Warning: OOC, a whole lot of OC's and AU. Initiation age is eighteen years old not sixteen as was stated in the book. The Insurgent and Allegiant books have never occurred.
I was told that my OC is a Mary-Sue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. Credit goes to Veronica Roth.
All OC's are property of missalohahula.

Acknowledgements: Certain lines and phrases are taken from other various books, television shows and movies. Among them are The Big Bang Theory, Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones, Frozen, Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and others. There are too many to list, but credit goes to those respective writers, producers, etc.

Summary: It has been two years since an Abnegation-born initiate by the name of Beatrice Prior became a member of Dauntless. Now it is JoyAnna "Ana" Summers from Amity who will leap off the train, jump into the net and fight her way through the ranks showing that she too belongs in the faction of the brave.
Along the way she will discover the consequences of her choices, changing her name, making new friends, the dangers, the hurt of betrayal, and falling in and out of love.
Meanwhile, in Dauntless the hunt is still on for the Divergent threat and Jeanine Matthews is now losing hope in the determined, arrogant, and ruthless young leader, Eric. He is eager to prove himself but will this new initiate from Amity show him another path?
Can JoyAnna help Eric differentiate between fear and respect, cruelty and justice, or love and lust? Or will it be too late?

Part 1/3 in the Differentiate series.

DIFFERENTIATE
Meaning: To see or state the difference between two or more things, people, places, etc.
Related words: comprehend, discern, understand, and change.

Chapter 1: Ana

"JoyAnna," my mother patted my arm causing me to jerk awake.

I had been thinking about my aptitude test again. Granted, as I looked around at the hall full of other eighteen-year-old dependents, I knew I wasn't alone. Today was the day that we all decided what we would do, where would go and who we would be for the rest of our lives.

My name is JoyAnna Summers. And I am from Amity, one of five factions that make up the community of our City. The Erudite are those who value intelligence. They thought the world fell into chaos because we lacked the knowledge and insight to know better. Then there are those from Candor. They value the quality of honesty and truth. Candor believe, or will vehemently argue with you, that dishonesty caused the war. The Abnegation value selflessness. They give of their time and energy to help others because the world was apathetic before the war.

And the Amity, I thought with a sigh. We farm. Well, we do more than farm. We believe that forgiveness and kindness are essential to keeping the peace. We don't raise our hands or our voices in anger at one another. We are happy, peaceful, kind…

"JoyAnna Summers," the man with a long black jacket called my name once more.

A few people from Amity that sat around us began to glance at me. And apparently some of us were impatient.

"It's a big decision," I whispered, trying not to stare back at the other Amity families.

My mother squeezed my hand and smiled. "And we will love you no matter you decide," she replied.

I looked at my father who sat on the opposite end of my mother. My two oldest brothers, Jordan and Jonathan went to Erudite during their choosing ceremony. Now it was my turn to choose. My father turned to look at me, giving me a smile.

"What do I do, Daddy," I asked softly. "I don't want to leave you."

"JoyAnna Summers," the man at the front called my name yet again.

"You know what to do, Wildflower," he used his nickname for me and gave me a nod.

I slowly stood up and walked towards the platform. Looking up at the man who stood before me, I knew that he was from Dauntless. The fifth and final faction of our City. The Dauntless value bravery. They protect our City.

"Choose wisely," he gestured to the knife causing my mind to remember the aptitude test once more.

Behind me sat rows and rows of color – red, yellow, orange, grey, blue, white, black. All of them distinguishing which faction you belonged to by what you wore. The bowls in front of me – all white. Inside the bowls were things that represented each faction. But I couldn't help but think what represented me?

The Dauntless man cleared his throat causing me to look up at him. Obviously, every other dependent was quick about this, but I was taking my time. I noticed a few of the other leaders who sat up on the table looking me over.

Did they know? Did they know what was on my test? Did I even know what was on my test, I thought as I glanced back down at the bowls before me.

"Miss Summers…"

"Let her go," a voice from where the leaders sat stated.

"It is a choice that she will live with for the rest of her life," another stated as the Dauntless man standing before me nodded at them.

