Note: Any sequence of ‘z’s is to be read as static, like snow on your television. It is a disruption in the signal.
I’m in my grey kitchen in my grey Abnegation house, washing the grey dishes with grey scented soap. My clothes are grey, my hair is grey, my life is grey. zzZzz clean dishes to rinse and set them in the drying rack. I hear the door fly open and hit the opposite wall; the plate in my hands crashes to the floor and shatters. I know what’s zzZzz.
zzZzz can’t breathe. I try to open my mouth, bring the air back into my lungs, something, but I just can’t. It’s dark, and hot, and when I feel a hand grab my wrist as I zzZzz this isn’t a dream. The hand over my face moves and I can finally breathe through my nose, but I can’t make a sound, can’t call for help, if any would even come. I don’t know who’s zzZzz me, but unless they have more than two hands, there are at least two of them.
My father storms into the kitchen. zzZzz know why he’s angry, but the shards of ceramic scattered on the floor only set more kindle to the flame. I scamper to the broom closet, and reach for the broom and dustpan, but my father catches me by the wrist. He yanks me back, and I hear the bones in my hand pop, and he throws me to the floor. I hit my head. I sit up, dizzy.
It starts like a quiet whisper in my ear, and grows louder like an enormous crowd cheering, more and more and more people chanting. I don’t realize where we’re headed until one zzzZZZZZZZZ on metal grating, and I hear it rock and sway under his weight. We’re headed for the chasm.
He’s yelling, but I can’t understand him, can’t answer when he shouts a question. He picks up a drying glass and flings it at me. zzZzz misses, hits the floor, shatters. A piece hits me in the face, glances across, but still splits skin. He storms forward, still yelling, buzzing in my ear like a fly rapidly beating its wings. He grabs zzZzz dress, hauls me up, punches me once in the stomach. I can’t breathe.
No one will think it’s murder. No one will care about the death of another initiate, especially a transfer. No one will think it’s murder. No one will care about the death of another initiate, especially a transfer. No one will think it’s murder. No one will think it’s murder. No one will think it’s murder. No one will think it’s murder. No one will think it’s murder.
I scurry away, and zzZZ in my mouth out, intending to be able to bite whatever comes at me next. zzZzz The two men that threw me over scramble away from the edge until one of them realizes that I haven’t fallen into the water. The friend growls and stalks towards me and begins to pry my fingers from the bar.
“Yeah,” he says darkly. “I’ll handle them.”
“I’ll handle them.”
“I’ll handle them.”
***
Waking up from nightmares has always been like taking the first of Marcus’s blows in the morning: terrifying. I sit up quickly, try to scramble away from what I think is Marcus, too close and too real, but a hand pulls me back. I kick out, hit something solid, scramble away. When I nearly tumble over the side of the mattress, I stop, lungs gasping for air and heart pounding in my throat. The tile on the floor is too dark to belong in Abnegation, but I’m not….I’m not….
YOU ARE READING
stand at the abyss, you fall to your knees (a Divergent fanfiction)
Fanfiction(Eric/OC) Tobias leaves more behind in Abnegation than just his father. When his little sister follows in his footsteps, he does what he can to keep her in Dauntless, and out of others' hands.
