*

An agonizing scream broke through the compound. Ana jolted awake, looking around to see what was happening. Beside her, Tris rose as well, rubbing her eyes. The two shared a look as another scream pierced the air. 

"Go find someone." Ana hissed, pushing herself out of bed as she did. By now, more people were awake, each curious as to what was going on. Ana made her way through the room towards the sound.

Bile built in her throat at what she saw.

Edward, the top initiate, was lying on his bed, covering his left eye with his hands. His face was scrunched in agony and Ana leaned in to take a closer look. Blood covered his hands and sheets, causing Ana to take a breath. 

"Edward." She said, softly. "It's okay."

He opened his right eye as sobs left his lips. Ana gently raised her hand to his other eye. "Can I see?"

She fought back a gag when Edward removed his hand. His eye was gone - someone had stabbed him. Ana took a deep breath, shooting him a reassuring smile before she placed a hand on his. "It'll be okay. Tris went to get help."

The boy continued to cry and Ana's heart ached for him. She looked around the room, eyes roaming through the crowd to see if anyone looked suspicious. Most people looked shocked, some disgusted, and she saw one girl leave the room, looking sick.

Edward's hand wrapped around Ana's as another sob broke through him. "It's okay. You're going to be fine."

Someone crouched beside her and she looked to see Four and Max. Four nodded at her. "You can go, Ana. Thank you."

Ana squeezed Edward's hand one last time before she got up. She felt nauseous as she pushed through the crowd now - she needed air, needed to clear her mind of what happened. Someone had stabbed Edward. 

As she exited the compound, she ran into someone. Strong hands steadied her and she looked up to see Eric's stormy eyes. Ana let out a shaky breath. "I need air. Let go of me."

"Calm down." He whispered. He grabbed her hand, and began to pull her behind him as he walked . 

"Where are you taking me?" She felt sick, her mind was going too fast for her to keep up.

Eric didn't respond. He guided her down an unfamiliar hallway and out a set of doors. The two had to climb stairs before she finally realized where he was taking her. 

The night was cool, allowing a gentle breeze the caress Ana's face. She inhaled the air, thankful for Eric in that moment. As she opened her eyes again, she took in the stars and the moon that cast soft light onto the top of the building.

She realized Eric was still holding her hand, but turned to see him looking at her. His grey eyes were full of concern, brows furrowed as he watched her. He was standing close, almost as if he was worried that she'd collapse. "Are you okay?"

Ana let out a breathless laugh. "No."

She wasn't okay. Though she had never really spoke to Edward, he was a nice boy and he didn't deserve that. Images of his eye flashed through her mind. "What's going to happen to him?"

Eric was silent. "I don't know."

Ana knew he was lying. She knew that he would likely be kicked out of Dauntless, left to be factionless all because of someone else's actions. Ana squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push back the tears that were forming. 

Suddenly, she was pulled into Eric's chest. She wrapped her arms around him, not able to control the tears anymore. She was silent, the only indication that she was crying were the tears that wet Eric's shirt now.

She should've been embarrassed to be crying in front of her leader. But she couldn't find herself to pull away from him. He was warm and comforting and held her tightly as she relived the event that had unfolded. 

As she stood in her arms, an unsettling thought passed through her mind. 

Peter wasn't in the compound.

***

The next day, the initiates were told to gather in the training compound after breakfast. The next stage of training would be mental, but Ana wasn't quite sure what they would be doing. The initiates sat outside of a room, and the leaders began taking them in one by one.

After the events of the night before, Ana was surprised that they hadn't pushed off training. Edward had unfortunately been kicked out of initiation, as the leaders believed his injury would hinder his ability to contribute to Dauntless. 

It wasn't fair. He was the best in their class and he was factionless because of an injury. 

No one spoke about the incident either. There were no suspects as to who did it - though Ana knew it was Peter. He was the only one who would have a motive to do it, even if it was for a dumb reason. He wanted to be number one.

Will stood, knocking Ana out of her thoughts. Tris sat in front of her, while Christina and Al were behind Ana, waiting to go in. Ana was nervous - everyone who had been in the room hadn't came out for a least an hour. She didn't like not knowing what was ahead of her. 

Christina sighed, watching the girl who had just came out sobbing. "What do you think they did to her?"

"No clue." Ana tried to hide the nerves from her voice as she watched. The girl - Molly - was being comforted by friends, each of them asking what happened in the room. She had never seen the girl that distraught.

Almost forty-five minutes passed before Will was out, sweaty and shaking. He didn't even look at any of them as he walked past. Ana's nerves only grew and she let out a shaky sigh as Tris went into the room.

Christina nudged Ana. "Are you okay? I've never seen you this nervous."

"I like to know what I'm heading into." She said, her eyes wandering the compound as she spoke. "I don't like not knowing anything."

Christina hummed, leaning back against the wall. "Well, the sooner we do it, the sooner we can get it over with. Besides, you're Dauntless. You're going to be fine."

Christina's words didn't comfort her at all, especially as she looked at some of the initiates. Ana took another deep breath and closed her eyes, expecting to be sitting for another hour.

However, she was shocked when Tris came out only fifteen minutes later. Ana frowned at her, ready to ask her what happened when Four called for her. She sighed again as she stood, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants.

The room reminded her of the Abnegation Test. Only a metal chair and a table sat in the center. Four motioned to the chair before he picked up a syringe. Ana eyed it as she sat down, before looking towards Four. "What is this?"

He glanced at her and then the needle. "This serum will be inserted into your neck. It stimulates the part of your brain that controls your fear. It'll induce hallucinations and the transmitters-" He picked up a few wires. "-will allow me to see the images in your mind."

