The War Girl (Mad Max: Fury Road fanfiction)

2: The Boy With Blue Eyes

  He nodded, as if I had agreed to the sentence, then went back into the crowd. I didn't bother getting up, I just laid down on my side, and let my eyes flutter closed. Why couldn't they have just killed me? The chill of the stone floor soaked into my bones, and I briefly wondered if the fever would kill me in my sleep. Death would be a relief, anything but this enslavement. I missed the green grass of my homeland, the clean air that didn't scorch down my throat. I missed the melodic voices of my many mothers, as opposed to the rough voices of the war boys. I wanted nothing more than to be back home.

~~~

After drifting into a deep and dreamless sleep, I awoke to my body burning with fever. I let out a groan of annoyance and discomfort. I struggled shakily into a sitting position, my palms slick with cold sweat. At first, my eyes darted around wildly, not knowing where I was.Bluish lights poured  into the dark caverns, making everything look like it came straight from a nightmare. Blow torches, boots, and screws littered the floor. Where was my mother? My shelter?

    Then, I remembered, I was in the Citadel. My chest swirled with emotion that matched the color of the light, my home was gone. My brain conjured up the image of the village going up in bright licks of flame, and the sight of women strewn about the once green grass, their blood staining everything. I curled my knees to my chest, nuzzling into my legs, then I let the tears fall. The only sound that I made were soft gasps between sobs, I was all alone, forever.

I heard movement, a sound of someone stirring from slumber. I stopped crying, and my eyes scanned the premises hesitantly. I didn't see anyone, but I felt like someone was watching me. I curled into a tighter ball, my emerald eyes flicking back an forth suspiciously.

"Who are you?"

I let out a squeak of surprise, scrambling away from the source of the voice. My eyes fell upon a young boy, of about my age, maybe a little older. He was sitting cross-legged next to me. These war boys were quicker that I thought. He looked like a curious puppy, with wide blue eyes framed with black smudges. He was painted white just like the rest of the boys, making his skin glow up in the faint light. He tipped his head to one side, seemingly confused at my silence, "Never seen ya around before, what's your name?"

I stared at him with questions whirling around in my brain. This boy didn't look at me with the same expression as everyone else, like I was a thing. He was the first person since I was taken to even address me as an equal. I couldn't find the words as if my name had slipped from my tongue. Did my name even matter here? I knew no one was going to call me by my name now. I just shook my head, as if to say I wasn't sure anymore. I wasn't the same person I was when I left my homeland, so why should I be called by the same name?

The boy didn't seem to be fazed by me not knowing my name, he just shrugged, "Don't gotta name, huh? That's how most of us start out. You'll get a name eventually." he assured me, rocking back and forth in his sitting position restlessly.

A smile tugged at my lips a little, "Wh-what's your name?" I asked meekly, sitting up straight again.

The boy's electric blue eyes brightened when I finally spoke, "I'm Nux!" he got on all fours and crawled closer to me, until we were almost nose to nose. He poked at my arms, then picked up a strand of my hair, examining it closely. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I didn't move away. This boy was strange, but in a nice way, "I guess I'll have t'know more about ya before we can give ya a name, see what you're good at." he concluded, nodding to himself and sitting back down, "So you're training like the rest of the pups?"

My smile faded, and I looked away from him, "No..." I said softly, my voice cracking, "Just stuck here, I'm just here to help with chores and stuff..."

Nux frowned as well, but I could tell he did not understand the gravity of the situation, "That's not very shine.."

I felt a small spark of confusion at his words, but didn't say anything, "What d'ya get trained for?" I asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"Driving! All things shiny and chrome!" He piped up excitedly, pretending to have a steering wheel in his small hands. Then he brought his fingers up over his head and locked them together, beaming at me.

I wasn't sure what 'all things shiny and chrome' meant, but the word 'driving' caught my attention. A kid as young as me is being taught how to operate of of those huge machines? I rolled the thought around in my head. If he is able to do it, why couldn't I? If I could drive, I might be able to take one of Immortan's cars to escape. I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be trained with the other war boys, so how else could I learn?

    An idea drifted into my head, "Can you train me? I want to learn about driving too!" Real interest flared up in my chest. I imagined bolting through the desert in one of them, the wind whipping past my face and into my hair. My eyes met Nux's, "Please?"

He smiled, a broad, enthusiastic smile, "Okay! This will be fun! I'm the best war pup of them all, so you'll be taught well." He puffed his chest out proudly.

I giggled at him, I suppose not everyone in this place is bad. For the first time in weeks, I felt like a normal kid again.

Before I could speak again, a wave of chills crashed down on me, and I felt dizziness make my world sway. I leaned up against the nearest wall, trying to get my head to stop spinning.

Nux gave me a quizzical look, then upon seeing my face flush red from the heat, sighed, "I get fevers too, keeps me from driving sometimes..." he admitted sheepishly, as if the fact embarrassed him.

I didn't respond at first, just closed my eyes tiredly. The vertigo subsided, and then I blinked my eyes open into slits, "See you later, Nux..." I mumbled weakly. I hated that he had to see me like this, it made me uncomfortable to show weakness.

Nux nodded, patting me on the shoulder a bit too hard, but I knew he meant it to be friendly, "See ya!" he got to his feet and walked back into another tunnel.

I smiled as I drifted into slumber, a friend, I've made a friend.