A/N: Oh man, a new story! Ever since I walked out of the theater after seeing Mad Max, millions of idea have floated through my head about this amazing story and it's characters. Eventually I pinned down one idea that I thought I would enjoy writing the most, and here it is!

I've decided to try something I little different than my other stories: this story is going to be written in first person POV. Now, since this is the first time I've ever written this way, it's a bit a a trial run, so you guys will have to let me know what you think. I haven't seen another story like this so far, so hopefully it's something a little different.

Disclaimer: As always, all right's go to their respective owners and no money is being made from this. Anything you recognize is from the Mad Max universe, and anything you don't recognize if from the depths of my imagination.

Thanks to Dannylionthe1st for being my wonderful beta. Honestly don't know what I'd do without you.

Read and enjoy!


Chapter One


I was born to a world of sand and blood.

A world where survival took everything you had, everything you owned...everything you loved.

I'd grown up on stories of how the world used to be different. Legends of how billions of people lived on these lands. People who never went hungry, never thirsty. Green vegetation and roaming animals covered most of what is now the wastelands surface.

Times were different then.

Maybe things had been happier. Maybe they weren't. But at least they had stability, order, a system that gave them rights and protection. None of that existed anymore.

There's no stability - no safety - in the world today.

People are desperate. Resources like shelter, food, fuel, water, they are the new gold of today's world. More valuable than anything else out there, often worth more than life. It isn't uncommon for people to bait and kill unsuspecting travelers, taking everything that they owned, leaving them for dead, leaving them with nothing.

Some of these looters formed gangs; wandering the Wasteland in search for their next prey. Some grew so powerful, they had others sent out to do the looting for them. Others banded together for safety, using the mediocre resources they could scrounge up to survive. These clans were often small, defenceless, easily preyed upon by more violent gangs.

Bandits and Looters weren't the only danger out here in the Wasteland. If they didn't get you, then you were quite likely going to die from sickness and disease. The Wasteland was irradiated, a remnant of old wars, the surface emitting enough radiation that most people died from exposure, many before they reached the age of twenty. Many of the weaker clans were entirely made up of the sick.

My brother and I were born into one of these clans. Mother said that there used to be more of us, that she'd been part of a thriving clan, but they were all gone now, having fizzled out of existence long before I knew them, before I could remember them. Gone where, we didn't know. Mother never spoke of it.

My mother gave birth to us on the edge of the world. We were twins, an anomaly. To her surprise, we were healthy, an unusual feat in today's world, where more babies were stillborn and deformed, than not. Least of all twins. Mother was proud, amazed that she'd managed to bring two new, healthy lives into this barren world. Maybe we were her hope. Maybe it gave her courage, the strength to keep moving. She always called us her Miracles, born into a harsh world, we would be strong, healthy enough to survive.

Mother never doubted it for a second.

Sand and heat were a constant in our life. Mother took care of us on her own, keeping well away from other nearby clans. She didn't trust others, had every reason not to. They would have no hesitation if they could take our food, our water. After all, we would do the same. Most were like us, only trying to survive. And resources were few, not everyone could eat.

However, I think what Mother feared the most was losing us, that someone out there would try to take Brother and I, and trade us for product, or sell us as slaves. Children, especially healthy ones, were a valuable commodity, worth a lot in the slave markets for many different reasons, none of them pleasant. Slaves were common in the world where only the powerful made the rules.

But I knew my mother would never allow that to happen. She would protect us. She always did.

From the very start it had always been the three of us. We'd always been together.

I don't remember my father at all, he'd never been part of our life, at least not as far as I could remember. Mother never mentioned him. He was just another mystery, erased by the shifting sands.

As my brother and I grew old enough to know how to take care of ourselves, Mother started venturing out further than before. Searching, scavenging for anything that would help us survive. Most of the time she came back empty handed, a sad and weary look in her eye as she returned. But when her eyes landed on us some of the tension would melt away. Eye's lighting up, she would smile, caress our long brown hair, and tell us she was happy to see us, and that she would have better luck tomorrow.

