Tris the trainer

Al

Tris pov:

When I take the initiates back to the dormitory that afternoon, Al is there.

Since I walked in first, I noticed him first. He sees me and cowers back- just slightly.

I give him a look of absolute hatred. He just looks away.

This all happened in a mater of seconds. Now the rush of initiates are coming, and I realize I cannot let four see him. I'm not sure what he will do; hit him, storm out, maybe even cry.

I run to the back of the clump, where Four and his friends are, but I am to late. Four is so tall he can see over all of the other initiates heads.

Will stands behind him and holds his shoulders. Christina edges closer to him.

When I first got in here, I didn't get a chance to look at Al, and now I have a chance to see him more clearly.

His eyes have shadows beneath them, and his face is swollen from crying. My head whips towards Four. His face flinches and his hands turn to fists.

"Four," says Al, his voice breaking. "Can I talk to you?"

"Are you kidding?" Will squeezes the other boys shoulders. "You don't get to come near him again."

"I won't hurt you. I never wanted to..." Al covers his face with both hands. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't... I don't know what's wrong with me, I... Please forgive me, please..."

He reaches for him like he's going to touch his shoulders, or his hands, his face wet with tears.

If that were me, I would have half a mind to be merciful and maybe forgive him in the future, try to understand what people are going through. Except that people do evil. But then the other half would want to kill him. Make him suffer.

"Stay away from me," I would say, either gently or angered, I'm not sure. Then I would say,"never come near me again."

But that is not what Four did.

He burst over to Al and slapped him. Once Al recovered, Four grabbed his collar and said in a low voice, "hurt me? Hurt me? You could never hurt me. If anything I would hurt you- kill you, even. You are just a cowered. Even drew was less of a coward than you." At that Drew's expression goes from pained to happy to pained again. "I loath you and you will stay. Away. From. Me!" At this point Four has pushed Al up against the wall and is choking him.

I would have run up to stop this, but Al does not deserve my help.

After a few seconds of each of them breathing heavily and staring each other in the eyes, then Four whispers just loud enough for Al and myself to hear, "Never come near me again. If you do, I swear to god I will kill you,"

Then I realize Four had lifted Al off the ground and when he drops him down and storms past everybody and out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~time laps to later that night~~~~~~~~~~

Tobias pov:

"Four."

In my dream, my mother says my name. She beacons to me, and I cross the Abnegation grey kitchen to stand next to her.

She puts her hands on my shoulders, which she has to reach up to do, and then says, "you've grown up so much, my love." Then a tear drips down her face. I am confused until I hear what she says next. "It's to bad you've become as bad as your father."

Then I do something I would never do.

I lift my arm, and I am trying to stop it, but I can't. Then I slap her. I slapped her hard.