Hi everyone, by far this is the longest chapter I've wrote. Nearly 4 thousand words. And that explains why it takes 6 days to write.

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Anyway, hope you will enjoy this next chapter.

Final Task

The Dauntless' initiation ceremony is different compare to Erudite's, even though I didn't attend the ceremony every year. But I know that Erudite's ceremony will be a leisure and formal banquet. The initiates, who pass every obstacle and problems given to them, will be asked by the leaders to stand up to be recognized. One of the older members will read out the Erudite manifestos and then we all will enjoy a peaceful dinner. Afterwards, the leaders will announce the results of the initiates that will determine their field of study.

In Dauntless, everything is mostly disorganized. It's a riot just to get a plate of food for lunch. I fight through the crowd in and out of the dining hall to be able to have some air and space.

Until then I noticed I grabbed a hamburger for lunch, I feel a bit regretful since I'm missing some nutrients. I got the carbohydrate, fiber and protein, but I'm missing minerals and vitamins. Ignoring the fact, I'm still relieved to even have a meal and it's able to fill up my stomach. I heard a dying scream in the dining hall earlier and I think someone got hurt, bad.

Without even noticing, I finished my lunch. Well, I'm thinking and analyzing my strategies to face my fears in the fear landscape in two hours. That is the only thing left for me to be able to become a member of Dauntless.

The fears that I currently know are heights, punishment, uncontrollable bleeding, obeying the rules you disagree with, and weakness. It's possible that I have more because on average I'm suppose to have from ten to fifteen fears, and I only know six of them in total.

The only way to pass the fear landscape is to either slow down breathing and heart rate, or find a method or way to conquer the fears.

A while later, all of the initiates are in the dormitory before they go to the fear landscapes preparing themselves for whatever comes around in the next set of minutes.

In the glass building, a crowd gathers in front of three big screens outside the fear landscape room. One on the left shows the person's reactions, the middle one show the heart rate, and the one on the right shows the time.

Marlene is the first one doing it. We can't see what her fears are but we can see her reactions to it. Once her heart rate reaches the normal range, the screen flashes green and the people all around me cheer.

I fight through the crowd and jog to the room. The room has a few rows of chairs set up in front of another screen like the one outside, except it's much bigger and it's composed of three separate views. All of the initiates sat there with their eyes observing the screen, all with the same nervous expression. Four stands in front of the door beside the screen, blocking our few of the other room.

Few moments after the timer stops, Marlene walks out of the room with her face drenched with tears.

"Transfers, the order in which you go through the final test was taken from your rankings as they now stand. So Drew will go first, and Tris will go last," Four tells us.

It's my turn after three transfers. My hands start to turn cold with sweat.

Four steps aside and Drew walks through the door, with his hands shaking with nervous energy. When it's my turn I would know how well I have to be able to beat Drew, Molly, and Christina.

My attention isn't fully on the screen instead I'm dozed off in deep thinking. I have to face the fears without any rebellious thoughts, without any hints of Divergence. I have to face it as if they are real to be able to pass safely.

Drew takes a while to finish. Molly goes after him, and she takes half the time of Drew's to finish. But even she has trouble trying to calm herself. Christina goes next, she takes twelve minutes.

Then it's my turn.

I step into the room and there is a reclining chair in the center. I sit in the chair, Eric takes a syringe and sticks into the injection site. Unlike before I don't feel the pain of the needle or see what's in front of me, I just stare into blank space and can only prepare myself for the worst.

"Prepared?" he asks. Everything goes dark.

The scene is light enough for me to see the things around me. I feel nothing against the bottom of my feet, I feel ropes tightly tied around me. It feels like I'm dangling in midair, motionless.

I look down, and I see the chasm meters below me. Water sprays upwards and touches my feet. The railings are a few meters in front of me, and a crowd gathers there. Behind me is a rough stone wall with edges.

I look up and I see nothing but darkness. I'm tied to a rope that I don't know where it ends. I don't know what I'm support by.

I hear laughing from the crowd, a bit more like cackling. They all smirk at me, like I'm the entertainment they are waiting for.

Suddenly I hear a faint but loud enough snap above me, one of the strings of the rope is snapped. I'll end up falling into the water and endless freefall if I don't find myself standing on a ground. My heart beats faster. I think more desperately for a way to escape. Strings keep on snapping.

