A/N: Told you I'd be back ;)
I'm so sorry for the delay! I barely realized how much time had passed since the last update, and I'm sorry I left you all in that cliffhanger for so long! Unfortunately, life got in the way (as it tends to do). Thank you all for your support through this! Your numerous reviews have made certain that I made sure I got some progress on this though it took longer than I had expected. Luckily exams are over and that means I'm on holiday! More time for writing! You guys are amazing!

Just a note, in case you're ever wondering where I've disappeared to if it happens again, check my tumblr with the username asirensrage. The link is also in my profile. I tend to post status updates there.

We made it past 100 reviews! That's incredible! Thank you! Also, thank you to my beta Sarah who has stuck through this despite being incredibly busy herself. Hope you guys like it!


Chapter 17

The main Erudite building is mostly empty. The lights to the building are still on, which is no surprise as there is always stragglers who sometimes refuse to leave their work unfinished, but it's late. My heels echo in the halls as I make my way to Jeanine's lab. It's the logical destination with her mention of a test subject. My mind runs rampant with possibilities of that term. Test subject. It could simply be a blood sample, or something as equally innocuous, but the ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach hasn't faded since Eric left my apartment. Something was wrong.

Despite the assurances I make to myself that the scan to Jeannine's office will provide the same results as last time, my heart pounds. I wait as the security protocols scan me, mentioning again a generation, my faction choice and authorization. As the door finally opens, I can feel myself stop breathing. There is more than just Jeanine in her lab. Exhaling slowly, I step forward, and as the door shuts behind me it suddenly feels like I've made irreversible choice. There is no turning back.


"Amelia, how good of you to join us," Jeanine says as if she had given me a choice. I manage to nod.

"Of course," I say. There are three other people in the room. I am not surprised to see Gregory, but I don't recognize the other woman next to him. The lab coat suggests another scientist. As I look at the remaining person in the room, the feeling of dread that threatened to consume me as I made my way over suddenly makes sense. This is what Eric meant when he said he brought Jeanine a gift. Bound to a chair between Jeanine and Gregory is the Dauntless boy Henry.

I have to control my reaction. Ignoring the lump in my throat, I stare at him blankly before looking at Jeanine. "This is the test subject?"

"Yes," she says. "He is a confirmed Divergent." She looked at Gregory and his companion. "I want MRI's and EEG's done first, and blood work. Do you know why?" Jeanine likes to use every opportunity to test others in the faction. She claims it is to teach them, but I can't help but feel that she uses it as a chance to prove her intelligence.

"It will give us a basis of the biological formation of a Divergent and from there, with application, we can see how certain tests affect different parts of what makes someone a Divergent. Once we narrow it down, we can test further and suppress and eradicate it," the woman says.

"Precisely," Jeanine says. "Start the blood work then prep him for the MRI."

I watch as Gregory and the woman move to the boy. They work together to slide his sleeve up and Gregory holds down Henry's arm while the woman draws blood. They've attached an entire bag to fill. The boy struggles and screams against the gag in his mouth. Jeanine strides over and grips his chin tightly.

"The more you resist," she says quietly, "the more painful it will be. You cannot help the faults of your birth, but your participation will ensure the preservation of our society. Willing or not, you will help us."

Henry freezes and slowly nods. I can see hope flickering in his eyes, as if he thinks that she'll free him at the end of it. My heart clenches at the thought. He won't survive.

Jeanine moves back and stands next to me. "Arrange for members of Dauntless to come in for testing," she says. "I want comparisons between their brain and his."

"Yes, ma'am," I say quietly, opening my tablet and making a note of it.

"I want you to take notes, Amelia, on my dictation during testing. At the end of the day, I want them organized and on my desk. Understood?"

"Of course." I don't have to ask whether she'd like them in point form or not. I've taken notes for her before. Organized means full sentences, not in the order of her thought process, but the main topics ordered alphabetically. She prefers having all information about the topics filed together, and it's easier for me to recall from storage when it's needed.

They finish with drawing blood, moving the filled bag to be chilled. There is a small tube also filled with blood that the other woman keeps aside. The boy is left looking exhausted and rather pale. Gregory unstraps him, moving him to lie down on a table before strapping him down again. It will help the boy remain as orientated as possible. I can't think of him as Henry. Not when I know what will come. I can't get attached.

"Gregory, find him something to eat," Jeanine demands. "We can't have him incapable of responding."

