"The one thing about the mat is dominance. Take the floor, you maintain dominance. Surprise your opponent, take the dominant position. Size, strength, and skill mean nothing if you lose dominance." Tired eyes follow my pacing, I doubt many are really listening, they have been fed this since they could walk. "We are going to spar tonight, it will count. Start on the bags to warm up, all of you be ready, I'm not going to play fair"
The board was prepped with the names, I now have an idea of which face belongs to which name. Half of them will leave thinking they have won, the rest will have to figure out how to rebound. I'm not betting on anyone to win, they all have to prove to me what they are worth.
"There will be no conceding tonight," I pause for reaction, the room fell silent, heavy bags swung unstopped by a hand, confusion written over many faces. "It is up to me when it is over."
"Wow Eric, torture on day one, that's rich!" Amar, needing to make an entrance, walks over to the board studying names, his humorous air killing the mood. "When did we change that rule?"
"I did, just now. If you are in a real world situation, would someone call it like it was in the ring? NO, there is no walking away. Are you forgetting what we are supposed to be doing?"
"You want to lose half your initiates on the first day? This will be fun, I want to watch," sarcasm dripping out of his mouth. We lock eyes, he breaks first.
"Can it, or walk, we'll see how it ranks out at the end of day tomorrow"
"Sure, lets do that." He always has to have the last word, if he keeps it up, it will include my knuckles.
"Reed and Ash, mat 1, Marin and Tifft mat 2. Call it when you are ready" I instantly hear chatter about missed matched sizes, groaning about how tired they are. "You all have the choice about how hard tonight will be. I can watch the sun rise, if you all want to."
Reed and Ash start, smaller steps, more of a head game. Ash is half Reed's size, but her legs make up for it. She has more defined arms than most, but her bulk makes her slow. Reed throws first, she ducks, ties his arm back and has him on the floor. He instantly gets his foot to her shoulder from behind, almost pulling her down, ripping an ear cuff. She jumps back to the mat edge, he stands back at center, blood dripping from his chin, but with eyes narrowed. Ash showed her cards first, Reed is calculating. He exhales, centers himself, and starts to over take the mat, keeping it all on her upper body, her physical weakness. She can only react, covering her face, getting forced out of the ring. She knows, as well as I know, its over; but knows giving up is not an option. Ash goes for more,she knows her life depends on it. Reed pursues, but without going for the kill shots. I can tell he is not wasting the energy.
Tifft already has a swollen eye, Marin's knuckles are bloody. I barely watch, there is not point except to dissect Tifft. I already have him pegged for the wall, like his parents. He can learn to react, he can follow. His brute strength is an asset, which Marin is making a mockery of, but he pursues, not of pride, but because I haven't told him not to.
"You can rearrange her face Tifft, nothing is off limits", I catch his eyes, nod my head in approval. I turn my back, hear the cheers erupt, a body hits the floor.
"You already have this sorted out, huh?" Amar keeps watching Reed and Ash,"Compliant soldiers, is that it?" he's hinting at something.
"Putting the bravery back," I don't look at him, I keep watching Tifft.
"By filling body bags?"
"Marin's got whats coming, if she were really smart, she would find herself elsewhere."
"What do you mean?", he is suddenly in my face, with rage behind his eyes.
"Figure it out, are rules meant to not be followed, are we supposed to keep wasting our time on them?"
He backs away, with disapproval, "I didn't have you pegged for suck a kiss-ass, who are you trying to impress? Coming in second still haunting you?"
I follow close behind him, turning him around, gripping hard on his shoulder, "Do you want me to show you what I came in first?", my voice echos, both mats stop and stare, the cheering suddenly silent. Amar shrugs me off, walking deep into a dark hallway, his footsteps the only sound, no one else dares to even breathe.
"Marin, you are done. Got to the infirmary, stop bleeding on the mats. Next up..." I call 2 more, both tall girls, both branded Dauntless, both I know already know how to fight. "Ash you are done, ice your face"
They continue, I watch. There are 2 in the group hat have no physicality to make it, or they have yet to prove it to me; I doubt that will change. They all leave, unknown how little they will sleep before a hard wake up run. Amar's will be fresher, unbeaten but terrified by what they will see I put my group through. It's more of a warning of what will come. I finish my notes in the terminal, head out avoiding the Pit. I see a shadow by the Chasm, sitting by the edge, arms hung over the rail. My feet give me away.
"Is it a sacrifice?, when someone jumps, this place is beautiful and yet so deadly." Shadows still hide her face, a voice I am not familiar with.
"You know you are supposed to be sleeping, being out alone is against.."
"I know," she turns her head away, runs a hand through knotted hair,"I needed to get away from the dorm, I knew how to get here."
I let the fact she interrupted me slip by, she is oblivious to how much danger she is really in, sitting where she is, but if she wants to play with gravity, I'm not stopping her.
"I'm Jules, by the way", she finally turn her face into the light, her eyes give her away, the last jumper from the roof. She shed her Amity colors, her figure defined in Dauntless. Sun freckles across her cheeks give her a look of innocence, a natural downturn to her lips, almost sadness. She outstretches her hand, a sign of Amity upbringing, without thought, I leave her hanging. She turns away slightly ashamed, and crosses her arms around the rail again. For a while, its just the water flowing, my legs failing me, not moving.
"Tomorrow is going to be brutal, you better get some sleep, the Dauntless born are running with you," still nothing, still looking towards the falls.
"I spent more time running in those fields, most of the time barefoot. I even chase trains for the fun of it." She looks towards my face, looking for approval, she's not going to find it. "So how long does it take to outlive your usefulness here? I mean, is someone a coward for jumping, or praised for moving on?"
Of all things, this, the ending and not proving herself in the beginning. "Depends", and that's all I can muster.
"Oh." and more silence. Her arms shake a bit, she adjusts them tighter around the bar. I think she withdrawing a bit from the Peace serum, something she probably didn't even know was clouding her judgement. "I know you are Eric, am I supposed to be afraid of you?"
"Dauntless aren't afraid."
"I'm not. You don't need to scream so much."
Bravery or stupidity, not sure which yet. I almost laugh at the suggestion, I think she shocked herself at blurting that out. She brings her legs up, making herself smaller. I don't want to leave, I don't want her to leave either. I can think of little to tell her.
"I want to be brave." She rests her head on her knees, looking my way. She exhales; I let go of a breathe I didn't know I was holding. Our eyes lock, I notice the light in hers, even in the darkness.
"I think we all do."