Choose Your Own Adventure: Divergent

Dormitory- 34

A man who introduces himself as Eric leads you down a series of twisty hallways. (If you ate with Peter, you recognize him as the man you sat with. If you ate with Tris, you remember him as leadership guy who has beef with Four.)

The space between the blue lights at the end of each hall is far, and you catch yourself stumbling over the uneven ground. You're not the only one, though- you hear Tris stumbling, and Peter cursing under his breath.

I hope he falls, you think, annoyed. You think about shoving him over, because it's not like anyone would see, and he wouldn't know it's you...

The thought makes you laugh. Eric shoots an annoyed glance into the dark, but it's too dark for him to recognize you. (Which is probably for the better, honestly.)

He stops in front of a wooden door. "We take the initiation process very seriously here," he says, cold, blue eyes raking over the tributes. "Some ground rules..."

He lists them, but all you can think about is the dormitory behind the door. 

"At the end of initiation," Eric continues, "your rankings will be determined with the Dauntless-born initiates. They are already better than you, so I expect-"

"Rankings?" the girl who hangs out with people interrupts, face pale. "Why are we ranked?"

Eric smiles, face ghastly in the half-dark. "There are two purposes. First, the rankings determine the order in which you will select jobs after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available. The second reason..." he pauses, as if relishing the next words, "is that only the top ten initiates are made members."

Everyone freaks out, hushed whispering fills the tunnel, but you don't feel much. What can they do to you? Send you back to factionless? 

You feel like you should be more scared to lose your beautiful, new, dream life, but whatever happens, you'll live, and you know that. 

"Four initiates will be cut after stage one, and the rest after the final test," Eric continues. "That means ten of you, Dauntless-born or otherwise, will be factionless by the end of initiation."

A cold chill runs through you, but you clench your teeth and don't react. You can't react in factionless, can't show weakness except in front of Emery. So you don't.

"But that's not fair!" Peter's minion says, terrified. "If we had known-"

"If this would have impacted your decision, you should leave," Eric says coldly. "If you're really one of us, it won't matter if you might fail. And if does," he pauses, hand on the doorframe, "then you're a coward."

He shoves the doors open to show a concrete dormitory. "You chose us. Now we have to choose you." 

****

Dauntless provided clothes on the edges of your bed, and you waste no time shedding your threadbare factionless clothes. A thrill runs through you as you put on the new, shining black material, and you grin, facing the mirror. 

You even get hot showers here. After washing all the grime off of your face and body, you look and feel like a new person.

The mood in the dormitory is somber. Some initiates still sleep in their old clothes. Somewhere, someone is crying, strangled sobs choking the room. 

You whistle to yourself as you walk back, soft sounds electrifying the air. It's a familiar factionless melody, one the older teens taught you and Emery when you were younger. All away, all away, flying footprints, all away. You resist the urge to skip. Your whole body is light.

It doesn't matter that you might be cut- either you're better off than you were before, or you go back home with new clothes.

It's that simple.

You roll into bed, staring up at the ceiling, barely ready to fall asleep, and yet so ready for tomorrow. You can't wait to get started.

***

"The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun," Four says, and you resist a yawn, rubbing your eyes. "The second thing is how to win a fight. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance in each stage."

The weight of a gun is in your hand. Factionless would kill for one of these, you think, staring down at the black metal. It feels dangerous to have one. 

"The first stage," Four continues, pacing around the room with his hands behind his back, "is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

"But what..." Peter yawns through his words, "does firing a gun have to do with... bravery?"

Four flips the gun in his hand and presses the barrel against Peter's forehead. Peter freezes, lips parted, the yawn dead in his mouth. Four clicks a bullet into place.

"Wake. Up," Four snaps. "You are holding a loaded gun. Act like it."

Four lowers the gun, and Peter's green eyes harden, cheeks burning red. You can almost hear his angry thoughts. You turn away before you feel bad. He doesn't deserve your pity.

Four faces the wall with the targets on it. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Four stands with his feet apart, holding the gun with both hands. The bullets went through the middle circle. 

You hesitantly pace over to an unoccupied target, raising your gun. You pull the trigger, the recoil sending you jumping back. 

"Ow!" You say without thinking, rubbing your nose. Four glances over, and you stare back down at the target. You brace for the recoil next time you fire, and a chip flies off the target.

"Yes!" You say, celebrating quietly, resisting the urge to jump up and down. You hit it! You fire again, a little bit closer this time, and again... then you hit the middle of the target! A rush of energy floods through you. You are wide awake. You were born for this.

CRACK.

You fire again, splitting down the middle, and smile. Heck yeah.

***

Your arms and fingers are stiff by the time you break for lunch, stomach growling. 

Oh, no. It's the whole lunchroom scenario again. Who do you sit with?

If you sat with Peter 'n' crew last time and you want to try again, go to 35.

If you sat with Peter 'n' crew last time and you want to try the back of the lunchroom with Eric, go to 36.

If you sit with Tris and Christina, go to 37.

If you sit with Peter 'n' crew for the first time, go to 32. 

If you eat with the Dauntless initiates for the first time, go to 33.