Chapter 1

Jamie POV

As I look around my room, I realize, this could be the last full day I spend in Erudite. I hate it, and I'm getting out of here… hopefully. I may hate it, but everything we've been taught is still in there, especially the concept of "trusting the test". If the test tells me to stay in Erudite, I guess I'll stay. I love my family, and I love learning new things every day, but I can't stand Jeanine. She's basically torturing the Abnegation until she finds a way to take them over. Apparently, I'm the only Erudite to feel that way though. Everyone else, even my family, absolutely worships her. I have to get out of here.

"Jamie, Alex, are you guys coming? It's about time to go."

"Coming!", my brother and I say at the same time. I guess the twin brain connection never breaks off, even after sixteen years.

On our way to take the aptitude test, I just keep thinking of all the factions, trying to figure out where to go. I'm willing to take a stand for the Abnegation, but I'm not so sure I'd fit in there. I'm not exactly the most humble person in the world. You know, Candor wouldn't be too bad, and I've been known to be too honest at times. I've also heard that sarcasm fits in very well there. The more I think about it, the more Candor sounds like the best choice for me. Telling the truth all the time seems like it would be pretty hard, but I think I could do it. Yeah… yeah I think that's the one.

"You ready?", my brother says, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"
"I said, are you ready?", he says as he points to the building.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Yep."

Once they are done explaining what the test does and what it's for, they start to call us back for the test. When about two thirds of the people are finished with their test, I hear them call for Alex. He'll get Erudite, easily. If he got anything else, I would honestly have them check for system errors.

"Jamie Sanders."

I get up, and walk towards the door. The woman leading me back to the testing room is in Candor clothing. Tomorrow evening, I'll be sitting in the Candor compound, in the same colors.

She opens the third door in the hallway, and I go in. The room is very plain, with mirrored walls and a white floor. The only thing in it are a table with a computer on it, a white chair that looks a bit like one you would see in the dentist's office, and a Dauntless woman at the computer, holding a cup of blue liquid. As I sit down, I can feel my hands shaking. I shouldn't be nervous, but I am.

"My name is Tori, I will be administering your test today. Once you drink this, you will go into a simulation, your reactions to the events in the simulation will determine what faction would fit you best."

I just nod, and cringe when I swallow the liquid. It's disgusting. I open my eyes and look around to see that I'm still in the testing room, but Tori and the desk are gone. I look and see my reflection in a mirror, and it speaks. Okay, this is definitely a simulation, reflections don't speak.

"Choose." is all it says, and it points to a plate with two things on it: a knife and a piece of meat. I turn back around to the reflection.

"Why? What do I need these for?"

I hear a loud bark, and turn around to see that the knife and the meat are gone, and that the bark came from a very large dog, wolf more like, at the other end of the room. So that's what I needed those for. That would've been nice to know. If I had been smart, I would've grabbed them both just in case. I look the dog dead in the eyes as it starts to run towards me. I was raised in Erudite, I know how simulations work. They feel real, I will feel the pain, but when I wake up, it won't be there. I can take this.

I stand there, waiting for the dog to attack, and at the last second, I close my eyes. I feel something pawing at my foot. I look down, and there's a little puppy sitting at my feet, I guess in place of the monster dog. I bend down to pet it, when I hear a small voice behind me.

"Puppy!"

I look, and there's a little girl in Erudite clothing. Wait, no, that's me when I was little. I then hear a growl and see that the puppy has returned to its original state. The dog is now looking at the girl, and she starts to run. As soon as she moves, it follows her. At this point, I know that I should save her, but I'm also still aware that this is just a simulation, she isn't real and neither is the dog. Even so, I still run after them and tackle the dog.

I sit straight up in my chair and look around. I'm in the room still, but Tori, the desk and the computer are there now. The simulation must be over.

"You've got to be kidding me, two in one day?", she mutters, and I'm not sure what to make of it.

"Two? Of what?"

"You need to go. Now. Your brother was here earlier, don't wait on him, don't say a word to your family. If anyone asks, your result was Erudite."

"Wait, what? What's going on?", I ask, even though I already know. I have been under Jeanine's teachings my entire life, I know how to recognize a Divergent. She's told us they're dangerous. Personally, I never believed that, they're just people, the same as the rest of us. Whenever they find a Divergent, it isn't because they've done something bad, it's because they were weeded out by the test.

"Tori, what was my result?", I look her straight in the eyes. She hesitates before speaking.

"Results. There were more than one."

"Okay, what were they?"

"Candor, Erudite, and Dauntless."

I knew it. I knew I was right, but I still had to hear it from her. Divergent. I'm Divergent.

"Wait, but if I tell them I'm Erudite, they'll expect me to stay. If I move, they'll know something's up. Erudite always trust the test, they never move unless the test says otherwise."

"Ok, fine. You have to choose now. Whatever you tell them, is what you pick tomorrow. Just don't get caught. You don't want to know what they'll do to you."

I don't ask anymore questions, I know she's right. I have to go, and, until tomorrow, I have to think and act like an Erudite. They can't know that anything happened with my test, especially where I'm at.

I start home, doing exactly as Tori tells me and not waiting for my brother. He still sees me and follows me out anyways.

"Hey, you good?"

"Yeah I'm fine," I wrap my arms around my stomach, "they sent me home as soon as I was done. It made me sick, my administrator told me she didn't want me puking in front of anybody who hadn't been through the test yet. Might make them nervous."

He just nods and keeps walking with me. I look at him, and his face shows no sign of suspicion.

"Did you at least get to finish your test?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what'd you get?"
Crap. I want to say Candor. I know I can't stay in Erudite, they'll definitely figure me out there, and I didn't want to stay in the first place. There's only one reason that I can't go to Candor. I can tell the truth all the time, unless they ask about one thing: Divergence. If they ask and I lie, they will know. They can tell when people are lying, it's part of their job. Erudite and Candor could, quite literally, be the death of me. I have to choose Dauntless, it's the only one left.

"Hey, are you going to answer?"

"Yeah, sorry, I thought I was going to throw up." he steps back a bit

"Ok, so what was your result?"

"Dauntless."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, I know, I was surprised too. I guess with how we've been raised, I haven't had a chance to show any of my Dauntless traits, but during the test, it just flowed."

I look at him again, seeing shock, but still no sign of suspicion. I hate lying to my brother, we've been together since birth, he's my twin, but I have to. If I want to live, I have to play this off until I finally get away from it all tomorrow at the choosing ceremony.

"So what'd you get? Erudite?"

"Yep. Did you really think I could get anything else though?"

"No. If you did, I'd be worried."

He laughed, and we walked home together. I'm still worried that someone will figure me out, but there's a much less chance of it in Dauntless. At least, much less than Erudite or Candor.