The green place

[Lunatic]

An rp played in the world of Mad Max: Fury road.



​

 

[Lunatic]

One of the many hazards in the desert is it's extreme temperatures, it's either way below zero or well over 30. A smart, experienced scavenger is able to plan accordingly. Is there gonna be warm shelter where you're going? Are you sure? If yes, great! But you should still kill some bandits and take their clothes, for safe measure. A smart, experienced scavenger expects the unexpected and therefor is never caught outside during one of the coldest nights of the year.

Cedric was considering his options, lighting a fire in the dark is practically suicide. Letting himself freeze to death is also suicide, practically. The only thing on the horizon was sand and some more sand. This was disgruntling indeed. Cedric tensed up in an unconscious attempt to protect himself from the cold, fun fact: All your body's automatic functions are entirely useless. He took a few deep breaths to relax his body, as he was taught to do a long time ago. The only option he had was to light that freaking fire and hope the War Boys are somewhere else tonight. He used some random stuff he'd 'scavenged' during his travels, things like; scratched up pieces of leather; a bit of old paper; and a steering wheel. He wasn't sure if it would burn, but you could always give it a shot.

When the flames had grown high and strong, Cedric took a seat right next to it and warmed up. For the record: The steering wheel did not burn, BUT it got burning hot. That's always something. In all generality, the day had been pretty shitty, first he got ambushed by some smug bastards thinking they're super geniuses, he lost his hat taking the little shits out. Next there a sandstorm, a small one, but still. The sand totally messed up his chopper, which meant he only got about a third of way he was supposed to go, which meant he had to start a fire in the middle of the desert like a full-bred moron. So, with all things considered, the steering wheel being burning hot is, in a sense, a victory.

The night was long and cold, by dawn he was hugging his knees and barely staying awake. He'd been way to jumpy to even think about sleeping, that's what a dead person would do, and Cedric was not a dead person. Not yet. "Here we go boys!" The sudden voice caused his eyes to flare open and his body to move methodically, habitually even. He grabbed everything of some importance and started sprinting the opposite way. The engines of two cars roared not far behind him, and they were definitely getting closer. He needed an alternative plan, to think fast and be creative. In the course of three steps he pulled out his dual Berettas, twisted his body around to face the car and fired ten shots, one for each pursuer. Three bullets hit their mark, one headshot, one fatally hit in the chest and the third went right through the mark's throat. That didn't stop the approaching cars though, after all, they're kamakrazee. The cars sped past him which was.... Surprising, until he looked up, mark number two was bleeding profusely, his mouth glowed blue and was flying towards him, yelling something unintelligible about "witnessing".

The details of what happened after is best kept a secret, but the general idea is that a dying mark 2 had overpowered a fully healthy, if somewhat tired, Cedric and shackled him. To be fair though, he was flying out of a car.

And that's how Cedric ended up being captured by half-life scum, and now he was stuck in some sort of metal box thing, stripped of all his weapons. They even took his freaking jacket.​

 

[sodeviousxo]

Her hair was braided in no particular way. In fact, as Maliec inspected the method used, she could determine a few different styles. Little white flowers littered her tresses, stems and leaves weaved through her dark locks to keep them in place. She wore a delicate white dress of gauze-like material, her petite body covered from the shoulders down. The other Wives had decorated her face with dehydrated and crushed pigments derived from rare, feminine colored flowers, her lips a deeper pink than usual.


It was her wedding day.


Maliec shivered as she looked in the mirror, watering eyes staring back at her. The sight before her was of a young, beautiful, untouched woman, awaiting to be taken to the heart of the Citadel where she would marry Rictus and later lay with him. The thought alone was enough to make her heave and she clutched at her stomach, steadying herself and her breathing. This is what she was most fearful of. This was the day she had dreaded since she could remember.


