~~~~ Chapter Two: A Stranger Cometh ~~~
As gentle moonlight gave way to the harsh unforgiving sun the drums began to sound off in crashes of thunder waking all the warboys and warpups alike to welcome the glorious new day. Groggily I followed Slit to the slurry pits to get a fresh coat of paint on my skin before starting the new day in the mechanic shops below. As I stripped off my pants and drenched my body into the thick paste I tried to suppress a powerful yawn, when suddenly Slit shoved me into the pit! "Wake up nuts! You're taking too long, hurry up!" shouted Slit as he pushed me aside to scoop up a great glop of paste and started smearing it onto his broad chest. Gasping for breath I swam to the edge of the hole and hoisted myself up to safety, slipped back into my pants, and waited patiently for him to finish coating himself. When he was satisfied with the amount of paste applied he motioned with his head toward the mess hall. There we each grabbed a bottle of Mother's milk, a bowl of greens, and meal grown from the gardens of the Citadel before sitting at one of the long tables where a few pups were gathered around listening to a tale being spun by the Ace. Perched on one of the stools sat the old warboy lumpy and scared like the rest of us but unlike the rest he was much wiser, worthy of serving under Imperator Furiosa. A fond smile graced his leathery face as he acknowledged our presence with a nod of his head, continuing his story of how he saved the war rig during a supply run many years ago while Furiosa and her crew held off attackers long enough for him to fix the blown engine to get them to safety. It was a popular story told to most young pups and personally one of my favorites. The Ace had a way with words that he painted a picture in your head that made you feel like you were there too fighting along side him shiny and chrome. "And then Imperator Furiosa yelled at one of the crew, 'keep firing until Ace gets the engine patched', I ducked oncoming fire as I crawled from one engine to the next with just a wrench and some rope I pulled from the supply compartment," he lowered himself to the floor onto his belly crawling from chair to chair dodging invisible bullets as he went along with the story, "At last it came down to one engine that was overheated so I unscrewed the cap and poured all me water rations down the tank praying it'd cool it off just enough to get us the hell out of there. That's where I got these burn scars on me hands," he said as he showed the pups the mangled flesh of his right hand that bore the imprint of a radiator valve. "What happened next Ace?" said one eager pup squirming in his seat while the Ace heaved up from the floor and returned to his seat. I grinned into my near empty bowl as the Ace looked thoughtful for a moment, smiled and stated proudly, " We kicked all their asses and came back home victorious!" Immediately several of the pups let out a shout of approval, a few even flashed some V8 signs in respect of the ancient warrior.
With the story concluded the Ace meandered through the throng of admiring pups and sat across from Slit and I ready to give us our day's orders. "Right I need Slit in the shop dismantling a few rigs we salvaged a couple weeks ago, sort through the parts carefully. Keep what's good and send the rest to the forges to be melted down. Nux, I need you in the repair bay one of the vehicles is acting up and we need a good black thumb to sort it out. Once you're both done meet up with me in the garage so we can start getting the war rig ready for the supply run to gas town next month. We clear?" We both nodded in understanding, "Good go on now, get to work!" Jumping up at the same time we dumped our bowls into the collector bin by the doorway and parted ways to our respective assignments.
Hours later the sun hung high in the sky bearing down on the wretched below, as the crowds of filthy parched faces clung to the base of the plateau hoping against hope that today the great Immortan would let loose the torrents of precious water to ease their suffering. Fierce battles were often waged between small groups of the wretched for whom have the privilege of being closest to the base of the torrent's path; each victor graced with just enough water to last until the next downpour. It was from the openings of the garage bay I watched these tiny people fight so desperately for the resources I was blessed with just by being a War boy.
A quick slap to my spine jarred me from my musing as Morsov leaned over my shoulder to have a look at what had drawn my attention away from the shiny engine block suspended from the lift kit. "Whatcha lookin' at Nux? Don't tell me those mediocre sods are more interesting than this beauty of a machine," he exclaimed spinning me around to shove me into the engine block. Grabbing the block with both arms to keep from swinging it off its suspension hook, I steadied the heavy equipment and shot a quick glare before getting back to unbolting the pistons to inspect the damage. "I was just curious that's all. There's usually a big fight at the base a few days before the water is released to see who gets to stand closest to the water when it comes. I wanted to see what happens," I mumble shyly as Morsov inspected the pistons chamber shaking his head in disapproval of the state of disrepair to this beloved machine. As he leaned over the block he quietly spoke to me just loud enough so as not to be overheard by the other repair boys in the garage, "Try not to think about them Nux. Its not their destiny to be up here if they are down there, if they are found worthy like the gatekeepers found us to be then they'll be lifted up and given the chance to enter Valhalla. But if it is not to be there is nothing we can do." Silently I nod thinking it over as I replaced the warped piston from the block exchanging it for an offered replacement from a scraped engine. It just seemed wrong somehow that the people below fight amongst each other instead of helping one another like my brothers have helped me.
