Survive [Mad Max: Fury Road]

Chapter Twenty-Five

"At least that way we'll be able to... together... come across some kind of redemption."

-Mad Max

The stress and tension level in the rig was sky rocketing; higher than the flares the Citadel would fire for help. The bikes were split up among some of the Many Mothers, though most of us crammed into the Rig, since it had gotten us this far with minimal hassle and minimal deaths. The safest place for us to be was the Rig, with its thick walls ready for anything thrown at it. We knew where it would get stuck and where it would glide over the untrustworthy surfaces, we knew how to pull it from the sand with ease, and once we hit familiar territory of the Wasteland, it was a straight stretch from there. There was no sandstorm to protect us this time, and we would have to whip right through Immortan's Armada. Whether it would be a head on battle or we could sneak by and get ourselves ahead, only time would tell.

"He needs to die." I crawled up to the front seat, plopping down next to Max but facing Furiosa.

"I know." She said, knowing that I was talking about Immortan Joe. He had power, more than any of us combined, and he would use it to bring us down if we made it inside the Citadel. He would send his War Boys to crawl up the walls, infiltrate the Citadel, slaughter us in our sleep, if we even slept with him still alive after all of this. No, he had to die before we made it there.

"I'm going to go spot." I said, reaching above my head and opening the sky door so that I might climb out and perch somewhere so I could see anything around us. Out in the Wasteland it was easy to be spotted, which was good and bad for us. Immortan Joe would have spotters, if he hadn't gone back to the Citadel already; I was worried that he had given up when he sent only the Bullet Farmer after us. Perhaps since he didn't hear back from the vile man, he turned back to protect that which he still had. More women could be found, though it was a difficult search. If I could spot Immortan Joe before he spotted us (him being in a much larger party), then perhaps we could entirely evade him, get ahead of him, and spare a few more lives.

Max grabbed my forearm, "Be careful."

"You softie." I muttered under my breath only loud enough for him and Furiosa to hear, and she chuckled. Max nodded at me and I nodded back to confirm that I would be as safe as I could manage, sitting on top of a giant War Rig ripping through the Wasteland at whiplash speeds trying to evade a giant war party for the second time. We were coming back with a vengeance, some would say. I climbed down to the back of the tanker and stood atop the vehicle, lightly clutching onto the flag pole that had once had a flag on it, but had since been knocked off when we went through the canyons. It would be interesting to go through them again, we knew that it would be cleared now that Immortan had gotten through. Not all of his War Boys' cars could have gotten over the rubble and boulders, even if his Gigahorse could have. They had to have cleared it, but my fear was not the passage, but facing the Canyon Riders again. They were nothing compared to the Armada, but just like I wanted Joe dead, Vlad would likely want me dead.

If he spotted the obvious and unmistakable Rig, he would try and end my life. I ran my hands through my blonde hair, it was dirty and felt like sand as I combed through it with my filthy fingers. I pulled it back and tied it back, not wanting anyone to be able to grab hold of it. It didn't matter how tough you were, if someone grabbed your hair and yanked, not only would you suffer serious neck pain, but you were entirely at their mercy. Tying it as tight as possible, I pulled the spyglass from my bag and opened it up, bringing it to my eyes and scanning the horizon. We had been driving for an entire day, not stopping through the night but taking shifts driving. Max and Furiosa swapped out, as did those on the bikes. I had taken one for the first shift of the night, but I had not gotten any sleep in the day, as we were nearing where the battle between Immortan and us had been, the one where we lost Angharad.

I spotted them.

They spotted us.

I could see them running about, engines starting up; Immortan Joe was still with the People Eater from Gastown, and I could see his morbidly obese figure from where I was standing. Disgusting. All of them. Not just their deformed bodies, their struggling bones and muscles, organs and bones. But their minds; filled with power and corruption. What had turned them into this? What possessed them to believe that no one would fight back. The day had come, and they were not going to win this fight. I imagined them all dead around my feet, and it brought a sense of adrenaline to my entire body. I nearly leapt in the air as I closed the spyglass and darted down the rig towards the cab. I climbed on top of the cab and poked my head in, "They're coming."

"Let them come." Furiosa said, though I sensed a nervous tone to her voice. We didn't have enough people to fight, but we had more people than we had come through with. The women on the bikes were vulnerable, but they knew what they were fighting for; they were fighting for a better world, a world worth living for.

"This ends today." I grimaced as I stood back up, dropping my back into the cab as it was all stuff that would slow me down. I had all my weapons; shot gun, pistol, daggers. The flares infiltrated the sky above us; red, yellow, orange. The colours we all saw in the Wasteland. The colours of sand and blood and fire. The music from the Doof Warrior filled the air and it was almost a welcome sound. Not to remind me that I was now being hunted by one of the largest war parties since the dawn of the Wasteland, but to remind me that we had wreaked havoc among the Citadel and surrounding power-hungry parties. I grinned as it came closer, as they began to tail us.

Today was a day where history would be made, and whether I lived through it or not, did not matter. I pulled out my shot gun and walked to the very end of the rig, despite the dangers of it. They were too far for a decent shot, but I had to ensure that I knocked off all the lancers, maybe some of the Pole Cats which were one of the People Eaters favourite weapons. Men atop long poles that sprung back and forth, allowing for safety and strength if they were to grab hold of someone. When you didn't see the coming, they could wreak havoc. I spotted a few vehicles getting closer, large harpoons latched on the tops of the cabs; on the back there were claw like machinery. They would latch on to the rig; one or two vehicles trying to stop a War Rig going full tilt was unlikely, but there were three or four coming up. The first two shot, both of them meeting their target of the back of the tanker; mothers milk spilled out from the new holes in the metal.

"Oh shit." I muttered when I realized what was going to happen when they dropped their anchors; the whiplash would throw me from the rig, and the flag pole I gripped to so desperately would do nothing for me. My head snapped back as soon as they dropped the anchors, and I screamed as I lost my balance.

A little shorter of a chapter, I need to go back and figure out the sequence of events that happen here, though I will be focusing more on Omega and her place in this battle, though I still need an idea of how it all went down. The movie comes out on the 1st and I've already pre-ordered it, so I will probably go back and edit what I can once I have it. I can't see this story being completed by then, but it might be! We are nearing the end. Thanks to all who have voted, please please comment!