CHAPTER ONE
I take a deep breath, not wanting to believe that the day is truly here. The day that 20 children are reaped into the Hunger Games. First, however, we are taking our faction assignment test. There will be 4 children – two boys and two girls – reaped from every faction: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and my original faction, Erudite. I smooth down my hair and look into the mirror at my blue clothing. My long, shaggy red hair would appear Dauntless to most, but my piercing green eyes give away my upbringing. I was raised to question anything I didn't think was true or understand. Most boys would be deterred by my bright hair and eyes framed by square glasses, paired with my perfect skin and skinny figure. I don't mean to sound vain. It's just, I come across as a slightly clueless, endearing young girl of just 16. But once you get to know me, I unleash my true curiosity and differences.
I sweep my fingers through my hair, straighten my glasses, and feel the knot in my stomach tighten as the test administrator, dressed in Amity-like bright colors, calls my name: "Maylynn Carson! Let's go – it's your turn, honey!" I breathe slowly, blink, and trudge to the small room that contains the administrator and the test that will determine my fate. When I enter, however, there is only a chair and cabinet, like at the dentist's office. I turn to my admin questioningly. "Where is the test?" I ask cautiously.
"Well," she begins, pulling open the cabinet to pull out a small tray. "Why don't you have a seat on the chair so I can explain it?" I sit down, keeping my back straight as an arrow, as my mother taught me to. I get a closer look at the tray as she brings it towards me, and I think it contains a sharp pencil, presumably with which to take the test. But as she comes closer, I see it is a needle. She picks it up, bringing it towards my neck, and before I can stop her, plunges it into my vein, causing everything to go black.
I wake up with a splitting headache, but I'm not worried about that, as it's rapidly fading. What I'm more concerned about is the fact that I've woken up in a cafeteria. "Wha…?" I start to say, but my voice drifts off at the sight of the table in front of me. There are only two things on it: a knife as long as my forearm, and a hunk of cheese. I glance around, but the woman is nowhere to be seen. I turn back to the table. It's obvious that I must choose one, but what awaits me when I choose it?
On the one hand, if I choose the cheese, that may be the logical choice. After all, I am in a lunchroom. But, this is the Faction Test. Something different is obviously about to happen. So the knife would probably help me more. For example, if I ended up on a desert island, the knife could actually help me get food. Plus, if I'm stranded for the rest of my life there, I can end it easily. I tentatively reach for the knife, and as soon as I grab it, the cheese disappears, and I notice a door at the end of the room, which is slowly creaking open to reveal… a dog. I walk towards him slowly, thinking I should have chosen the cheese for the dog, when I get a good look at it. Easily 3 feet tall, it has razor-sharp teeth, with claws that could shred me to pieces in an instant. It growls at me, and I back up, reaching the table, and hopping up on it. The dog reaches me once more, and after a bit of maneuvering, it has me cornered. I close my eyes, and feel it lunge. I wait for the pain, but none comes. I slowly inch my eyes open, and glance at my forearm… and almost faint. Blood is gushing from the gaping hole of what used to be my forearm onto the floor, and the dog is actually gnawing on the flesh he ripped from my arm. I feel nauseous, and carefully probe the area, yet feel no pain whatsoever. That's when I realize: this isn't real. This is a simulation. I can't be hurt here.
Laughing, slightly maniacally, I leap towards the dog fearlessly, and look it straight in the eyes. It growls, but questioningly, as if to ask, are you going to hurt me? I rub its ears in response, and as we roll around, a small girl wanders into the room, humming softly to herself. "Oh, hello!" she exclaims squeakily, and the dog's ears prick up at the noise. He raises himself, and begins to bound towards the girl, barking furiously. The girl begins to cry, and I realize I must do something. I imagine that the girl is safe, that the dog hasn't harmed her, and suddenly there is a weight on my shoulders. I glance up, and see the girl sitting happily on them, braiding my hair.
I reach up to take her hand, and suddenly, she vanishes, along with the dog. I find myself on an underground train, which is full of people who don't seem to notice that I'm there. None, that is, except for a man dressed in Candor black and white, reading a newspaper. As I look around, he folds his newspaper so that I can only see the picture of a familiar looking man. I walk towards it slowly, and the Candor man realizes that I'm looking at the picture. He picks up the paper, shoving it in my face. "Do you know who this is?!" he asks loudly. I look at him, and he has an angry expression on his face. I know, somehow, that if I say that I do recognize him, something terrible will happen. I shake my head quickly. "No, sir, I'm sorry." His expression changes to something like pleading. "If you knew, you could save me!" I sigh, and walk over. "Well, I sort of recognize him, I guess…" I start to say, when he vanishes as well, and everything turns dark.
I blink, and when I open my eyes once more, I see the Amity woman staring concernedly at me, switching her glance from me to the computer behind her repeatedly. I start to sit up, but fall back woozily, my head pounding. "What… what was that?!" I exclaim, terrified.
She looks at me abashedly. "That was your Faction Test, and I must say, your results were… interesting, to say the least."
"What on Earth is that supposed to mean? What Faction did I get?" I ask excitedly, although admittedly slightly afraid to learn the answer. This will affect my future, after all.
Turning back to face me from her little computer, she looks at me pityingly, as though… oh no. What if it's a possibility to get Factionless as a result? That's far worse than getting a faction result different from your original faction. The Factionless… they roam from place to place on the outskirts of the city, without food or work. To be Factionless is to be homeless, to be stuck on the streets without a family. To be Factionless is a fate worse than death. I twiddle my fingers nervously, anxiously awaiting her response.
She glances around, and then leans in towards me to murmur conspiratorially, "Do you know what it means to be Divergent?"
Divergent? That's not a faction. Of course, I've never heard the Factionless referred to as Divergent either, so that might be a good sign. I shake my head curiously, and ask, "What does Divergent mean?"
She sighs, then pulls up a file on her computer, looking at it quickly before turning back to me. "It means your test results were inconclusive." I look at her uncomprehendingly. She tries to explain, saying, "Look at it this way. Every section of the Faction Test is supposed to eliminate your aptitude for a certain faction. At the very beginning, there was a knife and cheese. If you chose the cheese, you would be seen as more peaceful, thus eliminating Dauntless as an option. On the other hand, choosing the knife would show bravery and perhaps a slight tendency towards violence, therefore eliminating Amity. You chose the knife, eliminating Amity as your aptitude, and getting a head start towards Dauntless being your ideal faction. However, when the dog came in and you didn't try to kill it, that showed Amity tendencies, therefore bringing it back as an option. Also, when you tried to save the little girl, that showed Abnegation tendencies. Managing to temporarily tame the dog showed intelligence, leading to Erudite possibilities. Finally, lying at first to the man eliminated Candor, but giving in brought it back along with more Abnegation possibilities.
"Basically, you have tendencies for all five factions, which has never ever happened before. You're a biological impossibility, Maylynn." She slumped a bit, evidently wondering how to put the next part. "I'm sure you've noticed that the Capitol is reaping 20 tributes this year instead of 24, right?"
"Of course I have!" I exclaim, remembering my curiosity at this turn of events. "But… it makes sense. 24 doesn't divide equally five ways. 20 does – 4 from each faction."
"Well, it is going to be 24. The four extra will be Divergent. On average, only four people are divergent each year. You were the last person to be tested. 3 others have been confirmed as Divergent. Do you understand what this means?" she asks me.
I nod numbly. No matter what, I am going into the arena.