THIS IS A STAND ALONE STORY AND CAN BE COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT READING VERONICA ROTH'S DIVERGENT SERIES!
(A last minute decision to take control of his own life takes Eric Coulter to Abnegation. Fighting for survival in the most stifling faction and for the rebellious Abnegation beauty, Beatrice Prior's heart, Eric must also step up and take charge to stop Jeanine's plan to overthrow his chosen faction. Will Eric and his group of INSURGENTS be able to stop the impending war? And most of all, will Eric be able to make a life in Abnegation or will Jeanine's plan destroy his potential future?)
Hey everyone! I am back with a new story as you can see. The updates will be irregular and for that I humbly apologize. This will be a bit slow burn and NO! TRIS, ERIC OR TOBIAS WILL NOT DIE! Tris and Eric will look a little different than the books or movies.
Thank you DragonMaster65 for betaing this for me :D
Eric Coulter: 18 years & 2 months old
Beatrice Prior: 17 years & 8 months old.
-o0o-ERIC-o0o-
As I am walking out of Faction history, I realize that today is my last day at school. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. Today is the aptitude test day which will determine which faction we belong to.
I live in a city that is known as Chicago. It was named before the war. Many years ago, there was a war known as The Purity war. The Purity War, like all wars, resulted in a ton of loss of precious lives. Seeing that human evil is to blame, the ancestors decided to divide Chicago into five factions, each representing different virtues.
The Dauntless are the warrior faction who believe that Cowardice was the reason for the war. They are known for their bravery and strength. They perform dangerous tasks and protect our city, from what I don't know. They can be recognized with their black clothes, bold tattoos, piercings and weird coloured hair. But mostly, their bulging muscles are a dead giveaway. They are often known as Hellions due to their reckless stunts. I mean who the hell willingly jumps on and off a moving train?
The Erudite are the faction that values knowledge and blame Ignorance.They provide us with teachers, doctors, engineers, scientists and all jobs that have intensive studying and expertise required are taken by the Erudites. They wear blue clothes and have a tendency to talk a mile a minute due to all the knowledge they have. They are also known as Noses because 'Nose' sounds a lot like 'Knows' since the Erudite are famous for being Know-it-alls.
Candor values the truth because they think that Dishonesty caused the Purity war. They are always telling the truth no matter how bad and hurtful it may sound. Sugar-coating things is not study the city's laws and punishments and provide Chicago with our justice system. Sentences and executions are given by them as they are known for speaking the truth and being just no matter what the repercussions. They wear black and white and are known as Loudmouths.
Abnegation are known as the faction of selflessness because they believe that selfishness caused the war. They are taught to put others above themselves no matter what situation they find themselves in. They are volunteers, caretakers and politicians. They are the leaders of Chicago because Power should be given to those who don't want it since they are altruistic and will never abuse it. They are the most likely to be bullied and pushed around because they think standing up for oneself is 'selfish'. They are dressed in grey shapeless sacks they call clothes. Most people call them Stiffs because they are uptight and boring.
Then we have Amity who values peace. They grow food and rear cattle to provide the whole city with food and other amenities. They are always cheerful and happy and their non-stop smiles creep most of us out. I mean, how can someone be so calm and happy all the damn time. They wear bright yellow or red clothes and are called Tree-hugging hippies or Banjo-strumming softies.
And lastly, the most populated group is called Factionless, they are treated like outcasts. They work low paying jobs and do things no one would want to do willingly. They are always scattered and lack basic amenities. They are dependent on Abnegation to provide basic necessities of life. They live in abandoned buildings and on streets. They are made up of people who have failed their faction initiation, outlived their usefulness or either are kicked out as punishment. A lot of people prefer death over living Factionless.
Every year, 18 year olds from every faction are given an aptitude test to assist them in understanding their personality and determining the faction they belong to. Most of us choose to follow our aptitude test result but some don't. The Factionless do not have this opportunity. If you are born Factionless, you will stay one till you meet your end.
We get one day to think of our choices and after that we choose our path, our faction for the rest of our lives.
We are told that we shouldn't bother trying to prepare for our aptitude test because there is no way possible.
As I was dwelling on the faction system I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and walked into a group of Candor students.
"Hey! Watch where you are going Nose! You wouldn't want to lose your expensive glasses now would you?" one of the Candor boys cackles as if his friend told the joke of the year. I keep quiet because I usually mind my own business unlike my fellow Erudites who start a speech on 'Bullying and insulting others' in this kind of situation.
Already I had spaced out again because the next thing I know is, a fist flying towards my face and hitting me square in my face, repeatedly. The glasses crack with the impact and I look at the nasty Candor with a horrified expression. They completely ignore my messed up glasses and bruised cheeks and start cracking up. I clench my hands into fists at my sides, barely holding it together. I never wanted to hurt someone more than I wanted to at that moment, but, it was important that I don't in order to not draw suspicions as to how an Erudite is picking fights in school.
"Excuse me!" I hear a female voice and look beside me to find a blond Abnie standing with her arms folded. Not a very Abnegation posture, if I know better.
"Do you think bullying people is a good idea? What did he even do to warrant your violent behavior?" she asked in a confident tone. The Candor idiot looks her up and down and it makes me want to puke.
