AN: Thanks to those who reviewed, and welcome to the new readers, I'm so happy people are enjoying this story! We're really getting into things now :)
Chapter 7
"Ugh, what day is it?" Christina moaned, wincing as she sat up, the alarm forcing them out of sleep once again.
"I think its Thursday," Tris mumbled through sleepy lips.
"Two more days," Christina said, slithering out of bed to dress.
"And then we get the weekend to ourselves," Tris finished, thinking of the brief reprieve that was in their sights. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got thoroughly smacked down by a strong, large rat called Drew," Christina said grumpily. "And who knows, today, a much larger, eviler rat called Peter might add to the handiwork of his pal Drew."
"You've had to fight a guy already. With my luck, I'll have to fight the sadistic Peter," Tris said grimly.
"I hope no one has to fight Peter. After what Four said yesterday, about fighting to kill, essentially, I don't want to be near that bastard," Christina said with a shudder.
"Peter or Four?" Tris asked jokingly.
"All of them," Christina said ominously.
"Come on, let's get some coffee into you," Tris said, taking her arm.
"I think I love you," Christina said dramatically.
"No, just caffeine," Tris teased.
As they waited in the food line they were joined by Uriah.
"Nice bruise," he commented lightly, looking at Tris's jaw.
"Nice split lip," Tris quickly countered.
They shared a brief grin, and then returned to the usual practice of Eric's recruits ignoring Four's recruits.
As they ate, Tris mentally prepared herself for the coming training session. She needed to focus only on beating her opponent, finding their weaknesses, and using them to debilitate them quickly and convincingly.
All the focus, purpose and composure Tris had developed since talking with Four the evening before vanished when she and Al walked into the training room.
She stopped dead and her breath hitched.
"What?" Al said, quickly noticing the change in her mood.
"Yeah, what's' going on? I almost ran into you," Christina said. She and Will had been walking just behind Al and Tris.
"Look at the board," Tris said dully.
They looked.
Will vs. Edward
Joan vs. Molly
Christina vs. Myra
Al vs. Drew
Peter vs. Tris
Peter vs. Tris
Not only did she have to fight Peter, she had to watch all of the other fights before she took Peter on.
All her confidence and purpose evaporated.
"Oh Tris," Christina said, very subdued.
"It's not right," Will said hotly. "You're so small, and he's so awful. How do they even pick who fights who? No one in their right mind would make you fight Peter with so little training."
"The fights are chosen by another agent. Each name gets a number and is randomly matched with another name. The fights are completely random combinations," Four said, startling them all.
They had not realised he was in the room.
"Bravery needs not to be based off how easy of a target you think your opponent is," Four added. "You fight who you are given. There's nothing I can do about it."
Even if you wanted to? Tris thought, looking at Four, hoping to catch his eye and read that sentiment there. He wouldn't meet her eye though, and he almost pointedly walked away.
Tris almost felt like she'd been slapped. He blew so hot and cold.
A few minutes later Peter, Drew and Molly sauntered in to the training room.
Peter took a look at the board, grinned satisfactorily, and then said loudly to his companions, "It's almost like they're trying to make sure I get the top rank. I might as well be fighting a small child. I mean, did you see her yesterday?"
Will and Christina moved protectively around Tris, and they turned away from the smirks of Drew and Molly.
"You know," Peter continued loudly, moving towards Tris and her friends. "I think you'll have a new nickname by the time I'm through with you. Stiff. You'll be lucky if you can move. You might as well be stiff in your grave. Cold and stiff. Sore and stiff. Stiff."
"We get it," Al snapped. "That's a really clever nickname and everything, but how about you shut up? You don't get bonus points for bullying."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Four said, his eyes blazing, his tone menacing. "We're not training you to be petty bullies. Shut up, and get ready. We're about to start."
There he goes again, hot and cold. It's like he flips a switch. Sometimes he cares, sometimes he doesn't, Tris thought.
"Will and Edward," Four called, indicating that it was starting time. "Begin."
