The Unlucky Ones

[14] - Knock Out

[Tobias]

IN THE ARENA, Al punches Will hard in the jaw. I wince. Across the room, Eric smirks at Al and turns one of the rings in his eyebrow. Will stumbles to the side, one hand pressed to his face, and blocks Al's next punch with his free hand. Judging by his grimace, blocking the punch is as painful as a blow would have been. Al is slow but powerful. Peter, Drew, and Molly cast furtive looks in Tris' direction and then pull their heads together, whispering. Tris looks at Christina, biting her lip.

" I think they know we're talking about them, " She says.

I scoff, covering my mouth. Tris looks over at me quickly. Her eyes are wide.

" What? " She asks.

I cock an eyebrow, looking at Peter's posse.

" You think they don't know? " I ask.

She looks down slightly.

" So? " Christina asks. " They already know that I hate them. "

Tris cocks an eyebrow.

" They do? How? " She asks.

Christina fakes a smile at them and waves. Tris looks down, covering her cheeks. She believes that she shouldn't be gossiping anyway. Gossiping is self-indulgent. Will hooks a foot around one of Al's legs and yanks back, knocking Al to the ground. Al scrambles to his feet.

" Because I've told them, " She says, through the gritted teeth of her smile.

Her teeth are straight on top and crooked on the bottom. She looks at me.

" We try to be pretty honest about our feelings in Candor. Plenty of people have told me that they don't like me. And plenty of people haven't. Who cares? " Christina says.

Tris wrings her hands together uncomfortably.

" We just, " She says. " We weren't supposed to hurt people, "

Christina shrugs.

" I like to think that I'm helping them by hating them, " She says. " I'm reminding them that they aren't God's gift to humankind. "

She laughs a little at that and focuses on the arena again. Will and Al face each other for a few more seconds, more hesitant than they were before. Will flicks his pale hair from his eyes. Both glance at me like they're waiting for me to call the fight off. I cross my arms, keeping my response to myself. A few feet away from me, Eric checks his watch. After a few seconds of circling, Eric stops waiting.

" Do you think this is a leisure activity? Should we break for nap-time? Fight each other! " Eric screams.

Both boys lift their eyes from their opponent. They look at Eric.

" But... " Al straightens, letting his hands drop down. " Is it scored or something? When does the fight end? "

Eric looks at him, biting his pierced lip.

" The fight ends when one of you is unable to continue, " He says.

I step forward, uncrossing my arms.

" According to Dauntless rules, " I say. " One of you could also concede. "

I look to Will. He can't take much more of this or he's going to break. Eric narrows his eyes at me.

" According to the old rules, " He says. " In the new rules, no one concedes. "

I shake my head.

" A brave man acknowledges the strength of others, " I reply.

He shakes his head.

" A brave man never surrenders. " He says.

Eric and I stare at each other for a few seconds. We are two different kinds of Dauntless--the honorable kind, and the ruthless kind. But everyone here knows that in this room, it's Eric, the youngest leader of the Dauntless, who has the authority. Beads of sweat dot Al's forehead; he wipes them with the back of his hand.

" This is ridiculous, " Al shakes his head. " What's the point of beating him up? We're in the same faction! "

Will smirks.

" Oh, you think it's going to be that easy? " Will asks, grinning. " Go ahead. Try to hit me, slowpoke. "

Will puts his hands up again. I see a determination in Will's eyes that wasn't there before. Does he really believe he can win? One hard shot to the head and Al will knock him out cold. That is if he can actually hit Will. Al tries a punch, and Will ducks, the back of his neck shining with sweat. He dodges another punch, slipping around Al and kicking him hard in the back. Al lurches forward and turns. When I was younger, I read a book about grizzly bears. There was a picture of one standing on its hind legs with its paws outstretched, roaring. That is how Al looks now.

He charges at Will, grabbing his arm so he can't slip away, and punches him hard in the jaw. I watch the light leave Will's eyes, which are pale green, like celery. They roll back into his head, and all the tension falls from his body. He slips from Al's grasp, dead weight, and crumples to the floor. Cold rushes down my back and fills my chest. Al's eyes widen, and he crouches next to Will, tapping his cheek with one hand. The room falls silent as we wait for Will to respond. For a few seconds, he doesn't, just lies on the ground with an arm bent beneath him. I approach him, looking at Al. Then he blinks, clearly dazed.

" Get him up, " Eric says.

He stares with greedy eyes at Will's fallen body, like the sight is a meal and he hasn't eaten in weeks. The curl of his lip is cruel. I turn to the chalkboard and circle Al's name. Victory.

" Next up-- " Eric states. " Molly and Christina! "

Al pulls Will's arm across his shoulders and drags him out of the arena. Christina cracks her knuckles. Tris looks like she wants to say something like "good luck" or "be careful", but she doesn't know what to say. Christina isn't weak, but she's much narrower than Molly. Hopefully, her height will help her. I walk over, helping lift Will up. I support him by the waist and walk him out on my own. Al stands for a moment by the door, watching us go. I feel guilty leaving them, even if it's only for a minute. It's like leaving them with Eric is like hiring a babysitter who spends his time sharpening knives.