Sorry for the inconsistent posting. I've just been so busy with university, but nevertheless I have only a couple of weeks left and then I'm all yours :)

Hope you enjoy. Please review if you like! Thank you my lovelies :)

Veronica Roth holds all right to the Divergent trilogies. OC's are mine!

My father was a tall slim man, much like my mother, but with a kinder face. He had aged over the years but looking at him now showed how much he had withered away just in the short time I had been gone. He stood alone in the mass of whites, blues and blacks. My friends had ran straight up to their families, it took me some time to reach my father as I took one step in front of another.

I could feel him shake when he wrapped his arms around me, and I felt warm in the enclosed space. I had remembered Eric's lecture this morning, 'faction before blood' echoed in my head, but I pushed the thought aside. I had missed my father. I could feel his eyes, Eric's, on the back of my head but I refused to allow him to ruin this time between my father and I. I needed him, and I needed his answers.

He took my hand and led me away from the mass of families, leading me towards the Chasm. How could he have known this place so well? We stopped short before the bridge, the water was crashing louder than I had ever heard it, or maybe it was my heart beating either way I was overwhelmed, a sunken feeling at shoved its way to the bottom of my stomach.

"Alexia how have you been?" I was put off. My father never called me by my full name. Alarm bounds sounded and I knew something was wrong.

"Dad what's wrong?" We didn't have time for small chit chat. I needed answers and from the likes of my father he had them.

"Your brother. Have you seen him yet?" sounding like he had swallowed gravel, my father was in pain. He knew his son was in trouble.

"No. Every time I ask about him, no one gives me a straight answer. Dad wants going on? Where's Jax?" I was frantic, my voice rising up several octaves. Sensing my panic, my father took my hand, leading me to the centre of the bridge, placing me against the railing, he in front of me. He placed his hands on either side of my shoulders.

"Listen to me Lex. Your brother and I had an arrangement once he passed his initiation. Every month we would meet near the old abandoned building near Candor. He would show up without fail every month, same time same place." I nodded as he continued "three months ago he didn't turn up. I thought it odd, but thought maybe he couldn't have come due to work. Yet the next month he did not show and the following again. I knew that something was wrong."

I had to process this for a minute. Questions were swirling in my head. Every month. My brother and father met. In secret.

"How come you never told me?"

"I don't have time for this right now. Lex I need you to find your brother. Something is going on here in Dauntless and no-one is telling me anything. This is why I pushed you to come here Lex. You're brave, just like your brother. You're the only one that can find him." He was panicked. I could see it in his eyes. He had sacrificed his only daughter to find his only son.

I turned my head to the entrance of the pit to make sure no-one was listening or would enter. "Dad. Last night I heard two of the leaders taking about Jax. They mentioned Jeanine, and the terms 'faction before blood'. They were trying to cover up something." We were pressed for time because before we knew it, Eric had showed up, his heavy footsteps alerting us to his presence.

My father felt Eric's presence as his form took on a rigid stance, standing in front of me. Eric cleared his throat, his hands clasped behind his back and stepped forward towards my father and I.

"You must be Lex's' father?" His tone was stepping into condescending territory but he masked it well, and my father mistook it for a certain politeness.

My dad extended his hand, a Dauntless gesture, and my earlier question was answered. My father was born Dauntless and transferred to Candor. No wonder my brother and I chose Dauntless. Eric took his hand, shaking it firmly. His eyes told a different story, as if they were reading into my father's soul, searching for something. Answers, lies. I couldn't place my finger on it.

Eric abruptly dropped my father's hand and gave him a gracious nod, departing soon after. I waited until I was certain Eric had left. His actions just then were extremely mind-boggling but all the same insightful. I turned back to my father. He nodded giving me the sign I should continue talking as he moved in front of me again.

"Like I said, I think Jeanine or Erudite have something to do with Jax's disappearance. Apparently no-one knows where he is either, some have no idea who is. Dad want do you want me to do?" he took a moment to ponder over my words, my question left him in two minds. Protecting his daughter or finding his son. He went with the latter, like I knew he would, and I felt nothing but love for him.

"You need to pass stage 2. Don't draw attention to yourself Lex, especially in this stage. Once you've passed, choose a job which will require you to be working closely with the other factions and the leaders here. You'll be a fly on the wall." His words were frantic, but I understood perfectly. A beeping sound suddenly signalled around us, and looking down, his watch was flashing. A sign that he needed to go. We stood there looking at each other for another minute, until I felt heat radiating around my shoulders. I was engulfed in his chest, his arms wrapped around me. A shiver ran down my back as hot breath tingled my ear, his last words to me.

"Think Dauntless Lex. Be careful. I can't lose you too." he unwrapped his arms around me, giving me a soft kiss on my forehead before I heard his footsteps clatter away. I allowed only a single tear to shed, before wiping it away from my face.

