AN: I am definitely back into the wing of things with this story now! Yeah! Thank you Chibiboku, Carolina.H.S., Shenandoah76209, and Kalaong for the shiny reviews.
On an IRL note: I am working on my MA thesis research on Facebook features and I am collecting data via survey. If anyone would mind taking it, I would greatly appreciate it. You can find it at survey monkey. Just enter /r/L76M3GN after the normal web address.
Now on with the update!
Chapter 8: High ground
XXX
…Serenity…
Kaylee made a mad dash through the upper hallway of Serenity to the bridge. The crew was practically stampeding over one another as they follow her. When she manages to get up the stairs and through the doorway she quickly turns her attention to the small alarm emitting the piercing blare throughout Serenity.
"Knew this thing would come in handy one day." Kaylee says as the blare is killed and she begins fiddling with the sensors. As Wash pushes his way past the others, he quickly begins adjusting the Nav system.
"Kaylee can you boost it?" Wash asks as he tries to get a clear read. Kaylee quickly darts over to one of the other consoles on the bridge and ducks under.
"You two want to tell us what that was all about?" Mal asks as he watches the mechanic and pilot work.
Neither one of them turn to look at him as they continue with their work. "It's the pulse beacon. From the shuttle. Was the only original signature we could try and find." Kaylee says as she emerges from underneath the console.
"We tied it to the proximity sensors through the call button I rigged after the fire." Wash finishes as the Nav Sat map comes up on the holographic screen on the front of the bridge.
A small blinking light showing a location in the middle of no where past all known Red Sun systems. It was the opposite direction from where they had been searching. Instead of going towards Red Sun, towards other known planets, it appeared that River had taken the shuttle towards the ouster edge.
"And you two are sure that's her shuttle? No way it could be someone else?" Mal asks as he studies the screen.
"No chance Cap'n." Kaylee says with hope in her voice. "Each pulse beacon is encoded for one specific frequency. It's her."
Simon is clearly tense as studies the map. "Are we in range?"
Wash studies the location and checks the fuel gauges. "We'll push it on the fuel, but should be able to get there and back to Salisbury before we run dry."
"How long?" Mal asks Wash.
"Day or two at most." Wash answers back quickly.
Mal nods. "Chart a course."
XXX
River's POV
They sat in silence in the rig. The three wives in the back with the baby. The girl sandwiched between Furiosa driving and Max in the passenger seat. She could feel one other mind in the back, and Capable's thoughts about the lone War Boy confirmed who it belonged to. But she also knew she didn't need to worry. He knew his place, and it wasn't with Immortan Joe any longer.
But it wasn't their thoughts she was trying to keep from clawing their way inside her head. No, it was the ones from out there. The one's buried in shallow graves in rotting soil. Those are the ones she's trying in vain to block out.
Their voices itch in her brain. They whisper all their secrets to her. They say everything and nothing, all at once. Her hand moves to the side of her head and she drags her nails down her scalp, as if it will keep them at bay. She doesn't even realize she's drawing blood until sticky little half moons are underneath her fingernails.
"Slow down." She says as balls her hands into fists.
Furiosa looks at her skeptically. "Why?" She ask without slowing down.
But it doesn't matter at that point, she can already feel the front wheels beginning to sink and the rig begins to sway as the wheels catch in the muck.
As Furiosa brings the rig to a lower gear, the girl feels them sink in deeper.
"Dammit." Furiosa says as she opens the driver side door.
The raggedy man does the same and all of the wives but Angharad jump out of the side. The girl stays in the rig and slides into the driver's seat.
"Ditch the spare tires and get the engine plates for traction. We need to cut weight." Furiosa says quickly as she jogs to the back of the rig. The Raggedy man quickly starts work on the engine plates as the wives go to help Furiosa. After a minute she jumps out of the rig, taking a few of the spear explosives left over from the earlier pursuit with her.
XXX
The Furious Fixation came to a screeching halt as the two lead cars exploded, causing everyone behind them to brake suddenly. It also caused the wheels of the cars to sink into the wet ground.
Immortan Joe was not happy as he took in the scene in front of him. His War Boys were trying in vain to push their cars out of the muck to no avail. His eye's narrowed into slits and his hands became fists as he took it all in. The voice of the People Eater did nothing to help either.
