Rat (A Divergent Prequel and Eric Love Story)

Chapter 1- The Test

I didn't sleep last night. My mind was wandering so fast that I couldn't even concentrate on my book. The lab assistant came at the usual time, but didn't just bring me one of the dull tasting bologna sandwiches that I was so used to.

The new assistant led me down the long halls that seemed to stretch on forever. After a while of silent walking, we approached the front doors of the institute, a place that I had not seen in eleven years. Jeanine stood tall, in a crisp blue suit dress, matching heels covering her dainty feet. My sister looked beautiful, and suddenly I became aware of how I must look. I couldn't recall the last time I had drug a comb through my long, blonde hair.

"My sister," Jeanine smiled. Although she was trying to seem friendly, she grew more intimidating. "You're a woman now. Don't be nervous. I know you're going to make the right choice.

And with that, she grasped a hold of my hand, leading me out of the door. Her grip was tight and cold. She led me to a car but unlike the one I had arrived in, it was silver, but expensive looking nonetheless. As she drove, my face was pressed against the window. It was such a sunny day and I could feel the warmth of the sun on my cheeks, warming my entire body. I saw factionless children running on the sidewalks. Their cheeks were red, unlike my pale complexion. As they ran out of my sight, I could still faintly hear their shouts and giggles. I smiled, thinking of their happiness.

We approached a house which was all too familiar to me. It was my childhood home. I opened the car door and grinned at all my childhood memories. The steps going to the small wooden porch were still the same, the ones that I had fallen off of so many times in a rush to get to my newest adventure. I stroked my hand across the chipped paint railing of the porch. A single tear slid down my face.

Jeanine, whom didn't seem to notice my tears, stomped up the steps, uncaring of their history. She pushed a small key into the door knob and swung it open with a loud creak. She motioned for me to follow her.

The house seemed abandoned. Where was my mother and father?

"Mother died a couple years ago and father went to stay at a home for the elderly." She responded nonchalantly. I hadn't even realized that I was thinking aloud.

My mother was dead.. and no one thought enough of me to tell me. Why was I not crying? Children were supposed to mourn the death of their mother. And with that, tears began to flow from my eyes. However, not because I missed my mother, but because I was ashamed because I didn't. After all, she agreed to have me trapped.

Jeanine ignored my tears and motioned for me to follow her into the bathroom. Dust covered the sinks and mirrors. I wiped the dust off of the large mirror and jumped when I caught a glimpse of my reflection. My hair was to my chest and tangled in the most unbelievable knots. I had dark circles underneath my eyes, which stuck out on my pale skin. I looked as though I had been really sick for a really long time.

"Time to wash up," Jeanine said, as she laid two bottles and a razor on the edge of the bath tub and a stack of fresh, blue clothes on the sink. I hadn't even noticed that she brought them. "You're going to want to look nice for this test and the ceremony tomorrow.

I nodded and she left the room. I was alone again, as I had grown used to being over the years. I stripped of the dull blue gown that I had worn for months without washing. I looked at my legs and arms. Large purple bruises sprinkled about all over them. I sat down in the large, dusty tub and let the water run, first washing out the dust and then letting it run all over me. At Erudite, I was allowed to wash myself off with a wash cloth every once in a while, so this was a real treat. The hot water seemed to relax every muscle, so I got to work at washing the tangled mess of my hair and removing the hair the covered my legs.

After about thirty minutes of this paradise, Jeanine roughly knocked on the door, signaling for me to hurry up. I jumped out of the tub and slid into the clothes that she had prepared for me. The blue and white dress went to just above my knees. It had blue flowers going all down the arms. I looked like a mini-Jeanine. I looked into the mirror one last time. My hair actually went to my waist, but had just been tangled up so badly. I actually didn't look horrible. Not great, but not horrible.

I opened the door to see Jeanine sitting impatiently on the sofa. She smiled a weak smile and jumped up off of the sofa and went out of the house, expecting me to follow her.

I sat on what seemed like bleachers, beside other member of Erudite. The boy to my left wore a blue button up shirt with white pants that seemed to make his blue eyes pop out of his head. The girl to my right wore a dress similar to mine, but less expensive looking. Her brown curls spilled from her head in all different directions.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity, anxiously twiddling my thumbs. After about an hour of calling names, Jeanine finally said, "...Marta, Jonathon....Matthews, Rose...Mawres. Denise.."

I stood up quickly, making my vision go black for a short time. Smoothing out my dress, I followed the boy named Jonathan to this room with a long hallway. Five open doors filled the hallway. A lady in Erudite blue pointed at the third door for me to go into.

A lady with curly black hair, dressed in black and white typed away at a large computer.

"Wow, you look rough," she commented. When she realized that her bluntness had caught me off guard, she said, "My name is Julie and I will be administering your test today. Take a seat."

A long chair stood in the center of the room. I climbed up, struggling because of my height, and laid back on the leather seat.

"Drink," she ordered, handing me clear cup with a suspicious liquid in it. I grabbed the glass and gulped the unappetizing drink down.

It was disgusting. I closed my eyes from the shock of the taste. When I opened them, the room was empty.

"Julie?" I called out. No answer. This must be the test.

A table with two bowls appeared at the edge of the room, one with a knife and one with a hunk of cheese.

"Choose." A voice ordered.

I approached the bowls and looked from one to the other. The voice ordered its demand again. I tried to imagine what each one could be used for. If I grabbed the knife, I could fight off a monster. If I grabbed the cheese, I could feed a monster? But, what if he doesn't like cheese?

"Fine." The voice spoke. The table and the bowls disappeared.

I heard a deep growl come from behind me. A large, black dog appeared, seeming ready to attack. Wow, that knife would have come in handy. I had to think fast before it started running toward me. I remember reading in one of the books that assistant had brought me that dogs won't attack something that is more threatening or dominant than them. I yelled at the dog, trying to scare it off. It started barking loudly. I yelled louder and started moving toward the dog. The "Hell Hound" backed away, whimpering softly. It actually looked pretty cute.

"Puppy!" a soft voice called out from behind. The dog started growling again. A little girl in Erudite blue with cute blonde curls and a button face was toddling toward the menacing hound. I didn't even think about what I was doing. I ran and pounced on the dog before it could hurt the girl.

I awoke on the comfy leather seat in the testing room. Julie's brows were furrowed as she quickly typed away.

"What was my result?" I asked after an uncomfortable few minutes.

"Erudite," she answered, "and Dauntless."

"What was your result?" Jeanine asked me as she came into my room a couple hours after the test.

"Erudite, of course." I answered with a smile.

Technically, I wasn't lying.