I do not own anything from the Divergent series, just my characters and the plot. Also, I made the initiation age 18 because I honestly felt that 16 was too young for some things. Hope you enjoy!


Chapter 1

I stare at the blank white walls with my arms crossed, utterly bore. My legs and arms are crossed as I slouched against my seat. I've been waiting for over an hour for the Erudites, Dauntless, and Amity teenagers to finish taking their Aptitude Test. How hard can it really be? It's just a simulation, I think. At least I wasn't in Abnegation, my patience would not have lasted through all the other four factions. I check the white watch on my wrist and sighed. Why is it taking so long? Make that an hour and fifteen minutes. The door finally opens and the eighteen year old Amity boy walks out. He glances at me with a large smile and I give slightly glare back.

"About time," I say as I stood up and walk into the room. There is a medical chair with padding and Dauntless member sitting by the machine. I'm not surprised that the administrator is Dauntless considering they have best experience with needles besides the Erudites. He seems to be prepping for the needle with the serum. It is a light blue color, a few shades lighter than the typical Erudite blue. He glances at me and motions for me to sit onto the chair, which I do begrudgingly. After I settle into the chair comfortably, he reads through the sheet with my information. He then turns towards my direction.

"So, Nikki...Casteel?" he asks, looking back at the paper. After my affirmative response, he stands up and walks to the other side of the machine, making sure it is connected correctly. He types a few buttons into the screen before continuing speaking.

"My name's Amar. I'll be monitoring your test."

He makes his way over to me brushed my hair to the side so he could inject the serum. "Good luck" were the last words I heard before losing touch with reality and entering the simulation.


When I open my eyes, I'm standing in an endless white room. Two bowls sit in front of me: one with a knife and one with a piece of cheese. A voice with no origin orders me to pick one. My eyebrows furrow before I walk to the bowl with the knife, picking it up. As soon as I moved it away from the bowl, they both disappear, and a snarling resounds behind me. Spinning around, I see a big wolf. It's baring its teeth, giving me the perfect view of its sharp fangs. I swallow to mask my apprehension and look blankly at it. Wolves don't frighten me, but I know I can only overcome it if I am careful. I walk towards it deliberately and slowly, hiding the knife behind me and locking my emotions away. When it can't detect any fear, it sits down and whimpers submissively. Breathing a small sigh, I walk closer and kneel by its side. It's fur is warm as I lightly run my hand over it.

A new sound echoes jarringly in front of me. The girlish giggle causes the wolf to start growling. It raises to its feet and turns its now bared snout towards me. Instinctively, I grip the fur at its nape and swing the blade its throat. Red drips to the white floor as it slumps to the ground. As I begin to rise to my feet the white walls melt as the entire scenery changes. I am now on the train that connects the Candor compound to the school. As I move through the cars, I watch the people sitting on the seats. While most people act like they would normally, I spot one figure that looks out of place, and I can't help but feel like he doesn't belong. I shake my head and continue into the next car and proceed to wonder what the point of this is. However, my pondering is interrupted by a man who confronts me when I walk by him. He asks if I had seen a man on the poster he holds up. His voice was rough and his tone rude and urgent. My mind immediately returns to the man in the previous car. He fits the descriptive picture, but something seemed to warn me against saying the truth. Nonetheless, I reply affirmatively.

"Yes, I've seen him."

"Where?"

"He was somewhere in the car before this one," I say honestly.

I watch as the man hurriedly walks away. I can't help but wonder what the rush is for, but their problems are not mine. I turn around to begin my journey through the cars when I feel a steel grip on my shoulder. The fingers digging into my skin roughly swing me around. Standing in front of me is the suspicious man from the poster. He releases his hold on my shoulder only to grab onto both of my arms. He starts shaking me. Small strands of spit fly from his mouth as he starts yelling at me.

"Why did you tell him where I was? He's going to kill me," the man screams.

"That's seem like your problem. If that's the case, I would start running if I were you," I say while glaring. I proceeded to shove him away.

He stumbles but quickly regains his balance. The man approaches me again, fists clenched. He reaches out with one hand, presumably to grab me once more, and I flick the knife I didn't know I still had at the offending appendage, nicking his wrist. He yelps and steps back, clutching his wrist to his chest. Suddenly, the shapes and faces surrounding of me blend together and fade to black.

