CHAPTER ELEVEN
FOUR'S POV
"Come on lovebirds," Zeke shouts as he bangs on our bedroom door. "Get up!"
I open my eyes to find that I can't move because Tris' head is lying on my chest and her leg is hitched over mine. She starts to stir and as her eyes flutter open I can see there is confusion on her face. It quickly changes and she looks up at me. "Hi," I say.
"Hi. Um, sorry," she says and goes to move.
"Don't," I whisper and I put my arms around her. I didn't have a nightmare last night. It must be the first time ever that I have slept through the whole night.
She leans her head back on my chest and puts her arm back around me. I could get used to this.
"If you're not out here in ten seconds I'm braking the door down," Zeke yells.
"Go away," I shout back and Tris giggles.
"Leave them be," I hear Shauna tell Zeke.
"Oh Shauna," Zeke whines. "But it's fun, I can finally tease him about having a girlfriend."
"Yeah and he can beat you to death with one hand tied behind his back. Back off and leave them alone."
"Fine," I hear Zeke huff. "You have ten minutes," he then shouts through the door and we can hear them walk away.
"We better get up," I say to Tris.
We finish breakfast and all make our way back into the lounge room. Taking the same seats as the day before and we get ready for a day of lying around. Not something any of us are used to being Dauntless. Even the initiates.
"I'll read," Lynn says as I hand her the book. She quickly finds where we were up to yesterday and starts to read.
CHAPTER TEN
That night I dream that Christina hangs from the railing again, by her toes this time, and someone shouts that only someone who is Divergent can help her. So I run forward to pull her up, but someone shoves me over the edge, and I wake before I hit the rocks.
"I'm so glad I'm not in your head Tris," Zeke says shaking his head.
"So am I Zeke," Tris laughs.
Sweat-soaked and shaky from the dream, I walk to the girls' bathroom to shower and change. When I come back, the word "Stiff" is spray-painted across my mattress in red. The word is written smaller along the bed frame, and again on my pillow. I look around, my heart pounding with anger.
Peter stands behind me, whistling as he fluffs his pillow. It's hard to believe I could hate someone who looks so kind—his eyebrows turn upward naturally, and he has a wide, white smile.
"Nice decorations," he says.
"Did I do something to you that I'm unaware of?" I demand. I grab the corner of a sheet and yank it away from the mattress. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we are in the same faction now."
"I don't know what you're referring to," he says lightly. Then he glances at me. "And you and I will never be in the same faction."
"Can we just kill him?" Lynn asks. "That wasn't in the book, I'm just wondering."
Most people start to laugh. "I don't think that would be a good idea Lynn," Max scolds.
"Just a thought," Lynn says with a shrug.
I shake my head as I remove my pillowcase from the pillow. Don't get angry. He wants to get a rise out of me; he won't. But every time he fluffs his pillow, I think about punching him in the gut.
Me too, I think. I hate that guy.
Al walks in, and I don't even have to ask him to help me; he just walks over and strips bedding with me. I will have to scrub the bed frame later. Al carries the stack of sheets to the trash can and together we walk toward the training room.
How did he end up the person he did in the end? A question I will never have answered.
"Ignore him," Al says. "He's an idiot, and if you don't get angry, he'll stop eventually."
"Yeah." I touch my cheeks. They are still warm with an angry blush. I try to distract myself. "Did you talk to Will?" I ask quietly. "After...you know."
"Yeah. He's fine. He isn't angry." Al sighs. "Now I'll always be remembered as the first guy who knocked someone out cold."
"There are worse ways to be remembered. At least they won't antagonize you."
"There are better ways too." He nudges me with his elbow, smiling. "First jumper."
"First Jumper Tris," Zeke yells across the room. Of course we all laugh at his silliness.
Maybe I was the first jumper, but I suspect that's where my Dauntless fame begins and ends.
I clear my throat. "One of you had to get knocked out, you know. If it hadn't been him, it would have been you."
"Still, I don't want to do it again." Al shakes his head, too many times, too fast. He sniffs. "I really don't."
We reach the door to the training room and I say, "But you have to."
He has a kind face. Maybe he is too kind for Dauntless.
"He was never going to make it," I say.
"Finally something we can agree on," Eric responds.
I look at the chalkboard when I walk in. I didn't have to fight yesterday, but today I definitely will. When I see my name, I stop in the middle of the step.
