Melina's Test

I woke up to the hazy blue light of the morning. I roll over, covering myself snugly in my sheets, attempting to shut out the morning. Even though my head pounds, begging for more sleep, I open my eyes.

Blue. I've come to get used to the color being everywhere. The carpets, the curtains, my alarm clock. I had blue glasses, which I actually needed, but only wore so that I would not have to wear blue bracelets or something...

"Melina, mom wants you." I hear the door fling open. It's my sister. I blink my eyes open to see that she is staring at me. I put on my blue glasses and blink.

"Why...?" I moan, "It's Saturday..." I cover my shoulders in the blankets.

"She wants you, Melina!" Helen sighs exasperatingly as she sits on her bed, across from me.

I groan and sit up, my light brown hair haywire. I smooth it out as much as possible. I feel nauseous, as I always do when I wake up.

I get up after I am somewhat aware of my surroundings. My sister is straightening her hair, a practice I never needed to do. Her rich brown hair is shiny and smooth almost all the time, and they complement her tan eye color and skin.

"What?" She asks, and I realize I am staring.

"Nothing." I turn to my mirror. "You are just pretty." I say.

She grins a little at this, then goes back to her vigorous straightening.

I look at myself in the mirror. My skin is incredibly pale, while my eyes hold two different colors: blue and white. The left one is completely white...a birth defect which caused scar tissue to overwhelm the eye, left the eye useless, blind. The Erudite doctors wanted to take it out, but my father refused.

My other eye, however, is completely normal. Blue, sometimes grey.

I brush my hair harshly, ripping out the knots and wincing. I look into my closet. Every top is blue. Some button up, some polo. I choose a lacy blue blouse, with a white tank top underneath, and some light jeans.

I step cautiously down the white marble steps. Due to my single eye-ness, I cannot detect depth in anything. So stairs are tricky.

However, I have navigated these stairs since childhood, so I can do them somewhat easily.

But I have fallen before.

"Melina, we have some chores to do today. This afternoon is the aptitude test, I know, but I want you to finish some things before we get all caught up in that." My mom says in a flurry as I sit next to her in our, yes blue, couch. Her hair is curly and done up in all assortments of hairsprays. Her eyes are blue and striking, unlike mine, and her makeup is perfectly placed, not too much, and not too little.

"Okay." I say, blinking, "What things?"

"Just some dusting. And then I want you to put away your laundry." She stands, "And please, clean up your side of the room before you leave." She adds before I hug her.

"Love you." I say, ignoring the topic, "Are you going to the school today?" I ask her.

"Yes. We have to clean up. I will probably be there when you get your test done." She says, the stern voice gone. She leaned back and looked at me in my eyes.

"What did you get, mom? When you did it?" I ask her. Her eyes went down for a moment.

"We aren't allowed to tell anyone." She shakes her head, her curls bouncing.

"Now, I have to go. Remember your chores." She says as she walks to the door, "I love you." She says.

"I love you too."

She shuts the door.

I sit in the classroom, looking at the other students. I am waiting for my aptitude test, and am indeed nervous. So, to pass the time, I observe the others. Some are Erudite, like me, but others are from other factions. There are some Amity huddling over a book, some of them are making bracelets.

I stare at them. They look so happy. No one judges their happiness or their kindness, they just accept it. It must be nice.

Some are Candor, who are huddled in groups as well. The boys are talking loudly, while playing some sort of a game that involves a bottle. The girls are chatting miles a minute, and I notice a couple of stragglers. I look at one girl, dark skinned, who is holding a large book.

The title reads, "Eragon".

She looks up at me, and I look away. That was close. She almost saw me staring at her.

My focus shifts to a group who just came in. The Dauntless, who have made this room now impossible to read in. I look over at the Candor girl, who shuts her book in frustration.

"Can they be any louder?" Helen says as she sits down next to me, her brown hair up in a ponytail now.

"Probably. I mean, they are Dauntless. Loud is their word." I shrug.

Some silence follows.

"Are you nervous?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I guess." She tilts her head.

"Well...we can't fail it." I say.

More silence. I am still as nervous as ever.

I really...don't know myself. I'd love to think that I could qualify for Dauntless, but if there is one thing that Erudite has taught me, it is how to be a realist.

Candor isn't an option. Yes...I'm generally an honest person. I can't keep a secret about someone for long.

But to be that overt about everything...it's just not me.

Amity. I love peace. I think everyone does.

I see Helen laugh hard when an Abnegation boy turns red at a remark from a Dauntless.

Perhaps not everyone...

But I like peace. I would love to be surrounded by people who are kind, and act well to kind people.

It would be so nice.

I glance at the Amity again. One is braiding another's long hair. They are still mulling over that book, turning back and forth in the pages and pointing at the text every so often.

But then...I see a Dauntless boy come over to the girl holding the book.