Other times she would return, shoulders weighed down with bags that were not her own, and a different, darker look in her eye. We were always curious about where she got it from, snooping through the bags with glee, helping Mother organize everything into piles so she could take stock of what we had. Brother was always interested in her adventure outside of the cave. Questioning, prodding and poking, until Mother finally gave in, regaling us with tales of the quests she went on in search for food, battling the pirate scoundrels, stealing from the giants, using her wits to outsmart wealthy old men, convincing them to give her their food and water. We were enraptured by her stories, often helping her act out the scenes of her quest. I realized later in life, that she never told us how she really got the bags. Instead, distracting us with tales and celebration. We'd fill our bellies and laugh. We were happy.

Survival was harsh, you did whatever you had to to stay alive.

When I was four or five, Mother got sick. She'd always had a persistent cough, but it was getting worse. Much worse. The wet, hacking convulsions were beginning to tear through her, leaving her weak and in pain. I think for awhile she did her best to hide them from us. But soon she had trouble catching her breath, each inhale held a rasping tenor. At the time, I didn't realize how much pain she must have been in, she'd fooled us, covering every wince with a smile.

But she kept moving, kept scavenging. Everything was the same. So I didn't worry about it too much.

Another year went by before things changed.

As the cough persisted, Mother had been getting weaker and weaker, her breathing often laboured as she strained to keep us alive. We helped out where we could, but there was nothing we could do to help her. We were young then. We were useless.

One day she woke up early, before the sun had risen, leaving us with instructions to pack the few bags we owned with food, water and clothes. Anything that we could carry. Brother and I had been uncertain, worried, but we had followed her command, packing everything we thought held value. I made sure I packed away Mother's prized books. She'd been teaching us to read, a skill no longer important in the world, but mother said, "I will have children who can read and speak properly. So I will teach you, like my mother taught me." And so we learned.

She returned late that day, much later than she normally would. When she returned, Mother broke down and cried. She had barely made it through the entrance of our cave, when she had crumbled, falling to her hands and knees, her shoulders shaking with heavy sobs. Alarmed, Brother and I had rushed forward, trying to provide her with any comfort we could. But all she did was pull us close and cry. I'd didn't understand why her clothing was ripped, or why her arms were littered with purple bruises.

She never told us what was wrong. I was afraid of asking.

We always slept together at night, but this one felt different from the rest. Mother held us closely, like she normally did, Brother and I under each of her arms, but her grip was almost too tight. I think we all had trouble sleeping that night.

The silence of the morning was shattered by the rumbling of a vehicle outside the cave. Alarm had flared through me and Brother and I leapt to our feet, wide eyed and disoriented. Before we could ask questions, Mother shushed us, told us to stay out of sight, and walked out of the cave.

I don't remember how long we'd waited, huddled down, shoulder to shoulder in the corner, but it had seemed like forever at the time. Eventually mother returned, expression stony, shoulders tense, a man following cautiously at her heels.

I remember the feeling of fear that shot through me at the sight. Brother sat tensed beside me.

Mother had always taught us to stay away from others. People were bad. People were dangerous. They would use us, take what we had, and either sell us or leave us for dead. And here was a large man, standing at the entrance of our home.

We'd never had a stranger in our home before.

He was large, larger than any other person I'd seen before. He towered over my brother and I, and we both flinched away from him when his icy blue eyes landed on us. Those eyes, I remember them still.

"This's them?" His voice was raspy, as if he'd spent too long breathing the dry desert air.

Mother nodded tersely, as she stood to the side. Watching.

After a moment, the man nodded. "How far ya need to go?"

"The Citadel." Was Mother's biting reply. The Citadel? What was that? I'd never heard of it before.

There was a pause of contemplation as the man gazed at the three of us before shrugging. "A'ight, I'll do it. But we need ta leave soon, if we' going to make it there."

"We're ready whenever you are," she replied, reaching down and picking up the bags we'd packed yesterday. The man stared at her in reply.

"Mama?" came Brother's quiet voice, as he gazed up at her with worry, hand reaching out to grab her own. "Where we going?"

