#cainitiation

Morgan had never liked the Abnegation. They were voluntary slaves, in her opinion, and she'd never understood what could possibly possess anyone to want to dedicate their lives to helping others. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but hey, at least they were put to good use.

The thought of her best friend among the small crowd clad in grey was baffling to her. Sure, Derek was hands down the most selfless person she'd ever met, but she couldn't imagine him there. He'd have no freedom at all and would be forced to marry someone that, just maybe, he didn't even like. But, in a situation like the one she was currently in, Morgan wanted nothing more than to have her best friend as her Stiff partner.

Still, here she was, and her partner was not Derek. Instead it was a somewhat shy girl named...what was her name? Taylor? Theresa? Something like that. Or, maybe, she wasn't that shy and was being quite the rude Abnegation for not talking to her.

In honor of her absent friend, Morgan had decided to replicate his faction's serum. The thought of a high Abnegation was terrifying, and she didn't want to torture the girl into facing all of her fears; her questions for her would be just as bad. It would be interesting to learn all of the Stiff's secrets, anyway. The Abnegations weren't ones to talk about themselves, but the serum would force whatever her name was to blurt the unspeakable.

Morgan had thanked whatever sort of Gods there were above that she'd made a serum for the first task of initiation. She knew the basics of how to concoct one; all she had to do was find the right chemicals. Although she was tempted to send the Stiff on the hunt for the right books, she couldn't take a chance on receiving the wrong one and wasting more time than she already had. Morgan was surprised to find that most of the books on the serums were still in the library, and she intended on taking as many as she was allowed to. It'd put the other Erudites at a disadvantage, and she was determined to at least get spot number nineteen on the rankings. While she wouldn't be factionless, she knew her brother would torture her until the end of time on her last place ranking.

After sending off her partner, whom she learned was named Tessa, off to make copies of bookmarked pages and gather supplies for her serum, Morgan studied the extra books that she'd kept with her to begin her calculations. The serum itself was interesting; it was used on criminals to get information before it was used for the Candor's purposes. She'd need a ton of ethanol, scopolamine, and 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, whatever those were, along with midazolam, flunitrazepam, temazepam, sodium thiopental, and amobarbital. Morgan, admittedly, had absolutely no clue what any of the chemicals were, but the book made it easy enough for her by providing the proportions she needed for the varying amounts of serum one could produce.

            The bus ride to the Merciless Mart settled his nerves since Brielle had been simply ecstatic. He had strung together a few illicit comments that he presumed she didn’t understand since she just gave a roll of her eyes and tried to ignore him. He opted for sitting properly and waiting like any normal commuter, but after shifting in his seat for a while, he realized that bothering Brielle just seemed more fun. After all, he was too attractive for his own good, and he was in desperate need of entertainment. He tugged at her hair and poked at her cheeks, making sure to grab her undivided attention.

            “See, even your hair is as perky as you are. Did you even take a shower this morning? It’s all frizzy and gross,” he smirked. “Ho, ho, wouldn’t that be something to tell everyone at Candor. ‘Miss Rhodes, did you take a shower this morning?’” Jeremy said in a snooty voice. Clearing his throat, he did his best imitation of a more obnoxious Brielle. “Nope.” Hair flip. “‘I’m a pig—ow!’  You know I bruise easily!” Jeremy howled, gingerly stroking his arm and scowling at Brielle.

            “Serves you right!”  Brielle stuck out her tongue immaturely. To her surprise, Jeremy actually took it between his two fingers and tugged lightly. “Mmmna!” She tried to say, slapping at his hand. The boy burst into fits of laughter as the bus halted with a soft swoosh. “So this is how you can hold your tongue. This is not a bad way to go.” Brielle, slightly flushed, threw another punch at his other arm.

            “Ow! Jeez, woman. You’re really aggressive. Are you sure you’re in the right faction?” Jeremy joked, releasing her tongue.

            Since ignoring him didn’t exactly work, she just sped up and slipped through the crowd to avoid him altogether. There went Jeremy’s only source of distraction. But really, what was he worried about? He didn’t exactly have anything to hide, last he checked. He was pretty sure most of Candor knew about his thing for Victoria. As much as he hated to admit it, he looked like a lost puppy for a while after she transferred. Brielle got him through it; just like any good friend should.

