Cruel//Eric Divergent

three-the choice

[edited]

In the morning I get on the back of the truck acting zombie like due to my exhaustion from the day before. Today however, I'm joined by Emerson and Alexa in what will almost certainly be our last van ride into the city all together.
"Hey Em, hey Alex!" I say as cheerfully as I can achieve in my current state.
I grin at them. They are like my sisters, even though we are so mean to each other it's all in good fun and we always have a great time when we're together. When we get to the hub where the Choosing Ceremony will be held, I see some Dauntless racing up a metal structure just outside of it, incredibly high off the ground.

"I call on anyone, no matter what faction or your test results, who would like to give this a go," says a Dauntless dude. Dauntless dude, wow that's a good one Astraea. I walk towards the Dauntless with a smirk on my face, even though I was not really feeling too confident and my mother trying to hold me back wasn't helping. I pull free and say loudly,
" I'll give it shot. Why not?" , apart from the fact I cold die my subconscious reminds me. I finish my sentence as I reach the base of the structure, which looks even bigger from here...
"On the count of 3," says the guy, who has multiple tattoos. By this time I am moving backwards so I can have a run up and slight advantage by missing the first few beams. A crowd has formed, from all factions, probably wondering how far the little girl from Amity will make it without dying. Time to prove them wrong then.
"1...2...3!" The crowd chants, as I start running.
I reach for the first beam I can, having already missed a few at the bottom because I jumped. I keep hauling myself up and up, becoming more and more tired, and losing track of time, until far, far below me I hear,
"9:47!" From some random with a stopwatch I assume.
I'm almost at the top, one more beam. I reached for it and with one last burst of energy, I manage to pull myself up, onto the very top of the structure. Bet no one was expecting that, although most people in Amity could probably do it due to a lifetime of climbing trees, there's no way they would volunteer. I am told to climb back down and I do, and I'm met with cheering and clapping, so I quite literally take a bow.
"What's your name?" I'm asked.
"Astraea," I reply while grinning broadly, I'm most definitely not afraid to be the centre of attention when I'm being congratulated as I am currently.
"Everybody listen up! When we got here this morning, the record for climbing the structure was 10:02, set by one of our faction leaders Eric. Astraea was extremely fast, but was she fast enough? The record was 10:02, Astraea did it in...10:01!"The Dauntless dude yells. I'm being pat on the back and having "Well done!" yelled from all over and I can't help but smile heartily and do a little happy dance. I thank the man who announced my time and smile lightly again before my mum hastily pulls me into the auditorium with my dad and sister following just behind. My chose is obvious now.