The War Girl (Mad Max: Fury Road fanfiction)

12: Just Passing By

The voices drew nearer and nearer, making my memory rush back to when I was 11. I could almost imagine I was curled back up into my shelter, counting on my mothers to save me. I didn't have that luxury now. I had to rely on my own strength to get me through this. All that stood between me and death now was my will for survival and a handful of comrades. It was something worth betting on.

The war rig was surrounded by now, war boys were so close I could see the whites of their crazed eyes. The war rig lurched forward and someone detonated an explosive at the back end of the semi-truck. I moved my body so I was blocking the window, shielding the Wives with my torso. A war boy with a black bandanna around his throat pounced from his lancer's perch and soared through the air towards me. Without hesitation, I whipped my gun up and fired. The bullet landed square in the middle if his chest. He was thrown backward, his body rolling under the wheels of his own car. Another explosion rocked the war rig, only this time it was from above. I looked up, and my stomach swooped with dread.

The Gastown boys were with them.

They swung back and forth on towering metal poles, contraptions that mirrored pole vaulting. Each pole was attached to a car that was stationed at our side. They moved so fast that I could not make out any features. They dropped from their poles like spiders, landing upon the war rig's back. I was reluctant to leave my post, but pulled myself onto the top of the trailer anyways. Even now that I was close up to the Gastown boys, I could not see any of their faces. They had them obscured with goggles and skins.

I suppose that would make it easier.

I let bullets rain down on them. Some fell with heavy thuds, but others swerved around my attacks as if they knew my every move. One lunged for me with twin blades outstretched. It all happened too fast. I was tackled to the ground. I was barely able to keep the pointed tips of metal away from my throat as he hovered over me. I lashed out with my knee, catching him in the groin. The man yelled out in pain, loosing his grip. I rolled us over and used the momentum to throw him over the side of the rig. He screamed the whole way down, but was cut short when he landed with a sickening crack.

I jumped to my feet, my hand finding one of the knives I had attacked to my belt. Two Gastown boys charged for me as I turned to them. I aimed and fired at the first one, missing my target and hitting him in the shoulder. He fell onto his back, but was still alive. His companion did not slow, and managed to land a blow to my gut while I was distracted. I doubled over for only a moment, then slashed out with my knife. He stumbled back, revealing to me that I had got him in the side. My gun's barrel found his head, and my finger found the trigger.

The one I had injured before was on me again. His hands grabbed at my hair and yanked me to the hard surface of the rig. He plucked a handgun from his back pocket and began to fire at me. I rolled out of harms way, but one of his bullets grazed my shoulder. The pain was instant and sharp, but was dulled by adrenaline. The dagger flew from my hand, spiraling towards the boy and burying itself blade first into his throat. He collapsed into a heap without another sound. Disgusted, I ripped the knife from his flesh, not bothering to remove the blood.

Battle had broke out all around me. Fire and bodies clouded the air. I scanned over the many faces locked in battle, and with a wave of relief realized that I could see all of my own amongst them. Furiosa was still at the wheel, with the wives at the back. Bloodbag was wrestling with a war boy at the back end of the trailer, and Nux was shooting down opponents from the window of the truck.

When I turned my attention back to Bloodbag, I saw that he was having trouble. More war boys were attacking him, dodging his bullets and burying him in flying fists. With a cry I threw myself into the tussle, smashing the butt of my gun into the nearest war boy's temple. I whipped out one of the pieces of metal from my pockets and sunk it deep into the war boys one after another. I was aiming to kill, but failed here and there. Even so, I had thinned the crowd considerably, and Bloodbag was able to gain the upper hand. A war boy whom I stabbed in the lower back had punched me in the jaw, making me topple over. He jumped on top of me, pinning my legs to the floor. The boy popped me in the nose, making my head snap back and crash against the hard metal of the rig's back. Stars darted around my vision, and I flailed with my fists and elbows, just hoping I would hit my mark. The war boy laughed, shoving over the side of the war rig's trailer.

I could only gasp as the blurred ground came rushing towards my head. I prepared to feel my spine shatter on impact.

But it did not come.

Someone had a hold of both my ankles. I looked up, my heart racing with fear. It was Bloodbag. His nose was bleeding, and he was panting hard, but he had a firm grip on my legs in his large hands. He yanked me up with ease, giving me a nod and a grunt. I tipped my head at him in return, flashing a grin at him.

We had no more time to talk, because bullets whizzed past us, coming from Immortan's cars. I wriggled out of the way of the bullets, and they all clinked against the war rig. I pulled out my pistol and fired towards the cars and missed half of the time. The war rig was shuddering too much under my feet for me to properly shoot. With a groan of frustration, I stuffed my gun back into my pocket and dove for cover. Just as I did this, a war boy with two explosive spears in his hands leaped from his car. Without thinking, I took out a blade and threw it at him, and the blade sank into his eye. His screams made my blood turn icy. He didn't make it to the rig, but landed flat on his back against another car. The explosives still soared in our direction. Now, though, it was aiming for the front windows of the truck. I decided in that second that it would be better if I died instead of Furiosa and the wives, and I launched myself into the air. My hands closed around the handles of the spear, and I tumbled onto the front of one of Immortan's cars. The boy inside yelled out with surprise, jerking the wheel to one side. I didn't wait another second, just jumped back towards the rig. As I was in the air, I threw both spears at the car I had came from. The vehicle burst into flames, flipping backwards and out of our way. I landed clumsily at the side of the rig's cabin, my hands desperately finding anything to hold onto.

"Good job, Feral! Very good job!" Nux laughed, a wild grin set upon his face. His hairless head was poking out of the window I was landed by.

I could feel the same chemicals running through my muscles that drove Nux's wild happiness. As war raged around me, my bones sang with energy. I stood with Nux and mowed down enemies with my bullets, feeling strangely like I did when I had my first drive.

But this was, after all, only the beginning.