CAPABLE
"The fire's out."
Right as the words left my mouth, Feral took off. A rush of air breezed past me in her wake.
Nix and I just stood there for a moment, surprise at her unceremonious departure. I made a gesture with my hand for the war boy to follow me, "Come on."
We jogged to the Black Thumb's cave, my heart pounding in my chest. So far we have counted zero casualties, and I didn't want to change that. The entire cave was covered in black streaks like that of a paint brush. My gaze flicked about the premises, but I found no trace of the war girl.
Then, as of on cue, a shriek rose up from behind the war rig Jr. Nux and I exchanged grim glances and made our way back there with heavy hearts. My shoes splashed in the wet ash, what a waste. The guzzaline, the supplies, the water, all wasted because of Gastown.
Nux was a few paces in front of me, and I could see the tension in his posture. He wasn't speaking either, which told me just how serious the situation was. My heart skipped away within me, as I wasn't sure what we would find when we came around to the other side of the rig.
Nux ducked down into the darkness of the war rig. I lingered behind, my eyes wide and my nerves going haywire. When my vision came in to focus, my jaw dropped.
Feral, the girl tough as tails, the girl who volunteered to fight a man three times her size on a moving vehicle, was crying. A bundle of burned flesh and scorched chains was cradled in her trembling arms, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. My voice was robbed from me at once, like someone had landed a blow to my throat. Nux was at her side, trying to pry the dead child from her grasp. She had her forehead pressed to Hummer's, the same way the Vuvalini did to one another. It hurt to watch her like this, so my gaze found the floor. Poor thing, he must have suffered so much. How could anyone be so cruel to kill an innocent? I tried to recall the boy's appearance, a thin child with big brown eyes and a smile missing baby teeth. My chest began to ache with sadness at the sound of Feral's whimpering.
Then, finally, I could pick up words between her gasps, "He's dead...."
I looked up at once, watching the war girl touch the little boy's cheek with her hand, "They chain h-him up and bur...burned him alive..."
I flinched, at the content of her words and at the sorrow coursing through them. Death was something I don't think I would ever get used to.
"He will be awaited in Valhalla..." Nux murmured, his voice cracking.
I suddenly felt as if I was intruding, and debated whether or not I should leave them alone to grieve in peace. I took no more than a few steps backwards when Nux turned around and held out the dead child to me with pleading in the blue sea of his eyes. I immediately understood and lifted Hummer from Nux's arms. My feet carried me away from the two and off to another corner of the cave. I could feel everyone's eyes training on me as I passed, for I was holding the only person Gastown managed to kill. I lowered the body down so it was safely tucked away behind a particularly large pile of car parts. Then, having dusted away the smears of soot. I headed out to the pups' sleeping quarters.
One I made it in there, I was met with Cheedo and a war boy I did not recognize. They both were herding a flock of protesting kids backwards, as they were all trying to get out and see what was happening. My heart contracted in my rib cage when I spotted Nux's apprentices among the bustle. My ears couldn't help but pick out their squeaky voices, as if they rose above the others in a scream,
"Were's Hummer? He didn't come back! We can't find him here!" One of them cried, a boy with crooked teeth and a black scarf around his throat.
"Yeah, we swear we ain't lyin'!" The other insisted, a boy with a black stripe of paint across his eyes.
The two adults ignored them, as their words were drowned out by all of the pups speaking at once. I pushed past the crowd, not bothering to explain to my dark haired sister what I was up to. War pups tugged at my clothing and hands, firing out questions from all sides. I shook them away, because they all reminded me of Hummer. How many knew the dead child? I was afraid that if I answered any of their pleas that I would have to tell them one of there comrades was burned to death. I finally waded out of the sea of kids to find the sleeping quarter. This place used to be just another storage place for spare parts and trinkets. Since then we have cleared it as a space for the pups to sleep.
The space was deserted, blankets askew and tools scattered in the corners. It was dim, and the sound of the pups' shouting became a dull throbbing behind my back. I scanned over the messy assortment of blankets, wondering which one was Hummer's. They were all the same off-white color, with a few exceptions of black stains. A sigh blew past my lips, and I bent down and scooped up the one closest to me. It smelled like musty water and grease. I suppose the dead boy wouldn't know the difference.
With the cloth bundled in my hands, I walked back to the Black Thumb's cave. On my way through the tunnels I passed Nux and Feral. He had his pale arm draped over her shoulders, and was using his thumb to wipe away the tears staining her painted cheeks. She had her head down, and unlike before, she wasn't making a sound. I could detect some traces of anger and regret in her stony expression. Neither of the two noticed me as I passed, but I didn't try to catch their attention.