            There was no dramatic entrance for Jeremy, that day. This time, he was early as he took a seat in between Pierce and Grayson. Carson was stuck in class today while he got to go home. Ha! But he didn’t have to go through the truth serum and spill out his guts. Damn. Don’t get Jeremy wrong, he is fine doing this for the rest of his life. But after hearing scary stories from the graduates about having their guts spill out, it was only a matter of time before his lunch joined in on the fun. He didn’t think he had any worthy stories. He was an open book; charming and extremely gorgeous. He would make it through this. He was Jeremy Sommers for crying out loud.

            Brielle was only a few seats away—avoiding his gaze. That wasn’t very nice.

            “Brieeeeelle,” he whisper-shouted. “Pssssst!”

            Nothing.

            He chucked little thread balls at her from his shirt, making sure to get her ear. Exasperated, she twisted in her seat to face him.

            “What?!”

            His eyes grew wide as he stuck out his lower lip. The puppy-dog pout. Next came his signature smolder. Finally, his best impression of a pedophile grin.

            She held back her smile and looked away, doing her best to pay attention to his partner, Derek, as he poured out his regrets and terrible choices. Having him as a partner didn’t really boost his confidence like a normal partner should, but it wasn’t like he was completely terrible. He was nice, Stiff-like and really helpful. He just carried around a lot of baggage. Poor Mrs. Davidson wasn’t expecting all that aggression. Being the first one, Derek didn’t exactly give a good impression for the rest of them either, but to each his own and Jeremy swore to not make a scene. Crack a few jokes, maybe, but not cause a scene.

            He whistled and snorted to get his mind from getting too psyched out, all the while distracting Brielle from the entire event until they called her name out. She gave him a warning look before settling herself on the chair. Normally you wouldn’t able to see from high up on the bleachers, but he knew Brielle well enough to notice her flinch from the needle. No sooner than that was over, Mrs. Davidson started asking questions. He was definitely in for the shock of his life.

            That thing about Jason, he knew about. It was pretty obvious when a girl seemed attracted to a bro, or any guy for that matter. Only… there isn’t a sure way to know if a girl really likes you or simply bothers to spare you the time of day. It seemed cocky to presume that a person liked you, and if your assumption just happened to be wrong… it would definitely be something to tell the kids.

            ‘I also think I may be developing feelings for my best friend, which is kinda not okay…’

            Did Brielle have another best friend? Declan was her best friend, right? (Speaking of Declan, he would have to talk to her about keeping his thoughts about transferring.) It wasn’t like she was talking about him—she didn’t even say his name or anything. But somewhere at the back of his mind, he may have noticed a few signs that he disregarded as friendly gestures. They were friends. Was this going to change anything? No. Well… maybe? Yeah… she could be talking about Declan.

            ‘… who left him behind for the same faction his best friend left him for…’

            Shit, she was talking about him.  Maybe if they would just talk it out—oh no, she’s coming this way. Abort! Abort! Abort the mission! Avoid eye contact, quick! Jeremy turned his head a few times, looking for something to do to seem casual because he hadn’t been staring—no, gawking—at her. Nope. He had been busy… talking to Pierce. He crossed his legs and leaned towards him, nodding as if he was in deep conversation with his seat mate. This made Pierce question his sanity as he gave him an odd look.

            Completely normal stuff.

            Jeremy Sommers.

            So much for normal.

            He took the long way down, away from Brielle’s field of anything. He hoped against fate that all of Candor suddenly had Alzheimer’s and forgot that his best friend slipped out a tiny little detail that she kept from him. Well, two details to be exact. He wasn’t entirely sure what to think of Declan or her at the moment. If only he could just clear his thoughts and get this over with. But they would probably question why he wouldn’t be able to answer anything if there wasn’t anything in his head. The little pinch from the needle distracted him for a moment before Mrs. Davidson gave him a reassuring smile.

            “Let us begin. Jeremy Sommers, it has come to our attention that you are a terrible liar.” There was a small reaction from the audience. “That isn’t a problem here, however, we would just like to make sure that you aren’t lying to yourself in any way. Contrary to the fact that you can’t lie, there are certain things that most people would naturally delude themselves from. Today, we are going to rid you of these so that you may be able to clear your mind.” He hadn’t been paying attention throughout most of the event, but he was pretty sure that he was the first to get a long introduction. It may have something to do with the long line of Candors in his family.

            “I’m sure you’re now aware of the secrets your best friend, Brielle, has been keeping from you. How do feel about all of it?”

            Why did Brielle have to go before him? Why didn’t they go through the initiates in reverse-alphabetical order like they did during the Choosing Ceremony? He needed to think this over, but suddenly the words were forming on his lips before he even have time to process them.

