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Eric's POV:


My name is Jai Eric Courtney. This morning I took my aptitude test.
I got Erudite, so that is what I will choose tomorrow at the ceremony; it’s the logical thing to do.
I sit here, alone, in my room.
Usually, I would have my nose stuck in a book, but not tonight.
Tonight, I want to do something different.
After all, my nose will probably be buried in a book for the rest of my life.
I have never done anything that I wasn't supposed to do; I’ve done nothing risky, or dangerous.
I am well-mannered, well-groomed and well-behaved.
I want to break that boring habit, even if only just once.


I decide I want to sneak out, and go for a walk through the city, in the middle of the night.
It might not seem like much, but I feel a tingling of excitement as I make my way through the front entrance of Erudite HQ.
It was really too easy.
Maybe I should do this more often.
I walk swiftly across the lawn, not slowing down until my feet touch the pavement of the old road, settling into a comfortable stride.
I grin to myself, thinking of how my mother would react if she saw me out here.
She would probably pop a blood vessel in her eye, or something.


I walk for a long time, and it is probably midnight, when I realize that I have no idea where I am at.
It looks an awful lot like factionless territory.
I debate with myself if I should try to find a phone to call my mother, when I notice something moving, just ahead of me.
Barely concealed by the shadows, I see a girl from Erudite, walking down the cracked sidewalk.
She moves as if she knows exactly where she is going.
I decide that the logical thing to do at this point, would be to follow her.
She has to go back home at some point.



Kaitlynn's POV:

My parents were fighting again tonight.
Somehow, they always bring me into the middle of it, like I'm the reason they hate each other.
They were doing great until I came along, or, so they tell me.
They really hate when I pull the "I never asked to be born" card.
My mom slapped me last night.
My dad pushed me out the door tonight; he told me to cool off before I come back.


That is why I end up out here on the street. I'm heading towards my hideaway; my secret “spot”.
It's a loft in the factionless sector, in a dilapidated apartment building. I have decorated it over the last few years, with candles, curtains, blankets, different pieces of art that I have found searching through the rest of the building and many stacks of books that I have stolen, or "borrowed", from the library back in Erudite.


I am walking in the shadows, but there is a little light from the street lamps, highlighting my path.
I am cold, as I didn't have time to grab a jacket tonight; I was pushed out the door, after all.
I think I will start a fire in the hearth, when I arrive at my safe haven.
I hear something rustling on my right.
I stop.
I squint my eyes to see down the dark alleyway.
There are three figures hunched down in the shadows.
This is unusual; I might be in the factionless part of town but, I rarely run into any of the factionless.


"Hi there, Sweetheart!" one of them calls out to me, as they stand to their feet.
I pivot around to run away, but there is a another man behind me.
"Excuse me," I say as politely as I am able, the fear thick in my voice. "I was just going home."
"What's the rush, Darlin'?" another one drawls. He has clearly been drinking, by the smell of alcohol emanating from his person.


None of these men are old, but none of them are as young as I am, either; they’re probably in their early to mid twenties.
And they are all big; they tower over me.
I feel trapped.
I am trapped.


"Dustin, you going first tonight?" the man that was behind me said.
"Damn right I am, Eddie!" Dustin sang, coming way too close for comfort.
I try to move away, again, but I am trapped by the four men surrounding me, and one of them, Dustin, is actively advancing towards me.
I duck down, trying to make a run for it under their legs.
It's no use.
The one called Eddie grabs my pony tail, and hauls me back onto my feet, spinning me around. He wraps an arm around my neck, and presses himself into my back, as I squirm.


"Alright fella’s, this one ain't cooperatin'! Romy, Samson, grab a leg! I got 'er arms!"
I feel my stomach drop, and I begin to kick out at the two factionless men reaching for my legs. My foot caught one of the men in the stomach, but my offense didn't go any further than that.
Eddie punched me in the head, and my vision went blurry; I was disoriented.
This was not good.


I barely registered who had which leg, only that one minute I was fighting to break away from their grasp and, the next, I was completely incapable of moving.
I blinked my eyes a few times and then Dustin was in my face.
He was touching my hair, my face and my lips.
He moved his hand down and, in one smooth motion, my shirt was gone. I had only a bra to cover my chest, and the factionless man pulled down one side to cup my left breast.


I felt the goose bumps creep over me as the cold air hit my exposed skin. My throat felt tight and I swallowed thickly.
I knew what was going to happen.
These men or, at least Dustin, was going to rape me and either kill me, or kidnap me.
I screamed at the realization, a sob following shortly after.
Dustin just chuckled darkly, pushing up my skirt and ripping the crotch of my panties, telling the others to hold me tight.


