Invergent

Chapter Eighteen

Elise's Perspective: 

I stare at myself, wide-eyed, unable to register what I'm seeing. I'm wearing a black tank top so cropped it barely covers anything. In black ink, the words "born to die" are tattooed on my ribs. My stomach turns as I place a hand over my heart, desperately trying to calm my breathing. What in the world was I thinking!?

At least it's in an easy spot to hide. I shake away the thoughts in my head and quickly turn on the shower. Even though I decided to worry about the tattoo later, I still try hard to scrub it off in the shower. I have no luck.

I throw on my jeans and t-shirt and hurry to the cafeteria. I grab the first plate of food I see and sit down with my friends. I wonder if they remember what happened last night.

"Wow!" Jason gasps, "Marlene told me what you did to your hair, but... wow. You look... you look amazing."

"You got a little drool on your face there, buddy," Uriah laughs, pointing to the corner of his mouth. Jason's face turns bright red.

"Does anyone else have a pounding headache?" I ask groggily, ignoring whatever is going on with Jason. I don't even want to imagine the possibility of him liking me. The only reason I clung to him my first day here was because of how much he reminded me of my brother.

"No," Lynn says like it's absurd I'm even asking. I can't help but smile, savoring her bitterness. She's definitely unlike anyone else I've met, and I love that about her.

"We have a higher tolerance to alcohol here in Dauntless. Trust me, you'll get used to it," Uriah says as he stands up with his tray in hand. That's when I notice everyone at the table is done eating. I feel my heart drop and I start to panic.

"Is breakfast over?"

"Please tell me you're joking." Marlene's smile falters.

"It's fine. I'm not that hungry anyway-"

"Can I tell her?" Lynn asks with a cruel smirk.

"Tell me what?" I ask, looking around the table.

"We just finished eating lunch."

I feel the color draining from my face. My chest is too small, too tight to fit the ache building in it. I have no idea how Dauntless punishes people for not showing up, but I have a feeling it's not going to be good. I jump to my feet and scurry across the cafeteria floor to try and find Three so I can explain what happened.

As soon as I make it out in the hallway, I feel a hand grab me and shove me into the wall. I gasp and look up to see Erin standing over me, looking pissed. He clenches his fists at his sides and I prepare myself for the worst.

"You didn't show up today," he says through clenched teeth.

"I slept in, I'm so, so sorry."

"Sorry is for Amity." He grabs my wrist so tightly I think it might break and drags me to the training room. He throws me on the floor and shoves the bottom of his boot onto the side of my face. Quickly my hands fly up and try to push it off, but no such luck.

"Since you decided you were above fighting your peers, I thought you might enjoy fighting me instead." There's a sick taste of cruelty to his words that makes me wither. He takes his boot off my face and kicks me in the ribs, hard. I turn over and cough, blood splattering on the mat. I clench my hands, feeling anger boiling inside me.

He kicks me again, but this time I roll over, grabbing his foot and using his own momentum against him to knock him onto the ground. I quickly get to my feet, but by the time I'm up, so is he. I get into the same position I was when we were hitting the punching bags, hands protecting my face. He tries to kick me in the stomach, which I successfully dodge by turning to the side of him. He holds out his arms, catching me into a headlock. He squeezes his arm around me so tightly I can't breathe.

"This could have all been avoided if you just showed up on time." He laughs coldly. I elbow him in the ribs, but he barely reacts. I start panicking as the light in the room starts to dim. I let my knees go limp and I fall to the ground. He lets go long enough for me to turn around and attempt to punch him in the jaw, but he catches my fist and twists my arm until I hear a pop, and I scream out in pain.

Eric uses this moment to kick my legs out from under me. Once I'm back on the ground, he slams his foot into my hip, then into my spine, and finally into my shoulder. I try to get up, but he easily shoves me back over, laughing at the way I squirm around. He pulls out a knife and stabs it through the hand that Three had to wrap yesterday, and it goes into the mat, pinning me.

"Next time you're not feeling up to fighting with your fellow initiates, I want you to remember this and weigh your options carefully." Finally, Erin walks away and I'm left there, in a pile of my own blood, sweat and tears.

I wait and listen to his footsteps as he gets further and further away from the training room. I don't move until I'm sure he's far enough away not to hear it when I scream.

I grab the knife, and I lift it up and out of my hand, letting out the most hideous cry. I throw the knife as far away from me as I can, burying my face in my knees and trying desperately not to scream.

After minutes pass, I finally stand up on my bruising legs and limp my way out of the training room, frantically looking around for someone to help. Luckily, an older man notices me and carries me to the infirmary. I don't pay attention to the words of the people around me, just to the thudding in my head. And slowly the world goes black. I wonder if anyone would care if I just stopped breathing right here and now.