My opponent is Peter.
"Who would do that?" Shauna says shocked but looking directly at me.
"Who do you think?" I reply sarcastically. As if I would do that.
"It was me," Eric says sitting tall, pride dripping from every word.
"Figures," Shauna mumbles
"Oh no," says Christina, who shuffles in behind us. Her face is bruised, and she looks like she is trying not to limp. When she sees the board, she crumples the muffin wrapper she is holding into her fist. "Are they serious? They're really going to make you fight him?"
"Are you sure you're cut out for Dauntless Christina?" Eric asks. "You haven't seemed to caught on to why we do these things."
Christina looks away face flushed with embarrassment.
Peter is almost a foot taller than I am, and yesterday, he beat Drew in less than five minutes. Today Drew's face is more black-and-blue than flesh-toned.
"Maybe you can just take a few hits and pretend to go unconscious," suggests Al. "No one would blame you."
"He is such a fucking coward," Eric rants
"Yeah," I say. "Maybe."
I stare at my name on the board. My cheeks feel hot. Al and Christina are just trying to help, but the fact that they don't believe, not even in a tiny corner of their minds, that I have a chance against Peter bothers me.
"Why would it bother you Tris?" Christina asks.
"I still have to fight him no matter what. But you and Al never tried to give me any encouragement. I know I didn't have much chance of beating him but I was never going to give up and it felt like you and Al had already given up on me."
Eric stands up and starts clapping. "The type of person I have been told is dangerous to the faction system and she actually is the only transfer who seems to get what Dauntless is about. I might not like you Tris but I respect your attitude."
This is a strange turn of events and it worries me. I see Will and Christina whispering between themselves. I am too far away to hear what they are saying but neither looks happy at what is transpiring in the room right now. I also see Christina eyeing Tris off.
I stand at the side of the room, half listening to Al and Christina's chatter, and watch Molly fight Edward. He's much faster than she is, so I'm sure Molly will not win today.
As the fight goes on and my irritation fades, I start to get nervous. Four told us yesterday to exploit our opponent's weaknesses, and aside from his utter lack of likable qualities, Peter doesn't have any. He's tall enough to be strong but not so big that he's slow; he has an eye for other people's soft spots; he's vicious and won't show me any mercy. I would like to say that he underestimates me, but that would be a lie. I am as unskilled as he suspects.
Maybe Al is right, and I should just take a few hits and pretend to be unconscious.
But I can't afford not to try. I can't be ranked last.
By the time Molly peels herself off the ground, looking only half-conscious thanks to Edward, my heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my fingertips. I can't remember how to stand. I can't remember how to punch. I walk to the center of the arena and my guts writhe as Peter comes toward me, taller than I remembered, arm muscles standing at attention. He smiles at me. I wonder if throwing up on him will do me any good.
"You are so funny sometimes Tris," Uriah chuckles.
I doubt it.
"You okay there, Stiff?" he says. "You look like you're about to cry. I might go easy on you if you cry."
"What an asshole," Marlene declares. I don't think I've ever heard her say a bad thing about anyone. She is always so positive. No wonder her and Uriah make such a nice couple, they are always cheery.
Over Peter's shoulder, I see Four standing by the door with his arms folded. His mouth is puckered, like he just swallowed something sour. Next to him is Eric, who taps his foot faster than my heartbeat.
"I think Four has feelings for Tris," Shauna teases. I'm not going to respond but I hear the laughter. I look at Tris and she is blushing. I put my arm around her and kiss her head. "You guys are so cute," Shauna laughs.
"Keep reading Lynn," I order. I don't want to have to listen to Shauna embarrass us any more.
One second Peter and I are standing there, staring at each other, and the next Peter's hands are up by his face, his elbows bent. His knees are bent too, like he's ready to spring.
"Come on, Stiff," he says, his eyes glinting. "Just one little tear. Maybe some begging."
The thought of begging Peter for mercy makes me taste bile, and on an impulse, I kick him in the side. Or I would have kicked him in the side, if he hadn't caught my foot and yanked it forward, knocking me off-balance. My back smacks into the floor, and I pull my foot free, scrambling to my feet.
I have to stay on my feet so he can't kick me in the head. That's the only thing I can think about.
"Stop playing with her," snaps Eric. "I don't have all day."
