Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Fighting Wounds

That night I dreamed that Christina was hanging from the railing again, this time with her feet upside down, suspended in mid-air in the canyon.Suddenly, a voice shouted: "Only those who disagree can save her." I ran up to pull her without saying a word, but at this moment, I was pushed off the guardrail and fell off the cliff. Just when I was about to be smashed to pieces, Woke up with a start. I woke up shaking in a cold sweat, went to the girls bathroom to shower, and changed.But when I got back to the dormitory, I was stunned by what I saw: someone sprayed the words "zombie" in three big characters with red paint on my mattress, and sprayed a smaller "zombie" on the bed frame and pillows.I looked around, burning with rage.

Pete stood behind me, whistling and booing as he patted the pillow.Pete is kind and honest, with raised eyebrows and white teeth when he smiles. No one would believe me if I hated him. "Nice decoration," he said deliberately. "When did I mess with you?" I yelled angrily, grabbing the corner of the sheet and yanking it off the mattress. "Didn't you realize? We're on the same side now!" "I don't know what you're talking about," he said nonchalantly, and then gave me a look. "You and I will never be part of the same faction!"

I shook my head while tearing off the pillowcase, and said to myself, "Don't be angry, don't be angry."He wanted to piss me off, and he couldn't be allowed to.But every time he pats the pillow, I want to punch him in the stomach. Al walks in, and before I'm even about to ask for his help, he offers to help me make my bed.Cleaning the bed frame will wait until later.He tossed a bunch of lettered sheets and pillowcases in the trash, and we walked to the training room together. "Leave him alone," Al said. "He's an idiot, and if you don't get mad, he'll end up bored himself."

"That's right." I touched my cheeks that were still hot from anger just now.I didn't want to dwell on Pete anymore, so I changed the subject. "Did you talk to Will? After that..." I whispered. "Well, I said it. He has a good temper and is not angry at all." Al lamented, "This time, everyone will remember me. I am the first cold-blooded animal to bring down others." "Never mind, there are plenty of ways to get worse. You see, at least they won't hold a grudge against you." "There is a better way." He touched me with his elbow and smiled slightly, "For example, the first jumper."

Maybe "first jumper" is my label, but that's about the end of my Dauntless reputation. I cleared my throat and comforted him and said, "Anyway, one of you must be knocked down, and if it's not him, then it's you." "It makes sense, but I've had enough of this kind of thing." Al kept shaking his head vigorously. He sniffed and emphasized, "I really don't want to do this again." While talking, the training room arrived.Before going in, I said, "You have to." Al has a kind face, but he might be too kind for the Dauntless.

Walking into the house, I glanced up at the "blackboard".Yesterday I was able to escape a fight, but today I cannot escape.When I saw my name, I couldn't help but stop. My opponent is Pete! "My God," exclaimed Christina, bruised and shuffling behind us, trying to walk like a normal person.Seeing the list of matches, she clenched the muffin wrapper in her hands, and exclaimed a little unevenly: "What? Are they serious? They really arranged for you to fight Pete?" Yesterday, I saw with my own eyes that he beat Drew to the ground in less than five minutes. Drew's face is still bruised and purple today, which is enough to prove that Pete is amazing, not to mention that he is more than 30 centimeters taller than me .

"Maybe you can take a couple of punches first and pretend to faint, and no one will blame you," Al suggested.I thought he had something brilliant at first. "Well, maybe," I said. I stared at the names on the "blackboard", and my face started to get hot.Al and Christina were just trying to help me, but it bothered me that they didn't believe in my abilities against Pete. I stood on one side of the room, half listening to Al and Christina chatting, and half watching Molly and Edward fight.Edward's shot is much faster than Molly's, so I'm sure Molly will lose today.

Time passed by every minute and every second, the resentment and anger surging in my heart had disappeared, and panic and anxiety crept into my heart quietly.Yesterday the Fourth had told us to be good at spotting the weaknesses of our opponents, but Pete had no weaknesses other than his lack of lovable qualities.He was tall and strong enough, big enough, but not so big that he was slow to move; he had a good sense of other people's weaknesses;I wanted to tell him not to underestimate me, but it was clearly a lie.Pete guessed right, I really have no fighting ability at all. Perhaps, Al's idea is not completely unreasonable, I can really deal with it casually, and pretend to faint after taking a few punches.

However, I can't not give it a try, I can't be the bottom. Molly looked like she was about to pass out as she struggled to get up from Edward's beating.It's all "thanks" to Edward.My heart was beating so hard I could feel it on my fingertips.Can't remember how to stand up, or how to throw a punch.I got to the middle of the field and Pete came up to me and I felt my insides churn.He was taller than I remembered him, with prominent muscles in his arms.He actually smiled at me.A ridiculous idea flashed in my heart, if I spit on him, I wonder if I can help me. I doubt it.

