The Soldier

Burned

The sound of steel ricocheting off targets and falling to the floor was occasionally accompanied by a swear. So far only a handful of initiates had managed to get their knives to stick to the boards evenly spaced across the wall. I wasn't one of them.

This wasn't by choice. My knuckles protested every time my grip tightened around the throwing knives, distorting my aim. A stinging reminder of my blind rage yesterday. I bit back the pain as I picked up another knife and as Eric walked behind me again. He paced back and forth behind the group, radiating displeasure at our performance. He had expressed this at the beginning of the training session when he introduced new changes to the structure and focus of training.

"Yesterday was pathetic," Eric broadcasted when the bruised faces assembled themselves before the trainers. "With a few exceptions, you all took a beating lying down. You may not have been born into this faction, but it is expected that you will act Dauntless. From now on, an extra hour will be added to training until everyone can get caught up to the level of the other initiation class."

Although opposition to the new program from the initiates was tangible in the air, there was no verbal protests, at least not with Eric standing there, threatening us with his eyes and stiff posture.

At ease, a sharp contrast to Eric, Four seemed far more relaxed on the matter, leaning up against the side wall, a casual observer during these announcements. If he had any objection to Eric's statements, he kept his peace. With Eric's intensity and stubborn behavior, I'm sure Four knew by now not to interfere in any of his coworker's antics. Four's silence continued as he quietly kept track of points individuals were earning on a tablet and as I let go of the knife in my hand and watched it sail through the air towards the target.

I let out a sigh of relief as the knife finally stuck. Impaling itself at the bottom right corner, exactly where I had aimed. I opened my fingers and closed them, forcing the joints to stretch and wincing. I wasn't sure how I was going to do during today's match. I wouldn't be able to do much ass-kicking if my hand was barely in commission. Even if I did, there was a big possibility that I would cause more injury and multiply the bruises that already spotted across my right hand.

However, the swelling had decreased somewhat since my visit to the infirmary at the end of training yesterday, in which I received a deliciously frozen ice pack, and saw Calvin, who had remained there until late last night under medical observation until the doctors concluded he didn't have a concussion.

I was also unsure how Calvin was going to perform during today's scheduled fights. At the moment his mental and physical well-beings were complete polar opposites. He was still impaired from Skylar's ruthless beating, but his normal fireball self had made a momentary reappearance when I had recounted what had occurred between Davis and myself during my visitation last night.

"Them bastards had it coming." Calvin had said, approving of my recent activities and getting riled up. "Nobody messes with Pineapple and gets away with it... Just wait until I'm out of this bed, I'll crack some skulls together. You'll see!"

I had been amused at the time, but now, watching Calvin out of the corner of my eye hunched over and throwing knives even more inaccurately than I was pretending to, I wanted to either cry or stand between him and anything else that was a danger to him. Or maybe both. I knew for certain that if Calvin kept his promise and started a fight with any one of the Erudite transfers, I would have to get involved to ensure that my friend didn't get hurt. I hoped he wouldn't be that stupid.

Well, not every Erudite transfer. Addie had been glued to the hospital bed beside Calvin yesterday, her symptoms much more severe. A definite concussion. Too many hits to the temple. She remained in the infirmary's care but it was rumored that she would rejoin the group after lunch, just in time for the fights. We all knew that Addie couldn't afford to waste all of today's points recovering in the infirmary, especially after losing yesterday to Lillian.