We Are Divergent

Chapter One

I woke with a start, flying up in bed and pulling the sheets up along with me. I gasped, remembering the horrid dream I woke from. The attack simulation happened over a year ago, yet the deaths of everyone who lost their lives still often haunt my dreams. My parents, who willingly sacrificed their lives for me to stop the simulation, and Will, whom I killed are always in my dreams. I gulped, blinking a few times so that no tears would fall from my eyes. I felt a hand softly touch my back, and looked over to see Tobias sitting up groggily. I stay in his apartment with him practically every night now, even though I have my own. I must have woken him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He blinked a few times, his eyes never leaving mine. “What’s wrong?”

I fumbled with my hands in my lap, resting my head against his bare shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me. “It was just another dream.” I said shakily, more to myself than to him.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

I bit my lip hard, wincing slightly. “I-I… Will was here. He was asking me why I shot him. He was sad, he said he wasn’t ready to die.” I felt guilt wash over me.

“Tris, I know how hard it can be to lose somebody. But you can’t let it affect you this long. I know for a fact that Will wouldn’t want anybody having reoccurring nightmares about him. He’d want you to move on.”

“Yeah, well you’ve never been the reason somebody you love died.” I spat. He stayed silent and I instantly regretted being harsh to him, since he’s really the only one I can talk to with things like this. “I’m sorry… It’s just that I could’ve shot him in the hand or something! He could’ve woken up from the simulation with minor injuries. Christina would still have him.” I choked out.

He tilted my face up with his fingers gently, waiting until I unwillingly looked at him. “That is true, but if you had waited a second longer to decide that, he would’ve shot you. And if you died, then the simulation wouldn’t have been shut down, and hundreds more of innocent Abnegation could’ve died. Christina has forgiven you, and nobody blames you. It’s all a part of the healing process, but I think that if you want to stop having those dreams you need to forgive yourself first. Do you think you can you try that?”

“I’ll try, I promise.”

He smiled, his thumb stroking my cheek before he leaned down and lightly kissed me. He sighed when he pulled back, getting out of bed and stretching. I stared at his muscular back with the faction tattoos and flames reaching out to his rib cage and neck that I love. Sometimes it makes me smile just knowing I’m one of the only people who has ever ever seen it.

“You ready for your first day of training instructor Tris?” He asked with a wink.

I smiled. Today is the first day of my Dauntless job. I never thought after the simulation attack that things would settle back into factions. Things were chaotic for months, with factions all split up and aimed at each other. After Jeanine was murdered by Tori things settled down. I always thought that rebellion would help us but it was soon established that we needed to work together, not against one another. Divergents are no longer hunted down to death, though it’s still not in your best interest to share it even if you are, just in case. Divergents still threaten the way we live because they can’t be placed into a faction. Divergents are actually a good thing now though, because it’s a sign of curing our genetics that we learned somehow got warped. One day when there are enough Divergents, and the majority of the population cannot be categorized, the faction leaders will get together and find a way to govern our city differently.

The reason it’s best not to publicly talk about divergence is on the off chance that somebody like Jeanine will come along again and try to destroy what we have recently set up. I never thought that going back into factions would be good idea, but life is different now. We are safe, and we get along, all of us working towards a common goal for all of us. The factionless are created more equal, and are given more chances to see if they fit anywhere. I no longer care about what could possibly be outside our city walls, and since nearly everyone who did know the answer to that question died in the insurgence, we all know the same amount of information. Factions are the best for us right now, since the majority of us still have aptitudes for only one thing, and so until our genetics fix themselves, we will stay this way.