Peter's mischievous look disappears. His arm twitches and pain stabs my jaw and spreads across my face, making my vision go black at the edges and my ears ring. I blink and lurch to the side as the room dips and sways. I don't remember his fist coming at me.
I am too off-balance to do anything but move away from him, as far as the arena will allow. He darts in front of me and kicks me hard in the stomach. His foot forces the air from my lungs and it hurts, hurts so badly I can't breathe, or maybe that's because of the kick, I don't know, I just fall.
On your feet is the only thought in my mind. I push myself up, but Peter is already there. He grabs my hair with one hand and punches me in the nose with the other. This pain is different, less like a stab and more like a crackle, crackling in my brain, spotting my vision with different colors, blue, green, red. I try to shove him off, my hands slapping at his arms, and he punches me again, this time in the ribs. My face is wet. Bloody nose. More red, I guess, but I'm too dizzy to look down.
He shoves me and I fall again, scraping my hands on the ground, blinking, sluggish and slow and hot. I cough and drag myself to my feet. I really should be lying down if the room is spinning this fast. And Peter spins around me; I am the center of a spinning planet, the only thing staying still. Something hits me from the side and I almost fall over again.
On my feet on my feet. I see a solid mass in front of me, a body. I punch as hard as I can, and my fist hits something soft. Peter barely groans, and smacks my ear with the flat of his palm, laughing under his breath. I hear ringing and try to blink some of the black patches out of my eyes; how did something get in my eye?
"Your nothing like Al. That's for sure," Zeke says.
Out of my peripheral vision, I see Four shove the door open and walk out. Apparently this fight isn't interesting enough for him. Or maybe he's going to find out why everything's spinning like a top, and I don't blame him; I want to know the answer too.
"I didn't leave because it wasn't interesting Tris," I quietly tell her.
"Then why did you leave?" Marlene asks.
"I couldn't stand watching her get hurt like that anymore. It was gut wrenching," I say. "I thought I was going to be sick."
I see the sympathy on their faces but they shouldn't be feeling sympathetic towards me they should be looking with admiration at Tris for not giving up. She truly is Dauntless.
My knees give out and the floor is cool against my cheek. Something slams into my side and I scream for the first time, a high screech that belongs to someone else and not me, and it slams into my side again, and I can't see anything at all, not even whatever is right in front of my face, the lights out. Someone shouts, "Enough!" and I think too much and nothing at all.
"Who stopped the fight?" Zeke asks.
"Four did," Eric sneers.
"But you left," Zeke says.
"Yeah well after she screamed he came running back into the room," Eric states. He sounds like he is sickened with the thought that a person may care for another. No wonder he acts the way he does. He is so emotionless.
"Page break thingy," Lynn says and continues to read the book.
When I wake up, I don't feel much, but the inside of my head is fuzzy, like it's packed with cotton balls.
"They must have given you the good drugs," Zeke tells us.
"They have different types?" Christina asks.
"Oh yeah," Zeke says. You can see he is reminiscing about his time on the drugs.
I know that I lost, and the only thing keeping the pain at bay is what is making it difficult to think straight.
"Is her eye already black?" someone asks.
I open one eye—the other stays shut like it's glued that way. Sitting to my right are Will and Al; Christina sits on the bed to my left with an ice pack on her jaw.
"What happened to your face?" I say. My lips feel clumsy and too large.
"Yeah definitely the good drugs," Zeke says as he nods his head in a yes formation repeatedly.
She laughs. "Look who's talking. Should we get you an eye patch?"
"Well, I already know what happened to my face," I say. "I was there. Sort of."
"Did you just make a joke, Tris?" Will says, grinning. "We should get you on painkillers more often if you're going to start cracking jokes. Oh, and to answer your question—I beat her up."
"I can't believe you couldn't beat Will," Al says, shaking his head.
"What? He's good," she says, shrugging. "Plus, I think I've finally learned how to stop losing. I just need to stop people from punching me in the jaw."
"You know, you'd think you would have figured that out already." Will winks at her. "Now I know why you aren't Erudite. Not too bright, are you?"
"That's a bit mean Will," Marlene says. "I mean I thought you had a crush on her."
"I was just teasing Marlene," Will says clearly embarrassed.
"You feeling okay, Tris?" Al says. His eyes are dark brown, almost the same color as Christina's skin. His cheek looks rough, like if he didn't shave it, he would have a thick beard. Hard to believe he's only sixteen.