I sat between Jayce and Cain, one of the Dauntless born and first jumper. He was ranked first among the Dauntless born while Jayce was ranked first in our initiates group. Eric and Four had revealed the ranks after our families had left, and I was sitting pretty in second, having won two out of three fights, and my skills in weapons was above average. My father's words were ringing in my head, and having pondered on them I realized that my divergence would affect the outcome of whatever stage two would be.

One by one, my fellow initiates were being called into a white room, and would not return, assuming they went out the back door. I had been sitting there for an hour, my right leg constantly shaking up and down, until Jayce firmly gripped it, stopping it from moving. I was grateful, and turned to give him a smile, though his eyes were solely focused on Katherine, who had just been called by Four. I felt him go stiff.

"You like her don't you?" His eyes met mine with a sudden aggression, and a twitch of his lips gave me the answer I was looking for.

I let the matter go, focusing on the wall in front of me, wondering about the very detailed job I needed to get into. If I was good enough I could become leader which allowed me to work with the fellow leaders, but that might take attention away from finding my brother. I had ran through several jobs until my name was called out.

I entered the room to find only a chair, a computer and various wires.

"Have a sit Lex." My legs pushed themselves in front of another, until I felt my back slide against the sit, and my feet only slightly touching the floor. "Stage two is all about facing your fears. Some people have 10 to 15 really bad ones. You'll only go through one today. Now to get out of your fear you can go two ways, slow your heart rate down, or face your fear head on." Four turned my head exposing my neck, a small prick told me he had just injected a needle. My eyes started to droop, the last thing I heard was Four. "Be brave Lex."

My eyes adjusted to the bright lights around me, until I focused on the only door ahead. Pushing the handle of the door, it swung open, revealing my home back in Candor. It was the same as I had left it. Small, tight and suffocating with its bleach like smell. My mother was big on cleanliness as she would always refer being clean is like being truthful. I just always thought she was nuts. I called out. Once. Twice. No answer. Something was wrong, there was always someone home, and the eeriness of silence sent shivers down my back. I walked slowly into the kitchen and grabbed the butchers' knife from the top draw. I was Dauntless and I had to think like one. My heart was beating a million miles a second, and my gut told me to check the closet door. My footsteps were heavy, each step felt like dragging lead forward, but I continued until I reached the closet door.

"Come on Lex, you can do this" I tried to amp myself up. "You're not afraid." Reaching for the door handle, I swung it open abruptly. The knife I held clattered to the ground, merely missing my foot. My hands reached and cupped my cheeks, as I muffled out a gasp. The closet was filled with the bodies of my family, bloodied and piled on top of each other. Though this fear was far from over as I heard heavy stomping behind me. He was here. He was here to kill me. I turned around to feel his hands wrapping around my throat and pushing against the wall, hard. He lifted me above the ground, my feet barely touching the floor.

'Think dauntless.' my hands clawed at his, trying to pry him off.

"Come on. I had you once, I'm not going to let you go again." My vision was becoming blurry, spots dancing in front of my eyes, but I wasn't going to give up. I smacked my forehead against his nose as hard as I could. His hands unwound from me to cup his bleeding nose. I took this chance of freedom to grab the cleaver now on the floor. I stood up, and I saw his fear in his eyes.

"I have lived with this scar every day of my life from you. Now it's your turn." I swung.

Gasping for breath, I ripped the wires that were stuck on my temple, scratching myself in the process. Four came to my side taking my shaking hands in his. "You were good Lex. Only took you seven minutes." I could only nod, not really processing his words.

I took another minute to collect myself then I walked out the back door, to find Jayce and Katherine waiting for me.

"We've made a vow to not talk about our fears unless we really need to." Katherine's voice held some sadness into hers, and I could tell her fear got to her too. I only nodded, and gave her a squeeze to let her know I felt the same. We walked out all three of us until we found ourselves outside the tattoo parlor. I had enough points to get another tattoo as I hadn't gone overboard on my shopping trip. Katherine and Jayce agreed with my choice and we walked inside to choose a new set of ink design.

As Katherine and Jayce deliberated over their choices I knew what I wanted to get, and sought out the first person I could find. It was Tori, the same tattoo artist who inked me my first time.

"Another one?" she asked, an eyebrow cocked up.

"Yeah, and it's a design I have in mind." She called me over by a wave of her hand to sit in the chair. I rolled up my left sleeve, up to my shoulders and turned my triceps towards her.

"I want in the inside of my arm, one of the throwing knives" I traced with my right finger the length of it, reaching a few centimeters above my elbow, but below my armpit "and an x."

"Okay. Why the x though?" I hesitated, but told her as it was nothing to be ashamed about.