Things had changed since the days of Furiosa and the escaped Wives. Ever since Rictus had stormed back and taken over the Citadel, circumstances were made different for the young women like her, for the Wives. Although each girl would be made to marry and bear Rictus’ children, they had more freedom than the generations of Wives before them. All in hopes of preventing another Battle for the Brides, which resulted in his father's death and Furiosa's uprising. Some were actually more inclined to the idea, living the lives of Old World socialites even. Save for Maliec and two others. Younger girls. Girls whose time had not yet come to pass. There were a total of eight women, two of which were heavily pregnant with could-be, would-be Warlords. Each time she’d look at one them, she’d get sick to her stomach, knowing that staring back at her was a reflection of what the future would bring. A stomach bulging with the heir of a man as crazy as his father before him.


She sat quietly near the open ledge, the fresh air serving as a constant reminder that she was indeed awake. Drums and music from below echoed off the rock formations that made the old Citadel - primitive music that announced celebration, that let ears as far as could hear know that Rictus would be marrying a new wife.


War Boys rallied in the caverns and tunnels beneath, rowdy and loud as ever, all wanting to bear witness to the sacred ritual of marriage and most likely abandoning their duties while at it.

 

[Lunatic]

"What happened after that?" The War Boy had the sparkling and hopeful eyes of a small child getting offered the last bit of water. "Well, the engines whisper filled the quiet night. I took a deep breath and very, VERY carefully pushed the gas." A wide grin emerged on the one-man-audience's face. "I can only imagine what that would feel like."

The rest of the guard-party had ran off somewhere and left this little sucker of a War Boy to guard Cedric. "Where did all your little buddies run off to, Hunter?" The War Boy hadn't taken his eyes off him for a second, which made it slightly harder to find an opening in the defenses. He had an idea of an idea, which is more than enough, really. There is only five obstacles to get over before freedom. First, his hands which are chained together, one of the War Boys that ran off had the keys. Secondly: The iron cage that he sat in, it's held up by a chain attached to some advanced-looking machinery and floated about two meters in the air. Hunter held on to the key for that one. Thirdly: Hunter himself. Four: Getting passed the rest of the many Kamekrazee's. And lastly: To actually find the exit itself.

One step at a time, the first stage of the plan: To get Hunter close. "My chains feel kind of... Loose, I don't know, it would be kind of bad if I escaped, right?" Poor, gullible Hunter used the previously mentioned machinery to bring the rusty cage to chest level. "Stay there bossanova." He ordered as he climbed up in the already cramped cage. In another universe they might have been friends, Cedric pondered on that as he smashed an elbow into his friend prospect's nose without hesitation, crushing any bone he came in contact with. Part one succeeded. "Sorry war-buddy, you're staying here. Just so you can't run and tell your brothers." He locked the cage and threw the key to a corner.

The realization that he just took care of two out the five problems in one stone made him feel oddly optimistic.

Stage number two was still under construction, but it involves a great plan to avoid the massive horde of brainwashed half-lives and find the way that brings him straight out to the comparatively peaceful wasteland just waiting for him outside The Citadel. 'No point in standing around' he thought as he set out to explore the massive cave-tunnel network that is the lower Citadel.​

 

[sodeviousxo]

The vault door clicked and clanked, even creaked as it was unlocked and opened from the opposite side. How ironic that she’d be taken from her home The Vaults only to be locked in a literal one? It was almost funny enough to laugh, she thought, and paced two steps back as the door swung completely open. The other Wives giggled and surrounded her, the more inclined ones grabbing hold of her by the elbows and pulling her towards the open vault door. Maliec glanced over her shoulder once more, down to the wasteland below. I should have jumped when I had the chance.


“It’s so exciting, Sister.” One girl would whisper, her pointy, turned-up nose pressing into Maliec's ear. “Just open your heart and you will be happy. It is promised.” She would continue to say as Maliec reluctantly march forward, gently guided by her clothed elbows.


