ELS 3 - In Line For The Nun

Gum
That's what it was I decided
Adding just a hint of extra drag to my left shoe as I lifted it up with every step
And I paused at the bottom step
Scraping my shoe on the edge until a pink sticky mass came free
Then up and out of the subway
Into the warm humid air of the city above
Reminding me of it's oppresence in many ways

The smell
Wet garbage on concrete
A sickly sweet spoiled smell
With some cat piss mixed in for good measure

The sound
A constant din of people
Shuffling their feet
Crumpling their papers
Talking
Breathing

I saw the line almost right away
The arena wasn't far from the subway stop
And the line was snaking it's way down the sidewalk

I made for the end of the line
Three more people beating me there before I attached myself to the end

Up close and inside the comfort zone
That's why I hate queues
I'm better at the market
When there is usually a cart buffer between myself and the next body

I quickly covered my mouth and nose to stifle a sneeze
As the man in front of me was wearing too much cologne
So much so that I imagined he'd dipped his greasy rat's tail of a ponytail in the bottle of Drakar

I turned around
And was met with more body odor
And the smell of a garlic sandwich

It was coming from the woman behind me

A very attractive woman
With a very bad smell about her

I started to think that maybe I wouldn't want to wait in line for The Nun
When I looked far ahead
Towards the front of the line
And the towering old style marquee sign
That was currently bragging up tonight's fights

Above a doorway next to the main entrance
Sticking out at ninety degrees from the building
Was a smaller metal sign which might have said "Stage Entrance"
Though it was hard to tell with the piece of hand lettered cardboard hung over it:

"Check in here to fight The Nun"
It said, with a little arrow pointing down

I thankfully got out of line and headed forward
Happily seeing that this line was only four people long

A few people that had seen me step out of line started to grumble
So I tried to act like I was going somewhere else for their benefit
And was soon among people who hadn't seen me yet

At the very least
I could walk away with money for many late night long distance calls to Kazia, my lovely Tank Girl

At best
I could buy a ticket on the next steamship to the old country
With enough left over for a wedding and a small honeymoon

As I stepped into much shorter line
I smiled because I figured I had nothing to lose

ELS 2 -Epic Tank Girl Love

Kachunking

Ka-clacking

Sparking and flickering

The uptown subway made it's way up the tracks

Dim surroundings broken up by semi-regular streaks of tunnel lights going by

And the occasional bright clearing of a station platform

Most of which this train did not stop at

This was the Uptown Express

So named for it's rudeness in bypassing half the platforms on it's route

Paid for by the double fee it charged it's passengers

Who usually didn't even intend to ride the Express

But were simply in the right place at the right time to do so by chance

Staring out my window into the darkness

My stomach was in knots over fighting The Nun

What sort of fight would it be I wondered to myself

Though what I might do with the $1000 in prized money wasn't a source of wonderment

I knew exactly what I would do with it

And her face flickered before me

Along with the tunnel lights

In snatches and flashes

Like a slowly starting film

Quickly dissolving into a steady stream of imagery

Her face

Crowned by a thick padded leather helmet

Protruding from the lower forward hatch of her tank

As she carefully maneuvered it through an obstacle course

It's V-12 diesel engine wailing away deep inside

Smoke belching from the rear between the twin tracks

She had worn bright red lipstick that day

I had thought as a show of solidarity with their unit

It's insignia being a snarling wolf's mouth

The sharp and exaggerated teeth surrounded by blood red lips

This was painted on either side of the front of the tank

With her face sticking up in between

Snarling it's own little snarl of determination

White teeth with bright red lips

Later

As we'd made love that evening atop her tank

Parked at the back of the tank pen 

She'd confided that it was a slight to her commanding officer

Who had said to the otherwise all-male unit

"And remember ladies

We don't wear makeup to war!"

"Fuck him"

She'd purred in my ear

Her face bent down next to mine as she straddled me

"This is my best color!"

A brightly lit station platform broke my reverie

The train sliding to a stop

My window coincidentally lining up with a bench 

Upon which sat three homeless men

Who stared at me semi-toothlessly

We blinked at one another for a full minute

None of us wanting to be the first one to look away in awkwardness

Before the train started rolling again

With a squeal of brakes dragging on the wheels

The din of the moving train once again filling my ears

Tunnel interior once again the view that was offered me

Her face did not reappear this time

She was half a world away

But foremost in my thoughts every day

I looked down at my ring finger

Decorated with a plain steel band

One of two spare parts she had found in the camp workshop

This one was covered in worn and chipped red paint

Placed upon my finger by her

A promise made by both of us to each other

With one upon her finger as well

Hers painted a similarly weathered color as well

But in dark green

If I defeated The Nun

And won the prize money

I could return to her

And this time nothing would make me leave

ELS 1 - Defeat Nun For $1,000 Prize!

"Defeat Nun For $1,000 Prize!"

A hastily plastered poster proclaimed
Slightly askew
As if whomever had hung it
Had only a notional idea of a level horizon
Or maybe was afflicted with an inner ear infection

I could sure use the money
But the whole 'Nun' part had me concerned

Really?  A Nun?

The picture on the poster certainly supported the premise
Featuring a grotesquely featured woman in traditional black and white nun habit
Her body exploding out of a cage
Black habit flowing behind her in a simulation of motion
Hands curled into claws
One of which held a flaming crucifix
As if she was planning on stabbing someone
The other hand pointing right at me

In smaller print below the picture was an additional detail:

"$25 Awarded Just For Stepping Into The Ring!"

Well, it seemed I couldn't lose
So without any further wasted time
I made for the nearest subway entrance

The event was in two hours
I'd better get my name into the hat to battle this Nun of theirs