"Hush, Nux." She shushed him, giving him a tense but gentle smile, cold eyes never leaving the man in front of them. When the man nodded and turned, exiting the cave, Mama marginally relaxed, before coughs overtook her and she bent over clutching her chest, keeping her sleeve over her mouth.

Worry flowed through me. What was happening? What's the Citadel? Why were we going there? Who was that man?

I was scared. I didn't want to leave the safety of our home.

When the coughs subsided, Mother turned and crouched down before us with a small smile. But something was wrong.

She looked sad.

"Ah, my darlings. Look at you," she whispered to us softly, running her hands through our hair, the familiar gesture comforting, easing some of the tension in my mind. "You guys grow up so fast. And still so healthy." And we were. Mother always worried that we would someday come down with illness that would take us away. But it never did. "I'll tell you a little secret, we are going to go on an adventure."

Nux's eye lit up at the thought. "An adventure? Like in your stories - will there be pirates?" He whispered back, eyes wide with excitement.

Mother gave a small laugh at his excitement, smiling down at him, "Well, I don't know about pirates, but it will still be an adventure."

I was more cautious than my brother. "Mama, where are we going? Are we leaving?"

Mother nodded slowly. "We are, darling. We are going to travel across the plains. Find a better place for you live. You'll love it there, I know you will. There will be other children there. Like you. You'll make lots of friends."

Fear overtook me, tears welled up. "Mama, I don't want to leave. I like it here, in the cave. We can stay here."

"Oh sweets, come here." Mother pulled me gently into a hug. "I know it's scary. It's a big world out there. But you know that as long as you have your brother by your side, you'll be fine. The two of you can get through anything, I know it."

When the engine outside the cave roared to life Mother was quick to straighten up. "Grab those bags. Quick. It's time for us to leave." We did as we were told.

Walking out towards the entrance to the cave that had always been our home, I reached out for my brother, my twin, my other half, linking our hands together. He was quick to grab my hand in return. I could feel his worry as we left the only place we knew as home, and stepped out into the blinding light together.

I squinted, raising an arm to block the light trying to give my eyes some time to adjust. It wasn't that we had never left the cave before. No, Nux and I had been out here plenty of times, running, playing, searching for insects to snack on. This time was different. I had the feeling we would never see our cave again.

As my vision cleared, I caught sight of the machine that was rumbling not too far from the entrance, and I let my jaw drop in awe. I heard Nux gasp from next to me.

It was a vehicle!

"Whoa, Rye! Look! Look, it's a vehicle." Came Nux's excited squeal from next to me, and he gripped my hand, pulling me along behind him passed Mother and towards the large machine.

As I stumbled over a rock, I pulled back. "Nux, slow down. You're going to make me fall." I muttered, staring up at it in trepidation.

This was definitely the closest to a vehicle we'd ever been. The only other time we'd seen them was when they were racing across the flats in front of our cave, and Mother would quickly usher us inside and out of sight. Although Nux and I always managed to sneak back out to watch them fly across the desert sand, billowing clouds flaring up behind them. We used to play and dream about us being the drivers, outrunning the Raiders, the best driver team in the world.

And now we would sit in one for real.

I didn't know if I was more nervous or excited.

I couldn't tell what colour the machine in front was meant to be. The colour was hidden behind nearly an inch of sand that caked the outside. It was much taller than us, almost twice our height. The side we were facing had two window and as we watched, the one at the front of the car rolled down, the same man from before grinning down at us. I realized that two of his front teeth were missing.

"Ready ta go?" He asked us.

"Yes, we are." Mother's crisp voice came from behind us before either of us could reply. "Hurry into the back you two." She opened the bag door, revealing a dirty seat, the surface looking like it had recently been cleared of much debris. Nux was the first to leap through the door, gazing around the inside excitedly. "Nux, sit down." Mother said firmly, passing him some bags before helping me get in. She shut the door firmly before getting into the front passenger seat beside the man.