"He wasn't," Eric states dryly.
"What?" I ask.
"When we did his death certificate, we found out he was eighteen. We talked to Jack over at Candor and he looked into it for us. It seems Al had issues as a teenager so his parents decided to fudge the records and held him back two years. They didn't think he would transfer because of the issues."
"What type of issues?" Tris asks.
"No idea," Eric shrugs. It is like he doesn't care. Just glad to be rid of him. He probably doesn't care. "That's why we think he hid from his parents on Visiting Day. He was scared they would out him or turn him in to leadership and have him transferred back to Candor."
"It would have been safer for all if they had," I say.
"Jack Kang wouldn't have taken him back. He wouldn't elaborate on what had happened in Candor but he said there wasn't a place for Al there. He sounded like he was relieved the kid was dead. But not at all surprised either," Max tells us all.
"Yeah," I say. "Just wish I could stay here forever so I never have to see Peter again."
But I don't know where "here" is. I am in a large, narrow room with a row of beds on either side. Some of the beds have curtains between them. On the right side of the room is a nurse's station. This must be where the Dauntless go when they're sick or hurt. The woman there looks at us over a clipboard. I've never seen a nurse with so many piercings in her ear before. Some Dauntless must volunteer to do jobs that traditionally belong to other factions. After all, it wouldn't make sense for the Dauntless to make the trek to the city hospital every time they get hurt.
"We have some of the best doctors and nurses in the city in Dauntless," Max says with pride in his voice.
The first time I went to the hospital, I was six years old. My mother fell on the sidewalk in front of our house and broke her arm. Hearing her scream made me burst into tears, but Caleb just ran for my father without saying a word. At the hospital, an Amity woman in a yellow shirt with clean fingernails took my mother's blood pressure and set her bone with a smile.
I remember Caleb telling her that it would only take a month to mend, because it was a hairline fracture. I thought he was reassuring her, because that's what selfless people do, but now I wonder if he was repeating something he had studied; if all his Abnegation tendencies were just Erudite traits in disguise.
"Still not over your brother's transfer Tris?" Zeke teases.
"Don't worry about Peter," says Will. "He'll at least get beat up by Edward, who has been studying hand-to-hand combat since we were ten years old. For fun."
"Good," says Christina. She checks her watch. "I think we're missing dinner. Do you want us to stay here, Tris?"
I shake my head. "I'm fine."
Christina and Will get up, but Al waves them ahead. He has a distinct smell—sweet and fresh, like sage and lemongrass. When he tosses and turns at night, I get a whiff of it and I know he's having a nightmare.
"I hate that smell now," Tris says.
"That's understandable," I reply.
"I just wanted to tell you that you missed Eric's announcement. We're going on a field trip tomorrow, to the fence, to learn about Dauntless jobs," he says. "We have to be at the train by eight fifteen."
"Good," I say. "Thanks."
"And don't pay attention to Christina. Your face doesn't look that bad." He smiles a little. "I mean, it looks good. It always looks good. I mean—you look brave. Dauntless."
Zeke starts laughing so much he has fallen off his couch again. "He's even worst at flirting than you are Four."
There is a round of laughter from around the room.
Tris holds me close and whispers, "I like you just the way you are."
In this moment, I don't care what Zeke has to say because I heard the only words I needed to. I smile at Tris and hold her closer. "Thanks," I whisper back.
His eyes skirt mine, and he scratches the back of his head. The silence seems to grow between us. It was a nice thing to say, but he acts like it meant more than just the words. I hope I am wrong. I could not be attracted to Al—I could not be attracted to anyone that fragile. I smile as much as my bruised cheek will allow, hoping that will diffuse the tension.
"That must have been so uncomfortable," Christina laughs. "How do you get all the awkward ones to like you?"
"Hey," I shout.
Tris has turned a bright shade of red and is trying to bury herself under my arm, which unfortunately makes me laugh.
"I should let you rest," he says. He gets up to leave, but before he can go, I grab his wrist.
What? What is she doing? I wonder.
"Al, are you okay?" I say. He stares blankly at me, and I add, "I mean, is it getting any easier?"
"Uh..." He shrugs. "A little."
He pulls his hand free and shoves it in his pocket. The question must have embarrassed him, because I've never seen him so red before. If I spent my nights sobbing into my pillow, I would be a little embarrassed too. At least when I cry, I know how to hide it.
