Chapter of Divergent (the actual book): 22

Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent trilogy or any of the characters

I step out of the shower and wrap my towel around my waist, poking my head out of my bathroom door. Tris still lies asleep on my bed. I look down at my feet and smile. I scamper lightly across my floor, so as not to wake up the sleeping beauty, and grab clothes from my closet. I slide into them and step out of the closet. Tris is awake, and tying her hair up. I bring a towel to my wet hair, causing my shirt to rise. I see Tris's eyes fall again, and I smile.

"Hi," she says, her voice stiff.

I touch her bruised cheek with my fingertips. "Not bad. How's your head."

"Fine," she says lightly. I know she's lying.

I take in a deep breath, trying not to move my lips too much so she thinks I feel casual, and I drop my hand to her side. The electricity jolting up my arm renders me unsteady for a moment.

"And your side?" I ask. My voice comes out low and strained, like I'm forcing myself to talk.

"Only hurts when I breathe," she forces.

I smile. "Not much you can do about that."

"Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing."

"Well," I say delicately, "I would only go if there was cake."

Tris laughs and then she winces. I then remember that my hand is there. I slide my hand back slowly, drinking in the moment. My fingertips graze her side, and when they finally lift, the removal of the shock of electricity is gone, and I feel a brief moment of peace in my chest. Then the peace is replaced with emptiness and I long to put my hand back. But I don't.

"I'll go in first," I say when we reach the dining hall. "See you soon, Tris."

I walk in. Followed by Tris. I sit across the room from Will and Christina, where I know she will sit. I sit alone.

Tris does sit with Will and Christina. I only catch snipets of their conversation, but when Drew walks in, I'm no longer listening. His face is so bruised and bloodied, I can't help but wear a large satisfied smile. Tris glances at me, but I can't see too much of her face from here. However, I do hear Will.

"Did you do that?" he hisses.

Their conversation continues until it's time for me to get everyone up.

"Transfers. We're doing something different today. Follow me."

Uriah's forehead wrinkles at Tris. "Be careful."

"Don't worry," says Will. "We'll protect her." I smile inwardly.

I lead the initiates out of the dining hall and along the paths that surround the Pit.

I turn around wand walk backward for a few steps. I know the path well enough and I trust my instincts.

"Pick up the pace, Drew." I share a knowing smile with Tris. Then, the smile leaves my face.

Will goes as white faced as I feel, and he grabs onto Tris's arm for support. Instantly, white hot jealousy courses through my veins. I shake my head. Will? Seriously? Will likes Christina…

We begin to get closer and closer to the glass ceiling, and I welcome the sun on my back. I walk up a flight of metal stairs leading to a hole in the ceiling. We walk across the glass, which is now a floor rather than a ceiling, through a cylindrical room with glass walls. The surrounding buildings are collapsed and abandoned. I lead the initiates through another door.

"This is a different kind of simulation known as the fear landscape. It has been disabled for our purposes, so this isn't what it will be like the next time you see it," I say quietly, adjusting to the pale light.

"Through your simulations, we have stored data bout your worst fears. The fear landscape accesses that data and presents you with a series of virtual obstacles. Some of the obstacles will be fears you previously faced in your simulations. Some may be new fears. The difference is that you are aware, in the fear landscape, that it is a simulation, so you will have all your wits about you as you go through it." So basically, the Divergent can go undetected.

I continue on. "The number of fears you have in your landscape varies according to how many you have. I told you before that the third stage of initiation focuses on mental preparation. That is because it requires you to control both your emotions and your body—to combine the physical abilities you learned in stage one with the emotional mastery you learned in stage two. To keep a level head."

The lights around me flicker. My eyes find Tris's.

"Next week you will go through your fear landscape as quickly as possible in front of a panel of Dauntless leaders. That will be your final test, which determines your ranking for stage three. Just as stage two of initiation is weighted more heavily than stage one, stage three is weighed heaviest of all. Understood?"

I scan the initiate crowd. Then I continue.

"You can get past each obstacle in one of two ways. Either you find a way to calm down enough that the simulation registers a normal, steady heartbeat, or you find a way to face your fear, which can force the simulation to move on. One way to face a fear of drowning is to swim deeper, for example. So I suggest that you take the next week to consider your fears and develop strategies to face them."

"That doesn't sound fair," says Peter. I snicker. "What if one person only has seven fears and someone else has twenty? That's not their fault."

I stare incredulously at Peter for a few seconds, then I laugh. "Do you really want to talk to me about what's fair?" I walk towards Peter slowly. "I understand you're worried, Peter. The events of last night certainly proved that you are a miserable coward."

Peter stares back at me, expressionless.

"So know we all know," I say quietly, "that you are afraid of a short, skinny girl from Abnegation." I smile.

I see Will put his arm around Tris out of the corner of my eye, and I can't help but feel that the camaraderie is ruined.