Broken, But Brave

Chapter 8: The Final Exam

Needles. Needles everywhere and coming from all directions. Annabelle searched for a way out, but could find no point of exit that wouldn't result in her being stabbed by at least one of the sharp ends of a syringe. Anna didn't know what to do. There was no logical way to overcome this fear, except maybe allow herself to be stabbed by one, but she was incredibly hesitant to do that for very obvious reasons. Seeing no real end to the simulation otherwise though, Anna moved towards a large cluster of needles trapping her in the room, closed her eyes, and walked straight through. 

Upon opening her eyes again, Annabelle found herself back in a room that truly did terrify her. Surrounded by four, familiar grey walls, Anna's heart began to race a million miles a minute. She heard footsteps coming towards the front door and a shadow appearing at the doorway. Before the person had a chance to enter, Annabelle made a run for it out the back door only to emerge in the same spot of the house all over again. Anna tried to escape three more times before finally realizing she was trapped. The fear continued as the front door opened and revealed Marcus Eaton in all of his rage. Slowly, he stepped through the threshold and into the house, slamming the door closed behind him. 

"There's nowhere to run, Annabelle. It's just you and me now. No brother or arrogant Erudite boy to protect you. Now you'll finally get what you've always deserved." 

Annabelle remembered each part of the speech as Marcus gave it. They were the exact words he'd spoken to her the day that Eric and Tobias transferred to Dauntless. She had never felt more fear in her entire life than in that moment. But as she sat through the memory now, fear was not what she felt. She felt anger and determination. 

"I don't need them anymore. I can take you myself."

The father and daughter advanced towards one another, each throwing back an arm to exact the first punch, but as they both did so, Annabelle shot up in her seat again back in the Dauntless compound. Four was at her side as always, a reassuring hand on her shoulder to help anchor her to reality. Four grabbed a water bottle from under his monitor and handed it to Anna which she took gratefully. Tobias continued to stare at her in silence while she drank, unnerving the girl ever so slightly. 

"What? Did I do worse today?" 

"A little better, but still not great." 

Annabelle let out a defeated sight at Tobias's answer. 

"Okay, so what do we do? How do I get better?" 

"Anna, have you heard of divergent?"

"Only rumors. Why, what are they?" 

"People who don't fit into any one category. They embody too many of the attributes of the factions, typically more than two. You are divergent." 

"How can you tell?" 

"In the sim, you know it's all fake. The reason everyone else is so easily freaked out by the simulations is because it feels completely real. They can't differentiate between the sim and reality. They have a hard time telling even after they've woken up. You don't have that issue. You know it's a sim, and when you wake up, you're just coming off the high of your adrenaline from being in the sim. You know that you're safe and back in reality though." 

"Okay, so how do I pretend I can't tell the difference?" 

"You have to face your fears the way a Dauntless would. Find a way out of them, logical or brave, it doesn't matter, but a way that you would actually get out of the situation in reality." 

"Okay." 

"We'll work on it. I'll teach you how." 

The word "teach" stuck out to Annabelle as she looked up into her brother's eyes, seeing if there she could understand the true meaning of his words. The look on his face told her that she could, and she lowered her voice as she spoke again.