"I lost to Drew. After your fight with Peter." He looks at me. "I took a few hits, fell down, and stayed there. Even though I didn't have to. I figure...I figure that since I beat Will, if I lose all the rest, I won't be ranked last, but I won't have to hurt anyone anymore."
"Is that really what you want?"
He looks down. "I just can't do it. Maybe that means I'm a coward."
"You're not a coward just because you don't want to hurt people," I say, because I know it's the right thing to say, even if I'm not sure I mean it.
For a moment we are both still, looking at each other. Maybe I do mean it. If he is a coward, it isn't because he doesn't enjoy pain. It is because he refuses to act.
"See she gets it," Eric sounds like it is because of him that she understands what it is to be Dauntless. "You could learn a lot from her Christina."
Ouch that has got to hurt Christina's ego.
He gives me a pained look and says, "You think our families will visit us? They say transfer families never come on Visiting Day."
"I don't know," I say. "I don't know if it would be good or bad if they did."
"I think bad." He nods. "Yeah, it's already hard enough." He nods again, as if confirming what he just said, and walks away.
"He should have just stayed in Candor," Uriah says. "Maybe he would have been better in Amity."
"At least they could have kept him pumped full of peace serum," Max says.
"I'd love to try some peace serum," Zeke says almost longingly. "Any chance you could get me some Max?"
"Not a chance in hell Zeke," Max chuckles.
In less than a week, the Abnegation initiates will be able to visit their families for the first time since the Choosing Ceremony. They will go home and sit in their living rooms and interact with their parents for the first time as adults.
I used to look forward to that day. I used to think about what I would say to my mother and father when I was allowed to ask them questions at the dinner table.
"What would you have asked them Tris?" Will asks.
"I can't even remember now. Obviously, it wasn't that important," Tris says. She pauses for a moment and then says, "I suppose I want to know why we can't talk at the dinner table. I don't know really. It doesn't matter anyway, I won't ever be having conversations with them. Unless I see them on Visiting Day but even then it wouldn't be enough time when you are trying to catch up on a full year's worth of news."
In less than a week, the Dauntless-born initiates will find their families on the Pit floor, or in the glass building above the compound, and do whatever it is the Dauntless do when they reunite. Maybe they take turns throwing knives at each other's heads—it wouldn't surprise me.
"How did you know?" Uriah asks.
"What? You two actually throw knives at each other?" Tris asks.
"All the time. We used to do it in the lounge room. We would stand in front of the front door. But one day I was practising by myself and mum opened the front door. The carton of milk did not survive," Zeke is laughing as he tells us.
"It wasn't funny when mum grounded you for a month," Uriah teases his brother.
"Do did you stop throwing knives at each other?" Christina asks.
"As if. No way. We just weren't allowed to do it on the front door. We found a piece of wood and stuck it to the wall in Zeke's room and would practice in there," Uriah says.
And the transfer initiates with forgiving parents will be able to see them again too. I suspect mine will not be among them. Not after my father's cry of outrage at the ceremony. Not after both their children left them.
Maybe if I could have told them I was Divergent, and I was confused about what to choose, they would have understood. Maybe they would have helped me figure out what Divergent is, and what it means, and why it's dangerous. But I didn't trust them with that secret, so I will never know.
"Imagine if you had told them Tris. You might have stayed in Abnegation," Tori says.
"If I had done that I would have been miserable for the rest of my life," Tris sounds sullen as she says this.
"I'm glad you didn't," I say and Tris smiles up at me.
I clench my teeth as the tears come. I am fed up. I am fed up with tears and weakness. But there isn't much I can do to stop them.
Maybe I drift off to sleep, and maybe I don't. Later that night, though, I slip out of the room and go back to the dormitory. The only thing worse than letting Peter put me in the hospital would be letting him put me there overnight.
"Chapter over. I think you did the right thing going back to the dorms Tris. Way more Dauntless than someone who picks on the weak," Lynn says. I feel she is trying to get a dig in at Eric without actually saying it. I hope he doesn't try to get back at her for it. It wouldn't surprise me if he did.
A/N: Just want to say thank you for your reviews and support, it has been amazing.
I also need to thank Lunaschild2016 for her ongoing support, talks and inspiration. If you haven't checked out her stories you should. She has this talent of sucking you into a story, it truly is a gift.