Choose Your Own Adventure: Divergent

That Night- 125

Sleep comes easily, which is why it's such a surprise when you're woken up. Christina is shaking everyone awake, pulling you out of your bed.

"It's Al," she explains breathlessly when anyone tries to ask her, rushing on to the next person.

You stumble over the stone floor, barefoot across the Pit. A crowd has gathered on the ledge, and a sinking feeling hollows your bones. No.

You turn and run back to the hallways, your stomach jumping up into your mouth. You brace yourself against the wall of the random hallway you've found yourself in, retching, collapsing into the cold stone. 

You don't know how long you stay there, shivering. There are shouts from the direction of the Pit, but you can't bear to be there. You hear them chanting Al's name, you hear Tris and Four shouting in a hallway nearby, but you can't do it. He died. Someone you knew, someone who trained with you. Just like Edward. A dull part of you wonders who is next.

By the time you reach the dorm again, the stony chill is bone-deep.

***

Tris is beaming the next morning, flouncing all over the place. She has a new tattoo, Abnegation's symbol, emblazoned on her shoulder. How could she be in the mood for skipping and tattoos? 

Her mood quickly disappears, though, when Four doesn't sit down next to her. You roll your eyes. So THAT'S why she's in a good mood. Her friend dies, but at least she had quality time with her crush. The simple things in life.

If Emory were here, he'd scoff.

***

"Most of you will have ten to fifteen fears in your landscape," Lauren, an instructor, tell you. "That is the average number."

"What's the lowest number?" Lynn asks.

"In recent years? Four."

Tris's eyes shoot over to Four. So THAT'S how he got his nickname.

"You won't figure out your number today," Lauren continues. "The simulation is set to my program, so you'll experience my fears instead of your own. This time, you'll each get one."

Lauren points to you at random, assigning you a fear near the middle. Getting kicked out of Dauntless. You freeze. What if it shows Lauren that you were factionless? What if you adopt the fear as your own, and the leaders see it? You'll be kicked out for sure. Your heart speeds up.

You can't see what the computer sees, but the reactions tell you enough. Will brushes off spiders, Uriah presses his hands against closing walls.

"Y/N," Lauren calls, and you awkwardly step up. There's a piercing as she inserts the needle into your neck, and then the landscape falls away, morphing into a familiar one.

Your footsteps pad softly into the warehouse, silent but a crackling fire at the other end. A faded laugh comes from the fire, and you see someone poking the fire...

No, no, no, you think, mind struggling, and you try not to run away. It's just a simulation. It's just a simulation. You all but sprint into the warehouse before anyone who knows you can see you and show up on the computer, and then everything fades back into warehouse gray. You put your hands on your knees, panting.

"What was that?" Drew demands. "All she did was run."

You're not listening to the response as Tris starts screaming. The screams only last a few seconds, but when she snaps out of it, she smacks Tobias and runs out of the room.

Tobias clutches his cheek for a minute, then straightens.

"Well," he says coolly, picking up the needle from the ground. "You will have your assessments in two days. But before that..."

Lauren laughs and steps up beside him. "But before that is the Dauntless Ball! Tonight, you'll each choose someone to go with, and then tomorrow, you'll pick out your outfits and get ready for the best time of your life!"

She pauses, a huge grin on her face, then waves her hands at you all. "Okay, okay! You're dismissed!"

Advance to 126.