Hi everyone! This is my second fanfiction (the first one turned dry and crumbled), and it will be my second attempt in writing, also it's the first Divergent fanfic I ever wrote, therefore do not expect a high-quality story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.
Spoiler alert if anyone didn't read all of the books themselves.
Anyway, enjoy!
Aptitude Test
This is it. Where it determines the rest of my life. Where I belong, what I will be, what will be my aim, and what I will have to do. The aptitude test.
I stare at the yellow fluorescent lights above me.
"William Xavier," the volunteer announces my name. I've waited a while since I'm on the bottom of the alphabetical list.
I am ready for this. How hard would this be? I assume there's no right or wrong answers compare to the finals exams in school.
When I walked in, I see an Abnegation woman working setting up the equipment. It's as if the room is set up to test and exam people, the room looks like a typical laboratory back in Erudite, with mirrors replacing the walls of the room. Luckily the volunteer who will be telling my results isn't an Erudite, I sort of feel relieved because I do not want someone that will make fun of my results after I finished the test, and also have them telling my parents about it. Knowing the volunteer makes things more pressured.
"William Xavier?" the woman asks. Her voice is really formal as if she isn't supposed to put emotion in her words, Abnegation indeed. I replied, "Yes."
"My name is Natalie, the process will be simple and quick, please sit down and feel comfortable," she gestures towards the reclined seat in the middle of the room. Then she immediately turns back to her work.
I stiffly sat down, the seat is a bit hard. I shift myself trying to feel comfortable. Well, I do not expect sofas for an aptitude test. This is nothing to be leisure and relaxed about.
She turns towards me with wires in her hand and an antiseptic cloth. She applies the antiseptic and then the electrode which connect to a computer beside me.
"Lie down and relax," she said. I lie down and rested my head on the headrest. She hands me a vial, it's full of transparent liquid; I thought it was water till I noticed the viscosity. "Drink it," she told me. I hesitated for a moment but then I thought if something does happens to me, it won't be my fault. I drank it. "The simulation will go in effect in 5 seconds. Good luck." And that was the last thing I heard.
When I woke up, I noticed I'm not in the room anymore. I'm on an island, stranded on an island. There is nothing; no vegetation or anything, just white sand and saltwater. The sky is clear with few puffs of cloud, and the solar radiation is full on. I'm barefoot and the sand is so hot I jumped, so I walked along the shoreline to prevent sunburning my feet. Then I felt something smooth and solid beneath my feet, a glass bottle. It's a typical wine bottle I suppose, I hold it in my hands, and I see there's a strip of paper inside it. On the paper it said, "Choose." I was confused for a second but when I look up, there is a water well on the island, and there is a little girl in the water, drowning. A voice repeats, "Choose." If I choose the well, I will survive longer but I'm not sure whether that much water will support me till when. If I choose the girl, I will have a burden of trying to keep both myself and her alive. But maybe she can help me as well, you never know what good deeds will bring. I do believe in karma. "Choose!" the voice snaps. I dive into the water and I saved the girl from dying. The well disappeared.
When I got to the island, the girl smiles and the whole scene disappears. I'm now in a hospital room, I'm sitting beside a bed, surrounded by curtains. The person lying down is somehow familiar. The heartbeat monitor is beeping slowly, I know for a fact that he will past away soon or later. I overheard a couple of people outside the curtain, "I think he killed the person. I will contact the security." I killed this person? I don't think I ever seen this guy. I continue to study the person who's injured in front of me trying to figure out who it really is, but nothing pops up.
It felt like an instant later, two guards pinned me down, one on each of my side, my arms can't move. "You are under arrest," one of them said as my hands are handcuffed. I breathed calmly to let them know I am not guilty, fear is a sign of dishonesty. But I need to get out of here, I am innocent. As they got me up, I kicked at the guard who's just about to get up and I shoved my knee into the solar plexus of the other one standing. I could've escaped but more guards came in, like a pack of wolves they held me. This time instead of guiding me to the detention room, they carried me over their shoulders, so I can't move at all. I tried putting all my strength to knock out some of the guards holding my feet but their grip is strong and tight.
They got me to a room with a mirror window, well I assume it's a window. It's reflecting on the inside but on the outside it's completely transparent like glass for others to observe me. And I assume it's a soundproof room as well, since all I hear is my silent breathing. A Candor man came in, wearing the typical white-and-black outfit like all others, with a thick folder in his hand and sat down in the seat in front of me. He opens the folder; the paper on top of everything else is my biography and picture, he looks into the papers, scanning through every page and speaks as he does it.
"Do you know why you are arrested?"
"I can't be sure why, because I never seen the victim before."
"The victim is a relative of a faction representative. And by current information, you are the suspect."
"How did the victim die? What is the evidence?"
"You're not giving yourself up are you?"