Leading the party was no more than a group of five War Boys and Mother Matronly, the tunnels oddly vacant as they moved through them. Everyone else was either in their posts or in the tunnels below eagerly awaiting the ceremony and following celebrations. The wedding party took turn after turn, slowly descending lower into the Citadel, closer to the main chamber where her soon-to-be husband anxiously waited the arrival of his virgin bride. The hooting and hollering from War Boys and the like echoed through the halls as they neared the makeshift alter, the caverns expanding and contracting as they got closer and closer to the grand room.


Then suddenly a stranger who was clearly not a War Boy or a Scavenger skittered across their path, wide-eyed and surprised to have company. The hold the Wives had on Maliec’s elbows ceased and she stepped back, instinctively ready to protect herself.


The War Boys would descend upon this wanderer, potential blood bag no doubt, charging him armed with nothing but their Kamekrazee tendencies.

 

[Lunatic]

There were many stories out there in the wasteland about The Citadel, they spoke of the magnitude of water and the tens of thousands War Boys just waiting to feel the thrill of the kill. Curiously, none mentioned the miles of labyrinth-like cave tunnels below. It felt like he'd walked in circles for hours at this point (more like twenty minutes), he'd circled back to the jail-cave three times and still couldn't understand where he went wrong. When did they even build all of this?


And so, all of the sudden, Cedric found himself in front of a crossroad he didn't recognize. Progress. The distinct yelling of a whole lot War Boys could be heard from one of the passages, so naturally he choose the other.


The tunnel was long and suspiciously curved, it seemed to turn back the way he came from. An unpleasant feeling of doubt filled him when he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. 'Been there done that' he thought. Nonetheless he continued on, it would be quicker to get back to the passageway from the jail-cave than to turn back now. The bright light blinded him as he stepped out from the dark tunnel and it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. It seemed like he didn't walk in circles this time around, which was good, though he stood like a deer in headlights when he noticed his surroundings.


Normally, five War Boy's wouldn't cause too much trouble, but fighting without guns and his arms chained behind his back was like a stupid bet he would never agree to. "Oh, shit." He cursed his bad luck. The half-lives wasted no time surrounding their prey, luckily, they too seemed to be unarmed. One of the little bastards recklessly jumped in for a punch while the others chanted something unintelligible. Cedric smoothly dodged the slug by sidestepping to the right, he then landed a heavy knee right on his opponents rib cage. Yep, that's some good crunching. Another bastard tried to be smart and attacked from behind: Aiming a kick at the back of the knee, but missed badly as Cedric jumped to avoid it, he tried to land on the outreached knee but the half-life had pulled his leg back, so he settled for a bolley kick in the face. This was going oddly smoothly, maybe he was blessed with some good luck after all the bad he's had? Just as his feet was back on the ground he rushed towards the third bastard, tackling him onto the cave wall then breaking his nose with a classic headbutt. Swiftly turning around, he aimed a roundhouse at the closest bastard's lower ribs, but his leg were caught in the air and the other kicked out from beneath him. The fall hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as the last asshole prepared a heavy stamp upon Cedric's pretty face. He managed to get a guard up in the last second, but his nose were squashed and most likely broken, on the bright side he'd gotten a good grip around the half-life bastard's ankle. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cedric curled himself in to a ball before powerfully kicking out, hitting the knee and causing it to bend in unnatural angles. The last one was a breeze, a simple roundhouse to the face finished the job smoothly.


Cedric had been oblivious to the audience, his focus had been on other matter. "Hi." He nodded in acknowledgement before scanning his surroundings, he considered asking one of them if they knew a way out, but decided against it: They most likely worked for Rictus, too. "Well, see ya'." Heading towards another tunnel leading off the (seemingly) main path, he waved awkwardly in the general direction of the girls.
​

 

[sodeviousxo]

(I had to hastily type this out, sorry for the wait! All edits that need to be made I'll go back and fix since I didn't have time to proof read everything. I kind of like it, especially toward the ending. I hope you like it, too! )


Everything happened quickly, the Wives mewling and Mother Matronly holding her arms against the chests and shoulders of the women, pushing them backward into the tunnel and away from the kicks and gyrating elbows. Maliec eyes constantly shifted from the expression on Mother’s face and to the stranger, studying the goings on in both of their minds. Mother Matronly was a former wife of Immortan Joe, her once fiery red hair fading into whites and silvers. She would frequently expressed ideas of escaping, recounting potentially real personal accounts of the Battle for The Brides. It had been long since Mother had been let out of the Citadel, not since Rictus crawled back, his body burned and disfigured from his supposed demise.


