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Then I hear a wail I turn irl stands at the edge of the roof, staring at the ground below, screa Behind her a Dauntless boy holds her at the waist to keep her fro off

"Rita," he says "Rita, cale There is a body on the paveles, her hair spread in a fan around her head My stomach sinks and I stare at the railroad tracks Not everyone made it And even the Dauntless aren’t safe

Rita sinks to her knees, sobbing I turn away The longer I watch her, the more likely I am to cry, and I can’t cry in front of these people

I tell s work here We do dangerous things and people die People die, and weThe sooner that lesson sinks in, the better chance I have at surviving initiation

I’er sure that I will survive initiation

I tell myself I will count to three, and when I’irl’s body on the paveh me Two I hear Rita’s sobs and the murmured reassurance of the boy behind her Three

My lips pursed, I walk away fros I pullSo

"Ooh Scandalous! A Stiff’s flashing soation, and I’hter My cheeks heat up, and I let my sleeve fall

"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" shouts a man at the other end of the roof He is older than the others, with deep creases in his dark skin and gray hair at his tee like it’s a sidewalk Like someone didn’t just fall to her death from it "Several stories below us is the members’ entrance to our compound If you can’there Our initiates have the privilege of going first"

"You want us to juirl She is a few inches taller than I as open

I don’t knohy it shocks her

"Yes," Max says He looks a?"

"Who knows?" He raises his eyebrows

The crowd in front of the initiates splits in half, er to leap off the building--their eyes are everywhere but on Max Soravel fro at one of his cuticles Trying to act casual

I aet me into trouble soe and hear snickers behinde and look down Wind whips throughI’s In the center of the square is a huge hole in the concrete I can’t see what’s at the bottom of it

This is a scare tactic I will land safely at the botto that helps e My teeth chatter I can’t back do Not with all the people betting I’ll fail behindthe collar of my shirt and find the button that secures it shut After a few tries, I undo the hooks from collar to heray T-shirt It is tighter than any other clothes I own, and no one has ever seen me in it before I ball up my outer shirt and look over my shoulder, at Peter I throw the ball of fabric at him as hard as I can, my jaw clenched It hits him in the chest He stares at me I hear catcalls and shouts behind ain Goose bumps rise on my pale arms, and my stomach lurches If I don’t do it noon’t be able to do it at all I s hard

I don’t think I just bend round surges toward round,so fast it hurts, every s at my stomach The hole surrounds ives way beneath me and cradles my body The i to breathe again My ar

A net There is a net at the bottoh, half relieved and half hysterical My body shakes and I cover my face with my hands I just juain I see a few hands stretching out to rab the first one I can reach and pull myself across I roll off, and I would have fallen face-first onto a wood floor if he had not caught rabbed He has a spare upper lip and a full lower lip His eyes are so deep-set that his eyelashes touch the skin under his eyebrows, and they are dark blue, a drearip ain

"Thank you," I say

We stand on a platforround Around us is an open cavern

"Can’t believe it," a voice says froirl with three silver rings through her right eyebrow She smirks at me "A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of"

"There’s a reason why she left them, Lauren," he says His voice is deep, and it rumbles "What’s your name?"

"Um…" I don’t knohy I hesitate But "Beatrice" just doesn’t sound right any his lips "You don’t get to pick again"

A new place, a new name I can be rerinning "Make the announcement, Four"

The boy--Four--looks over his shoulder and shouts, "First jumper--Tris!"

A crowd materializes from the darkness as my eyes adjust They cheer and pump their fists, and then another person drops into the net Her screahs, but they follow their laughter with

Four sets his hand on my back and says, "Welcome to Dauntless"

CHAPTER SEVEN

WHEN ALL THE initiates stand on solid ground again, Lauren and Four lead us down a narrow tunnel The walls areslopes, so I feel like I a deep into the heart of the earth The tunnel is lit at long intervals, so in the dark space between each dim lamp, I fear that I aht I aain