Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any of the characters or any of the dialogue that comes directly from the text.


Chapter 17

This morning, the initiates will be starting their second stage of initiation. In stage two, they will be injected with a special serum that will induce hallucinations that force them to face their fears. The serum also contains a tiny transmitter. The transmitter will send data to a computer which will translate the initiate's hallucination into images. The recording will then be forwarded to the Dauntless administrators and myself for review.

I still shutter at the thought of going through the fear simulations as an initiate. For me, it was by far the hardest part of initiation. Running, fighting, knife throwing, shooting…those are all physical skills. Skills that were easy enough for me to master with practice. But facing my fears in what felt like a very real way…that was much more difficult.

Growing up, my emotions were embarrassingly strong. At first I had a very difficult time controlling them. Eventually I figured out how to look indifferent on the outside no matter how I was feeling on the inside. But the inside feelings never went away, so when faced with my personal fears within my own mind, there was no way of acting indifferent. Instead, my emotions completely overtook me. After my first round of simulations I was left cold and shaking.

That day, I went back to the dorms and forced myself to think about everything that scared me. I was able to work out most of my fears and I proceeded to spend every waking hour playing out different scenarios in my mind so that I would be prepared for the next simulation. It worked…more or less…I was never as good at getting through the sims as Four, but once I was prepared for each one of my fears outside of the sim I was able to make my way through them fairly quickly.

During the first round of simulations, the initiates will only be exposed to one of their fears. This will be just enough for them to understand what to expect in the coming weeks and a get a handle on how the simulations work.

While they are starting their sims, I have a morning shift in the control room, an afternoon meeting with Max and then it will be time to review the footage.


Per usual, the control room is fairly boring. I flit through the city but don't find anything of interest. After that I switch over to the hallway outside of where the simulations are taking place. Most of the initiates look scared on the way in, but nowhere near as bad as they look coming out. I notice Tris enter but not exit. Once I review the footage I see that she exited through the back door after a short conversation with Four. I wonder what happened? Most of the initiates finish their first simulation before lunch, but a few of them will have to return after lunch to do theirs.

After eating lunch in the Pit, I make my way back towards the leadership wing for my meeting with Max. I don't know exactly what Max wants to talk about, but I do know it has something to do with Jeanine and her plans to take the government from Abnegation. It's no secret that the Erudite leadership feel as though they should be in charge of the government. It's been that way since before I was born, but to actually try to overthrow Abnegation and take over? Well that's new.

Jeanine's plans are not widely known. Only those within Erudite and Dauntless leadership are aware that she is working on a way to make this our new reality. Right now, I'm only being informed on a need to know basis, so if Max wants to have a full meeting with me about this then they must be getting closer to executing their plan.

It doesn't take long for me to arrive at Max's door.

"Come in," he calls before I have a chance to knock twice.

When I walk in, Max gets up from his desk and closes the door behind me.

"Have a seat."

I do as I'm told and sit in one of the large black chairs in front of his desk. He resumes his position across from me.

"How are things going with your Divergent hunt?" he asks. I can tell he doesn't really care what my answer is, asking is just his way of starting our conversation.

"Alright," I reply. "Nothing conclusive yet. We'll see what reviewing the fear simulation footage shows me."

Max has never really cared about the Divergent hunt. He doesn't believe Divergents are to be feared. He is of the mind that Non-Divergents out weight Divergents by too many for them to pose any real threat.

"Anyway, we both know I didn't call you in here to talk about Divergents," he starts. "As you know, Jeanine has been working on a plan to position herself at the head of the government and free Abnegation of their governmental duties."

I nod.

"So, her first step is to create doubt among the other factions. Her hope is that she can first make the factions doubt Abnegation's abilities to govern and then convince them that Erudite is the best choice to replace them. She has been working with a trusted reporter to release news articles that will put Abnegation's priorities into question and make people doubt their selflessness. I mean, it can't be that hard. No one is that selfless. They have to be keeping secrets…holding out on us."

He pauses for a moment, almost as though he is lost in thought before shaking his head and continuing.

"Now, Abnegation is unlikely to give up their position easily, so she is also working on a way to take what she wants by force. A way to turn Dauntless into the army she believes is necessary for her plan to work."

