Sofie and Alex pull up to the Dauntess compound in a large van. 3 Dauntless guards stand at the entrance. Alex turns to Sofie and asks "Do you want me to come in with you?"

Sofie smiles. "No. I think I can manage."

They both get out of the van and greet the guards. "Good morning. My name's Sofie and this is Alex."

One guard steps forward. "Yes. Eric's expecting you. I'll show you inside while they unload the equipment."

Sofie follows the Dauntless guard into the compound. The floor in the building is all glass and you can see down into a large area below filled with people. "Woah."

"You should see the chasm."

They walk through a crowd of Dauntless that all give her a strange look. She starts to feel self conscious as she looks down at her clothes. She's wearing a light blue dress with a white flower print, a white cardigan, and dark blue pumps. Normal attire for Erudite but she might as well have a spotlight on her here at Dauntless.

The guard shows her into a large room. "Wait here. Your equipment will be brought in." Without waiting for her to reply the guard walks back out of the door.

Sofie walks around the room looking at the wiring and outlets to make sure they're sufficient for her needs. As the two guards bring in the equipment Sofie starts to setup the computer and monitors. The simulation chair is brought in last. Eric follows it in. Sofie smiles but inside was hoping she would make it through the day without an encounter with Eric. She walks towards him and puts out her hand. "Good morning Eric. How are you today?"

Eric looks around the room ignoring her. After a moment he turns to her. "How long until everything's setup?"

"It'll be another hour. I have to setup the chair then calibrate it. We can run a test after that to make sure everything's working properly. Do you have someone in mind for the simulation?"

Eric nods his head. "Where's the new serum?"

Sofie points to a large case near the computer then turns back to the chair. "The new serum will allow the subject to be under a simulation without acting out the simulation. It's sorta like dreaming. Your mind is racing but your body stays still. " Eric loads the serum into a syringe and sets it on the table.

A little over an hour later Sofie announces that everything is ready and they can do a test. She looks around the room and notices it's empty except for Eric and herself. She turns back to the computer and pretends to double check the wires to keep from letting her anxiety show. "Who will be going under the serum?"

Eric smiles. "I think it's best that uh..." He walks up behind her and wraps his arm around her waist pulling her against him. She freezes. "You do." He injects the serum into her neck.

"Eric what the hell?" Sofie struggles against him.

"Calm yourself. You can't fight the serum. You need to focus on fighting your fears." Eric sets her in the chair before continuing. "Fight the fear or find a way to relax."

A moment later the serum takes over and Sofie is out.

Eric walks over to the screen to watch the simulation. A few fears into the simulation Four walks in.

He eyes up Eric then Sofie then back to Eric. "What's going on?"

Eric answers without looking away from the monitors. "Testing out the new simulation equipment."

"On an Erudite? ... She volunteered for this?"

"Of course not."

Four lets out a deep breath to try to contain his frustration and walks over to the monitors to make sure she's doing ok. "How's she managing?"

"Surprisingly well."

They watch 5 more fears in silence. When the last fear is over Sofie springs forward in her chair and has trouble catching her breath. Eric takes a step towards her but Four rushes over and puts a hand on each shoulder. "You're ok... Look at me... You're ok. Just breathe." Sofie looks into Four's eyes as she calms herself.

Four helps Sofie up. She is still shaking.

Sofie tries to hide her fear and rage when she turns to eric. "So how did the video look?... Was it satisfactory?"

"Everything seems to be adequate." Eric says with no emotion in his voice.

"Good. Do you require anything else before I leave?"

"No. We should be good. If we need anything we'll call." Eric gives her a smile.

Sofie swallows hard. "Great." She turns to Four. "Would you mind walking me out?"

Four nods and follows her out of the room.

Sofie's hands are still shaking as they walk down the hallway. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sofie. What's your name?

"Four" He says while looking straight ahead.

"That's... an interesting nickname. You'll have to let me in on the story behind that one sometime."

Four glances over at her and notices she's still shaking. "You ok?"

"Oh yeah. I'm great." Sofie says with sarcasm and a smile.

Four puts his hand on her shoulder. "You did well in there you know."

"Yeah, sure. For an Erudite."

"You did better than most Dauntless. You know how you had 8 fears in you simulation?"

Sofie looks down at the floor and nods.

"Well 10 to 15 is the average. Not many get under 10."

"Really? How many did you have?"

"Four" he answers as they walk out of the compound. Sofie smiles.

Four glances around in front of them with a confused look. "Where's your ride?"

Sofie looks frantically at the empty road in front of them. "I don't... He was... He should be here."

"I sent your ride away."

They both look back at the door to see Eric standing there.

Sofie has trouble holding in her anger "What? Why?"

"I told him I'd take you back when you were done."

"And he just left? He wouldn't do that."

Eric shrugs. "He couldn't get out of here quick enough."

Sofie sighs. "Ok. So now what?"

Eric starts to walk away from the building. "Ever catch a train?"

Sofie looks over at Four. "Is he serious?"

He nods. "Unfortunately." Four begins to follow Eric.

Eric looks back. "Don't you have somewhere else to be Four?"

Four pauses and glances to Sofie with a hint of concern on his face. "Don't forget... She's not dauntless." He turns to walk back to the building.

Once Four is out if sight Eric looks to Sofie. "Come on... Unless you want to walk the whole way back."

Sofie takes a deep breath and follows.