The War Girl (Mad Max: Fury Road fanfiction)

17: The Vault

    I dreamed of Valhalla. It was so vivid and real that I was sure I was really there. Everything was sprinkled with a fine layer of silvery dust, chrome. It was not so much of it that it was displeasing to the eye, but enough that it made the land around me sparkle. There wasn't just silver, but a spectrum of color that my eyes have not seen in years. Dazzling purples, greens, and blues appeared from all around me. The ground under my feet was soft and springy, making want to take my boots off just to feel the grass between my toes. Cars of all shapes and sizes were lined up neatly at one side of this valley, all brand-new and rumbling with their massive engines. Mothers were there, as well as my own. She welcomed me with a tight embrace, her familiar scent filling my senses. It was beautiful, and so very shine.

The pleasant fantasy was ripped away from me with a jolt. I sucked in a deep and wheezy breath, my eyelids sleepily forcing themselves open. I expected to wake to hot sand under my back, and an even hotter sun beating down on my front. I was ready to drag my mangled body up and start to get moving.

    But there was no need. I was already in the Citadel. Air cooler and sweeter than that of outside filled the space around me. I was laying atop a startlingly soft bed. My eyes scanned over the other beds, then onto the next room which held a pool of water under a mesh ceiling. I was in the vault. My heart lurched with dread for a split second, but then remembered that Immortan was dead. I was safe. My body still ached and throbbed, but it wasn't as intense as before. My brain felt much more clear without my limbs screaming with the agony of moving. How did I get here? Where was Nux? Or Furiosa?

     I looked down at myself to find that my broken arm was wrapped up with something I couldn't name. All I could see was I was unable to move it from the stiff and right-angle position it was in. The gash on my thigh was also bandaged up, as was my shoulder and upper arm. My free hand slid up to my eye, which was still dark and useless, to find that there was a patch of cotton-y feeling stuff attached there. My twisted ankle was also wrapped so tightly in some sort of cloth that I could not bend it. How long had I been asleep? Confusion wrinkled my brows as I swung my legs over the bed and threw the clean blanket off of my body. I was dressed in fresh clothing as well, an off-white t-shirt and shorts made of the same material of the wives' clothing. I cringed down at my exposed legs, deciding that the first thing to do was to find my cargo pants.

     Before I could stand up, I heard the loud clang of someone opening the vault's door. I froze, fear pulsating through my veins on instinct as memories flashed behind my eyelids. I forced the panic down, Immortan Joe was not here to terrorize me any longer, but it was hard to let go of the ghosts.

     The elegant figure of The Dag appeared at the doorway, her body now fully dressed in a dark gray tank top and a long skirt the color of Mother's milk. She still sported the combat boots she wore on our journey, but her face and body was not smeared with dirt or sweat anymore. She looked like a whole new person.

     "You're awake!" She gasped, dropping the roll of bandages she had clutched in her long fingers. She rushed to my side, fiddling with the eye-patch on my face, "How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, her mystic eyes glowing with pride.

     I bobbed my head slowly, trying to duck away from her fussy hands, "A lot better. How did I get here?" I questioned, my eyes absently flicking about the room.

     "We sent a search party to look for you, found  you and the war boy half way between the pass and the Citadel." She answered almost at once, as if she had expected me to ask that.

    "Is Nux okay?" I demanded, trying to get to my feet.

     She put her slim hands on my shoulders and forced me to sit back down, "He's fine. He woke up a little bit before you." She lowered her voice, "His hearing damaged, though." She admitted sadly, obviously upset she couldn't fix it.