Disclaimer: Hiya! Soooo... I may have been sort-of, kind-of self-hired to get Veronica Roth to sell the rights to Divergent to me, but I failed, because I haven't been able to even MEET her. So I failed in my mission. I still don't own Divergent.

A/N: School's been busy... major-grade Biology project due in the past week, solo contest yesterday (that I was totally unprepared for, I probably failed horribly). Anyways, I'm here now, with another chapter. First things first, though, two more reviews, one by a guest! I'm sure you guys know the drill by now...

Glad to see you're so supportive of my OC, mystery person! I've really been trying to make her personality different from Tris' (since Divergent is my reference), not sure how well I'm doing. And you're welcome, I love writing this as much as you (hopefully) love reading it! And the next update is here, so enjoy. :)

Now, chapter 10! With a great starting point, nightmares.

I'm tied to a chair.

Tobias is kneeling on the floor in front of me, in the position in which we had to take beatings.

Marcus and Jeanine Matthews are standing to his right, grinning like they've just discovered a secret that nobody else knows.

"Are you Divergent?" Jeanine asks me, her voice cold and calculating. No pleasantries, apparently.

I gulp. How could she know? "No."

Jeanine nods at Marcus. Marcus smiles maliciously, and begins pulling off his belt. My eyes widen as I figure out what he intends to do. I start pulling against the ropes that bind my wrists and feet, but they're too strong.

I can't let this happen to Tobias again. No. I would rather take it myself.

"Stop! What are you doing?" I yell at Jeanine and Marcus.

Neither of them reply. Marcus has the belt in his hand now. With one flick of his wrist, the belt flies up, then comes down on Tobias' back.

Tobias doesn't make a sound, but his facial expression suggests that this is more painful than he's letting on.

"No! Stop!" I cry, over and over again. By now, my wrists have started bleeding from rope burn. But I won't stop. Not until I've saved him.

"Only a Divergent can save him." Jeanine says, while staring at me.

"Let me go! I'm Divergent!" I scream at her, straining against the now bloodstained ropes.

Admitting my divergence means death. And I am fully prepared to die if it means sparing my brother from Marcus' torture.

Is that selfless, or is it brave?

At that, Jeanine raises her hand, and Marcus stops. Throughout the entire beating Tobias had stared at the ground, not making a sound. But now, he raises his head and stares at me in horror.

Jeanine walks over to me, slowly, as if she's waiting for me to deny it. But I don't. If I deny it, Tobias will just get beat again.

"Marcus," she says, beckoning to him. He walks over, eyeing me like I'm prey. "I'm going to need a little help with this one."

"Gladly." He replies. Jeanine unties me from the chair, pushes me to the ground, then reties my wrists and ankles.

Marcus raises the belt over his head. I stiffen, and wait for the sound of the belt whistling through the air, the crack when it hits my back, and the unavoidable pain that's going to come with it.

It's for Tobias, I remind myself.

And the first wave of pain comes, followed by another, another, and another.

I refuse to look up from the floor, because I don't know if I could handle the pain and guilt I'm undoubtedly going to see in Tobias' eyes. The emotions that settle there every time someone he cares about gets hurt.

The belt keeps coming down on my back, and it seems to hit harder each time. Black spots are starting to appear on the edge of my vision. I can feel the blood streaming down my back. I'm going to pass out soon, from blood loss. Then, since Jeanine Matthews and Marcus are so kind, I'm going to bleed out on the floor.

My only regret is that Tobias has to see it.

I feel myself slipping into darkness. I glance up at Tobias' face, just for something to hold on to, so that my last memory isn't a cold concrete floor.

But the concrete floor may have been better. Because when I look up, the only thing I see on his face is pure torture.

His expression burns behind my eyelids as I close my eyes and succumb to the darkness.

I bolt out of sleep with a soft yelp. I'm shaking all over, and I can feel the tears in my eyes, threatening to spill. The memory of Tobias' tortured face still haunts me.

As I start to regain control of my senses, I realize that someone is talking to me, and there is a hand stroking my lower leg. But their words are just garble in my ears, and I can't identify whose hand it is. All I can feel is Jeanine's hand, her skin brushing across mine as she tied my hands and feet.

I kick out, and my foot hits something soft. Jeanine does not get to touch me. I hear a soft, manly grunt.

My eyes widen, and I scramble out of my sheets to check if the person is alright. I force my vision to focus, and I see Tobias holding his jaw.

"Oh my god, Tobias, I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you? Did-"

"Relax, Cam." He smiles crookedly at me, still clutching his jaw. "It's not broken, just bruised."

