8. Fist fight
The yard where the van was parked was the only part of the base that led to an outside road, and honestly it was somewhat depressing. Gravel was strewn around the top of the yellowed dirt, while sagging sheds and tufts of dead grass rimmed the perimeter. The main base loomed overhead, windows like eyes glaring down on any who stepped onto the threshold and there was a perpetual smell of gasoline.
The scout swatted a mosquito off his arm as he stepped outside. Fading sunlight casted an aureolin glow on the van squatting off to the side, and the slim figure of Chloe waiting for him in the center of the graveled area.
" Winner gets Pauling?" He said as he sauntered over.
" Winner gets to never speak to you again." She growled.
" Well, I don' make too much of a habit of talking to myself; not really much of a prize."
" Screw yourself. Fists or bats?"
" Fists, unless you need a bat like you did last time." The tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. There were muffled footsteps coming from behind them.
" Oh look, a crowd gathered to see you have your ass handed to you." Chloe goaded, Scout turned to see, but that was when Chloe threw her first swing. Scout sidestepped, feeling her fist sail past his ear. He heard a few ooh's from the assembly.
" Clever, not bad for a New Yorker." He threw a left hook, but she dodged.
" Terrible, even for a Boston boy."
After that the banter ceased, they were in too deep to trade words. Sideswipe, dodge, jab, jab, hook, dodge…. blow after blow rained on the scout. Chloe's style was aggressive, quick( hell she wouldn't be a scout if it wasn't), but her stance was solid and she could dodge like she'd trained for years. They matched almost perfectly in pacing, and their shuffling footwork kept them moving circles around each other.
Minuted trickled by with no one making any serious blows. The crowd would hiss or boo when he almost got one in, other members would cheer but he couldn't make out any distinct voices. Maybe this is what being on of those roman gladiators had felt like; fighting while people just sat by for bloodshed.
He managed to deflect most of her hits to his upper arms and shoulders, she dodged his his hits all together and they would keep swinging. It seemed indefinite. Jab, hook, uppercut, deflect, deflect, dodge…
Sweat was trickling down his back, oppressive heat settled on the scene like a bird in a nest. It forced it's way up his lungs, his breathing was starting to get labored. God knows how long it'd been, his arms were starting to wear out and neither of them had done any serious damage!
It was the sweat that was his downfall. It trickled into his eyes, stinging them and reducing his entire field of vision to a blur. He couldn't see anything, and that's when Chloe wreaked her havoc.
BAM! A bust of pain as she collided with his already broken nose. Reeling, he tried to fend her off but she'd made her hole and broken his defense to ruins. On- two, one-two she just kept coming, plowing through him till he collapsed on the ground. Blood was flooding his mouth, he smelled it on the air and on the dirt but Chloe was like a hailstorm of fists and fury. He heard cheers for Chloe, with mixed in shouts of dismay like,
" Get up man!"
" You got it in you soldier!"But he couldn't get up, Chloe pinned him down with her legs, slamming away at his face till he was gargling his own blood.
Scout had lost all will to continue. Fractured stars were breaking into his vision, pain bursting in new lights all the time. The blows wouldn't cease, he couldn't even raise his arms to defend himself as Chloe twined her hands in his shirt before heaving up his torso and slamming it into the ground repeatedly. Dull thuds rang out each time it hit.
Thud!' Look at you, you're pathetic.'
Thud! 'Can't even fight off a girl.'
Thud! 'God, you think you're the best? Would the best be lying like a piece of meat s'been chewed up by a dog?'
Thud! ' An embarrassment to the family.'
Gravel was biting into his skin, each abrasion making him think he heard his brothers, berating him for his pitiful defense. Whenever he got into a tight spot he'd imagine them laughing at him and it would spur it one but here… he just couldn't. Fighting not to swallow blood, he only hoped Miss Pauling wasn't watching him.
" ENOUGH!" A voice roared, and he felt Chloe literally lifted off of him. He rolled onto his side, feeling like a chipmunk after trying to cross the freeway. He spat out mouthful of blood, the coppery scent washing up his nose along with the musty smell of gravel.
" Ve have more pressing issues." He recognized Misha's voice, and heard a thunk as the heavy deposited something next to him. He wormed closer, and to his utter horror recognized it as a body.
The female heavy was laying next to him, and she was most definitely dead.