"Feisty are we now Stiff?" the idiot speaks up again, and the others behind him check her out too. The look she is giving him sends shivers down my spine. Surely this is what people call a 'death glare'. It sure looks lethal to me.
"That wasn't the answer to my question," she retorts stubbornly. The Candors start laughing again, and she punches their leader on his face. Her fist connects with his face in a sickeningly satisfying crunch. Immediately they clustered around him as he staggered back and clutched his face. The sniggering and taunting stopped. It looked like she broke his nose.
"Next time, think of the consequences before messing with someone. You don't own the place so stop acting all high and mighty because next time you do, people might not be as lenient with you. Lose the fuckin' attitude!" she barks and leads me away. I totally enjoyed the cheap entertainment show.
She leads me to a janitor's closet and locks the door. "Are you alright?" she asks with concern. I nod my head slowly. She doesn't look convinced. Who am I kidding, even I am not convinced.
"Ignore them. They're idiots." she says and I can't help the smile that breaks out on my face. "Where are you headed?" she asks gently, her tone the complete opposite from when she yelled at those bullies.
"Aptitude test," I reply and realize that the whole ordeal with the bullies is making me look unpresentable. "Shit!" I mutter under my breath and realize she heard me because of the curious look on her face. "I cant show up there looking like this." I sigh.
"Wait here." she says and looks at my face before adding "Trust me?"
How can I not trust her after she stood up for me? It's not like she can kidnap me or something. I nod and she leaves the room.
She returns a few minutes later with a small first aid kit. I am curious and want to ask where she got it from but think otherwise. She takes off my cracked glasses carefully and begins cleaning my face. I decide to take in her features to pass time.
She has thick hair which are golden blond from the roots that turn lighter and lighter until they take a platinum blond shade at where they rest at the top of her head. Her eyes are sky blue which are surrounded by thick lashes, her nose is hooked and she has pink lips. She is about half a foot shorter than me with skin so white that it feels like she is sick. The faint pink tint on her cheeks proves otherwise. She also has a small smattering of freckles, which are only visible if you are looking for them. She isn't voluptuous per se, but, then again she wears those baggy Abnegation clothes. Over all, she is attractive in a natural way.
I realize that all I've been doing is staring at her when I hear her clearing her throat. I gulp and meet her gaze again to see her looking amused.
"Nothing major was injured. You had your glasses cracked which I took off and minor bruising on your face which I've iced. Everything looks okay and will heal in a short time. You are free to go now, unless those glasses were for real use." she finishes lamely.
"No, they were uh for show only as you already guessed." I tell her awkwardly. "Thank you by the way."
She bows her head and says "It was my pleasure….. I'm Beatrice" she says shyly.
"Eric," I reply. She waves at me as she opens the closet door and blends in the crowd as I make my way to the Aptitude test room.
But, fate decided that I hadn't had my fill of Abnegation for the day as a stern looking Abnegation man leads me in the room. "My name is Andrew Prior and I will be administering your aptitude test Mr. Coulter. please take a seat." Mr. Prior says.
I drink the serum and my surroundings change.
I am standing in a room surrounded by mirrors when a table appears. It has a piece of cheese and a knife on it.
" Choose!" a familiar, cold voice orders. I look at the objects. If I don't have any inkling of the next situation, how can I choose an appropriate thing? My musings are cut short as the table disappears along with its contents. I panic but then quickly remember this isn't real! and take a calming breath.
From elsewhere in the space, a big, ferocious dog stalks towards me, and I realize that this is why I would have needed the knife or cheese.
The dog snarls and begins to approach me at a much faster pace. At that moment, I remember something I read in a book once. Looking a dog in the eye is a sign of aggression. If that's the case, then looking at the ground must be a sign of submission.
I sit down with my eyes trained on the ground, waiting for the simulation dog to attack. It never comes. Instead, I feel something wet and bumpy across my cheek and realize that the dog isn't attacking me because it's licking my face. I feel relieved but it looks like the test isn't over yet.
A small girl appears out of nowhere and approaches the dog who starts growling. Before I can think of an appropriate reaction, the dog rushes towards the little girl. Without thinking, I rush towards the dog and jump at it. A knife appears in my hand out of thin air and I jab at the dog's head with it. Everything goes black.
I am on a bus and there is only one other person here. The knife is gone again. The man looks at me and holds up a newspaper. "Do you know him?" he asks and I recognize my younger brother. This looks like a dangerous situation and I don't want my brother to be in danger, so I shake my head.
"You can save my life if you recognize him," the faceless man pleads and I shake my head again. The scene changes and I am back in the aptitude test room.
I see Mr. Prior standing with the computer. He has an unreadable expression on his face.
"What was my result?" I ask and he massages his temples. He isn't even looking at me.
"Inconclusive. You had three results Eric," he says quietly. My heart is beating so hard that I think he can hear it too. No one gets three results. That wasn't how the test was supposed to work.
"What do you mean?" I ask, my mouth suddenly dry.
"Your analytical approach initially suggested an Erudite result. When you jumped at the dog to save the girl and lied to save your brother, it pointed out an Abnegation result. Jumping at the dog and killing it suggested a Dauntless result." He exhales heavily and finally meets my eyes. "You had Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation aptitudes. These types of people are known as Divergents," he finishes in a hushed tone.
No! This can't be. No way!
But, that one word keeps repeating over and over in my mind.
"Divergent!"