The Man Behind the Fire || Divergent Fanfic

Ch. 2 | The Test

          "Are you ready Adeline?" the testing instructor asked? I swallowed hard. She pulled out a large needle and plunged it hard into my neck. "Good luck with this one. I'll see you after." I felt drowsy. Everything went black.
          Everything is cold. Everything is blue. I can't breathe. I'm gasping for air but all I see is bubbles. I flailed. Nothing. I screamed. It's fading to black. I try to swim upwards. My body is shutting down. My lungs are being swallowed by my muscles. My diaphragm is erratic. I feel my body go limp, but my eyes stay open. I feel my heart stop. I tell myself it isn't real and the water is gone. I wake up cold.
          "Impossible..." she whispers in shock.
          "What?" I ask as I was unsure of what I had heard. She pulls out a gun and presses it to my forehead hard.
          "We must execute in order to avoid rebellion." Finger on the trigger, I hear a bang.
         
          I jolt awake. Gasping for air. A dream is all it was. I press my hands to my face and curl my toes to feel my bed sheets, I know this is real. I stretch awake and get dressed. I see the article my mother had left for me is gone. I wander to the kitchen to find her and my father, the article and two more sitting on the table.
          "Good morning Adeline. Did you get a good nights rest?" she looked at me strong. Another fake smile I put on.
          "Yes mother, I'm ready." My father looked pale. I could tell he was nervous. Him and my uncle were both uneasy. They definitely knew something I didn't. I ate a small quick breakfast, grabbed a hug from Nicholas and Matthew and was on my way.
          I fixed the collar of my shirt as I was walking down the gravel road. All the other Erudite followed. Every 16 year old, was about to find out the origin of their personality. We gathered in a line in front of the entrance. The Candor were talking shit, as usual. They have no filter. I try to stay quiet. Other Erudite will attempt to fight the arguments with our "facts", I don't believe a single word off their lips. A loud rattling sound arises in the distance. The Dauntless are coming.
          They jump off the run down CTA train a few at a time. They're remarkable. The true symbol of bravery. They say they're like the police of our city, but I like to think they have beauty in their rebellion but yet they're courageous. To be one of them takes strength, determination. I can see how some of them are born to be what they are, and that is something I would kill for.
          We move through the doors single file. I exchange looks with my fellow neighbors. They call our names one by one to report to testing.
          "Adeline Young." A lady with short dirty blonde hair calls for me. I stand up, unfazed, and follow her down a dark hallway into a small room. There is only a computer, a chair, and a wall of mirrors. I walk in and check my hair. I hear the lady chuckle, my eyes move to hers.
          "Making sure you're ready I assume?" she smirks. I have a look of attitude on my face.
          "Might as well make sure I'm ready and looking good." I add.
          "Take a seat." She looks as if she hasn't slept in days. She's covered in tattoos, with an industrial piercing on her ear. One tattoo of hers that catches my eye, is three birds in a row on her shoulder blade. I wish I could have a tattoo, Erudite would never allow it.
          I sit down and she tells me the simulation will last about 15 minutes, to try my best, and relax. I'm hoping that one is a joke. She hands me a cup of blue liquid, not at all like I had dreamed of. It had a strong smell, but I couldn't relate it to anything. I pressed the edge of the rim to my lip and slammed it back. Then it settled in.
          I awoke in darkness. The walls around me are blank. I look to my left to see a mirror, but I don't look like myself. I hear heavy breathing and look to see a man, tied to a chair with his head down. To my left there's a gun, and to my right a knife. He raises his head to me.
          "Choose." he says with a smirk. I'm confused. I'm not sure if I cut him loose, or grab the gun and be ready for attack. "Hurry, before it's too late." I lock eyes with him. He has an evil in his eye. I look again and the pedestals containing the weapons are gone. The man is free from the ropes. He screams. Behind me stands a man with no face and two knives in his hands. He runs directly for the man in the chair. I'm stunned. I run after the man and dive for his feet. He trips and falls. I get on top of him, snatch a knife from his hand and place it just under his throat. He shakes.
          "I'm innocent," he whispers "he's guilty. I turn behind me to see the man that had been sitting in the chair press a gun to my forehead.
          "I know." I claim, and all is pixels.
          I wake up stunned. The lady with short dirty blonde hair has a look of terror on her face and is typing rapidly. I look at her confused. She stops and hits enter. She looks at me.
          "Get up," she says strongly. "Get up right now you have to go." I'm shocked.
          "Wait wait what was my result?" I asked frantically. She's panicking. "Miss, what was my result?" I force again. She stares at me.
          "You're going to go out this door, you tell your family the serum made you sick. You tell no one else of this." She had a firm grip on my arm, I could sense a dark past in her.
          "Miss. Last time, what was my result?" I push on her hand to let go. She still holds a stare.
          "Erudite..," she swallows, "because that is what I manually entered into the system. You must go." I look at her as if she's crazy.
          "But what happened I don't understand?" I keep trying to force an answer out of her. I'm getting frustrated. She swallows hard again.
          "Erudite, Dauntless, and Abnegation," she stops breathing. "That was your result. The test—didn't work on you." I look at her as if she had just punched me in the stomach. She finally takes a breath. "They call it divergent."
          I leave in silence. I return home. Tell my parents I was sent home early because the serum had made me sick. Gave my brothers a hug. Reported to my room under the covers, and went to sleep.