Here they are: all the new Dauntless initiates for the year. May scans the group: the familiar faces of the Dauntless-born who chose to return home smile expectantly, waiting eagerly to find out what the next adventure is. She notices a few missing faces, and immediately moves the thought from the forefront of her mind. This is no time to mourn the people who have left. Later, perhaps, in private where no one will see her and remind her that faction comes before blood. She doesn't need to be reminded again.

Instead, she looks on the new faces: plenty of transfers from Candor and none from Abnegation, like usual. There are a couple specks of Erudite blue, and—she has to blink once or twice to make sure she's seeing right—one young woman dressed in the happy red and gold of Amity. Dauntless rarely receives transfers from Amity, and the few who do never make it past the first trip on and off the train. May inspects the Amity girl's face, to see if she's panicking or shell-shocked from what's probably the first rush of adrenaline she's felt in her life, but the girl's face is still and serene, calmly taking in her surroundings. Well, May thinks, I guess we'll see how an Amity responds to fear.

"My name is May," she announces. Every year, people assume it's her first name, and she doesn't correct them. The constant debate she hears about what her real name is amuses her. "I'm one of your Dauntless leaders. The entrance to Dauntless"—she gestures behind her—"is off that ledge."

"What's down there?" a Candor boy with dark hair asks.

She shrugs. "I didn't ask. One of our transfers will have the honor of going first to find out what's at the bottom."

There is a murmur among the crowd of transfers, as the Dauntless-born jeer and take bets. Bobbi, a Dauntless-born, nudges her friend while staring at a Candor boy. "Bet that one doesn't have the guts to take the jump at all," she sneers, making sure to speak loud enough to let the boy hear. It's a dare, pure and simple, and every Dauntless knows it.

The Candor boy knows it, too, and he can't resist. He'll fit right in, May thinks, as the Candor boy mutters "Out of my way," and pushes his way to the front. Though he is trying to act cocky, May sees his hands, balled so tightly into fists that his knuckles are white. He turns, tosses a mocking salute to Bobbi, and jumps.

He cries out loudly enough for all of the other initiates to hear; all of them also hear when his scream suddenly stops. May lets the silence resound for a moment before asking "Who's next?"

Most of the Dauntless-born are pushing and shoving one another for the opportunity to be the first Dauntless-born jumper, a title that has some prestige, although not as much as the title of first jumper. The dark-haired Candor boy who spoke up before is also fighting to be near the front. The
Amity girl and the only Erudite boy hang back. One by one, the initiates take the plunge into the Dauntless compound until those two are the only ones left.

"One of you has got to go sometime," May remarks, "or be factionless. Make your choice."

"I'll go," the girl volunteers. She touches the boy on the arm. "I'll see you down there, all right?"

"All right," he replies, still ashen-faced. May knows what the girl has done: she has made the boy promise to take the jump and meet her at the bottom, rather than choosing to be factionless as he was considering. The Amity may be fools, May thinks, but they are good at what they do: being kind.

The Amity girl takes a deep breath, holds onto her voluminous golden skirt, and jumps. Her jump is silent: no screams of terror or delight like most of the people before her. May turns to the boy. "Are you coming or not?"

He nods, not trusting his own voice. He steps up onto the ledge with shaky feet, and steps off into the darkness. His high-pitched scream pierces the air, and its sudden disappearance lets May know when he's hit the net. She waits a moment, then follows him down, imagining how terrifying the plunge must have been for the initiates who didn't know what was waiting for them at the bottom.