Me: "Yo, Beatrice, tell them I don't own Divergent!"
Beatrice: "Kat doesn't own divergent!"
Me: "Thanks, Beatrice!"
Beatrice: "No problem Kat, I better go get ready for the Choosing, cya!"
Chapter 1
The Choosing Ceremony
8-Year-Old-Beatrice:
I'm alone in this battle against my own father, and I'm losing, I'm losing to my own self-doubt, to the degrading words this man spits at me every day that he comes home. I'm losing to the cruel world that decided to make this sad, sorry excuse of a man my father, losing to the factions that try to suffocate who I am.
Beatrice's POV
Finally, I am sixteen, I can finally escape Marcus and his abuse, I can finally escape the suffocating Abnegation routines, but I have no idea which faction to choose. Erudite, the enemy of Abnegation, the people who seek knowledge, Dauntless the brave, the people who protect us from the outside world, Amity the kind, the people who grow our food and live in peace, or Candor the honest, the people who seek the truth out of everything and anything they can. I'm unsure of what my Aptitude test will tell me, but I hope I get anything except Abnegation, I do not want to live in this faction for the rest of my life, I'd rather be factionless.
I sat there, in the cafeteria of the school that I will never see after this day, waiting for my name be called so that I could take my Aptitude test to escape the man I had to live with for so long. As I mused over my thoughts I could hear someone calling my name, "Beatrice Eaton!" they called and I stood, now slowly walking out of the cafeteria, followed by a few others whose names were called, and down the halls I've walked many times before, and won't miss in the slightest. The group and I all turned towards the doors that now lay in front of us and we entered, slowly, nervous of what we would see or learn.
The room was lined with mirrors, and for the first time, I saw what I truly look like. I have grayish blue eyes, a mix of both my mother's and Marcus's eyes, but I have Marcus' dull, blond hair that looked nothing like my mother's brunette head. My face is narrow with a long, thin, but slightly hooked nose; as I looked at myself, I could only see a little girl with eyes and nose that are too big for her face. I have a long neck and knobby knuckled hands, and I am nowhere near pretty, let alone beautiful. I am short, nearly as tall as Tobias was at the age of thirteen; I can only assume he was this tall though, we haven't spoken aside from the single visit every year from the Prior family, they only came to speak with Marcus about business. Caleb, Tobias and I have grown increasingly distant since my mother's passing, so I truly have no idea what has been going on with those boys and I do not honestly care.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when the woman, clearly Dauntless, coughed in order to get my attention, "Aren't you Abnegation not supposed to look in a mirror or something?" She asked, clearly uninterested so I didn't even bother answering her. I looked at the woman as I moved towards her and away from the mirrors, she has small, dark, angular eyes, with hair that is straight and black, streaked with gray. She also has a tattoo of a white hawk with red eyes on the back of her neck as well as a tattoo of a river on her arm. "Sit down," she ordered, motioning to the chair that sat waiting next to her. "My name's Tori and I will be distributing your Aptitude test." The woman, Tori, introduced as I cautiously sat down on the reclining chair where I would soon learn where I belong in this world.
Tori handed me a vial of blue liquid, the serum that would change my life forever, and I drank it without question. The serum pulled me into another room, the cafeteria I was just in, but all the long tables have emptied and now, on pillars in front of me lays a basket of a hunk of cheese and another with a knife the length of my forearm. Part of me knew I was not actually in the cafeteria, that it was just a simulation, and that part of me confused me so much.
"Choose," A female voice whispers behind me.
"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious of the consequences.
"Choose…" the voice, whispered again.
"What do I do with them?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to see
no one.
"Choose!" She yells, the disembodied voice echoing throughout the
room. As soon as the woman yelled, my fear dissipated, replaced by
stubbornness; I scowled and crossed my arms. "Have it your way," She whispered before going completely silent.
