A/N Wow guys, I have so much positive feedback from just the first chapter! 11 favourites, 21 followers and 15 reviews! not to mention the 309 people who also viewed it, as well. Thank you so much! Eeek. I had a feeling the plot was going to be a good one, but I didn't think people would love it as much as they do!

But, as every author does, I re-read my work again probably another five times and I found lots and lots of spelling mistakes. I am sorry if these annoyed you, because they certainly annoyed me! But I wrote chapter one when I was tired and I was so excited about posting it I thought I had checked over it enough to post. But obviously not :/

A warning: the events in these two chapters have been pretty much book-like, which is what I want, but they will go off during the course of the story. Eric and Tris being related will change events. I will also be using some of Veronic Roth's actual dialogue, like I have in this chapter, but mostly I have read what she wrote and tried to put it down in my own way.

Anyway, here is the much anticipated chapter 2! Enjoy guys, and please R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.

Chapter 2

There is silence at first; I presume it is of Four and Christina contemplating my prior relationship with Eric. I doubt they saw that coming.

Eric Prior, my brother. My abusive brother.

Hell, I never saw it coming. Now that he's left I have had time to think about what has just happened. Earlier I told myself that I was never really safe in Abnegation even without Eric, because I was still haunted by my past. Truth it, I was safer there than I am now, but it should be the other way around. I changed Factions to get away from my old self; I left the remainder of my family for it. But now it feels like I did all that in vain.

I'm not safe anymore.

No matter where you go, you cannot escape your past. I read this once in my Lower Levels Philosophy text book. Back then I had some light to cling to; my Choosing Ceremony. Light I thought I had claimed for good until about five minutes ago. But this is obviously not true. Eric is here in Dauntless. Here as a leader. He has authority over me whether I like it or not; I could end up reliving my past any time now. I just hope I find it in me to escape this time.

One thing I do know is: I will not let him break me.

"Tris? Tris? Are you there?" I feel Christina poke my shoulder and suddenly realise that she must have been trying to get my attention for some time now, but I've been too in my own head to notice.

Before I respond, I find my eyes lock with Four's. Why do I feel the need to look at him? I've known for thirty minutes at most. Even so, I feel electricity pull at me at his close proximity. I shake my head. If my parents saw me now, they wouldn't recognise me at all. They wouldn't recognise Eric, either.

I force back the tears.

"Yeah?" I respond, but I know what she'll ask me: something about Eric, maybe, or how I'm feeling. One thing's for sure, though, she doesn't know what he did to me, and I probably won't find myself telling her anytime soon. But with her Candor eyes, she'll figure it out soon enough. It's not reassuring, but it's the best I can do for now.

"Are you alright? You seem a little...shaken" I look down and notice that she's right. If I expect to last here with Eric in charge and monitoring my every move, I need to be able to control my emotions.

I push my food away having lost my appetite and shove my hands under the table; wringing them together as to steady them. The movement didn't go unnoticed my either Four or Christina, though.

"Yeah, I'm..." I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat, "I'm fine. I'm just not hungry anymore. Seeing Eric again has...yeah" I'm not sure either of them understands what I'm saying, but they don't press the matter and I'm grateful.

After we have eaten, the transfer initiates make their way to Chasm again where we'd be meeting Four. I walk there with Christina, receiving strange looks on the way. Most of Dauntless much have been talking about the encounter I had with Eric not so long ago. It was probably out of the ordinary to see him have such close ties with a Stiff. That's where he went wrong. People knowing he has something to do with a stiff will crush his authority. I smirk to myself. When this storm passes, I'm going to get justice for what he did. I am just one step closer to it.

I'm going to ruin him, before he ruins me.

I'm wondering if Four or Christina will mention my blood tie with him. Some part of hopes so, since it will crush him and give me leverage. But the other part doesn't like this so much. I don't want reminders of what he did to me, having the whole compound know the he's my brother wouldn't exactly let me live peacefully.

I want to be known another way.

I know I'm thinking too much, but I can't help myself. There is so much to think about now that I know that truth about Eric. I decide to leave my thoughts for later, then I can really create a strategy for how I'm going to get through Dauntless initiation with him being so close to me again.

"Attention transfers!"

I am again knocked out of my train of thought, by the one person I would like to personally kill myself.

"For those you who don't know, my name is Eric" he skims the crowd of us, then smirks in my direction. I'm guessing that's because his sentence is ironic; I probably know him better than anyone else here, and he wants to remind me why. I know what he's doing. He wants me to relive the torture again, like I have never been able to escape from it at all. He truly has no mercy. No good bone in his body. What went wrong with him?

"I am one of the five leaders of Dauntless, and here to oversee you initiation into our compound," he's still staring over the nine of us, like he's daring us to talk back to him about this piece of information. I wonder if they'll realise that he's sadistic during our initiation, "here, we take the initiation process very seriously" then his eyes lock with me, and I can't pull myself away. I feel the familiar build in my chest like a dam ready to explode – which is exactly what I have wanted to do ever since we talked in the dining hall. He wants me to be scared out of my wits. He wants me to run for the hills, to not make it through this next stage in my life. Now I know he's going to be there every second of every day, watching like a hawk, an unfed predator he'll expect me to give up. His words might be some kind of inspirational speech towards future Dauntless, but I know they're directed at me. A warning of what he has in store for me. But he's not running me out easily.

