Momma's Little Soldier

Chapter 29

When we were all done with breakfast and talking, there was only a handful of minutes left before it was time to face Bryce and make a life or death decision. Eric stood next to me as people started filling up the pit, "Didn't realize everyone from Dauntless would be here for this." I mumble. "Well, we don't tolerate cowardice here so most people come to support one of their own."

"But I'm not Dauntless yet."

"The second you jumped down here, these people accepted you as one. Finished with training or not, you are a member of Dauntless." Well, that actually made me feel a little bit better. Max walked past us and told us to sit down before making his way to the front of the crowd; I looked down at my shoes and let out a sigh, let's get this over with. Eric placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him, "Whatever decision you make is up to you, you've got this okay? I will be right by you so if you need someone to help you, I will be there." I know you will...Was what I wanted to say, but nothing came out. Instead, we both walked to the front of the crowd and went to our designated spots, "Members of Dauntless... Today we are here because one of our own has shown us what cowardice does to a person when fear takes over and they have shown us that they would rather kill one of our own to make it to the top instead of fighting for a chance to show their bravery and worth." On cue, Bryce walked in with two Dauntless guards gripping tightly to his arm. He wasn't fighting from their grasp and the only look he showed on his face was anger, complete anger and it sent a shiver down my spine, I'm not ready for this. The guards sat him down in a chair next to Max that faced all of us, he was looking directly at him, his eyes were menacing, if it weren't for the guards and the fact he was hands were tied up, he would probably take me down for round two.

"Now, here in Dauntless we handle this one of two ways, either the victim chooses to send them to the Factionless or has them sentenced to death. First, we will hear what happened first before we proceed." Max looked at me as he motioned me to start talking. My eyes darted to Eric, who was standing with the other members of Leadership, his softened eyes calmed me down so I could explain to everyone what happened, "Last week I was walking around at night when my head was slammed into the wall, Bryce had gotten me from behind and used that to his advantage. He tried to slit my throat, but I got away for a moment and I was too dizzy, he got me onto the floor and choked me. I struggled for a while to get away, I guess when I pulled his hands away from my throat, one of them must have grabbed my piercing and pulled. I tried using his knife to get away, I vaguely remember using it and the last thing I remember was looking up at the security camera before passing out." A chorus of chatter started picking up in the Pit. Max brought his hands together with one loud clap and it instantly went silent, "Is what she said true?" Max looked down at Bryce, who still hasn't taken his eyes off of me. "Yes and I would've gotten away with it if she would've just given up!"

I felt myself wanting to shrink when the rest of Dauntless started raising their voices towards him, I just wanted silence. Max stood there for a moment, wondering if he should just let Dauntless deal with Bryce and move on with the rest of his day or to silence them so we can move on, "Quiet!" His voice echoed off the walls and everyone stopped talking. Of course, everyone listened, next to Eric, this man screams power, and no one would dare challenge or threaten him. "I believe we have all heard enough. Now it is time for Ash to decide whether you live or die." All eyes fell on me and I have never wanted to crawl under a rock and hide so badly in my entire life. The answer is simple, sentence him to death, that's the only answer, so why does it feel so wrong at the same time. Of course, he deserves to die, after what he put me through, I want to ask Max if I can do it myself. At the same time though... Wouldn't that be the easy way out? Killing him would mean, I was letting him walk away, I don't want him to walk away. I took in a deep breath and looked Bryce in the eyes, "I choose to send him to Factionless," a frightened look flashed across his face, he wanted me to kill him, "killing you would be too easy because that's what you want. You want me to kill you so you don't have to deal with the repercussions of your actions. Not only are you a coward for trying to kill me, but you're a coward because you wanted me to end yours. Let me tell you this Bryce, I want you to wake up every day and regret the fact that you couldn't finish me off, I want the guilt to eat you alive when you see that I am living the life you have dreamed of, the life as a full member of Dauntless. You should've tried harder to kill me."

I watched as the two guards grab him and drag him away, while he thrashed in their arms, screaming at the top of his lungs, I might regret that decision later, but I meant it when I said I wanted this to eat him alive. Max looked at me and simply nodded his head, guess he agreed with my decision. My eyes locked with Eric's and he also looked proud of me, but it seemed deeper than just letting him live. When we all left the center of the pit, Sonja grabbed my hand and started rambling on about being proud of me and wanting to celebrate, all I could do was nod before I turned my head to see Eric. My mouth turned into a soft smile and my heart stopped for a moment when he smiled back before watching me get pulled away with my friends. I wanted to run to him, I wanted to tell him thank you for everything that he has done for me, I wanted to just grab his face and kiss him, but I couldn't and as I kept walking away, I hated myself for not doing it.