Enigmatic - Divergent/Eric Fanfiction

Chapter Eleven

The rest of our time off of training passed quickly, and we'd all had a good time. None of us had a clue what stage two entailed, other than the fact that it was mental.

The anxiety of our group was incredibly clear as we sat opposite the Dauntless-born initiates in a dark hallway, wondering what was going on behind the closed door at the end.

One of the Dauntless-born initiates, Martin, had gone in first and never returned, even when Four called in the next person. I figured that there was a back door, but it made me feel even more anxious. If they had a back door, then clearly they didn't want people to see the other initiates after they'd done whatever it was that they were doing.

"So.. which one of you ranked first?" Leigh questioned. I looked up to see her slim figure perched on the edge of her chair, sat up straight, legs crossed.

"I did." Freddie answered, smiling at her softly. I could tell he was nervous.

"Not bad. You were an Erudite weren't you?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Who was first in your group?"

"Dale." Leigh gestured to the pale boy sat on her right.

Dale looked up and nodded. "I trained for most of my life, so yeah."

It was quiet for a moment, then I spoke.

"Do you know what they're doing in there? Did you get to prepare for this stage too?"

Dale shook his head. "No one knows what this stage is. It's purely mental, so I don't think there would have been much that we could have done to prepare for it."

I frowned and it caught my attention that Freddie was now bouncing his leg up and down, and biting his thumb nail. He was more nervous than I was.

The door opened again, and Four appeared once more. "James."

James slowly got to his feet, and followed Four into the room, the door shutting behind him.

I tapped my foot and stared at the ceiling, wondering how long it'd be until it was my turn.

A good few minutes passed and I sighed, before asking what the time was.

"11.20." Dale answered, after checking his watch.

I thanked him and nodded, then stared up at the ceiling again. If it took so long, why did they make us sit outside for so long? Couldn't they send us in pairs or something?

Some time later, the door finally opened again and Four called out for the next person. "Nathan."

I sighed and watched as they disappeared, then asked for the time again.

"11.43." Dale read from his watch again.

James had been in there for almost twenty-five minutes. Why?

I sighed again and closed my eyes, allowing my mind to drift from the current situation...

I'd tried not to fuss about Rita much since I'd had that dream. Of course I still had plenty of questions about her, and everything Four had told me, but I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with it... and it wasn't worth worrying over. The dream had been my body's way of telling me that I think far too much.

"Jac."

The sound of my name tore me out of my thoughts, and I opened my eyes to see Four stood at the door, waiting for me.

That had been quick... I wondered why Nathan's had taken less time than everyone else's.

I rose to my feet and walked towards the door nervously. Four nodded at me encouragingly, then stepped out of the way for me.