Once I emerged into the cave, I noticed the crowd had thinned considerably. Only Furiosa, Toast, The Dag were there. I didn't call to them, as I felt I had a duty to Hummer to carry out. I crept over to where I had left the child, and unraveled the blanket. First I carefully untangled his burned body from the chains, my hands slowly becoming blacker and blacker. Then I wrapped the skinny boy up in the blanket as best as I could. He resembled a cocooned butterfly as I had seen in my books. It made me feel better to imagine the war pup breaking out of the wrapping stronger and better than before.
A light touch to my shoulder tore me from my thoughts. I turned to see The Dag staring at me with those large eyes of hers. She gestured towards the mummified child in my arms with her chin, "That's the war pup who was killed, yeah?" she questioned, her mouth twitching into a frown.
I gave her a brisk nod, "I thought we could give him a proper funeral." the word rolled off of my tongue in a strange way, like I was speaking in a different language. People didn't get funerals in this world. Too many dead, too many on their way there. We mostly just left the dead in the sun to rot, after the war boys robbed the bodies of their bones of course. It was cruel and sickening, but mourning was just grown out of our culture.
The Dag considered my words for a moment, then nodded slowly, "We could bury him, like they did in the before." she mumbled, almost to herself.
I got to my feet, the boy in my arms seeming to weigh like a hundred gallons of mother's milk. The Dag was ahead of me at once, gesturing for me to follow her. She led me out of the cave, and under the twinkling stars. We wove our way around the parked fleet of cars and to the very back of the Citadel's cliff side. There is where we have established our garden. It took us months to find soil that hasn't turned sour. Once we did, we moved it here, the only empty spot that wasn't taken by cars or the wretched. Right now it was just a little patch of dark earth with tiny sprouts poking out. It was the only green thing for miles, and was absolutely beautiful.
"We've been saving these seeds for a special occasion." The Dag said to no one in particular, holding out a strange nut that was the same color as Hummer's eyes. She approached the blotch of black and green and plucked a little shovel off the ground. It was less of a shovel and more of a slab of metal with an oblong pole welded to it. Courtesy of the war boys.
The pale haired girl shoved the flat end into the dirt, scooping out hand fulls of it. A good sized hole began to appear under her hands. It was like an open mouth to the center of the earth, as the darkness concealed its bottom. The Dag reached her hand behind her and made a come hither movement with her fingers. I stepped forward, getting down on my knees next to her. She sat back on her heels, allowing me to lower Hummer into the grave. He looked so lonely down there, still curled up in the same position he was in when he died. My eyes didn't leave his body while The Dag covered it in soil. Soon enough he was nothing but a heap of earth, a memory of a person. His life was sort, but it would not be in vain. I was sure that Feral would avenge him, for she was not a person that would sit and cry forever. She would make Gastown pay for his death in fire and blood.
I reached my hand out and placed it on the dirt, my fingers sinking into it. I let my eyes flutter closed, casting my thoughts out and into the air, as if the spirit of this boy would be able to catch them. I conjured up the words war boys said to each other before they died, in hopes of bringing comfort to the situation, "May you ride eternal...Shiny and chrome." I murmured.
~~
The next morning was brought to me with the sounds of angered voices and boot clad footsteps. I practically rolled out of my bed, my feet landing heavily on the floor. I smoothed my hair back, rising to a standing position. Again, being the light sleeper she was, The Dag awoke beside me. She groaned with annoyance, rolling over awkwardly around her swollen belly. I thought to myself that she would be due to have her baby sometime within the next few moon cycles. How would we be able to keep an infant safe with all of this war raging around us? I twisted my bright hair around in my fingers as I thought. Who knew where Gastown would strike next? Anyone could be a target. The Dag rubbed her eye with her thin fingers, yawning widely.
"Do they have to be so loud?" She grumbled, sitting up.
I shrugged, "The fire's got everyone worked up."
She sighed, hauling herself to her feet, "Well, let's go see what's happening, then." she grunted, pulling on her shoes.
We emerged into the halls of the royal Citadel, eyes searching for the source of all the noise.
Nothing.
It seems that everyone was in the caverns. With curious sidelong glances, we both trudged down the tunnels. It wasn't long before we came upon Nux and Feral's sleeping quarter. I couldn't help but peek inside, as I was wondering how the war girl was doing. When I last saw her she was a mess, and it worried me. She also must want to know what we did with her dead apprentice.
I could see she was propped up against the back wall of the little room. She had her head down, and she was wringing one of her gloves in her hands. Nux was asleep on one of the blankets close to her. I wondered briefly if she had slept at all last night. Her clothes were still dusted with soot and blood. She looked just about the same as she did on Fury Road, only she didn't have that haunted air to her posture like she does now.
