Apocalypsis: Book 2 (Warpaint) (22 page)

She charged him and he ran, narrowly missing her clutches as she reached out to grab him.  He arched his back and jumped aside, causing her to grip air instead of the shirt at his stomach.

“Okay, Winky, dat’s okay now!  We’re partners, remember? 
Ahh!”

She came at him again, this time not missing him entirely.  She left three long scratches along his arm.

While she was occupied with him, three guys including Kowi snuck in and dragged Trip out of the way.  He was too out of it to protect himself from the crazy fighter still standing.

“Winky, shut it down!” I yelled.

But she wouldn’t listen. She was circling Bodo again, waiting for her moment.

Bodo was confused as hell. He was alternatively laughing and looking worried. I could tell he just want to call it a draw and walk away, but his inner survivor told him not to turn his back on her.  She was dangerous and we all knew it.

I had to end this thing now, before it got too ridiculous.  I took two steps forward, intending to grab her arm and snap her out of her trance.

But she sensed me coming and spun around, lashing out at me with her nails, snarling at me like an animal.  It was only my quick reflexes pulling my head back that kept me from having some ugly scratches across my cheek.

“Bodo, get out!” I shouted, not breaking my gaze away from her for even a millisecond.  I crouched down, spreading my feet, stepping back and to the side so I could get in a better position.

The adrenaline was pumping into my system, enhancing my instincts and getting my muscles ready for action. 
She was just trying to kill my boyfriend.
  The thought triggered a protective instinct in me that I didn’t know existed.  I suddenly stopped seeing her as student and started viewing her as a dangerous competitor.

“Oh, shit,” said Paci.  “I’ve seen
that
look before.”  Some others laughed around him, but I paid them no mind.  “You better run, Winky!” he yelled.

Winky didn’t give a crap what they were saying.  Her eyes narrowed at me and she waved a little.  “Come on then.  Bring it.”

“You
bring it, twerp,” I responded.  “And you’d better keep your nails to yourself or I’ll fucking rip them out.”

She charged me, but I was ready for her.  She was planning to use those nails on me like she had on the guys, but I knew it as soon as I saw her fingers bending, before she even started moving her feet.

I ended her plans with a side block across her forearms and then the heel of my hand into her chin.

Her head snapped back, causing her step to falter.

I didn’t stop.  I kept coming, delivering blow after punishing blow to her face and chest, pulling back only enough to make sure I didn’t break anything.

I’d seen fighters go into frenzies like Winky before.  It was rare and usually came along as a result of some other external trigger, but when it happened, the only way to shut it off was to power it down.  I hated to hurt her, but she had it coming.  Not only had she lost it, but she’s lost it on Bodo.

She tripped after my fifth blow to her upper body, landing in the dirt.  I kicked dirt in her face to blind her and then used the bottom of my foot to smash her upper arms a couple times.

“I give!  I give!” she yelled, in between choking and gasping for air in the cloud of dirt and dust that surrounded her.

“You’re friggin right, you do,” I said, backing off, bouncing on the balls of my feet, shaking my head a little to get the emotions under control.

I had felt myself slipping away a little, getting into machine attack mode.  That was never a good place to be, especially when unevenly matched with a weaker opponent.  It was how people got hurt, and I didn’t want that for anyone here; it was completely contrary to our purposes and the things I was trying to create with my training - mainly establish camaraderie and esprit de corps.

Everyone around the clearing was hollering now.  Some of them were hooting like they were at a football game and others were just telling people to shut up or get out of the way.

Kowi came over to me to put his hand on my shoulder, in what seemed to be a mark of approval over my actions.  Winky probably had some friends and family in the crowd that needed to see that, so I was glad for it.  I didn’t need any vendetta on my butt, especially if any of her relatives were half as bloodthirsty as she was.

The other girls who hadn’t made the cut today, approached Winky cautiously.  They looked like they wanted to help her but were afraid they were going to be her next victims.

“Get her up,” I said hoarsely.  The dust had worked its way into my throat and dried it out along with the exertion.  “Winky, lay one finger on anyone and I’ll kick your ass.”

