Unspoken (The Woodlands) by Jen Frederick

other up. I wished I knew more about Skull Man, but I wasn’t getting anything out of Phil. I leaned back into the crowd, hoping to catch the threads of other conversations. About two feet behind Ellie, I honed in on two guys arguing about which of the fighters was better. I took a step back to hear better.
    “Randolph’s got a wicked left.”
    “That’s all he’s got, though. Parker nearly beat him last time, and his corner tapped him out too early.”
    “Randolph’s too hamstrung by principles. Parker’s willing to put several hits to the back of the head if that’s what it’s going to take to bring Randolph down.”
    The conversation wasn’t making me feel confident for Bo. I glanced over to the fight ring but couldn’t see well. The crowd had closed the void I’d made when I moved backward. Despite being relatively tall for a woman, I was still too short to have a complete view and could only see some of the fight when the two guys moved into a small viewing space. I tried to push my way forward but was repelled by the crowd. The fighting had lit a fever and the crowd pushed closer in toward the ropes. The top of Ellie’s hair was just visible to me, but she was engrossed in the fight. Phil was actually talking to her from time to time.
    I slid over to the side so there was only one person between Ellie and me. I peered through the shoulders and saw Bo ducking and weaving and backing away. His movements were more graceful than I’d imagined. He could skate backward on his feet without losing balance and then press forward with a short kick or a blow with his fist.
    “Randolph’s ducking more. That blows.” I heard the two chatty ones. They were disappointed there wasn’t bloodshed already.
    “Fuck. This isn’t a polka. Someone get hit already.”
    The fight was like a choppy film reel with images being shuttled in and out of the frame. I moved from side to side to get a better view. Bo stalked forward and Skull Man circled backward. They moved out of sight and the crowd roared. When the two came back into view, I saw a stream of blood down one side of Skull Man’s face. Skull Man moved forward with a flurry of punches and one seemed to rock Bo backward, and he retaliated with an elbow. Bo caught Skull Man around the neck with his left arm and punched Skull Man with his right fist four or five times in rapid succession. Skull Man returned a few glancing punches, that caused Bo to release him. When Skull Man stumbled backward and appeared dazed, the crowd began chanting “Don’t tap. Don’t tap.”
    Blood was everywhere, down Skull Man’s eye, nose, shoulders, and even down his back. Skull Man gathered himself and rushed Bo and the two rammed each other headfirst. The collision of the bodies caused the crowd to shout its approval. The fighters grabbed each other by the neck, and it appeared that Bo was trying to slip behind Skull Man’s back. Skull Man twisted in Bo’s grip.
    They separated and circled. Sweat, blood and who knows what else dripped to the floor. In a blur of movement, I saw Bo rush Skull Man and pull Skull Man’s head down into the triangle of Bo’s right arm. With his left arm, he pulled down on his right bicep.
    “The Anaconda choke,” I heard the man in front of me say in approving tones to his friend.
    “Yeah, cuts off the blood flow on both sides of the neck.” Clearly this was a good move, but it sounded terrible.
    Bo squeezed tightly, his muscles straining with the effort. I glanced down at Finn, who looked almost bored. The opposite corner all wore worried looks and for a moment, I thought someone in Skull Man’s team would throw up the white flag. But they didn’t.
    Bo must have been waiting for it, and when it didn’t come, he shoved Skull Man away with a disgusted gesture.
    “See, he’s got a weak stomach,” chatty Cathy in front of me said. “It’s why he’s not in the UFC with his buddy Noah.”
    “He’s got fists like iron, though,” replied the