I glanced up again at the leaders who stood before me – all of them exuding confidence in where they sat. Members of the five factions sat behind me, waiting to see if I'd return home with my family. And if I didn't, which one of them I would choose to defect to.

Pain in my heart made my eyes water, causing me to sniff and my breathing to come out harsh. I thought about my father's words last night after my mother had cooked every little delicious meal that I loved. He told me that wildflowers weren't meant to be kept in a pot, that they grow wild and free. After dinner had finished and my younger siblings had been tucked in, he told me that he was proud of the young woman I had become and knew there was more for me. I thought about my mother's words just now - they would love me no matter what I decide. They must have known. Deep down inside, I had always known, too.

Turning around, I blinked my eyes – a tear falling down my cheek and mouthed 'I love you' to my parents before turning back around and closing my eyes.

I slit my hand and squeezed a couple drops of blood over the bowl.

"Dauntless," screamed the man.

I looked up at him as he smiled and nodded. I heard gasps almost immediately, but they were drowned out quickly by the cheers and screams coming from the section of black clothing. I turned around and walked down there and was immediately greeted with claps and pats on the back.

"Alright Amity," shouted the other dependent who had gone before me – a Dauntless-born. "You can breathe now, Amity," he smiled, gesturing for me to sit next to him as I nodded my head and deeply exhaled, feeling a huge weight come off my shoulders.

My heart was pounding so fast. The pain of my earlier choice still lingered. And yet, I couldn't help but smile. I did it. I made this decision, and I am going to be my own person now!

It was not long until I was joined by another dependent who came down from the platform to sit by me. He did some sort of 'high-five/handshake' with the other Dauntless boy before softly hitting my knee.

"Sup Amity," he said looking at me with a smile. "I'm Hector Rodriguez, but you can call me Hec."

"JoyAnna," I answered. "JoyAnna Summers."

"Sounds so much like an Amity," the boy on my right answered.

"It does. Let's try it again," the boy named Hector stated. "You can call me Hec."

He gestured to me then. I made this choice – this choice to leave Amity behind, leave JoyAnna Summers behind. So, who do I become now?

"Ana," I answered. "You can call me 'Ana'."

Hec nodded in approval and looked forward as another Dauntless boy came down to where we sat. They all did that high-five handshake. And it wasn't until the next Dauntless boy had come down that I stood up also and began to welcome my fellow initiates.

"That's the spirit, Ana," Hec nudged me as we cheered.

I took note of a few others who had come to sit by Dauntless. There were a lot of Dauntless born, which was to be expected. But glancing around I also saw Candor-born and even Erudite-born sitting down. I should have known that there would be no other Amity or Abnegation coming here.

And sure enough, after the Dauntless leader had gave his concluding speech, I had been the only Amity to defect to Dauntless.

"That was it," I whispered. Biggest decision in my life and now…

Hec hit my leg. "Let's go Ana! It's time to see your new home!"

Home, I thought. I took one last look at my mom. She smiled and I smiled back as a tear rolled down her cheek. My father wrapped an arm around her and gave me a small wave as I got pushed forward through the crowd of black clothing.

Three children, I thought. My parents had three children who had defected. Not one of them had stayed back. They still had Joshua and James. But Joshua didn't have his choosing day for another two years. And James was only five-years-old. My mother was sad after visiting Jonathan at Erudite during visiting day. When we came back, she told my father she wanted another child at home. Something told me that she'd ask for another, again. And I wouldn't get to see that sibling. I wouldn't get to sing him to sleep, like I did with James. Or walk home with him from school, like I did with Joshua. I hoped my parents told them that I loved them.

Was that regret I was feeling? I looked ahead and caught a few Dauntless-born urging the Erudite-born, Candor-born and myself to keep up with them.

The sudden whooping had broken me out of my distress. Suddenly, we were running full speed down the streets with everyone laughing and shouting. We ran up a short hill to see the train coming around the corner. I turned to look, and half of the black clothing was all running down the tracks. I didn't get it. The train was way over there and yet, they were still running.

Wait, the train wasn't way over there!

The train was coming up fast.

