Ava
The roar of the crowd has my body on pins and needles, blood coursing through my veins. The atmosphere is electric; you can feel the raw power the ring holds and how it brings out the animal in us all. I’m waiting for my bout when I'm hit in the head, and I look up “You fuckin’ listenin’ to me!” my dad says, and I nod yes. I fucking heard him; it's the same damn thing he says every time I step into the ring “Keep your eyes up, arms in and fuckin’ win!” I roll my eyes at him and look out into the crowd. I've been training for this fight for the past two weeks, up at the crack of dawn, ten-mile run and then into the gym for the rest of the day. Then into the pool for one hundred laps, my intact of calories alone could feed a small country. I've worked hard for this, I'm undefeated, dad even talking about maybe going pro but that's not what I want. I've got a plan for my life, and it doesn't include fighting in a ring, I'm smacked again, and I ball my fists up, and dad notices smiling “Keep that shit for the mat” he smiles walking toward the door of the ring with me. I jump up and down warming up cracking my neck and loosening my arms and legs. The door opens again and in walks my opponent Zelda Remeriaz, I've watched a couple of her fights, she’s new to MMA. Something I've been training for my whole life as well as wrestling, Muay Thai, Jujitsu, Taekwondo and any other form of defense, I've also had a gun in my hand just as much, my dad making sure I would be able to look after myself. But really, I’ve done all of those things so I can prove myself to the club, show them that I may be a woman, but I’m an asset just like the guys are.
The bell rings, and we walk around each other waiting for the right moment, I'm solidly built but in a feminine way. I work hard to maintain a good physique, but with a scarier edge with my tattoo's and piercings. They've always been a way to express who I am as a person. My full sleeve tattoo on my right arm with waves cherry blossoms and stars are more feminine compared to the avenging angel tattoo on my back. I also have a beautiful Buddha head on my right thigh, and the whole left side of my body is a tattoo of a tiger walking towards a pond with a Koi fish within the water. Two lace bows just on my thighs under my ass cheeks, and a saying on my ribs. When I'm not in the ring I have piercings in my cheeks, tits, belly button and pussy the typical Goth look but I fucking love it, it's me, and every piercing and tattoo has been chosen to represent me as a person. I watch Rameriaz move and notice a little limp on her left leg; I know that in her last fight she got kicked hard just above the knee. She also turns her leg just before she swings a punch. The first round goes fast, and she gets a good punch to my ribs, I know I'm gonna feel it tomorrow, the bell rings, and we head to our sides dad wiping my face.
“Stop fuckin’ around Widow AND TAKE HER DOWN!” he yells at me; the fights are three rounds of five minutes each. I look up at him as he squirts water into my mouth.
“Can you not see me fighting” I yell back at him pissing me off
“No! I can see you dickin’ around now fuckin’ get this shit done, YOU FUCKIN’ HEAR ME!” he yells, and I nod. “Good, watch her left leg she's limpin’, so she's hurtin’” I nod again, as the fights gone on she's limped more. “Kick in the leg and take her out” I nod as he squirts more water.
The bell rings, and I'm up, I kick out fast and hit her right where I knew it would hurt and she goes down to the mat. I act fast and get her into a sleeper hold; the crowd roars louder when I feel her tap my arm. I push her away as dad comes into the cage, picking me up “You did it darlin’” he says smiling.
*
As we pull up to the clubhouse after my fight, mom is waiting at the door. The usual worried look on her face, she runs straight to me hugging me tight “Oh god why do you do this?” she asks, holding my face in her hands, and I wince at the bruise on my cheek.
“Because I like it, mom, stop hovering” I try to push her off, but she’s like a leach holding me tight.
“Ava,” she says worried, and I look at her as dad comes up.
“Leave her baby she’s fine,” dad tells her pulling her to him.
“But…” she says, letting me go.
“She’s fine,” he says again, and mom looks at me, and I smile at her.
