Stronger Than She Looks (Divergent Eric)

{3} You aren't Amity anymore

The sensation of weightlessness seems to last forever. I can't see what's happening, because I've got my eyes tight shut. After all, who wouldn't shut their eyes after they've just jumped into a giant dark hole when they've absolutely no idea what's at the bottom.

I hit something hard with force, and I'm flung back up in the air several times before eventually coming to rest.

A net.

There's a net at the bottom.

A fucking net!

Nervous laughter escapes as I lie still looking up at the clear blue sky. When will I see it again? I've spent my whole life out in the open working the Amity fields. Up until this moment I had no idea Dauntless was underground.

I'm rudely shaken out of my musings by someone tipping the net to one side causing me to roughly slide off it. But before I can fall to the floor I'm caught by strong hands that set me on my feet.

"Wow. You get pushed?"

I look up into an exceptionally handsome face. Olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes. He's tall; significantly taller than my 5ft7 frame so he must be well over 6ft. There's no debating he is extremely good looking.

"I jumped." I smile. He doesn't smile back. It's becoming obvious Uriah is the exception, most Dauntless are clearly not overly friendly. I need to tone it down myself. I'm not in Amity anymore.

"What's your name?" He asks. His voice is low and gravely. It does things to me it really shouldn't.

"Starl-" I stop myself. Do I really want to be known as Starla here?

"Change it if you want. But pick well. You only get to pick once."

Perhaps Star could work? It's a link to my Amity past and my love of the night sky.

"Just Star."

"Ok then." He turns to the waiting crowd I hadn't even noticed and shouts "First Jumper! Star!"

The crowd are cheering and clapping and I'm pulled off to one side. Suddenly someone else plummets through the hole, a grey blur that I realise is a girl as her momentum stills on the net. Abnegation? That's just as unusual as an Amity transfer to Dauntless.

Over the course of the next 30 minutes or so, all the Initiates jump. We form a kind of raggedy group slightly to one side that grows one by one. No one knows what we are supposed to do now. Uriah is the fourth jumper and I immediately step over to him.

"You could have said it was a net!" I whisper harshly, just loud enough for him to hear.

He laughs nervously. "Even I didn't fucking know that. Wait til I see my brother!"

"You didn't know?!"

"Nope," He shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "I knew we had to jump to get in but I had no idea what was down here. Best guarded secret in Dauntless!"

I don't say anything. My mind is reeling from everything that's happened.

Suddenly, the guy who pulled me off the net steps forward and everyone immediately falls silent.

"Listen up Initiates. My name is Four and I'm one of the Instructors who'll be training you during Initiation.

Initiation is split into 3 stages. First up is physical starting tomorrow. We'll rank you through out and the weakest ranking Initiates will be cut at the end of each stage."

"Cut?!" A small Candor girl questions. I want to scream at her to shut up, but she's Candor. Speaking exactly what's on her mind is all she's ever known until now.