As soon as the woman went quiet the baskets disappeared and I could hear a door squeak open; I slowly turn around to see who it was, but sadly it wasn't a "who", it was a "what". A dog with a pointed nose stands a few yards away, in a low crouch, as it creeps towards me, lips peeling back from its white teeth as it growled, a deep throaty growl. Now I see why the cheese or the knife would have come in handy, but it is too late now. I remember once, reading that looking into a dog's eyes is a sign of aggression so I thought of a sign of submission; that is when it hit me, I slowly sink to my knees and keep my eyes trained on the floor, waiting for what will happen next. I wait for a minute, and suddenly I feel something rough and wet glide across my cheek. I slowly looked up just to see the dog sitting there panting. It liked my cheek. The dog seems calmer than it was before; I slowly stand up, trying not to startle the magnificent animal.
I blink slowly, and when I open my eyes, I see a child standing across the room wearing a white dress. She stretches out her arms and squeals, "Puppy!" As she runs towards the dog that sat at my side, I open my mouth to warn her, but I am too late. Instead of growling, the dog barks, snarls, and snaps and its muscles bunch up, ready to pounce. I do not think, I just do, and I throw my body on top of the dog, wrapping my thin arms around its thick neck. I do not know what happened, but head slammed against the floor of the Aptitude test room, but it is empty. I push the door open and walk into the hallway, but it is no hallway, it is the bus and all the seats are taken. I cautiously stand in the aisle, gripping the pole until my knuckles went white. Sitting near me is a man with a newspaper; I cannot see his face over the top of the paper, but I can see his hands. They are scarred, as if he was burned, and they clenched the paper as if he wanted to crumple it.
"Do you know this guy?" He suddenly asked, tapping the picture of the front page of the newspaper; the headline reads, "Brutal Murderer finally apprehended!" In the picture below the headline is a young man with a plain face and beard. I genuinely feel like I know him, but I do not remember how. "Well?" I begin to hear the anger in his voice, "Do you?" I shrug my shoulders, I know it would be a bad idea if I told him anything, but part of me wants to. "Do you?" he repeats, more anger in his voice this time. I shrug my shoulder once again, "You're lying!" He shouts, "I can see it in your eyes! If you know this man than you could save me. You could save me!" He continues in a low voice.
I narrow my eyes and set my jaw, "Well, I don't know him, but I feel like I've seen him." I answered truthfully and that is the last thing I said before my head flew up from the chair I had been laying on.
"Get up; we're going out the back door before the supervisor comes." Tori orders as she grabs my wrist, dragging me off the chair.
"What were my test results?" I asked, confused at what was happening. Tori says nothing so I plant my feet in front of the door, "What happened?" I ask again, with a more authorized voice.
"You're going to tell your family that the serum made you suck and that I sent you home." She ordered, still ignoring my questions as she prepared to open the door.
"Tell me what my results were," I exclaimed, planting myself in front of the door, keeping the Dauntless woman from getting through, though I have no doubt she could overpower me if she tried.
"Abnegation… and Erudite, and Dauntless… and… Amity and Candor... Your results were inconclusive." Tori stated, her voice full of astonishment as she turned to face me.
"That… that's impossible, it doesn't make any sense." I stuttered, shocked.
"No, not impossible, just extremely rare. They call it Divergent. You cannot tell anyone about this, not even your parents. As far as the world is concerned you received an Abnegation result because that is what I'm manually entering." She states, pushing me aside so that she could open the door and then shoved me out, but before she could slam the door shut, I pushed my foot in between it and the wall and stared at her.
"Don't make me Abnegation, make me Dauntless," I state, ending with a whispered, "Please…"
The Lady, Tori, just nodded and pushed me out, closing the door completely this time. I turned around and started walking, very confused at what just happened, while also wondering how I will lie to Marcus about this. He cannot know I am Divergent, I hope he will not know I am lying; he will beat me if I find out… Though he will not do anything to my face seeing as tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony, but he will whip my back as hard as he can. I mulled over my options as I slowly walked down the street, towards the house that is not a home.
It didn't take long for me to arrive at the gray building that I am obligated to live in, so I sat at the front steps and did as my mother unknowingly taught me to do, I took a few deep breaths of the cool spring air and sat there in silence for a few minutes before standing up again. I slowly walked up the steps to the door and opened it, knowing that it was always unlocked since we are Abnegation; it is not as if anyone would want to steal from us. "What are you doing home so early?" Marcus asked from where he sat on our sofa.