I use my body weight to swing myself front and back, the strings snap more quicker, I continue to swing even higher till I can touch the wall behind me, and then I use the momentum to push myself towards the railings. The rope snaps into two, my arms slam against the barriers. It stings but I'm too shocked to notice how much that hurts. I drag myself over the railings with my arms shaking violently and fall on the floor.

Then sunlight shines into my face from the barred window in front of me, I can't move my hands. I can't see anything else except myself. Fear of punishment.

I wait for the whip to hit me because the first one is always the most painful. I shake and pull against the braces but they won't budge. Then there's the first hit. Pain shoots up my spine and throughout my entire body; it wasn't long till the next hit. I grit my teeth to refrain from screaming and collect as much thoughts I can. In this case, it's hard to calm my breathing so I need to find a method to back from these chains.

My arms are held so my upper body can't do much. But my legs are free and I'm in a standing position. I'm bounded by ropes. There's broken glass shattered around my feet. I'm not able move or twist my shoulders therefore the ropes are held tight.

Cackling continues. I try to grasp a large piece of broken glass between my shoes while enduring the hits. I need to end this before the salt water is splashed on me. Once the whipping stops, I immediately pull my legs up with the broken glass and cut the rope chained to my right arm. My body collapse on the ground as the salt water is splashed on me the second the rope is cut. I scream. And with the pain, I use my remaining strength to reach above me and cut the last rope. I collapse forward onto the floor.

I don't hear the cackling anymore instead I'm in the middle of the Pit in the same position I was few seconds ago; lying down face towards the ground. The place is lit, there's no broken glass, but the simulation is not over yet. I feel very dizzy, the floor is wet, and I smell the unmistaken scent of blood.

Fear of uncontrollable bleeding. If I don't act quickly, I will die from extreme loss of blood.

I search for the injury as I run towards one of the shops. I shake with fear and I vomit along the way from the strong scent of blood. Blood is everywhere on my clothes. The back of my shirt is soaked and it travels down to my feet; leaving bloody footprints as I walk. Everywhere else on my body is splattered with blood. My heart races and I can't breathe.

To survive this, I need to close the wound. I need to close it before I die from bleeding. Stitching will not work in this situation since there is no one here, and doing it by me will harm my body even more since I'm not experienced. Everyone is taught the most basic first aid procedures at the age of 14. I need to calm my breathing to pass this fear.

In the infirmary, there's a mirror. I clench my teeth and force myself to see the injury in the reflection. A 5 inch long cut stretches from my ribcage to my hip. The sight is too horrible I had to look away instead of inspecting it more. I remove my shirt gently but quickly. I grab a roll of bandage from nearby, wrap it around my core and secure it. The fabric is soaked through almost immediately but I don't remove it, I apply another roll.

I turn my back towards the mirror and try to relax myself. Taking big and slow breaths, loosening every muscle one at a one. Inhale, exhale. Blocking all my worries and discomforts and try to only thinking of positives. Inhale. I will get out of here. Exhale.

Someone grabs me awake. Someone else covers my mouth, and eyesight. Arms grab my limbs and drag me across the floor, and then forcefully throw me against the wall. I notice the injury I had before is gone like there wasn't any in the first place. A wheeze escapes my mouth, and I remove the cloth covering my eyes.

I'm in the training room, and there are a group of featureless men surrounding me, about 4 people from my blurry vision. The person closest to me kicks me in the stomach, making me groan in pain. Staying on the ground makes me weak, I need to stand up. Strength breaks weakness. Another person pulls me up by my collar and punches my cheek. Instead of falling back down to the ground, I manage to stand on my knees. I did not rank third place in the first stage for nothing.

I punch the person on my right in the gut as it was off guard. It hugs its stomach and fall down to its knees. I grab its collar and shove it to the person charging at me.

All of their build are different; two of them are long and skinny, the other two are big and muscular. I just made the skinny ones collapse, how can I get rid of the big builds? Looking at them makes me remind of Al, who's huge, tall and extremely built. Their only weakness is their speed; their hits are slow but strong. I need to hit where it will knock them out, their human weakness.

I kick one person in the groin and its temple immediately after that, it falls to the ground. The last one tries to punch me, throwing its weight into the hit; I dodge it and aim at its abdomen. It forces a breath out of the featureless person, I hit its throat and the temple as the last hit. The scene disappears.

I sat in a reclining chair, I can't move. A Candor comes from my right and injects a needle into my neck. The liquid is tinted brown. The truth serum. My heart speeds up, I don't want my secrets to be spilled and exposed to everyone in the room.

