After the bout, Fee dabbed a towel over her shiny, red face. She puffed heavily and glanced at the two female bodies writhing on the chunky mats. In their hubris, they had dispensed with any kind of protective clothing, believing this newcomer was no match for two impressive-looking athletes.

  "You are off the chain, Green. Nice work." The Instructor said and glowered at the pair on the floor. "You two on your feet. Let this be a lesson: never underestimate your opponent."

  "I don't know how I did that." Fee said, taken aback.

  "The way you dodged those blows, I have only seen that in seasoned competitors."

  "My parents taught me."

  “Pure-bred warriors." The Instructor said, with a respectful nod. "Training will make your skills more relatable in other people's eyes. It's like if you did something amazing and they asked: 'How?' and all you could say was: 'I don't know', well that's just dumb and annoys everyone."

  "That sounds oddly specific." Fee said.

  "It happens. Don't let it go to your head. Alright Matsumara, you're up!"

  Fee turned to see Tomoko stroll to the ring, wearing blue boxing gloves. She watched Lex sidle up to her opponent, a stocky brunette named Paula. Word on the wire was that this girl had the heaviest punch on the squad.

  A bell was struck, and the two fighters circled each other in wide arcs. Tomoko had her hands pressed against her face in defence. Paula got in a couple of shots, and Tomoko managed to slip out of range. This went on for a time until the two fighters closed in. Tomoko swung at Paula with a right hook.

  Fee winced at the attempt.

  Too early.

  Paula ducked down and unleashed a devastating salvo against Tomoko, whose guard melted as she did all she could to stay upright. Fee stood as stone, watching Tomoko being pummelled into submission, until Paula ended the bout with a haymaker.

  "Good job, Featherstone." The Instructor said. "Shake it off, Matsumara."

  Fee was moved to turn away when someone whispered in her ear.

  "Hell of a thing," Lex said. "Watching a good friend scraped off the floor."

  "It’s what we’re trained for," Fee said. “Comes with the job."

  "Except you’re not the real deal; just a bunch of show ponies on parade.”

  "Heard it all before.”

  "You are going to be hearing a lot from me," Lex said. "Once you’re on my list, that's it."

  “Calm down, Santa".

  "This is your only warning, Green. You feel me?"

  "Oh yeah, I'm feeling you," Fee said, looking Lex dead in the eye.

  "You'd better be feeling me."

  "I'm feeling you all the way to the top, no doubt."

  "All the way to the top, I like that."

  Paula screwed her face up.

  "Guys, your trash talk is way too sexy." She said.

  Lex retreated to the other side, levelling a look of unblinking contempt.

  "We good here?" The Instructor said.

  "Just making friends, Coach." Fee said.

  "I'm not a coach, and play time is over. Hit the showers."

  Fee threw the towel over a shoulder and padded off toward the exit.

  ***

  The bathroom block was a changing room, divided by long wooden benches and lined with old metal lockers with fist-shaped dents. On the other side were the stainless steel showers, surrounded by unadorned tiles and walls. While pulling up fresh socks, Fee heard the patter of feet head out of the shower area in large numbers. She watched the other women, still wrapped in towels, look at her with pity or fear, before scurrying toward the exit. Left alone, a tense, nervous calm descended like an angry fog, with no sound but for the showers shutting themselves off. Throwing down the towel, she got to her feet. Upon passing the threshold, a meaty hand grabbed her in a choke and launched her backwards onto the wet floor. Slightly dazed, Fee’s first reaction was to get up, when someone yanked her across the slippery tiles.

  Before she knew it, both of her wrists were forced down by bony hands. The girl on top of Fee was skinny and stared manically through thick-frame glasses. There was something off this person, as if she had only tagged along for the possibility of some light cannibalism. The rest revealed themselves to be four women, glowering with dead eyes. Fee instantly recognised Lindsay Sawyer and Erin Barnes, the same pair she had just fought off in the gym. The new girl was named Theresa Bonasera, who carried an aluminium baseball bat. The 'Tank' of the group was a tall blonde, built like a hotel refrigerator. In another life, she could have been a sorority house ogre, with a name like ‘Moose’ or 'Boomer'. Sawyer grinned at the others in solidarity; disrespect required a show of atonement.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "Do you know who we are?” She said. ”Neo-CBR Bitch, aka ‘Niners’.” No response. "You should know what happens to those who embarrass us."

  Fee looked away and whispered: Whiskey?

  The crazed girl leaned forward to get an earful, when suddenly she took a head-butt to the face. Freed up, Fee slammed the girl against the wall, before burying a fist in the soft of the back. The Rat-Girl screamed and flopped down in agony. The other four looked on in horror. This was not how it was supposed to go; they had a speech planned and everything. #

  Fee planted her feet and extended an arm to give the universal 'Bring it on ' gesture.

  Fight first, fight dirty. Don't give them a chance to get cocky.

  Mother knows best.

