Some ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Veronica Roth.
Stage one is finally over.
And I've never been happier.
Beating people up gets tiring and my knuckles have been a deep shade of purple of the course of training.
Today, the rankings went up. To be honest, I wasn't that excited about seeing them. People are going to cry when they realize they're factionless. And others will embrace that they're safe for another few weeks.
Lily practically had to drag me out of bed, telling me that everyone wants to see me after my little fiasco with Jackson. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wanted to slice him to pieces.
When I arrived at the training room, alone after Lily and I parted ways, I was shocked.
It was empty.
There was not a soul in sight.
Judging by the equipment, no one has touched anything in this room since yesterday. Confusion was the only thing I felt as I walked throughout the room.
The ranking board caught my eye and I headed towards it.
My name was at the top, below it was Ky, then Trevor, Paige, Wes and Haley? But her name looked as though it was covering an already erased name. Actually, all the names seemed like they weren't originally put on the board in the way that they were. Only mine was on clean black.
But Haley? There is no way she made it. She only won one fight. She couldn't hold the gun without shaking and her knife throwing was ridiculous. This wasn't possible. And where's Logan's name? I'm pretty sure he won most of his fights.
"Looks like someone's late to the party,"
I turned around and saw Nash at the doorway. My body warmed when I saw him. I don't know what he does to me. It's like I'm drawn to him. He was wearing what he always does: Black shirt and black jeans. I wonder if he even has any other clothing items.
No, you wonder what he looks like without them.
"I'm terrible with time," I muttered scratching the back of my neck. That last thought threw me off guard as Nash began to walk towards me. "When did this all happen?" I asked, gesturing to the board.
"About ten minutes ago," He stood next to me and looked at the board. We both studied it for a few seconds. I turned back to look at him and saw that he was gazing at me the entire time. I felt color flood to my cheeks.
"How did Haley make it?" I asked. It was a questions that was worth asking.
He exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. For some reason, I desperately wanted to do that too.
God. Cut it out.
"We found 3 bodies in the chasm this morning,"
"Holy shit," was the only thing I was able to make out.
Three bodies? One is normal, but three? It definitely wasn't suicide. It raised the question whether it was on accident. And if it could have been murder.
And murder is never something you look forward to solving.
"The only remaining girl was Haley so we were forced to move her along,"
And then I realized the only person with a valid reason to kill them would be Haley.
Haley. The girl who cried when her best friend died on the first day of initiation. The girl who couldn't speak with without it being a small whisper. The girl who couldn't hurt a fly, killed 3 people.
"Do you think it was Haley?" I asked again.
Nash shoved his hands into his pocket. The sleeve of his t-shirt tugged up a bit, revealing a strip of black permanently etched on his skin.
"Some transfers say she was in the dorms all night," He took another deep breath and turned to face me head on. His bottom lip was caught in the grasp of his teeth as he looked everywhere but at me. "Others say they heard someone leave in the middle of the night,"
"No one can do anything now, can they?" I replied. My heart sank. Someone was going to get away with murder. And my head had a huge target on it. Those who are on the bottom always want to take out those on top. It's human nature.
"Now, I couldn't give a shit about the murders," He took a step towards me. I felt my blood start to pulse through my veins. "They're done. Over with. There's nothing you can do to bring them back," He took another deep breath and dropped his voiced. "But there is something you can do to prevent them in the future,"
I looked down at my feet, unsure what to say. I felt his hand wrap around my chin and force my face up to look at him. His expression was hard but his eyes were soft.
"You need to promise me that you will protect yourself from whatever happens," He released my chin, but held me in place with his eyes. My body felt as though it was going to incinerate.
"You need to be careful," His eyes darted towards the entryway to the training room. Mine followed and I saw a shadow for a split second.
"I can take care of myself," I muttered to him.
He rolled his eyes and stepped back, running his hands down his neck. What he is so worried about is beyond me. A little freak wants to try to kill me, I'll make sure they're the one who ends up at the bottom of the chasm.