"I will ask you a series of simple questions so that you can grow accustomed to the serum as it takes full effect," the Candor says. "Now. What is your name?"

I close my eyes, and bite my tongue to refrain from speaking. The only way out is to calm myself. I inhale deeply, hold it and then let it out. I repeated this for the next ten seconds till I respond to the question.

"Will," I say.

"That is a nickname. What is your real name?"

I inhale from my nose and hold my breath. It lasted 30 seconds.

"William." If I'm able to hold my breath for a full minute, my heart rate will drop in the process. I close my eyes, relax as much as I can, and inhale a big breath.

"What are the names of your parents, William?"

I ignore everything around me, the voice of the Candor and the fact I can't move, and keep on holding my breath. My lungs are inactive, not screaming for air yet. If I think of something, that will burn precious oxygen for me to hold. The only thing my brain is doing is counting.

I exhale after I reach 1 minute and 5 seconds, and open my eyes. I'm not the chair anymore. I breathe heavily now my lungs are screaming for air.

Suddenly, instead of inhaling air, I sucked in water. I cough but I realized I'm underwater, where I do not see the surface. I swim upward even though I do not know if I can reach the surface before I die drowning. My lung burn, I slowly release my breath so I can last longer.

My lungs burn, it burns like it's on fire. I make myself forget everything except having a thought chanting in my mind. Air, I need air. I gather my strength to swim to the surface.

I see it now, but it's still far. I still swim upward, my lungs burn. My movement is slowing down gradually but I continue to swim. I still continue to swim. I need air.

I need air.

Then I reach the surface, I gasp and cough. Breathing as much air I need to oxygenate myself.

The scene and setting changes; I'm not in the water anymore. I'm standing on the Pit floor. There's a little girl sitting in a chair and a loaded gun placed on a table beside her.

"Do it," a voice said. It wants me to execute her. Dauntless rules are to be strictly obeyed, even though it means to kill an innocent. A gun is pressed to my temple.

I grab the gun on the table. Both my hands grasp the handle with one of my index finger over the trigger. I click the bullet into place. Then I thought, I'm glad she's not my sister.

Once I look at her, her features changed. Her eyes are now green, her hair is the same shade of blonde as mine. Her features mirror mine. It's Cara.

"You have ten seconds," the voice snaps. "Either you shoot her, or I'll kill you. Ten!"

"It's okay," Cara says. My eyes burn and I shake my head in frustration.

"It is not," I say.

"Nine!" Her features also reflect my mother. I grit my teeth.

"You have no option. I understand," she says. "No," I yelled. I don't want to kill my own sister, she didn't do anything wrong. Even if she did, I will not kill her.

"Eight! Seven!"

"We love you," instead of hearing Cara's voice, it's my mother's. I shake my head.

"Six!"

I lower the gun. I shut my eyes. My heart races.

"Five! Four!"

The voice did not specify. I have to shoot her, that doesn't mean I have to kill her. It's either I hurt her or I kill myself. Killing myself is the better option but this is a simulation.

"Three!"

I aim at her right arm, she's left handed.

"Two!"

I'm sorry. I pull the trigger.

The lights come on. I shot up in my seat and I bury my face in my knees. I'm covered in sweat but I'm cold. My arms are still shaking.

I have never felt this relieved and calm before. The tension, worries in my body and mind disappears, and I finally can relax and breathe calmly. I'm done the initiation. The only thing left is the result of my fear landscape: how long did it take. I rock my body back and forth.

The Dauntless leaders remove their electrodes and stand up from their seats. I stand up as the leaders create a small crowd in front of me.

"Congratulations. You have successfully completed your final evaluation," Eric says.

I manage to pull a small smile. The haunting memory of my last fear is still there. I feel like he can order me to kill my friends right now. I shove my hands into my pocket to stop it from shaking.

"Thank you," I say.

"There is one more thing before you can go and get ready for the welcoming banquet," he says. He holds a small black case in his hands, he opens it and takes out the syringe and needle within it.

I feel tense by looking at the syringe; I thought I'm done with needles after the final stage. The liquid is the same colour as the simulation serum. I find it very suspicious.

"At least you aren't afraid of needles. This will inject you with a tracking device that will be activated only if you are reported missing. Just a precaution. No questions asked."

"Everyone is injected?" I ask.

