The Damaged

Chapter Six

"Because there are an odd number of you, one of you will be sitting out for today" Amar announces once we've all entered the training room, stepping away from the chalkboard.

The space next to my name reads 'Tara', the girl from Candor. I glance over at her, we're about the same height but she has more meat on her bones. This can't end well.

"I lucked out" Mia grins, pointing to her name; the slot empty.

"Until tomorrow" I try to smile, but my nerves are keeping me low.

"Just try to replicate whoever looks like is going to win before you, so you have an idea of how to not concede right away."

"We'll see how that goes."

The first up is one of the Candor boys, Sean, and Eric. I have a pretty good idea of who might win this round.

They circle one another, Sean making the first move and Eric quickly dodging. The blood and the bruising don't come that far behind, I can't help but flinch every punch they throw at one another.

Eric is quickly praised as the first winner, leaving the circle with only a few visible hits.

I'm sort of in a daze, trying to think about how I can keep going after hitting the ground as many times as Sean did, and listening for Tobias's name to be called, but I receive a nudge instead.

"Amalia" Amar looks at me, gesturing to the black circle where Tara waits for me.

"Sorry" I mumble, looking to see that Tobias was the one to nudge me forward. I forgot that he goes by Four now; only for a moment.

My head pulses, standing under a bright light with a girl I don't know ready to pounce at me. Her black hair glows, she doesn't look like someone who could potentially paralyze me.

We circle, I bring my arms up like how Amar taught to block being hit in the face. Neither of us move until I accidentally take a step forward and she punches me in the shoulder.

That wasn't as painful as I thought. I shake my arm quickly and swing my first punch, hitting her in the throat when I was aiming for her chin. She falls to the ground, coughing for air, then tries to get back up.

I'm not aiming to win, or get a high ranking on the scoreboard, but I want to show that I'm capable.

Before Tara stands, I knee her in the jaw. She makes a groaning noise and falls back down. I glance at our audience, some looking amused while others- like Tobias- gives me a look.

"Hey" a scratchy voice calls out from behind me, I look over my shoulder to see at a glance that Tara stands now with her jaw already starting to discolor. I'm about to turn when she punches me in the jaw, sending me to the floor swiftly.

I groan, holding my face, barely able to see that her foot hovering over me to begin the kicking to my ribs. Each time I make a yelp noise, my vision begins to blur and tears start to fall.

I should concede. I want to concede. But these fights are just going to get worse, no one's going to give me mercy after today. I have to give it my all.

"Come on, Stiff" someone yells over the ringing in my ears.

It hurts, everything hurts, and I can't see properly but I groan through the pain and stand my body back up. I begin to sway while trying to raise my arms.

"Just tell them you're done" I hear a light voice in front of me, I can just make out the shape of my partner.

"I can't" I mumble, throwing a punch. It's just air, I can feel the graze of fabric against my knuckles. Someone laughs in the distance.

"I'm sorry" Tara whispers, the outline of her hand raises and punches me right in the eye.

Everything goes black.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Good. You're awake" a voice says a few feet away from me. I've barely opened my eyes but the high screech of a chair scraping against the pavement floor rings loudly.

"How long have I been out?" I look around the room, there's beds everywhere. A doctor- I assume- is typing away on a computer, clearly a Dauntless doctor because they have tattoos on their arms and multiple piercings in one ear.

"Few hours. Amar didn't let me take you when you blacked out so I came as soon as I was done." My eyes settle on Four sitting on the chair beside the bed, having a red mark on his cheekbone and lip.

"Did you win?" I cock an eyebrow, learning quickly that facial expressions hurt just as much as being still.

He looks down at his hands and a small grin appears, vanishing just as quickly. "Yeah, I guess I'm good at it."

"And... would you say I was good at it also?" I remain still, a pulsing throbs over the eye that has swelled up.

"Better than I thought," he looks at me and sighs, "but you need to be smarter."

Four stands and raises his hand, I flinch slightly but let his bruised hand push hair behind my ear. I guess the Tobias I once knew isn't completely gone.

"What should I do? It's not going to get any easier..." I trail off at the thought of how messed up Eric will leave me after our fight. 

The crease appears. "I'll help you," his voice low.

"Help me how? You've had one fight, Four."

"But I have a lifetime of taking beatings, too," the low lighting makes his blue eyes dark. A dark I could get lost in, "I may not have all the moves down, but I can help you defend yourself better."

"Thank you" is all I can say, my voice scratchy from the dehydration- I cried and sweated out the rest.

"I don't like to see you hurt" Tobias bows his head for a few moments then stands, pushing his dark hair back. "I'll see you later, okay?"

I nod. "Thank you for coming."

Without another word, he leaves me to rest. I drift to sleep knowing I survived my first fight. That after all those years, I am capable of defending myself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next day, I'm the one to sit on the sidelines watching everyone compete against one another. Luckily, Tara didn't break any bones and just caused bruising on the majority of my body so the doctor let me leave in the morning. It was a rough walk, each step sending pains, but I eventually made it to the training room for my official second day as a Dauntless initiate.

It was hard watching Mia get thrown to the ground repeatedly, watching Xander swing punches at her. She only took five minutes to concede, though she wasn't sent to the infirmary.

Tobias was right; he was good at fighting. Today he was up against Sean, Sean didn't go down so easily, but Tobias gave his all to make Sean concede. It was painful to watch, knowing that any day now- Tobias will be throwing the same punches at me.

"Stiff" Amar calls for me when training for the day is over, I walk over to him as quickly as I can.

"Yes, sir?" The pain reliever the doctor gave me is starting to wear off.

"Will you be ready to fight tomorrow?" His dark eyebrow raises.

"As ready as I can be," I nod slightly.

He studies me, grinning but staying silent at the thought. "See you tomorrow."