I jerk back to reality, opening my eyes only to shut them for another second. I lie there waiting to see shapes instead of blurs. After the disorienting vision disappears, I sit up slowly, fully aware of my body's sluggishness. I turn to face Amar, and he just stares back at me. I narrow my eyes slightly and wonder why he hasn't already told me my result. From what I've heard, they want to get this process over as quickly as possible, but he just sits there, staring at me with a clenched jaw. He's debating whether or not to tell me something, I think as I finally determine his unsettled state. One of the greatest benefits of growing up in Candor is the ability to identify and interpret most of people's movements.

"What is it?" I ask calmly but cautiously. I try to keep my face as blank as possible. It is in the following moment of silence that I realize how queasy my stomach feels. I try not to grimace as I feel it gurgle and bubble. I should have expected that the Aptitude serum would have affected me like this; the truth serum at Candor did not work and instead made me feel very sick and actually gave me a nosebleed. Bringing my focus back to the issue at hand, I ask the question I've been wondering since I came back from the simulation.

"What were my results?"

"They were inconclusive," he says, swallowing and shifting nervously. "You tested Dauntless but also Candor. It makes you...Divergent." Based on my frown, he elaborates. "It's a person who doesn't fit into the system, someone who tested positive for more than one factions. Divergents are considered a threat and are to be...eradicated."

At his last word, I shoot away from him and get into a defense position, ignoring the violent lurch of my stomach. I try to calculate my chances of beating him in a fight, and the outcomes aren't in my favor. My one advantage would be the small pocket knife I always carry around with me. I had bought it off a Dauntless-born from school a few years ago. I reach into my pocket and finger it lightly, ready to pull it out and defend myself in a second. He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. After taking a deep breath, he relaxes and looks back at me.

"Look," he starts, "I'm not going to hurt you. I know you probably don't believe that but look at me and tell me if I'm lying. I can help you with this. I'll just enter in Dauntless at the tested faction, as that is what you act like most."

"Why are you helping me?" I ask. I didn't trust him, but I knew he wasn't lying.

"Because," he sighs, "I'm Divergent as well."


I have to wait another thirty minutes for the train to arrive. Once I get on, I walk to a secluded seat and sit down. I bend over and rest my face in my hands, my elbows on my knees. I groan quietly, from both the stress of the Aptitude test and the abuse on my stomach from the serum. After a few minutes, I straighten up, lean back, and close my eyes. I rest until the electronic voice announces our arrival at the Candor compound. I walk to the compound and to my apartment, barely making it to my bed before I collapse upon the black and white sheets.

The next day, I instantly regret my poor sleeping position; my back and neck are as stiff as the Abnegations act. I crack them, hearing a series of pops before I change into a different black and white outfit. It consists of practical black and white laced shoes, black pants, a black shirt, and a white blazer. Today is the Choosing Ceremony, so nicer clothes are warranted. As I stare into the bathroom mirror I realize that a part of me will miss the simplicity of white, but at least I'll be able to keep the black. I step back and glance around my room for the last time. This was my home, my sanctuary, for five years. I had lived here ever since… that day. Of course, I was almost always supervised, but it was a place to get away from the outspoken and brash Candors. I get to the door and glance back once more, wondering how Dauntless compound would compare.

Even the seriousness of today can't stop my hate of riding the public train. It's constantly filled with too many people for my liking. The Erudites are always blabbering about some new invention, and the Candor are spouting whatever is in their heads, which generally is off nothing interesting. The Abnegation just sits quietly, never hesitating to give up their seats for someone else. The Dauntless and the Amity are absent only because of they have their own modes of transportation. The Dauntless generally take another train while the Amity take the trucks. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more of the black and red clad members, but the happy-go-lucky farmers could stay in their fields.

When we finally reach our intended destination, everyone rushes off- Abnegation waits for everyone else to go first- and stands in front of their assigned door. As I walk towards the other Candors, I notice the missing rowdiness that accompanies the Dauntless. However, the silence is quickly remedies as the sounds of train wheels and yells signify their arrival. Once the Dauntless are finally in order, the Hub door's open. They direct us to the designated seating areas, and the Choosing Ceremony begins.