Then a thought occurred. Would Mother stop her if she tried to leave? Would she help her? Maliec swallowed, hard, blinking her eyes and snapping her mind back to the present as the stranger downed the last War Boy. He said his good-bye and scurried on his way through a tunnel leading in the opposite direction of any kind of exit. Glancing back at Mother, they locked eyes for a second that seemed to last a year. It was apparent they had shared the same thought, but the old woman’s eyes had a sad glint to it. She wouldn’t be joining her on this journey, she was far too old. Body worn from years of mating and taking care of younger, naive women. Her heart started to ache but Maliec gave Mother a nod.


The old woman pushed the two heavily pregnant Wives, sending them into the four others, each body stumbling back and falling down like bowling pins. Maliec found the hands of the two younger girls and turned, jerking them willingly along with her as she followed the winding path the boy headed down. Her heart was racing, pain in her chest and neck caused by sudden, unexplainable overexertion. The War Boys behind were getting up, those who didn’t suffer from broken leg bones or kneecaps, anyway, and would be in hot pursuit of them in no time.


Maliec steered the two younglings into a handful of tunnels, turn after turn seeming as futile as the next. Until she saw the back of him. “Stranger!” She called, her voice raspy but pronounced and strong. “You’re going the wrong way.” She had slowed him enough to catch up with him. “You’re going the wrong way,” she would repeat again. “Follow me close and don’t lose track of my sisters.” Her dark eyes blazed with empowerment, adrenaline and perhaps even some dormant savagery.


The four would descend into the tunnels leading lower and lower into the Citadel, taking paths that would avoid the searching War Boys, who by now would have certainly alerted others. She had only been outside a few times but took care to remember the way down.


Starting when Furiosa took leadership of the Citadel, they had started improving the tunnel and cavern systems, even created a way to exit the fortress without the extra strain on children and elders working the makeshift elevator system. Furiosa enforced a lot of changes for the better during her gracious rein, and Maliec silently thanked her for it every day.


As they neared the final tunnel to the cavern known as the Garage, they were ambushed a group of War Boys, maybe eight or ten of them. The younger girls fell back, the Stranger and Maliec stepping forward to protect and push through them. Maliec had little battle experience, or any at all. Just books on martial arts and meditation and even some hand to hand with her sisters when squabbles got out of hand. Nothing compared to experience of a Kamekrazee, anyway.


Maliec ducked as the first lunged toward her, attempting more to grab than to hurt her. She was betrothed to their leader, after all. But she ducked, pivoting on her foot and turning to face him. Her eyes roved everywhere, settling on a perching torch on the tunnel wall. He dove for her again, arms wide, and she evaded once more, stepping behind him and grabbing the torch, yanking it off the wall in one go. Pure adrenaline was pumping through her veins now, the racing pulse and her heavy breathing the only sounds she could hear now. Maliec swung at him before he could regain his footing, knocking him over the head with heavy wooden rod. He yielded and slumped, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he passed out. Good, she didn’t kill him. Or maybe it wasn’t good. There wasn’t any time to dwell on it.


She moved over to the next, thankful for once of her small stature as the tunnel system tended to narrow in this particular location. One thing these War Boys liked to do was talk and give speeches as they battled, but she had none of it, the earlier sounds blocking out anything from reaching her brain. Maliec exchanged an elbow to her face for an elbow to the gut, her jaw ringing out in pain immediately following contact. It would seem that she situated herself in the middle of the huddle on purpose as it would cause the War Boys to hinder their assault on the Stranger to avoid hurting her at any cost. It would give the boy the upper hand as it would buy him more time to calculate his next, very restricted move since his wrists were still in binds. That was another problem they needed to fix, but that was out of immediate control.


