The Unlucky Ones

[5] - Jumping

[Tobias]

I CLOSE MY EYES and pretend that I'm not here, kneeling on this gravel with these insane ink-marked people surrounding me. I came here to escape, but this is not an escape, it's just a different kind of torture and it's too late to get out of it. My only hope, then, is to survive it.

" Welcome to Dauntless! " Amar shouts. " Dauntless is where you either face your fears and try not to die in the process, or you leave a coward. We've got a record low of faction transfers this year, unsurprisingly. "

A group of three boys, all Dauntless initiates, triumphantly punch the air and whoop. In my faction, we take it that no one was brave enough to quit their selfish acts when we don't get enough initiates. But here, these Dauntless members cheer and wear the fact that they scared almost everyone off as a banner of pride. They are proud that bravery is lacking this year.

" The only way to get into the Dauntless compound from this rooftop is to jump off this ledge. " Amar says.

He opens his arms wide to indicate the empty space around him. He tilts back on his heels and waves his arms around, like he's about to fall, then catches himself and grins. I pull a deep breath in through my nose and hold it. Heights are one of the hardest things for me to deal with.

" As usual, I offer the opportunity to go first to our initiates, Dauntless-born or not. " He hops down from the ledge and gestures to it, eyebrows raised.

The cluster of young Dauntless near the roof exchange looks. Standing off to the side are the Erudite boy from before, an Amity girl, two Candor boys, and a Candor girl. There are only six of us. One of the Dauntless steps up, a dark-skinned boy who beckons cheers from his friends with his hands.

" Go, Zeke! " One of the Dauntless-born girls shouts.

Zeke hops onto the ledge but misjudges the jump and tips forward right away, losing his balance. He yells something unintelligible and disappears. The Candor girl nearby gasps, covering her mouth with one hand, but Zeke's Dauntless friends burst into laughter. I don't think that was the dramatic, heroic moment he had in mind.

Amar, grinning, gestures to the ledge again. The Dauntless-borns line up behind it, and so do the Erudite boy and the Amity girl. I know I have to join them, I have to jump, it doesn't matter how I feel about it. I move toward the line, stiff like my joints are rusted bolts. Amar looks at his watch and cues each jumper at thirty-second intervals. The line is shrinking, dissolving.

Suddenly it's gone, and I am all that is left. I step onto the ledge and wait for Amar's cue. The sun is setting behind the buildings in the distance, their jagged line unfamiliar from this angle. The light glows gold near the horizon, and wind rushes up the side of the building, lifting my clothes away from my body.

" Go ahead, Stiff. " Amar says.

I close my eyes, and I'm frozen. I can't even push myself off the roof. All I can do is tilt and fall. My stomach drops and my limbs fumble in the air for something, anything to hold on to, but there is nothing, only the drop, the air, the frantic search for the ground.

Then I hit a net. It curls around me, wrapping me in strong threads. Hands beckon to me from the edge. I hook my fingers in the net and pull myself toward them. I land on my feet on a wooden platform and a man with dark brown skin and bruised knuckles grins at me. Max.

" The Stiff! " He claps me on the back. " Nice to see you made it this far. Go join your fellow initiates. Amar will be down in a second, I'm sure. " He says.

Behind him is a dark tunnel with rock walls. The Dauntless compound is underground-I assumed it would be dangling from a high building from a series of flimsy ropes, a manifestation of my worst nightmares. I try to walk down the steps and over to the other transfers. My legs seem to be working again. The Amity girl smiles at me.