            “I don’t know what to think. Do you ever get that feeling when you’re so sure about yourself that nothing will ever go wrong? I feel a little betrayed that she kept Declan’s thoughts of transferring a secret. I’m pissed off that he didn’t talk to me about it. I mean, I’m his best friend. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. I would have understood that Candor wasn’t for him, but to tell someone we barely know instead of me? I feel like I don’t know them anymore.” He breathed. Where did that come from?

            Mrs. Davidson pursed her lips. “Do you think that these are somehow forgivable?”

            “I don’t know. I need time. I can’t—I want to talk to them about this. I just don’t know how. I’m not sure if I can ever trust them again.” That sounded harsh.

            “How do you feel about Declan’s transfer? I know it was a shock for most of us, but what was it like for you?”

            “I always thought we would grow old together in black and white. Sure, all his sisters left him and everything, but I’ve always been there for him. I just thought he would return the favor… I can’t blame him though. I really do want him to be happy, but I can’t help but feel angry. I’m only human. I want that friendship back, but I’m afraid that when I do talk to him… it won’t be the same.”

            The crowd was silent now. His pulse was on high speed like he had just ran a marathon. Jade made this look easy. Alex struggled a bit when he revealed his strong attraction for Reagan, but that turned out well after three years. Three years… would be have to wait that long to have some semblance of normalcy? He was afraid to trust now, or at least put his trust on anyone, for that matter. Why was this so hard? Did the aptitude test make mistakes? If it did, then maybe Candor just wasn’t for him.

            Mrs. Davidson cleared her throat. “I hope that your time here will reassure you that you can trust us all. Do you have anything else to share?”

            “I… I’m afraid.”

            “We aren’t Dauntless here, so I’m sure you’re allowed to be. Would you care to elaborate?”

            “I know we’re Candor, and I know we will all be honest with each other. But with honesty… will it always be like this? Will the truth hurt us to the point where we fear that maybe someone might be hiding a secret, but we presume that they tell the truth because they’re Candor? That makes no sense—sorry. I mean, I’m afraid to trust now. How do we know that everyone in this is really honest? We can find their tells, but we don’t know what we don’t know. They can lie by omission and break the rules.”

            A commotion spread around the room. Some, appalled, some curious. It wasn’t like his time was any worse than Derek’s.

            “But really... I’m afraid I would go through my whole life taking this so seriously and be perpetually angry with her—Brielle. She is, no was, a great friend. And she thinks she had feelings for me. To be honest, that makes me feel really uncomfortable. I’m so confused… Am I done yet?”

            Mrs. Davidson looked at the crowd—at his faction. She took a deep breath and looked at him. “I suppose we are done here. Thank you for your honesty, Jeremy.”

Admittedly, Morgan was never the best test taker. Sure, she studied as hard as she'd cared to depending on the topic and somewhat understood the material before sitting down in front of the glaring test booklet in front of her, but as soon as she'd turn the first page, she'd always find herself utterly stuck.

Of course there were times when Morgan would completely wing it, like most members of her home faction did, and take the exam without a clue of what was going on in hopes to barely pass, but this test was different. This one would determine whether or not she was going to have her ass kicked out of the faction, and with her last place rank, her chances looked likely. She was thankful for the slight bit of help she'd received from Derek on the first stage of initiation, but there was nothing anyone could do to help her on this one.

Math, by some miracle, came easy to Morgan. She liked having only one solution to each problem she came across; the deviation in the worded answers never failed to throw her off. Geometry was almost a joke: proving some quadrilateral was a parallelogram wasn't nearly as hard as the trigonometry crap she'd come across, but, with a few tricks she'd taught herself to remember the formulas, the subject in general wasn't looking too bad for her.

All the other subjects, however, were different stories. History had far too many names, places, and events for Morgan to ever remember, and science was just plain hard. She'd spent hours flipping through textbooks to find certain terms that seemed important enough to remember, and refused to use any bit of technology to help her with her studies. The computers, along with any other devices, scared the shit out of her, in a way: using them only made her feel as though someone was spying on her or something. It would be a rough life in Erudite without the comfort of technology, but Morgan would have to resort to the books for her information.

While it wasn't one of the main topics that the initiates were supposed to know, Morgan found herself in the psychology section of the library too often for her to count. She'd pulled sociology books with the excuse that they were considered science, but she knew just as well as anyone else that the likelihood of the details of PTSD showing up on the test were slimmer than those of every step of photosynthesis, and, if she wanted to do well on the test, she'd have to quit procrastinating and focus on what she needed to know.