Will and Edward were fairly evenly matched, of a similar height and weight. Edward seemed to be harder than Will, but Will was highly intelligent and logical, giving him a strategic advantage.
Their fight was not long, but it was quite intense.
Tris tried to regain her composure and plan the best what to approach fighting Peter, but every time she heard fist hit flesh, or felt Peter's eyes boring into her, her resolve faded.
The latest of Tris's determination was shattered as she saw Joan fall to the floor, unconscious and bleeding, at the hand of Molly.
Molly had landed two vicious punches to Joan's face, one breaking her nose, the other sending her to the ground, out cold.
"Step back Molly, you've won, she's unconscious," Four said warningly, in case Molly went on to really finish the job. "Will, Edward, take her up to the infirmary. I'll see you back here in no more than fifteen minutes."
Four then called, "Christina, Myra."
The remaining seven recruits, including Myra and Christina, stood silent and subdued.
"Christina, Myra, now!" Four snapped. "Look, this is another reality you need to get used to. People get hurt in our line of work, and usually much worse than Joan. You can't break down in the field. You have to keep going, your mission, and your life are too important."
Myra and Christina scuttled onto the mat to face off.
Christina made quick work of Myra, she had a height and weight advantage, and it was clear Myra was more shaken by what had happened to Joan than Christina was.
Al and Drew replaced Christina and Myra in the ring.
"Tris, snap out of it, you look awful," Christina said, standing next to her.
"I'm trying," she replied, in a strangulated whisper.
Despite Al's height and breadth, Drew seemed to defeat him quite easily. Probably largely due to the fact Al's heart wasn't in it. Joan's defeat and Al's sensitive nature had seen to that.
Will and Edward returned in time to hear Four say, "Peter and Tris."
Peter almost swaggered onto the mat. Tris made a best attempt at walking purposefully.
The faced each other, and any strategies Tris had tried to develop where nowhere to be found. She felt frozen.
The only thing in your way, is you.
Four's words echoed in Tris's mind and she tried to steel herself.
It was too late though, for Peter had made the first move.
First a punch to the side, winding her. Then a kick to the stomach, further inhibiting her breathing.
She doubled up, but Peter pulled her hair, forcing her head up.
Once he had just the right angle he landed a swift uppercut to her jaw, in the exact same spot Joan had hit her the day before.
Tris saw white, but was determined to stay upright.
From somewhere deep down she mustered the determination not to pass out. She did not want to be picked up off the ground and carried away. She wanted to be Dauntless.
Tris made an attempted at elbowing Peter, but she was too unsteady and barely connected with him.
She did however place herself close enough for Peter to grip her and knee her in the stomach.
This sent her straight to the ground, willpower be damned.
Lying on the floor, Tris tried to get up. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Four, and stared at him for a moment, hoping he would intervene. Surely she had been through enough. But Four was not looking.
She could not believe that he was not looking. Her anger gave her the push she needed to get to her feet.
But it was all in vain, Peter had her back on the ground again in seconds, and began kicking her to keep her there, giving her no chance to get up.
With every kick Tris grew closer to passing out. She would not give in though, she would not concede.
"Do something!" she faintly heard someone yell.
Suddenly, the kicking stopped.
Had she passed out?
No, she could hear Four talking.
"That is more than enough!" he snarled. "You job was to disable her, not to almost kill her. Look at her!"
Yes, look at me. Someone, anyone, a little help, Tris thought, unable to move.
"She is much smaller than you, as soon as she was down you should have pinned her to the floor," Four continued irate. "You don't get marked highly for nearly killing another recruit. You are marked on how effectively you defeated them. You may have won, but it earned you no respect, and certainly not a high mark."
Tris, mustered all her energy, tried to pick herself up off the floor.
She got half way up, and thought she was going to collapse, but someone grabbed onto her and gently assisted her.
It was Four, but he was not looking at her.
After everything he said yesterday, I feel like I've let him down. He's clearly disgusted with me, he can't even look at me, Tris thought woefully, emotional pain quickly adding to her physical pain.