"What do you mean turn us into an army? Excuse my antiquated language here, but isn't that essentially what we are, the Faction Police Force? What exactly is she planning that would require an army? If four out of five of the factions are on board then wouldn't Abnegation just concede?" I question.

"How do I put this, Jeanine doesn't necessarily care whether or not all the factions are on board. And she isn't a patient woman. Yes, she is trying to instill doubt, but whether we are united or not, she has every intention of taking out Abnegation leadership," he replies.

"So when you say taking out, you mean…killing them? Jeanine wants to kill the entire government?" I ask apprehensively.

Max just shrugs.

"She figures that by taking them out it will devastate the entire faction and a devastated faction will be forced to focus on rebuilding rather than banding together to rise up against her." He says it as though it's logical and it should be since it's Jeanine's reasoning but it seems a bit dramatic to me.

"Okay…so how is she planning to turn us into her army then? How is she going to convince all of our members to go to war for her?"

He sighs and leans back in his chair.

"For now, that's need to know. There's still some kinks being worked out…but you'll find out soon enough. I just wanted to let you know that things are coming down the pipes and it won't be long now."

I could argue with him, try to convince him to tell me, but to be honest, based on what I know so far I'm not sure I even want to know what Jeanine's big plan is.

"Keep working on your job," he continues. "Jeanine is relying on you to track down those Divergents. She hasn't told me what she needs them for. To be honest I had just assumed she was killing them, but I'm starting to get the feeling there's more to it. Has she told you?"

His question catches me off guard. I hadn't really thought much further than Divergents are bad, catch the Divergents and deliver them to Jeanine. Like Max, I had also assumed she was killing them…but maybe I was wrong.

"No," I say. "She just keeps repeating the same thing about them being a threat to society, a threat to our way of life, and all that. She's not much for details…"

"You're not wrong there. Anyways, that's all for today. Just be prepared for anything and I'll fill you in as soon as I can."

I nod as I grip the arms of my chair and push myself up into a standing position. Without another word, I turn and leave.


03:00

I blink hoping the number will change.

03:00

God damnit!

03:00

The next fastest time: 09:00.

I hover the mouse over the file. Each file is labelled with the initiates name and the time it took them to make it through the simulation.

BeatricePrior03:00

I've been avoiding it all night. I don't want to open it. I'm too afraid that it will confirm what I've suspected for a while now, but it's the last file I have to review and I have to look at it. I have to know for sure one way or the other.

I double click the file and watch as the pixels form a picture, Tris comes into view. She stands in a field of dry grass that goes up to her waist. A large black crow lands on her shoulder, she immediately attempts to bat it away, but it doesn't budge. She tries again but to no avail. She lets out a frustrated cry as thunder rumbles.

The sky darkens and a flock of crows storms towards her, each one squawking as it approaches. The crows descend around her and she tries to run but her feet appear stuck in place. She screams and shivers run down my arms at the sound. The crows continue to attack her, talons tearing at her skin beaks drawing blood.

I watch as she falls to the ground and covers her head with her arms. Her crying is now accompanied by a steady stream of sobs and I have to force myself to continue watching the screen.

"Help," she wails. "Help!"

The crows continue to peck, her skin now covered in scratches and blood. I can hear her choking within the swarm.

"Help," she sobs again. "Help."

I know it isn't real, but watching the video makes me feel useless.

A crow pecks persistently against her lips until it finally pushes its head into her mouth. She surprises me by biting down on it. She spits, then clenches her mouth shut as she forces herself up off the ground into a standing position. Her eyes shut and I can see her chest rising and falling as she takes deep breaths in and out. Slowly, she propels herself forward, walking as the crows continue to push and prod at her sides. I watch as her body relaxes more and more with each step.

The screen goes blank.

03:00

I slam my computer shut and let out a frustrated groan.


Hello lovelies! We are starting to get somewhere here! The next three chapters are written and I am loving the ERIS action that is coming. I can't wait to sharing them with you! Like I said in the last chapter I'm going to try to keep up my schedule of posting Tuesdays and Fridays.

Any comments appreciated!

-MWB