Biology was, in short, fucking hell, and chemistry was no better. Morgan, to be honest, didn't see the point in knowing the probability of inheriting certain genes over others, but apparently the rest of the Erudites did. She decided that she'd take any job over one that had to do with science, though if she kept her last place ranking, she knew her choices of a good job were slim to none. Morgan cracked down on her studies of every area of science: it seemed to be the favorite subject of her faction, although her opinion didn't match the majority of the Erudites. Physics, however, she could stomach, and found it much easier than any of the other sciences. It was just a bunch of math, but it also meant that she'd have to retain that many more formulas.

Sleeping was nowhere to be found on Morgan's schedule, and she found herself passing out in her seat at the library tables nearly every night of the week. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving Taylor behind, but her roommate wasn't even close to being under the same amount of pressure and stress as she was. There were a total of two nights that Morgan had gotten a decent amount of sleep, but the other five would have been much more torturous had it not been for the countless cups of coffee she'd become acquainted to. 

Morgan dragged herself into the testing room on the day of the exam after barely finishing another dose of her caffeine, though half of the other initiates seemed to be in the same state she was in. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her greasy hair from lack of showering was pulled back into what was supposed to look like a ponytail. She'd done so much as change her shirt and lather on some deodorant before finding her way to the examination, though making everyone pass out from the stench wasn't such a bad idea, either.

Preparing for the test was a difficult task but not as daunting. At least she didn’t have to prove her intelligence to everyone around her. This was private. Of course, Madison didn’t spend her life studying science and math but she was a quick learner. Math just made sense to her. Just patterns and repetition. Science was harder to pick up on - besides physics, which was mostly just math - but Madison found it extremely interesting, so studying wasn’t a burden. She focused less on writing, since Madison had always had a way with words. Being a Candor born helped in that aspect. Being able to provide solid arguments and evidence and being persuasive only made her writing stronger. She didn’t have time to focus on her forte. She needed to pick up the slack in the bigger subjects.

She’d poked her nose around and gotten a few ideas on what Mark focused on. She invested herself in everything, studying acceleration to stoichiometry to glycolysis. She felt as if her brain was going to explode, but she took that as a good thing. She was retaining. This week, she allowed herself to get a decent amount of sleep. While many people pulled all nighters, she knew that if she was going to retain as much information as possible, she needed a good night’s rest and a clear mind. Focus was the key. The hours she lacked studying while sleeping she made up for in efficiency. A healthy body is a healthy mind.

Madison made notes to summarize all the topics she thought were important. She knew most history out of pure curiosity since she’d studied it while trying to make her choice and she had enough sense to guess any random trivia - at least she hoped. However, Mark’s written tests tended to be pretty straight forward from what she’d heard. Last week tested their out-of-the-box thinking. This was purely knowledge.

She showed up to the test with a good eight hours of sleep and a solid breakfast in her. She seemed to be one of the few well rested initiates there, but she could feel her tactics had worked for her. She may have been behind, but she figured the amount she studied gave her a fighting chance. Madison had a way of understanding things. She could be calculating. Sometimes, it just came down to natural smarts. She wasn’t as sharp as some of her competitors, but she was still confident in her ability. It wasn’t as much about rankings as it was about making it into the faction she felt she belonged in. Although a good score never hurt.

Jeremy wasn't sure whether Autumn hated her job or just naturally looked contemptuous all the time. She didn’t even look up as he entered the room. Come on! He was gorgeous! Lots of people could detect his presence from a mile away. He was just that awesome. But with the Candor instructor, nothing seemed to faze her. He frowned as he sat on the chair in front of her. Without even sparing him a glance, she hooked him up to the lie detector and took out his file.

The first time she eyed him was to only check if she took out the right file, matching the picture to the face. The same expression never seemed to leave her face as she scanned the results of the last test. For the first time, Jeremy wondered how everyone in his family got through initiation. He supposed they had nicer instructors assigned to them. Would it pain them all to give him Sebastian? He was a lot nicer. Autumn looked at him like he was a speck of dust on her shoe. Derek was very lucky to have him.

“Alright, let us begin,” she said. “Do you intend on answering these questions with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Jeremy smiled at the familiar line he usually heard in court. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but the corners of her lips seemed to quirk up slightly. So she had a sense of humor. He would have to bring that out.

“Of course,” he replied.

