My opponent is Mark. I squint at the chalkboard, recognizing no other name except Riley. She's up against a guy named Cole; I don't think she'll win.
It's the first day of the fights. We spent the morning at the rooftop, the handguns swapped for rifles. I wasn't particularly good at firearms, but at least I wasn't the worst. Yesterday was uneventful, Eric didn't appear during training at all; not that it matters of course. Four showed us more fighting techniques on the bags and on each other; I continued on defensive. I couldn't care less for what the instructor thought. Last night, I still went back to the training room; not just to forget, but also as an act of stubbornness. No one was going to stop me from doing what I want, especially not Eric.
So here we are, huddled together as we find our opponents. My match is the last, while Riley's the second. Eric makes an appearance for the fights.
He probably enjoys watching us get our asses handed to us.
He's as brooding as he always is: chest puffed and arms crossed, the block tattoos on his neck proudly on display. He calls up the first pair, the two Erudite girls. They nervously move to the center of the ring, a round beam of fluorescent light illuminating their forms. The girl I've been paired with during sparring sessions now has red velvet hair to match her earrings. It provides a good contrast to her pale complexion. She pulls her hair into a bun and shakes out her arms. Smart. Her opponent is a bronze-skin girl with curly hair, a few inches taller than me. The girl seems slightly anxious on having to fight her friend, rubbing her arms and scratching her neck. I wonder if Red would take advantage of her hesitation. The mat below them doesn't look as soft as I hope, so it'll probably hurt to take a fall.
"Some ground rules." Eric says, his voice demanding the attention of everyone. "Other than don't kill each other, the match stops when one of you can't continue." Four's silent beside him, distain is clear on his face as he reads blank papers. That's something I can relate to.
None of the initiates question him, but Riley turns into her iconic green. "Go." The match starts. I move to stand next to Riley, smiling comfortingly as if it'll ease her worry. The initiates watch the first fight unfold, which consists of the girls circling each other. I observe the instructors instead, knowing that their reactions were far more riveting that what the girls had to offer. Eric snaps at them at one point, telling them that if they wanted to walk in circles, they should've gone to a merry-go-round. I force my fist into my mouth to keep from laughing. The girls blush in embarrassment.
The fight ends with Red as the victor. Ruby, her name is. I should've guessed it the moment I saw her earrings. Ruby drags the unconscious girl out of the mat with Four, her nose dripping with blood. Disgusting.
"Riley and Cole." Eric announces. I pat the pale girl's back, telling her to give her best. She barely nods, stumbling over to the mat. Cole's the bulky Erudite. He sneers at her, making her cower. My face scrunches to a scowl. The moment Eric gives the signal, Cole doesn't delay to throw a fist to Riley's face. The girl squeaks as she registers his incoming punch, only managing to dodge it because she fell on her ass. Riley crawls away as Cole lunges for her. I'm proud that she successfully dodges two hits, even though unintentional. When she gets back on her feet, the both of them start playing a game of cat and mouse. Though, Riley is a horrible mouse. Within a minute she gets tripped, landing heavily onto the mat and yelping. Cole immediately takes advantage of the situation, sending a kick to her ribs. Riley, understandably, screams.
I should bring along my earplugs during fights too.
Cole doesn't stop, he continues to send blows to her ribs and stomach. A flash of hot anger flares through me and my eyes narrow.
He's definitely doing this on purpose.
Cole of all people knows the methods to knock a person out, yet he continues to prolong the pain.
Eventually, Riley passes out, indicated by the halted screams. I should go help the battered girl off the mat, but I can't. All I see is red. Blood rushes to my head while Four hauls the girl to the side, ordering Ruby to bring her to the infirmary. Riley's right eye is swelling, a large blue-black spot on her cheek from the final kick. Every muscle in me tenses as Cole moves off the mat with a bounce to his step. His companions are patting him on the back in congratulations. Eric turns to look at me and I can't stop myself from glaring back at him.
This is his fault. If it weren't for his stupid rules, Riley would be right here standing, maybe only sporting a bruise here and there.
The next fight takes slightly longer, since the boys were evenly matched. Ruby returns without Riley; I'm glad she's getting the help she needs.
As the boys' fight edges towards the end, I start taking deep breaths. I need a clear mind if I'm going to fight. I do my best to ignore the blood that's spilled all over the mats. Everything's too brutal. By the time one of them gets knocked out, I'm slightly calmer. Cole drags the more injured guy off the mats and to the infirmary – orders from Eric. As much as I am still pissed at the sadistic leader, I'm grateful that he got that wretch out of my sight.
"Apple-picker and Mark." I climb onto the mat, grimacing at all the blood around me. Mark has a smirk on his face. Does he actually think that he can beat me?I cock my head and quirk an eyebrow. I decide that I don't like him. "Go."
Mark, much like Cole, immediately throws a punch to my face. I easily side-step away from him, making him stumble forward from the lack of contact. There wasn't much of an audience, just the instructors, Ruby, and the guy who just won. Good. Mark continues to throw punches and horribly-aimed kicks, all of which I duck or side-step easily. His actions are far worse than when I trained the dogs when they were puppies. At least they were slightly faster and less stupid-looking. Mark leaves his entire body unguarded, too frustrated at his futile efforts to see that he's leaving himself open. I don't seize the opportunity; I need to burn energy anyways. At one point I manage to sneak a glance at the instructors, Eric is impatient while Four seems worried.
"Fucking bitch." Mark curses out, clearly exhausted. I blink a few times before my eyes harden.