  ***

  Boomer was the first to break loose and yell out a battle cry. Fee ducked a right hook, before shoving a fist of her own in the space under the rib. The girl’s skin was tough, like armour made of Rhino. The other gang members piled toward Fee as a whole. No one was waiting for their turn. Fee barely escaped from a series of 'one-hit kills', and only her training allowed her to dodge out of potential bone-breakers. Blind-sided by a whirlwind of flailing arms, Barnes and Lindsay grabbed Fee from the front, launching her backwards through a small glass divider. She landed in a pool of thumb-sized shards, her head and hands weeping blood. Before she could catch her breath, a series of kicks from Lindsay started to pummel her ribs. Fee blocked the rest with her forearms and managed to grab one of her assailants’ legs, pulling her down.

  Smack! Lindsay’s head connected with the concrete.

  Barnes came out of nowhere, Fee hung onto the sides and kicked at the girl’s shins, forcing Barnes into a face-plant against the edge of the partition wall. Fee leapt over the side and under the legs of Boomer, right into the path of Theresa, who swung the metal bat in maniacal arcs. Boomer grabbed Fee from behind, but the big girl got clipped by the bat. In her fury, Fee was thrown to the floor, while Boomer nursed her face. Fee rolled out of danger every time Theresa slammed the bat down in wild chops. Several hits caught Fee on the arm, only encouraging Theresa to ramp up the attack. Sensing an opportunity, Fee swept the girl’s legs with a scissors kick, sending her spinning into a thin pane of glass.

  Staggering to her feet, Fee spat blood and gasped for air. She was immediately grabbed by Barnes, while Sawyer cocked an arm back for a head shot. Fee quickly knocked Sawyer with a double kick and used a Judo throw to launch Barnes over her shoulder, breaking a bench. The girl rolled onto her side and nursed the base of her spine. Boomer came at Fee with a broadside attack, slamming her hard against the shower wall. Disoriented, Fee took a punch square in the shoulder, causing her to cry out and fall onto one knee. The heavy-set girl was already on her with devastating punches that missed the target, cracking the tile wall with several impact craters. Fee rolled away and noticed Sawyer going for a flanking manoeuvre. Nice try. She ducked out of the way of Sawyer's hook, grabbed the girl’s arm and swung her hard against the wall. Using an elbow, Fee smashed the side of Sawyer’s head against a mirror, and the girl slumped away, unconscious.

  Barnes got lucky with a jab, which caught Fee square on the cheek, forcing her to retreat a few steps. Barnes led with another right—big mistake. Fee pulled the girl by the crook of the arm, ending the fight with an elbow of her own. Barnes fell back clutching her bloodied nose, but Fee was ready with a finishing move. Barnes quickly held up her hands in mercy and got thrown a towel for her troubles.

  That just left Boomer.

  By now, Fee was finding it hard to stand up, her heart was racing and breath was parched. She backed away toward the tiled shower stalls to buy herself some time to recuperate. No chance. Boomer charged at her with minimal effort. Fee was forced against the wall, stealing what little air she had in reserve. The big girl was not done yet; she picked Fee up and hurled her over the partition wall like a bag of garbage. Hitting the slippery tiles, Fee impacted with a bruising fall. Winded, she could hear the heavy footfalls of Boomer's approach and barely managed to climb on all fours, when something kicked her hard in the side. Forced down. Fee gasped as the dead air escaped past her battered ribs. Looking around in a panic, she saw something dark and square in the corner. It looked like it could be removed; it looked heavy.

  Boomer’s fist came down like a meteor, but Fee was ready. She pulled out the metal grate to shield her front from the blow. The girl was wreathed in cold shock at first, confused at what had taken place, and it was then she screamed at her broken hand and backed away. This bought Fee enough time to pummel Boomer with the grate. The girl tried to respond, but her counter was halted by the searing pain that cut through her with every effort to fight back. Finally, Fee caught the big girl with a gut punch, allowing her to wrap a wet towel around the girl's neck and run at one of the columns, causing Boomer to flop out like a discarded mattress.

  Out of breath and burning fumes, Fee staggered to a nearby wall, almost keeling over in the process. Adrenaline coursed through her veins like acid. Checking her face in the mirror, she noticed it was mapped with fresh scratches and streaks of blood. Leaning over, she spat out a thick rope of saliva and coughed, allowing herself a few moments of peace.

  "Thanks for your help." She said to herself. "Means a lot."

  ‘It means more when you can fend for yourself.’ The voice in her head replied. ‘They were not a threat.’

  "I could have been killed.”

  ‘You complain a lot for someone who survived. The threat has been taken care of.

  "Was Miriam a threat? She was defenceless and you still messed her up."

  She was insolent. When the time is right, your subjects will learn to fear and respect you.

  "What subjects? Where?"

  There was no answer. Fee could hear the sound of more people filing into the shower block, too many to be any old group after a Gym session. Soon, a crowd of twenty women swamped the shower area. Some immediately bent down and inspected their fallen colleagues, while others shot Fee a menacing glare. From the centre, a pale woman in a white kimono draped over a Tennis outfit, cast a confused look around. Her round amber eyes fell upon Fee with shock, recognition and finally great amusement.

  Under the bright lights, Crystal Pie stood drenched in a familiar air of smugness.

  'What do we have here? A potential Sister in law.'