“Do you have a middle name, or is your name simply Jeremy Sommers?”

“Just plain ol’ Jeremy. Ain’t nobody got time for middle names.”

That did it. She gave him a pointed look before looking at the lie detector as though he would lie about something like that. How hurtful. “Please answer the questions properly.”

“Oh, my bad. Okay, I’ve got four other siblings, so thinking up another name just lost its appeal. Plus, I quite like Jeremy. It’s got a nice ring to it; matches this cute face too,” he smirked.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Next question: So you’re a Candor-born who chose to stay?”

“That’s about right.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Autumn was about ready to burst an artery, but held her tongue. She didn’t have time to deal with this boy’s sass. She raised a brow and opted for intimidation, but this only provoked a smile from him.

“Alright. I stayed because I didn’t think I’d belong anywhere else.”

“Did you happen to have any other aptitudes besides Candor? Did you even have an aptitude for Candor?”

Jeremy held a hand over his chest, feigning mock hurt. “Are you accusing me of being Divergent and, or not being meant for this faction?” He chuckled. “I just got Candor. I thought I would get Erudite because, let’s face it, there’s no way to get the ladies without something in the noggin’,” he said, tapping his temple. “But, no. I got nothing but Candor.”

She glanced at the recording sheet to tell if he was in any way lying, but the strokes came out clean. The nerve of her! Jeremy knew that he had to have some semblance of professionalism, but couldn’t he do that with a bit of fun? He would bet you a hundred dollars that this job wasn’t as fun as they made it sound. How many students would she have gotten today that brought an actual smile on her face? Well, he didn’t yet. But he would.

She sighed, clearly closed to being fed up with his ego. “Based on your personal bias, do you think you’ve ever hurt anyone or committed a negative act?”

Jeremy cupped his chin as if he was deep in thought before answering. “Well, there were the usual pranks Alex and I used to pull on each other, but when he started going to the academy, it was between me and Declan, who’s now in Amity,” he said, his eyes shifting slightly to avoid looking sad about it. He would miss his friend, sure, but Declan had to be happy where he was. It didn’t help that he had only told Brielle, but he might have had his own reasons. “We never meant to hurt anyone, but with pranks, sometimes those things can’t be avoided. Nothing serious has actually happened, though.”

Bona fide.

“How do you feel about your friend’s transfer? Did you have any personal relations with him?”

Did she just ask him if he was gay? Was he giving off some vibe?

“I—just to be sure, I’m straight as an arrow. Well, some arrows are crooked, but you get the point. Straight. But, that’s a pretty hard question. Give me a second.” He actually stopped and thought about it, much to the slight exasperation of his instructor. “I guess it hurt, especially since he didn’t confide in me. He just dropped his blood in the hearth without actually warning me. I can’t blame him though, it was a hard decision. I will go talk to him about it soon.”

Beep. Lie.

Autumn perked up. It had been a while since she’s seen an actual lie. What could have brought it up? “So, you would go talk to him about it, right?”

Jeremy lost his composure there for a second. That was his first lie. Did he really want to talk to Declan? He was his best friend after all. They were like two peas in a pod. When he did transfer, Jeremy just felt hurt and betrayal. He didn’t understand it, but for now, he didn’t want to talk to his old friend yet. “I… I guess I would want to talk to him, but not anytime soon. I need to take it all in. I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn’t feel a little betrayed. I mean, it was easy with Jasmine because we could all tell that she was way too smart for all of us. With Declan, I just—I don’t know. It hurts. I mean, we were practically brothers. I wanted it to stay that way, maybe it could, but for now… I just need space.”

Certified. 

The excitement in his instructor’s eyes seemed to fade as though that was the best thing she had ever seen that day. “I see. Well, it says here that you have one sibling transfer off to Erudite. How do you feel about that?”

If she was trying to get a rise out of him to lie again, he couldn’t tell. “Well, she’s just the same old Jasmine I grew up with. As I said to my friend once, the only thing that has ever changed about her is that she wears blue instead of black and white, now. My mom and Teresa didn’t take it lightly, but the rest of us just accepted it eventually. After all, wouldn’t she just be lying to herself if she stayed in a faction she didn’t belong in?”

She sighed. “I guess you’re right. Judging from your progress reports, you seem to be doing exemplary in school. Have you ever been dishonest in school?”

“Miss Snyder, I am appalled that you don’t trust me!” No reaction. “No, I have never cheated or committed any form of dishonesty before I stepped foot in this academy. I don’t plan to either.”

