Delirium (A Divergent Fanfiction)

Chapter Five: Choose

My aptitude test had taken place yesterday, but it felt like it had been so much longer. There, I had received the strongest test results the ones administering the test had ever seen. I sat in a wooden chair in a hallway until I heard my name being called. "From Amity: Georgia Lancaster and Olivia Maxwell." An Erudite woman called, peeking at the names on a grey clipboard she held. She led me into a small room that was brightly lit. The lights reflected off the mirrors that were mounted on each wall. In the center of the room was a chair that laid back at a low angle like a chair used for dentistry. "Please sit, Olivia." The woman said and I did so, resting my skull on the headrest and placing my arms flat on the armrest on either side of me. "My name is Alice." The woman said as she picked up a glass vile of a blue liquid. "I trust you have learned how this test works by now?"

I nodded in response as I accepted the blue liquid she was handing to me. I didn't ask any questions about it, but instead, pounded the liquid back, feeling it sting my throat. The fluid smelled like nothing but tasted like apple cider vinegar. I closed my eyes and choked it down and leaned back in the chair as Alice attached electrodes to both my head and hers so she could watch my reaction to the simulation. "How long does this take to work?" I asked but Alice didn't respond. I opened my eyes to ask again, but she was gone. All the scientific equipment that had been in the room had disappeared as well. "Well I guess that answers my question." I said to myself as I pushed myself out of the chair and onto my feet. I was in the simulation and the electrodes had disappeared. As soon as I stood up, the chair behind me vanished.

I was surrounded by 360 degrees of mirrors and I saw a thousand of me, stretching throughout each reflection, ricocheting off another. I was startled by a tap on my shoulder and I turn to see myself. "Choose." I-- she said. She nodded towards a small table where a tray had appeared, holding two items: a block of cheese and a silver knife. I contemplated choosing both, but ended up curling my fingers around the handle of the dagger. I scooped it up and as soon as I did, the tray was empty and I pivoted around to see a large German Shepherd, slobber dripping from the fangs the dog was bearing. The dog charged forward at me and pounced, but I pushed it away. Again, the dog stalked it's prey-- which was myself-- then leapt forward. I felt the handle of the knife in my hand and closed my eyes as I lunged forward, the knife held out ahead of me. I didn't feel the impact of the knife entering the dog's body, but when I opened my eyes, the German shepherd was gone, as was the knife.

I felt drowsy by now, even in the simulation. I blinked again and I was in the streets of the main city. I looked to my left and I saw the Hub, a tower of steel and glass overlooking the city. I was in the center of the road, standing on the worn yellow lines painted on the street. I walked forward and felt something catch my arm. I spun around to see a factionless man. The factionless were the people of the city who didn't fit into any of the factions so they didn't live with them. The man was older, from the looks of it, in his late sixties.

"What's the rush?" he said between his yellowed teeth. He smirked, exposing black molars and gaps between teeth. His grey hair was long and shaggy, knotted from lack of care. He had a beard that was as uncleanly as his hair and the same shade of dull silver. His skin was wrinkled and worn from age. His grip around my wrist tightened as I looked at his hand, seeing grime under his fingernails that dug into my skin. I yanked my arm away, hard enough to cause the man to release his hold on my arm. His eyes were devious as he launched to grab me again, this time, throwing an arm around my waist. This time, I not only pulled myself away, but I kicked him in the abdomen. He gripped his stomach in pain as he fell back, and as he did, he disappeared through the ground.

I awoke from the simulation, surprisingly calm. Alice looked at me in shock. "How are you awake? There's still one simulation!" Alice said, more to herself than to me. I launched out of my seat and threw the door open. Behind the building where the testing rooms were in the school, there was an alley I ran to and doubled over. Acid burned my throat as whatever I had eaten that morning came back up from my stomach. As soon as I had emptied its contents, I stood up straight again and wiped the vomit from my lip with the back of my hand. It wasn't until Alice told me a very important detail about myself that it all made sense.