Aberrant

Thirty: Brooke

We sit in two rows of lines-the Dauntless-born on one side, us transfers on the other. April, Plato, Amy and Jo chat away to some of the Dauntless-borns. But me and Isaac sit in silence. The only sound between us is the noise the stopwatch on his wrist makes when someone enters and leaves the room. 

So far, two Dauntless-borns have been called, and he's been timing how long they stay in the room for. By the look the two boys gave the door as they were called, it was clear they were assuming that they noise came from there when it opened to admit them to the room. But it didn't. 

So far both boys have been about a quarter of an hour, and now Isaac is timing a third person: Hayley, the Dauntless-born who was on Capture the flag with me. I don't know what will happen if they get less than fifteen minutes. 

When Isaac told me he was on the look-out for Dauntless, I was stunned. At first I pretended not to know what a Divergent even was and he had to patronizingly tell me a few times before I 'understood'. But eventually, I agreed to help him. After all, what else could I do? Reveal that I was also a Divergent? 

I glance at Isaac and see that his gaze isn't on his stopwatch, but instead focussed on where April and her friendship group are sitting. I think back to the time when Isaac told me to trip Plato up. It was a test, that much was clear, and, by helping me, Plato failed it with flying colours. 

There's a sound, as Amar leads Hayley out of the room and the consequential beep from Isaac's stopwatch. I quickly glance at it. They took twelve minutes. 

"Brooke," Amar calls, and I standing up, I head towards him, trying to ignore how much April's glare hurts me as I pass her. 

"Sit down," he says to me, as he shuts the door, just as I hear the beep from Isaac's stopwatch. Ally or not, he's timing me too. I stare at the machine. It's almost exactly the same one I had in the Aptitude test. 

"For the second stage of simulation, you are going to be challenged mentally. You are going to face your fears in your head. I'm going to put you in a simulation," says Amar, talking to a wall. 

He barely spares me a glance, like I'm just another insignificant person that he's also got to administer this to. But after all, why would he pay me attention? Me not getting myself noticed was my plan, and it seems to have worked. 

I obediently sit down in the chair, while my thoughts are racing. Even I don't know what my worst fears are. 

"Stay still," he commands, and I realise that I've been fidgeting with anxiety and excitement. 

As I force myself to stay calm, I feel the prick of a needle against my neck. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. There's a dizzy sensation, and for some reason my body feels hot. 

My eyes fly open, and I find myself in a burning building. 

I'm in my home at Candor. In my bedroom. I'm surrounded with the sight of all my possessions going up in smoke. Even a toy bear I used to sleep with when I was younger. 

I recognise where this fear has come from. In the school library, I once read a book, a chapter every day before classes started, about some boys who were trapped on an island and eventually set it on fire. The protagonist had nowhere to run to. And just like the protagonist, I'm stuck in my bedroom with nowhere to escape. 

So this is one of my fears. Interesting. I have time to think, before panic sets in. I quickly scan the doorway, but it's apparent there's no escape from there.

 It's clear that the fire started from downstairs, probably in the kitchen. But the idea strikes me as odd. Clara would never be the sort of person who'd accidently set the kitchen on fire. And my dad only ever cooks in an emergency.