Real. 

“If you were placed in a life-or-death situation, would you consider lying to keep your means of self-preservation or any other person you may care for?”

That wasn’t a very nice question. “Seeing as my ability to lie is about as even as my ability to not be exceedingly awesome, I couldn’t even if I tried. And believe me, I would never try.”

Right.

“Have you ever regretted a decision that you have ever made?”

“Well, there was pining after a girl who never really liked me back (and probably never will). She eventually transferred to the same faction as Declan, and that sort of bugged me for a while. But I don’t regret spending time with her and trying to sweep her off her feet. It was fun. It taught me what heartbreak felt like.”

Truth.

“I suppose we are done here. Thank you for your time. Sebastian and I will review your results, and you will be informed about how you did in a few days.” She wrote a few things on her clipboard before reviewing his file. Looking up, she unhooked him from the lie detector. He went on his way without another word, slightly disappointed that he couldn’t really get a smile from her, even when he lied that one time (although that was completely unintentional since he was practically lying to himself without noticing).

Morgan dashed from her chasers who had been following her for the past three hallways, and she didn't even know what she'd done to be chased. She was in the Dauntless compound again, and although the hallways were seemingly familiar, there was no exit where she remembered there was one. There was no way out until she reached a single door with a padlock beside it, but Morgan didn't know the combination. 

Shit. 

She scrambled to fit in whatever four-lettered-words she could associate with the Dauntless: guns, arms, fear, but none of them seemed to open the door. The sounds of loud footsteps sounded behind her, and Morgan knew she didn't have much time.

Time. Morgan looked up at the clock, but it was stuck at 6:30. Of course it was; it was just her luck that something as simple as a clock could be stuck when she most needed it, and the watch that was normally on her wrist wasn't there. The clock had to be stuck for some reason, though; the Dauntless were usually precise with their time and scheduling, but what meaning could a stupid stuck clock have? She needed to focus on opening the damn door and not the clock; the clock wasn't the thing getting her out of whatever trouble she was in.

But maybe the time was her way out. It was something so simple, yet the Dauntless would have had to think of something. They weren't exactly the brightest of the factions, and the time was something none of them would ever think to look at. Morgan punched in 0630 into the padlock, but it blinked red in indication that she was incorrect. There probably wasn't room for error, but Morgan couldn't check the time to confirm it. The Dauntless used military time, though, and although there were no windows for her to look out of to see the night sky, it was worth a shot.

Morgan panicked as her followers turned the corner, and scrambled to punch in 1830 into the padlock. She jiggled the handle before waiting to see if she was correct, and found herself stumbling through the door before the man closest to her could reach out and grab her.

Before her stood four people: four people whose faces she knew better than any other. Morgan's mother, father, brother, and Derek were engaged in a fight, and she knew already she'd have to solve it. "What's wrong?" she asked, careful not to upset any of them.

"The painting is gone," Tyler explained, pointing to a nail in the wall without anything on it. "The painting is gone and I didn't take it. None of us took it. The painting was here when I left," he explained, clearly frustrated.

Her mother huffed, pacing around the room. "I arrived second. The painting was already gone when I arrived."

"I was third to arrive," her father said, "and the painting was here when I arrived. I don't know what happened to it,"  he added with a shrug.

Derek spoke last, and he looked uncomfortable around the Harrells. It wasn't like Morgan could blame him. "Whoever stole the painting arrived before me. When I came, it was already gone," he pondered, but he was nostrils flaring as he spoke. He wasn't in Candor clothing: he was in full black, just as he was a few weeks ago. The nostrils flaring, the clothing...

They were all lying.

If Tyler was lying, then one of them took the painting, and this so-called painting was gone when he left. If her mother was lying, too, then she didn't arrive second: she arrived first, third, or fourth, and the painting was there when she'd entered the room. Her father had to be first, second, or fourth to arrive, and the painting was gone. Whoever stole the painting did not come before Derek, because it was still there when he entered. 

So, if the painting was there when her mother and Derek all entered the room, and the painting was gone by the time Tyler had left and her father arrived, then there could only be one culprit: Tyler. How ironic.

"Tyler stole the painting," Morgan said quickly, leaving her brother with a grimace as she dashed across the room to lead her to yet another one, but it was pitch black over a blinding white. A voice spoke in her head, or maybe it was someone in the room with her, but she couldn't tell which of the two was right.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," the voice spoke simply, leaving Morgan utterly confused.

