Divergent: Unleashed | ✓

Chapter 10

"FOUR! WE ARE STEALING YOUR COUSIN AND GIVING HER A MAKEOVER!" Christina shouts as she, Lynn, Shauna, Myra, and Marlene drag Ashlyn over and join Four, Tris, and the others.

"Do we have to?" Ashlyn half-whines-half-moans. "I have to do initiation."

"Fine." Christina huffs. "Later, then."

They all stand in a circle, and Four purposely brushes his hand against Tris's thigh, mostly because he knows it'll piss her off. It works, since she narrows her eyes. "You don't need to do Abnegation, theirs is just volunteer work," Tris informs Ashlyn, still glaring at Four. "Amity, we can put you on peace serum. But later. Don't want you on that shit while we're doing the other initiations." This throws everyone off; Tris never swears.

"So then Candor." Christina sighs. "Follow me." She leads them to what they call the Fear Simulation Rooms, or the FSR. Christina shoves one of the doors open and sits Ashlyn down on the metal chair. Four injects the serum into her, Ashlyn wincing as it goes in.

"You'll get used to it." He assures her. They sit and wait silently for it to take effect.

"Okay, name?" Christina asks after a few minutes.

Ashlyn's knuckles turn white as she tightens her grip on the chair arms. "Ashlyn."

"Full name?"

"Ashlyn Erica Leason."

Christina nods. "Age?"

"Five." Ashlyn snaps sarcastically.

Tris smirks. This girl really is like her. "Age?" Christina repeats.

"Thirteen."

"Height?"

"What do I look like, a doctor?"

"Faction you would choose?"

"Dauntless."

"Faction you would have as an aptitude?"

"Dauntless or Erudite. Probably both."

"Grade?"

"Kindergarten." There's the sarcasm again. Ashlyn rolls her eyes. "Seventh."

"Are you always so rude?"

"Are you always so nosy?"

"She's fighting the serum." Will says.

"No freaking duh, smart one. I'm amazed that you left Erudite. You sure you don't belong there?" Will isn't offended. Still, the girl can be nasty.

"Last question before the serum wears off. What's you're biggest regret?"

Ashlyn seems to think for a moment. "Not sure. Changing? Not being the girly, popular-and-in-love-with-the-Disney-princesses girl that I was? I think that's it." The serum wears off. Everyone stares at her, surprised.

"What?" she snaps. "I spill my guts and you look at me like I'm some sort of mutant freak?"

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After giving her a basic and not-so-basic skills test- both of which she passed with flying colors- it's time for Dauntless initiation.

"Let's just skip to the fear landscape," she says. "Don't want any more nightmares than I need." No one asks what she means. They all know.

Four injected the needle and asked if she wanted anyone to see her fears. She'd said no, so he'd set up the computers and brought everyone into the observation room. Ashlyn was done in less than ten minutes, and when she came out she was shaking, her face pale. Four pulled her away from everyone else and hugged her.

"Are you okay?" He asks. She hasn't cried. He takes that as a good sign.

"That was...that wasn't good. How did you do that so many times?"

"I knew that I wanted to overcome my fears. So, I tried. I fought them for two years."

"You're braver than I am. I never could've done that."

"Ash, you were out in less than ten minutes. You did great." She looks up at him and smiles. 

"Well, Hallmark moment over now. Let's see if Christina still wants to give me a makeover."

Four laughs and wraps an arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the Chasm. "Just remember- no piercings, tattoos, extremely revealing clothes, or permanent hair dye. Understand?"

"Yes, Mother."

A/N: Here's your update, as promised. Ashlyn is really rude, huh? :)