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Tris POV

The train ride to the Choosing Ceremony was quiet.

I stared at the ground as the train rocked back and forth on the old rails. My mind blocked out the whispers around me, and the only thing I could picture were the five metal bowls.

Erudite.

Abnegation.

Dauntless.

My results for the Aptitude test circled in my mind, they seemed to mix and blend together and I couldn't make out what was what.

I glanced out through a gaping hole in the opposite wall of the train, where only a few glass shards of the window remained. We ride past the Hub, where only a part of it is visible before the rest of the building disappears into the clouds.

The crowd starts to shift as we get ready to leave the train, pushing and shoving to be the first ones out. I'm one of the last people left. I hold onto the handlebars as the ground rushes below me. I launch myself out of the cart, feeling that familiar exhilaration beating through my veins. The ground comes up beneath me, and I immediately curl myself up into a ball as I roll into a stop.

As we walk towards the building, Marlene and Lynn have their heads bent together in a conversation and I follow closely behind them. They both seemed so calm, and I would be too, if I knew what the hell I was going to do.

My heart felt like it was gonna burst straight out of my chest, but then I glanced towards Uriah. His shoulders were tense and his fists were clenched into balls at his sides. I fall into place beside him as we walk up the front steps. He glances towards me and I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

When we walk into the elevator, I see the mass of gray fabric walking up the stairs. They were so close together, hunched up in their own little huddle. I imagined this, seeing myself consumed into an Abnegation life.

The door opened on the twentieth floor, revealing the room where I will decide the rest of my life. I'd only been here once before, when I attended Zeke's Choosing Ceremony. And now he was here today, waiting with anticipation for me and Uriah.

The Ceremony started immediately, as Marcus stood up at the podium. As he started speaking, there was something itching at the back of my mind. Marcus. I knew his name from somewhere, but I just couldn't remember from where. His face looked so familiar, especially his eyes.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This wasn't the time or place to be worrying about him. I had more pressing matters on my mind.

As Marcus introduces each faction, I mentally cross them out.

"Those who blamed aggression formed Amity."

I'd always admired how carefree they were, how easily they flew through life, never refraining from choosing love. But joining them has never been an option for me.

"Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite."

Erudite was never even a choice, they were the easiest to rule out.

"Those who blamed duplicity created Candor."

I could never live without a little dishonesty.

"Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation."

This was something that I truly believed in.

"And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless."

It was the philosophy that I'd lived with my whole life.

My whole body feels numb, the sound of Marcus' voice begins to drown out. I think of our motto: Faction before blood. Our factions were more than just people we lived with, they were our family. And the thought of leaving mine caused my heart to squeeze in my chest.

"-a better society and a better world." A round of applause erupts throughout the stadium as Marcus finished his speech. I clenched and unclenched my hands at my side, trying to release some pressure. I focused on this monotonous task as Marcus read the first name.

The first name called was a girl from Amity. I watched her blood soaking into the soil as she went to stand beside her faction. One by one, each sixteen-year-old stepped out into the middle of the room. Most of their names were familiar from school. Mere side glances passed in the halls, people that I would probably never talk to again.

"James Tucker."

He stumbled on his way to the bowls, causing him to lose his balance and nearly hitting the floor. A couple of people from Dauntless snickered and his face flushes red in embarrassment. James was never someone that neither I nor Uriah was ever close to. I knew that he was our age, but he liked to hang out with a different crowd. I didn't know much about him at all, yet it still shocked me to the bone when he chose Candor.

Murmurs and whispers immediately arose among the crowd, especially the Dauntless. I could see someone who I remembered to be his parents, watching him intensely. His mom put her face in her hands, while his dad patted her shoulders gently. Crying was seen as a sign of cowardice, especially during times like this.

More names go by, but they all blur together in my mind. Until I heard Marcus say, "Tris Pedrad."

I gulped, my knees were shaking so hard I thought I was going to collapse. I felt someone squeeze my shoulder, I turned around to face Uriah. No words came out of his mouth, but I understood everything he was saying.

My legs start moving forward, but my mind is still in a haze. The room is silent except for the sound of my shoes against the tiled floor, and a ringing sound.

Marcus hands me the knife.

I grip the knife with all my strength as I touch the blade to my palm and slowly drag it down. The sting is light, I can barely even feel it. I watch a drop of blood slide down my hand, and I let out a shaky breath. The ringing, I realized, is in my ears.

With one sudden motion, I thrust my arm over the bowls. The sound of my blood sizzling on the coals echoes around the room.

I closed my eyes and whispered to myself, "I am brave."

The End

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