Divergent (Fanfic)

Chapter 3

When the lights came on again, I was standing in the cafeteria. It looked the same as always - but it was empty now.

So, this was the stimulation for the aptitude test.

On a table in front of me were two baskets, with two very different things inside.

In one was a hunk of cheese. In the other, there was a knife.

'Choose,' commanded a strong, woman's voice. I recognized this voice - it was the voice of Jeanine Matthews, the Erudite representative.

'Why?' I asked, eyeing the hunk of cheese and the gun.

'Choose!' Jeanine's voice demanded again, more urgent.

I walked up to the baskets and calculated the usefulness of each thing. But, I didn't know what the situation would be in which I had to use the item. They wouldn't have provided me with a snack for myself in a stimulation - I probably wouldn't be able to taste it, anyway. The knife wouldn't cause any harm to anyone or anything in real life, either. This was all in my head.

'What happens after I choose?' I said.

'Choose!' Commanded Jeanine urgently.

'Alright then.' I reached both hands forward, and picked up both the cheese and the knife. I didn't know which would be more useful - I choose both.

'Choose one,' said Jeanine's voice - but it sounded different. Faded.

I didn't say anything.

The baskets disappear, and the door opens. I turn to look, and see a dog.

The dog was fierce, its lips curling back to reveal its teeth. A strong, fighting animal that would be put down if it were real.

But it wasn't real.

This whole stimulation was a creation in my head. I was in charge here. I didn't want to stab the dog. So, I could have thrown the cheese, but I wanted to test something.

The dog was creeping towards me, growling. Quickly, I closed the distance and let the dog pounce at me.

Though I could see the dog scratching and biting at my skin, I felt no pain. When it started, I could feel it, but I only had to think three words for the pain to disappear.

It's not real.

After a few moments, I took the cheese and threw it across the room.

The door opened again, and I saw a girl walking towards the dog. The dog dropped what was left of the cheese, and crept towards her.

Reflex kicked in, and I launched myself at the girl, throwing the knife at the dog as it pounced. The girl was knocked sideways under my weight, and the dog crumpled, dead.

When I didn't move towards the door, the stimulation changed. I was standing on a bus, next to a burnt man reading a newspaper.

He saw me, and held up the newspaper to show me the picture of the man on the front. 'Do you know who this man is?' He asked in a raspy, growling voice.

'No,' I said calmly. The image on the newspaper was of as man who looked familiar. Something about the man in the image rang bells for me - but I felt as though something bad would happen if i told him. The man was a murderer - and most likely Factionless. As was the man on the bus, by the looks of him. He wore a mixture of colours in his clothes - the discarded clothes of Candor and Dauntless. The marks of the Factionless.

'Please,' he begged, standing up. I finally see his face. He wore black sunglasses, his mouth a snarl. His cheek was covered with scars, the same as his hands were. His voice was pleading, but too fierce. 'It could save me.'

'I don't know him.' I said stubbornly.

'You're lying.' Said the man, dropping the 'innocent' voice. 'I can see it in you, you're lying. It will save me - just tell me who he is.'

'I don't know him,' I repeated.

'You know him. Save me. Tell me who he is. Just tell me who he is, you know who he is, tell me and save me! You know who it is!'

'Well,' I said. 'I don't.'