I'd rather be dead than Factionless.

"Some ground rules: you have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, which a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six," he stops suddenly, his eyes not leaving mine still. Will he beat me again now that I'm going to be in his presence for my whole life, assuming that I get past initiation that is? I swallow hard. I realise that he could do it, if he still takes pleasure out of my pain. No-one would have to know, and compared to him I am even smaller and fragile that I want to believe myself.

Eric never sexual abused me, which I'm grateful for. But I'm not grateful for everything else he put me through. Since he started beating me at eight years old, I have had a fear of close contact with anybody. Even my family, but we'd never be expected to do anything that involved touching the other in Abnegation, so I was lucky. But I also have trust issues. I can't trust my family, for obvious reasons, I still believe that they could have saved me if they had tried to uncover the truth.

I'm hoping this new start will still happen. I can make new friends; Christina seems nice enough, although I have a feeling she'll judge me for my size. But I've never had a friend before, and one day I might be able to trust her. I cling to this thought as I listen in to what Eric has to say sexr.

"You will also be able to have some free time off after each stage of initiation. But, under any circumstances, are you not permitted to leave the Dauntless compound at anytime unaccompanied. There will be consequences for any who do," and again, I know he's directing this at me. He's probably expecting me to pay a visit to Mother and Father, or Caleb in Erudite now that I know he's here. He's expecting me to run because I'm scared, which I am. It's inevitable that I am, he's the monster of my dreams.

Eric leads us away from the Chasm, and I suddenly realise that he wasn't alone through all that. Four is standing beside him, looking like his crony. But somehow I don't believe he is one, and I have no idea why. He seems too wary to have any sort of relationship with Eric apart from his professional one. I'm probably only making this assumption up because I'm a suspicious person, but I find myself hoping that Four doesn't share the same views as Eric. The two Dauntless that I know - sadistic adrenaline junkies, or ones that value bravery and courage for what it is - I hope he falls into the latter.

We stop at the end of a dark and damp hallway somewhere in the underground puzzle map that is the compound of Dauntless; there is a door to my right and Eric is leaning against it, one foot at the back of the door and with his arms crossed. He posture unnerves me. Four takes his place beside him; expression blank and his eyes hooded over. I know that attitude; I use it all the time as a way to shut myself out from the world, and I do it because of my secret. I have a hunch that he has something to hide just like I do.

Eric isn't exactly tall, but the way he holds himseelf gives off that impression. Even so, he towers over me, with his now broad shoulders and heavy feet. I feel like I'm a small child again, and I don't like it. I don't, I don't, I don't.

"Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. When you enter, you will notice that there are ten beds and only nine of you. We had anticipated in more arriving to the compound, but as things turn out we have nine."

"But we stared with twelve," someone interrupts him – Christina. In knowing her for the hour or so that I have, I have noticed that she does in fact speak her mind most of the time – apart from the topic of Eric – but she'll really need to stop doing that here, because her Candor attitude will not be tolerated by him. That I know. If she doesn't want to get hurt, she's going to have to learn to maintain a less forward attitude. I find myself worrying for her.

"Yes, but there is always one that doesn't make it to the compound. I'm sure you would have witnessed that on your arrival," he retorts back, picking at his oily skin. I watch as his mouth piercings pull apart when he talks. The hole is creates in its wake reminds me of the abyss that he created around me. The one I have yet to climb out of.

The way he talks about losing transfers sounds sick. Like they sit in their office placing bets on how many will die on their way to the compound, like it's some kind of sport. He truly has no conscience.

He shrugs when he gets no response, probably bored with us already, "Anyway, in the first stage of initiation, we keep the Dauntless-born and transfers separate from each other, but that doesn't mean you will be evaluated separately. Your results will be combined with theirs at the end of initiation, and your rankings for all three stages will determine where you come on the leaders bored. Don't forget, you are at a great disadvantage already, the Dauntless-born have lived in the compound for sixteen years. They know how to do most of the things you be expected to do throughout the course of your initiation, so I expect-"

"Rankings?" the Erudite girl questions him. She has mousy-brown hair and a small frame, just like me. But nothing about her posture shouts determination. I have a feeling she won't last long, "why are we ranked?"

Eric smiles at her, but I know it has wicked intentions behind it, "Your rankings serve two purposes. The first is that it determines what job you can take. There are only two desirable potions available," he states, waiting for us to flinch, but when we don't he carries on, "and the second purpose is that only the top ten initiates will become members" he finishes, taking pleasure in the silence he left in his wake, but I feel sick. It was going to be hard enough with Eric watching over me every stage of initiation, but even harder now that I know only ten can make it through. I think I'm going to have to pray for a miracle.

"What?" many of the nine of us ask in unison, voicing my thoughts.

"What I mean to say," He begins, "is that there at eleven Dauntless-born, and nine of you. Four will be cut at the end of stage one, but you already knew that. Then the remainder will be cut after the final test." He concludes, like that makes it all better. Even if I make it through stage one, at the end six of us will not be members. Being a Stiff gives me more of a disadvantage than I thought.