"I'm so, so sorry, it was a nightmare-"

"Cam. Sit down and calm down. I'm fine. And, yeah, I know it was a nightmare. I was walking by and decided to check the dormitory. I saw you whimpering and mumbling and shaking like a leaf, and tried to wake you up. Apparently, you have a pretty strong front kick."

I wrap my arms around his neck, not caring that we're in a dormitory with seven other initiates right now. He takes his hands away from his jaw and clasps them around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Want to talk about it?" He whispers in my ear. I shake my head vehemently, once, twice, three times. I don't know if I could describe to Tobias the feeling I got in my stomach, when I realized Marcus was about to beat him again, or the agony in his eyes when I was about to pass out.

"Alright." Tobias just holds me like that, and the comfort of such a simple gesture makes the moisture in my eyes spill over. I bury my head in Tobias' shoulder, in an equal effort to stop the tears and hide them from him, but they just keep coming.

I'm not sure what I'm crying over; my past, my divergence, my dream? All I know is that I can't seem to make the tears stop. They trickle down my cheeks and onto Tobias' shirt.

I sit there, in Tobias' embrace, crying, for I-don't-know-how-long. When the tears finally stop, I manage to mumble, "I'm sorry. I'm a mess."

Tobias takes one hand, puts two fingers under my chin, and tilts my head upwards, so I have to look at him.

"Don't be. How often do you have nightmares?" He asks, frowning. But I know that that frown isn't directed at me.

"Almost every night."

His frown grows deeper. "And are they all about…" Tobias trails off. He doesn't even have to finish the sentence. I just nod, once, and drop my head back into Tobias' shoulder. His hand that was under my chin drops, and he wraps it around my waist again, squeezing slightly.

We sit in silence for a few seconds, until I break it. "Do you still get nightmares?" I ask him softly.

"Yes." He replies, just as softly. "It's gotten a bit better since you arrived, though."

I look up at him. "Why?"

"Because they were mostly about what he was doing to you." He smiles at me, a sad smile. "But you're here now. I don't have to imagine what he's doing to hurt you anymore."

I wince at his words. I don't know how I would manage thinking about what Marcus was doing to Tobias while I was safely away for an entire year.

"You didn't have to think about it." I tell him. My voice almost sounds weak, and I hate it.

"I didn't want to. But I couldn't help myself." He sighs, his face sinking, and, suddenly, he looks years older than he is. "You don't know how much I wish I was there to protect you."

I suddenly feel guilty. He spent so much time worrying about me, and I didn't really worry about him. All I felt for him was relief; relief that he was out of Marcus' clutches for good. Until the day of my aptitude test, it hadn't even crossed my mind that Tobias could have failed Dauntless initiation. He's always seemed too brave for that to be a possibility. I stare at my toes, ashamed.

"Camilla." At my full first name, I look up sharply. Tobias never calls me Camilla, unless he's about to say something important. "Don't let him control you. Those may sound like rich words coming from me, but believe me, I know. Marcus haunts me. He has haunted me ever since I got away from him, and he probably will still haunt me ten years in the future. But he doesn't decide my future."

I nod, still looking into Tobias' comforting deep blue eyes. I can feel my eyelids drooping.

Apparently, Tobias notices too. "Sleep." he says, gently untangling my arms from around his neck. I lean back and adjust so my head is on the pillow. Tobias pulls the covers over me again. Then, he rises to his feet.

"Thank you, Toby." My voice is thick with tiredness.

"Anytime, Cam. Anytime." With one last smile, he turns to go.

And that expression - his soft smile that he reserves only for me - is a much more pleasant image to have behind my eyelids as I drift off.

As I walk into the training room, my eyes immediately find the chalkboard that has the pairings on it. When I see who I'm paired with, I almost stumble over my own feet.

I'm fighting Julia.

I turn my head slightly so I can see Julia's reaction. She walks in, a few steps behind me, glances at the board, and instantly pales.

"Oh no." she mutters under her breath, and she turns to look at me, only to find my eyes already on her. She walks over to me quickly. I can't bring myself to do much more than just look at her.

Julia is a few inches taller than me, but that difference seems to multiply before my eyes as she stands beside me.

Julia. The brilliant and brave and quiet girl. The studiously loyal defender of those close to her. The excellent fighter. My mealtime companion. My friend.

"Really?" I hear Lavender's voice ring out from behind me. "They're going to make you fight each other? Friend versus friend?"

I spin around to see Lavender and Ethan standing behind us, slightly to the right. Lavender looks upset, and Ethan is frowning at the board.

"Apparently." I don't know how I get myself to speak, but the word just comes out.

