Hello. sorry for the absence. as you might know, i brke my laptop and I'm still working on getting it fixed. I didn't realise that i could upload new chapters on the mobile app now, last time I checked, you couldn't. so, now that I've figured this out, I'm gonna upload them this way. Anyways, I'll let you get back to the story. i hope you enjoy reading it!!!!

We get back at around quarter to two and go our separate ways. Someone sees us just before we separate and approaches me.

"Keep on going and you'll be in her pants in no time." He says to me. I roll my eyes at him as I walk past, heading back to my room. That night, I didn't sleep well again. In fact, I didn't sleep at all. The feeling of something being terribly wrong, of something missing, haunted me every time I closed my eyes. Somewhere at, what I think is midnight, I decided to ask Cato what he actually did to me when I was in that room.

"Hey, Cato?" I call to him in the canteen, the next day.

"Yes?" He asks, still a bit sleepy.

"I was wondering. Remember when I was in the room, getting that... thing done?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"What exactly did you do?"

"Well, I did something to make you more combat efficient."

"Which was?"

"I implanted a chip in your head that, when activated, blocks out most emotions apart from anger and fear."

"Sorry, what?"

"It's fine. Look, you've been through a lot, I understand. I know what you went through in the hive and, to be honest, I'm just trying to help you." I don't believe him. He puts his hands on my shoulder. "Look. Think of this as a step towards a normal life. I mean, that's what you want, isn't it?"

"I guess." I reply, still a bit skeptical.

"You'll be fine." This eliminates my worries, for some reason. I nod. "There ya go. Now, get something to eat. You have a long day ahead of you."

"What am I gonna be doin'?"

"Think of it as an initiation."

"Okay," I say before walking away.

Later, someone finds me and brings me to an area of the complex that I've never seen before. 'I guess this is what he meant by initiation,' I think.

"So, you're gonna be pitted against some animals first, which won't be judged. And then people, which will," says the person who guided me here.

"Judged?"

"Coliseum rules. Thumbs up, you live, thumbs down, you die. Understand?" I nod. "Good. Go get 'em tiger," he says before suddenly pushing me into the arena. There's an assortment of weapons on the floor in front of me. Swords, maces, clubs, knives and hammers. I choose the knives, picking them up and slotting them into my belt. The first few rounds were easy since the first thing the animals tried to do is bite my arm off, leaving their main line of defence, and half their face, gone. Although, the bear when they pit me against a bear, I get beaten around a lot. Next, are people. The first two are easy, easier than the animals, in fact. Since all they did was run straight at me and got stabbed in the face. Then, they start to get coordinated. The next two I pretty much fly through. Then the third, and last, it seems. He's big, at least twice my size and is holding a massive sword. He slowly makes his way to me, clearly planning his attack. He swings at me, which I dodge. I get a closer look to see that most of his body was armoured.

'He must be pretty fucking strong,' I think to myself. The only weakness I see in that short time is his neck. For some reason, people never protect their neck. I try to get behind him, but it just isn't happening. Getting an idea, I back up before running straight at him. This catches him off guard for a moment until he snaps out of it and swings his sword downwards. I slide in between his legs and get back up onto my feet. I climb up into his back and start to stab his neck repeatedly. He lands on the floor and it's clear that I've killed him, breaking his neck, but I keep going. I take a strange enjoyment out of this and start to laugh a small bit. I stop after a while to realise that with all the stabbing, I've covered myself in his blood.

"You did well," I hear Cato call from a stand. Before then, I didn't notice he was there.

"Can I go now?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"One last opponent. Someone from your past." Thinking it's one of my family, my life drains from me.

'He wouldn't be that cruel, would he?' I think to myself. I see the portcullis open and start to smile crazily. "Perfect." I mumble.

'James?' I hear in my head. Dauntless starts to walk over to me, slowly gaining speed until she's on all fours. She suddenly turns left when my boot connects with her face.

"Hiya sweetie. Ya missed me?" I say, approaching her. She tries to get up until I kick her again.

"James? What are you doing?'

"Sorry but your James isn't home right now." I can't stop smiling as I kick her again, and again.

"He's been replaced by me."

'What have they done to you?'

"They've... enlightened me. I've just realised that it's not a chip in my head. Cato just put something else up here, something twisted. The one you're talking to, and frankly, I like it."

'You're sick.'

"Probably." I go to kick her again. She grabs my leg and pulls me off my feet before I can.

'I'm not gonna kill you, but I'm not gonna let you hurt me either,' She, claws raised.

"Then you're only delaying the inevitable." We trade punches for a good five minutes before I tackle her to the ground and start to pummel her face.

"And ya know what the best part is?" I stop to let her speak, which she doesn't. "ANSWER ME!" I shout.

'What?' She says, clearly in pain, physical and emotional. In fact, I can feel it, just like she did before she ruined my life. I lean in close.

"He's still up here, your James. Struggling and struggling. I've felt it since the operation. Recently though, he stopped. I'm pretty sure he's lost his fight." I start to feel her sadness radiating from her. Her own boyfriend, the one SHE lied to. This is her fault. That must make it hurt even more. She looks at me with a horrified, bloody, broken face.

'James,' Shesays, starting to cry. 'Please stop.'

I start to smile, which turns into a snigger, then a laugh "Y-You think I'm gonna stop? After what you did to me? No. No, I'm gonna kill you." She just flops her head to the floor, no hope left in her, I lay her on her back and pin her hands down. It must be uncomfortable with her spines pushing against the floor and, to be honest, the more uncomfortable the better. I scooch up a bit and place my knee over her neck, choking her. It takes a while but she starts to lose consciousness.. "G'night," I giggle. I feel it, she's gone. I killed her. And it felt good. I get up and leave.

I go back to my room and sleep like a log that night.