals, so it wasn’t too hard to get a good look at our surroundings. A warm hand on my back startled me, but only for an instant. I turned and smiled warmly at Grace, who beamed back, and mouthed a hello. We didn’t speak, but I slowed my pace so she’d be able to stand between Dan and myself.