The inside was fairly comfortable. The old leather chairs were well worn and ripped in some places. The space in front of me, where I assume my feet were supposed to go, was full of bottle of water, most of which were empty. When my eyes caught sight of the shotgun peeking out from beside the man's chair, a felt a weary sliver go through me. Who was this man? How did Mother know him? Why was he taking us to the Citadel?

I didn't have much time to think about it before the car lurched forward with a roar of the engine. And soon we were racing across the sand flats, away from the only home we'd ever known.

Turning in my seat, I peered out the dirty back window, back towards home, resting my chin on my arms, feeling Nux sit up and do the same.

"Do you think we'll ever go back?" I asked Nux softly.

He shrugged beside me, turning to look at me, blue eyes mirroring my own. "Who cares? Rye, we're going on an adventure! We're no longer going ta be in no stinkin' old cave." he said after an air of finality, before turning around, pulling me down with him, so that we sat side by side.

Leaning my head down on his shoulder, my sight blurred as the tears came.

I knew in my heart that this would be the last time we ever saw our cave.


A harsh bump had me lurching up from where I'd fallen asleep leaning on Nux. Glancing over at my brother, I noticed he was still fast asleep, head lolling with the motion of the car.

Rubbing some of the sleep out of my eyes, I looked around, peering through the dirty glass, trying to figure out how long we'd been moving for. But as far as I could see, lay an endless sea of sand, the dunes rising and falling as we sped past.

Leaning over the bags, I sat up to peer between the front seats, and was slightly startled to see a mountain in the distance ahead of us.

Mother looked back at me with a tired smile, eyes red and I wondered for a moment if she'd been crying. Raising a delicate hand, she pointed at the mountain ahead of us. "You see that?" I nodded. "That's the Citadel. It's going to be your new home."

I frowned. "It is?"

Mother nodded. I still didn't understand.

"But Mama, why did we leave? We have a home!" I whined.

Mother gave me a sad look, reaching back and running the back of her hand down my cheek, brushing my hair away from my face. "It will be a good place for you and your brother. It will give you a chance to survive. You are worth so much more than a hole in the rocks." I was alarmed when her voice trembled, tears filling her eyes.

Something was wrong, wrong. So wrong.

"Mama," I said hesitantly. "You're coming with us, right - to our new home? You're coming with us?"

She hesitated for a second too long. "Of course, darling," she replied with a reassuring smile.

"Promise?" I wanted to know, I needed to know.

"I promise."

But I didn't feel reassured at all. She'd hesitated. Leaning back towards the seat behind me, I curled up into a ball beside my brother, wishing with all my might that I would fall asleep and wake up back to our cave.


The Citadel was the largest placed we'd ever seen. It looked like three stone columns had erupted from the Earth, the rock reaching incredible heights, reaching for the sky.

I could only stare in awe at the monstrous hold, Nux grasping my hand as he did the same.

What were we doing here?

Our driver slowly weaved his way through the crowd, The Wretched mother called them, the people who lived at the base. They watched us go by, nothing but skin and bones, sunken dead eyes staring at us as we passed. I'd never seen so many people before. Their hungry gazes made my skin crawl. Sinking back into my seat, I tried to hide behind the door. I was afraid of them.

Too soon, we had stopped in the shade of the monumental fortress. All of us sat quietly, Mother and the Driver tense, waiting for something that we did not know; Nux and I in the back, dreading the unknown.

Driver was the one to break the silence, turning his head towards my mother. "You will only have a small window to move."

"I know," Mother replied softly.

"If you don't make it, there is nothing I can do to help you." He looked sad, seeming reluctant about whatever Mother was doing.

"I know," Mother repeated, her tone sharp, more forceful than before. They were quiet for a second, before Mother sighed, her shoulders dropping. "Will you wait?" She asked him softly, sadly.

"Of course." He patted Mother's shoulder gently, looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

Mother took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders, she turned back to us, meeting our wide, scared eyes. At the sight of us, her lips trembled for a second and I wondered if I was going to see my mother cry for a second time in two days. But she didn't

"Mama, what's happen-" Nux asked the question I couldn't bring myself to voice, but Mother raised a hand, cutting him off.