"Fantastic." Ana mumbled, feeling slightly less worried now. She wasn't sure what she would see because of these hallucinations, but she was sure she could handle it. She leaned back and closed her eyes, remaining completely relaxed as the needle pierced her skin.

Ana didn't feel any different after the needle went into her skin and she frowned. She opened her eyes to ask Four what happened, but he wasn't anywhere near her. In fact, Ana wasn't even in the small room anymore. Instead, she was in an even smaller box.

The box was pitch black, not allowing Ana to see a single thing in front of her. She moved her arms, feeling the concrete around her as she tried to determine where she was. Her breathing began to pick up when she noticed just how tiny the space actually was.

Ana's head was touching the top of the box, causing her back to bend in order to fit completely. Her legs were scrunched up to her chest, making it even more difficult to breathe. Ana couldn't tell what was worse - the tightness of the area or the heaviness of the dark.

"Shit." Ana muttered to herself as she pushed against the wall. "What is this? What am I supposed to do?"

Her breathing was quick, her skin clammy from the sweat she was broken into. Back in Amity, she was always in open spaces and never really trapped anywhere. In Dauntless, she had her freedom to move wherever she wanted. Ana liked it that way - she liked having space and options as to where she was going.

In this box, she was trapped. She couldn't move.

Ana squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forehead against the cool stone of the wall as she tried to focus on her breathing. She hated this feeling. She hated being closed in.

"Okay." She murmured. "I have to get out of this."

She opened her eyes again, though it made no difference. There wasn't any light in the box and Ana felt her hope run out again. She forced herself to take a deep breath. There had to be some way to get out of the box.

Ana began to move her hands along the walls again, feeling for any cracks that would allow her to open the box. She felt along each corner, each flat surface. A sob broke through her lips when she was finished feeling around the box. "Dammit!"

She felt hopeless. There was no indication of an opening in the box and Ana felt as though she'd never escape it. She wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her face into her arms as she cried. Ana couldn't remember the last time she felt so afraid.

She felt herself being pulled away from the scene and, with a gasp, she reopened her eyes to be blinded by light. Four was beside her again in the small room, looking away from the screen and back to her. "You're done for the day."

"What?" Ana wiped her eyes. "What was that? What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"You're afraid of tight spaces." He explained, preparing another needle for the next initiate. "How are you going to face that fear?"

"There was nothing I could do." Ana told him, confused at his answer. "There was no escape."

Four only shrugged his shoulders. "You'll figure it out, Amity. Tomorrow is a new day, a new fear. Be ready."

Ana left the room, still sweaty and scared as she sat down next to Tris. "You were in there for a while. Are you okay?"

"No." Ana shook her head, taking a deep breath as she did. She thought back to her fear, shivering as she remembered the coolness of the stones. Ana looked towards Tris. "You were only in there for fifteen minutes. How did you do your fear landscape so quickly?"

Tris shrugged, looking uncomfortable as she looked away from Ana. Will collapsed next to them, saving Tris from answering her friend. "That was awful. You okay, Ana? You look pale."

"I'll be fine." She waved him off, glancing around the compound. Her sight landed on Max, who was walking through with Jeanine Matthews. Ana's eyes narrowed as she motioned towards them. "Why do you think she's here?"

Tris and Will looked towards the two. Will shook his head. "I bet they're hunting Divergents. That's all anyone talked about in Erudite."

Ana raised her eyebrows. Ana wasn't even sure that Divergent people were possible. Divergents were rare to come across, though most people were afraid of them for whatever reason. They didn't fit into just one faction and people feared they wouldn't fit into their society. She hadn't heard of anyone being Divergent for ages. "Do they even exist?"

"I'm not sure." Will answered. "People have to be worried for a reason, though."

The rest of Ana's friends met up with her at dinner, where they each talked about their fears. Christina shivered as she told them about hers. "There were tiny bugs all over me. In my throat, ears. I couldn't breathe."

Ana made a face of disgust. Bugs didn't bother her much, considering there was a lot in the fields in Amity, but she wouldn't want them crawling all over her.

"I heard about this guy two years ago." Al began, taking a bite of his dinner. "Had a heart attack in the chair, almost died."

"What?" Ana's eyes were wide. "That really happened?"

Al shrugged. "I don't know if it's true or not. But we have that to look forward to, right?"

"Not Tris." Christina smirked. "She had no trouble at all."

Tris laughed, nervously. "No, I- It was awful."

"Oh please." Christina laughed. "No one even came close to you."

"You were amazing." Al agreed.

Ana snorted, picking up a piece of meat with her fork. She placed it into her mouth right as someone sat next to her. Ana looked to her right, glaring when she was Peter's smug grin. "What do you want, dick?"

He ignored her, looking straight at Al. "What's amazing is how fast she'll be kicking you out of Dauntless!"

Everyone at the table shot Peter dirty looks. Al looked down. "She's not kicking me out of Dauntless."

"Right. She went from one of the worst, to one of the best. Someone has to take her place at the bottom, right? Who's it gonna be?" Peter gave Al a pointed look before grinning at Tris. "What's your trick, Stiff?"

"Trick?" Tris asked. "I don't have a trick."

"You're lying." Peter scoffed. "At least tell your friends, Tris."

He sauntered off after that, leaving Ana confused as she looked back to her friend. Tris looked slightly uncomfortable now, just as she did when Will was talking about Divergents. Ana narrowed her eyes at the girl. "What's he talking about?"

"Is there an easier way to do it?" Al joined in.

"No." She said quickly. "No trick. I'm not doing anything."

Ana only studied her closely. Tris was hiding a big secret and Ana wondered if Divergents were more common than she previously believed.

***

I hope you all enjoy!

Pleuviorx