I apologize. I said that I would update earlier and I didn't. Honesty, I got distracted and then I got hit with a bunch of homework right after Spring Break ended. Anyway, here's a new chapter. :)
Chapter Eighteen: I'll Make a Man Out of You
Out of all the possible scenarios that could occur, never did Suzie imagine that she would reach the top half of an army-sanctioned fighting tournament. Yet, after a week of organized matches, Suzie claimed her position in the top twenty-five.
Not all were as easy as the first fight against Cody. Still, she won by using her speed and unpredictability against her opponents.
After one close match, on the Friday before Valentine's Day, Richard and Suzie sat in the shade of their barracks and rested.
One side of Suzie's face still stung from the punch she received from an overzealous opponent. The ice that Alice gave Suzie already melted into a watery mess that dribbled down her cheek and onto her lap. It cooled her down a little against the hot sun and helped ease the bruise that formed on her cheekbone.
"Gosh, Barnes, you're talented!" Richard exclaimed once they plopped onto the ground. He mimed a few of the moves from the fight. Then he leaned against the brick wall of the building, tired from the heat. His cheeks shone a bright red from both sunburn and cheering too much.
Gripping the front of his shirt, he fanned it against himself to cool down. The lack of any breeze made the heat more stifling. "If it's this hot in February, I can't imagine what it'll be like in the summer."
"Hopefully, we'll be overseas by then," Suzie muttered against the ice pressed against her face. "Besides, it's only sixty-two degrees."
"It feels like ninety, though," Richard pouted. "How are you not overheating? You worked harder than me today, with that fight and everything."
Glancing to her right, Suzie flashed a small, teasing smile. "I'm not a carrot-top vampire. You look like a tomato."
"I feel like one too."
"Guess you bring a whole new meaning to 'rosy cheeks.'"
Richard laughed. A half-second later he sat up straight in a rare display of seriousness. Suzie raised an eyebrow at the sudden movement.
"Oh no!" Richard's eyes widened like he just remembered something important.
Concerned, Suzie set the ice pack onto her lap. "What is it?"
"A rose! I forgot to send Helen a bouquet of roses!"
Now confused, Suzie tilted her head and gave Richard an incredulous look. "What for?"
"Valentine's Day! It's on Monday and I always give her a dozen roses." Richard pressed his palms against his eyes and flopped against the wall. "I'm a terrible boyfriend!"
"If she loves you, I don't think forgetting flowers when you're at basic training will matter all that much."
Sitting up again, Richard whirled on Suzie, startling her again from the unexpected motion. "I've gotta get her a bouquet!"
"Where?" Suzie spread her arms wide and gestured around them. "We're at an army base in the middle of nowhere. Where are we going to get that?"
That caused Richard to pause a bit. He sat back on his heels and tapped a finger against his chin. The moment Richard got an idea, his eyes widened and his signature grin spread across his face.
"We're gonna make one!"
Suzie blinked. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could muster a single: "What?"
Already on his feet, Richard placed his hands on his hips like a mad scientist with a new maniacal plan. "How are your art skills?"
/\/\/\
Again, never did Suzie imagine that she would sneak into an army communications building to "borrow" red paint to make a paper rose bouquet for her best friend to send to his girlfriend.
Ten tense minutes went by and Suzie snuck out of the building with a tin full of red paint. The paint came from a gallon stored in the closet that somehow Richard knew would be there. He claimed he saw someone painting a sign with red paint and bringing the bucket back into that building. If spending over two months at Camp Barkley taught her anything, learning not to question the weird things that men remembered or did certainly helped in the strangest of ways.
The things you do for love, Suzie mused as she returned to the barracks.
Aside from a few other men lounging around in the barracks, Richard and Suzie's beds had plenty of space to work. Already sitting on his bed with a thin stack of paper in his hands, Richard waved when Suzie opened the door.
"Did you get it?" Richard asked. His knee bounced as he watched Suzie set the tin of paint onto their footlockers. Richard had pulled the chests between their beds as a makeshift table.
"You owe me," Suzie said in response. She sat crisscrossed on her bed because the chests squeezed between their beds did not provide enough legroom.
"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me." Richard fanned the stack of paper out onto their improvised table.
