Divergent - Amity Initiate

The Serum

I stare at the shining needle, my face pale.
"I don't think I can do this!"
"Yes you can!" Jo answers, holding the needle steady. I wince as it goes in.
"What will the peace Landscape be like?" I ask.
"You'll be fine." Jo answers, and that is the last thing I hear.

I wake in a desolate landscape. I am surrounded by a kind of trench. I hear gunshots.
"Oh my God!" I scream as there is a huge explosion next to me.
A man in army uniform walks up behind me. "Oi, your meant to be out there!" he says, and hands me something.
A gun.
The last time I remember holding one of these is at Dauntless headquarters. My stomach starts heaving and I vomit on the floor.
"Go!"
Oh my God, I think, I am going to fight in a war!
He shoves me out onto the battle field. There are guns blaring, people shouting.
I need to do something.
I hear a sound next to me. A body falls. Then another.
All this death, I have experienced it all already. I have had enough of death.
I drop my gun. It clatters on the floor. Then I walk. Right in front of the enemy.
"STOP!" I shout,my voice defiant.
Everyone's weapons fall silent.
"What the hell are we doing?" I ask the air, and it gives me the answer.
"We are creating death and destruction, for what? What are we trying to achieve?"
More silence.
"Look!" I say, tears of fury and sadness coming to my eyes as I signal the hundreds of thousands of bodies riddled across the land. "Look what war leaves behind! Nothing! Nothing except death and hopelessness and despair and GRIEF!" I yell.
Eyes are on me, everywhere. I stand tall. "Wars are started because of fear, because people are afraid of other people. And others who fight in wars are helping in cowardice."
Gun points are on me. I continue. "You are all cowards. All of you. You all want power and money. Is that true?"
I see soldiers squeezing the trigger of their guns. I wince and wait for the pain.
Then I hear something.
Something that makes me smile.
Guns. But not guns being fired.
Everyone is dropping their weapon.
The sound is beautiful. I hear clapping and then cheering. People hug each other. The opposition shakes hands and there is smiling faces everywhere.
The image starts fading.
I am back in the lab where I got the serum. Jo is standing there.
"You did great, kid." she says, and I can see tears in her eyes.
"Thanks..." I smile. "I hope the world would a bit more like that."
"Yeah..." Jo looks distant - a kind of sorrowful distant.
"What is it?"
"Just..." she looks at me, "what you just said - 'I hope the world would a bit more like that,'"
"So? What about it?"
"Well, it's just... Maybe the world never will be like that." she finishes, turning away.
"Why do you think that?" I ask, slightly worried.
"Well, take your former faction for instance." Jo answers.
"What, Dauntless?"
"Yeah. What was the method of training you used?"
I shrug. "Mostly we beat each other up."
"See?"
"See what?"
She turns to me. "Tell me honestly - do you think that is teaching people to be brave?"
"Well...no." I have never really thought about it.
"Exactly! The world is just a big wreck filled with idiots and smart asses!"
"Jo..." I lean forward and touch her arm. "Don't worry - Amity will protect us from Jeanine."
Jo smiles. "Thanks..." she says, "You're right. Sorry, I just... Guess being in Amity for so long made me crack!"
"Come on," I say, standing up, "lets go get some lunch."