Choose Your Own Adventure: Divergent

Fear Landscape- 128

Someone's shoulder knocks into you as the initiates jog, feet slapping against the concrete ground, towards the Pit. You break out into the daylight and turn towards the slippery stairs, ignoring the yells and shouts from the Pit below.

Finally, you reach the glass ceiling.

It's like a wall of black, packed with Dauntless, cheering and yelling, clustered around a series of screens.

Marlene is in the fear landscape, thrashing around. You can't tell what she's facing, but her eyes are wide as she whips around and around. A worm of fear crawls into your belly, but you shove it back. You can do it. You can do this. You will your heartbeat to still.

The middle screen shows Marlene's heartbeat, and, as you watch, it lowers. The screen flashes green and the crowd erupts with cheers, grabbing each other and laughing.

Across the room, in front of another screen, the Dauntless leaders watch her progress with narrowed eyes. You slide in, sitting in a chair next to Peter and Tris, who is standing. 

The lights lift in the room, revealing Marlene, eyes streaked with tears. Eric walks over, shaking off her simulation daze, and congratulate her for finishing. 

Then Eric sticks Drew with the needle, and the torture of waiting begins. 

"Y/N."

The word echoes through your mind, and you blink your eyes open to the lights of the simulation room. You walk to the front of the room. Eric stands in front of you with the needle, filled with swishing orange liquid. He plunges it into your neck, and you stare straight ahead, bracing yourself, heart racing. 

Then: "Ready?" Eric asks, and everything goes black.

***

Scales. Scales everywhere.

There's a hiss by your ear, and you jump back with a yell.

The snakes are back, coiling in angry ropes around the door to the warehouse. Another, eyes cold and dead, coils around the lightbulb overhead. He's going to shatter it, and then you'll be in the dark, and-

You whip around just in time to see a snake shrieking towards you, fangs bared.

You have to calm down. You have to calm down.

You jump and roll out of the way, and something clamps down on your hand. You scream, pulling back, but the snake is already crawling up your arm, cold scales on your skin...

You have to calm down. You have to calm down...

You suck in a breath, the air cloying and poisonous in your lungs, and think of initiation, the moments you felt strong, on top of the world. (Which one did you think of?)

A scream rips from your lungs, and the snakes disappear. Ropes whip around your skin, but you keep your eyes closed, replaying the moment. You are strong.

Fire. You are strong.

Spiders. You are strong.

Kidnapping, acid, fire, and now you know why you won't ever be sent back to Factionless, because you never belonged there, because you are strong.

Your skin feels like it's on fire, but you still don't open your eyes. You will never go back, because you are Dauntless, and you are strong.

The shout builds in your ears until you explode into a familiar place.

The concrete walls of the factionless compound close in around you, the sky visible through a gap in the ceiling, and you look over to see Emory. You realize, almost with a stab of guilt, that you are glad the Dauntless can't see your fear.