Her brow furrowed in frustration. "Excuse me?" she asked, but all she got was a simple repeat of the sentence the voice had told her: "Everyone has it, but no one can lose it." 

Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. Morgan would say it was their mind, but she was certainly losing it with the riddle. It couldn't be a body part; anyone could be amputated. It couldn't be emotions, because Morgan knew far too many heartless people for that to apply to. It couldn't be love, or a person, because her brother had gone through far too many breakups for that to be true.

For the first time in her three situations, Morgan had no clue what the answer could possibly be. She threw up her hands and shrugged, too weary and confused to come up with an answer. "I have no idea," she sighed, and her eyes fluttered open.

            He was so lost in thought that he almost ran smack-dab into a door. Looking up, he realized he had gotten home. The area seemed relatively empty when he was supposed to meet up with Brielle to go visit her sister and her nephew in Amity. Fumbling for the keys in his pocket, he slipped inside quietly. The house just seemed empty with just him and Teresa. She practically ignored him half the time and his parents were often too busy with cases in court. Alex was living in his own apartment, as was Jade. A few years back, he would have celebrated being away from his brother. After all, being the mini-Alex in the family did not sit well with his ego. But as time passed, he found that he missed his big brother. No matter how much he was overshadowed by him, Alex had also been there for him through thick and thin. He would not have doubted that he would care if he transferred out of Candor. To Jeremy, Alex was what Candors ought to be. But he would much rather not admit that out loud.

            After staying in their previously shared room, he realized just how much of an impact his brother had left. Never before had Alex made his life anything but miserable. He had seen what it was like for Jordan to suffer through all the pain his former factionmates gave him; physically and emotionally. Even his own brothers were not very accepting of their brother’s transfer. With Jade and Alex, Jasmine was often welcomed with open arms. Sure, Teresa shot her some sharp looks, but deep, deep down, she just missed her sister.

            A simple question snapped him out of his thoughts. ‘Where was Brielle?’

            He was on his bed now, staring at the ceiling covered in the slime he used to throw at it, when he heard a groan. Funny. He did not remember anyone being home at this time of the day. Dad had a major case with a Dauntless infraction. Mom said she was supposed to meet up with someone for an important meeting. Teresa would not be back, doing God-knows-what, until later that evening.

            Squeak. Churn. Whimper. Groan.

            Shifting on the bed, he wondered if he was causing that sound. Jeremy swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. There has not been a house break-in in forever. The boundaries were supposed to keep the factionless out, and besides, Candor was a little ways off from Abnegation. And of all the houses, there was not much they would need in here besides food and possibly shelter.

            It did not matter now because the noises were only getting louder as he approached the wall. He had read about ghosts once, but studies showed that they were often figments of the imagination. Guess he would just have to go on an adventure.

            Last he checked walls did not make guttural sounds; living creatures did. Tiptoeing out of his room, he craned his ears for any more of the foreign sounds. They seemed to be coming from the master bedroom.

            Of all the times he would walk in on numerous couples sealing the deal, you would think his curiosity would cease on the subject. But subconsciously, he would shove the thought to the back of his head and think about all the other possibilities that might be playing out behind the door of the largest room in the house. Being a virgin, he was rather curious about how it all worked. As much as it still grosses him out, his theory was that if he acclimatized himself with images, he would be experienced enough on his first try and not be one of those awkward penguins. Only, what greeted him past the unlocked door was definitely something he should not have seen.

            Sprawled on the bed, in a tangle of limbs, was a barely-clothed man hovering over his disrobed mother. Time seemed to stop for the trio as they all seemed to be trying to comprehend what had just happened. Jeremy was the first to make a move, going straight to the man to give him a good uppercut across the jaw. Vanessa Sommers could do nothing but pull the covers over her small, nude frame. She yelled and screamed, tears streaming down her eyes as her son went all out and maimed the man in blinded rage.

            How could she do this to their father? To them? Where was the loyalty—the justice? What was Candor to her except a load of crap she goes through every single day? How long has this been going on?

            Question after question flashed across his head, each getting more painful than the other. Someone should be pulling him away. Whether or not this man had wronged him, only the Dauntless would be throwing mindless blows like this. He just couldn’t bring himself to stop. The anger and betrayal surpassed all reason—his proper morale thrown out the window.

            Suddenly, the scene shifted to a courtroom, a place he had grown accustomed to. Someone was talking to him, but he wasn’t sure what he was saying. All he could do was stare at his traitor of a mother, who was doing her best to avoid all the judging eyes. A nudge to his shoulder told him that he had missed the judge repeat his question. Averting his eyes, he asked for another repetition.

