I felt myself slipping...the last thing I remembered was going to my mother's embrace after David shot me...I had tried so hard to stay alive for Tobias...

Tobias...the words felt as if I had been shot all over again...I had left him all alone in this world...I hope he knows to move on...I don't want him to waste his whole life reliving a memory...

The blackness that surrounds me is like quicksand, the more I struggle, the quicker I fall...I stain my eyes in the darkness, looking for my mother...I'm too weak...I fall...

"Tris?" A strange voice drags me out of the quicksand. I blink open my eyes. I'm laying on a clean, white table surrounded by beeping machines. Where am I? Is this...Erudite headquarters!? I leap quickly to my feet, and quickly locate the exit. I strart to sprint to the door, but end up tripping over my own feet. "Careful Tris, you've been under the simulation for a long time. You're legs need a chance to warm up."

I spin around to face the strange voice. A tall, bald man is wearing an Erudite labcoat and holding a clipboard filled with notes. "I'll give you credit, Tris. The distopian world that you created is really something. The idea of factions and simulations...but their are no flying cars..." I stare at him in confusion. Made up? Why would I make up Chicago?

"Do you know where you are Tris?" The bald man asks in concern. I stare at him until I finally find my voice, "Chicago."

He smiles at me sadly, "Tris, we are in Los Angeles. The whole futuristic world you've created is all fake. There are no factions, no simulations...none of your friends have ever existed."

What? How can that be possible? My time in Chicago spanned years, so how could none of that exist?! Realizing that the man looked concerned, I asked him, "How could I spend years in Chicago when none of those years ever actually happened?"

"Tris, you've been in this simulation for years. The original doctor who put you under is rotting under a tombstone, and your parents and older brother are long gone. I was concerned that you were never going to wake up. My only question is why you didn;t age while you were under the simulation."

When he shared the news of my deceased family, I didn't feel any pain. How could I miss someone I didn't even remember? While the man puzzled over mystery of why I didn't age, I asked him, "So does Tobias exist? Is he here somewhere?" When I said his name, the memories of sitting in the Dauntless headquarters by the river came flooding back. Ever word, every kiss, ever touch came to my mind, and I hoped that someone actually existed.

The man looked at me sadly. "The boyfriend? Oh, um, well, when you were checked into the hospital, you had a boyfriend named Peter, but he's probably long dead as well. Either that, or he's moved on from you and has started a family somewhere." I fought back a face of disgust. I had a boyfriend named Peter?! What was wrong with me?

The man saw my expression and said, "Oh, that's right! You had a friend in the simulation named Peter! Didn't he try to kill you or something?" I frowned at him. Had they been watching everything? It's just like the Bureau of Genetic Wellfare, except worse... He continued, "Anyway, you can be discharged from the hospital tonight once you've rested and eaten something. If you need anything, just press the buzzer. I looked around to find the "buzzer," but when I turned back around to ask him what a buzzer was, he was gone.

I layed back on the table and stared at the tiles on the ceiling. How could Chicago all be a simulation? Christina, Will, Al, Jeanne...Tobias are all fake? How could I spend years building up a world only for it to be chased away? Why can't I die and escape the torture of knowing that Tobias is only a fragment of my imagination? Only a wish, a dream, a hope, created along with the city and it's walls? The Merciless Mart, the Hancock Building, the Pire, Dauntless Headquarters, the Abnegation Sector, the Burearu of Genetic Wellfare, the Fringe...all figments of my imagination? I let out a small sigh and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The man came back in serveral hours later, this time accompanied by a tall woman. She smiles at me in a friendly sort-of manner, but I feel as if I've met her before. Where have I seen that smile? She turns towards the man, whispering something in his ear, all the while watching and studying me carefully. Something isn't right about her.

The woman walks towards the side of the table, and sits down in the visitor's chair next to the table. She brushes a strand of blonde hair back from her face and clears her voice, "Hello Tris. We've never met face-to-face before, but I was the person in charge of observing your simulation. I'm assuming that Dr. Caleb has kept you up to speed involving the simulation?"

I stare at the bald man in shock. Dr. Caleb? Really? I can't even escape my brother in reality? Realizing that the woman still needs an answer, I decide to rat my "brother" out. "He hasn't told me why I was under the simulation in the first place." I hide my hint of a smile, for even though Dr. Caleb isn't my actual brother, it's nice to get him in trouble.

She purses her lips as if hoping that I won't ask that question. The woman hesitates for a moment, looks at Dr. Caleb as if asking for permission before saying, "Tris, I was hoping that I wouldn't be the one to tell you this, but the reason why you were put under the simulation was because you gravelly injured yourself when the ferriswheel you were riding with Peter collapsed. According to Peter's testimony, you had spent the whole day at the fair, and where very excited to ride the ferriswheel, when it just gave way. Peter, a couple other couples, and you were the only ones riding the ride, but out of all the people on it, you were hurt the worst.

"The doctors weren't even sure if you were going to survive this trama, and they decided the best thing to do was to put you out of your misery. Peter protested against this until the doctors agreeded to put you under a simulation while they tried their best to svae you. Your parents signed the form on your consent, allowing the simulation process to occur. They were warned severally that you may never wake up, and if you did, you probably would have severe mental problems.

"Years passed, and then decades. Your parents passed, Peter moved on, doctors grew old and retired. This was around the time I was hired, and I was particularly fascinated with your case. I spent many years going though documents, trying to see if anyone else who was put under the simulation process recovered. I only found one case when a person was put under a simulation and when they recovered, they had completely lost their memory. The doctors had created a new life for this person, naming her Amanda Ritter.

"The doctors were very close now to beliving that you had died and were not waking up. I protested, beliving that if Amanda Ritter could persist through the simulation, then you could to. I told them that you were still active in your mind-created safe haven, and I'm pretty sure this was around the time of the Choosing Ceremony. I argued with them, truly believing that you could make a full recovery. They agreeded to give you two more years before calling it quits.

"To tell you the truth, towards the end I started to lose hope. I though that you weren't going to wake up, that you were actually gone. But," she said, looking deep into my eyes, "I never lost all hope. I knew you were a fighter from the start, Tris, and today you have proved me right. Before I leave and allow you to process all this information, is there anything you would like to ask me?"

I stare right into her eyes, asking the one question I felt that I already knew the answer to. "What's your name?"

She smiled at me. "I believe I was included in your safe haven, Tris. I'm not sure that I was represented properly, but all the same, I was there." The woman paused and stared at me in wonder. "My name, Tris, is Jeanne Matthews."

Hey readers!

I was over the moon when this story recieved 5 favorites when I hadn't even published all of chapter one (I published a small preview!).

Just one quick note: I'm also currently writing another story on FanFiction called Forgotten. Forgotten follows The Selection Series by Kiara Cass, and the whole story is Eadlyn's Selection but from Queen America's POV (if any of these words mean anything to you, be sure to check it out!). The reason why I'm stating this is because I'm busy with two stories now, so it may take a while for me to update. Once summer comes and school is out, I'll be able to publish more freely (Please be considerate)!

I'm also open to any story ideas, as long as it relates to the idea of Tris discovering the real world after being trapped in the simulation for many years.

Thanks for all your support and patience,

XXX—HHL