I had to keep up with everyone else, so I ran after them, too. I made a mental note to ditch this long orange skirt the second I got into the Dauntless compound, especially if I was going to be doing a whole lot of running.

A girl in a tight blue skirt and a light blue cardigan ran alongside me laughing.

"This doesn't seem practical, wouldn't it be better to stop the train and get on," she said smiling at me.

"I think that's why they're Dauntless," I joked back as we both started to laugh.

I could see her point though. It would have been better to stop it. But what would that prove? It would prove that we were weak and couldn't run after the only mode of transportation that the Dauntless used. It was so different than the train that came through Amity to drop off and pick up supplies. That train was slow-moving and made a stop at the Amity port to load things onto it. Air blew past me, threatening to pull my hair from its braid as strands whipped around my face. Yes, this was a different train. I let out a breath of frustration as the train came closer. I didn't think that I could have made it on. Right as the middle car of the train passed, a hand reached out for mine.

"Come on, Ana," called out Hec.

I grabbed his hand and he pulled me in. I turned around to look for the Erudite girl who had been running alongside me, but she wasn't there.

"The girl that was next to me," I pointed asking Hec, but he nodded behind him. I turned just in time to see another Dauntless boy pull her in.

"Who are your friends, Hec," asked the boy as he released the girl's arm.

"Ana," he said pointing to me. I gave the boy a small wave, still breathless from the running. "And this is," he motioned towards the girl.

"Mina," she stated. "My name is Mina." She stole a glance at me and then turned back to the two boys. Something told me that she had just changed or shortened her name as well.

"I remember you from the ceremony," he pointed to me. "My name is Noah Pedrad," the boy said, giving me a smile and Mina a wink. Boy did they have gorgeous smiles. They looked so much more striking than Amity smiles. "I guess we'll see you ladies around," they said before walking back to the other Dauntless kids.

"So, your name is Mina," I asked turning to her.

"My name is Minerva."

"Ah, Roman goddess of wisdom," I stated. She looked over at me probably wondering how an Amity would know such a thing. "Don't ask," I simply answered.

"Hey, I'm no judge. If I was, I would have gone to Candor," she said quietly nodding at four girls who stood on the other side of the train dressed in white and black.

We both started to laugh. For some reason even laughing here felt better than laughing at Amity. It felt like I was going through the motions at home, whereas this felt natural. I felt a little guilty. Ten minutes with my new faction and I was already teasing my old one.

"Ana," I turned back to look at her. "That must be short for something too."

"How did you know?"

"An estimated hunch," she shrugged. "Or maybe we can say that I am a kind of smart," she elbowed me playfully before laughing.

I shook my head at her and looked out the door towards the direction that I knew Amity was. "Everything seems so freer, doesn't it?"

"It does."

"JoyAnna," I smiled. "My name was JoyAnna Summers."

"Yeah, that sounds so Amity," she said as we both started to laugh. "Let's not use our old names again. Nothing is freer than letting go of our past and become someone new in our new home."

I nodded in agreement as she let out a small laugh and pushed me again. It was a reminder to loosen up. Odd that an Erudite born was ready to turn over a new leaf. It seemed like she didn't want anything holding her back. It made me think that nothing should home me back either.

We moved until we were sitting down on one of the benches. Two more of the Dauntless born came to sit by us, breathlessly laughing about something. Mina had been right. Things were freer here, different. To me even the laughter was different.

I was musing about how much I was enjoying the laughter of people all around me when one of those Dauntless born accidentally got pushed into me. He was quick though – a reflex from being a Dauntless, I suppose. Because his hand shot out to brace him from fully falling on top of me. But that didn't stop me from noticing his face was mere inches from mine.

Both he and I looked at one another for a moment until he graced me with a handsome smile. I couldn't help but smile back. Mina cleared her throat next to me.

"Sorry," he smiled as he moved out of my lap.

"It's okay," I said looking down.

"You must be a transfer."

"Way to state the obvious," Mina teased, rolling her eyes.

I could tell by the way my heart was starting to flutter that he was still staring at me.

"I would say," the other boy began, "but after seeing who my friend just introduced us to," he winked at Mina. "I'm not sorry at all. Not one bit."