"Zombie, are you okay?" Pete asked sarcastically, "You look like you're about to cry. I hate women's tears the most. If you cry, I might be able to show some mercy." Over Pete's shoulder, I saw the fourth child standing by the door, with his arms folded and his mouth slightly pouted, as if he had just swallowed something sour.Standing next to the fourth child was Eric, his feet kept tapping the ground faster than my heartbeat. For a moment, Pete and I just stood there, staring at each other.Then Pete slowly raised his hands to his face, bent his elbows and bent his knees, as if ready to step forward at any moment.

"Zombie, come on," he yelled, "just a few tears, or a few begs." There was a gleam of greed in his eyes. The thought of begging Pete for mercy filled me with rage, and on impulse, I kicked Pete in the side.It didn't work out, he grabbed my foot and pulled it forward, I lost my balance, landed on my back, fell to the ground hard on my back, had to pull my foot back, and struggled to stand up. I had to stand so he wouldn't hit me in the head.That's the only thing I can think of. "Stop messing around with her, I don't have all the time!" Eric yelled. Hearing this, Pete's playful appearance suddenly disappeared, his face sank, and his hands pulled back. Suddenly, my jaw was in unbearable pain, my whole face was covered, my eyes were dark, and my ears were buzzing. rattle.I blinked and staggered to the side, feeling the whole room tilt and shake, with no memory of how his fist hit me. My body was so wobbly I couldn't do anything but dodge him as far as I could on the court.He rushed over and kicked me hard in the stomach. The kick forced all the air out of my lungs, and it hurt.Maybe it was too painful, maybe it was because I was kicked, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't tell why, I just fell to the ground. Standing up was the only thought on my mind at the moment.I struggle to get up, but Pete is close to me, grabbing my hair with one hand, and swinging his fist at my nose with the other.The pain was very different, less like a tingling and more like a popping sensation.The pain exploded in my mind, and my eyes were suddenly colorful, blue, green, and red, all popping up.I struggled to push him away and slapped his arm and he punched me again, this time in the ribs.I felt my face was wet and my nose was bleeding.There was more red, but I was too dizzy to look down at the moment. He pushed me violently, and I fell to the ground again, scratching the ground with both hands, blinking constantly, unresponsive, slow moving, and my whole body was hot.I coughed a few times and tried my best to stand up.In an instant, the world was spinning before my eyes, and I should really lie down.Pete's ghost was also spinning around me, and I became the only non-rotating object in this rotating world.Just when I was dizzy, something hit my side, and I almost fell again. Stand up, stand up.In blurred vision, I saw a large object, what appeared to be a person.I punched it with all my strength based on my feeling, but my fist touched something soft.Pete didn't even grunt, the punch was so harmless to him, he reached out and slapped me across the face, panting and laughing.I heard the humming and tried to blink hard to clear the shadows, wondering how the stuff got in my eyes. Out of my sight, the fourth child opened the door and went out.Obviously, he is not interested in this game with too much disparity. Perhaps, he is looking for the reason why the world spins like a top.I don't blame him in my heart, because I also want to know the reason for the rotation. As soon as my knees gave way, I fell down, and my face touched the floor, feeling cold.Something pounded my side again and I screamed instinctively for the first time since the beginning.A sharp and piercing voice, it belongs to someone else, it doesn't seem to belong to me.The side of my body was hit hard again, I couldn't see anything, I didn't even know what was in front of me, it was pitch black.Someone shouted, "Enough!" A lot of thoughts flashed through my mind, but I didn't remember any of them. When I woke up, I didn't feel much, but my head was so groggy, it seemed to be stuffed with cotton balls. I knew I had lost miserably, but my mind was not fully clear, and I couldn't think about things, so the pain was suppressed. "Are her eyes blue?" a voice asked. I opened one eye, but the other eye seemed to be stuck and I couldn't open it.Will and Al sat on my right, and Christina sat on my left with an ice pack on her chin. "What's wrong with your face?" I felt that my lips were big and thick, and it was difficult to speak, so I couldn't articulate. She laughed. "Why don't you tell me about yourself. Shall we get you a blindfold?" "Okay. I know I'm a big face, but I'm here—sort of," I teased. "Triss, were you joking just now?" Will said with a smile, "If the function of painkillers is to make you joke, we need to inject you frequently. Oh, and to answer your question just now, she I slapped you in the face." "I can't believe you can't beat Will, it's unbelievable." Al shook his head and said. "What are you talking about? Will is amazing." Christina shrugged, "Besides, I finally know how not to lose. He taught me to find my weakness. I just need to stop others from hitting me on the chin. .” "You found out so late, I thought you already understood this." Will winked at her, "Now I know why you didn't choose the Erudition School, it turns out that your IQ is a bit low, right?" "Tracey, are you feeling okay?" Al interrupted them.His dark brown eyes were similar to Christina's complexion, and his face was rough and unshaven.I bet he would have grown a bushy beard if he didn't shave.It's really hard to believe that he's only sixteen. "Fortunately, I just want to stay here forever, so I don't have to see Pete again." Actually, I don't know where this is.At the moment, I am in a very large and long room, with a row of beds on each side, and some beds are separated by curtains.To the right of the room is the nurse's station.If I'm not mistaken, this is where the Dauntless come when they're sick or injured.A nurse