Gregory nods and obediently leaves in search of sugar for the boy. The woman stands and proceeds to use some of the equipment in Jeanine's lab to start testing the blood in the tube.

Jeanine looks at me. "What news from Richard about the suspected Divergent in our midst?" Vera.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," I reply. The truth was I hadn't put much thought into her. I've been far too distracted with my own issues. "Her work is standard for what you'd expect from a transfer. He hasn't had any problems with her. She seems to be fitting in well."

"Perhaps too well. Meet with her Amelia, find out her views on our faction." She pauses for a moment before she smiles. I am suddenly afraid for Vera. "Ask for her opinion on Divergents. I want to know her reaction."

I nod. "Yes, ma'am." There is no escaping it.

Gregory enters the lab again, carrying a small tray with soda and a plate of fruit. He helps the boy drink before Jeanine speaks again.

"Come," she says. "Let's begin with an MRI."


There is nothing that I can do.

I stand next to Jeanine in the small computer room, looking out the window at the bound boy being forced into the MRI machine. His heart rate is increased but steady. Jeanine and the other scientist are waiting, watching passively as Gregory leaves the boy strapped to the bed and enters the room.

"Begin," Jeanine says.

As I watch the machine start and the boy's heart rate picks up drastically as the table slides into the machine, I can't help but think that this could be me. Jeanine would be standing there, just as patiently waiting for her results. Our history might leave a disappointed taste in the back of her mouth, but it wouldn't be anything that she couldn't dispose of. I cannot give myself the false hope of convincing her of my loyalty through years of service. It is better to prepare for the worse.

The sound of the MRI drowns out any possible conversation and I'm grateful for it. It gives me a chance to think and observe. Gregory and the other scientist, whose name I may need to learn, communicates silently through looks and pointing at screens. Jeanine stands calmly, looking pleased that she finally has something concrete to manipulate. Her data has been incomplete due to a lack of actual Divergents to test. It unsettles me, making me want to shift and run as far away as I can but her words run through me. Any aspect of your life will be terminated immediately. I cannot falter. My biological failings are not the fault of my family. As I watch the boy in the machine, I know that I should feel ashamed but I'm not. I am a coward, but I pride myself in the fact that I have hidden well. He should have saved himself.

I watch as the readings are made on the screen. I was never educated in this technology. Despite the fact that I most likely would be able to read it if I put my mind to it, none of it currently made sense to me. Suddenly, a high-pitched beeping noise sounds, increasing in intensity. It's the heart rate monitor.

"Stop the machine!" Jeanine yells. The noise of the MRI slowly stops as Gregory pushes himself out of the chair and stumbles to follow Jeanine as she strides into the room. The table holding the boy moves slowly out of the machine but from my position I can see his body arching off the table. "He's seizing!" Gregory yells. They start unbinding him and I put my tablet down before rushing after them. I need to appear concerned.

"Hold him down," Jeanine says to me. I reach Henry's shoulders and try to hold him down, but he was trained in Dauntless and even his strength is no match for me. I use my body, trying to pin his torso down.

"Get a doctor," Jeanine demands. "Immediately." The woman in the other room disappears at the order.

I look up at the boy's face. It's etched in fear. His eyes roll to the back of his head and suddenly it all stops. His body goes still. The steady tone of the flatlined heart monitor fills the silence. Gregory moves forward, climbing onto the table above the boy and starts chest compressions.

I pull back. This is not good. Jeanine has barely had any time to get results. I take a deep breathe and look at her.

Her eyes are like steel, staring down at the body as if the boy did it on purpose. It's quite possible that she scared him to death. There's no change in the sound of the heart monitor. She looks at Gregory. "Leave it."

He stops the chest compressions, looking at her in confusion.

"The results are inconclusive. Bring the body to the lab. It'll be more of use to us if we dissect it." Turning away from the table, she heads back to the small computer room. I follow quickly and grab my tablet. "Amelia, make a note to ensure that a doctor is present next time. That can't happen again."

"Yes ma'am," my voice is miraculously steady.

Jeanine leaves Gregory and the other scientist in the MRI room, striding down the hall quickly. When we get to the elevator, she stops and turns towards me. "I expect results about Vera tomorrow, is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," I say. There's no other response I can give.

"Good. Leave me." She enters the elevator silently and I nod to her as the doors close. I wait before pressing the button to go down. My hands are shaking.

[tbc]