Dynasty [Eric Coulter]

0.3

*

Annabella still couldn't erase her parent's expressions from her mind as she exited the building with her new faction. Her mother, on one hand, looked proud of her daughter while her father stared at her with wide, tearful eyes.

Her and her father had never been that close, but they were family and they loved each other. Mr. Beckett knew about his daughter's misbehaving throughout Amity - everyone did - but he never thought she'd leave the faction for Dauntless. Chandler waved at her from his seat, though she could she how confused he looked as she left.

She couldn't think on it any longer because the Dauntless began to run. Annabella smiled and raised her skirt slightly, so she wouldn't trip on it. Her lungs burned as she ran, not used to this level of exercise at one time. But it felt good to her.

Up ahead, she could see a few members begin to climb up steel rails. She paused, watching them in disbelief for a seconds before she ran again. Annabella let go of her skirt and grabbed one of the rails. She put her leg on it, pulling herself up and began to climb after one of the Dauntless born. When she got to the top, she had to pull herself onto the platform.

A sense of pride filled her knowing she had reached the top of the platform. She looked around, noticing a set of train tracks in front of her and smirked. She knew what was going to happen now - they had to jump on a train.

When the other Dauntless members began to run, she followed them. The train was now moving beside her and, while it felt dangerous to be that close to a moving train, Annabella rejoiced in the feeling. She watched a boy grab onto the train door and jump in, and put her arm out to do the same. She lifted herself into the train, nearly falling on her face when she felt someone steady her.

In front of her stood a boy in a white jacket and black jeans. Blonde hair fell over his forehead nicely and his brown eyes were warm when he smiled at her. Annabella smiled back. "Thank you."

"Not a problem." The boy said as he let go of her and extended his hand. "I'm Albert, but you can call me Al."

Annabella nodded her head. "I'm Annabella."

"You plan on sticking with that name, Amity?" Annabella turned to face a shorter girl, with short black hair and a darker complexion. She was from Candor as well based on her clothing. Beside her stood Beatrice Prior. "I heard you can change your name in Dauntless."

Annabella hummed, thinking for a moment. She had always liked being called Anna, even if her brother was the other one to do it. "Call me Ana."

"Ana." Al nodded his head in approval. "I like it."

"I'm Christina." The Candor girl introduced before motioning to Beatrice beside her. "This is Beatrice."

Shouting came from further down the train again and Ana saw two boys throw themselves out of the door. Her eyes widened and she moved to look out the train, relaxing when she saw the boys land on a roof. "They're jumping again."

"Again?" Christina asked. "I swear they're trying to kill us."

Ana only laughed at them before moving back to the furthest wall. She looked at the three, who stared at her in confusion. "Don't just stand there. Jump!"

With her words, she raced forward and jumped through the door, letting out an 'oof' when she landed on the concrete of the roof. She laughed loudly, as she stood, amazed that she had just jumped out of a train. Al stood beside her now as Beatrice and Christina laughed on the ground in front of them.

Ana looked around, feeling prideful as the wind whipped through her hair. Though, her face fell when she looked towards the edge of the building. A Dauntless girl was leaning over the edge, crying loudly as she looked over. "What happened?"

Christina looked in the same direction. "Someone must have missed the jump."

Ana hummed, feeling sorry for the girl. She didn't even have a chance. "Listen up!"

The group of four turned the other way, noticing that two Dauntless men had appeared. The one who had spoken was standing in front of a ledge with his hands crossed in front of him. He was dressed in all black, though his sleeveless shirt showed off his dark skin. "My name is Max. I'm one of the Dauntless leaders. The only way to enter this compound is by jumping off of the ledge. If you can't jump, you don't belong here."

Murmurs broke out throughout the crowd but Ana only looked around at them. This was Dauntless, what did they expect? Max jumped down from the ledge easily, looking at the group with narrowed eyes.

"Is there water at the bottom or something?" An Erudite boy with brown hair and pale skin asks.

Max smirks at him. "Only one way to find out."

The crowd is silent as everyone looks around, waiting for someone to make the first move. Ana looks at each other the transfers, wondering if anyone would step up first. She started to open her mouth, but Beatrice beat her to it.

The Abnegation girl stepped forward, sliding her arms of out her gray cardigan. One boy whistled and Ana looked over to a Candor boy. "Yeah, Stiff, take it off."

He muttered something else under his breath, causing the people around him to laugh loudly. Ana rolled her eyes at the boy, already knowing he was going to cause trouble here. Beatrice ignored them and climbed up onto the ledge shakily. Her new friend took a breath breath before she let herself fall.

Ana laughed at the sound of Beatrice's screams as she fell from the roof. She stepped up instantly. "I'll go next."

More murmurs erupted as Annabella stepped up to the ledge. She climbed onto it confidently, though when she looked down, she felt her hair stand up. She was never one for heights. Nevertheless, she turned around to face the boy from Candor. With a sarcastic grin at him, she fell backwards into the air.

Ann laughed as she fell. She spread her arms out, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping her face. She felt free for the first time in her life.

Her back hit the net harshly, causing the wind to be knocked out of her briefly. She breathed in deeply, trying to regain her composure. However, the net was being pulled down and she felt herself roll towards the edge.

Another man was pulling down the net, looking at her with fierce, dark eyes. He gripped her arm tightly as he helped her out. Once her feet were on the ground, she thanked the man. A laugh broke out through the crowd. "A Stiff and an Amity are the first two jumpers. Amazing."

The man who helped her rolled his eyes, before speaking. His voice was deep and low. "What's your name?"

"Ana." Annabella answered, looking around the faction now.

"Second jumper, Ana!" He shouted, causing her to look back at him. He smirked and nodded his head to where Beatrice was standing. "Welcome to Dauntless."

***

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