Quickly, I glanced over at Mina. That was the second boy who she got a wink from. And now that I was able to study her face and her figure more, I could understand why. Mina was gorgeous. Her fair skin, black hair, blue eyes and high cheekbones made for a flattering smile. She quickly enchanted the Dauntless boys here. Except for the one who was still sitting closely to me, I thought as I turned to look at him.

"This is Scott," Hec came by us and nodded towards the boy who realized how close he was and shuffled away slowly on the seat. Hec introduced the other boy to Mina who took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead," she added.

"What does he have that's shriveled up," Noah, the other Dauntless that was with Hec earlier, looked at the Dauntless boy whose name I didn't catch as though he had some disease. "I better not catch any of your shriveled-up nonsense, Ryan."

He made a gesture of grabbing his crotch area as the Ryan-boy began to wrestle with him. They were teasing each other. It was how friends joked around with one another and I was enjoying it.

"They're not always like this," Scott said next to me.

"I don't mind," I replied, turning to smile at him.

"Scott," Hec yelled as he went to join in on the wrestling.

"I think he wants back up."

"Then, I think you should go help him," I suggested when he continued to sit down by me.

"Uh yeah," Scott said shyly. "I'll see you two around. Sorry again for falling into you," he said.

"Of course," Mina said next to me, nudging me an inch or two over on the seat until I felt Scott flushed up against me. It was a few seconds until he was gone that Mina turned to me. "You were blushing."

"No, I wasn't," I shook my head.

"Yes, you were," Mina let out a giggle and I felt my cheeks get warm.

I looked down trying to hide my smile. "He is kind of cute."

"What did you say," Mina was started to push the issue.

I rarely talked to 'friends' back at Amity and in the brief time that I was talking to Mina, it felt like we were friends forever. She was funny, said weird things that would have made any other Amity girl think twice about being seen with such a person. But I was enjoying it - her wit, her sarcasm, her jokes. And I couldn't help but think that I had made a friend for life.

"He's kind of cute," I mumbled again trying to hide my smile.

"Girl, come on. We're in Dauntless," Mina said bumping my shoulder. "You need to shout that kind of thing out." We both laughed and then she let out a sigh as if she were daydreaming. "The Dauntless born are handsome, aren't they?"

"Is that the reason why you transferred," I asked with a teasing smile.

"Totally, someone told me that the boys here are way too gorgeous to pass up, so I had to see for myself. You know us Erudite born, we need to test the logic behind everything and we just love taking in knowledge – knowledge about whether or not a certain faction has handsome guys," she said as she sat up straighter, "sign me up."

I couldn't help but laugh again. If only she knew that the boys here were looking her way, too.

"Minerva," called out a boy in a blue suit as he walked over to us.

"Compare him to the boys that we just encountered," Mina whispered pointing to the boy who called her by her Erudite name. I turned to hide my laughter. The Erudite boy walking up to us was not that bad, but he seemed more of a gentle soul. "By the way, it's Mina now," she stated louder once he sat down.

The boy started to chuckle.

"Predictable. I was thinking of changing my name to Dio," the boy said as Mina laughed.

"Dio," I asked him. "Is that short for something or a totally different name altogether?"

"It's a shortened version of Dionysus," he said extending his hand which I shook. "And may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Ana," I smiled at him. "Your name is the name of a Greek God, right," I responded.

Dionysus, or Dio as he preferred to be called now, gave a questioning look at Mina.

"Hey, don't judge my new-found friend, just because she has brain," Mina said as she grabbed my shoulders. "Besides, I just got through explaining to her that we're so much cooler than the Candor-born."

"Say what," a Candor-born boy just happened to be walking by.

"Say what," Mina repeated, "a term used to imply shock at a statement and therefore the hearer is requesting that said statement be vocalized once more to confirm that what had been previous stated, was actually what the listener had heard."

I looked at her in disbelief as the Candor boy muttered something about 'Noses' – a term that was usually said to label Erudite-born in a derogatory manner – and began to walk away.

We all started to laugh. I couldn't help but shake my head at this girl. "You're not what I expected out of an Erudite-born."