"The woman distributing my Aptitude test told me to come home. She said to say that the serum made me sick, but she wouldn't tell me anything else." I answered, telling the partial truth.
"What were your results?" He asked.
"Abnegation." I solidly answered, knowing how to keep my expression placid and neutral as to not give away a lie. I always lie, to my myself, Marcus, and anyone who tries to talk to me, I get better at it each time I lie, and so far I've only been caught twice lying to Marcus.
He nodded, "Nothing else?" He asked, probably already know the answer.
"No." I lied, shaking my head, "Only Abnegation."
"Are you sure?" He asked again as if testing for a lie.
"Of course Sir, I'd never lie to you. I only received an Abnegation result, is it possible to receive more than one result?" I countered with a question of my own.
Marcus nodded, "Of course not, now go make yourself some food and get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow." He orders shooing me away.
I nodded and turned towards the kitchen to get a quick bowl of leftovers from last night's dinner; I sat in the kitchen, in total silence as I ate the bowl of peas and chicken as well as drank a small cup of water. It did not take long for me to finish eating so I quickly cleaned and put away my dishes before rushing up to my room. "By the way Beatrice! They Priors will be coming over in about an hour, so you better stay in your room!" Marcus ordered as I closed my door, calling out a quick "Yes Sir!" before sitting down at my bed.
After a few minutes of just sitting in my room, I stand up and drag my desk chair over to the door, sticking the back of it under the doorknob to keep anyone out. I slowly walk back to my bed and kneel down, pulling out the box of treasures and slowly unlocking it with the key I hid under my dresser. I slowly pulled out the odd items I have been collecting over the years, a heart-shaped rock I found when I was nine, a wire from when Marcus was fixing a car when I was ten, and he ended up teaching me a lot about working with cars. There was also a necklace I found hidden in one of my mother's old dresses when I was twelve, and lastly, I pulled out the sculpture my mother had gotten me before her supposed death. I examined each item as I pulled them out, memorizing every detail in every object before placing it down beside me.
I don't know how long I sat there, examining the items, but I'm pretty sure I fell asleep because I woke up half an hour later with everything placed around me. I quickly grabbed all the "junk" and put them in the box, not noticing that the falling-water sculpture and the necklace from my mother's dress were not among the objects. I swiftly locked the box and put it under my bed, before hearing the knob jingle, now noticing the chair was still under the doorknob. I threw the key underneath my dresser before rushing over, my eyes wide in fear as I dove for the chair, grabbing it and briskly placed it down in front of my desk, where it belongs, but Marcus had already entered my room and seen the chair that I had placed under the door.
"What was that chair doing here?" He questioned, "Were you trying to keep me out?"
"No sir, absolutely not." I lied, but there was no use, he had seen through my lie this time.
"Did I raise you to lie?!" He growled, punching me in the stomach before turning to face my bed. I knew what he was doing before he even pulled out the box, "Your mother always said these were extra blankets because you always get cold at night, but what I always wondered is why you keep it locked." He explained as he held out his palm waiting for the key.
I lied once again, "I don't have the key anymore, Sir. I lost it a long time ago."
Marcus glared at me, "That's two lies. The key. Now." He growled again. I shakily moved over to the dresser and kneeled down, rummaging under it for a few seconds before pulling out the key. I nervously placed it in Marcus' palm and watched as he unlocked the box and opened it. I watched, anxious about what was going to happen as he rummaged through my treasures, pulling everything out and throwing them at me. "Why do you need this or this…!" He shouted. I closed my eyes and flinched as each item was thrown at my chest. Suddenly the throwing stopped and I tentatively opened my eyes just to see Marcus stand up and hurl his fist into my stomach.
I fell backward, into my bed as I watched Marcus pull his fist back and get ready to aim for my face, but before he could I yelled, "The Choosing Ceremony, Father!"
