Chapter 10

Tris

All eyes are on me. I feel intensely aware of the puffiness of my eyes and face. I drop my head to my chest in order to hide my face. With my head down, I discreetly try to search the faces of my 9 classmates. Al is the only one not looking at me, Peter is glowering at me, Christina and Will share looks of pity, but most of the classroom seems to just be waiting for Four's response.

He appears conflicted. His mouth is pulled down into a frown, and his eyebrows are furrowed. His eyes look much too tired for someone his age. Even when he talks, his words are quiet, but firm.

"Sit, Tris."

I carefully edge towards my seat, still not sure if Four is going to burst or not. His words hadn't yet assured me that he wasn't, but he still looked exhausted.

"Can you guarantee that this will not happen again?" The ringing undertone of authority always present in his voice causes me to respond hastily.

"Yes, sir. This will not happen, again," I affirm.

My response was appropriate, and he didn't seem all that mad, but he hesitates at my desk for just long enough that I think that he is going to punish me. I can't look in his eyes for too long without getting lost in them, but I try it now. Confusion and something darker swirl in them like the shades of blue swirling in his eyes, which are framed by the longest, darkest lashes…." I shake my head, freeing myself from his captivating gaze. Four sighs, then shrugs.

"Fine." His words are forced through his teeth.

He struts to the front of the room, and directs our attention to the chalkboard. There has been a chart set up with five rows and two columns. Each row was numbered 1-5. At the bottom, was a blank list, with numbers 1-9.

Four saw all of our questioning looks and began explaining. It was another perfectly executed, long winded speech with a ton of information.

"Today you are going to begin your final assessment in the category of hand to hand combat. Today is just a practice run, but tomorrow I will hand out a schedule with all of your fights on it. All of them will count towards your final rank, and everyone will fight everyone else at least once. You will use all of the techniques you have learned with me and go until your opponent is incapacitated or concedes. You will earn more points for beating better fighters, and less for beating lesser fighters. Your rank will be kept at the bottom of of this chalkboard, in this list." I think he finally takes a breath before asking, "Any questions?"

No one dares to ask any.

"Well then, I'll set up the fights for today." He writes down the matches. Christina v. Molly, Al v. Will, Peter v. Drew, Tris v. Myra, and Edward was without a partner for the day. This seems good for me. Myra is not that much bigger than me, and is definitely a softie. "This is what I had planned out, as it seemed the most fair, however, I think I might make some adjustments based on recent events." He calls over the commotion that had begun. He erased my name and replaced it next to Molly's. Oh no. There it is again. Oh no. Something else bad happened, even when I thought it couldn't get any worse. Oh no.

Molly is by far the largest female initiate, and definitely the scariest, too. She is taller than Peter, but not quite as tall as Al. She is probably as heavy as him though. Her bulbous nose looks like it has been broken dozens of times, and her mouth is constantly pulled down in a scowl: I don't know if she has ever been taught how to smile. I hope Al and Will take a long time so that I have time to think of a strategy. That will be my only advantage, my brain.

Al and Will step up to the ring hesitantly. It has got to suck going first. You have no idea what to expect. Even having one person in front of you would let you understand the guidelines and etiquette.

"Start!" Four orders.

Al and Will circle each other, once in a while jabbing in with their feet to get the other off balance, but nothing really occurs after that. I think we were all hoping that this would count as a fight, and then maybe Four would call a draw, but instead he shouts, "If neither one of you throws a punch in the next 30 seconds, then you both lose."

This sends them both into a frenzy. Al immediately rushes in at Will with his right hand formed into a fist. Will dodges the swing easily, and pops a little jab into Al's belly. Al stumbles back, annoyed. Maybe I can use this strategy against Molly, just duck and counter real quick. Al looks out of breath and irritated. He bobs awkwardly around the ring for a while trying to regain his confidence. Will looks relaxed as if he were just floating in a warm pool, not fighting a giant. It's like David and Goliath.

The fight goes on like this for a while. Al throws a wild punch or kick, and Will dodges it then throws a small punch of his own. It looks like Will is going to win this. Will escapes another powerful blow from Al, and finally gets an actually damaging blow in for himself. He shifts around Al and throws an uppercut into his face. Al moans in pain and stumbles back. He covers his face with his hands. When he finally brings his hands down, they are stained with blood. He looks furious. The Al we had been seeing all fight long was just regular old Al, a gentle giant, but this Al is dangerous. And he's had enough. He charges in towards Will faster than we knew he was capable of. He tackles him and sits on top of him. He drives his fist into Will face one, twice, then stops. Will is already unconscious. Blood is streaming down his face. The class looks horrified, but Four just looks bored. His expression says, that took long enough.

"Al take him down to the infirmary. Someone else, go with them." Four requests. Al looks in my direction, hoping that I would volunteer. I bet he wants to talk or something. I stand up.

"No," Four says to me, "Your up next get in the ring, someone else will go with Al." Four spits out Al's name almost jealously, but that couldn't be it, why would Four be jealous of Al?

I slowly get up and drag myself into the ring. Molly is already there, waiting for me. She looks like she is loving every moment of this already. I'll show her, I think. The match starts, and Fours advice circles my mind, as well as my strategy. I just have to wait for my opening. Suddenly, Molly lunges. I am just able to avoid a lightening fast strike. Molly isn't as slow as she looks, but I think that I am still faster. I just have to keep on my toes.

I was too surprised to try and strike back, so I just dance out of her path and wait for her to go again. She tries it again, and I am able to evade her fist the second time as well. This time I try to get a hit in on her. Leaving one hand to guard my face, I pull my elbow back and lash at her with it. She is able to recover fast enough that I end up missing her, leaving me off balance. She uses this to her advantage. She kicks me from behind. I fall on my hands and knees. I scramble back up just as a knee hits me in the gut. I lurch over, thinking that I am going to spill my lunch, but I hold onto it and throw a weak punch at Molly's ribcage. I think the impact hurt me more than her.

I am shaking my hand out when she sweeps my feet out from underneath me and I end up on my hands and knees again. I try to get up, but I am so dizzy. Maybe I should concede. No, I can't let her win. I crawl back up just to be met by another face full of Molly's fist. I groan, but don't fall this time. I stagger back up, and decide to try with my knee. I fake like I am going to punch, but then drive my knee up into Molly's fleshy belly. She roars, and then bashes me in the face. I fall like a sack of bricks. Black spots are clouding my eyesight. I can't breathe. Just holding on to consciousness takes all of my focus. Molly is still coming at me. She is raining blows all over me. I curl up into a ball and wait for the darkness to take me.

"Molly. Molly, stop!" Someone shouts, the voice is deep and smooth. Four's, I think.

Someone scoops me up. They hold me to their chest like a small child. I can tell it's Four by the way that the contact sends a thrill through my body, despite that I can barely stay awake.

"You should've conceded," He whispers, more to himself than to me. He might even think I'm out by now. "I don't want to have to see this."

I feel safe now, wrapped up in his arms, and the security allows me to close my eyes and drift into the ocean of unconsciousness.