"Of course." Shifting forward on her bed, Suzie pulled out her pocketknife and flipped it open. The metal blade glinted against the setting sun streaming through the open window. "We've got about an hour until lights out. I'd say we cut the paper into thin strips and use the paint to hold them together."
"Do you know what you're doing?" Richard asked. His green eyes looked almost hazel in the declining light.
"Trust me, it'll look great."
In truth, Suzie had only seen Steve do something similar once in her entire life for an art project years ago. If her memory served her correctly, Steve had cut the paper into one-inch strips and somehow turned them into a flower-like shape by making small triangular folds. How she remembered something like that, she had no idea, but Steve's artistic skills always fascinated her. He let her watch, too, so she learned a few tricks over the years.
With a slice of her blade, she cut a strip of paper from one lying on her footlocker. After setting her knife down, she attempted to copy Steve's triangular folds. She repeated the process until the paper resembled a small accordion when stretched out and somewhat rose-like when pressed together. Once finished, she held up the small paper flower for Richard to inspect.
"It's pretty!" Richard exclaimed. He held the flower in his hands when Suzie offered it to him. "I can paint and you can fold. I'll try to figure something out for the stems."
Their plan determined, Suzie cut twenty-three more strips, folded them, and handed them to Richard to paint. Suzie's army-issued shaving brush that she never used ended up as a paintbrush. The process took around forty-five minutes.
Once done, they stared down at the two dozen paper roses drying on a sheet of paper. They decided to let the paint dry overnight before attaching them. Only a few drops of paint landed on their wooden chests and they cleaned up quickly. All in all, their little arts and crafts project turned out surprisingly well—until Lemay and Garcia showed up.
"Whaddya got here?" Garcia jeered at the duo fifteen minutes before lights out. He reached for the tin of paint, but Suzie snatched it away before he could grab it.
"It's a gift. Please leave," Richard said and nudged the footlockers further from Garcia.
Garcia stepped closer. Lemay loomed behind him, as always. "For your pretty little girlfriend? How sweet."
"Go away," Suzie snapped. "It's none of your business."
Suddenly, Garcia swiped the paper holding the roses, flinging them to the ground. He snatched up a few and stomped on some others. Lemay kicked the footlocker into Richard's knee with a harsh shove. The wooden chest screeched against the floor.
Despite the pain in his knee, Richard lept up with an angry shout. His eyes blazed and his face crinkled up. "How dare you?!"
The shock of what happened wore off and Suzie scrambled to her feet. She flung out an arm to hold Richard steady.
"Tell your girlfriend I said hi. I'd love to see her some time, maybe even give her a little treat. I bet she'd love having a real man to claim her." Garcia winked with a wicked grin and sauntered off, a few of the roses still clutched in his hands.
Beneath Suzie's hand, Richard moved forward, intent on following. Suzie stepped in front of Richard, placed both hands on his shoulders, and blocked off the aisle. They both watched as Garcia pranced to the bathroom, dropped the roses into the toilet, and flushed.
Richard made a strangled noise and lunged forward again. Suzie skidded a few inches on the smooth floor before she regained her footing. She wrapped Richard into a hug, pinning his arms to his sides.
With her face at shoulder height, Suzie craned her neck upward to whisper: "Leave him alone. We've still got some left; we can save it."
"Those jerks! Imma—"
"I'll take care of it. I've got that fight against Lemay next week and I'll pummel him for you. I promise."
Richard let Suzie push him to his bed. His chest heaved from the desire to beat up Garcia. Sitting down, he fumed in his seat. "It still leaves Garcia."
"Those two are close. If I take out Lemay, I take out Garcia. Here," Suzie gathered the surviving roses. Only ten remained. She rolled a leftover sheet of paper into a cone and held up a rose against the paper. "I'll sew the roses onto the paper to make it look like a bouquet. It's not two dozen or even twelve but I'm sure Helen would still love it, okay?"
Something must have finally reached him because Richard shifted his glare from the wall to Suzie. His eyes still burned like an angry cat waiting to pounce on its enemy. "Promise me you'll pulverize Lemay. I want him crying for his momma. Maybe it'll scare Garcia enough to leave us alone."