She shook her head, taking the hand of the nearest girl to stand.  She got on her feet, thanking the one who helped her up.  The rest of them surrounded her and walked her away from the center, one of them handing her a cloth to wipe her eyes with.  They had to be stinging with all the dirt I had kicked into her face.

“Well, that was a hell of a show,” said Kowi, a smile in his voice.

“How’s Trip?” I asked.  I could see Bodo was okay, standing off to the side with some guys, a bemused smile on his face.  I wasn’t going to worry about him until later, since he was on his feet and seemed fine.

“He’s okay.  Nursing his sore rocks somewhere.”

“Poor guy.”

“Got what he deserved.  Seems he’s always underestimating people.”

“Fatal flaw,” I said, smiling.

Coli came out of the trees with Peter behind her, walking over to join us.  “Looks like I missed all the fun,” said Coli, standing directly in front of her boyfriend, ignoring me.

Kowi dropped his hand from my shoulder.  “Yeah.  Trip got his ass kicked by Bodo and his little friend over there, Winky.”

My heart squeezed a little at his characterization of Winky. 
Why can’t she be his little friend without it making me feel ill?  What is my problem?
  I had chastised Bodo for being jealous earlier, and now here I was being just as stupid.  I shook my head and looked down at the ground, disappointed in myself.

Peter came over and rubbed my back.  “Hey.  Looks like you had a hard day,” he said softly.

“Yeah.  You could say that.”  I looked back up and tried to put on a cheery smile.  “But the good news is, we have our team.”

“Does it include Winky?” asked Kowi.

“You bet your ass it does,” I said. 
Hell yeah, I want a girl like that at my back.  Even if she is Bodo’s little friend.

***

I was lying on my mattress thinking about getting a nap in before lunch when I heard footsteps outside the door.

Peter was off making more bread and Bodo had disappeared, probably to go work with Nina, so I had no idea who it could be.  I opened my eyes and tipped my head back to see Winky standing in the entrance of the other hut.  Her face looked terrible.  Not only was it bruised and swollen from my attack, but her eyes were cast down in what looked like shame.

“Hey,” she said, softly.  “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” I said, sitting up and spinning around.  I motioned for her to sit in front of me.  “What’s up?”

She sat down and cleared her throat.  “I just wanted to apologize.”  She picked up a nearby leaf and used it to trace patterns onto the floor, not meeting my eyes.

“For what?”  The only thing I thought I wanted an apology for was something totally ridiculous I had no right to be thinking about - like an apology for being so attractive to Bodo - so I waited to hear her tell me what she was all about.

“For losing it.  For going ballistic on everyone.”

I smiled, putting my hand on hers, stopping her distracted movements before letting her go again.  “You don’t have to apologize.  I can appreciate a good killer instinct when I see it.”

She laughed once, humorlessly.  “It didn’t feel good.  After.”

“Yeah.  Going into a rage never does after it’s over.  But at the time, it kind of feels good.  At least, in my experience.”

She looked up at me quickly.  “You’ve had that happen before?”

I shrugged.  “Sure.  Anyone who fights on a regular basis does once in a while.  It’s bound to happen when you focus so much energy on being the last one standing.  The key is to recognize when it’s coming and not let it control you.  You can use that power to enhance your talents and fight better.  Harder.”

“Can you show me?  Because I’m almost afraid to try fighting again at this point.”

“No, don’t be afraid.  Be proud.  You’re good.  Someday I can help you become great, I think.  If you want.  You won’t have to worry about people hurting you anymore.”  I wondered if being hit in the past is what had triggered her anger at Trip’s punch to her face.

She smiled a little.  “That would be nice.”

“So are you okay with being on the team - to go after those canners who hurt Celia?”

“Yeah, I’m in.  Totally.”  She shrugged.  “I mean, if I go bonkers on them, the least I could do is smash some nuts, right?”

“Exactly.  That’s awesome.  I’m glad you’re going.  I think you’ll be a big help.”

She laughed.  “Why?  Because I can scratch their eyes out?”

“Well, yeah.  And the fact that you’re fast and small.  It could come in handy for us.”

“You have Fohi,” she said, smirking.

“Yeah, we have Fohi.  But he doesn’t have the nails.”

“True.”

We sat there and smiled at each other for a couple seconds before I started thinking about her being with Bodo again and my happiness faltered.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunching together.