One after another, the bald-headed cultists fell as more could be heard rallying and in the distant caverns above and behind. With a heaving chest, the brunette would look at the Stranger before continuing to lead him to the entrance of the Garage, which was more like a wide but shallow cave. The vast Wasteland could be seen, salt plains and dunes stretching as far as the eye could see. Modified car upon modified car lined up in rows ranging in sizes and uses, most full of guzzoline and ready to go in a moment’s notice. These War Boys were all about the pursuit, that was for sure.


In the very corner of the Garage sat Furiosa’s pride and love: a huge war machine that had to be seen in order to believe it actually existed. It was a masterpiece that Furiosa spent years and multiple resources constructing after the War Rig was destroyed in battle on the Fury Road. This one was bigger and badder. It was dreamt up based on the experiences and hardships it’s predecessor had encountered during battle. Furiosa designed it to be perfect. To withstand and persevere even under the most harsh circumstances - whether it be weaponry, weather or even those blasted sandstorms. And especially through fire and blood.


It was fully loaded with a reserve of fuel, water, and even dehydrated vegetation. And of course a battle rig of such epic proportions wouldn't be complete without a heavy arsenal of guns and ammunition. It was almost as if Furiosa had foreseen the end of her rule and anticipated the Citadel to fall into the wrong hands again. It was almost as if she had been preparing for another escape.


For those who have heard the story of this blazing monstrosity made of solid, black steel and Furiosa’s very own blood, sweat and tears, it has been said that she finally found salvation once her work was complete, lending to the vehicle its name, the Redemption.


But there was a problem and the problem was looking straight at them, eyes glinting with curiosity and igniting with rage. The problem now was a collection of War Boys more than double the amount they had faced in the tunnel.


Maliec looked around, searching for anything she could wield as a weapon, the two younglings already moving to find their own. Her eyes fell upon a pair of bolt clippers and she hurried over to it and back, snipping at the Stranger's shackles that kept the arms bound behind his back. With a quick snap, he’d find himself free to move. She nodded to him and glanced over to the Redemption, silently letting him know that was their goal, their ticket out of the mad house.


Holding the clippers firmly in her hand, she spread her feet to take a stance as the throngs of savages came at them.

 

[Lunatic]

Thinking no more about the ladies he left behind, Cedric leisurely jogged through a tunnel he chose at random. The usual sound of War Boys (you can always hear War Boys in the wasteland) could be heard from somewhere in the distance, then a short silence, followed by a whole lot of yelling. It seems that the news of an escaped prisoner had reached them. Some would lose their heads at this point, but Ced had been in too much trouble to make an newbie mistake like that, a tired fighter is an inefficient fighter. So, true to his past experiences, he did nothing more than increase the length of his strides slightly.

With useless thoughts like 'man, this place is big' and 'why couldn't you have said something cool? 'hi'? Idiot' running through his head he almost missed the shouts at his back, but in the end, it was too powerful to ever be missed. After taking a look back at the pursuer his interest was peaked and he broke off to a hurried walk, allowing the three girls to catch up.

Honestly, in another circumstance Cedric would have either ignored the girl completely or laughed in her face, but the combination of the absolutely terrifying appearance of the boss-girl and the fact that he had no idea where to go caused him to, against all reason, nod and follow.

Cedric obediently followed turn after turn, he still had some heavy doubts about all of this, but no one would run that desperately just to lead him into a trap. But trap or not, there was still a group of bloodthirsty half-lives blocking their paths. One decided to try his luck and lunged towards the boss-girl, but hesitated right before the deciding moment and changed his attack to a grab from the classic punch, this was suspicious after all. The rest of the thugs had a similar hesitation, they were careful not to hurt something, presumably the girls. Taking full advantage of this obvious weakness, Cedric stayed near the follow-girls and fought, downing any who approached him with powerful kicks.