"What did you expect? My face glued to a computer," she shook her head and smiled. "There's more to me than meets the eye. Don't get me wrong, I'm smart. I'm smart enough to know that I needed to get myself out of Erudite."

"I didn't seem all that bad to me, Erudite I mean," I replied.

"How do you know about it," Dio questioned.

I didn't want to explain that my brothers defected to Erudite and I had picked up a few things when going to see them on visiting day. They probably met my brothers. And while I had not seen my brothers in a year - my mother had noticed that Jonathan was becoming a well known figure in Erudite. If that were true, then these two had probably met my brothers. I wonder what Jordan and Jonathan would have thought about me choosing Dauntless over Erudite.

"Alright, we're here," shouted someone at the front, saving me from answering.

"Here, where," asked Dio. We looked out the door to see a bunch of buildings creeping by.

"We're at Dauntless," I said as I turned to look at the two of them.

"Ladies first," said Hec as he leaned by the door and motioned for us to jump out.

"We're jumping out," I questioned.

"We jumped in, why not jump out, too?" I turned to Mina as she grabbed my hand. "Let's do this," she replied, and we ran full speed out the door.

I took a quick look around me. Oh, dear lord would my mother freak out! We landed, more like tumbled, across the roof of the building.

"That was fun," I said looking at Mina. Mina's skirt was ripped and shredded, just like mine. But I didn't care anymore. These clothes belonged to JoyAnna, not Ana.

"I still say they should have stopped the train. Seems like the reasonable thing to do," she replied still smiling. "But yes, you're right. That was totally fun," she grabbed my hand and led me to where the crowd was forming.

Hec, Noah and Scott, along with a couple other Dauntless boys ran up behind us. I guess because they met us already, they thought it was okay to pull our hair or poke our sides. We would turn around and hit them playfully. I had never been around so much fun before. Yes, you would think that coming from Amity I would have witnessed it all, the fun and laughs. But now I was part of it. I was in a group, smiling, laughing and making friends.

"Shut up! Shut up," screamed someone in the front. All the Dauntless kids straightened out slowly. One of the girls came to stand behind the first boy I had seen at the choosing ceremony. Glancing at her, I saw some fear and concern in her eyes as they looked to the front.

I turned to see a guy massaging his temples.

"Why couldn't they have Max out here," asked one of the Dauntless-born girls.

"Or Four," supplied one of the boys.

"Because Eric missed me, guys," Noah smiled. "See him massaging his head? He was wondering if precious, handsome, totally amazing Noah Pedrad was coming back home."

He got a wistful look in his eye that made me look at him questionably.

"Whatever," one of the boys pushed Noah.

"He's joking," Scott came by and whispered in my ear before turning to Noah. "Shut up, Noah," Scott came by and pushed Noah also, chuckling at him. "You're making the rest of us Dauntless look crazy."

"I'm not crazy! Eric and me - we go way back." I couldn't help but smile with the rest of the Dauntless born as Noah started. "We're so tight. We're going to have a welcome back party in his apartment. All of us. I'm telling you, look at his new haircut. Eric wanted to look good for this special occasion in welcoming..."

"What was that Pedrad," the guy, who I'm assuming is Eric, looked up in our direction, halting Noah's conversation.

The guy's hair was short with cuts made on the side. It looked rugged and it matched him well. His eyes were greenish almost and piercing. He titled his head at us, analyzing and scrutinizing each of us. It was only then that I noticed I was wrong. His eyes were a mixture of blueish grey. Wait! Why was I looking at his eyes? His gaze looked cruel. His muscles seemed to flex as he studied us - or Noah - awaiting an answer. My initial thought was that he appeared dangerous.

"Nothing, sir," Noah called out.

Did he just call him 'sir'? Who was this guy?

"Yeah, you two are tight," Hec chuckled and elbowed Noah.

"I said 'shut up'," Eric's voice boomed. His tone and demeanor exuded authority. And just like that, all the Dauntless born around me fell into line. "That's more like it, initiates. And don't forget Dauntless-born, that from now, that's all that you are - initiates. Whatever special privileges you thought you had, went out the door the moment you cut your hand and selected Dauntless. That goes for all of you. You chose Dauntless, the faction that protects and maintains control in the City. If you came here thinking that we look cool and have a lot of fun doing so, well," he paused and smirked. "That's true but we also work. We train. We commit. We. Are. Brave."

