Things had changed long before you were born. A city, surrounded by high walls forgotten in a country filled with emptiness. The city had been divided into factions, each one serving a different purpose within the city itself. Every year, all of the 18 year olds are gathered up to take an aptitude test, a test that tells them which faction is best suited for them. Most of them get the faction they were born into, others don’t. However, you can always choose to go against your test results.

Abnegation, the faction you grew up in, was known for their selflessness. They governed the city and helped others in need.

Amity, they were known for their kindness. A group of people who make up the farmers who supply the city with food.

Candor, they valued truth and honesty, they made up the judges and the lawyers.

Erudite, they thrived on knowledge and learning. They were always creating new things to help improve the city.

Then there was Dauntless. They were fearless. They thrived on courage and bravery. They made up the soldiers who helped protect the city.

And finally, not a faction of their own, and considered dangerous, were the Divergents. They didn’t fit into any one faction. They’re selfless like Abnegation, kind like Amity, value truth like Candor, smart like Erudite, and brave like Dauntless.

On the day of your aptitude test, you’d woken up early, dazed and confused. Your tester told you to go home, told you to tell anyone who asked that the liquid you took before your aptitude test made you sick. She’d told you that your test was inconclusive, told you to stay in Abnegation. But you didn’t. You joined Dauntless instead, not understanding the risk it posed to you.

You’d barely scraped by physical training. You’d listened to Four’s instructions and managed to make it past the physical training stage. But now was the real test, where they make you face your fears and conquer them. You can’t be fearless if you’re locking up when faced with what you’re afraid of.

Four had been monitoring your session, watching what was happening in your head on a monitor beside you as you face your fear. Drowning.

Locked in a glass box as it fills with water. You had panicked, for a moment anyways, then you saw yourself in the reflection and realized it wasn’t real. You tapped on the glass with your forefinger once, twice, and the glass broke, causing you to wake up in the testing room.

“How’d you do that?” Four asks, looking away from the monitor and at you.

“What?” You ask, still a bit breathless from holding your breath in the simulation.

“How’d you break the glass?” Four asks, tilting his head slightly as he crosses his arms.

“I don’t know. I just did it,” you say, still reorienting yourself.

“You just did it?” He asks, watching you closely.

He shifts in his chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, “What were your test results? Your aptitude test.”

“Abenegation,” you say softly, remembering what the woman who tested you told you.

“I don’t think so,” he says, his jaw slightly clenched.

“What?” You ask, your eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“I think you’re lying to me,” Four states.