Natalie's POV
I've been working at the Distribution Center all day, sorting food and other goods for each faction. As almost everything comes from Amity, we don't need to sort anything for them. They do all the farming and create the fabric bolts for each faction. Amity makes their own clothes using red, orange, and yellow fabric. Their faction is known for their kindness, although conflict is a part of human nature, so they keep their members in check by placing Peace Serum in all their bread goods. Fortunately, each faction makes their own bread. It's a low enough dose that they're still able to get their work done. Maybe it's because they're used to the exposure, so they've built up a bit of tolerance.
The other three factions, except Abnegation, receive an equal portion of goods depending upon their population count. Erudite, the knowledge-based faction, receive any blue fabric bolts, fresh foods, electronic components, and a variety of plant-based materials for constructing serums. There's a main serum for each faction. Oddly enough, the faction known for their absolute logic and lack of humanity, Erudite, is in charge of Death Serum. It's only supposed to be used for the rare executions we have here in the city. Still, it's a dangerous tool, in dangerous hands. Erudite is responsible for our hospitals and our education system.
Dauntless are our protectors, our police, our fence guards. If there's a conflict, Dauntless is called in to sort it out. They tend to be a bit rash and don't always think before they act. On the other hand, they're also extremely adventurous, so they use the train which almost never stops as their main form of transportation. Yes, they really do jump on and off moving trains. I would know, it's the faction of my birth. Sometimes I miss it, as my current faction can get a bit monotonous at times. Dauntless wear predominantly black, they also lay claim to most of the leather produced by Amity. They need it for their leather jackets and combat boots. Erudite prefers to use synthetic materials for their shoes. The Dauntless also get a large amount of baking supplies in addition to fresh fruits, vegetables, and lots of protein. They are a bit more active than the other factions, so they make good use of it. Their baked goods, Dauntless cake in particular, are well known throughout the city. Oh, how I miss Dauntless cake, especially the chocolate! Mmmm! Dauntless serum is Fear Serum, which they use for their initiation. They're all about conquering fear in order to do their job, so it's an important way of life for them.
Candor is known for their blatant honesty. Never ask a Candor if something makes you look fat. They will tell you and they won't sugarcoat it! They're in charge of our legal system. They have all the lawyers and judges. They write up all the laws for each faction, although the factions come up with their own laws, they just need Candor to put it into legal jargon. Candor's serum is Truth Serum. They use it during trials, but they also make their initiates go under Truth Serum in front of their whole faction as part of their initiation. They have to profess all their deepest secrets and regrets. It's brutal! As for their fabric colors, they wear black and white. It is, after all, how they see things. There's no gray in Candor. The goods they receive are much the same as Erudite and Dauntless. They receive fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, and meats, and their predominantly black and white fabric bolts. Each faction has members employed in creating clothing goods to be sold in their faction's clothing stores.
This brings us to the final faction, Abnegation. That's the faction wherein I, my husband, and my two children, reside. Abnegation is gray. Gray clothes, gray homes... even the food looks gray sometimes. The goal is to be simple, so we can be selfless and think of others more than ourselves. It works in theory, but again, human nature gets in the way of most faction norms. We're considered selfless, so our faction is in charge of the Distribution Center, which I manage. We're also the main body of government. Our great leader is Marcus Eaton. Yes, you do sense a note of sarcasm there. I have my doubts about Marcus' selflessness. There's just something about him that sets my teeth on edge. My husband says I'm just letting gossip sway my opinion of him and that I'm being selfish, but I've felt this way since before anyone whispered about his wife and son's mysterious and frequent bruises. My husband, Andrew, works on the council as his second in command, so they're 'work friends' and it makes Andrew feel like he knows him well enough to know how selfless and compassionate he is, so I just keep my mouth closed to keep the peace. Maybe I should run over to Amity for some bread... Anyway, back to Abnegation. The serum for Abnegation is Memory Serum. It's used to wipe a person's memories. It's not taken lightly, so the person has to have committed a very grave crime, though not murder, which is punished by death. Abnegation receives all the gray fabric bolts, and any leftover food and goods not needed or wanted by the other factions. Our members come for their allotment of food and clothing. Anything leftover, the Abnegation distributes to the factionless.