Some of the boys around me nodded and looked ready for this journey. I, on the other hand, was still feeling a bit nervous.

"My name is Eric, if you didn't know by now," he snapped his head in our direction again to look at the Dauntless born.

"Great job, Noah," muttered one of the Dauntless born girls.

"He's pissed off now," another Dauntless born said.

"Eric is always pissed off," Noah scoffed.

"I am one of the leaders here at Dauntless," Eric announced.

"You're joking," Mina whispered next to me. I glanced at her as she looked at Eric, one of Dauntless' leaders in disbelief. "I can't believe that he's…"

"That he's a leader," I replied quietly. "I can't believe it either. He looks too young to be a leader."

"That's not…" She shook her head and looked away from Eric, glancing at me. "Let's just say I'm nervous about our initiation now."

Before I could ask, Eric continued to speak to us on the roof. "In order to get into Dauntless, you will need to enter this way," he pushed up onto his feet and walked towards the edge of the roof and looked down.

We all continued to look around at each other. Exactly what 'way' was he talking about? I saw no door, no stairs, no gate and nothing else to suggest that we were entering into a building.

"We're on top of a roof," one of the Erudite born muttered, also looking around.

"He wants us to jump?"

"Off the roof?"

"No, I've lived in the Compound all my life," one of the Dauntless began. "We don't enter this way."

"Confused," Eric jumped up on the edge and turned to face us. He made it seem so easy. And at the same time, I couldn't help but gasp at the sudden movement – as did many of my fellow initiates who were transfers. "Then let me give you all some clarity. This," he nodded with his head towards the ledge, "is how you will get into the Compound."

"We just jump off," I asked.

Eric's eyes zeroed in on me. "An Amity," he questioned in shock before smirking. "Well, well, well," he smiled and jumped off, walking slowly towards me. "Did you get on the wrong train, tree-hugger?"

"No."

"No," he repeated and looked at me expectantly. "Who do you think you're talking to, Amity?"

"You," I answered uncertainly before someone behind me muttered 'leader'. "You, sir," I finished.

"Good job, banjo-strummer," he added with a dark, twisted smile that made a couple of the Candor-born snickered at me. "Now answer my question, did you get on the wrong train?"

"No, sir."

"So, you knew you were coming to Dauntless?"

"Yes, sir. But we're jumping right off a building," I protested as Mina gripped my arm. "I mean we just jumped off a train. What if we get hurt?"

"Hurt," he repeated.

With one flick of his hand the Dauntless-born parted for him. I looked at the boys I had recently met and a few of them shook their heads, telling me to keep quiet.

"It's been a long time since Dauntless has seen an Amity," Eric stated. "There's a reason why. You," he glanced at Mina, looking her up and down with a look of disgust, causing her to shrink back. "Nose? Can you explain why an Amity is a rare sight in Dauntless? Or do you not know the answers? Could explain why you're here and not there."

The way he said it, made me look over at Mina. Her eyes narrowed up at him before turning away.

"No reply, huh? What about you, Pedrad? Nothing either. Do any of you know why," he asked everyone but turned his gaze back on me. "Do any of you know why," he repeated, in a louder and threatening tone. "Maybe you know why, Amity?"

I shook my head, refusing to answer. He took a step closer, until I felt his body press closely against mine.

"It's because an Amity never survives initiation. Are you going to survive, Amity?"

He pushed away and released a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Mina looked at me and I gave her a nod. I felt Scott and Hec look over at me with concern before Scott turned towards Eric and clenched his fists.

"This is one of the many first steps that you will take to become a Dauntless member. Every single step that you take will involve some level of getting hurt," he said the 'hurt' mockingly, teasingly. Almost as if I was a baby. "So, if you can't stand the idea of getting hurt, Amity – whether it's something Dauntless say or something that us Dauntless do, then I suggest you turn your ass back around and say hello to factionless while you're at it."