“I’m fine, Mom, but I could use a drink” dad laughs, but mom just scowls at me, you’d think I was sixteen not twenty-three for Christ sakes at the way she still treats me.
“Go on Ava; we’ll be in in a minute,” dad tells me, and I leave the both of them making my way into the clubhouse.
“You did good Widow, made me a packet darlin’,” Magic says as he rubs my head and I push him away, the guys always treating me like a little kid as I give him the finger making him laugh.
*
Walking into the kitchen the next morning mom’s sitting at the table reading the paper, she's a beautiful woman. Her African American heritage, making her look exotic; she’s slim with amazing curves. Where my dad is a proud American Irish man, six-foot-two with a Viking look to him blonde hair, green blue-eyes with the typical biker beard tattoos and leather. My brother Justin looks like him a lot, where I have more of my mom’s features just not the same coloring. When you look at the two of them being completely opposite ranges of the spectrum, they look odd, but if you watch them, you can see the love they both have for one another and woo and behold anyone who disrespects my mother, me or Justin. “Morning honey, how’d you sleep,” mom asks me as I sit wincing in pain
“Good thanks, mom, where’s dad?”
“Club meeting honey are you ok do you want something to eat” just then my stomach growls making mom smiles “I take that as a yes” I smile nodding.
“What club meeting?” I ask her
“Oh, honey, you know your dad never talks to me about those things.”
“Doesn’t that piss you off never knowing” she turns to look at me frowning.
“No! Why would it?”
“Because we're always in the dark and never know what’s happening.”
“Baby if your dad thought we were in danger he'd let us know and if something did happen your dad and the boys would sort it out” I roll my eyes at her (clueless)
“It's about pussy,” my brother says as he comes in and mom throws a dishtowel at him (she hates it when we talk like the guys), but I just look at him.
“How do you know?” it fucks me off that my seventeen-year-old brother knows this shit and me being a lowly woman aren’t privy to that information.
“Heard Boogie and Magic talkin’ about it yesterday when I was in the clubhouse” I look at him.
“You just overheard two members talking club business,” he nods.
“What? You know I start my Prospecting soon, so they were telling me about it.”
“I can't fucking believe this shit!” I slam my hands on the table, and they both look at me
“What?” Justin says, looking at me. The shit I've done for the club, and I’m still kept in the dark until they need me, but my stupid dumbass of a brother gets to know shit just because he’s a man. I’m so fucking pissed off if only my mom new the things that I’ve done for the club.
Ok, the first incident was by accident when dad Justin a couple of the guys and I were hunting when another club the Dragon Kings ambushed us up at our cabin and dad throwing my brother and I a gun each and yelling at us “Shoot to kill.” I was only twenty, and Justin fourteen, but I still remember the wood splintering through the logs in the cabin. My heart was pumping so fast through my system. Justin had a freaked out look on his face, but held his own, as I looked out the window I'd seen a guy aim where Radar the clubs’ VP was crouched down; I push him out of the way just as the wall splintered standing up and firing. I fired two rounds out the window and watched like it was in slow motion both bodies fall to the ground with a thud. Bullets flew through the cabin, and I stood up again firing three more times missing two but hitting one more. Shots rang out over and over until there was silence my ears ringing, six dead Dragon Kings lay on the ground and Bear was shot in the leg. Radar calling Doc to come to the cabin and patch him up and for the others to come up and dispose of the bodies.
“Fuck darlin’ good shootin’” Radar said, patting me on the back, I was still in shock, but the adrenaline was coursing through me so fast.
“You two, ok?” dad asked checking both Justin and I
“We're good?” I told him as I stood in front of the men I had just killed, Radar comes up next to me, placing his arm around my shoulders. “Thanks for the shove darlin’ I owe you one” I look up at him, then back down at the two dead men “Look at you ya little Widow Maker,” he said and from then on all the guys called me Widow Maker. That was my first real taste of what being in the club was really about, and I loved it.