"It doesn't matter that you two are friends." A new voice rings out. I spin again, only to see Eric, standing a few feet away from our little group. "There may be situations in the future in which you have to fight your friends. Hell, you may even have to fight your family."

Why do I feel like he's looking at me specifically when he says that?

"You cannot let your personal life get in the way of following orders from your superiors. Faction before blood. It would do you four good to remember that."

With that, Eric turns on his heel and stalks over to the chalkboard, where Tobias is standing, staring at us, his eyebrows furrowed. I give him a small nod before turning back to my friends.

"I'm surprised he didn't yell at us." Ethan finally comments, breaking the awkward silence that has fallen over our group.

"Yeah." Lavender replies quietly.

"Hey, Lavender, are you feeling okay? You know, after your fight yesterday?" Julia asks, her face morphing into one of concern.

Lavender waves her off. "I'm fine. Fit as a fiddle. And look-" She gestures at the chalkboard. "I'm up against Sadie today. No offense to her, but she should be easier to fight than Zayden."

Julia just nods, before turning back to me. "So…" she trails off, clearly unsure of what to say to make this situation any better.

"Don't go easy on me."

Julia looks surprised at what I just said. "Why?"

"You beat Dante in less than two minutes. If you go easy on me, everyone will know, and your rank will be lowered. I can't do that to you."

Julia deserves the number one spot, and I won't allow myself to take that away from her just to spare myself the beating I'm going to get today. I'm used to getting beatings. I can take it.

"Cammi, I don't care about my rank. I don't want to hurt you." Julia says, her eyes pleading with me.

"Just do it, Julia. It's nothing I can't handle."

Julia gives me a strange look before nodding. She looks torn. I hate that she has to make this decision, her friend or her rank, but there's not much I can do about it, at least not right now.

Maybe if I became a leader, I could change initiation back so it isn't so cruel. But I would obviously face some opposition from Eric. And, if I were a leader, I would have to face Marcus. Just the thought makes me shudder.

I watch as Zayden and Dante throw punches at one another. Another friend versus friend match. Seems to be a pattern with Eric.

Their fight is over too soon, with Dante out on the floor in just a few minutes. As Zayden picks up his friend and starts towards the infirmary, the dreaded words come out of Eric's mouth. "Julia, Cammi, in the ring."

I drag my feet as I walk into the ring. Julia is even slower. I take my place on the mat, and raise my fists up to my face. Julia does the same.

My heart is beating in double time, and I can feel beads of sweat on my forehead. I don't want to hurt my friend. But if I don't try, I'll be ranked last, and I can't let that happen. I can't fail Dauntless initiation, and make Tobias come to Factionless with me. I can't.

I feel like my mind has gone blank. I glance at Tobias and Eric. Tobias' arms are folded, and his lips are pursed. He doesn't like this anymore than I do. Eric, on the other hand, is watching closely, with a slight, maniacal grin on his face. I gulp.

I snap my gaze back to Julia as soon as I realize I'm looking at them. I need to focus. I need to clear my mind, and I need to try and beat Julia.

Julia is not my friend right now. She is not the girl who ate lunch with us for the first time two days ago. She is not the girl who confided in me that she didn't like how her aunt was running Erudite. Right now, she is my opponent in the ring. I have to beat her.

I take a few seconds to observe Julia as we stand there, watching each other. To win a fight, we need to take advantage of our opponent's weaknesses. But Julia is the best fighter in the room. She's been doing this for three years. She doesn't have many weaknesses. Her size is perfect; her punches, due to her height, will be strong, but she's small enough to be quick. Her hands are placed well, so she can defend her head and torso at the same time. Her stance, amazing. And with her analytical Erudite eye, Julia can probably pick out every one of my weaknesses. The only thing that could possibly work to my advantage is Julia's hesitation to hurt me, and I warned her not to hold back.

Well, I guess I'll have to wing it.

We start shuffling around the ring, eyeing each other warily. When Julia doesn't make the first move, I do, stepping forward to punch her in the jaw.

Julia moves to block it. That would have been bad for me, except my aim wasn't her jaw.

Apparently, you have a pretty strong front kick. My brother's words ring in my ears. Whether or not he meant to, he gave me fighting advice.

As she moves her left hand to block, leaving her abdomen virtually undefended, I lift my foot and kick her in the stomach.

I wince at the sensation of blocking Julia's hard punch, but it pays off. The diversion works. She hunches over slightly, and swings her right arm, trying to land a return hit. I dart backwards, out of her range, before her fist makes contact.

I can't celebrate my small victory for long, because Julia has recovered all too soon. We begin the process again, eyeing each other warily.

