Danger is Near

Chapter 2

Another speed bump in my life...
I'm divergent. I'm "dangerous to society".
A few days ago, I had my aptitude test, and the results were inconclusive.
So now I'm even more confused about what to do, and I'm in some deep shit. Recently, there was a major crack down in each faction, a crack down on divergents. If you are caught, you are killed. Pretty serious, I know.
Dauntless and Erudite have been the enforcers of these harsh crack downs and right now, I'm pretty scared.

But, anyway. Today is the day. The day where I choose my future, the day I begin a new life. Today is the day of the Choosing Ceremony.

As I walk into the spacious hall I am nervous and extremely frightened. Although my family has issues, I still love them. I dont know how I will manage to leave them. But I know I must. I cant stay in Amity forever, even though I know thats probably where I'll be the safest.

We sit down in our designated faction area, I sit close to my friends and their families. Before today my friends and I had talked about our test results. Although I didn't tell them the truth about mine. I was scared about today, no doubt. But what scared me the most was that all my friends seemed to know what faction they were choosing. Hell! I had no idea what faction I was going to choose. Amy was going to Candor. Matisse was going to Dauntless. Ruby was staying in Amity. Elise was staying in Amity, and Liv was also going to stay in Amity.

Ok Eliza. Think.
You would look like a total failure at Erudite, so that's a no.
You wouldn't be able to be honest 100% of the time, so that's a no for Candor.
You probably wouldnt be cut out for all that selfless work at Abnegation with the Stiffs.
And you already know you aren't staying in Amity.
So, that leaves Dauntless...

I look over to where all the Dauntless people sit, on the opposite side of the room. They all look so cool, I mean, everyone admires Dauntless. It looks like life would be fun there. Pretty chill and breezy. Sounds like something I would like.
All the Dauntless folk are laughing and chatting away, without a care in the world. I hear they always have parties and muck around most of the time. Again, something I would enjoy.

A hush comes over the hall and I am whipped away from my thoughts. A lady in Erudite attire has walked into the middle of the hall. Her name is Jeanine Matthews. She begins speaking about our community, its values and blah blah blah. I zone out.
Weighing out the pros and cons of choosing Dauntless. Theres mostly pros. I dont know how though. I hardly know anything about the faction, except for the fact that they protect our city and it's people and seem to have a tonne of fun, you know, jumping out of trains and shit. I begin day dreaming about becoming a leader of Dauntless, someone who everyone loves and hates at the same time. Someone with power, someone who is a leader.

I am bought back to reality when some man from Abnegation begins calling out peoples names. It's starting. Officially. I turn and look at my friends, they all seem excited. Seeing them excited sends a buzz through me. I'm not sure what it is but for some reason, I am instantly sure I want to be Dauntless. I realise that I would probably fit in well at Dauntless, I'm fit and love getting active. Back in Amity, Matisse and I would always go looking for an adventure. We always seemed to be running around or throwing and catching things. In the past many people had commented that we should both be in Dauntless. My mind twirls into a tornado of thoughts yet again. I am then swept away, again, when I hear my name cut through the silent and still air in the massive hall.

"Eliza Turner".

I stand up. Probably looking way too eager and excited. As I walk past my family I give each of them a look. A look that tells them 'goodbye', a look that says 'you wont be seeing me for a while', 'wish me luck'.

I walk up the stairs, towards the clean white table with five bowls on it. Each bowl containing something that represents a faction. Earth for Amity, Grey Stone for Abnegation, Glass for Candor, Water for Erudite and Lit Coals for Dauntless.

I slowly grab the knife, thinking about why we have to go through all of this just to choose a faction. I mean seriously, I dont wanna cut myself and draw blood just to be apart of some group. But I make a cut in my skin anyway. I hesitantly hover my hand over the Dauntless bowl, on the far left. And before I can change my mind I let my blood drip into the burning coals. I am now Dauntless. I hope I haven't made the wrong decision...