I Was Amity...

1

Chicago. No state. No nation. Just a city.

2264 A.D.

Chicago is no longer the great city it once was. Most skyscrapers are crumbling. The great river which once flowed through the city has dried up. The biggest change is the fence surrounding the whole city. Long ago war raged and tore apart and destroyed the nation that Chicago once stood in. Since then, the fence has protected Chicago from what lies beyond it: the unknown.

Since the war ended the population of Chicago has been divided into a faction system. There are five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. The people who blamed ignorance for the war formed Erudite. Those who blamed duplicity created Candor. Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation. Those who blamed cowardice formed Dauntless. Those who blamed aggression created Amity, my home faction. Our factions are where we belong. In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life. After all, faction before blood.

Each faction's way of life was shaped by their views on the war. Erudite are the smart faction who value knowledge. Being the smart ones, their jobs are as teachers and researchers in our city. They always dress professionally in suits and dresses or skirts that are all different shades of blue. Candor values the truth. They are the faction responsible for aspects pertaining to the law. They dress similar to Erudite but in black and white, always sharp, and always professional. Abnegation is the selfless faction. They are in charge of the government and their leader is Marcus Eaton. They dress in shapeless gray outfits not daring to draw too much attention to themselves. Dauntless values courage and bravery above everything. They provide protection for everyone in Chicago, from threats both inside the wall and beyond it. They have the most freedom with how they dress, but they tend to wear mostly black and red. They dye their hair and get tattoos and piercings. I've always been jealous of the freedom the dauntless have. They run through the streets with smiles on their faces. Even if they fall while jumping from a train, they shake it off with a laugh.

My faction Amity is all about peace and happiness. They are the farmers and caretakers in Chicago. We dress in red and yellow, peaceful happy colors. Amity is expected to always be smiling and laughing. My name is Emmeline Rose Walsh. I'm sixteen years old. I live at home with my only family, my mom.

Ever since my brother Owen died, I knew I wasn't going to last in Amity. That was two years ago. Since then, I've wanted to escape this place where I'm not allowed to be anything but happy. I ride the train alone. I walk to school alone. I haven't had many friends since my brother died, since I decided, I wasn't going to stay.

At sixteen in our society everyone takes an aptitude test to determine what faction they are best suited for. The day after the test every sixteen-year-old gets to choose which faction they will spend the rest of their lives in. The test is not concrete; you don't have to pick the faction your test tells you to, but you are heavily encouraged too.

Today is the day I take my aptitude test. I'm nervous about what my results may be. I will not spend the rest of my life counseling others or taking care of people. I won't get Amity as my result, even though 95% of people get the faction of their origin. I don't belong in Amity. I'm hoping my test will tell me I'm Dauntless. I've always admired the bravery and courage of the Dauntless ever since I was little. I would see them jumping off the trains out front of school thinking how crazy they were, but also how free they looked and how happy. It's funny Amity is supposed to be the happy faction, but if you ask me Dauntless has always been the happy faction, with carefree and wild spirits.

I sit in the cafeteria waiting for my name to be called. A while ago the room was full of the sixteen-year-olds from every faction. Now it's just me and a few others who are still waiting to take our tests. We're still separated by the colors of our clothes, the visual representation of our factions. People from different factions rarely mix at school. There isn't much of a reason to. When you turn sixteen the faction you choose is the faction that becomes your home, and you won't have time for friends from other factions. Sure, when you're little you play with whoever you want to but the looming idea of choosing a faction hangs over your head the closer you get to sixteen.