The Other One

Chapter Three

The strange sweetness of the liquid is all I remember until I wake up. The room I wake in is the same room, but different. Ferris and his computer aren't here any more and one wall is covered with a giant mirror. In front of that are two plates on a table. One plate has a knife on it, the second has a hunk of cheese. Some one with messy brown hair stands before me in my reflection of the mirror. Its me, but he stands a different way and his face is straight and mine is twisted in fear. My reflection speaks to me, but I'm not talking.
"Choose. One or the other." It tells me.
"What am I going to do with them?" I ask myself.
"Just choose one." He replies.
"Just tell me!" I start to get frustrated.
My reflection doesn't and answer me this time, only stares at the objects laid out. I take the cheese with my right hand and the knife in my other. Suddenly, both the plates and the table disappear along with my talking reflection. Then out of nowhere, a dog appears so huge that it is taller than my waste on all four legs.

The dog examines me from a distance, he looks upset - then angry. He charges at me with full force and I run in the opposing direction. I throw the cheese behind me and hit the dogs nose, he looks even more angry, then distracted. Instead of me, he runs to the block of cheese and scarfs it down in a matter of seconds. I sigh in relief, but I'm still cautious.
The room to the door opens slightly and incomes a little boy dressed in red and yellow - standard Amity clothes. He looks about the age of 7 or 8. Keeping a close eye on the dog, I walk over to greet the boy, like any Amity would. He smiles in return but his eyes shift to the dog, and his smile fades into a horrified frown. The dog runs towards the boy and launches itself to attack him, with it's paws out in front. I run in front of the boy and force the knife into the beast's throat.

The impact of the dog knocks me over and I slam my back to the ground. I slowly pick myself up, but I'm not in the room I was in a second ago. There is no bleeding dog by the mirrors and there is no boy by the door where I am now, but instead, a man who sits in a bus seat beside me. I am in the bus Kay and I took to get to school today. I remember that I am in a simulation, so I don't fret how I got here. The man is reading a newspaper with a photo of another man in prison clothes on the cover.
"Do you know who this is?" The man asks me, pointing to the picture of the prisoner. I recognize this man, but I cannot put a name to his face.
I shake my head no, and he grunts and continues reading. The bus halts to a stop and I slam my head on the pole ahead of me.

I awake for real this time in the same chair I fell asleep in. Ferris comes quickly around the corner and pulls me out of the chair.
"You need to come with me. Now." He tells me as he yanks my arm up. He sounds out of breath.
"Why? Whats happening? What was my result?" I demand.
"You got mixed results" he says as we make our way to the door. "The test had some malfunctions with your brain and it didn't work. You got Dauntless, and Amity. You're what everyone else refers to as 'divergent.'"
"What are you talking about? The test didn't work?" I ask, confused.
He does not answer me. I'm part Dauntless - and part Amity. How is this even remotely possible? Not only does belonging to two factions make no sense, but the two I belong to are polar opposites. Amity and Dauntless? This bizarre fact sits on my chest and I can hardly breathe.
We are walking exceptionally fast down the hall until we reach our principals office. Ferris almost throws me into the room and slams the door as he jogs away.
"Wait there!" He calls back at me. I step towards the seats in the back of the room when I notice another shadow that sits there. She is unusually muscular, and has bleach blonde hair that ends a little past her shoulder. She wears black pants and a white blazer with strips of black under neath her arms - Candor clothes.
"You're divergent, too?" She says to me.
I nod, still wondering what that actually means.
"That idiot that brought you in is fetching us some syringes, full of poison, or death serum."
"What?" I cannot process this.
"You can choose to believe me, or not, but when he pulls out a long needle, don't be too surprised if he stabs it in your neck." She says walking over to the window.
"Are you sure? I honestly don't think that the school would allow it. I mean killing kids because they have more than one-"
"Are you coming with me, or not? " She cuts me off.
I stare at her as if she is insane. She slides the window open, and sticks one leg out of the ledge.
"Im part Candor. All honesty over here." She argues.

I let what she says to me soak in.

Just then, the door bursts open and in comes Ferris with a woman who carries a metal box the size of my head. The syringes. I begin to panic and look back at the girl - she's already gone. Ferris and the other lady don't seem to notice she's missing. I tell myself to calm down and watch Ferris open the box. As soon as I see the tips of the needles in the case, I dart for the window.

"Hey!" The woman screams from behind me. Ferris charges towards me and snatches my ankle, knocking over the box. I kick away and watch as the lady runs for the phone. I kick Ferris hard in the nose and jump over him while he lies on the ground. I take the box and strike it against the top of his balding head. The metal box collides with his skull and his chin smashes to the ground. I make it to the window and steady myself out, without looking how far I am from the ground. The office was on the first floor, so I only jump about two feet until my feet touch the concrete outside the building. I look to my left and see the girl's white jacket and black pants and I call after her. She looks back and waves her hand at me.
"Lets go, shorty!" She yells.