"Christina, Al, take her to the infirmary," Four said flatly. "Everyone else, you're dismissed. Actually, wait."
They all stopped.
"If this ever happens again, I mean if anyone causes such deliberate, cruel harm to another recruit again, it will go on their permanent record," Four said severely. "Now, get out of here. We'll be resuming after lunch in training room three."
Christina and Al half carried, half helped Tris to the infirmary, with Will bringing up the rear.
A nurse settled Tris in bed, fixing up her injuries and giving her a strong dose of painkillers.
The three others gathered around her bed.
"Two trips to the infirmary in an hour," Will muttered grimly.
"Oh Tris, you were so brave, I can't believe you weren't unconscious by the end," Christina said emotionally.
"I can't believe Four didn't do anything until Christina yelled at him," Al added in disgust.
"He wasn't even watching!" Christina exclaimed hotly, confirming was Tris had seen from the mat. "He barely looked the whole time. I mean, what kind of instructor does that?"
"Guys, your words are getting kind of blurry," Tris said sluggishly.
"We'll go have lunch, you have a good sleep," Christina said gently. "We'll come back and see you later."
Al lingered a little behind Christina and Will, stopping to give Tris's hand a tender squeeze.
Somewhere in the back of her groggy mind, Tris noted that she would have to do something about Al's apparent growing affection.
A couple of hours later, judging by the clock on the wall, Tris awoke.
Her whole body ached, but she got out of bed determinedly, and put her shoes on.
She would be late, but she would not miss a whole training session.
On her way out, she noticed Joan, lying pale and still in another bed.
Tris walked gingerly to the training room, but as she entered the training room, she held her head high, walking resolutely, each step causing pain.
Her class looked up from their shooting in astonishment.
Four also looked surprised, but also a little impressed.
Tris silently held out her hand for a gun, and he handed one over.
She walked to the vacant target, and took her stance.
Her arms trembled and she bit her lip to cope with the pain.
She used all her concentration and took aim, and fired five bullets in quick succession, almost into the very centre of the target.
She looked up defiantly at her peers, who all quickly looked away. Some impressed, some guilty, some worried and some annoyed.
For the next twenty minutes, Four stood near Tris, apparently keeping an eye on her.
Tris grew steadily more tired and felt more and more pain, the last trace of the painkillers wearing off. She felt a sheen of sweat coat her body.
"That's enough for today," Four yelled. "Everyone but Tris hit the gym. Tris, stay here."
The others clattered out, Christina and Al sneaking concerned looks at Tris.
Presently, Four and Tris were alone.
"Why don't you sit," Four suggested.
"I'll stand," Tris replied shortly.
She would not make herself more weak. Besides, she knew that if she sat down, she'd never get up again.
"Fine," he said shortly. "You are not to train today in the gym. You should not even have left the infirmary this afternoon. You need to allow yourself time to recover. If you're going to lose your focus and let someone get the better of you the way Peter did, and not put up a fight, the least you can do is recover properly.
"How would you even know that I didn't put up a fight, you weren't watching!" she exclaimed shrilly.
Oddly, she didn't even feel at all bad or guilty for yelling at her instructor – just a little bit embarrassed that she had sounded shrilled.
"Do you think I enjoy watching someone take a severe beating?" Four asked coolly, a glimmer of pain in his eyes.
"Then why didn't you stop him, if it was so awful!" Tris cried.
"I just don't know what to do with you," Four said tiredly. "Just go and get some rest, take some more painkillers. I'll see you tomorrow."
He walked out, leaving Tris incredibly confused. One way or another, she would get to the bottom of Four's moods. She couldn't take the whiplash from his mood swings any more. She did not understand him at all. How could someone appear concerned and caring one minute, then removed the next, then disgusted, then protective the next, and then indifferent.
She could not make sense of him at all.
AN: I was really happy with how this chapter turned out! Hope you enjoyed it too :) Leave a review and let me know if you did :)