Disclaimer: I don't own divergent

Beatrice Prior, Tuesday, 6:43 am, Erudite Apartments.

Today was the day.

The cream white walls that hold me in the room almost make fun of me as I swear they move every time someone walks through the hallway outside the apartment. Men, women, and children all leaving for the city despite the early hour. My eyes meet the mirror as I glance at my blonde hair that falls to just past my shoulders. My eyes still flinch away from my reflection as I look in the mirror in front of me.

I guess some habits never die.

I reject vanity, not because I am Erudite, but because I am Abnegation, or more so, I used to be. I should be back, grey clothes engulfing me as I give food out to the factionless, and though the thought of it doesn't appeal to me, I still long for the Abnegation life that was taken away from me. Because Abnegation is home, or it used to be, before another part of me was stolen.

My parents died when I was six. I don't remember much from the time. It wasn't a cold and gloomy day, the sun was shining, and it almost seemed like the weather mocked the very end of the two most selfless people there. They died of a cold. Winter had lasted longer than usual, and supplies for the factionless were scarce; and handing out resources were risky. There seemed to be a mutated virus within the simple common cold spread amongst the factionless and my parents were the only ones selfless enough to care for them when no one else would. They died because of it. At Least that's what Caleb said. I want to hate Abnegation for that, for leaving my mother and father alone, but I know, my parents would do it again and again.

Because that's the type of people they are.

With both of my parents gone, my brother Caleb and I were handed over to our Uncle in Erudite. Even though my fathers brother took care of us, my fathers brother was not my father, and he never tried to be. As young children, he dismissed us like we would eventually go away if he ignored us. Even providing the bare minimum infuriated him and that only led to yelling.

After a year or two, things calmed down. Both Caleb and I were skilled at the art of avoiding him and our Aunt who was no better. We were finally settling in, and a passion for reading developed in my brother. Things were finally looking up. But I should have known that it doesn't work like that.

Caleb passed away when I was ten.

I watched him die. We were on our way back from school, walking passed the factionless and a bullet through the side of his stomach ended him, red blood spilling out, the picture stuck in my mind like a stain. He told me to run. So I did. I wish I hadn't. I didn't mourn Caleb like I did with my parents, but I still feel his absence, like an ache in my chest.

I press my fingers to my forehead and pull back the strands of blonde hair until I have gathered it all in my palm and twist my hair tie over; pulling my hair into a ponytail.

He will not be forgotten.

Beatrice Prior, same day, 12:31 pm, School cafeteria.

The testing begins after lunch.

The long tables separate each faction, the quiet whispers among the cafeteria and the outright yells from the Candor's help calm my nerves, I don't know what to expect. The rules state there's no way to prepare for this test, everyone in this room is as oblivious as me, but that doesn't stop my nail beds from being bitten raw. I'm not sure what frightens me more, the thought of having Erudite as my faction result or having something completely different.

My gaze shifts from the empty spot beside me. The Amity sit on the floor, a group of girls playing some sort of game and giggling without a care in the world- Erudite always discouraged anything but seeking knowledge. Across the room are tables for the Dauntless, their loud voices almost make the Candor's seem quiet, like the Amity, they laugh, but there is a distinct difference between the two. While the Amity wear soft yellow and bright orange clothing, the dauntless wear black and there is nothing soft about that.

A Candor girl makes wide gestures with her hands as she speaks, it looks almost like an argument, though, the smiling faces of others close to the arguing pair tells me it's nothing more than entertainment for them. Abnegation is the polar opposite. Their grey clothing might as well be blended into the dull tables. I can't see a single face, all of their faces are turned to me or bobbed down like it's a crime to look up. I'm not sure what my life would be like if I were still in Abnegation. It's almost as if I can picture myself but in oversized grey robes and a simple bun, I can't decide whether I resent the thought or not, nevertheless, I don't have the option to go back to Abnegation, not exactly.

Shifting my eyes back to the table, I finally look at the Erudite, each person an eye-soring image of sharp-looking blue clothes, hair nearly tucked back and glasses despite more than half of them not needing it. I scoff at the memory of myself receiving a pair, I threw them out, and it was then that I found out, but only realised now, that regardless of whether I receive an Erudite result or not, I will not go back. My cheeks burn red and I almost feel bad for everyone at this table, they all were brought up thinking this faction was superior like Erudite is the faction that keeps everything going, that without it, the system would crumble, as if the Amity were just peace-loving banjo strummers, the Candor's being loudmouths, Dauntless; a bunch of adrenaline junkies, and the Abnegation, well, in Erudites books, just pathetic. For a faction known for their intelligence, a lot of people fail to realise they're just repeating what has been fed to them, failing to regard the fact that without Amity there would be no food, that the factionless could commit crimes without the Dauntless to protect us and the Candor to prosecute them. That without Abnegation, our city would be controlled with only a few people in mind when the rules are established.