Suzie looped her pinky with Richard's and shook, determination settling in like a roaring fire fueled by anger and a desire for revenge. "I promise."
Promises: simple and fleeting rays of hope sworn to make the other person feel better.
A pit of despair settled in Suzie's stomach when she faced Lemay on the last Monday of February, and incidentally, on Becca's sixteenth birthday. Not only would she have to win for Richard, but Suzie also wanted to win this fight to tell Becca to stop worrying so much about her older sister.
The crowd tripled in size since Suzie's first fight against Cody over three weeks ago. The sheer size of the crowd sent a cold shiver down Suzie's spine.
"You'll do great," Alice assured. A first aid kit, a towel, and a bottle of water sat on the ground next to her feet. The presence of the med kit tightened the knot in Suzie's stomach.
"Beat him to the ground," Richard muttered. His eyebrows furrowed from glaring across the square where Lemay warmed up. If looks could kill, Lemay and Garcia would be dead twice over.
"He's big but he's slow. Use your speed against him." Alice took Suzie's hands, checked the wrappings, and slapped Suzie on the back. "Go get 'em, tiger!"
Across the square, Lemay yanked off his shirt. A solid six-pack of tight abdominal muscles and a light crop of blonde hair dusted his broad chest. His shoulder muscles rippled as he rolled out his neck and shook his arms out like a gorilla. He slapped his chest with a fist and grunted, honing in on the gorilla-like behavior.
Lemay spread his arms wide and turned around to face his side of the crowd. Garcia whooped and pounded his fists against Lemay's chest in the weirdest pre-fight ritual Suzie had ever seen.
The height difference alone would make anyone question the sanity of the fighters. Standing at nine inches taller and twice her weight, Lemay loomed over Suzie—a gorilla against a chimpanzee.
Chimps are lethal, too, Bucky's voice encouraged. Target his soft spots.
"Pound him into the dirt!" Richard shouted. His face already matched his hair color. The redness blotted out his freckles. "Make him cry! Punch out his—"
A guttural roar interrupted Richard's rant. The sound made Suzie a little dizzy as her heart picked up a quicker beat.
Lemay stomped into the square. A wicked grin spread across his face when he saw Suzie. "Ready to die, Barnes?"
Suzie said nothing. Instead, she shifted into the fighting stance and frowned.
Stay on defense for a bit. Wear him out, Bucky coached. It'll help you learn his style.
At the blast of a bugle, Lemay lunged straight for Suzie, his huge fist raised. Lemay's style consisted of wild punches accompanied by a throaty growl. What was he—a rabid beast?
Air breezed past Suzie's ear as she stepped away from the attack. Her heart pounded in her chest. Being this close to Lemay reminded her of the fight in the showers. They would have killed her if Richard had not intervened.
And now, she must fight the hulking Lemay because of her friendship with Richard. Life certainly has a funny way of coming full circle.
An uppercut followed the initial punch. Suzie leaned away from it and slid back, kicking up dust. The punches came too close for comfort and she wished she had a larger square to fight in. She needed room but the crowd boxed them in like guards watching prisoners fight to the death.
Garcia cursed and shouted rather crude directives. Lemay roared and charged, this time aiming for Suzie's stomach.
She saw the attack before it happened and danced out of the way. The countermove caused Lemay to stumble forward. He must have intended for Suzie to slow the attack.
His shoulders twitch when he's about to strike, Bucky pointed out. He favors his right side. Wait for an opening and attack on his left.
It did not take long for Lemay to correct himself and swing again at Suzie's head. She ducked and jabbed her fist into his diaphragm.
"That's the spirit! Keep it up!" A glance to her right showed Richard jumping up and down.
Without Garcia to assist him, Lemay's feral fighting style had no rhythm. His efforts grew erratic when he realized that Suzie could outmaneuver him. She landed several hits between Lemay's uncoordinated swinging.
Yet, it only took one hefty punch to knock Suzie off balance.
The hard right hook sent stars spinning in Suzie's vision. She stumbled backward and tried to shake the dizziness away.
The crowd shouted as the tide of the fight turned. Garcia let out an expletive. Richard and Alice yelled. Suzie heaved and blinked to clear her vision.