"Don't ask questions." She commanded softly, meeting each of our gazes steadily. "When we get out of the car, I need you both to hold onto my hands tightly. We are going to walk through the crowd. Now, I don't want to hear any questions. You are going to do whatever I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. Are we clear?"

Nux and I exchanged fearful looks. I knew my brother was just as worried as I was, about whatever was to come.

"I said, are we clear?" Mother repeated sternly.

"Yes, Mama." We chirped back.

"Good." Mother turned and got out of the car, hurrying back and opening the side door next to me. I moved slowly as she motioned for me to get out. She shook her head, when I reached for the bags. "You won't need those." I was too afraid to ask what she meant, instead reaching down with a foot, to step out onto the dry, cracked ground, taking her hand. Nux was quick to follow, mirroring my movements on her other side. Her grip was tight around my hand, almost painful

We were quickly tugged away from the car and into the dead crowd. I didn't know where to look, eyes jumping from one withered face to another. My legs trembling beneath me as I struggled to keep up with Mother's determined stride. Nux was staring wide-eyed around them, looking on the verge of tears on Mother's other side. I want to follow suite, but my eyes were dry. The tears wouldn't come.

We weaved through the crowd, heading towards the far side of the canyon and as I looked up all I could see were lifts and pulleys, people swinging between platforms. One of the large platforms was slowly making its descent towards the ground and I could see where the crowd was packed beneath it, arms raised, screaming at the sky. Begging, pleading. For what, I didn't know. But Mother was dragging us their way.

If they didn't move, they would be crushed. I didn't want to get crushed.

Reaching the edge of the platform, where the lift had nearly finally made its descent, Mother stopped, turning and crouching down in front of us.

She was crying, tears streaming down her face. "Now we don't have much time. "Her lip trembled, "When that lift comes down, I want you to get on. Hold hands." She pushed Nux and my hands together, linking our fingers. "There you go. Now hold on tightly to each other. And don't let go….never let go." Staring at us, she let out a shaky breath, before jerking us forward and pulling us into a hug, squeezing us as if her life depended on it. I returned the hug with as much strength as I could, blinking dried eyes.

I didn't - couldn't - understand what was going on.

When a booming clank came from the lift, I knew that it had hit the ground. Mother moaned, as if the sound itself caused her pain, and she trembled.

She pulled away from us and ran her hands through our hair, the familiar soothing motion feeling like a final goodbye. "Come, come. You have to get on." With that she yanked us forwards, shoving us through the crowd. Nux's hand tight in my own.

The platform was surrounded by withered people, many clutching children of their own, just like my mother. They were pushing and shoving their children onto the platform, where three large men in masks stood, keeping the adults off the lift.

"Go on, up you go," Mother said was a trembling smile, lifting us up one at a time. When I shook my head, I stared back at her in terror, feeling numb. "Riley. Everything will be fine," she said soothingly. "Take care of your brother, take care of each other." This couldn't be happening. She wouldn't send us away. We were always supposed to be together. Always!

She gazed between us, hands caressing her faces. "Remember that I always love you. No matter where we are, where you end up, I'll always love you."

The lift lurched beneath us, and Nux, I and many other children tumbling onto the hard surface.

Then we were moving. Up and away. Away from Mother.

No, no, no, no. no!

I scrambled for the edge, peering over the edge, looking down at my mother. She had to come with us! She couldn't stay by herself.

"Mama! Mama, please! Don't leave us! Please!" I screamed down at her, on my hands and knees at the edge of the platform. We slowly moved further and further away from her. Nux stared down at her blankly, tears running down his face.

"You promised!" I screamed down at her, and tears ran down my face. "You promised!" I knew she heard my words, when her face crumbled, and she covered her face with her hands, shoulders wracking with sobs.

Soon I couldn't see her, her face having disappeared into the masses below. I searched, and searched, knowing that she was there somewhere.

But she was gone.

That was the last time we ever saw our mother.


So...what did you guys think? Worth continuing in 1st POV? Any comments? Questions? Let me know below!
Thanks for reading!