I scream. The brick wall is old, and pieces of crumbled cement fall all around me.
“Twilight! Someone! Anyone! Help us!” I look up and know that I could swing myself over this wall, easy. But I’m weighed down, a barely conscious Twilight slowly slipping out of my tight grip.
“You guys OK?” Someone asks. A boy leans over the edge and grabs my hand. He takes his time pulling us up, as if he has seen this before. It’s then that I realize he’s one of the instructors. I’m flung onto my stomach, and I struggle to breathe. Twilight jerks awake right before hitting the gravel on top of the roof. She lands on her side, and rolls over onto her back, groaning.
And then she laughs.
“Why are you laughing?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” She says between giggles. It’s then that I realize we both could’ve died.
“It’s not funny.” I say, but I’m laughing, too. I guess it’s a relief strategy or something.
“Everybody gather ‘round!” Someone shouts. I stand up and brush myself off, and then I see that the voice came from the same instructor that saved us. We all gather in front of him, and he says,
“I’m Mac. This is Armour. We’ll be your instructors during initiation. Now you all know from the past that if you get cut, you’re out. Yes?” Mac says, and I glance back to see a boy with brown bangs and a blue suit raising his hand.
“What do you mean by cut?” He asks, smirking. He obviously knows what it means; probably wants to scare the wimps.
“You get cut if your score is under the red line. Either that or you aren’t brave enough to complete any task we give you.” Armour says. He has the same smirk as the Erudite boy, and also Mac.
A ripple goes through the crowd and one person says,
“So, do we go back to our parents if we get cut?” She looks worried.
“No. Even if your parents wanted to take you back, they can’t. Law says that if you get cut, you’re factionless.” I see the girl struggling not to start crying.
“Alright,” Gordon says, looking bored, “Who’s gonna jump first?”
“Jump?” I hear Twilight murmur.
“Be careful this time,” I breathe. “If you land in the wrong place, it could cost you your life.” We both laugh softly. This catches Armour’s attention.
“You two want to be the first ones?”
“No... sir.” Twilight says nervously.
“Too bad.” He grins. Armour must be enjoying this.
“I’ll go.” I say bravely. Twilight releases a breath neither of us knew she was holding, and I step up onto the raised part of the roof. Someone woops.
“Alright!” They say. “You go girl!" Someone snickers. I hear a wolf whistle and roll my eyes.
I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and fall.