He lowered his fist and growled, "Stay here," before turning around and leaving the room, most likely getting a belt. I gripped my bed as I waited for Marcus to return with the belt, and soon he did, anger evident in his eyes as he curled the belt around his hand. "Turn around get on your knees," he ordered as he always does when he is about to whip me. I obliged and slowly followed his orders, while simultaneously pulling up the back of my shirt to reveal the many scars that I have gained from the years of abuse. I readied myself for the first whip to come, but as always, it hurt like a bitch when it slashes against my back, cutting into my skin. "You will never lie to me again, you hear me, Beatrice!" The monster yelled as he continuously whipped me until I bled.
I don't know how long the whipping lasted, but I do know that at one point I had fainted from the excruciating pain and immense blood loss. I soon woke up in a puddle of my own dried blood and I slowly stood up, wincing at the pain in my back; I cautiously moved towards my desk where a hidden first aid kit laid. Gingerly, I pulled out the white box, grimacing in pain as I pulled on the many bleeding cuts that cluttered around my back. I sighed as I began to clean the cuts as best as I can before bandaging them. "If you choose Abnegation, you will never get away from him," I thought to myself as I carefully bandaged the cuts littering my back. Once I finished cleaning my back from the many cuts, I turned around to see all the objects I had collected, thrown all over the floor, destroyed. Marcus must have broken them after I had fainted during the beating; I sighed once again and kneeled down, beginning to clean up the mess that littered my floor. Once everything was clean, I looked at the clock and realized it was really late, I just simply lied on my bed, on my stomach to avoid causing myself even more pain. The minute I laid my head on my pillow, I could feel the sculpture forming against the ultra-soft pillow and I reached my hand under it, stroking the form as I fell asleep with the constant chant of "I have to get out."
I am not sure what time it is when I wake up, but I can hear Marcus shouting at me, "Beatrice! Get up already, it's the day of your Choosing!" I sigh as I gradually get up, gathering my best Abnegation dress and a gray cloak while being careful with my back. I quickly left my room and shuffled towards the bathroom, clothes and first aid kit in hand so that I could re-bandage my wounded back after taking a cold, numbing shower. I am not sure how long I stayed under the shower, but it was long enough for Marcus to start shouting at me to hurry up, so I quickly cleaned my back and bandaged it and then got dressed in my baggy gray Abnegation dress and robe. I cautiously stepped out of the bathroom, grabbing the scissors as I go out to the hallway where a stool lay in front of a blank wall that covers up a hidden mirror that resides in all Abnegation homes. Suddenly I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and voice say, "Let me, it is your Choosing Day of course," I just nodded and handed him the scissors, not even bothering to question the change in his act because this was more than normal. "You know what to expect, you'll stand in your place; when your name is called, and you'll go forward to get your knife. Then you'll cut yourself and drop the blood into the right bowl," he explained as he carefully cut my hair into the normal Abnegation length. "Now put your hair up come downstairs, we have about half an hour before the Ceremony begins," my father ordered once he finished, handing me the case of hair ties and bobby pins. I just nodded my acknowledgment as I took the case and began putting my hair up, just as my mother had taught me too many years ago.
I slowly stood up and unlocked the hidden mirror to take a quick glance at my appearance, just as I always do every three months that we cut our hair. I looked the same as always, with my hair held up in the ever so stern bun that held at the nape of my neck. I cautiously moved towards the storage room after locking the mirror once again, I had noticed that Marcus' hair was shorter than before, so he must have already cut it himself. I quickly grabbed the broom and dustpan and swept up the blond locks that littered the floor. Once the hardwood flooring was clean, I turned towards my bedroom and walked inside, the single thought of "I have to get out" flying through my mind as I pull out the blue sculpture my mother had given me so many years ago. I carefully placed the delicate object onto the corner of my desk, knowing I will never return. I untangled the necklace that I had forgotten was there and quickly shoved it into my dress pocket before walking down the stairs to get a small bit of bread to eat as we walk to the hub where the choosing ceremony will take place. My father growled at me to hurry up as I quickly moved over to him; he stood to wait at the door as I bit on the small piece of bread in my hand. "Keep your mouth shut and do not speak to anyone, understood?" Marcus orders before putting on his mask, hiding the monster he truly is. My father and I slowly exited the house, me trailing behind him slowly as I ate the piece of bread and watched the buildings slowly shift as we neared the center of the city, the hub where every important event takes place.
