The first week of training goes well. Max is really easy to get along with, Tobias warns me that he can be a bit off sometimes. I take his advice and be careful when trusting Max. We spend the first week learning about one another and how the Dauntless government works.
The second week is something I'm dreading the weekend before. Eric is going to be the advisor then. He's going to be quizzing us on what Max taught us and building upon that foundation. This is going to be a grueling 30 weeks.
Somehow... I survive. (just barely) Eric really is a dickhead, the next week we get him, it's like he's punishing all of us. It's week seven and we've moved on to physical training. It's every Wednesday and Friday–and it is brutal.
We're paired up based on our ages so Uriah and I are beating on one another every day.
"You hit surprisingly hard, Rita." Uriah spits out as I punch him in the chest.
I smile, "It's cause of my boney knuckles, Riah." I just barely dodge as Uriah kicks at my side by twisting. "Come on, you're way better than that..."
Uriah's face breaks out in a grin as he hits me right in the face, I taste the blood before I see it as my head bends backward from the force. I cough up blood onto the mat and then tackle Uriah to the floor.
I put a hand on his throat and raise a fist, "Tapping out?"
"Hell no!" Uriah hip-tosses me and I roll a few times before jumping up. He's stupid fast–just like I am but he's not fucking around. "Come on, Fractured, show me what you got."
That fire in me lights up when I see that look in his eyes, he's serious right now. I feel Eric's eyes on me as Uriah and I circle each other. It continues on like this for a while–the blood on my face dries before we're hitting each other again.
"Fucking do something or I'll submit an appeal to have you both removed from the program!"
Eric's warning is probably just bait but I'd rather die than risk that. Not now, I've come to far to lose this opportunity. Uriah moves to kick me in my side and I jump out of the way, he stumbles forward. I grab him by his hair and yank his head toward the ground–his body thumps on the mat.
He yanks at my ankles and I tumble on top of him, we wrestle for an advantage. Uriah isn't against hitting girls as he scratches and punches when able, I wince every time my chewed nails scrape against his skin. He's straddling my hips and I wrap my legs around his torso and push sideways, I'm on top of him and my hands wrap around his throat quicker than he can react.
I squeeze tight enough to restrict his air but not to hurt him. The warmth in his cheeks begins leaking out as I stare at the timer going down, he's got 15 seconds to either tap out or pass out... I try to tell him to pretend to pass out with my eyes, but Uriah is stubborn–I press on his neck harder and he chokes, his nails dig into my wrists as he tries to pull me off of him.
The timer rings loudly in the room and I instantly release Uriah. "You okay?" Is the first thing out of my mouth and he nods shallowly. We help one another up and Uriah holds his neck carefully, I would feel bad but I know he respects me for not going easy on him.
"Rita, you're back in the first place," Eric said, I nodded my head at him and he turned to Uriah, "Get it together." His voice was low so only Uriah and I heard Eric's warning. I worry that if we keep going back and forth Eric will try to cut Uriah from the program completely.
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