After a moment or two of this, Julia moves, her fist moving in for an uppercut at my stomach. I block that successfully, and aim a kick to her ribs. But Julia, somehow, anticipates it, and grabs my foot, yanking me forward. I fall on my back, and my head hits the ground hard.

All the air is forced from my lungs at the impact. I blink a few times, trying to make my weird vision go away. My first coherent thought is Get up. On the ground, I'm vulnerable. Before I can put it into action, though, Julia is on top of me, pinning my arms down. Before she can do the same with my legs, though, I move to knee her in the stomach, trying desperately to push away the pain. This is nothing compared to what I'm used to. Suck it up.

She groans, and loosens her hold slightly. It's then that I decide to push her off me and get to my feet. Julia gets up almost as quick as me, a hand on her stomach.

The lights in the room seem too bright, and I feel a little like I'm about to fall down. And I wouldn't have minded if I did. But I force the thought of the chalkboard with our names next to each other into my mind. I force myself to think about Julia, who is standing in front of me, recovered once again, both arms up.

I realize that I'm instinctively in a fighting stance, with my fists up and knees bent, my weight on the soles of my feet. As I'm staring at Julia, trying to come up with another strategy, I somehow fail to notice her fist, that's coming towards my jaw, until it's too late.

I move to block, but miss. The impact with my jaw sends a searing sensation throughout my jaw, and, eventually, my whole face. I feel like the floor is dancing under me, and just want to lie down. But I can't.

Julia sends another punch flying at my face, but, with a stroke of luck, I manage to grab her fist, twist, and lift my foot to go for her knees. But Julia sees my weakness. A flash of black - her legs - sweeps toward me, and suddenly, my back slams into the ground again.

Get up. Get up, Camilla. I make an effort to lift myself, but I'm once again met by the face of Julia. And she's repositioned herself, so I can't pull the knee-in-the-stomach maneuver again.

I look into Julia's eyes. I'm stuck. And even if I wasn't, I would probably be too dazed to keep fighting her. I don't want to give up, but I know if I keep going, we'll both end up more bruised and bloody than we are now, and I don't want that for Julia.

Julia's face is covered with sweat, but pretty much unharmed. Her eyes are full of concern. She watches me with a conflicted face. With what strength I have left, I give her a small nod and a ghost of a smile.

She smiles back, but her smile is full of sadness. She raises her fist, slowly, and brings it down on my forehead. I can feel the waves of pain rippling throughout my body, like water when you drop a stone in it. My vision clouds a little.

I know that was supposed to be a knockout punch. But I didn't get knocked out. Through the fog that seems to have appeared in the training room, I can see the girl on top of me glance to the side.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" A faint voice says. I feel like I recognize it, but I don't know from where. All I can comprehend is the searing pain that seems to be taking over my entire being.

Something slams into my forehead again, and then, the world dissolves into nothing.

Someone is saying something. They're trying to say something, but all I can make out are muffled voices.

Push through it, Cammi.

I make a desperate attempt to push the withering pain in my forehead aside, and I can finally make out what they're saying.

"Cammi."

I groan at the sound of my name, and crack my eyes open. Above me stand three blurry figures.

I blink, once, twice, three times, and see my friends standing above me with worried expressions.

Instantly, memories start to come back to me. I lost my fight to Julia. Lavender and Ethan were supposed to fight after me. I blink again, trying to see if there are any injuries on their faces.

Julia looks fine. Lavender has a bruise on her jaw, but that's it. Ethan looks like he just got out of bed. His hair is mussed, and his nose is covered with medical tape.

"Oh, good, she's waking up."

"Are you all okay? Where am I?" I mutter, my voice raspy.

Lavender laughs. "You're in the infirmary. And you're worried about us? Cammi, you were out for two hours."

The first thought in my mind is two hours isn't too bad. After all, I've gotten beatings that left me passed out for up to an entire day. Then again, Julia isn't Marcus, not even close. But I can't say that aloud, they wouldn't understand. So, I just shrug and respond, "Yeah, I'm worried about you. How did your fights go?"

"Lav's fight with Sadie went well. She won." Ethan beams at Lavender, and her cheeks color slightly.

"Lav?" I tease, wiggling my eyebrows at the two of them. "Is there something you have to tell us?"

"No!" They both cry out. By now, their cheeks are as red as tomatoes, especially Ethan's.

"It's just a nickname. You two are welcome to call me that if you like." Lavender manages to get out, her blush still furious.

"We're just teasing. Lav is a wonderful nickname." Julia says.

"Yeah." Lavender and Ethan stare at each other.

Julia leans down so her lips are beside my ear. "They totally like each other."

