Experiment Erudite (A Divergent Story)

Chapter 13-Fight

"Get up! Be in the training room by 8 o' clock!" Sharon, the woman who took down my name yesterday after I jumped, says. She would be helping with training; Max trusted her. The boy who tried to help me out of the net yesterday would be our main instructor. He looked gentle, but that's where I was wrong.

I run into the room where we'll be training for the next ten weeks. Unlike Erudite training which only takes about half that amount of time, Dauntless initiation is the longest out of the five factions. I glance at my watch. I'm only five seconds early. I don't even catch my breath when we're told to warm up with four laps around the arena. By the second lap my legs feel like they'll give any moment, but I need to make Dauntless initiation. I finish fifth, and Lyra finishes last. We aren't accustomed to this much physical exertion. Sharon yells at us all day as we attempt to throw punches at punching bags without gloves.

By the end of the day I still don't know the name of the instructor who wanted to help me out of the net. He constantly argues with Ryan though, the other Erudite transfer. This is caused by our instructor's constant insults that are so hidden that only an Erudite can catch them. These arguments between Ryan and our mystery instructor are also caused by a particular Erudite who can't keep their mouth shut.

Finally in the afternoon, we fight each other. "Ryan, Kristen!" Sharon shouts, "In the ring!"

I make my way towards the huge, elevated cement mat where we're supposed to fight. Ryan does the same with a sneer on his face. He doesn't think that I'll make it. I'm reminded of my boney and thin frame, and for a moment I believe that he's right. But I can't back away from this now.

For a long time, Ryan and I circle each other, one waiting for the perfect moment to strike out at the other. This is not a physical fight. It is a mental one. "Come on, I don't have all day!" Sharon says, glancing at her watch. If anything this is a trigger. I wait a few seconds for my attack before lashing out at Ryan. Unprepared, he tries to block my blows and punches, but he's too late. After bringing him to the edge of the ring with a black eye, I make a final kick at his abdomen, and he falls down, backwards. I glance at Sharon. Finish him, she mouths. I look back at the pathetic, dauntless Ryan on the floor. The arrogant, erudite Ryan, was never like this. Even though he never  showed dislike about me, we did hate each other. But I still don't want to knock him out. It would cause mental damage. I sigh, and come down on Ryan's other eye with my fist. I can imagine for him the world suddenly going dark, because that's what apparently happened to me the next round.

"The female Candor twin got you," Lyra says to me as I lie down in the infirmary. My bed neighbors Ryan's, but he's still out. I sigh.

"What are the injuries?" I ask Lyra.

"You'll always be Erudite with your questions," She says with a smirk. "And the nurse said that your lucky to just have a black eye and a few bruises,"

I nod. I have so many questions. "When will I get out?" I ask.

"She said that you could go today," Lyra informs.

I hesitate to ask my other question, but decide to. "Do you know anything about Ryan's injuries?"

Lyra sighs and puts her hand on my shoulder." Yeah, I do. Other than the obvious bruises all over his body, he has a broken rib. The nurse has to call in an Erudite doctor for tomorrow,"

"He's going to murder me in my sleep," I whisper while looking straight into Lyra's clear blue eyes.

"Yeah," She responds with a sigh, "He is."

We sit there for a long time. Ryan doesn't wake up. I don't know why I'm so concerned about his health. Maybe because I can't bare hurting anyone. Lyra finally asks me if I can  walk. I slip out of the cot and do.

"Do you want to go and get a tattoo?" She chirps with excitement.

I can feel a small smile spreading across my lips like cream cheese being spread on a bagel. "Sure," Is all that comes from my mouth.

We walk to the dimly lit parlor or Lyra walks, I limp. There are bruises on my legs too. I found them when I was changing. We survey the available tattoos until the two of us have one in mind. Lyra requests the Abnegation symbol on the back of her neck, while I choose a puzzle piece on my shoulder. It represents the Erudite part of me that still sees life as a puzzle. I need to put the tattoo on my left bicep, since the once on my right is bruised. I curse at Heather, the Candor twin who beat me up.

When we arrive at the dorm, nearly everyone is fast asleep in bed...with the exception of the transfer initiates. Alex, the other Candor twin bullies his sister with a pillow. James and George, the Amity transfers cry for various reasons... Of course until the Dauntless-born in the room tell all of us to shut up.

I slip into my bunk bed. I am exhausted, but can't fully sleep because nearly every sleeping position is uncomfortable with my bruises. When I do though, I drift in and out of dreams with Jeanine. In nearly every one of them, she injects serums into my bloodstream or kills me. I did a lot of research on dreams in Erudite. Some scientific  journals claimed that dreams are a door to your deepest fears, desires, and truths. Others said that they could clue in to the future.