"But that isn't fair," the broad-shoulder Candor girl claims – Molly, "If we had known-"

"Are you telling me that if you had known about our initiation tactics prior to choosing us, then you wouldn't have done it? Do you realise that to do that you are acting out of cowardice? That is precisely why Dauntless was created, to stop the cowardice. If you aren't cut out for the next few weeks, but all means leave. You know where the door is" Eric snarls back, and I find myself open-mouthed at his speech. He has the cheek to talk about cowardice, when he's a coward himself? Last time I checked, it isn't brave to beat your sister up. This is what I want to say to him, but if I want to be known another way I can't shout this out in front of the other eight transfers and Four. I especially don't want him to find out, but I'm not entirely sure why yet. And even if I did have the nerve to, rumours spread like wildfire here. Odds are everyone would know by dawn.

I keep my mouth set into a hard line.

"What happens to the people who are cut?" Peter asks from the back of the crowd. Eric advances on him, bringing his face in close proximity to his. He's also just as intimidating as I remember, "You will leave the compound, of course, and live with the Factionless" he lets the words hang over our heads, although he's still staring hard at Peter.

I wasn't planning on leaving the compound with Eric here, nor was I planning on losing initiation. But now I have more of a reason to try harder. If I fail I will have to do one of the things I was afraid of: live Factionless.

No, I tell myself, this is not going to happen. Not at all.

Eric pushes the door open to our dormitory, "You chose us," he says. "Now we choose you"

Nothing like Eric making some 'inspirational speech' in front of the new initiates, and then leaving us on a cliff-hanger sentence, but before I have chance to step in, he grabs my arm and pulls me back. I try to pry his grip away from my wrist because the pressure is uncomfortable, but he just increases it. "Let go of me, Eric!" I hiss, noticing that Four is standing on the other side of the threshold like he would come to my aid if needs be, and the other initiates have stopped to watch what's happening.

"Aw, come on Stiff. Can't your brother wish his sister good luck?" he says back, in mock-concern. And suddenly my hand goes limp and my body stiffens. He's patronizing me! After all this time he hasn't change, but of course, why would he? I start to pull my hand away from his grip that I know it'll bruise by tomorrow. I don't like him touching me. I don't, I don't, I don't.

I'm not safe anymore.

"No," I state, so he knows that he doesn't control me anymore. "We may have the same blood, but you are not my brother. Now let me go!" and he does, to my surprise. But his face is set into an amused expression. What an idiot, Tris! You just gave him the reaction he wanted! "We'll see about that," is all he says, and then he lets go of me and walks out into the hall, but I'm stood frozen to the floor and my body will not move. Four looks at me one last time, and then also leaves.

"We'll see about that," Eric has now said this twice to me today. I have no doubt that he will stay by his words. I swallow hard. The initiates now know he's my brother. Most of the population in the compound will have found out by tomorrow. I don't know if I can take this.

"Brother?" someone asks followed by laughter from others, but I'm too dazed to recognise who, "You better not get favouritism, Stiff. Or I'll get you for it! Oh wait. You'll probably be out by stage one, anyway."

Peter. Peter is the one taunting me. Stereotypically judging me on my background.

"Just because he's my brother, doesn't mean we have to like each other," I retort back, pulling myself back to reality, and then before he can reply I find my legs making their way to the door and out into the freedom of the Compound.

I have always liked showers. In Abnegation, I couldn't spend longer than necessary in them because they were built for hygiene purposes only, anything else would be considered self-indulgent.

The hot water caresses my body, releasing the tension that has built up in me throughout the day. I grab the body scrub and quirt in on my hand, then rub them together to form a soapy substance. When I shower, I usually run my hands over my scars to look at how they've turned out and which ones are worse than others. The worst one I have is on my back; it runs from the middle of my spine right down my right hip. I take a single finger and run it down as much as I can reach; it's uneven and pale looking. Ugly dents are cover it from being hit multiple times with the metal belt buckle. It's safe to say that my back was Eric's favourite place to hit. It's good that it's situated where it is, because even in Dauntless clothing I wouldn't have to show it off.

I wonder if I will show anyone my scars, or if it'll be something that I keep to myself. I can imagine I'll do the latter because I am not only embarrassed about them, I am also ashamed. Ashamed that my brother was able to do something like that to me. What if I was able to get away? But I know this isn't true. Everything's so guarded in Abnegation, that I wouldn't have been able to have that option even if I wanted it.

Selflessness, like everything else, has it's pros and cons.

Then my mind wonders to the one thing I have been dreading to think about all day.

Eric.

Just the thought of his name brings tears to my ears, but I here I can cry because I know I will not be heard. Here I don't have to worry about anything or anyone because I am isolated from the rest of the world. Here is like my Haven, but even those don't last.

Tomorrow is our first day of initiation; where people will know I am Eric sister, where I can learn how to defend myself.

Today was supposed to be the beginning of a new life. And it still can be if I get through the obstacles in my way.

I am now Tris Prior, the Divergent.