Indomitable ~ Peter Hayes

Chapter 9

Al and Will stepped onto the square black mat, both looking slightly hesistant to hit first. This was understandable, neither had the sheer hatred to hit. They circled each other for a while and as they did, I noticed the difference in bodies between the two teens. Al was large and powerful but, as my old instructor liked to say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Will was smaller but that gave him the advantage of dodging and speed. It was quite evenly matched but I still felt bad for the both of them.

Eric, who had "volunteered" to "oversee" our training was stood on the right side of the mat, next to Four. After the two had been circling for a while his stone-cold face was evident with boredom and frustration. He snapped and shouted, "Is this a leisure activity for you? Should we stop for naptime? Fight each other!" Four stood next to him looking evidently less pissed but bored.

"But..." Al began, putting his hands down and staring at Four and Eric, "Is it scored or something? When does the fight end?" he questioned.

"It end when one of you is unable to continue," Eric announced, playing with one of the rings in his eyebrow.

"Or, according to Dauntless rules, one of you could also concede," my brother added, aiming his words at Eric, almost taunting him to respond.

Eric narrowed his steel eyes at Four, "According to the old rules, on the new rules, no one concedes

"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others,"

"A brave man never surrenders,"

At this moment, our two instructors, one who shared my blood and another that all parts of me deeply resented, were locked together in a piercing gaze. I saw the two sides of Dauntless in this moment: the honourable, truly brave side and the reckless, evil side that only cared about beating people up. My brother held his superior's gaze for what seemed like an eternity before Al broke their bubble.

"Ths is ridiculous," he said while shaking his head. "What's the point of even beating him up? We're the same faction."

"Oh you think it's really that easy?" Will taunted, poised and a slight smirk on his face. "Go on then, try and hit me slowpoke." I cringed at the sheer confidence he had, he was not going to win. Al looked slow but he could be more powerful that he looked. Al's fist swung but Will ducked and ran behind him sneakily. Will kicked Al in the back, causing Al to hunch over and turn around. He charged at Will, pinning his arm so he couldn't slip away. A knock to the jaw was delivered, courtesy of Al. I winced and looked over to Eric, whose eyes were lit up in a maniac-like fire.

I looked back over at the mat: Will was on the floor, Al standing over him, looking extremely sorry. Al tapped his head, concerned. Will's eyes opened, heavily dazed.

"Get him out of here," Eric commanded. I went over to get Will, Al helping me, each of us carrying him by his shoulders. I dragged him as far as the door and then my brother came and told us to go while he took Will to the infirmary. Al and I sat down, I patted him on the back.

"I feel so bad," Al said as we sat down on one of the benches.

"Don't worry, I' d be more concerned if you had come back smiling like a psychopath," I joked, handing him a water bottle. He drank thankfully and I looked over at the scoreboard, my knees bouncing with both nervousness and boredom. Al's name was circled in white chalk, the champion of the first fight. 

I also notice who happened to be next up in the ring.

Molly vs. Christina

She was going to be pounded.

I moved closer to the mat as they walked onto it. Molly took up a strong stance and Chris was stood timidly. After around a minute of circling, Molly charged. Now I understood why they called her the tank. She might look stupid but boy, she could deal you some good damage. Chris thankfully ducked but then was too busy focusing on it that she missed Molly coming up from behind. She recieved a kick to the back, making her fall, where Molly pounded her face up. Blood was gushing out of Christina's nose and her jaw looked like it had definately seen better days.

After a good minute of her being beaten and me screaming 'Go unconcious!' in my head, she had enough. She tapped the mat.

"I'm done," she coughed, little droplets of blood decorating the mat.

Eric knelt down to the mat, dangerously quiet.

"You're done?" he asked. "Okay. Get up,"

Chris heaved her body up and I rushed to support her as she wobbled. Eric motioned for me to back up with his hand. I looked at him with the Eaton death stare but did what he asked.

He dragged Christina to the Chasm, where the water rushed deafeningly loud. We all crowded round, anticipation hung in the air like an unwelcome chandelier, a decoration of dismay.

As arrogantly as humanly possible, Eric announced, "To make up for your cowardice, you will hang from this here railing for five minutes. No less."

"No more," I added, glaring at Eric.

Eric grabbed Christina's hands roughly and threw her over. She caught the railings but we didn't know how much longer she could hold them. I was squeezing Will's hand with all my might. Will had become my brother in Dauntless, always there and always teasing me. We were both extremely worried. Christina was one of my best friends and she was also Will's "good friend". His green eyes were wide open, watching.

"Three minutes left," Eric announced dryly.

The water sprayed up more violently than before; Christina grunted and one of her hands slipped from the wet railing. I was silently chanting 'Come on,' in my head. She thankfully managed to get her hand  back up. "One and a half left."

For the last minute I was gripping Will's hand so hard I thought I had cut off all of his circulation. However, I felt someone boring their eyes into the back of my head. I turned around, my ponytail turning with me to see Peter' forest green eyes staring at Will. If looks could kill, Will would be hung, drawn and quartered. His eyes softened when they met my gaze but my hazel eyes were hard as steel, much like my brother's when he was pissed. Little Peter was jealous.

"5,4,3,2,1," Al counted down, looking at his watch. Will, Tris, Al and I all rushed forward to get her up. I grabbed her left hand while Will held her right.

"Wait," Eric said. "She has to get out on her own."

"No, she doesn't. She did the five minutes. That's enough." I spat at him. Al helped us heave her over and then Tris helped her up.

Today had been very eventful, to say the least.

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When Four returned, he told us to go back to the dorms and that fights would be resumed tomorrow. We were all tired, slumping to our beds like zombies. I lay down, letting sleep take over.

'A girl sat in her room. She was playing with a small figurine of a dog wth her brother sat by her. They played together, sometimes giggling.

The girl's eyes shot up from the game; heavy footsteps came up the stairs of her home. Her brother was also alert, each child knew what was coming.

The plain grey wooden door was yanked open and a large figure stood in the doorway, their face dark with hatred and a belt in their hand.

The children stood up.

"This is for your own good," the figure threatened.

The belt swung at the children and pain was inflicted once again'

Over 900 reads! <3 you all so much and I am so sorry for my lack of updates.

Word Count for Chapter: 1338