He made a hissing sound as if he was cleaning something that was stuck in his teeth and then turned around, dismissing me. It was like a predatory move I had seen some animals do. I'm guessing that I was going to be treated like prey. Was it because I was Amity born that he immediately wrote me off and decided to turn away? I had been saying it so much in my head now it was time to say it out loud.

"I'm not an Amity anymore," I snapped back.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I…"

"After all, you're just standing there. All of you are still standing around, actually," he gestured with his hands. "Makes me wonder if I'm going to have a bunch of pansies, tree-huggers on my hand this year," he chuckled darkly.

"If this is something I need to do to get into Dauntless, then why don't I prove I'm Dauntless," I said straightening out.

Hec grabbed my hand and shook his head. "Don't do it, Ana."

"I have to. We all have to."

He let me go and I walked with my head held high. I was sure to bump Eric's shoulder on the way to the edge of the roof. He growled at me as he watched me walk over to the ledge. This is it, Ana, I thought. You need to do this!

I looked over and saw a huge hole in the ceiling of a smaller building below. It seemed like a far drop. The hole was nothing but blackness. Why would this be the first step? Why would they want us to jump to our death? It made no sense. Or what if… I paused and glanced back as I heard footsteps behind me.

"We're waiting," Eric snarled right next to me, his breath falling on my neck. "Or are you too scared of getting hurt?"

He was intimidating me, intimidating everyone. But like he said, this was just one of our many first steps. There was more to come, more to do, more to be tested on. I turned to look up at him and could see it in his eyes.

"This is a test. And you're just trying to scare me, to scare us," I whispered so softly that only we could hear.

He narrowed his eyes before smirking. "Well, what do you know," he whispered back, looking me up and down before taking a step back. "Show me," he said loudly.

This was the first step, to see if we could face a daunting situation, dauntlessly. It was just a test, I repeated in my head as I stood up on the ledge. There was no way I could back down now. You need to, I thought. You need to get rid of the Amity and become Ana.

I am Dauntless.

I am Dauntless.

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly in order to calm myself down.

"I am Dauntless," I whispered as my eyes opened and I threw myself forward.

The wind whipped around me as I fell through the hole. I could feel the breeze in my hair, brushing at my skirt. A slight chill covered my skin and my heart began to beat wildly once more.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for what was to come.

But what came, shocked me even further.

Something had stopped me in this darkness, causing me to bounce back slightly. I let out a sharp gasp and a small scream as I tumbled back and forth a couple times before coming to spot where I stared back up at the ceiling, at the hole that I had fell through.

I turned my head to see a net was at the bottom of my fall. A net, I smiled and closed my eyes in relief. I was right! This had been just a test.

"Let's go, before the next person falls down on top of you," someone shouted.

I looked around and saw nothing but darkness. Was I in the Dauntless compound? I started to crawl to one side.

"This way, Amity," the person called out again.

I felt the net tug me the other way and I rolled down to see a guy, probably a couple years or so older than me. He was tall, with black hair and had a couple tattoos on him, like Eric. But he looked nowhere as impressive masculine wise. Neither were his eyes captivating. When he raised his eyebrow at me, it wasn't the same scary way Eric did it. Almost like this boy was trying too hard to look frightening.

At the same time, I couldn't help but think that he was still good looking. Perhaps Mina was right. Dauntless did have some handsome guys here.

I jumped out of the net as he helped me down to the ground. His eyes ran over me also.

"Well, you're not what I expected."

I remembered my skirt was ripped and my jacket was somewhere on the roof up there, tattered from the jumping I did earlier. I was showing more skin than my mother would have allowed.

"An Amity," questioned a deep voice behind me. I turned to see a handsome guy who had an equally as deadly look as Eric appear from the shadows. "Did you get on the wrong train?"

"No," I shook my head. Was this going to be a common misconception? That I got on the wrong train somewhere?

"What's your name?"

I couldn't help but stare at those lips. Why weren't guys this alluring at Amity? He looked down at me and cleared his throat.

"Um, it's, it's Ana."

"You don't sound so certain."

Well, you scared me, I wanted to reply but instead found myself standing taller. "My name is Ana," I answered with determination.