“Nothing,” I said, trying to brush off her concern, standing up and attempting to look interested at something in the distant trees.

“Is it something I said?”

“No, no, not at all.  It’s nothing,” I said, looking back at her.  “Really.  Just forget it.”

“You can tell me, you know.  I won’t tell anyone.”

How can I tell her that she’s the problem and only because she’s cute and I’m afraid Bodo will like her more than me?  Or that I’m just a stupid idiot who doesn’t know how to act with a boyfriend?

“I promise.  It’s nothing.  See?”  I grinned as hard as I could, trying to show her how happy I was.

“That’s kind of scary, actually,” she said, eyeing me warily.

“What?  My smile?”

“Is that was that was?”  She fake shuddered.  “I thought it was your death stare.”

I reached down and slapped her arm.  “Screw you.”

“So I’ll see you at dinner?” she asked, standing up and backing through the entrance into the other hut before turning around.

I smiled at the instincts that subconsciously told her not to turn her back on me.  “Yeah, sure.  See you then.”  I watched her walk away, thinking about how ridiculous it was that Winky was impossible to hate when I wanted to dislike her so much.

I laid back down on the mattress, drifting off to sleep as I listened to the rhythmic vibrations of the cicadas’ song.  I dreamed about losing Bodo to a tiny nut crusher of a girl and being alone in the swamp with only Peter and Buster to keep me company.

***

I woke to find both Peter and Bodo asleep beside me, each of them on their mattresses.

Buster saw that I was awake and immediately came over to start licking my arm.  I tried pushing him away but his twisted poodle brain saw that as an invitation to play.  He kept diving back in for more attention, fully focused on his lick attack.  It made me wish I could bring him with me on our mission to go after the canners.  Maybe I could train him to bite ankles.  He’d be unstoppable.

“Quit, Buster!”  I nudged Peter.  “Peter, get your pink weasel away from me.  He smells.”

Peter reached out with a sleepy arm to pull Buster in towards him, forcing him into a very close cuddle.  Buster responded by turning his licking energies onto Peter’s face.

“Ugh,
Buster, what did you eat for breakfast?  Anchovies?” came Peter’s muffled voice.

I looked over at the entrance to the hut, and before I could even form a coherent thought in my brain, I screamed.

Bodo jumped up out of a sound sleep and rolled onto his knees, yelling,
“Was zum Teufel?!”

I didn’t know whether to scream again or laugh at the ridiculous sounds that had just come out of Bodo’s mouth.  My brain was short-circuiting as I stared at the gross thing in front of me.

“What?” asked Peter, sitting up, sounding scared to death.  “Please tell me there aren’t any dead people over there.”  His back was to the entrance of the hut and he stayed that way, almost as if refusing to turn around and face reality.

“No.  Not a person, anyway.”  I got up slowly and went over to the body lying on the ground at the entrance.  I kicked it a little with my foot, just to be sure it wasn’t going anywhere.

“Be careful, Bryn,” warned Bodo.  “Iss it dead?”

“Yeah.”

“What?!” yelled Peter.

“A snake,” explained Bodo.  “A bigk one.”

“It’s not that big,” said Coli, walking over from out of the trees.  She reached down and picked it up, letting it dangle down by her side as she continued.  “You guys coming to lunch?  We’re having a planning meeting for the recon mission and stuff.”

I eyed the snake in her hand.  “What happened to its head?”  It looked like it had been put down an automatic garbage disposal, head first.

Coli nodded at Buster.  “My guess is your dog happened to it.”

I looked over in horror at Buster, whose mouth was open as he panted happily away, occasionally turning to lick Peter.

“Uh, Peter?  Buster wasn’t eating anchovies … he was eating a frigging anaconda.”

“Gah!!”
said Peter, shoving Buster off of him and jumping up.  He rushed over to our pantry, pulled a bottle of water off the shelf, and poured it on his face and neck where Buster had recently been giving him a tongue bath, scrubbing frantically while looking at the snake hanging by Coli’s side.  “That is the most
disgusting
thing I’ve ever seen.”  He turned his ire on the dog.  “Buster, what is
wrong
with you?  Why would you eat its
head
of all things?”