I've never been in a car before. Rows of them were waiting for us outside when the ceremony ended. It's clean and quiet as we speed through the city. Many of the buildings are in ruins, sad reminders of the Fall. Only the factionless live there. They are the outcasts of our society. Some survive by performing menial jobs for the other factions, the rest live off the charity of the Abnegation. Most of them are were born to factionless parents, but we can also be made factionless as a punishment for severe crime.

Ahead of us, rising higher and more modern than any other building, I see the Erudite headquarters. The glass walls are etched in such a way as to make it appear as if there is water falling continuously down on them. I used to find the architectural contrast jarring, but now it looks beautiful to me. The car stops, the door opens on its own, and I step out.

"Erudite-born to the right, transfers to the left, please."

I look around for my brother and spot him among a group of Candor, dressed in black and white. As I walk toward him, I feel self-conscious about my own dress. We are the only ones in Abnegation grey. A young woman in a blue jumpsuit approaches us and I'm interrupted before I get a chance to get Caleb's attention.

"Transfers come this way, please."

We are led into a white room and each handed a small basket. There are twelve of us. Beside my brother and me, there are seven Candor, two Amity and one Dauntless. I study their faces but they all seem so different from me, so foreign.

"My name is Athena and I'll be one of your instructors. It's important that you remove anything metallic - jewelry, watches, coins, whatever. Put them in the basket. We'll keep them safe for you and you'll get them back after".

Before I get the chance, a Candor girl speaks up, "After what? What's happening?"

Until today, I would have been punished for speaking out of turn, but the instructor seems unbothered by these questions. "You'll see. It's a surprise."

"I want to know now."

She laughs. "Of course you do. That's why you're here."

All around me I hear the clink of metal, but Caleb and I have nothing to remove. An Amity girl meets my gaze and smiles broadly as she slips a necklace over her head. She has long red hair and freckles.

"Is everyone ready? Good, follow me."

Athena opens another door, opposite from the one we came in through. There is a long, dark tunnel and I can hear rushing water. As my eyes adjust to the lack of light, I see the exit, but it is blocked by a torrent of falling water.

"It's OK, you can walk through it." One by one we walk through the water, but are untouched by it. It's amazing. We emerge on the other side into a huge sunlit atrium, many stories high.

"Welcome to Erudite." I can tell Athena is proud of her faction as she stands in front of us. "We all make that trip when we begin our initiation. Think of it as washing away your old lives, and showing you what's possible in the new one. By the time you're full members, you'll know exactly how it works."

A purple-haired Dauntless boy is still running his hands along his arms and through his hair, marveling at their dryness. "I don't understand…" he murmurs.

"Isn't it obvious?" I am surprised to hear my brother answering. "They generated a magnetic field around us, which repelled the water."

Athena turns to him and smiles. "Very good. What's your name?"

"I'm, Caleb. This is my sister Beatrice."

"Sibling defectors, huh? I'll be keeping my eye on you two."

Caleb beams with pride, but I am horrified. Whatever reassurance I felt after the Choosing has vanished completely and I am filled with apprehension, remembering my aptitude test. I should never have come here. They'll find out and then they'll kill me. What am I? Why is it so dangerous? I want to ask someone, but I don't know who to trust.

Athena turns to the rest of the group. "Right then everyone, follow me, I'll take you to your dorms. You'll have a few minutes to get dressed, and then it's dinner in the Great Hall."

We follow her up a staircase and down another hallway. The girl from Amity is walking next to me now, looking overwhelmed.

"Do you think we'll ever learn our way around here? It's like a maze."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out in time." I answer.

"I'm Amy." She reaches out and squeezes my arm. I'm taken aback and it must show on my face, because she instantly glances around uncomfortably and whispers, "Sorry, it's an Amity thing."

Caleb, behind be now, chuckles smugly. "You're not in Amity anymore."

I turn around and stare at my brother. I can't believe he's being so rude. Is it really this easy to shrug off sixteen years of self-effacement? His new personality unsettles me.

Athena points to the first doorway and I peer inside. "It's two to a room." I look back at Amy and she bobs her head cheerfully and follows me through the door.

The room is light-filled and beautiful. There are framed abstract art prints on the walls and two narrow beds with blue quilts and large pillows. Near the head of each bed is a computer terminal. Amy hops onto the bed and touches the screen. She squeals in delight.

"I've heard about this!" She exclaims. "Every book ever written, right here any time you want. Isn't it amazing?" I nod, wondering if there are books about Divergents. Any search from this terminal could be traced straight to me, though. My father once told me the Erudite track everything, though I don't know how he could have known that.

"And new clothes!" She holds the blue fabric up to her cheek. "I've never had new clothes before." It occurs to me that while the Amity, who work the farms that feed our city, are as poor as the Abnegation, they don't necessarily consider it a virtue. Her yellow blouse and red skirt are patched in several places. She quickly shucks them off and pulls the blue dress over her head. I look away.

"Sorry, I forgot how you guys are." She shrugs.

"It's OK, we're Erudite now." Those words feel so foreign. I turn my back to her and quickly change into an identical blue dress. I've worn burlap my entire life, and the new dress is made of some kind of smooth material I've never seen. It feels wonderful.

"It's called silk." she tells me.

I cross the room and look in the full-length mirror. The dress looks good on me, skimming my still-boyish hips. Amy comes up behind me and we look back at each other in the mirror.

"You should undo that bun. All the boys love blonds!" With that, she grabs the pins from my carefully constructed knot and my hair tumbles down around my shoulders. I want to put it back, but my mother always did it for me, and I feel a brief pang of regret. Showing my hair like this makes me feel so exposed, but I take a deep breath and smile back at her.

"You remind me a little bit of my sister." She says softly. I see a bright tear form at the bottom of her eye, but she flicks it away before it falls. In an unfamiliar move, I turn to her and put my hand on her shoulder. She smiles back, bravely.

"OK Beatrice, let's go. Time for dinner. I can't wait to see what they eat!"

"Me neither." I follow her out the door and join the other initiates. Thankfully some of them seem to know where we are going. As I listen to the chatter around me, I find myself wondering what I'd be doing right now had I chosen Dauntless instead. Those thoughts leave me instantly though, once I smell the food. I'm sure the Dauntless don't eat half so well.

A/N Hello! This is my first time writing anything. Would love to hear from you (good or bad!) either in reviews or PM. I'm amazed how many have read it already, and I love seeing what countries you are from.

Standard Disclaimer: All rights to Divergent and its characters belong to Veronica Roth.