Without any more of a warning, Dustin was inside of me.
My eyes went wide and I screamed, again.
But these factionless men didn't care; they found humor in my pain and useless struggle.
Dustin was squeezing my breasts painfully as he continued to thrust inside of me. I don't know if it was the shock of what was happening, or the pain from his brutal attack, but I passed out.



Eric's POV:

I couldn't believe what I was witnessing; four factionless men just jumped the girl that I was following.
She was putting up a fight, but it was to no avail; she just couldn't fight off four men.
They had stripped her, and were laughing as one of the men brutally violated her young body. Her struggle halted and, as I snuck closer, I realized that she had fainted.


I jumped out at them, and punched the one they called Dustin, in his face, forcing him off the girl at the same time.
I slammed my foot into his skull, in my rage, over and over again.
Then I saw the blood, and the questionable, discolored liquids.
He was dead.
I killed him.
I don't know what I was thinking.
Maybe I thought I could take on three guys bigger, and older than me; possibly trained.
I was wrong.



Kaitlynn's POV:

I slowly opened my eyes, and as I did so, I noticed a few things.
First, I was no longer under attack.
Second, Dustin was dead.
Third, there was a boy from Erudite fighting the other three men like an animal.


I thought to myself, that he must have been the one who killed Dustin.
He was putting up a good fight, but I could tell that he was not trained to fight, and these factionless men were, at least, experienced.
I don't want to leave the Erudite boy to get injured but, logically, if I stay here, those men will finish what they started with me.
I take advantage of the distraction, and slip away; still mostly naked.


There is blood dripping down my thighs, from between my legs, under my blue skirt. I don't want to go to my secret place tonight; I want to go home.
Home is safer, but, I don't have a choice; I need clothes.
I hear a scream, then another, and still yet another cry of pain.
The heart-wrenching sounds of anguish, and agonizing pain, tear from the lips of the Erudite boy that saved my life.




**************************


The next day.


Kaitlynn's POV:

I sit in the backseat of the car, in silence.
If my parents notice the absence of my persistent babbling, they don't say anything.
If they are aware of the fact that I'm wearing makeup, for only the third time in my 15 years of life, they don't say anything.
I was able to cover up the bruises on my face and lips, and I'm wearing a long-sleeved, white sweater with a blue collar, and long, dark blue slacks cover my legs.


We are driving to the choosing ceremony.
Both my parents are on Jeanine's council, so we have to attend every year.
I find myself thinking about next year; my aptitude test, and my choosing ceremony.
I’ve made up my mind that I don't care what my test might tell me, or what my parents might think; next year, when choosing day arrives, I am going to choose Dauntless.
I am going to choose Dauntless, because I never want to be so helpless again. I know I still might not be able to fight off four men; statistically, and logically, that would still be impossible.
But I could do some damage.
I could take someone down with me.


We arrive at the circular drive just outside the Hub; the dome-shaped building is crowded.
My parents and I make our way down the stairs to our seats in the third section, and we sit in the first row at floor level.
No one seems to notice him; why would they?
But, I do.
I notice him.
Though he is dressed in clean, Erudite blue, I notice the way he walks with a limp.
I notice the way he holds the ribs, under his heart. I notice the marks on his face, and the bags under his eyes; he looks as though he didn't sleep at all.
The boy who saved my life goes to stand with the other Erudite who are choosing today.


For some reason, my heart feels heavier, and I feel like crying.
Why do I feel like this?
It's my fault.
It's my fault he got hurt.
I realize I don't know what happened to him, but I know it wasn't good.
He is about to choose.
They are already calling names.


"Tobias Eaton!" Marcus calls his son’s name. The Leader of the selfless faction seems nervous, like he knows the Abnegation boy will defect.
There is a noticeable air of hostility between the two; something isn’t right with them.
I feel the tension in the air like electricity and, somehow, I know I'm not the only one experiencing this negative energy.
Tobias cuts into his palm and, hesitantly, hovers his hand over the burning embers in the Dauntless bowl.
The whole Dauntless section roars.
They are excited, to say the least.
I guess it's not every year that they get an Abnegation transfer.


"Jai Courtney!" Marcus calls out another name, looking angry and flustered, confirming my suspicions that he does, indeed, have some dark "secret".
I watch as the boy who saved my life limps over to the bowls, and with him there was no hesitation; he chose Dauntless.
He's gone.
He's gone.


I don't pay attention to anybody else from there on out.
I don't know Jai Courtney, but I feel as though his imminent absence has left me more alone than I was, before I came in here.
Now, I am even more adamant.
I will Choose Dauntless.