The place the boss-girl had shown him to seemed like a certain bossanova's garage, this would be what the old storytellers would call 'heaven'. Parked side by side rows of absolute beauties filled the room, from beastly V-8's to modest Inlines, you could probably even find Wankel in here. What a beautiful place, what a wonderful day to be alive. A quick 'snap' sound quickly brought him back to reality and he suddenly felt his shackles falling off, he was free! And with that the fourth group of War Boys he faced today came in to view, this was quickly getting old.

"Stay close if you want out." He said with that hoarse voice of his, stretching his stiff arms and searching the room for any potential means of getting to that gigantic war machine, he didn't need boss-girl to tell him that was the goal, the decision to take it had been made the second he laid eyes on it. His pondering stopped when a couple of barrels in the corner came into view, perfect. What they held was the interesting bit: Boom-spears. A incredibly powerful weapon, as soon as it touches the target it goes BOOM! And everything close blows up with it. You usually use it in fights between motors, and it's honestly a waste to use it against people, but who cares? They aren't his.

Cedric bent his knees slightly and leaned his weight on the foot placed behind him, preparing for a spurt. He needs at least five meters between him and his targets when he throws the spear, otherwise there's a big chance that he would get blown up with them.

After counting to ten and a deep breath, he broke off in his sprint, he didn't care enough to warn the girls, he just wanted out alive. The War Boy's hounded right behind him, but Cedric was faster. The second he could reach a spear he grabbed it, turned around and hurled it in the group's direction. Bullseye. The spear pierced a random War Boy's chest and took down at least 10 more with the explosion.

In the next breath he sprinted towards the war rig, getting a head start on his opponents, a smug smile plastered on his face.

There was no real resistance to the rig, or he might have punched a half-life out of the way, he didn't really notice. His focus were purely on this awesome machine he was about to drive. The feeling didn't subside as he sat in the machine, it was like it was made for him to find, no starting sequence, an obvious button-set and SO MUCH POWER, what a wonderful, wonderful day. The rig started up with a roar and Cedric pushed the gas into the floor, shouting happily/crazily.

The War Boy's didn't waste a second, there was at least twelve motorcycles following him.​

 

[sodeviousxo]

Maliec looked and nodded to the younglings once the Stranger said to stay close and motioned for them to hurry once he started in the opposite direction. The two girls hurried tightly behind Maliec as they weaved through tables full of greasy or dusty parts, tools from the Old World and tools from the current one. Car after car they passed before finally getting to the rig. She was sure to stay out of view as she opened a hatch on the bottom of the front compartment to let the two climb in.


Climbing in herself, she would perch in the back seat, grabbing hold of a shotgun and aiming it out of the back window. The brunette never had to fire one before but there was no better time than now to learn. Weapon safeties were a thing of the past since it meant taking seconds away from a potential kill in war, and a gun was never left unloaded and ready to fire.


With a pursuing War Boy in sight and the Stranger quickly approaching the Redemption, Maliec pressed the butt of shotgun into her shoulder to steady her aim. Just seconds after the Stranger would enter rig and bring the monster to a heaving start, her finger would squeeze the trigger, knocking back her shoulder as a slug lanced forward and hit the pursuer in his gut.





The pain to her shoulder was immediate, the ringing in her ears worse. Maliec held her shoulder as she rebounded, pumping the fore-stock and aiming out the window once again. Motorcycles and V-8s were quickly mounted, majority of the cars yielding turrets and boom-spears. There was no one left in range now, the rig was so fast.


Shooting a glance to her sisters, Maliec climbed into the front seat, taking a seat opposite of the Stranger. The surrounding area was rigged with booby traps in a three mile radius and he would need help navigating them. This isn’t stating that Maliec was an expert, but living fourteen years of her life witnessing as War Boys and slaves constructing them in the blazing desert heat, she knew a thing or two about a thing or two.


