Fire Flower {Divergent Fanfiction}

Chapter 4

"Welcome all to the choosing ceremony!" A woman greeted to the crowd from a small stage in the front of the room. She went on to talk about how 'important finding your place' was. I tuned her out and looked at the table behind her. It had five large metal bowls on them. One for each faction.

"The ceremony will start by each child of 16 being called up to the stage in alphabetical order by last name. They will cut a little in their palm and drip the blood into the bowl of their faction choice. Each bowl represents a different faction and has an item of significance inside. Erudite has water. Amity, soil. Candor, glass. Dauntless, coals. and Abnegation has stones. After the child has chosen, they will join their respected group of initiates at the back of their faction. We will start calling them forward now." She picked up a list and started to read names.

"Melissa Acardia." A Candor girl walked up, took a knife from the woman, then cut her hand. She easily chose Candor, her home faction.

"Tanner Astro" A Dauntless boy ran up to the stage an chose Dauntless. It went on like that for a while. So far, only four people had switched factions. A dark skinned girl named Melanie Garrets left Erudite for Dauntless. The Erudite section muttered in distaste at the faction transfer. An awkward boy, named Thomas Herts stumbled from Candor to Amity. Another boy, by the name of Jeremy Jacks switched from Abnegation to Erudite. Then lastly, Vince Karlen, a tall boy from Candor changed to Dauntless.

"Cedar Maurice" My heart rate picked up. I wasn't quite sure what Cedar would pick. He had to be Divergent, based off what he told me a few weeks ago, about not feeling right in just Amity. He had to be. Cedar slowly approached the faction bowls, knife in hand. His eyebrows scrunched together as he cut his palm. He looked over the bowls one last time and too a deep breath, his eyes flashed up to me and I gave him a small encouraging smile. He looked back down at all five bowls then stuck his hand out, letting a few drops of ruby red blood drip into one of them. My heart sank as his blood hit the soil of Amity. He must not have been Divergent after all. My small sliver of hope that he was like me, was now gone, buried in dirt.

.................

"May Summers."

I hesitantly got out of my seat and up to the stage. The woman handed me a knife. I flipped it over in my hand, looking at it. I went to the bowls and looked at all five of them. I sliced part of my palm, barely wincing. Then I snuck a peek at the crowd in front of me. My heart raced and I quickly brought my attention back to the blood pooling in my hand. What were the people in the crowd thinking? The merciless bowls sat in front of me. I took a moment to see the burning coals of Dauntless before I looked to the Amity soil sitting next to it. There was my faction, my home, my family, and Cedar, my best friend since I was young. I closed my eyes, reached out and let my blood fall. But it wasn't in the earth. The coals hissed as the blood hit them. I rushed off the stage, not daring to look to the Amity. Not to my family, not even to Cedar. Rushing, I took my pace behind the black clothed people, and faced the floor.

..............

"That will conclude the choosing ceremony." The woman announced after the final person chose their faction, "Please exit with your faction back to your headquarters." The cloud of black swarmed around me and pushed me out the door. I felt overwhelmed by everything. I manger to break through the cloud of black and to the edge of the group. Other factions exited and to the left I see the Cedar among the Amity. I lock eyes with him long enough to see a look of empty despair, but he quickly turned his head. I felt myself being pushed to the stairwell, into the unknown faction ahead of me.