“Remember this morning, when you gave yourself a tough time about how you want to change this Tribe and leave a mark? Now is your second chance... I don’t think I will get to many here.” She thought to herself.

“I wish you both good fortunes, now fight!” Onob had spoken.

The air felt thicker than before. The atmosphere had turned serious and the other challengers felt it straight away.

“The first female Guardian that the Tribe has ever seen? Maybe even the first female Guardian that any tribe has seen. Sounds excellent to me! Now it’s my turn to beat this little chimpanzee and show everyone that I am worthy and deserve to stand next to Zahn and Maimut.”

Zoi’s mind had wandered to the possibility of succeeding and what it would mean to her but this time it was Chim who had used this to his own gain. She suddenly snapped out of her own thoughts and saw Chim lunging towards her.

She heard him speak but could not make it out properly.

“…I see you as an obstacle for achieving my dream and not as a girl!”

He was coming at her with great speed and in that moment their eyes met. She looked at him and noticed that she had seen this look before. His eyes had shifted again from his regular white to the dark that seemed to be the driving force of his.

“What is pushing him to win, is his need to prove to himself to the rest of the Tribe and show them that he can be the Guardian he has dreamed of since he was rescued. His need is to protect us from the danger that lurks in this rainforest. I might be able to use this to my advantage. His desire to win will be his downfall!”

“Could it be that his balance is also affected from the throw? His tail got pulled really hard. I any case I have to be careful because he showed a lot of potential in that fight with Maimut and there was a moment where I actually thought that he was going to defeat him.”

He was now just a one swing away and knew that if she did not react NOW, it could all be over for her.

“What do I do? I know! Let’s take this to the trees”

Chim had grabbed the liana and was now swinging himself towards her but Zoi felt that she was ready. She had a plan. She jumped from the branch that Chim was swinging towards and began climbing higher and higher up in the trees with Chim closely following her. They jumped from tree to tree and foliage could be seen falling, almost as if it would be snowing. He was following her relentlessly. They shouted loudly, offending, and mocking one and other, back and forth. The chasing continued for a while but as fast as the sound of the cracking branches had begun, it had ended.

“Did he stop? Do I dare to slow down and look behind me?”

Zoi glanced behind her and observed that Chim had indeed stopped. She was now sitting two branches above and was looking down on him. He looked tired. There were leafs all around him on the branch that he was sitting on. He even had leafs on his head and though the environment around them looked chaotic, Chim had a cunning look on his face.

“What is he planning? Maybe he is exhausted? I know that I am starting to be…”

She began looking around her for a thin and weak branch. She needed a branch that was strong enough to support her small bonobo body, but was too weak to support Chim’s chimpanzee body. She had it all figured out. She noticed that the closest branch to her right was thin and the small branch that had a crack on it. It looked a bit broken from where she was standing and looking.

“Maybe it will work.”

“What’s the matter “Guardian”? No wonder you lost to Maimut. You are losing to a girl... What will Marcus say?”

“I need him to follow me one last time, even if he is tired.”

“He will be skewed now and charge head on. His pride is too big for him. Here is my chance to send him to the Spotters!”

It worked! He actually went for it.

She skipped to her right and just as she had predicted, Chim took the bait and jumped upwards to branch that she was sitting on. She was now, a bit uncomfortably, on the cracked branch, just out of reach for him.

“Here we go!”

Chim leaped sideways on the broken branch and just as Zoi had planned, it cracked. The branch was not strong enough to support him and as soon as he landed on the branch, it snapped like a twig.

“He will try to grab anything that he can in order to stop himself from falling. I need to climb down fast and be prepared for when he lands. That is when I will make my surprise attack.”

Small branches and leafs were rustling around him as he was plunging down towards the ground, making it hard for both of them to see, but not impossible.

Chim managed to spot a big branch and was aiming for that one. He stuck the landing.

Zoi had tried to climb down at the same speed as Chim was falling but it was futile. She was now behind a tree, watching as Chim managed to stop his fall.

“I need to get under that branch on which he is standing.”

She began moving slowly and with the help of all the leafs that was still pouring down on them, she grabbed the branch with her two hands and started moving, slowly and quietly to position herself under him.

Chim had let go of the branch with his hands and was now standing on his feet. He began looking around for her.

“Now is my chance. He is on his back feet.”

With all her might, she began swinging back and forth and gained enough momentum to come swing herself behind Chim hit him with both her feet on his back. The surprise attack had worked. Just as he had landed on the branch, he got knocked down from it.

Chim had fallen down and unfortunately for Zoi, there was a large branch not too far below them.

He his chest and face were now on the ground.

“Ah come on, he did not fall long enough… Did it even hurt him? Where did that large branch come from?” She thought to herself.

“No time for that, I have to get down there before he understands what just happened. He is on his belly, facing the branch; a perfect opportunity!”

Zoi jumps down but the intention of landing on him and beating him until he gives up.

“Here was your mistake!” She hears Chim screaming.

Zoi landed but on the branch and not on Chim. The impact had forced her to land on her knees. Now she was the one looking around to see where Chim was. He had managed to dodge her and was now standing on his two legs, looking down on her with fury in his eyes. She had gotten the better of him, twice and it had to end.

Marcus swung his right fist, aiming towards her stomach. The hit lands, and it’s a big one.

It was much harder than Zoi had anticipated. The fist had landed on her ribcage. She quickly lost her balance took to the ground with both her hands. This was Chim’s moment. He threw himself over her and began moving his hands towards her throat.

“I cannot breathe.”

She desperately tries to get him of her. She scratches him, pulls his hair on his head but to no use. Nothing seemed to work.

“Will I die here?” His eyes are so dark that I don’t know if he will stop, or can stop” Her mind wandered.

He now had both his hands around her neck and was sitting on top of her. She noticed that his tail is swinging behind him, uncontrollably, while squeezing her throat.

She looks him in the eyes and notices a glimpse of satisfaction. Was he enjoying himself, or did he feel that he had already won? She could not tell the difference but nonetheless, her fighting spirit was strong and she was determined. She was not going to lose this way.

In the midst of all the pain she heard him express say something.

“Finally!” Chim expresses a sigh of relief

It is not over as long as I breathe! With the little power and energy that she had left, she grabs his tail with her right hand.

Chim did not notice anything. He was still squeezing.

One last pull. She yanked his tail to his left and it was perhaps not one of the hardest pulls that he has sustained but the damage that still lingered from Maimut on his tail enhanced the pain he felt.

Zoi had hoped that his natural reaction, which was to reach for his tail was going to force him to let go of her throat.

Right she was. He had turned his attention towards his tail and let go of her.

She coughed but at the same time she felt the sweet sensation of being able to breathe again. Zoi grasped for as much air as she possibly could and mustered up as much power that she had at her disposal because she knew exactly what to do next. She kicked him where she knew it would hurt the most. Between his legs.

He let out a scream. A scream of excruciating pain that only boys could understand.

She quickly looked to her left. Nothing was close enough for her to grab. She looked to her right. There was a twig. It was small in size but looked sturdy enough for this situation. She grabbed it with her right hand and hit him with it. It hit Chim’s head. He went down and out. Stone cold. Like a rock.

There she was. Victorious, barely grasping for air but still a Guardian.

The first of her kind.