A large body collided with Suzie, knocking the wind from her. Lemay's muscular arms wrapped around Suzie's torso as he tackled her to the ground.
Suzie's back hit the dirt and she wheezed. Her teeth rattled and she swore she could feel a rib cracking. Chest heaving, she struggled to move away but Lemay's legs and arms caged her in. His weight dropped on her, pinning her to the ground.
Another solid punch landed on the side of her head, snapping her head to the side. She spat out a wad of blood as Lemay's hands slid over her throat and squeezed.
"See you in hell, Barnes," Lemay growled.
Gasping in shock, Suzie struggled under Lemay's hold. She dug her fingernails into Lemay's forearms and let out a flurry of kicks.
Oblivious to Suzie's desperate attempts to loosen his grip, Lemay pressed his weight forward and onto his hands. The motion crushed Suzie's windpipe. Blurry darkness crept into the edges of her vision. Panic flared in Suzie's chest like a wildfire burning through a forest, devastating everything in its path.
Bucky's voice fell silent, unable to offer any advice. In her entire life, Suzie had never seen Bucky end up on the ground during a fight. He was better than that. She failed to realize when she had gotten over her head while he knew how to choose his battles. Bucky would have never ended up in this situation.
She chose to do this and she would be the one to get herself out of it.
Despite Suzie's distressed measures to free herself, Lemay did not relent. His eyes grew crazed and sweat rolled down his face. His teeth flashed with all the ferocity of a rabid animal.
I'm going to die, Suzie thought. I am going to die. Her limbs tingled with the beginnings of numbness. Most of her vision turned to a blurry mess, the image of Lemay's face haunting the recesses of her mind.
No, you're not. Bucky's voice returned, clawing through the rush of blood in Suzie's ears. Try to think!
You're better than this, Alice's voice chided.
Don't beat yourself up because of me, Richard's voice assured. God doesn't give you what you can't handle.
What I can't handle…
A crazy thought popped into Suzie's head.
A second later, she fell limp.
/\/\/\
The pressure of Lemay's hand eased off Suzie's bruised throat. He leaned back onto his heels and raised his hands above his head in victory. From the crowd, Garcia cheered as Lemay pounded a fist against his chest.
Richard fell to his knees and pulled at his hair. Beside him, Alice whirled on Stone, her eyes burning.
"Why didn't you stop it?" Alice shouted.
"I call it after ten seconds, it's the rule," Stone replied. "Barnes didn't tap out."
"I don't give a damn about the rules! He was going to kill Barnes!"
With her palm open, Alice pushed her hand against Stone's chest, brushed past Richard, and marched into the square. Stone caught Alice by the wrist and pulled her away from the fight.
"Alice, please—"
A stir on the ground brought attention toward Suzie's prone form. Lemay stood above the soldier, his arms raised above his head. Beneath Lemay, a heel slammed into Lemay's stomach. A knee sailed up into his crotch and he doubled over.
Quick as a flash, Suzie sat up and wrapped her legs around Lemay's neck. Using her hands to anchor herself around Lemay, she squeezed with what remained of her strength.
The crowd went wild. Alice stumbled in shock and fell against Stone's chest. From the ground, Richard gasped and almost tripped over his feet by jumping up.
"Bitch!" Garcia shouted from the crowd.
Lemay growled and dragged Suzie against the ground as they battled for control. Somehow standing again, Lemay yanked Suzie's legs off. She dangled in the air, her toes flailing several inches above the ground.
Lemay wrapped an arm around Suzie's chest and squeezed her against him. His other hand curled over Suzie's face, his palm pressed against her mouth and his fingers laced through Suzie's short hair.
Suzie clawed at his arms and mustered enough strength to kick Lemay in the shin. In retaliation, Lemay dropped to his knees and lunged forward. He shoved Suzie away from him and used his grip on Suzie's face to slam the back of her head into the ground.
The last thing Suzie saw was Lemay glowering with livid murder before the world went dark.
Feel free to leave a comment. Anything is appreciated. Also, I might be adding a short story about Winnie and George Barnes to A Thousand Little Things (my short story collection), so be on the lookout for that if you're interested. I'll try to update soon. :)