The Chasm

Chapter Five

I waited by the door the next morning for Lauren. I hear footsteps, excited for what awaits me. She comes down the hall, and opens the door.

"How are you doing this morning," I say, smirking.

"Not the greatest, but I'll live." She rubs her forehead, groaning.

"Alright here you go," she starts, plugging the machine in. "You're going to take these wires, and put them on the sides of your forehead. These allow you to see each fear that the initiate goes through and it'll also be recorded to the system automatically so you won't have to do it yourself."

She then points to a bin. "Those are the vials and the machine used to inject them. One for each."

"When they are done, the program will shut down and it'll input all of the information that it needs." She turns back to me. "Any more questions?"

I shake my head. It isn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be.

"Also one more thing." She says. "Make sure to look for anything that might lead to divergence. As soon as you spot it, let one of the higher leaders know about it."

I nod. I've heard about divergence, people whose minds are different from the normals. Part of me fears them, knowing that they can't be controlled, the other part wants to know what it's like to be one of them. It's both a scary and beautiful thought indeed.

"Can you stay with me for the first one to make sure I did it right?" I blurted out. I don't know where the question came from. Maybe it's the nerves getting to me.

"I talked with max and he said to stay with you for the entire day today to check up on you." Lauren confirmed. She looked at the clock. Five minutes until Six am.

"Let's go and wake the initiates up."

We walked towards the dormitories, in silence. As we reached the door, she handed me a pipe. "Bang this against the rocks three times."

I grabbed the pipe from her hand and walked in. Banging the pipe against the rocks, I shouted,
"Time to get up. Five minutes." They started stirring, as I went out to walk back to the room.

I make sure that everything is in order, with the program up and running. Transfers are first, then dauntless Borns. The first person is Four.

Lauren is standing in the corner, watching me as I call Four in. He sits in the chair as I prep the serum into the gun and inject him with it. Then I put the electrodes on the side of my head and watch as he goes through each one. Heights, small spaces, shooting someone and....his father?

I recognize the face of Marcus Eaton as he pulls out his belt and starts whipping four. He cowers, as Marcus yells out things to him. Bad things that made him angry. Taking his anger out on his son. As soon as four's heart rate is calmed down enough, he pulls out of the simulation and shudders.

I nod to him. "You can go." He walks out the back door and I look at the next person on my list.

It's Eric. I call him in and inject him, the same place as four. Then his fears show up, one after another. When he gets done, he looks colder, harder, not as weak.

I do that with the rest of the initiates, seeing fear after fear. Some have similar fears, such as being humiliated in public, but others are wild, never expected to see.

In the end, Lauren helps me pack up. "Good job. I didn't see no divergence did you?"

"No. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Let's go get something to eat then." We head towards the pit where I sit down at my usual spot. I scan the faces looking for someone familiar, but he isn't there.

"Don't be silly Delilah. You'll never see him again, so just let go." My inner thoughts say to me.

I finish my supper early and walk around the pit. A young girl talks to an older dauntless asking for a specific person. She points in my direction, and the young girl runs over to me. "Are you Delilah Marku?

"Yes I am. Can I help you with something?"

"I'm glad to meet you. I'm Lily Marku. Your younger sister."

I stare at her. As long as I've been alive, I've been an only child. She must be an orphan that my parents must have taken in. I'll have to find out about it later.

"Nice to meet you. Where are our parents at?" I ask.

She smiles. "In their apartment."

"Lead the way." She starts walking and I follow her. As we pass apartments, she knocks on my parents apartment and opens the door. My parents are sitting on the couch, my mother reading and dad looking over her shoulder.

"Mom, Dad?" They both look up at the sight of me. Mom walks towards me to give me a hug. "My sweet girl come in."

"How do you like being a leader?" Dad asks. I nod. "I like it. It's a good fit for me."

I set the hands on the back of lily. "Do you want to tell me what's going on here?"

"Oh isn't it amazing you have a younger sister?" Mom says.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask. I know parents and their children aren't supposed to interact with one another after they transfer, but it's apparently okay if they're a dauntless born. The rules don't matter as much for here as it does for the other factions.

"Yes, I know it's a long story, but lily here is an orphan and we decided to take her in." Mom said. "Her parents both jumped off the chasm bridge."

"Oh God. I heard about that." I said. People who aren't happy usually make jumping their first option.

"I'm so sorry for your loss lily." I add, giving her a hug.

"It's okay. At least I have parents again to take care of me." She shrugs. "I'd rather not talk about this."

"It's okay honey." Dad says. "I know it can be tough."

"Well I have duties to take care of. If you will excuse me," I mention as I head back to the door.

"Okay honey. Lily can sit down with you and tell her a bit about herself." Dad mentions.

I smile gratefully, for now I have a sibling. As I walk back to my apartment, I think about all the times I asked for a sibling and never got one.

"Delilah!" Max calls out, his booming voice echoing out.

"Yes sir." I unlock the door to my apartment and let him, giving him a cup of coffee as we settle down in the dining room.

"So how did it go with the initiates?"

"Good. It's a little strange but I'll get used to it." I sip the coffee, bitter as I never did like the taste.

"Good. I was thinking about a leader for next year. Our first choice is four. Second is Eric."

"For the rankings you mean?"

"Yes. For the rankings. Honestly I don't know how he does it." He shakes his head, and I assume he's talking about Four.

"I don't know either. All of them are looking good for getting a place on the leaderboard."

"Yes they are. The final test is next week. I expect you to be there." He says, finishing his cup.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." I say. We leave off on that as he walks out, leaving me to be alone once again.