            “Jeremy Sommers, did you, or did you not, see Vanessa Sommers commit adultery before your very eyes?”

            She should rot in hell. He has since come to an understanding with himself that he would bring her to her downfall. She deserved every suffering that ever existed for betraying them. Jasmine’s transfer was a speck of dust compared to the gigantic LED sign flashing the word “LIAR” on his mother’s forehead. They would make her factionless and then she would pay—her and her fellow infidel of a lover.

            But… she raised him. As terrible as she was, she helped create the person that he was today. She had pushed him to his limits, sure. But was it really worth losing her for this? She did break the rules enough for excommunication… but he could save her. He could lie. Only… that would only get him so far as his lying would only work with anyone but a room full of trained, human lie-detectors.

            Sweat beaded across his forehead as the seconds ticked by. What if they believed him? After all, he practically almost killed a man (who deserved it). Why would they believe anything he says? Truth or not, they had every right to be suspicious of him. The man could have raped his mother, and he was well aware of how his anger got the best of him. He wasn’t under the influence of the truth serum, so what was so difficult about lying?

            You’re Candor. You chose the path of truth and justice. These conflicting ideas were no match for his morale. He had lost his control, but he would keep his cool now. As much as he would love to ignore his mother’s infraction and just go on with their lives, he couldn’t dare lie to himself, let alone a whole room full of people who needed to know the truth.

            All eyes were on him, but he looked at the prosecutor dead in the eye as he said, “Yes.”

Madison had been working day and night on her invention. She’d had trouble coming up with what exactly she was going to make up until her roommate came back to their dorm looking like a train wreck. When Maddie had asked what was wrong, she had said she didn’t know. That was when it hit her. Of course, she had no idea where to start, but luckily for her she was Liam’s biggest fan and that gave her a slight upperhand when it came to getting some good advice. She was already behind having not spent sixteen years in Erudite like some of her competition but once Liam pointed her in the right direction, she didn’t hesitate to get working.

Granted, she had run into an enormous amount of issues. For being a transfer, she had taken on a pretty bold invention. She was motivated to make sure it became reality, though, as it would definitely be of use. People were always looking for new, efficient ways to get things done. To come up with and create and invention that was applicable to something essential and did just that... It was her goal. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Hell, she wasn’t entirely sure she was even capable. She just knew if she got it to work, she would be proud of herself. Proud enough to maybe even get through the rest of initiation without having as many mental breakdowns as she did this week - which was a lot.

Madison stood with the rest of the initiates. She’d heard just about every Mark horror story there was to be told. While Madison didn’t have a Dauntless aptitude, she didn’t want to be intimidated. The more intimidated she let herself be, the easier she’d crack. She wasn’t about to let that happen. There was no way she left her friends and family behind just to get bullied out of Erudite. She knew she was smart, she knew she was capable and she valued knowledge as much as the next initiate. She just couldn’t let herself forget that she belonged in Erudite. It was where she was meant to be, she just knew it.

A small hush fell over the room as Mark entered but Madison put on her best face. She’d gotten some of the nicer Dauntless to help her move her invention to the testing area, which had been her last and final challenge considering it weighed a good few hundred pounds. Madison kept her head held high. While some drifted off into their own thoughts - or dreams, seeing as none of them had gotten nearly enough sleep - Madison watched each invention before hers carefully. She was glad that she hadn’t underperformed and that her invention was up to par. She just hoped Mark liked the idea.

“Miss Bowan,” Mark finally called, “please introduce your invention.”

Madison motioned to the machine next to her. It was the size of a dressing room just big enough to accommodate a human being. She opened the door which had a small standing area and at the top, a large hoop. Madison stepped in and stood on the marked footprints. “My invention is used to detect all symptoms a human has and provide all the possible diagnosis based on all of these symptoms. This machine can be extremely useful in situations where a patient may not even realize these symptoms are abnormal or are aware they are even occurring. For example, they may just think they’ve been working too hard and mistake it for the symptom of fatigue, while it may be illness related and not related to physical labour.” Madison pressed one of the buttons and the hoop moved from top to bottom, circling her in it. “This hoop is used sort of like an x-ray. It can detect pressure and pain among other things. It also works sort of like a PET scan, where a doctor can view the brain and draw conclusions from there. It also includes an option to insert the signs such as a rash or bleeding and it will search for symptoms that could be related and give possible diagnosis from there.”