The factionless are basically the leftovers of our society. Children who didn't make it into their chosen faction, adults who just didn't fit in, for Dauntless, their elderly who chose to be factionless over committing suicide. Yes, the Dauntless kick their members out when they're too old to be of use to their faction. Most people believe the factionless are alone, outcasts with no community, but working with them on a daily basis, I know that's not true. I even suspect they have some kind of leader. They have children, families; they live their lives as best they can with the meager food and goods given them by the Abnegation. I lead the other Abnegation workers to organize the remaining food to give to the factionless. Considering the Abnegation only get the leftovers no one wants, the canned and frozen goods, there's really not much left for the factionless. They don't have access to refrigerators, so they basically get whatever canned and dry goods Abnegation can't use. Abnegation is very strict that their members only take exactly what they need, so we can help the factionless as much as we can. We use any leftover fabric bolts to make clothing and blankets for the factionless, so they are always dressed in an array of colors, making it obvious they aren't from a specific faction. They're treated as less than human by everyone but the Abnegation, although, in Amity's defense, living outside the main part of the city, they really don't have many run ins with the factionless, so maybe their kindness just hasn't been accessible. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
It's 5:00pm, and I'm done for the day, so I'm waiting outside the Distribution Center for Andrew to pick me up. We walk home together every evening. He's always been better at fitting into Abnegation's rules of conduct than I've ever been. Our faction believes in very little human contact, at least in public. Husbands and wives can hold hands, but any other public displays of affection are frowned upon. We save most of that for behind our closed bedroom door, although we do hug our children in the privacy of our own home. I sometimes regret choosing Abnegation, although it was really the only choice when Andrew and I fell in love. He couldn't have been Dauntless, and I wouldn't have been any good at being Erudite, his former faction. We chose Abnegation, hoping we could do some good in our small world. My regret mainly comes in the form of our extremely petite, 10-year-old daughter, Beatrice. Beatrice is bursting at the seams to get out, to explore the world around her, to spread her wings and fly. She struggles daily with trying to fit into the abnegation way of life, but it's like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Our son, Caleb, has taken it upon himself to enforce Abnegation rules upon our fiery little daughter. Andrew and I have talked about it, but he thinks Caleb may be able to help her become Abnegation more subtly than us, her parents. I've warned him that it's only created a power imbalance and that it's only a matter of time before Beatrice explodes and puts Caleb in his place. I know Andrew hopes our children stay with us when their Choosing Day comes, but I only want what's best for them both. The spark that makes Beatrice come alive will only be extinguished if she's not allowed to be herself.
It's these thoughts that are on my mind when Andrew arrives for our walk home. We both give each other small, affectionate, smiles, and hold hands as we enjoy a quiet walk home on a warm summer's day. We talked about his day in the office working on council business, we talked about my work at the Distribution Center, and about our hopes and dreams for the future and enjoy our nice, quiet, and relaxing walk home. I should have known the quiet wouldn't last, it never does for long. As we open the door, we hear our children speaking, who are unknowledgeable of our return home.
"Beatrice, you're so selfish! You know you were supposed to be home by 4:30pm to help make dinner. It should be ready by now, so mom and dad don't have to wait for dinner after working all day! You never think of anyone but yourself!" Caleb admonishes his sister who's only ten months younger than himself.
"Shut up, Caleb!" Beatrice yells. "I'm so sick of you always telling me what to do! You're just my brother, not mom or dad!"
Caleb walks up to his sister, towering over her, "How dare you raise your voice to me! I'm your big brother and it's my responsibility to make you behave!"
"I hate you! Get away from me!" yells Beatrice as she turns, runs past us, and out the door, slamming it.
I breathe deep and release it, saying, "Caleb, go to your room", then I turn to Andrew and angrily say, "It's time we had a long talk about the dynamic between our two children. This has gone on long enough!"
Andrew looks at me, knowing how mistaken he was and quietly says, "I'll go find her."
"No. She needs some time to cool off. She'll come back when she's ready. If she's not home by the time it's dark, I'll go look for her. I doubt she went far." I say while dragging my hands down my face. This is going to be a long night.