"No, I am not. I never killed anyone." I almost snapped but I contained my anger.
"Very well, then what's the reason you ended up in the hospital room with the victim?"
"I just woke up in that place, and I see the monitor showing the heartbeat slowly decreasing."
"You're lying."
"No, I am not." I snapped.
"If you continue, you will be executed."
I shudder, but I think he is threatening me; forcing me to tell the truth. I decide to backfire the threat, "Go ahead, behead me."
I wake to the sound of the computer. I am back in the room. Back in reality. I look up to see the mirror in front of me, Natalie is behind me, motionless for a few milliseconds. That must mean something, that must mean something. I am not Erudite, I feel guilt inside my stomach. Maybe I didn't even have an aptitude of Dauntless, which is also a faction I hoped for. I feel anxious, my hands turns sweaty.
"Excuse me for a few minutes, William, I will be back," she says, and then she walks out of the room. I don't know if it was me or not but I see a bit of rush in her footsteps, as if there was a major problem.
I put my head back in the headrest and rethink the scenarios in the test. The last scenario, it was illogical to delay the answer. The arrogance in my voice makes me sound like someone who doesn't care about anyone but myself. I did tell the truth, but I did not clarify it. I almost end up arguing with the person.
Ugh, my mind is a mess. I can't literally figure out the correct outcomes of my actions because I'm the one who's in the test. The one who knows what my real aptitude will be Natalie and that will be her job, not mine. I close my eyes and try to calm my head. I belong in a faction, I will not be factionless.
At last the door opens, and Natalie walks in holding a notepad. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," she apologizes. I sat up in my seat. She walks to my feet while tapping something on the notepad. Her expression looks sour .
Then she looks up from the screen. "Your results were vague," she stated slowly and quietly. Vague? How can the results be vague? There is no right or wrong in the test. "Usually, every scenario of the stimulation rules out a faction or more. But four factions didn't get eliminated."
I nodded slowly, I understand that clearly. But I want to hear my results.
"The first scenario was quite complicated. Your thoughts are clearly Erudite. But you chose an illogical way to survive than a more logical way, which counts Erudite out. If you choose drinkable water source, Dauntless, Abnegation will be eliminated. " She focus her eyes on the notepad again, I still can't completely understand what she is trying to say. "The second and last scenario was also confusing because you didn't care about the victim, which ruled out Abnegation. But in the previous scenario, you gave yourself up to save someone's life. As for Candor, you were between "on the fence" and dishonest. And Dauntless, you saved the girl and fought with the guards, but you gave up when you got arrested. Amity is definitely ruled out because you couldn't keep peace."
"So you're saying you do not know what my aptitudes are," I asked. How come? What did I do wrong?
"True and false. The final result," she clarifies, "is that you have strong equivalent aptitudes for Erudite and Dauntless." I blanked out, how am I going to choose between those two factions?
"And those people who display more than one aptitude are called…" she checks her surroundings carefully and then looks at me, "Divergents." The last word was really hard to hear but I can tell from her mouth movement. The word is often mentioned from Jeanine Matthews. She carefully whispers with eye contact, "No matter what the situation is, do not tell anybody about your results." Her tone and expression was very serious, as if it was confidential information I just heard. It's an expression I would hardly see on Abnegation people.
I thought she was joking. She looks at me as if I didn't catch what she is trying to say. I was about to ask something but she interrupts.
"What..."
"No questions," she pauses and once again checks her surroundings, "Divergence threatens the system and the society, any information on someone who's Divergent, and they will be killed immediately. Do you understand?" I nod slowly, twice. Rarely Abnegation would interrupt someone's speech. It's an act of selfishness wanting others to hear what you say and not care about what others.
"I think it will be better if you go back home," Natalie suggests, her usual selfish and caring expression returns, "having others asking about your results will pressure you to say them. Go home, let it sink in, and make your choice tomorrow."
I walk out of the room, to choose between two things you want to be is difficult. Either I sacrifice my family and faction for a new one, or not. I look back at the room again as I close the door, she is working on the screen again, ignoring everything else. I reevaluate the situation again, if my results were that classified, she would've just told the system and I will be dead. But I think she is not Abnegation for nothing, Abnegation do not selfishly kill people just because they're someone totally different. I should not waste her efforts.
The Choosing Ceremony crossed my mind when I walk out of the building. If I choose to stay in my faction, my family and surrounding people will notice there is something odd about me since they know me since I was born and they will find out my Divergence. If I choose Dauntless, I have to go through simulations and possibly they will show my Divergence as well.
Either found out by emotion or by system, whichever. I bumped into something solid and burning, I've been spacing out, and I noticed I bumped into the metal sculpture that the Dauntless kids climb every recess.
Then I though being someone totally different is not a bad idea. After all, faction before blood.
More chapters are coming. Please be patient =D Thank you so much!