Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

to Winky, rolling his head around and flexing his chest muscles, glaring at Bodo the entire time. It reminded me of our match, the battle for control of the swamp, and I knew firsthand how close I’d come to losing that one. Bodo didn’t have a chance if Trip was mad enough.
    I sighed resignedly. Even if I wanted to stop this match-up, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to at this point. The roosters were crowing and the only thing that was going to un-ruffle their feathers was to let them get it out of their systems and decide once and for all who had the right to the bigger head in the swamp.
    I could guess what Bodo was all about - he was jealous of Trip for some reason. Maybe because Trip and I had fought and he’d ended up respecting me in the end. I knew it hadn’t come easy for Trip to let people know that, but he had never indicated that he liked me in any kind of romantic way, so I couldn’t figure out what he had against Bodo, unless it was just a guy thing that no one but another stupid guy could understand.
    I stepped back, motioning for everyone else to do the same. These two were going to need more space, both of them already pacing, their eyes measuring each other up and ignoring the rest of us. I gave Winky an apologetic look, but she just shrugged her shoulders, apparently not all that concerned about being caught up in the middle of this testosterone-fest. I could tell she was going to do the smart thing - let them beat the crap out of each other first and then jump in to deal with the leftovers. She eyed them both warily, occasionally flicking her gaze to the left and right, looking for escape routes that would keep her clean but still in the ring. She was a natural fighter, that much was obvious.
    “Partners ready? Last man or woman standing goes with us. Begin!”
    ***
    Trip roared and rushed Bodo, head down like a bull. Bodo was ready, grabbing him in a headlock and traveling backwards with him upright for several steps until they both fell. They went down in a pile of arms and legs, Trip on top.
    Trip struggled to get free, his fists hitting Bodo in the ribs, but Bodo held on for dear life, using his legs to reach up and muscle Trip over onto his side, mashing his head in the dirt in the process. Bodo kicked him hard in the back of the thighs and calves with his heels, sure to leave some nasty bruises Trip would have to nurse tomorrow.
    Trip got tired of eating dirt fast and managed to wiggle his head free of Bodo’s armpit. He came up swinging. I watched him land a hard right to Bodo’s face and winced at the contact. I hated to think of my boyfriend’s gorgeousness being messed up even more, but there was no way around it. These guys were serious.
    I thought for sure it was over for Bodo when Trip got up and sat on him, pummeling his face; but Winky had other plans.
    She ran across the open space and jumped on Trip’s back, digging her fingers into his eyes and pulling as hard as she could, using her whole body as leverage. I watched the small muscles of her arms bulge with the effort.
    Trip let out a pained scream, letting her pull him back to try and ease the pressure from his sensitive eyeballs.
    Winky let go long enough to kick him in the side of the head when he fell back, scrambling out of the way so she wouldn’t be trapped underneath him. But she didn’t get enough distance between them.
    Trip reached out blindly, and caught her foot, gripping onto it and pulling hard. Her legs flew out from under her, and she landed on her backside, hard. I saw her head bob down hard at the impact, as the jarring force went up into her spine.
    Winky kicked with both legs as hard as she could, trying to detach him, but he held on, pulling her closer and closer with several quick yanks. He got his hands on her thighs and for a split second just sat there, holding on, trying to see through his teary eyes. And then he lifted up an arm and backhanded her.
    She should have gone flying, but Trip held onto her thighs with his other arm, so she only whiplashed once before pulling herself back into a sitting position.
    Trip had murder in his eyes, and I don’t think he was even seeing her as a girl anymore.
    Several guys moved in, as if to intervene, but I held up my arm and yelled sharply, “No!” She was going to be hurt, that was for sure; but I knew she wasn’t in danger of being killed. Not yet anyway. And if I saw anything like that going down, I was ready to jump in and end it along with