Four/Tobias Eaton Imagines

Sudden Changes (Part One)

Your feet echo off of the tiled halls, the sound rattling up the white walls to to dissipate against the high ceilings. Erudite has always prided itself on having the best architects, the finest engineers, to design each and every one of its buildings. This one is no exception- tall arches, blue and white accents, glass windows that can make even the most dismal space seem bright and full of life. That's why you love your home faction so much- everywhere you look, you see the chance to build something new and bright. There's a future right before you, one that you can't wait to create.

You'll be able to start work on it soon enough, anyways. Your Choosing Ceremony is tomorrow, less than twenty-four hours away. Then, you'll be able to slit open your palm and dash your blood upon the rippling waters of Erudite, forever sealing your future into safety. You've been planning this ever since you were a little kid, ever since you learned about the choosing ceremony in the first place. You've thought long and hard about the other options for the factions, researching them with the meticulous care always shown by your fellow blue-coated companions, and in the end, you realized that Erudite would always be your home. No matter what, you belong here.

This is the last day before you officially begin the initiation process, before you officially become an Erudite for life. Sure, you've been living here since you were born, but tomorrow, once your blood has tainted the waters in Erudite's vessel, you'll have declared yourself to your faction, once and for all. You can't wait to begin your life in earnest.

You're distracted by thoughts of the future, too lost in your own head to take note of where you're walking. The windows disappear from the walls, fewer places for people to look in and see the inhabitants. This should worry you, you're used to picking up on the small signals that no one else really notices, but you're not entirely focusing on what's around you, too lost in dreams of the future awaiting you after your ceremony. Maybe that's why you don't realize that something is going wrong until you're rounding the corner into a large room full of guards, both Erudite and Dauntless.

You freeze in your tracks, but it's too late- you've already been noticed. You're not entirely sure what's going on here, only that you should most certainly not be here. You wheel around, ready to do a 180 and pretend you never saw anything at all, but a pair of guards has appeared out of nowhere to block your path. They wear identical uniforms, carry identical weapons, and regard you with identical scowls. This is not good.

One of them steps forward. "Civilians aren't allowed here." His voice is cold and clinical. He gives off no signs of weakness, leaving no space for accidents or mistakes. You won't be getting out of this easily. You fumble around for something, some excuse, but come up with nothing. The only thing you can do is tell the truth. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize where I was going. I'll leave now, I swear." The guard shakes his head, the movement stiff. "You're not allowed here." He repeats, and you feel your stomach sink. What happens to those who find out what they're not supposed to? Nothing good, you can be sure about that.

A voice sounds from behind you. "What's going on here?" You turn around and feel a rush of gratitude swell in your heart at the sight of Jeanine Matthews, head of Erudite. She's been your mentor for a long time, providing you with opportunities to show your success as a student that many of your peers would kill for. Surely, she will help you through this once again. However, when you take a closer look at her, you notice the firmness of her face, the cold look in her eyes. If you're looking for sympathy, you're not sure that you'll find it with her.

"I don't know what's happening, really. I took a wrong turn and ended up here. I didn't see anything, nothing I understood. I won't say a word." Jeanine regards you for a second, then snaps her fingers at the guards. "I'll take her from here. Return to your stations at the doors, and make sure no one else stumbles upon this room." The glare she delivers to the guards is like nothing you've seen on her before, like every experience you'd had with her had just been a front. She'd been playing the ruse of mentor, you see that now, maybe to find out if you could help her with whatever secret project she has going on.