Amity to Dauntless [Eric Coulter]

Fights and Throwing Knives

Chapter 5

I stand with Kimberly, going over last minute fighting techniques and trying my best to help her gain confidence. We've been in Dauntless for about a week now, and we begin fighting the other initiates today. I'm just as nervous as she is, but I'm trying to look strong for her, show her it won't be horrible.

Everyone seems on edge, all eyeing one another, trying to psych the other out. Rankings actually haven't changed much since they were announced. Somewhere around day two or four, a couple of people  pasted the other, but since then, we had all fallen back into our orgional places.

"Who do you think I'll have to fight?" She asks, watching the other initiates who are practice fight like we were doing. "Probably Henry. I don't think they'd put you against someone tuff." She takes a deep breath. "What about you?"

"I have no idea, hopefully someone who won't kill me." She laughs a little at that, but her smile fades as Eric's voice rings through the training area.

"Conner and Jacob, in the ring."

I sigh, glad it's not any of my friends or me. We all gather and watch the fight. Conner is definitely the strongest here, but Jacob will be a good match for him. Both of them are strong, having muscles that already show quite well. They stand for a moment just looking at one another, unsure of how to start.

"You'll fight until one of you is knock or the other concedes." Four explains. "Start when you're ready."

The boys nod and put up their arms like Four taught us to do. Jacob is actually kind of a jerk, so I'm more rooting for Conner to win.

The fight lasts a while, some people cheering for Conner, others for Jacob. In the end, Jacob concedes, not being able to take the hold Conner had him in. Some people help him up and carry him out, letting him sit on one of the nearby benches. He's not that badly beaten up though, only a little blood is coming from his nose.

"Next up, Kim and Henry." Eric states, not looking to impressed from the first fight. I give Kimberly a pat, glad I was right about her being up against Henry.

"Come on, Kim!" Lilly cheers from my side. "You got this." Adam adds giving her a thumbs up.

She hesitantly steps up, but she looks calm and collected. Henry stands opposite her, stretching his arms. He almost has no muscle to begin with, and I know that Kimberly will hopefully be able to take him down.

"Go!" Eric's voice booms, clearly impatient that they haven't started. Kimberly raises her arms, and not even giving him a chance, throws herself at him, punching him square in the jaw. He stumbles back, and she does the same, holding her fist to her chest. Henry's hands are covered in blood, and he runs at her, but she manages to dodge and push him over.

Once on the ground, she hits him over and over on his head until he yells for her to stop. She gets off and scoots back, shock written in her face. I climb up, helping her to her feet.

"Kimmy! That was amazing! You're sure to go up now." I smile, but she just stares at me blankly. "Hey, are you-"

"Don't." She says, pushing away my hand that was trying to rest on her shoulder. She gets off the fighting mat, and I follow her down.

"What's wrong? You won."

"I want to be alone." And with that, she's off, walking out of the pit. I yell after her, but she doesn't turn around.

I hear a deep voice behind me. "Let her go." I turn and see Eric, his blue-gray eyes trained on mine. "People process fighting differently." He explains in a quite voice, his features going soft for a split second. I manage a nod, biting my lip a little. Eric watches me a moment more before turning back to everyone, who's too hyped about the fight or helping Henry to pay attention.