"For each one of my fears. I'll add an x each time I gain a fear, and once I've felt I've faced it, I'll have you ink a line throughout them."

"Sounds awesome. Very original in a room full of dauntless." I gave her a smile and turned my head, trying to drift off in dream world while she worked.

Twenty minutes later I was sporting a white bandaged and sensitive left arm, being flanked by Katherine and Jayce as we made our way to the cafeteria. The atmosphere was heavy, as not many initiates were talking, the rowdiness coming from the Dauntless members.

My breath was shaky, my eyes closed tight as I could feel my body being lowered further into the ground, the wooden box I was in, shut tight with massive bolts that had been screwed in. darkness surrounded me, and with a thump, I had stopped moving. Slowly I felt soft vibrations, and dull thud. It continued, realizing that they were throwing dirt over the box. I was being buried, buried alive. I had only enough room to jam my knees up as they hit the wooden top over and over again. Though the box didn't give out, still keeping its shape, as I dragged my fingers over the soft dents. My knees were bloody, as wetness soaked my pants.

But this wasn't real. It's a sim.

Just a sim.

My eyes registered the bright lights in the white simulation room, the sound of beeping coming from the computer. I turned my head to Four, as he walked over and carefully pulled away the wires attached to my temples.

"What was my time?" He took a moment, looking somewhat hesitant and angry I thought, yet he answered me.

"Four minutes thirty. Faster than the average Dauntless." That was faster than my last time, and I could feel my father already lecturing me about not drawing attention to myself. I was in mid thought when Four took me by surprise. He grabbed my arm, softly turning his eyes to face mine.

"How did you get out of the box Lex?"

"I just did."

"You just did. I've never seen anyone escape like that. Dauntless don't escape confinement like that." His words were harsh and his gripped tightened. Something was wrong. "What did you get for your aptitude test?"

"Dauntless." And Abnegation, though I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Now I know why you didn't get Candor. You're a pretty good liar Lex, but you answered too quickly. What else did you get?" He let my arm go, losing his defensive stance and eyes held no anger in them anymore.

"Dauntless. And Abnegation." My palms had gone sweaty as I played with my hands harshly, going a deep crimson red.

"You can't tell anyone." His words caught me off guard. "Do you understand Lex, no-one can know about this."

"You're like me too aren't you? Divergent?" something flickered in his eyes, though I couldn't put my finger on it.

"I'm surprised you didn't get Erudite on your test. You smart and perspective." It was then I had remembered my test and the old Abnegation man who entered my results.

'Very strange my dear. Dauntless and Abnegation. Though the third is too dangerous to tell you. I won't give you that option to choose.'

"I think I did. The man that administrated my test mumbled on about not giving me the option to choose it."

"Lex, you can't escape your fears like that anymore. Divergents are being hunted. You have to think Dauntless. Okay, think Dauntless." He gave me a push towards the back door, and told me to never repeat this conversation again as he wiped away my latest fear landscape.

It was nearing onto three in the morning, my mind replaying over and over again my fears. I was leaning against the bridge, my legs curled into my chest as I rested my chin on my knees. Every time I closed my eyes, my brain would go through the last two days on repeat. My face was looking tired, and bags under my eyes and appeared.

I sensed him before he spoke, and already my mood went from shitty to even shittier. Fucking Eric.

Turning my head to acknowledge him I recalled in surprise when he sat next to me. This was a first.

"Its past curfew initiate."

"Yep and the sky is blue and tomorrow I have to deal with another fear. What's new?" sarcasm dripped from my mouth.

I heard him sigh, not giving me his usual Eric retort.

"Lex I don't have time for this." I would've of smiled as he remembered my name, but I had known Eric now for the last couple of weeks and he wasn't one for long and deep talks, or not being a condescending ass.

"Something's wrong." His eyes met mine, and I could see how tired he really was. Like he had a weight around his shoulders. He was misjudged, masking his personality with anger and intimidation tactics. But it was here that I saw he was just a young guy, filling some pretty big shoes.

"You remind me of my brother." In a split second he was on his feet dragging my arm with him, pushing me against the wall, hard. Anger seeped into his eyes, his words were venomous.

"You're pushing it initiate. I am your superior and you will refer to me as that. I am not your friend, nor will I ever be." His hand radiated heat throughout my body, his grip was tight and no doubt would leave bruises. "Do you understand?" I was never fearful of Eric. Up until now. Something ticked him over the edge, and I was just given my first clue. Eric knew my brother, or knew what has happened to him. And by his reaction it wasn't good. I nodded as his grip tightened, he held me for a minute longer until he released me, pushing me towards the hall of the dormitories.

Damn it Lex.

I was playing with fire. I needed to get inside Eric's head.

I needed him to fall for me.

Fuck.