Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

and climbed as fast as I could, using the lion paws and head as footholds. I reached the top and slowly lifted my head above the edge.
    There was a huge bonfire in the middle of what used to be a big fountain in the front of a ginormous house. It lit up the entire area so well, I could even see the faces of the people standing nearby. A driveway led from the gate where we stood to circle the fire-fountain. Girls were standing around it in small groups, and two male figures were tied to columns at the front of the house.
    The one on the left was big and dark-skinned, possibly Hispanic. He was bald and cleanly shaved. It was the first time I’d seen a guy with no facial hair in almost a year. Even the Native American guys had a sprinkling of it on their faces.
    Bodo had always had a scruff that he kept short with a knife given to him by Yokci, but this person tied to the column on the right had none of that. He was also bald, and covered in paint. Oh, please let it be paint , I begged no one in particular. It was brownish red and reminded me of old blood.
    “What’s going on?” asked Winky. “Come on, guys. I can’t climb up here with this poo factory on me. God, he stinks now,” she whined crankily.
    “I’m not sure,” I said, looking down at her before turning back to the scene in front of us. “It might be Bodo, tied to a pole thingy. But he’s bald and covered in paint.”
    “That ain’t paint,” said Rob, shaking his head.
    “Shut up,” I said, hitting him with the back of my hand on the shoulder. “It’s paint until I say it’s not paint.” I hated the idea of Bodo being covered in something evil.
    “Get off me, you ho-bag!” yelled Winky from below, the sounds of a scuffle quickly reaching my ears along with her demand. She can’t possibly be talking to the baby, can she?
    My head whipped around and down, my eyes taking in the nightmare scene below. Three girls had Winky in hand, two of them with one arm each and the other pointing a machete in her face.
    “There’s a baby here, idiots; be careful with it!” she yelled, trying to twist away from her captors.
    “Shut up, bitch!” growled one of them. “Stop trying to get away and neither of you will be hurt.”
    Another girl came walking out of the darkness, pointing a machete at Rob and me. “Come down and do it slowly. My machete likes blood.”
    Rob and I exchanged looks before slowly climbing down. We’re screwed , was all I could think. We were outnumbered, and I had serious misgivings about fighting chicks with knives this big and this lethal, especially when Bodo’s life hung in the balance along with ours.
    ***
    The warrior women led us around the front wall and into a door on the side of the property. There was one girl in front and two behind, with the others staying on either side of us. Winky held her arms around the baby protectively, and I could tell from her expression as she searched left and right for a way out of this mess that her mother-like behavior was totally instinctive. It crossed my mind that someday, she’d be one badass momma.
    We reached the bonfire and one of the girls escorting us peeled off to talk to a heavily-painted girl standing on the steps, in between the two columns with guys tied to them. Her markings were all over the place, blue and purple and even bright yellow and orange. She looked like a rainbow had vomited on her.
    As I got closer to the fire and the front of the mansion, I realized it was indeed Bodo tied there on the right side. He saw me looking at him and smiled lazily, his head bobbing around a little. He looked so pitiful, especially with his bald, white head.
    “Hey!” he yelled, obviously so happy to see me, he was laughing. “Ha, ha! Dat’s my girlfriend over dare! Hey, Bryn! Ha, ha! You’re comingk to da party!” His head bobbed to the side, before he brought it up again and shook it a few times. “Party, party,” he said, chanting in a monotone. “Time to make da party.”
    “Daaaammmn …” said Rob, sounding impressed. “He is seriously messed up.”
    I was pissed, glaring at the nearest girl. “You drugged him? What the hell is wrong with you guys?”
    “Shut up, bitch!” she said, stepping over swiftly and backhanding me.
    My head whipped back from the force of it. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to drop her with a solid boob punch followed by a right hook. I could totally picture myself doing it, but the visualization was very unsatisfying,