Page 5 (1/2)

"What the hell is going on?" the boy next toI am breathless e reach the first floor, and the Dauntless burst through the exit Outside, the air is crisp and cold and the sky is orange frolass of the Hub

The Dauntless sprawl across the street, blocking the path of a bus, and I sprint to catch up to the back of the crowd My confusion dissipates as I run I have not run anywhere in a long ti done strictly for , , the fierce pleasure of a flat-out sprint I follow the Dauntless down the street and around the corner and hear a familiar sound: the train horn

"Oh no," ?"

"Yes," I say, breathless

It is good that I spent sothe Dauntless arrive at school The crowd spreads out in a long line The train glides toward us on steel rails, its light flashing, its horn blaring The door of each car is open, waiting for the Dauntless to pile in, and they do, group by group, until only the new initiates are left The Dauntless-born initiates are used to doing this by now, so in a second it’s just faction transfers left

I step forith a few others and start jogging We run with the car for a few steps and then throw ourselves sideways I’ as so to a handle next to the doorway,into the car My arrabs , I thank her

I hear a shout and look over my shoulder A short Erudite boy with red hair pumps his arirl by the door reaches out to grab the boy’s hand, straining, but he is too far behind He falls to his knees next to the tracks as we sail away, and puts his head in his hands

I feel uneasy He just failed Dauntless initiation He is factionless now It could happen at any irl who helped me asks briskly She is tall, with dark brown skin and short hair Pretty

I nod

"I’ti heads, a sign of respect I take her hand, uncertainly, and shake it twice, hoping I didn’t squeeze too hard or not hard enough

"Beatrice," I say

"Do you knohere we’re going?" She has to shout over the wind, which blows harder through the open doors by the second The train is picking up speed I sit down It will be easier to keep round She raises an eyebrow atout Get down"

Christina sits next to oing to Dauntless headquarters," I say, "but I don’t knohere that is"

"Does anyone?" She shakes her head, grinning "It’s like they just popped out of a hole in the ground or soh the car, and the other faction transfers, hit with bursts of air, fall on top of one another I watch Christina laugh without hearing her and ht fros, and I can faintly see the rows of gray houses that used to be ht Who will take his place--my mother or my father? And when they clear out his rooine books jammed between the dresser and the wall, books under hisall the hidden places in his room Did he always know that he would choose Erudite? And if he did, how did I not notice?

What a good actor he was The thought h I left the At least they all knew that I wasn’t selfless

I closeat the dinner table in silence Is it a lingering hint of selflessness that ht of them, or is it selfishness, because I knoill never be their daughter again?

"They’re ju off!"

I lift ainst the wall for at least a half hour, listening to the roaring wind and watching the city smear past us I sit forward The train has slowed down in the past few ht: The Dauntless in the cars ahead of us are ju out as the train passes a rooftop The tracks are seven stories up

The idea of leaping out of a ap between the edge of the roof and the edge of the track, makes me want to throw up I push myself up and stumble to the opposite side of the car, where the other faction transfers stand in a line

"We have to jue nose and crooked teeth

"Great," a Candor boy replies, "because that makes perfect sense, Molly Leap off a train onto a roof"

"This is kind of e signed up for, Peter," the girl points out

"Well, I’ it," says an Amity boy behind me He has olive skin and wears a brown shirt--he is the only transfer froot to," Christina says, "or you fail Coht"

"No, it won’t! I’d rather be factionless than dead!" The A his head and staring at the rooftop, which is getting closer by the second

I don’t agree with him I would rather be dead than elancing at Christina Her brown eyes are wide, and she presses her lips together so hard they change color She offers me her hand

"Here," she says I raise an eyebrow at her hand, about to say that I don’t need help, but she adds, "I just…can’t do it unless soe of the car As it passes the roof, I count, "One…two…three!"

On three we launch off the train car A weightless round and pain prickles throughon the rooftop, gravel under

"That was fun," she says

Christina will fit in with Dauntless thrill seekers I brush grains of rock from my cheek All the initiates except the A levels of success The Candor girl with crooked teeth, Molly, holds her ankle, wincing, and Peter, the Candor boy with shiny hair, grins proudly--he must have landed on his feet