If she chose Erudite

Chapter 4

Jane and I have been working on our project for a few hours now. We have found some files on the Erudite computers about the factionless, and tomorrow we're going to the factionless to find out if the files are right.

The files tell us that the factionless are spread around the whole city with barely enough to drink and eat. They do a few jobs for the factions; driving the trains, pick up the trash... Shortly, the jobs no one in the factions wants to do.

In exchange they get a bit food and some new clothes, but it's not enough to live from. That's the reason why the Abnegation had started to give supplies to them, so that they wouldn't be so susceptible for deathly diseases.

At least, that's what the Erudite articles tell us. We have found a few pictures of malnourished children with slobby clothes, so the files are probably true. Or were true.

The factionless I saw when I missed the bus and walked to school, didn't look that horrible.

It was like Jane could read my mind, because this is exactly where she started talking about.

"Do you think it's all true? The files we found? I mean, they have to live like that because they didn't choose the right faction. That's cruel! We treat them like trash..."

I push my finger against my lips, to let her know to be more quite. I don't think Jeanine, or one of her 'spies' would like to hear this.

We're sitting in the middle of the cafetaria, eating dinner. The other initiates are still working on their project, but we don't have anything to do anymore. We have to check the information we found before we can use it.

"I don't know" I whisper back, "they also could be pretending... Pretending that they're weak, but in the meantime they just become stronger. The factionless I saw in the sector between my home and the school didn't look like the factionless on the pictures we saw..."

Jane frowns and looks around, to check if no one's listening.

"I think you could be right, but how do we know that they will show us how they really are?"

I furrow my eyebrows and lean my chin on my hands; I'm starting to be like the Erudite...

"Maybe we could pretend to be factionless. They won't lie to people like them, will they? And if they lie, you can tell. You're a former Candor."

"But isn't it a bit fast to drop out of initiation? Even though it's not real? They will be suspicious..."

I shrug and pull Jane up, pointing to the dorms. "We have to make a plan, but I think we should do it in there. I don't think anyone else should know about this..."

Jane sighs and follows me. She probably doesn't like it to do things secretly. Oh, well, she's a former Candor, so she doesn't like lying... I don't like it either to be secretly, but I don't think Jeanine would approve this.

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"So, that's all planned?"

"Yeah, I think so. Let's repeat the plan one time." I insist.

"Ugh... Okay!" Jane says, rolling her eyes

"So, fake identities. I'm Maya Ruyther, and you're Lizz Smitz, both transfers from Candor to Erudite. Agreed?"

Jane nods. "We will take some extra clothes with us, to make it believable. We dropped out of Erudite initiation because we saw those cruel articles about Marcus and Abnegation and didn't want to be responsible for them."

"We'll walk to the factionless sector next to the Abnegation sector and walk the head building in, okay? But what are we going to ask them?" I sigh, we hadn't thought about that yet.