She massaged her shoulder as she finally got a good look at Cedric. His eyes were the first thing of notable quality, then his dark hair. And then his obvious young. Was he alone? Did he have a tribe? A family? Should she hold hope that he’d take she and her sisters to a place of sanctuary far from the Citadel?


Now was not the time to think of that; it was the time for battle, and escape and calculated next moves while they had, albeit a small one, a head start.


“This road is littered with traps marked with colored flags. They’re hard to spot, but they’re there.” If the Stranger looked hard enough he would probably see colored scraps of fabric waving closely to the sand. “Yellow marker means pits. Blue are tire spikes.” Maliec swallowed as she remembered the last one. It was the worse. “And green means…” Just as she was about to enlighten the boy, an explosion happened at a too-close-for-comfort distance behind the rig. Black smoke filled the air as the flames climbed in the sky, a seemingly reckless half-life and his mates too revved up for the fight obviously missing a green marker in their path. How the rig missed it was a miracle on its own.


“Green means that, so pay attention. It’ll be a lot of weaving through until we’re out of the kill-zone. Three, maybe two miles in any direction. The girls will call them out as they see them, I will, too. Just pay attention and I’ll do what I can do take care of the Boys.”


It was a lot of a responsibility for a captive girl to take on but she knew with the Stranger’s hands occupied on the wheel and her sisters looking diligently for any markers, she would need to do the shooting. The Redemption was also armed with a turret but it would be a risky climb in order to get to, so she’d work out of the backseat.


“Sprig, come up here and take the front seat. I want you to look out West. Filigree, take the Stranger’s side, look to the East. Call them out as you see them, as loud as you can. It’s going to get noisy in a minute.” With her command, the identical twins with mismatched ghostly pale, blue-green eyes and ashy blonde hair came out of their hiding spot.


“And you, Stranger, whatever happens to me, get them to safety as best as you can, and the rig and weapons are yours.” This was another tall order to fill, but Maliec held faith that, even if distant, there was hope for refuge somewhere. She, herself, came from a far away tribe, and the Stranger. There had to be hope for them somewhere. There had to be.


With that, Maliec climbed into the back seat, down and out of the escape hatch. Her wedding dress was starting to prove it was more trouble than the near marriage itself, snagging and tearing as she moved up the ladder and over the cylinder.


The cylinder was separated into three different compartments on the inside, walls of steel welded to the barrel to create separate rooms for storage, the largest one containing fuel. This machine was well thought out, prepared for a long, tedious voyage into the unknown.


The rig was moving fast, War Boys trailing close behind, and she stuck close to the surface to avoid losing balance or being blown over. Shots were being fired, some bullets nicking, most making contact with the cylinder and ricocheting off. Every tink sound made against the steel caused the petite girl to flinch but she kept moving forward until she’d finally reached her destination.


Wait. Why was she at the turret? That had never been the plan. Or was it? No. It wasn’t. Why was she there? She didn’t even know how to operate it. But maybe Maliec subconsciously led herself there because it was the only logical form of defense?


With no time to spare and debate, she climbed through the back window of a worn, but polished, car and sat down, her shaking hands finding and grasping at the handles. Little red buttons looked like the way to go and she pressed either thumbs down yielding in a quick, powerful spurt of pure .50 caliber glory. She would apply pressure again, sending another spray of bullets in no particular direction, adrenaline and exhilaration beginning their journey to course through her veins. This seemed easy. Controlled. She could do this, right?


A sudden jolt brought her back to reality as she jerked, her head flying forward and hitting the gun, causing skin on her forehead to split and bleed near her right temple. She blinked, shook her head and gritted her back teeth. A V-8 had caught up, ramming it’s bumper into the tail of the rig. Maliec opened fire on the car, immediately causing an effect, its engine sputtering as it came to a slow stop.


She could do this!


Nodding her head to reassure herself, she pressed the two red buttons with all she had, sending gigantic bullet after bullet into their pursuers, aiming for the assailants manning turrets as well as the hoods of cars in hopes to blow them up.