near north side//peter hayes

13

The second stage of initiation starts today and I'm so glad I'm not an initiate. This year instead of sitting in the hallway I'm in the room with Four. I know it sounds weird but I'm kind of getting bored watching the initiates panic. Christina went first. Her fear was Moths. I let out a little laugh. Four just looks at me and shakes his head.

"What? It's not like she can hear me," I laugh again.

Four ignores me and continues watching the screen.

The time drags on as initiate after initiate comes through. The Dauntless-born initiates and the transfers were separated during stage one, but they will be training together from now on, making this drone on even longer. After Al is done it's Peter's turn. I'm nervous for him. I think he is the only initiate I've been concerned about so far. The thought of him being scared makes me anxious. Like I would rather not watch this. I walk over and open the door to the hallway.

"Peter," I say.

He looks up at me and smiles. I smile back slightly. His smile is gonna fall as soon as he knows what is about to happen. Peter follows me into the room.

"Sit down," I tell him, pointing to the reclining metal chair.

"What gonna happen?" Peter asks.

"Your gonna face your fears," I say calmly.

"How?"

"The simulation will teach you to control your emotions in the midst of a frightening situation." I pick up the needle used to administer the serum.

"An injection?" Peter asks.

"We use a more advanced version of the simulation here," I say, "a different serum, no wires or electrodes for you."

"How does it work without wires?" Peter questions.

"Gotta question everything, don't you Smart Mouth," I joke. Peter forces a small smile. "Well, Four and I have wires, so we can see what's going on." Peter just shakes his head. "But for you, there's a tiny transmitter in the serum that sends data to the computer." I eases the tip of the needle into the tender skin on the side of Peter's neck. "The serum will go into effect in sixty seconds. This simulation is different from the aptitude test," I say. "In addition to containing the transmitter, the serum stimulates the amygdala, which is the part of the brain involved in processing negative emotions like fear and then induces a hallucination. The brain's electrical activity is then transmitted to our computer, which then translates your hallucination into a simulated image that we can see and monitor. I will then forward the recording to Dauntless administrators. You stay in the hallucination until you calm down, that is, lower your heart rate and control your breathing." I plant my hand on the side of his face. I can tell the serum is starting to take over. I whisper, "Be brave, Peter. The first time is always the hardest."

When his eyes close, Four speaks up, "Hey you stole my line. I said that to you last year."

"What can I say I learned from the best."

The screen starts to show Peter's fear simulation. He is sitting on the floor in a dimly lit room. At first there is nothing else there. Then a single spider falls from the ceiling onto Peter. He starts freaking out trying to get it off of himself. It doesn't work, but he doesn't stop trying. Soon another spider falls on him. Then another and another. Spiders are all over the floor crawling towards Peter. He doesn't stop trying to get them off of him. He is almost entirely covered by them now. He needs to calm down and slow his breathing. I think he realizes that too. He stops swatting at the spiders and lays down on the ground. He slowly steadies his heart rate.

The screen goes black as Peter jolts up in the chair. His breathing is heavy and he is covered in sweat.

"You did good," I say. "Only seven minutes, better than most."