I Was Amity...

10

I stop listening once they're finished with us transfers. I look at each person on Four's team. What do we have in common? With the exception of Calum and a couple of the others, we all share the same body type: narrow shoulders, small frames. All the people on Eric's team are broad and strong. We will all be faster than Eric's team, which will probably be good for capture the flag. Growing up in Amity we played capture the flag all the time. Unlike Erudite or Abnegation, Amity kids had tons of free time. Amity didn't start working in the field till they're older. As kids Amity are always playing a game or singing, but always having fun no matter what they are doing.

They finish choosing teams, and Eric smirks at Four. "Your team can get off second," says Eric.

"Don't do me any favors," Four replies. He smiles a little. "You know I don't need them to win."

"No, I know that you'll lose no matter when you get off," says Eric, biting down briefly on the ring in his lip. "Take your scrawny team and get off first, then."

We all stand up. Liam gives me a forlorn look, and I smile back in what I hope is a reassuring way. The train is about to dip to the ground. I'm determined to land on my feet.

Jumping off the train, I'm ready for the momentum the train gives me, and I run a few steps to diffuse it but keep my balance.

One of the Dauntless-born initiates touches Four's shoulder and asks, "When your team won, where did you put the flag?"

"Telling you wouldn't really be in the spirit of the exercise, Marlene," he says coolly.

"Come on, Four," Marlene whines. She gives him a flirtatious smile.

Four brushes her hand off his arm, and for some reason, I find myself grinning. I can't help but think if that were Eric this girl's shit would never jive.

"Navy Pier," another Dauntless-born initiate calls out. He is tall, with brown skin and dark eyes, handsome. "My brother was on the winning team. They kept the flag at the carousel."

"Let's go there, then," Calum suggests.

No one objects, so we walk east, toward the marsh that was once a lake. When I was young, I tried to imagine what it would look like as a lake, with no fence built into the mud to keep the city safe. But it is difficult to imagine that much water in one place.

"We're close to Erudite headquarters, right?" Olivia asks, bumping Calum's shoulder with her own.

"Yeah. It's south of here," he tells her. He looks over his shoulder, and for a second his expression is full of longing. Then it's gone.

I know the feeling. Being so close to Amity yesterday was hard for me too. I give him a reassuring nod, and he gives me a small smile back.

We walk across the bridge. We still need the bridges because the mud beneath them is too wet to walk on. I wonder how long it's been since the river dried up. Once we cross the bridge, the city changes. Behind us, most of the buildings were in use, and even if they weren't, they looked well-tended. In front of us is a sea of crumbling concrete and broken glass. The silence of this part of the city is eerie; it feels like a nightmare. It's hard to see where I'm going, because it's after midnight and all the city lights are off. Marlene takes out a flashlight and shines it at the street in front of us.

"Scared of the dark, Marlene?" the dark-eyed Dauntless-born initiate teases.

"If you want to step on broken glass, Uriah, be my guest," she snaps.

But she turns it off anyway. I have realized that part of being Dauntless is being willing to make things more difficult for yourself in order to be self-sufficient. There's nothing especially brave about wandering dark streets with no flashlight, but we are not supposed to need help, even from light. We are supposed to be capable of anything. I like that. Because there might come a day when there is no flashlight, there is no gun, there is no guiding hand. And I want to be ready for it.