The Leader

1

My aptitude test result was Amity. That relieves me and saddens me at the same time, because as much as I love Amity, I really want to leave this place. Don't get me wrong, I love the beautiful scenery and peacefulness, but there is nothing left for me anymore, except for Fern. She took me in when I was seven years old, and I'm forever thankful for her. But I need to get out of Amity. It holds too many painful memories.

The Choosing Ceremony is about to begin and I am beyond nervous. I want to be brave and be able to protect myself. Dauntless is where I need to be.

"This is a big decision for you," Fern says, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't stay because of me. If you want to transfer, do it. Go wherever you want."

"Thank you, Fern," I say, giving her a small smile. "For everything." She nods and focuses her attention on the stage where a man clad in all black takes the stage. Max, leader of Dauntless, is the one to lead the ceremony this year.

"The faction system we have today was created by our founders because they believed human nature was to blame for the world's disarray. Those who blamed ignorance formed Erudite. Those who blamed dishonesty formed Candor. Those who blamed aggression formed Amity. Those who blamed selfishness formed Abnegation. And those who blamed cowardice formed Dauntless."

He takes a deep breath and looks around the room before continuing. "Today is an important day for those choosing. This day will forever change your life so pick the place where you think you're meant to be. Good luck, initiates."

"First off..." He starts naming people off from Z to A. I will have a while then, considering my last name is Irving. So far only a few people have left their home faction. A Candor boy transfered to Dauntless. An Erudite girl transfered to Amity. A Dauntless girl transferred to Amity, which caused some commotion amongst the Dauntless.

"Flora Kane," he says, drawing my attention to the petite Amity girl making her way to the stage. Flora lives a few houses down from me and we used to be close when we were younger, but we drifted. She takes the knife from Max and lets a drop of blood fall into the bowl of soil.

"Amity." The Amity cheer as Flora makes her way back to her seat. Her parents are smiling and they hug her.

I glue my eyes back to the stage. A few more names are called and all of them stay in the faction they were born in.

"Aurora Irving." I feel heads turn toward me as I stand up. I glance at Fern one more time and she nods at me, giving me the reassurance I need. I make my way to the stage and take the knife from Max.

My eyes glance over all of the bowls. Coals for Dauntless. Gray stones for Abnegation. Water for Erudite. Soil for Amity. And glass for Candor. I knick my palm and let a drop of blood fall onto the sizzling coals.

"Dauntless," Max says, surprise evident in his voice. The Dauntless erupt in cheers and as I walk to find a seat they welcome me with rough pats on the back and punches to my shoulders. I take my seat and look back at Fern one last time. She smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up. I made the right choice.

***

The Dauntless start running. They run down the stairs and out of the building, with us transfers following close behind. There's three Candor, two Erudite, and two Amity transfers including me.

As we run down the street and around the corner, I hear the sound of the train horn. When the train catches up to them, the Dauntless born pile in the open train car. I grab the handle and throw myself in, landing on my stomach. I stand up and watch the rest of the transfers pile in. There's only seven of us.

I glance out of the train to see the Candor girl struggling to catch up to the train. I grab ahold of a handle inside the train and extend my arm to the girl. She grabs hold of my arm and I pull her inside.

I brush myself off and lean against the wall of the train car to catch my breath.

"Thank you," she says. "I almost became Factionless." I nod at her and continue to stare outside the train car. "You're not very cheerful or chatty for an Amity."

"I'm not Amity anymore," I answer, focusing my gaze on her. "I haven't been for a long time." She doesn't say anything so I turn away and focus my gaze on my worn out red shoes.

"They're jumping!" an Erudite boy says. Everyone peeks out of the car and sure enough, the Dauntless born are jumping out of the train and onto a roof.

I take a few steps back before launching myself out of the train and landing in the most ungraceful way possible. I brush off my clothes to see the two Candor boys pulling someone over the edge of the roof. It's the Candor girl.

I turn around to see the Dauntless born gathered around a man on the ledge of the roof. The man looks young, around seventeen or eighteen. His blond hair is shaved at the sides and he has blue eyes. He has a couple piercings above his right eyebrow and gauges in his ears. His black vest shows off his muscled biceps while mazes cover both of his forearms. Two sets of tracks peek out from underneath the top of his vest and trail up to his jawline. He is attractive.

"All right, listen up. I'm Eric, one of the leaders here at Dauntless," he says, surveying the transfers. "If you want to enter Dauntless, this is the way in. And if you're too afraid to jump, you don't belong here." He gestures behind him before turning back toward us. "Okay transfers, who's first?"

Nobody makes a move. The Dauntless born stand quietly to the side and I catch the eye of one and they give me a thumbs up.

"If nobody volunteers you're all getting pushed off," Eric says.

"I'll go," I say, making his head snap toward me. His eyes rake over me making me feel self conscious. I walk toward the ledge and climb up, looking at the black hole below.

"Today, initiate." I glance back at Eric briefly before turning to face the other transfers. I take a deep breath and then let myself fall backwards. My breath hitches in my throat when my back comes into contact with something. Thankfully, it's a net.

Someone tugs on the net and pulls me off. It's a guy around my age, maybe seventeen or eighteen. He has brown eyes and short brown hair.

"Name?" he says, making sure I'm steady before releasing me. "If it's a hard one, pick a new one. Make it good. You don't get to pick again."

"Okay," I say, looking around. Aurora is too much of an Amity name. For a fresh start I need a new name. "My name is Rori."

"First jumper, Rori!" he yells over his shoulder. People clap and erupt into cheers, causing the smile on my face to widen. "Welcome to Dauntless, Rori."

"Thanks," I say as someone else falls into the net. I walk away and lean against a wall and watch as each of the transfers jump off the roof, screaming as they do so. Once all the transfers and Dauntless born are here, the guy from the net tells us to gather around.

"All right, the Dauntless born are going to go with Lauren," he says. "The rest of you will stay with me."

The Dauntless follow a blonde woman out of the room and I focus my attention back on the guy from the net.

"All right, my name is Four. I usually work in the control room, but for the next ten weeks I will be your training instructor."

"Four? Like the number?" the Candor girl says. "Was one through three taken?" I roll my eyes. Those Candor do not know when to keep their mouths shut.

"Listen here, initiate," he says, walking toward her and stopping directly in front of her, making her eyes go wide. "The first lesson you learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. If I wanted to deal with smart mouthed Candors, I would have transferred there. Got it?" She nods and he smirks before addressing everyone. "All right, transfers, it's time for a tour."

A/N - Hey initiates! Thanks for reading. If you liked the chapter please vote and add the story to your library! :)

**Also, I know that in the book, Four has blue eyes. And that Eric looks way different too. I'm going by how they looked in the movie.