♘ Be Brave ♘

LVII

When I wake up, I'm no longer in the Dauntless compound strapped to a chair. I'm in a room, somewhere, and I am far from comfortable. I feel like the walls are closing in, and I realize that's because they are. I'm not in a room - I'm in a box, and I'm suffocating.

I claw at the sides, but they don't budge. "HELP!" I scream, desperate for air. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" It's no use. There's no one here. I can't breathe. I'm... going... to... fail.

"I've had enough of your stupidity! I cannot believe you are unable to follow a simple order!" Marcus is dragging me by the ear down the hallway and to a place I know all too well. "You must be disciplined. In you go!" I cry out, and he slaps me. "This is for your own good." He grabs my shirt and throws me into the closet. "Dad, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" It's no use. He slams the door shut and locks it, leaving me trapped for the rest of the day.

When I come to, I find that I'm no longer in the box. Apparently my losing consciousness was enough to slow my heartbeat down. Now, I am at the training room, where a table awaits me at its center. Once I reach it, I look down and see that there is a gun on the table, as well as a single bullet beside it. "Kill her." The voice sends a shiver up my spine. Marcus.

"I hate you, you know that?" I'm hiding inside my bedroom, holding tears back as I listen to Marcus hit my mother for the thousandth time. "I will never forgive you for what you did to me." His voice is strangely calm, and my mother cries out as he hits her. Big mistake. The next thing I know, there's a loud thud, and the slam of a door. That's when I know he has left her unconscious. Again.

I grit my teeth and shake my head, wanting to get rid of the memory. "Over my dead body," I snarl, and press the gun to my temple. I release the trigger and the floor dissolves beneath me. Moments later, I'm awake again, this time on top of the building leading to the compound's entrance. Heights, I mutter. I walk over to the edge of the roof. This should be easy, since I've done it before. All I have to do is jump. I close my eyes and think of Cassandra.

Smiling, I step off the edge, and everything goes black. Seconds after I hit the ground, the next simulation unfolds before me. This time, I'm back in my house at Abnegation. This can only mean one thing. He's here. I turn around, and sure enough, Marcus is sneering at me, a belt in hand. I freeze.

He's going to hit me. Fear swallows me up, and I'm afraid, so, so afraid. "If you hadn't left Abnegation, none of this would have had to happen." He smiles. "This is for your own good." He rushes forward and I instinctively cover my face with my hands, but the impact of the belt stings nonetheless.

I lower my arms and see that he has somehow... multiplied. I look down and see that my hands are shaking. I can't let him intimidate me, not even if it's just a hallucination. "Get. Away. From. Me." Marcus smirks. "What's that?" Each of his clones laugh, the sound making my head hurt.

"I said, GET AWAY FROM ME!" I lunge at him, and tear the belt from his hand. He growls and tries to take it back, but I twist it around his neck and choke him. I smile, watching the life drain from his face. Just then, one of his clones sneaks up behind me, and something hard hits my head.

I hear someone screaming, and I let go of Marcus to cover my ears, but the sound doesn't go away, no matter how hard I try. Then I realize that I'm the one screaming. And everything disappears.