Veronica Roth - The Transfer - A Divergent Story

At that I do look at him. He’s smiling a little. I do see some pity in that smile, but not as much as I thought I would.

“I wouldn’t want to tell people my name either,” he says. “Come on, let’s get some food.”

Amar walks me over to the initiates’ table once we’re in the dining hall. There are a few Dauntless already sitting at the surrounding tables, eyeing the other side of the room, where pierced and tattooed chefs are still setting out the food. The dining hall is a cavern lit from beneath by blue-white lamps, giving everything an eerie glow.

I sit down in one of the empty chairs.

“Jeez, Stiff. You look like you’re about to faint,” Eric says, and one of the Candor boys grins.

“You all made it out alive,” Amar says. “Congratulations. You made it through the first day of initiation, with varying degrees of success.” He looks at Eric. “None of you did as well as Four over here, though.”

He points at me as he speaks. I frown—four? Is he talking about my fears?

“Hey, Tori,” Amar calls over his shoulder. “You ever hear of anyone having only four fears in their fear landscape?”

“Last I heard, the record was seven or eight. Why?” Tori calls back.

“I’ve got a transfer over here with only four fears.”

Tori points at me, and Amar nods.

“That’s gotta be a new record,” Tori says.

“Well done,” Amar says to me. Then he turns and walks toward Tori’s table.

All the other initiates stare at me, wide-eyed and quiet. Before the fear landscape, I was just someone they could step on, on their way to Dauntless membership. Now I’m like Eric—someone worth watching out for, maybe even someone worth being afraid of.

Amar gave me more than a new name. He gave me power.

“What’s your real name, again? Starts with an E . . . ?” Eric asks me, narrowing his eyes. Like he knows something but isn’t sure that now is the time to share it.

The others might remember my name too, vaguely, from the Choosing Ceremony, the way I remember theirs—just letters in an alphabet, buried under a nervous haze as I anticipated my own choice. If I strike at their memories now, as hard as I can, become as memorable as my Dauntless self as possible, I can maybe save myself.

I hesitate for a moment, then put my elbows on the table and raise an eyebrow at him.

“My name is Four,” I say. “Call me ‘Stiff’ again and you and I will have a problem.”

He rolls his eyes, but I know I’ve made myself clear. I have a new name, which means I can be a new person. Someone who doesn’t put up with cutting comments from Erudite know-it-alls. Someone who can cut back.

Someone who’s finally ready to fight.

Four.

About the Author

Photo © Nelson Fitch

VERONICA ROTHis the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent and Insurgent , the first two books in the Divergent series. Now a full-time writer, Ms. Roth and her husband live near Chicago.

You can visit her online at www.veronicarothbooks.com

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Books by Veronica Roth

DIVERGENT

INSURGENT

ALLEGIANT

THE DIVERGENT SERIES

2-BOOK COLLECTION

THE DIVERGENT SERIES

COMPLETE COLLECTION

THE TRANSFER: A DIVERGENT STORY

THE INITIATE: A DIVERGENT STORY

THE SON: A DIVERGENT STORY

THE TRAITOR: A DIVERGENT STORY

FREE FOUR

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Copyright

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

THE TRANSFER: A DIVERGENT STORY. Copyright © 2013 by Veronica Roth. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition August 2013 ISBN 9780062285638

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FIRST EDITION

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