"This is a new development, courtesy of the Erudite. We have been injecting every Dauntless throughout the day, and I assume all other factions will comply as soon as possible." He answers.

I remember that the Dauntless leaders don't care about people missing, and at the mention of Erudite, this security measure seems fishy. But I remember that Eric was an Erudite transfer. I can't refuse, or else I will be thrown out of Dauntless even though I've completed the initiation.

I nod. I look down as he wipes my neck with an antiseptic wipe and inserts the needle into my skin. Pain spreads through my neck but disappears afterwards.

"The banquet is in two hours. Your ranking among the other initiates, Dauntless-born included, will be announced then. Good luck," he adds.

At the banquet, I sat in the same table with Christina. And Tris came in later.

"Where did you go? Everyone else went back to the dormitory," asks Christina.

"I just wandered around. I was too nervous to talk to everyone else about it," Tris responds.

"You have no reason to be nervous. I turned around to talk to Will for one second, and you were already done."

Tris shrugs her shoulders. I bet she's in first place. "What job are you going to pick?" she asks.

"I'm thinking I might want a job like Four's. Training initiates. Scaring the living daylights out of them. You know, fun stuff. What about you?" Christina says with an evil grin on her face.

"I guess … I could be an ambassador to the other factions. I think being a transfer would help me."

"I was so hoping you would say Dauntless-leader-in-training, because that's what Peter wants. He couldn't shut up about it in the dorm earlier."

"And it's what I want. Hopefully I ranked higher than him … oh, and all the Dauntless-born initiates. Forget about them. Oh God. This is going to be impossible," I say.

"No, it isn't," Christina says as she reaches for my hand. Now holding hands is like the most natural thing, we couldn't do it before.

"Question. The leaders who were watching your fear landscape … they were laughing about something," Christina asks Tris.

"Oh? I'm glad my terror amuses them," Tris bites her lip.

"Any idea which obstacle it was?"

"No."

"You're lying. You always bite the inside of your cheek when you lie. It's your tell."

Tris stops biting her lip.

"Will's is pinching his lips together, if it makes you feel better," Christina adds.

I immediately cover my mouth, I didn't expect her to say that out loud.

"Okay, fine. I was afraid of … intimacy," Tris says, hesitantly.

"Intimacy. Like … sex?" Christina repeats.

Tris is tense and she manage to nod. But from her expression, I think she want to strangle Christina right now. I laugh.

"What was that like? I mean, did someone just … try to do it with you? Who was it?" Christina says.

"Oh, you know. Faceless … unidentifiable male," she pauses. "How were your moths?"

"You promised you would never tell!" Christina smacks her arm. Ah, so this is Tris' revenge.

"Moths. You're afraid of moths?" I ask her.

"Not just a cloud of moths, like … a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and …" she shivers.

"Terrifying. That's my girl. Tough as cotton balls," I mock her.

"Oh, shut up."

Suddenly a microphone squeals, we look across the room at Eric, who tapping the microphone in his hand while standing on one of the tables. Afterward the Dauntless crowd is quiet once the tapping is done, Eric begins his speech.

"We aren't big on speeches here. Eloquence is for Erudite." Like you're not one of them. "So I'm going to keep this short. It's a new year, and we have a new pack of initiates. And a slightly smaller pack of new members. We offer them our congratulations." The room erupts in cheers.

"We believe in bravery. We believe in taking action. We believe in freedom from fear and in acquiring the skills to force the bad out of our world so that the good can prosper and thrive. If you also believe in those things, we welcome you."

Even though he did not recite the Dauntless manifesto, I found myself grinning. At least some representatives go by rules.

"Tomorrow, in their first act as members, our top ten initiates will choose their professions, in the order of how they are ranked. That rankings, I know, are what everyone is really waiting for. They are determined by a combination of three scores – the first, from the combat stage of training; the second, from the simulation stage; and the third, from the final examination, the fear landscape. The rankings will appear on the screen behind me."

The names on the screen behind me appear as soon as he finishes his sentence, the screen is almost the size of the wall. As expected, Tris is number one.

1. Tris

2. Uriah

3. Lynn

4. Marlene

5. Peter

6. Will

7. Christina

I'm a bit disappointed but I'm actually happy that Peter is in fifth place. He will have to rethink his dream of being Dauntless-leader-in-training. A smile spreads on my face. Christina reaches across the table to hug Tris. Uriah comes to our table, grabs Tris from behind and shouts in her ear.

I'm not denying it. I never been this happy in my life.