Choose Your Own Adventure: Divergent

Whose Idea?- 59

You glance back at Tris, then dart off, dodging vines and glass. Tris doesn't know the area- she doesn't know the shortcuts, the bridges, not like you do, and she's out of practice. Factionless run. Factioned don't, outside of Dauntless.

It's not even a competition. You're already halfway up the creaking, rusty ladder by the time she gets there, breathing hard, mouth agape. You feel sort of bad for stealing her idea.

"Hey," you say, peering down at her. "I'm climbing this thing to see where the other team is. Do you want to help-"

She shakes her head, crossing her arms and slinking off back into the wreckage. That's weird, you think, and keep climbing. The bars are thin, crumbly, and almost collapse in your hand.

You shiver in the wind, climbing higher. You don't need to think about that. 

"Y/N," a voice says, and you almost jump. Someone's hand pushes against your side. "Just me," Four says, grunting with the effort of holding you up, and you quickly grab back onto the bars. His voice is low, smooth, soothing. 

"What do you think you're doing?" He says.

"I have the high ground," you say, gesturing to the land spread out below you. "I can see the other team from here, and then getting their flag will be easy."

You can see him smile in the dark. "All right," he says. "Keep going."

You shrug and go ahead, climbing rung after rung, trying not to think about the gusts of wind or how high up you are. 

"So tell me..." he says, and you hear the clank of the rungs behind you as he climbs, "what do you think the purpose of the exercise is? The game, I mean, not the climbing."

There's a platform right above you. You heft yourself up to the next rung, the wind shoving against you. You grip the metal bars.

"Strategy? Teamwork?" you guess. 

"Teamwork," he agrees, a laugh hitching in his throat. He inhales shakily, in a way that seems almost... panicked. "Used to be a priority."

The carousel looks small beneath you. You can't see your group. You ignore it and climb higher, the wind setting your skin ablaze. 

"Are you human, Y/N?" Four gasps, shaking his head. "Being up this high... it doesn't scare you at all?"

The wind knocks you to the side, clinging to the bars, and Four's cold hand clamps around your hip, finger finding a strip of bare skin. He steadies you, restoring your balance, and you can't breathe, mouth dry. You feel where his hand left you, and shiver. 

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yes, of course," you reply hurriedly, climbing up the wheel and hauling yourself onto the platform. "You're afraid of heights, aren't you? How do you survive using the Dauntless entrance?"

"I ignore it," he says, breathing heavily, pressing against a support. "When I make decisions, I pretend my fear doesn't exist."

You nod, wind chilly against your face. "That's brave," you say. The city is dark, except for... You point, excited. "The park!" You shout through the wind, and he smiles. 

"The park," he echoes, excited. He has a scar on his chin that moves when he smiles. "The trees provide camouflage, and-"

"...it's surrounded by open space," you finish with him, grinning. "Come on, let's get down there."

He starts down, and you go behind him. His hands are bright red, shaking in the cold. 

Suddenly, the bar on your foot clatters to the ground, leaving you swinging in the air.

"Oh my gosh," you whisper, terrified. "Oh my gosh, Four..."

You can't stretch to the next foothold, and your sweaty hands are slipping, just like Christina's...

"Hold on!" Four shouts, climbing down. "Hold on! I have an idea!"

Your hands are wrapped around the frigid bar, knuckles white, fingers bright red, almost purple in the cold. You smell metal. You won't last long.

You squeeze your eyes shut. "Four!" You shout,  struggling to focus on your ragged breathing. One, two, three, four. Do something. Do something, please...

And then there's a wheeze, a creak, and everything shudders. You scream, fighting for a grip, air rushing up like a geyser around you. 

The Wheel is moving. 

You focus on the ground, and when you can see the bottom, you drop, jumping and landing in a roll, heart slamming against your chest. You thud into the concrete, breathing heavily but unharmed. 

You press your palms to your face, chest huffing. You hear footsteps, and Four's hands wrap around yours, pulling them away, warm. 

"You all right?" he asks, starting to laugh.

Relief floods through your chest, and you laugh, too. "Yeah."

"Come on," he says, still holding your hand, touch charged with electricity, flooding through you. "Let's go tell the others."

You limp over to the carousel, and it's a breeze from there. 

"We know where they are," Four says breathlessly, charging into the clearing with the carousel. "Y/N climbed the Ferris Wheel to look for the other team."

He looks at her with admiration. You smile, beaming.

"They're in the park at the end of the pier," you say, stepping and grinning at everyone. "We can do this! We're going to win!"

You run over, shooting and bombarding the other team. They don't stand a chance, and you get the flag: a sparkly piece of pink fabric. Christina grabs it, waving it over her head with a yell.

You grin, too. "Whoo!" You yell, adrenaline flooding through you, and you feel Dauntless.

1+ Four

1- Tris

Advance to 62.