Tobias POV
The first day of physical combat was the busiest day for the infirmary and the most frightening day for initiates.
I remembered my first combat day. I had strained to look at the board to see who I was against.
Lauren Zeke
Christopher Michael
Danny Niamh
Nina Shauna
Four Eric
Eric was ruthless. He was mean and often bullied those he thought were 'weak' and 'didn't belong'. This included me. I was his number one target, the lonely stiff. I remembered how he mocked me when we fought. Although he was brutal, he was smart. His insults nearly ensured my loss. Luckily, Amar's advice on keeping calm and clear helped. I won almost automatically. I still remembered the fear of fighting a friend of foe. Of losing or winning. Of victory or infirmary and I had no doubt the initiates would have it too.
They marched in attentively and the fright widened their eyes. Tris was at the back with her group of friends. She wore a top that showed her tattooed collar bone. From afar, it looked like a tattoo of birds. "Right, initiates, today you start your physical training. On the board is who your opponent will be. You will have to fight them until someone is knocked out or someone surrenders," I said.
"Well, if you're knocked out," said a cool voice. Eric stood in the dark corner. The sight of his metallic piercings and menacing tattoos sent shivers down my spine. He walked to where I stood. He passed Tris but gave her a look. His eyes slowly travelled to her collar bone. He looked at her tattoo for a second before walking away. Jealousy flared in my veins and my protective urges kicked in.
"The new rules state that initiates can no longer surrender or quit during physical combat. You have to fight till one of you is knocked out," he bellowed.
"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" I quietly said to Eric.
"No. In Dauntless we want the strongest. The best way to find the strongest is by seeing who can survive the worst,"
"So you'll do that by letting them beat each other to death. That's not brave, its madness. I thought Dauntless was about honour and courage,"
"Well, those who give up and quit are not brave. If you wanted to change the rules, you could have taken the job you were offered." He spat back. Bitter cold anger rushed all over my body. How I would have loved to deal with Eric the way I did when we were initiates.
I hooked the board to the wall. The initiates immediately rushed to it. I could tell some were not happy.
"What!" said a random voice.
"Not fair!" said another.
"My name isn't on there," said Tris to Christina.
"That's because you don't get to fight," I replied. "Your and odd number so each time we have a combat session one will be left out."
"Lucky!" whined Christina. "I have to fight Molly. God, she's creepy. She looks like a witch on steroids," said Christina looking in Molly's direction. She wasn't wrong. Molly was one of Peter's goons and she was built like a boulder.
"Yeah plus she's as hard as a brick wall. Fighting her would be terrifying," said Al walking up behind Christina. She and Tris gave him one of those 'not helping' looks. Will walked up to them. He looked really angry and a little bewildered. Christina looked at him with full attention.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked gently. She put a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fighting Al," he said fretfully. Al looked wide eyed and so did Tris. She looked up at the spot I was standing and stared at me as if asking 'What were you thinking?' I kept my expression neutral because of Eric. She then looked back at her group.
"First fighters! Come to the middle!" shouted Eric. I knew straight away that his craving for blood and pain was showing. The first fighters were Al and Will. They walked slowly to the middle as if doing so would stop the fight. They went into defensive positions and started circling each other. They were hesitant as if they had no idea what to do. It went on for some time.
"You know you must actually fight each other to win right?" yelled Eric sternly. Will and Al looked at each other. It was the same way Zeke and I had looked at each other when we had to fight. It was a look that said 'sorry, but I have to do this' and 'I understand'. After exchanging looks, Will lunged at Al and punched him in the nose. Blood splattered on the blue matt. Al looked up. His eyes were darker and the friendly look he had given Will before the fight was gone. Al straightened and pushed Will down hard. Will fell down violently and Al towered over him. As Will struggled up, Al knocked him down with his foot as if he were some dirty dog. Will tried standing up again and this time Al let him. But before he could even level with Al, he was punched in the nose promptly. He fell like a tree being chopped down. Al stepped back looking appalled at what he had done. I rushed towards him. He was pale and fresh blood was splattered over his face. Lifting him onto my shoulders, I carried him to the infirmary. As I walked out the door I saw the reflection of Eric's wicked expression. He had circled a ring around Al's name. When he turned back, a dangerous grin was plastered on his face. His craving for blood and agony was satisfied only partially.