"We are down 30,000 units of guzzoline...19 canisters of nitro,12 assault bikes..seven pursuit vehicles. The deficit mounts. And now, sir...you have us stuck in a quagmire." The people eater says from his vehicle next to Joe's.
Immortan Joe merely raises a hand to dismiss the fat man and continues looking in front. But the Organic Mechanic's voice calls to him from inside the giga horse.
"Hey, Joe! Boss!"
Joe ducks his head inside the cab.
"Your girly's breathing her last!" He says as Dag's body is laid out before them.
They had picked both Dag and Toast's bodies after they had fallen. But Joe had been quick to put a bullet in Toast's head. He had no more use for her. Dag on the other hand, provided him an opportunity to see whether Splendid's baby might be normal. Dag's breathing was labored, and it was clear she was on death's door.
"What about the child?" Joe asks.
"Too soon to take it out. Wouldn't survive if I did."
The rumble of the tank signals the Bullet Farmer's approach. "Are you coming, brother?" He calls to Joe as it pulls up on the other side of the Giga Horse.
"Wait!" Joe calls out before turning his attention back to the organic mechanic. "Get it out. I need to see if the other could be viable." The organic mechanic merely nods and begins slicing into Dag's belly.
"Come on! I've been called to the torture!" The Bullet Farmer calls in irritation.
"Patience!" Joe screams as he watches the Organic Mechanic work.
"Oh, you stay here with your grief, Daddy. I'll fetch them for you."
"Be careful! Protect the assets!" The people eater screams.
"Just one angry shot...for Furiosa." The Bullet Farmer says as he takes a bullet from his false set of teeth and loads it into his gun.
Joe watches as the Bullet Farmer trudges on ahead, his tank gliding over the muck of the land with ease.
"Crying shame. Heh. Another four months...could have been your viable human!"
"Was it a male?" Joe asks as he looks at the two lifeless bodies in front of him
"Your A-1 Alpha prime male." The Organic Mechanic says as he plays with the umbilical cord he cuts off.
Immortan Joe stands no and gazes into the darkened horizon. His resolve to get his property back burning with renewed intensity.
XXX
River's POV
They managed to continue on for another ten minutes or so before getting stuck again. Furiosa, Max, Capable, and Cheedo all jumping out to repeat the process.
But she hesitates before leaving. She feels his mind coming up from the back now. Doesn't bother to turn around as Angharad lets out a small gasp as the War Boy pops up from the back. She does point a gun square in his face though, and he doesn't move.
As if he can feel the tension, Euiron starts to fuss in Angharad's arms making soft wails.
The girl turns to face him and looks him coldly in the eyes.
He visibly gulps under the intensity of her glare. "I want to help." He says weakly.
"If you hurt them she will kill you." She says as she holsters the pistol as a shot rings out in the distance behind the rig.
XXX
… The Bullet Farmer…
The Bullet Farmer was closing in on the War Rig. He was shooting aimlessly out into the vast nothingness as the tank sped along.
"Come on." He says as he fires his pistol again.
"Wouldn't wanna shoot the wives, sir." One of his minions says from his post from behind the Bullet Farmer.
The Bullet Farmer pays him no mind though. "Just probing."
XXX
Max's POV
We're in the back, pushing in what feels like vain when I hear the shot ring out behind us and I see her jump out of the cab with the rifle in her hands. I turn and look to see what's there and notice the spotlight approaching us. It's just then that the rig lurches into gear and manages to clear the muck.
But if the girl's there with the rifle, and the other one has the baby, who is driving I think to myself. I glance over to the one armed woman and she shares the same confused look.
"He wants to help." The ghost says as she hands me the rifle and moves to drag the engine plate back to where the rig gets stuck again.
"Who?" I ask.
"The War Boy." She says as she starts moving towards the stuck rig.
"Where did he come from? I thought we threw him off the Rig!" The one armed woman yells as she and the other women start to help pull the engine plates.
I run up to the driver's side of the rig and see the War Boy from earlier in the driver's seat. His hands are thrown up in surrender.
"There's high ground...just beyond that thing." He says quickly.
"He means the tree." The wife says from the backseat.
He nods furiously in agreement now. "Yeah. Tree!"
"Leave him to me." Furiosa says as she moves to unholster her pistol. But her hand is quickly pushed away by the ghost.