I nod, grinning at Julia, who returns it.

"Anyways, while we give them their moment." Julia rolls her eyes playfully. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I lie. I don't want to make Julia feel guilty. But, unfortunately, right as I say it, a sharp pain goes through my head. I manage to hold in a groan, but I must wince, because Julia's expression changes to one of concern.

"I know you're not really, but I'll let it go if you insist." I smile at her. This is one thing I love about Julia. She understands that if I'm not mentioning it, I don't want to talk about it. She doesn't return my smile.

"I'm sorry I had to beat you up." She says, her voice down. Instantly, I reach up my hand to rest it on her shoulder.

"You did what you had to do, Julia. It's fine."

Julia moves her shoulder so my hand falls off. She suddenly looks mad. "No, it's not fine. Everyone tells me it is, you, Ethan, Lavender, Four. But it isn't!"

I'm shocked at her sudden outburst. Julia, despite being from Erudite, has mostly been cheery and optimistic. I've never seen the side of her that I'm seeing now.

Julia must notice my mouth, which is hanging open slightly in surprise, and she sighs, her shoulders slumping. "Sorry. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself. I could have punched softer, maybe then you wouldn't have ended up unconscious for two-"

"Julia." I place my finger to her lips, silencing her. "It might not be fine, but I forgive you. Nobody holds this against you."

She smiles softly. "Thanks, Cammi."

Lavender and Ethan seem to have finally broken their staring contest, because suddenly, I feel the mattress beside my head sinking down under a new weight. I turn my head slightly to see that the new weight is Lavender.

I turn my head again, so I can address Ethan. "How did your fight go, Ethan?"

He winces at the reminder. "Well, if the tape on my nose is any judge, not well. Aiden beat me, but it was pretty close."

"Hey, that's great! Next time, you'll beat him." I say, trying to keep my voice light and cheery.

"Definitely. If you'd like, I can give each of you fighting tips. You know, what you could improve on." Julia adds.

"Why, thank you, Miss First Ranked." Lavender teases. This time, it's Julia's turn to blush.

"It's just an offer, I mean-"

"Julia. Thank you, we're all grateful that you're willing to help us." I say, nudging Lavender's thigh.

"Yeah. That's very nice of you, Julia." Lavender supplies.

"I'll take you up on that." Ethan says, grinning widely.

Julia glances at her watch, then stands up. "It's dinnertime, guys." Julia glances at me, a little guilt still on her face. "Should we stay with you, Cammi?"

I shake my head. "No. In fact," I push myself up, and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm coming with you."

"Cammi!" Lavender cries, getting up abruptly. "Are you sure?"

I laugh. "Of course I'm sure. I'm perfectly fine. I'm coming to dinner." The tone of my voice leaves no room for argument, and my friends seem to understand that.

"I'll get the nurse and ask her to bring the discharge papers. You know, so our trio of crazy girls can get out of here." Ethan grins maliciously.

"Hey!" The three of us yell. The expression on Julia's face is downright murderous. And I'm surprised Ethan is surviving the glare I'm sending him.

Ethan puts up his hands in defense. "I'm just going to leave…" He backs up, slowly, until he is closer to the nurse's desk than he is us.

Lavender, Julia, and I look at each other. We just stare for a minute, before we burst out into a fit of giggles.

When they finally die down, I put my hands on the mattress and push myself onto my feet. Lavender immediately comes to my side, in case I fall. I withhold an eye roll.

I take the opportunity to look around the room, which I hadn't really paid attention to until now. It's a sterile, all-white room with beds lining the two long walls, some with curtains surrounding them. The nurse's desk, where Ethan is currently standing, is at the far end of the room. On either side of the desk are two openings. Hallways, presumably leading to more private and specialized rooms.

"We have a field trip to the fence tomorrow, by the way, Cammi." Julia appears at my side. "We're going to learn about Dauntless jobs."

"Sounds fun." I make my tone intentionally sarcastic.

Julia chuckles. "Yeah, very. Let's get you to dinner."

A/N: And that's a wrap!

Quick guessing game for you all, if you guess right, I'll give you a cookie: How do you think Cammi will do in Stage 1 (out of 8 people)? And *wiggles eyebrows* who do you think Cammi's love interest in this story will be?

Before I go, quick shoutout to the Ukrainians, who are fighting like hell against the Russian invasion! Ukraine has been occupied for most of their history, and, now they're fighting off another occupation. Undoubtedly, Ukraine is one of the most resilient countries in the world. All of them have earned my utmost respect. Stand strong, Ukraine!

Oh, and those guessing questions? I guess you'll have to find out the answers, next time... :)