Soulmates

Chapter 9: Butter Knives

Other than Four's obvious hangover, the field trip to Amity and the wall is uneventful. So is their day of testing on weapons. Tris finishes third after Edward and Will on the field strip and reassembly test. She's in the middle of the group for marksmanship, which Edward and Peter win. She comes in first on knife throwing.

Physical fitness is where Tris is weakest. All of the other transfers can do more pushups and sit-ups than she can, and most of them run faster. But they're also tested on how much they've improved over what they could do on day one, so Tris hopes her progress will boost her score.

The last day of phase one is their final fight, and Tris is paired with Molly. In spite of the other girl's dominant size, Tris is glad. Molly is a bully who has taken every opportunity to body shame and belittle Tris. She hid the smaller girl's clothes while Tris was showering. She made a series of rude remarks about Abnegation in general, and the Priors specifically. She even suggested that Tris' parents had neglected and abused their "unlovable" daughter.

When the two girls enter the ring, Tris frees her rage and decimates her opponent in spite of the size difference. When Molly is unable to continue fighting, Eric has to physically stop the fight by dragging Tris off the defeated bully.

After dinner, the transfers wait in the dorm until their trainers arrive with a poster board showing the current ranks. Tris is thrilled to see her name in the number five slot of the nine transfers. Even if all of the Dauntless-borns outranked them, Tris, Christina, Will, Peter, and Edward are safe.

Molly and Drew, ranked sixth and seventh, are furious. Myra and Al, ranked eighth and ninth, are worried. As the arguing and crying commence, Tris slips out of the dorm room.

She wanders the halls of Dauntless until curfew, then sneaks back into the dorm. Most of the initiates are already in bed, their tears and tantrums over. Tris slips off her shoes and climbs into bed fully dressed. She tries to sleep, but can't.

Just as she's starting to drift off, a piercing scream rips through the dorm. Someone flips on the light, and as her eyes adjust, Tris sees Edward writhing on the floor in a pool of blood. Myra is sitting in her own bed, screaming her lungs out.

Tris lurches out of bed and is at Edward's side in a second. "Will!" she yells. "Go get help! Christina, get Myra calmed down. The screaming isn't helping!"

Will bolts from the room, and Christina wraps Myra in a hug, turning her face away from Edward.

Tris moves Edward's hands away from the object lodged in his eye, which appears to be a butter knife. "Get it out!" he screams. "Get it out!"

Tris speaks soothingly to the injured boy, even as her own tears run freely down her face. "Don't touch it," she says. "Help is coming. It will be okay. Just focus on breathing. You'll be fine." Logically, Tris has no idea if anything will ever be alright again, but she says so to soothe the panicked and pained boy laying in a pool of his own blood.

Medics arrive from the infirmary and take Edward and Myra away. The other initiates wander back to their bunks, but make no attempt to go back to sleep, or even shut off the light. Christina joins Will in his bed.

For several long minutes, Tris just sits and shivers, chilled by horror and the blood that wets her clothes. Eventually she climbs to her feet and walks to the bathroom for towels. She leaves a trail of red footprints on the hard floor as she walks back and forth, grabbing clean paper towels from the bathroom and depositing the bloodied ones in the trash. When the towels have nothing else to soak up, Tris switches to wet, soapy towels, washing the floor like her sanity depends on getting it cleaned up - and it just might.

Hearing the news that a transfer initiate was stabbed, Eric and Four both rush to the dorms, nearly colliding as they reach the door at the same time. Eric yanks it open, and their eyes dart around the room. Christina and Will are huddled in a bunk, their arms wrapped tightly around each other as Christina sobs. Al and, surprisingly, Molly, also look like they've been crying. Drew looks shocked, his pale skin even whiter than usual. Peter sports an innocent expression that instantly sets Eric's teeth on edge. Tris is on the floor, shaking violently and wiping at the cold concrete with a wet towel.