After all that I've...
My arm pulls back automatically and I aim a clenched fist towards his face, irritated with his pathetic hits and attitude. Perhaps taking out my anger on him isn't so bad, he is clearly no better than Cole.
One punch, and I'll break his nose.
My lips quirk at the thought. I send it forward, my fist coming at such a speed that Mark doesn't have time to block or dodge.
He squeezes his eyes shut, accepting his fate. It's that moment of weakness that stops me in my tracks. Maybe it was the fact that he looks like Riley moments ago: hopeless and afraid. My fist stops short millimeters from his nose.
I am not Cole.
My hand falls away quickly as my breathing starts to pick up. I am not Cole; I am not Cole. Mark opens his eyes in confusion, realizing that the impact didn't come. I stumble away from him, eyes blinking. He yells out in fury as he launches to me, another amateur punch coming towards me. Instead of moving out of the way, I merely twist myself and grab his arm, yanking him forward. He loses balance, the way he throws his weight around becoming his downfall. My free hand reaches out and chops his neck, right at the carotid sinus. My opponent's eyes instantly roll back and I catch him before he slams into the mat. The whole ordeal lasted less than three seconds, though it felt like minutes.
With Mark passed out on the ground, panic suddenly fills me. I stagger off the mat, knees going weak. The sound of my increasing heartbeat pounds into my ears. I was so close to losing control. Strong arms catch me right before my legs give out.
Four.He's saying something to me, but no words enter my ears, only the sound of blood rushing in my ears. I almost lost control and I knew that if I had, Mark would be in a far worse state than Riley. I sag against Four as he drags me to the ground, my mind unable to form any thoughts other than fear. I'm lying on my back, yet my head still spins. I clench and unclench my hands, both of them clammy and too icky for my liking. Four's blurry face enters field of vision, his mouth still moving with no sound coming out. My lungs struggle to suck in air – as if someone placed me in a vacuum. I almost lost it.
Eric's the next one to enter my vision, he shoves Four off by his shoulders, barking off what I assume are orders by the way his face turns a very noticeable shade of red. He turns back and grips my face in his large hands, lightly slapping at the sides.
"Tree-hugger! Tree-hugger!" I blink a few times as I focus on the man. "Hey! Hey! Keep your eyes on me. Get back here." The slate blue in his eyes are barely noticeable, his pupils completely blown out. His eyes are wide and wild, darting all around my face. He continues to call me 'tree-hugger', his voice getting more rushed and alarmed as each second passes where I don't response. Panic is an odd emotion on him, I don't know if I like it. Maybe I do, Eric's kind of cute when he isn't glaring. The person of subject shakes my shoulders, which seems to do the trick as I knock out of my daze. I take a deep breath and jolt up, air rushing into my lungs again. "For fuck's sake, don't you ever do that again." I feel around my neck, the pressing force dissipating already. I cradle my head in my hands as I moan, a headache already forming. Heck.
After taking a few more deep breaths, I register that I'm still in the training room. My head shoots up to scan the place, causing a sharp pain. The training room is deserted. When did everyone leave? I turn Eric and find him kneeling beside me, still looking slightly flustered. "Thanks." I grunt. I feel gross and dirty from being drenched in my tank top of sweat. Definitely in need a shower.
"I think I get why other flower-sniffers don't transfer to Dauntless, are they all like you?" Eric says exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. The mess he made only makes him look hotter.
"Like what?" His question can be interpreted in a few ways.
"Freaking out after hurting someone." He says flatly, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
My eyebrows furrow. After hurting someone? What's he going on about? I take a moment to recall the events that led up to this, rubbing my temples as my head still pounds.
I suppose from their perspective, it did seem like I had a panic attack after knocking Mark out. "I wasn't freaking out over knocking Mark out." I say quietly. "He deserved it." I add a bit too harshly.
"Then?" He tilts his head to one side, completely perplexed.
"I was panicking because I almost lost control." I don't know why I tell him that. The revelation probably seems weak in his eyes, since he never stopped any of the fights. "I didn't want to be like Cole."
Now it's Eric's turn to frown. He opens his mouth, contemplating on saying something, but ultimately decides against it. "I'm glad you didn't." He finally settles, referring to the part where I almost lost it. His blue eyes still hold confusion but he, thankfully, doesn't speak his mind. I don't expect him to understand. "Just, try not to freak out after every fight." He pauses, swallowing like he's never done this before - whatever this is. "You still have a couple more to go."
I scoff and roll my eyes childishly.
A/N
Another short chapter, but I like this scene.
So FFN is banned in my country, meaning that I can't access the website, only through app. Which means that I can't reply to your reviews directly since the link takes me to the website only.
Hence, I'll do it here.
Onesinglebird: Anna's character is kinda based off my experiences in terms of friendship. (not really in terms of character) so I try to make it realistic. I don't want to say much about Eric yet. I try to make him realistic too, meaning that his actions doesn't necessarily have a real explanation. I think I confused you more, oops?
FlyingKiwi: *nervous chuckle* this chapter kinda shows how op Anna is haha. *scratches head* Anna is pretty op honestly, but her morals are what drives her actions. She's as op as what resources amity could provide for her, which is why she sucks at guns. But yeah, I couldn't, make her good at everything. In terms on her internal conflict, I sometimes get annoyed cause she goes around in circles (you'll understand in the later chapters) but, I like that a character analyses her thoughts instead of just going with mainly feelings.
The site couldn't load my story or allow me to update. I flipped out hahaha. And then it said that the user (me) was not found.