With a quick swipe of his arm, he knocks the book out of the girl's hand.

My eyes grow wide. What a jerk! I scan the faces of the Amity. Some are downcast, some are shocked.

But none are reacting.

I blink. Doormats, all of them.

Pushovers, just like me.

I sit in the chair, leaned back. The woman that was giving me the test was an Abnegation.

"How is life there?" I ask, "I have read about it before. I hear it is quaint." I say.

"Quaint would be a nice word." She says, "It is a life of service. People I know love to serve others." She says, quieting on the word 'I'.

"Do you love to serve others?" I ask.

She pauses, holding the cup in her narrow fingers. Her blue eyes skit the ground as I take note of her poised brown bun, topped neatly upon her head.

"It is a well enough life, ma'm. I'd like to think that the day that I leave this earth...I will be satisfied with my service, and will be able to leave with true peace." She hands the cup to me.

"I hope the test will tell me what I need to know..." I say, then I drink.

"Or what you do not want to know." The woman says. I blink. Did she say that?

But my world fades to black before I can contemplate further.

I'm in a hallway. It is grey, and has lights down it sparingly.

Not knowing what else to do, I walk. The place is so silent, that I hear my own steps clearly.

For awhile, I walk with no thought. But then, I grow frustrated with the seemingly unending hallway.

Then I see a door to my left. It is closed. I hold the knob and turn, but it is locked firmly. There is another door, and another.

But they are all locked.

I begin to jog, straining my eye to see the end of the hallway, but there isn't one. I run until I'm out of breath.

I turn around to see if there is an end behind me, but there is nothing. I try all the doors twice. Nothing different.

I step backward, and hear a clang of metal.

I look down, to see multiple items.

A gun, a bike, and a key.

"Choose which one to progress with." A note says next to the items.

A gun? Guns could be helpful in anything. I could shoot at the door until it breaks.

But I don't know how many bullets I have.

The bike? That suggests that this hallway is long, which instantly makes me want to select another option. Maybe that option is only there to tell me that the hallway is either extremely long, or endless.

But all the items must have equal value.

The key? It's obviously opens a door. Maybe only one of them. I realize with a groan that there are hundreds of doors, and that this key might only open one of them.

I run a hand through my hair. The decision seemed equally balanced. Every item could be either very helpful, or very useless.

I bent down.

And I picked up the key.

Instantly, I regretted my decision.

I heard pounding footsteps echo through the hallway. The grey place suddenly became very horrifying. I spun around. A man was sprinting towards me, full on.

I turned back to the items, but they were gone.

With nothing else to do, I shoved the key into the nearest door and turned. The door flew open.

I slammed it behind me.

The room was useless.

It was grey too, but with a tattered carpet spread across the floor. There was a window, but nothing but pale light shone in.

A girl sat, huddled in a corner. Her grey dress was tattered, her blonde hair, messy.

"They are coming...they are..." She mumbled.

I heard someone slam at the door. I jumped.

"Who is coming?" I bent down to the girl. "Do they hurt you?" I quickly asked.

Another bang at the door.

"Will they hurt me?" My voice shook. She was shaking. She wasn't going to help me at all.

I stood. There was a chair in the other corner. I ran over and wedged it under the door knob, making it harder for the man to come in.

"You need to stand." I say to the girl as I grab her arm and pull up. She is limp, but light. I resort to holding her.

There is a closet that is next to where she was sitting.

I try to open it, but it is locked. I use my key.

It opens.

Inside there is a note.

"Choose again."

A gun, a large hammer, and a tazer.

Again with the gun. Why twice?

A hammer. I glance over at the window.

And a tazer. The door is slammed again as I hear the chair break. The girl shudders.

I heft the hammer up with both arms as I sit the girl down.

I walk over to the window. I have never broken glass before, but this hammer should.

I swing back, and then forward...

And the impact shatters the window to pieces.

The door bursts open. I have no time left.

I scream as I attempt to slow the man down by throwing the hammer at him. It hits his chest, he falls backward.

I yank the girl over my shoulder as I climb to the window edge.

Nothing but darkness. I gasp.

The man begins to get up.

The girl clutches my shoulder, shaking her head and moaning something I can't understand. The man pulls out a knife.

I shudder. I can't let her die like this.

I look in the dark void, my mind screaming to take the man on, and abandon the girl.

I close my eyes and jump into darkness.

(AN: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed that first chapter! My publishing rate should be fairly decent, so please consider keeping up with this! Please, PLEASE give me your input in the comments! I would love to hear how I did, even if I did terrible. So, I believe that's about it! The second chapter is coming soon:

Melina's Choice

"What were Melina's test results? Melina gets a clear answer...but it is not what she was expecting.

Melina now must make a choice...will she choose the faction she wants, or the faction she needs?")