If we were all stuck in a place that gave out water we would team up to catch as much as we could then share what we had, instead of killing one another for it. Why didn't these people understand? Maybe that's why people like Morsov, Slit, and I were living in the Citadel serving Immorten Joe while they remain below far away from his greatness; never to enter the gates of Valhalla. Its not long before I force myself to stop thinking about the wretched, thoughts like those only make a person soft and I had already vowed I wouldn't go soft ever. With the last bolt tightened into place the block was fully repaired in all its chrome glory, ready to become the powerhouse of a glorious war machine; my task complete I set about putting my tools away in preparation to meet up with the Ace. Before leaving the repair bay I waved to the other boys working as I made my way out towards the garage the excitement putting an extra boost to my step pushing my feet to carry me faster towards the coveted war rig. To my surprise Slit had not yet made it to the garage so I set out to locate the Ace by myself. Bobbing and weaving my way through the many hard working bodies in the shop I finally spotted the Ace overseeing the repairs of the war rig's tire that had blown out.
The sight of the war rig was truly breath-taking with all its majesty and raw power just itching to be driven into battle on the fury road. Reverently I placed my pale hand on the cool metal of the tank enjoying the smooth texture beneath my rough skin thinking, 'what would it be like to drive such a beautiful chariot into battle?' Just the thought of all that horsepower at my fingertips sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine as I silently prayed to the great Immorten Joe that one day I'd have the honor of driving to Valhalla in this wonderful machine. "Dreaming of things that'll never happen Nux?" Slit said smirking cruelly as he came up behind me wearing an amused expression on his scarred face. The angry comeback I had ready to throw at him died on my tongue the minute I saw Ace behind Slit waiting for us to come to attention to receive his new orders. Smirking smugly I called out to Ace, "What jobs do you have for us now boss?" Startled Slit turned around to see Ace behind him with a serious expression that warranted complete attention to his words as he gestured behind us towards the war rig with his index finger. "The rig needs some maintenance done to the axle as well as the intake valves on the engine itself. Hop to it quick and there'll be extra food rations for ya if ya do a shine job!" Ace exclaimed with a commanding demeanor. This was a true leader all seriousness while on the job, no trace of the easy going story teller from this morning to be found in his eyes as he expected nothing less than perfection when it concerns his machine. With wrench in hand I gave Slit's shoulder a light tap as we set to work on the rear axle putting it back into proper alignment so it would run true when called upon for war.
There was hardly enough light left from the day to finish the entire job but we did the best we could using a spare lantern to shine more light upon the intake valve that was smashed shut by some unskilled hand. Nothing a torch and a bit of spot welding couldn't fix in a pinch, by the time we were ready to call it quits for the day we had it sucking in air fast enough to put out a signal flare. Ace nodded smiling his approval of the repair job, "You boys did a fine job. Come next month this ol' girl will be running faster than she has in her entire life. Go to the mess hall and tell'em Ace said to fill you up until your tanks are overflowing." Slit and I let out pleased barks of gratitude as we flashed V8 signs toward the Ace ready to eat our fill and turn in for the night after a good day's hard work. But just before we could leave the garage bay a loud blaring alarm sounded signaling a call to all able war boys to report to the elevator platform. Chaos erupted from the busy halls as war boys flooded into the tunnels packing the narrow corridors with dozens of pale bodies struggling to get past the other. Repair boys stood in the entrances handing out weapons of every shape and size to each able body that would take one as we all rushed to the main entrance thrilled to get some action after such a dull week.
When Slit and I finally got to the platform we could barely get through the wall of flesh that had formed at the railing, there were too many people fighting for a chance to see the approaching threat. "I can't see a thing! What's going on Slit?" I cried out as I hoped up and down trying to see over the others blocking my view. "Don't know Nux, I can't make out much of anything we're too far away from here to see what's happening," Slit sighed as he began kicking people in the back and demanding they move to let us through. Pushing and shoving through many pairs of legs we managed to crawl toward the edge of the railing to behold the spectacle that drew us all towards this one place. In the air just above the elevator platform was the the dying ember of a green flare that had been shot out moments earlier, slowly drifting down back to the ground below illuminating the people in a slime colored light. There at the base of the platform was a lone figure standing posed next to a cart with flare gun in hand as if waiting for the elevator to lower down to receive him.