I held out a hand to stop The Dag's walking, pointing to Feral with a nod of my head. The Dag peered into the sleeping quarter, her eyes widening with understanding. With the pale haired girl behind me, I entered the room.
Feral snapped her attention towards us at once. The sight of her sent a pang of sadness through me. Her war paint was nearly gone, patches of white standing out starkly against her skin. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and looked as if they have seen a thousand years of hardship in one night. Her eye patch was missing, so her blind eye was bared. It moved in unison with her working one, but had that strange milky and sightless look to it. She didn't greet either of us, just hung her head again as if we had sneered out insults at her. The Dag and I exchanged glum glances, and I lowered myself to one knee in front of her. My hand found her arm, and I gave it a gentle squeeze. She didn't look up, on the contrary, she seemed to recoil from me.
"Feral," I began slowly, my voice soft, "Do you want to pay your respects to Hummer?" I asked, rushing the words out, as I knew she would become upset when I mentioned his name.
Suddenly, she stopped twisting the glove, and looked up at me. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable, as if I had suddenly scraped away her tough exterior. Her lips trembled as she tried to get words out of her dry throat, "Where is he?"
"He is buried in our green place," The Dag piped up, crouching down awkwardly over her stomach.
Feral's gaze flickered between the both of us, confusion igniting their green and white depths.
"That is what people used to do with the dead." I explained, "So they could become one with the earth."
The war girl's head bobbed slightly in a nod. We were all silent for a few moments as Feral rolled the idea around in her brain, "I want to see him." she finally said.
"Wha's...Capable?...Dag? Whatta you guys doin' 'ere?" Nux's sleepy voice grumbled from behind us.
I turned to him, "We are going to pay our respects to Hummer." I told him quietly.
He looked puzzled, his eyebrows knitting together. I didn't bother explaining it to him, as Feral was already up and leaving the room. I waved for him to follow us and left as well. We all walked in silence because the tension in the air was so thick I was sure it was drowning me. Feral stayed a few paces in front of us, her arms folded across her chest as if she was cold. Her heavy trod told me that she indeed did not sleep last night, but I hardly blamed her. The image of the blackened boy was branded behind my eyelids as well. If it hurt me, I don't know how awful it must be for her. She has spent nearly every day with that child ever since he was assigned to her. They were very close, from what I understood. Now that apprenticeship is here to stay, each war boy forms a certain bond with their apprentice, like a son, daughter, brother, or sister. This seemed to be good for them, but now that I have watched Feral's heart break when her apprentice was taken from her, I wasn't so sure. Love was beautiful, but left an ugly wound when it was taken away.
We rounded the corner to the little green place, then halted as if we ran into a wall. Feral seemed to have frozen on the spot, her one sided gaze locked on the mound of churned earth as if it was an activated bomb. I don't think I have seen such raw grief since Fury Road, when Nux watched Feral's body fly over the edge of the rig.
Feral weakly strode up to the grave, her hands beginning to shake again. She fell to her knees, her cargo pants digging into the soft dirt. She seemed to have lost her voice, as her scarred lips were parted but nothing came out. Without a word to the other two, I moved to her side. One hand fell to her shoulder, and the other gestured to the dirt,
"The Dag planted one of her only tree seeds with him, so he can live forever." I whispered to her, giving her a sad smile.
She stared at me, open-mouthed. I couldn't read her expression to see if she approved of the arrangement or not. She inhaled a shuddering breath, her gaze finding the grave once more,
"So...He'll grow into a tree...?" she breathed.
My smile grew, "Yes, a big, beautiful tree. A tree that will make the air cleaner and-"
A cry of pain cut me short. I whirled around, bristling with alarm. The Dag was hunched over, her hands clutching her belly. Nux had stumbled away from her as if she had pulled a gun out on him, his eyebrows raised with confusion. Feral long forgotten, I hurled myself to my feet and raced to her. She happily leaned against me, her eyes screwed shut with the pain.
"What's wrong?" I asked urgently, although I had a feeling I knew the answer.
The Dag raised her head to meet my gaze. Her face was pinched with fear and concern, "The baby..." she gasped, "Its coming."
My stomach flipped inside of me, and my eyes automatically flicked to the other two. Feral's depressed demeanor seemed to have evaporated, and her expression was shocked and fearful. Nux had the same emotions etched onto his features. They both looked just about ready to flee like frightened children. The same thought was flashing behind my eyes, that this baby was not meant to be coming now. Sure, it, after all, had Immortan's cursed genes. I should have known it would have complications, but I just hoped this time it would be different. Dread was spreading through my body like poison as the thoughts mulled through my brain. I prayed to whoever was listening that this baby would be born healthy and alive.
"Get Cheedo." I ordered, my voice sounding more stern and certain than I felt, "Now."