But in all my years of being in Erudite, I am smart enough not to say anything.

My eyes follow an Abnegation woman, her brown hair in a bun and her dress resembling every other dress I have ever seen in Abnegation, plain, grey and like a long potato sack, she speaks the next round of names. Two from Dauntless, two from Amity, and I don't hear the rest as she calls, "From Erudite: Beatrice Prior and Avery Lewis"

I get up because I'm supposed to, I follow the Abnegation woman through the doors, out of the cafeteria, my fingers clutch onto the bottom of my crisp white shirt. Avery doesn't look half as nervous as I do. Unlike me, her hands sway elegantly as she walks, and her head is held up high like regardless of what result she gets, she already knows where she'll go, and I don't expect any less from her. Almost more than half of the Erudite dependents will transfer back, these people were raised to do nothing less.

Waiting for us outside the cafeteria is a row of ten rooms. They are used only for the aptitude tests, so I have never been in one before. I catch my reflection in one of the mirrors as we walk toward one of the doors. Avery swipes her hand across her blue skirt as she walks into room 5, she doesn't look back at me and I don't expect her to as I walk into room 6, where a Dauntless woman waits for me.

The room is lined with mirrors and for a second I wonder if the Erudite who designed this room did this to spite Abnegation. The room smells of harsh antiseptic and I scrunch my nose up the slightest bit as I sit on the seat in the centre of the room, reclined back like the one at a dentist.

"Should smell like home," the Dauntless woman says, her lips twisting upwards and I can't help but agree and disagree at the same time. It smells like Erudite, but Erudite is not home. Everything there is overly clinical, the scent burns through my nose, it's either harsh and smells like a doctor's office or overly scented of vanilla.

"Have a seat and get comfortable," she says. "My name is Tori." I place my hands on my lap as I lean back on the seat, the bright white lights hurt my eyes. Tori busies herself with the machine on my right and I take a minute to observe her. She looks less like the typical dauntless, a belt loosely adjusts her jeans and she wears a dark blazer over her shoulder like a men's jacket. Her eyes are small and angular, and it's only when she turns that I observe a small tattoo- a black-and-white hawk with a red eye.

"You're afraid of the dark" I tell her, though it should be more like a question. She looks at me like I've lost my mind and I almost think I have until she speaks up.

"How do you know?"

"Your tattoo," I start, "hawks symbolise the sun," I tell her, the only logical part of me says that she fears the dark so she keeps the light on her, "It looks too specific to just be a cool tattoo you came across" I explain. I leave out the fact that I heard a few Dauntless borns talking about how members tattoo their fears onto themselves after initiation.

Humming a little, she presses another electrode to my forehead, "I was afraid of the dark," she corrects me. She presses the next electrode to her own forehead and attaches a wire to it. She shrugs. "Now it reminds me of the fear I've overcome." She tugs wires toward her, attaching them to me, to her, to the machine behind her. Then she passes me a vial of clear liquid.

"Drink this," she says.

"What is it?" My throat feels swollen as I swallow hard. "What's going to happen?"

"Can't tell you that. Just trust me." She says, "I wouldn't sweat it, 56% get the faction of their origin, and by the looks of you" She trails off and I know what she means. I want to tell her that Erudite isn't the faction of my origin, that if I were to be a part of that 56% I would get a result for Abnegation, but I don't because it's none of her business and it's not a place to tell.

I press air from my lungs and tip the contents of the vial into my mouth. My eyes close.

When they open, an instant has passed, but I am somewhere else.

Gone is the room I was just in, and instead I am in some sort of a forest, it almost reminds me of what others imagine lay outside the wall. In front of me are two baskets, one with a jar of clear golden honey and the other a knife of somesort.

Behind me a woman's voice speaks

"Choose"

It's Jeanine. I can tell. The sharp pronounced words she says leaves me curious.

"Why?" I ask

"Choose!" She yells.

A scowl crosses my face. Stubbornness has always been one of my attributes, so instead of choosing one, I stare at the two, my eyes focusing in and out before my curiosity gets the best of me and I luge forward with the intent of grabbing both. Before I can get my hands on either, the baskets disappear. A loud thumping noise past the first set of trees alerts me and I push myself onto the heels of my foot.

