Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

together twice, startling them into movement. I loved seeing my father’s old techniques working like that. It made me feel like he was with me, watching over my shoulder, urging me in the right direction.
    “Two-on-one drills today, but first we’re going to do some warm-ups. Punches. Go!” I watched as they jumped into position and got their muscles ready to work, all of them showing off their natural skills and balance that had marked them as easy candidates for this last session. It was going to be really hard picking the final group.
    Trip and Kowi wandered over and stood with me.
    “They look good,” said Kowi. “Like they’ve been doing this longer than just a couple days.”
    I nodded. “Yeah. These guys are naturals.” The group still included a few girls, but I wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to hang to the end. “They still need a lot of work, but at least I have something to start with.”
    “You think you can get them ready in less than a week?” asked Trip, looking doubtful.
    “No, I don’t. I think I can help them improve on what they already have, skill-wise. But to get them to the point that I’d feel totally confident they could go out there and kick anybody’s ass, armed or not, I’d need months. I’m only doing the best I can and that’s it.”
    “That’s all anyone expects of you,” said Kowi, frowning at Trip.
    Trip walked away, shaking his head slowly, casting glances over at the group still doing their punches.
    I couldn’t let his disapproval and worry color my session. I needed to stay focused, so I stopped looking at him, instead watching each person doing the exercises individually for a few seconds. I wanted to try and identify anything that would tell me they weren’t ready to leave the safety of the swamp and encounter people with guns and knives. I saw three possible suspects with weaknesses too easy to exploit, two of them girls, but needed to confirm my suspicions by watching some contact.
    “Stop. Kicks now. One forward, one down, opposite leg. Go!” I watched as everyone kicked with one leg and then switched, using the heels of their opposite feet to stomp their imaginary adversaries. They moved in perfect formation, even without me counting it out. The ones in back followed the ones in front, and the ones in front seemed to be following the lead of the guy farthest to my left. Bodo . I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if he’d pre-planned this leadership role for himself. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and figure out a way to ensure his inclusion in the final candidate group.
    “Bodo! Step out! The rest of you continue.”
    Bodo’s hands dropped from their defensive position and he stood in place for a few seconds before moving to join the group of spectators off to the side. He looked confused at first and then slightly mutinous.
    I turned my attention back to the group. They continued their maneuvers, but looked decidedly less organized. Several of them were casting glances over in Bodo’s direction.
    That sneaky punk. He’s gotten everyone to follow his direction somehow. He was going to get it from me later.
    “Stop! Okay, Bodo, get back in line.” I waited for him to get there before continuing, addressing the entire group again. “Find two partners. Every group should have a large, medium, and small person in it. Go!” I smiled to myself, thinking about what a mess they were about to make. My instructions were deliberately vague; I wanted to see how well they could organize themselves without any advance notice of my plans. I read somewhere in George’s journal that troops needed to be trained in developing immediate responses to unexpected contingencies. I figured there was no better time than the present to practice those skills.
    Surprisingly, they didn’t mess it up as much as I had expected them to, but it was mainly because two people in the group kind of took charge and managed the formation of the partnerships: Bodo and Winky. I wasn’t sure if my plans had actually worked out or not with them taking such a central role.
    I tried not to feel weird about Bodo and Winky standing so close together and smiling at each other as they found themselves agreeing on just about everything. I forced myself to look away, and my eyes inadvertently landed on Paci. He was staring at me, a funny look on his face. I looked quickly at the ground then, trying to get my head back in the game so I could focus on what I was trying