Abandonment (A Divergent Fanfic) ✔

Leaving

Nessa's pov.
I was sick of my life. Sick of... being me. I wanted to change, but I knew that it wouldn't work here. Everyone here knew me so well. Changing myself while living here would be awkward.

So I decided to leave. I was sixteen, old enough to make my own decisions. I could live just fine.

Packing my bags, my eye caught the picture of my mother on my bedside table. That was another reason I needed to leave. I couldn't live without my mum being there, with the memories flooding back to me every second. I couldn't be who I was when she wasn't here to look after me. I finished packing my bags and looked out the window. It was a way down, but not too far.

I grabbed my bags tightly, braced myself...

And jumped.

I hit the ground. I felt air rushing to the skin on my knee; I'd ripped a hole in my shorts. But that wouldn't matter - I didn't care about how my clothes looked, just that I had some.

As I started to walk, I realised that I didn't know where I was going. Definitley another town. But I didn't have to go very far away. Somewhere like... Chicago. Yeah, I'd go there. I'd just need to get a train and I'd be there quite quickly.

Let's go to Chicago.

....

I opened my eyes and looked around. I'd fallen asleep! Hopefully I hadn't missed the Chicago stop or I'd be screwed.

"All off for Chicago!" the guard shouted. "All off for Chicago."

Phew.

I climbed off the train. I was right outside Chicago city. Boy, it was different to how I expected it to be. It was... lonely. Just a city, in the middle of nowhere.

There was a massive fence. Hmm. How would I jump over that?

No need. A figure arrived at the fence.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Johanna Reyes. And you are...?"

I couldn't say Vanessa Shaw. That just wasn't me anymore. I needed a new name.

"Nessa Shaw," I said. "And please, could I come into the city?"

....

Johanna let me in and showed me around the Amity HeadQuarters.

"What's Amity?" I asked.

"Oh." She had remembered that I didn't know what this was. "We have five factions: Amity the kind, Abnegation the selfless, Candor the honest, Erudite the clever and Dauntless the brave. At the age of sixteen, each person takes a test, which shows a good faction for them. But the next day, the get to choose at the Choosing Ceremony."

That sounds interesting," I think out loud. "And I'm sixteen, so I'll have to choose soon then."

"Yes, you'll have to choose in a about two months," Johanna replies, "And yes, it's interesting, but it can also be sad. If someone chooses a different faction to their family, it can be upsetting."

"I guess I see what you mean," I say, "it makes sense. So I'm guessing that since I'm at Amity now, it will the faction I'm 'born' into?"

"Yes. But remember, you don't have to stay here. You can choose to leave." She smiles. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

I look at her. She wouldn't be surprised?

Johanna saw my look and laughed. "Anyway. Why don't we find you a room so you can unpack?"