Before me is a large looking bear-like creature. It's dark fur is in clots and dirt coats most of its body. In this lighting, it's eyes almost look red. The bear parts its mouth, several sharp looking teeth keep me from moving and I register what's happening.

I could try running, but when the bear stands on its hind legs, I know it's not one of the harmless ones we are taught about. I now see why honey would have come handy. Or the knife. But it's too late now. I think of climbing the trees nearby, but the branches are far too high and I have a feeling the bear can climb better than I can. I need to make a decision.

The bear growls and I can almost hear the sound vibrating in my skull.

I can briefly remember my textbook, telling me to play dead if i'm ever attacked by a bear. I don't have enough time to think of anything else as I slowly crouch to my knees and press my white shirt to the dusty brown floor beneath me. I tilt my head to a side and let my body sink into the soft dirt, my hands slowly going behind my neck and my legs spreading apart. I feel the vibrations of the bears movements bellow me, it's almost like the ground is shaking and with every step closer it takes, I can hear the growling grow louder until the weight of four paws are on the floor and I can smell the scent of rotting fish on it's breath.

Something soft and wet touches the back of my neck, almost in a gentle manner, despite my inner protest, I turn my head. Gone is the large bear that was there a second ago, and instead is a smaller cub version of it. It's small harmless paws pad softly on my hands and I cringe, laughing as I dust the dirt off me.

"You're not as scary as you look, huh?"

I get up slowly so I don't startle it, but it seems like a different animal than the one that faced me a few seconds ago. I stretch out a hand, carefully, so I can draw it back if I need to. The bear cub nudges my hand with its head. I am suddenly glad I didn't pick up the knife.

I blink, and when my eyes open, a small child stands across the room wearing a pink dress, her small lips stretch into a smile as she holds out both hands and squeals, making her way towards the cub.

I open my mouth to warn her, but I'm seconds too late and the cub beside me changes, the same bigger looking bear from before stands and a growl quivers from its chest. It's mouth drawing back to reveal it's white teeth as it snaps at the little child. My legs take off before my brain follows, I reach the girl a mere second before the bear does and my knees scrape against the dirt dusted floor, a hand curling around the child's neck and the other around it's waist.

My head hits the ground. The bear is gone and so is the child. Instead, I am alone in the testing room. My feet dangle above the ground as I sit up on the chair. Tori is gone and all the lights are off. I get up, push the door open and walk through the hallway, only it isn't a hallway anymore; it's an office. I walk inside and a woman dressed in black and white sits behind a desk, a sheet of paper lays on the mahogany desk. I sit down and glance at it, a picture of a boy is on the paper. The woman taps it.

"Do you know who he is?" The woman asks

The picture is of a young boy with a plain face and a black clothing. I feel like I do

know him, though I don't remember how. And at the same time, I feel like it would be a bad idea to tell the woman that.

"Well?" I hear anger and impatience in her voice. "Do you?"

A bad idea, no, a very bad idea. My heart pounds and I clutch my now clean white shirt to keep my hands from shaking, from giving me away. If I tell her that I know the boy from the article, something awful will happen to me. I don't know why, but I'm not willing to test out my theory.

I clear my throat. "Do you?" she repeats.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Well?"

A shudder goes through me, for some reason this woman's voice puts me on edge. I'm not sure why, this shouldn't frighten me, it's not real, it's just a test. "Nope," I say, my

voice casual. "No idea who he is."

She stands, and finally I see her face. She has grey hair poorly dyed black to hide the effect age had on her. She leans close to my face. Her breath smells like cigarettes, all aspects of professionalism that I once saw in her when I arrived gone. Not real, I remind myself. Not real.

"You're lying," she says. "You're lying!" her voice an accusing tone.

"I am not." I say, my lips set in a line.

"I can see it in your eyes."

I pull myself up straighter. "You can't."

"If you know him," she says in a low voice, "you could save me. You could save me!"

I narrow my eyes. "Well," I say. I set my jaw. "I don't.

Everything goes black.

A/N: Hey guys, wow it's been a solid few years. I have no idea if anyone will read this but I randomly saw a notification and went to check back on my old fanfics. I haven't written in a solid year but found 5 chapters of this new fanfic in my drafts so I'll be posting it. I'm currently sitting university exams for the next few weeks so I'll see how this fanfic does and potentially start writing more. Thank you to everyone who's read my stuff and I'm sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth. Let me know what you guys think.

-Divergent 31