Why people are doubting my abilities is also a question I want answered. First, it's my parents. Which that I understand. But, now my trainer? He watches me when I fight all the time. Quite frankly, it seems his hasn't been more interested in any other initiate but me.
Nash looked back at me. My heart started up again.
"Sometimes, people kill for reasons besides the obvious,"
My mouth dropped a bit after what he just said. The words had a cryptic meaning to them. And it left me more confused then when I first arrived into the former empty room.
"C'mon, you should eat," He finally said after a few moments of comfortable silence.
I swear, this boy is going to make my brain turn to shit.
We walked into the dining hall, together.
That last word was the reason we were stared at.
I made sure I stayed a reasonable distance away from Nash. A friendly distance. But it was still enough to get me death glares from 80% of the girls in the room.
Normally, I would accept their jealousy and keep walking. But something inside me reminded myself of what Nash told me.
Sometimes, people kill for reasons besides the obvious.
The words still swirl around in my head. I'm not scared of what he said. I'm just intrigued about what he tried to say between the lines.
I saw Lily, Mel, and Joseph sitting at the opposite end of the room. A part of me wanted to go see them. There expressions looked worried as Lily and Mel waved me over and Joseph gave me an encouraging smile. I was just about to excuse myself from Nash when he laced his fingers in mine.
I felt my throat go dry as I looked down at our intertwined hands. Typically, I would tug my hand away. But now, I simply kept it where it was. And somehow, it felt perfect.
I looked to Lily and her face explained everything. I smiled at her and she gave one her best winks.
When we reached the table, every person had their head down. Trevor, Ky, and Wes all ate in silence. No one looked at either of us. Paige looked like shit. And Haley was nowhere to be found. That troubled me the most.
"Are you guys-"
"Reece and Cole were never going to make it anyway," Ky interrupted me, looking down towards us. He didn't look mean or upset. He just looked, emotionless. Like a zombie.
"So what, Ky," Trevor hissed back. He had bags under his eyes and his hair looked like an absolute mess. "That doesn't mean they deserved to die,"
"Becoming factionless or death," Ky retorted. "Everyone knows that they would rather die than become a part of that-," His face contorted, trying to find the right word. "-disgusting group of people,"
"Not always," I murmured.
Everyone went silent and looked at me. I felt a hand rest on my leg. The act that was normally performed by Jackson was now being done by Nash. And it was a thousand times more pleasant.
Suddenly, Paige stood up and slammed her chair.
"You fucking bitch!" She screamed. She started dashing towards the hall entrance. I looked towards where she was running and my face dropped.
Haley stood, battered and bruised, looking like she just returned from the depths of hell. Her eyes were wide when she saw Paige. But it was too late for her to run. Paige ran towards her and tackled her with all her weight. This wasn't going to end well if I didn't do something. Clearly, no one else was moving. They were all in shock over the event that was about to unfold.
I quickly got up from my seat, leaving my leg cold from where Nash's hand was. I ran towards the both of them, avoiding every person and table I could to get there as fast as I could.
Paige was hammering in Haley's face as she screamed in wrath.
"You killed him! You killed him!"
I wrapped my arms arm her stomach and tugged her off of Haley. Her arms kept flailing as she now hit nothing but the air. Haley's face was covered in red and she was quiet. Almost too quiet.
Paige's body stopped fighting. She shut down. Her whole self collapsed in a place I never thought she would.
In my arms.
"She killed him," She cried softly. "She killed my brother,"
All my hate for Paige evaporated in a matter of a few seconds. She was hurt. Broken. Vulnerable.
Her hands clutched on my arms as she buried herself into my shoulder. She cried and cried as they hauled Haley's lifeless body away.
She sobbed even as I wrapped my arms around her. And there were two words she said over and over as we stood for what seemed like forever.
"He's gone,"