looks up at us from above the clipboard, the first time I've seen a nurse with so many holes in her ears.Some Dauntless volunteers to do jobs traditionally performed by other factions, after all, it just doesn't pay for Dauntless to travel long distances to a downtown hospital every time they get hurt. I think back to the first time I went to the hospital as a child, when I was six years old.My mother fell suddenly on the sidewalk in front of the house and broke her arm.Hearing her screams, I burst into tears, but Caleb ran to his father to report the situation without saying a word.Together we took my mother to the hospital, where a friendly Pai woman in a light yellow shirt with neatly manicured nails took her blood pressure and then set her bones with a smile. I remember Caleb telling his mother that she just had a hairline fracture and that she would be fully recovered after a month of rest.At that time, I thought he was kind enough to comfort my mother and let her relax, because anyone who is selfless should do that.But now I wonder if he was repeating what he learned, and I wonder if his disinterested tendencies were all learned erudites in disguise. "Don't think about Pete," Will advised me. "At least he's going to get punched hard by Edward. Edward's been practicing karate since he was ten, and just for fun." "Okay." Christina said, looking at her watch, "We're going to be late for dinner. Triss, do you want us to stay here with you?" I shook my head: "I'm fine." Will and Christina stood up, and Al waved them off.As for Al, he has a special smell, fresh and sweet, like the aroma of sage and lemongrass.When he tossed and turned in bed at night, I could smell a little and knew he was having nightmares again. "I'm just here to tell you that Eric has just issued a new notice. We will go to the city fence for field training tomorrow and learn the duties of the Dauntless." Al said, "Gather at the train at 8:15 tomorrow and leave on time." "Okay, thanks." I said. "Don't pay too much attention to what Christina said, your face doesn't look that bad actually." He smiled, "No, I mean, you look good, you always look good. I mean, it makes You look brave, like a dauntless man." Al looks away from me and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.There was a silence, we didn't say a word.He has good intentions, but there seems to be something more than good intentions.I hope my feelings are wrong, there is no way I can attract Al - how can I attract someone so vulnerable.I smiled as much as my bruised face could handle, hoping to ease the tension. "I should let you rest more." He said and got up to leave, but before he left, I grabbed his wrist. "Al, are you okay?" I asked.He stared at me blankly, and I quickly added, "I mean, is it easier for you to adjust now?" "Ah..." He shrugged, "It's better." He withdrew his hand and put it in his trouser pocket, his face flushed red.Maybe my question just made it difficult for him. I have never seen his face so red before.I also feel embarrassed if I spend the night crying in my pillow.But at least I know how to cover up when I cry. "After you and Pete, it was me and Drew, and I lost to him." He looked at me and said, "I took a few punches, fell on purpose, and never got up, even though I could Standing up...but I thought...I thought, since I've already beaten Will, even if I lose all the remaining games, I won't be last, so I don't have to hurt other people." "Is that really what you want?" "Don't know, but I just can't do it, maybe that means I'm a coward." He lowered his head and stared straight at the ground. "Not wanting to hurt someone is not the same thing as being a coward." Whether I comforted him from the bottom of my heart or not, I knew it was the right thing to say right now. For a while, we just looked at each other without saying a word.Maybe I did comfort him from the bottom of my heart.If he is a coward, it is not because he cannot bear pain, but because he refuses to hurt others. He gave me a painful look and said helplessly, "Do you think they will come to see us? I heard that the family members of the transferees never came on the family-visiting day." "I don't know either. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing for them to come." "I think it's a bad thing," he nodded. "Well, it's definitely a bad thing. It's hard enough now." He nodded again, as if confirming what he just said, and then turned and left. In less than a week, the selfless freshmen will be able to reunite with their families. This is their first reunion after the self-selection ceremony.The freshmen would go home, sit in the living room, talk to their parents for the first time as adults, and chat. I have looked forward to this day and imagined many times what I would say to my father and mother when I was first allowed to ask questions at the dinner table. In less than a week, the Dauntless freshmen will meet their families in the pit of the base or in the glass building above, and then the family will celebrate together according to the Dauntless tradition, possibly taking turns. Throwing a knife by the head - I wouldn't be surprised at all if that were the case. There are also those transfer freshmen who have asked their parents for forgiveness, and they will see their families again.I think my parents might not be among them, especially after the father lost his temper at the selection ceremony, especially after both of their sons and daughters chose to transfer. Perhaps if I told them that I was a Divergent and at a loss as to what to choose, they would understand my situation and perhaps tell me what Divergent was, what it meant, and why I was at risk.But on this secret, I can't trust them, so I will never know the answer. I gritted my teeth, but couldn't help crying.I've had enough!I was fed up with my own tears and weakness and not being able to do anything about it. Maybe I dozed off, maybe I didn't.Later that night, I slipped out of the infirmary and slipped back to the dormitory.Getting beat up by Pete and being in the hospital was bad enough, but letting him know I was still there overnight would be even worse.