Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

and act like you can take me down?”
    Paci smiled, speaking for the group, looking as proud as my dad sometimes did when I brought a big guy down in the dojo. “No, Nokosi. We’re ready to train.”
    “Good,” I said, slapping my hands together in one clap, like my dad always used to do with his groups. I walked in a big circle, getting my head around my plan, talking to them while I looked at the ground and paced. I’m sure I looked a little crazy, but that was part of my plan. They needed to see that I was no lady out here. I was a machine. A monster, even. Nothing was personal. It was all about defeating the enemy … immobilizing him … ending him if necessary.
    “Fan out,” I barked. “Two rows. Straight punches. Ready?” I stopped in front of them, raising my hands up near my face, my elbows bent and in, resting my weight on one foot while the other balanced on its ball.
    They rushed to get into position, trying to avoid stepping on their downed friend. I just ignored him.
    “Follow my lead. One-two!” I shouted, demonstrating two straight punches. “Use your hips and shoulder. Drive into it! Drive!” Mine were aimed slightly upwards, because everyone I fought was taller than me. “Not up , out straight!” I yelled, correcting their form. “You’re taller than me. You’re aiming for faces. If you’re tall, bring it down a bit.”
    I did a few more reps. “Again! One-Two! One-Two! One-Two!” Then I walked around watching their form. Some of them had raw talent, like Paci and Kowi. I could already see who was going to need extra attention - guys like Yokci. I stopped occasionally, lining myself up with someone, doing a series of punches so they could watch me, side-by-side. I could see it already improving their work.
    The injured guy slowly got up and stood off to the side. I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “You ready to work?”
    “In a minute. Hey. I’m … uh … sorry.” He grunted the apology out, probably still feeling the aftershocks of my stinky-shoes-to-the-crotch move.
    I didn’t even look at him. I just let my hand drop and walked away. He was going to have to work a lot harder than that to earn my forgiveness. As far as I was concerned, this was no game. What we were working on here could mean the difference between life and death with these guys someday. If he wanted to make it about jokes or stupid crap like guys are stronger than girls, he could go live in someone else’s swamp. We were only going be strong as we could be if we were able to admit where we had weaknesses and did our best to fix them. It would make it a lot easier for me to train them if I could control them; and the best way to do that was through intimidation. At least, that was how it was going to work with the guys. The girls were a different story.
    I worked with the first group for ninety minutes. By the time we were done, I had a nice sweat going and the guys were about to collapse. I finished with pushups and planks, making them hold the pushup position for a full five minutes. None of them could do it without a break, but I could. Of all the things I did today with them, this one probably made the biggest impression. When I stood afterwards, my muscles were totally pumped. I didn’t even have to move an arm or a leg for their tone to be broadcast to anyone looking my way. I silently thanked my dad for training me all those years and making me into such a skilled fighter. Who knew where I’d be right now if I didn’t have this valuable skill to offer these people in exchange for a safe place to live.
    When I stood and motioned for them all to join me, they came over, no one saying a word. They all kept their eyes glued on me, ready to eat up whatever I was going to say. I had them exactly where I wanted them.
    “Listen up, guys. I don’t have time to mess around anymore. Today was a freebie; I let you off easy. You get one day of rest and then another day with me, and so on and so forth until I say you’re ready to do something different. You’d better come prepared to work. Anyone who can’t hang with this group, joins the girls.”
    The friend of the guy with the injured balls snorted until he caught my eye. Then he went quiet.
    “You think I’m kidding? Try me. I have the chief’s support.” I didn’t even look at Kowi. I had to show them how sure I was of my position in the tribe. I prayed he was either nodding or saying nothing.
    The guy just bobbed his head