"No, he's going to help. We need it." She says as the older woman glares at her.
Another shot rings out in the distance. Closer than the last one.
"Say, anyone notice that bright light? Encroaching gunfire?" One of the wives says as I turn my attention back towards the spotlight and walk towards the back of the rig.
"Get out." The one armed woman says behind me.
"I can do this. I know this machine."
"He does. He's a Rev-head."
I try and block their bickering out as I train the sight of the rifle on the spotlight and pull the trigger.
"You've got two left!" The crazy girl calls out behind me.
I don't hear any other bickering as I take another shot. But I feel a small hand on my shoulder as I get ready to take the last shot. I glance over my shoulder and it's the ghost. She's motioning for the rifle and I somewhat reluctantly give it to her. But with one bullet left it's not worth arguing. She quickly takes it and rests part of it on my shoulder.
"Don't breathe." She says before I hear the rifle fire and the spotlight flicker out.
XXX
… 400 yards away…
Two of the Bullet Farmer's minions are franticly tending to the Bullet Farmer. One of them holds up a flare as the other helps him stand.
"Hold up a flare!" The Bullet Farmer yells as he pries his bleeding eyes open with his hands.
"I am holding a flare!"
"Closer!" The Bullet Farmer yells back.
"It's right in front of your eyes!" The other minion screams.
When the Bullet Farmer realizes that he's blind he screams out in fury.
XXX
River's POV
She hears Furiosa yelling back towards the cab of the rig. "Hey! War Boy!" Both she and the Raggedy Man turn back towards the front.
"I'm gonna use the winch around the tree thing!" The War Boy's voice echoes out.
"Help him." The girl says as she moves to wedge the engine plates underneath the wheels. She can see two of the wives moving to help her as Max runs up to the War Boy dragging the winch to the tree.
"I'll drive the Rig!" Furiosa yells as she climbs inside and starts the engine.
XXX
… 300 yards and closing…
"I am the scales of justice! Conductor of the choir of death!" The Bullet Farmer yells while firing his dual uzis.
"Sing, Brother Heckler. Sing, Brother Koch! Sing, brothers, sing! Sing!"
XXX
Max's POV
The winch won't fit all the way around the tree. The War Boy and I exchange glances, before the clink of the chain that is still on the War Boy's wrist causes us to look down. I nod and he goes running back to the rig. He comes back a minute later with the chain cut free from his wrist and hands it to me before running back to the rig to help push.
As soon as I connect the chain to the winch the gun fire rings out. I try and run back towards the rig but bullets spray the area and I'm forced to take cover behind the tree. I watch as the rig lurches, and feel the winch tightening around the tree, trying to gain any small amount of traction.
A grenade explodes in front of the tree and sends me flying back a few feet. The tree begins to tip against the torque from the rig. "Dammit, just hold." I yell at out loud as I run up and make sure the damn winch holds till the rig is moving again.
I watch as the the two wives run up the small embankment behind me for cover, and glance out around the tree to see the ghost and War Boy pushing futilely at the wheels to move.
The tree is almost parallel to the ground, and I hear the trunk begin to splinter under the force. But just before the tree comes all the way out of the ground, the hulking beast of a rig gains enough traction to free itself from the muck.
I quickly disconnect the hook from around the tree and jump on the passenger side of the rig where the ghost is also hanging on. The rig slows to a stop fifty meters in front of the wives running for cover.
"We have to cool the engines." The one armed woman says as she and the War Boy jump down from the rig and move to get water from the back.
There is no way the engines will be cooled enough for us to out run that tank when it gets closer. We are going to have to retaliate first. The two wives climb back inside with the other one. I expect the ghost to do the same, but instead she grabs the ammo bag from the front seat.
"They need to take the War Rig half a klick down." She says as if she read my mind. She hands me a small machete, and withdraws a small pistol from the bag before shouldering it and walking back towards the gunfire, not waiting for me.
"Where is she going?" The one armed woman asks as she comes up beside me.
"Move the War Rig half a klick down the track." I say as I follow the ghost.
"But what if you're not back by the time the engines have cooled?" She calls out behind me.
I yell over my shoulder. "Keep moving."
XXX
AN: I was always sad they didn't show more of how Max stopped the Bullet Farmer. If anyone has suggestion/ ideas I am all ears. Until next time, stay shiny. ;)