Warning: Violence due to fights and some language.
Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I do not own the Divergent books, movies, or anything here that is recognizable from the original story.
This morning at breakfast, Tris was nowhere to be found. Christina was concerned, but I assured her that she was probably fine. To be honest, I wasn't paying too much attention to the fact that Tris wasn't there, I was more concerned with today's fights. I hope I do well. This is the last day to prove that we're Dauntless, at least as far as physical training is concerned. I also can't stop thinking about what happened yesterday with Matt, and most of all, with Eric. I can't believe I even let myself start to believe that Eric could be anything more than a jerk.
Tris enters the training room awhile after we do. She walks over to us as we wait to see who we will be fighting today. She seems incredibly tense, with eyes immediately darting over to the board.
"Hey, where were you this morning?" Christina asks her.
"I got held up."
"With what?" I ask, unable to hide my curiosity.
"Nothing," she says, almost too quickly. I'm starting to think that Christina was right to be concerned. Tris just doesn't seem like herself today.
"You okay, Tris? You look a little…," Al begins.
"A little what?"
"On edge," Al finishes.
I see that her eyes are now glued to the board and notice that the pairings have appeared. I will be fighting Matt. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. True, he's been pissing me off to no end lately, but I don't know if I really want to beat him up. He's also a pretty good fighter and I can't help the rising fear that he would beat me, very willingly so especially since yesterday. We are the second to last fight, which gives me some time to figure out my strategy. He's strong, but he's also slower than me, so, if I can be quick and get some good shots to his face, I might have a chance.
Tris is paired with Molly, which she appears to be pleased with. Maybe that's why she's acting off today. Molly must have said something stupid again. And Al is paired with Christina. He'll probably give up and let himself lose very quickly, like he's been doing all week. I'm very worried for him. He probably won't pass, but I have enough sense not to say it out loud.
"Go easy on me, okay?" Al asks Christina.
"I make no promises," she replies.
Once Eric walks in, the first pair – Will and Myra – enter the arena. For a while, the shuffle back and forth, jerking their arms forward before pulling them back and trying to kick the other, but missing. I glance over across the room. Four leans up against the wall, yawning, and Eric stands up straight, but looks equally as bored. Eventually, Will beats her and the fight ends. I also worry for Myra. She's lost every one of her fights. Al might have a chance due to his first fight with Will, but Myra needs a miracle. An awful part of me can't help but wonder why she chose Dauntless in the first place.
As I expected, the next fight between Al and Christina is extremely short. Al takes a few hits to the face before falling to the ground and not getting up. I look back over and see Eric shaking his head. Despite the fact that he is a huge jerk, I can understand his disappointment. Given his size, Al should have been one of the most promising initiates, along with Edward.
The third fight, which is between Edward and Peter, takes much longer. They are by far the two best fighters here and Edward is the only one that could beat Peter. Though they are the best, there is an obvious difference between them. Edward is much faster, stronger, and smarter than Peter. They spend a good ten minutes going back and forth, but Edward eventually wins.
Matt and I are next and the slight tremble in my hands has not gone away. As we step into the arena and take our positions, he puts a giant smirk on his face, like he knows that he's going to win. That's what he thinks.
We circle each other for a moment before I lunge, sending a hard punch right to his jaw and making him fall straight to the floor. I take a step back and, as he gets up, he looks shocked. I don't know why because that's his other flaw: He never makes the first move.
I go to punch him again, but he anticipates my move and grabs my arm, before punching me in the side. I stumble and let out a breathy groan. I try to get away, but he throws another punch to the side of my head, making everything look fuzzy as I collapse onto the mat.
I watch him through blurred vision as he stalks his way above me, preparing to exert the final blow. When he gets close enough, that infuriating smirk returns and he mutters in voice loud enough only for me to here, "This is what you get for denying me, bitch."
Suddenly, the world completely refocuses and all I can see is red. Since he is right in front of me, I let my instincts take over and kick him in the abdomen, sending him hurtling to the floor. I jump to my feet, stomp over to him, and repeatedly punch him in the face, neck, chest, not really paying attention to where my fist connects, as long I get the gratification of hitting him. I didn't really want to hurt him before, but now teaching him not to screw with me is the only thing on my mind. I can't help the grin that spreads across my face as I watch the blood trickle out of his nose and listen to him whine as he writhes in pain. I go to punch him again, but I feel someone wrap their arm around my waist and their other hand around my wrist, dragging me out of the arena.
Once I'm away from Matt, I realize that it was Four that pulled me away and he is murmuring for me to calm down. I look over at Eric and he gives me a nod, but the look in his eyes is a strange mix of approval, shock, and confusion. After he declares me the winner, he enlists Drew and Will to take Matt to the infirmary while I go back and stand next to Christina.
"Are you okay? I've never seen you get like that before," she asks with a concerned look in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I turn away from her and watch as Tris and Molly enter the arena.
"Was that a birthmark I saw on your left butt cheek? God, you're pale, Stiff." Now I get it. Something bad did happen this morning. As they begin to fight, I can tell that Tris is not going to let whatever happened this morning go. She's doing a great job of blocking and dodging Molly's punches and kicks. Tris stumbles back when Molly punches her in the ribs. Once she recovers herself, she punches her in the stomach, sweeps her legs out from under her, and kicks her in the ribs. From what I know about Tris, I would've thought that that would have been the end of it. But apparently, whatever happened this morning has made her as fired up as I got in my fight. Molly curls up into a ball on the floor, but that doesn't stop Tris from throwing more punches to her face and kicks to her stomach and chest. She continues to punch and kick until, like with me, Four comes up behind her and pulls her away.
"You won. Stop," he mutters as his eyes fill with alarm.
"I'm fine." Eric observes them for a moment before telling Four to bring Molly to the infirmary, and then dismissing us. As I head for the door, Eric grabs my arm and pulls me back. Christina looks back, concerned, but makes the wise decision to keep going.
"What's going on with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. You went too far in your fight." What?
"I went too far? So, you do have some sort of conscience." I don't know what's wrong with me. Despite what happened yesterday, I can't seem to stop sassing him. A sort of anger flares in his eyes but he quickly subdues it.
"I'm serious. What happened?" He seems genuinely concerned, and it's really throwing me off.
"Nothing. He's just been pissing me off a little lately and I lost control. It's really no big deal."
"What did he do? I thought I heard him say something to you during the fight."
"Nothing. He just asked me out a while ago and apparently can't take no for an answer. Don't worry about it, I can handle it." Before he can respond, I pull my arm out of his grip and walk out. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder around here. Despite my drive to become Dauntless, I can't help but wonder if things would have been simpler if I would have stayed in Amity.