It did not take long for us to arrive at the hub, but on our way there, we had merged into a crowd of other Abnegation members. The hub is the centerpiece of our city, the tallest building (that was for the public) with one-hundred floors and the place we celebrate important events such as the Choosing Ceremony. I followed the crowd of selfless Abnegation as we rhythmically moved up the stairs, as one person, one family, one faction. I knew I was not going to miss this, yes, these may be the people I grew up with, but they are not my people. I know I cannot go to Candor, I absolutely do not want any of my secrets out in the open, and I do not belong in Erudite, they stick their nose in everyone's business. I also do not belong to Amity, I am not kind enough to live there, and I will not stay here in Abnegation, so that leaves one faction left. Dauntless, the brave, the courageous, the protectors of our city. There, I've decided, Dauntless is where I will go, I will learn to fight, to protect others, and myself and there is the plus side of Marcus hating Dauntless.
As the Abnegation all entered the room, I followed Marcus to the back where the other sixteen-year-olds and faction leaders sat, waiting for the Ceremony to begin. I watched the Dauntless-born who were shoving each other around and laughing at a joke, someone else had made. They were carefree and brave, strong and courageous and I knew that is where I wanted to be, among the Dauntless who could laugh and joke about everything. Soon the ceremony began and each faction leader gave a speech about the ceremony before calling out different names of the many different sixteen-year-olds that will now find their own place in this world.
Soon enough, the Dauntless leader, Max, calls my name, "Beatrice Eaton!" and I slowly move towards the stage where bowls of grey stone for Abnegation, soil for Amity, glass for Candor, water for Erudite, and Coals for Dauntless lay, all spread out for everyone to see. Cautiously, I pick up the knife that lay on the long table and cut my palm, deep; I slowly place the knife down and turn towards the Dauntless bowl that lies beside the Abnegation one. I gingerly lift my hand above the Dauntless coals and tilt my hand, allowing a drop of blood to sizzle into the bowl, "Dauntless!" Max calls out, everyone was silent with shock, but soon enough cheers to erupted from the Dauntless section as I graciously took one of the Band-Aids that are set next to the knife. I gingerly bandage the cut as I proudly walk over the Dauntless section where I'm greeted with welcomes and claps on my back, though I try not to flinch from the contact; it's really hard because everyone seems to clap my back where I have cuts still bleeding from the night before.
Quotes
"'Choose'
'Why?'
'Choose…'
'What do I do with them?'
'Choose!'
'Have it your way.'
'Puppy!'
'Do you know this guy?'
'Well? Do you? Do you?'
'You're lying! I can see it in your eyes! If you know this man than you could save me. You could save me!'
'Well I don't.'
'Get up; we're going out the back door before the supervisor comes.'
'You're going to tell your family that the serum made you sick and that I sent you home.'
'Abnegation… and Erudite, and Dauntless. Your results were inconclusive.'
'That… that's impossible, it doesn't make any sense.'
'No, not impossible, just extremely rare. They call it Divergent. You cannot tell anyone about this, not even your parents. As far as the world is concerned you received an Abnegation result because that is what I'm manually entering.'" – Tori, Tris, Unknown Man and Unknown Girl - Divergent Aptitude Test
"Abnegation." – Tobias – Four the Transfer
"…nothing else?" – Marcus – Four the Transfer
"Why do you need this or this…!" – Marcus – Four the Transfer
"The Choosing Ceremony...!" – Tobias – Four the Transfer
"If you choose Abnegation, you will never get away from him," – Tobias' thoughts – Four the Transfer
"I have to get out." – Tobias' thoughts – Four the Transfer
"You know what to expect, you'll stand in your place; when your name is called, and you'll go forward to get your knife. Then you'll cut yourself and drop the blood into the right bowl."- Marcus – Four the Transfer
A/N:
I hope you people enjoyed this Fanfic! I really enjoy writing this, so please review and review anything and everything! I would love for some criticism so that I can get better. And yes, I know, I used a lot of quotes from the books, mainly from Four the Transfer, but that's because I wanted to incorporate as much of the actual book into the beginning. That way you guys could get more of an insight into what is happening and so you can understand that Tris is technically Four in this Fanfic.