"Wake up! You need to eat."
Someone was calling him. Nux groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. At first he was confused, but then he remembered. The former War Boy turned to his left and saw Knox with a plate of something that smelled wonderful.
It appeared that 'something' was called 'bread with orange jam '. Nux ate his breakfast happily while Knox sat beside him, checking his wounds and arranging him his medicine.
"Who is that alpha?"
Said Nux after he finished his breakfast and set the plate down carefully.
"Alpha?" Knox raised his eyebrows. "Which alpha?" He handed Nux the medicine and a jar of water.
"The one visiting me last night." Nux replied, hesitantly taking the medicine. He drank the water quickly, as medicine had never been tasteful.
"Oh, I remembered." Knox nodded, preparing to change Nux's bandages. "The scouts found him around thirty days ago, buried in scrape metals. I have never got his name. Something had damaged his throat, so he doesn't say much. But what I can say is that he is one of the top alphas in their prime here. He also very skilled in fighting. And he is…well scary."
"Scary?"
"Yes," Knox nodded, starting with the bandages on Nux's left arm. "He got burnt really badly. My grandfather wrapped him up. At first we didn't think he would survive. But in the morning, he just walked out of the pavilion! Can you believe that? A man who was burnt that badly! He just walked out and attacked who ever came near him. It took three alphas to take him down, and a lot of sedatives to calm his nerve." Knox's voice became louder as he expressed his feeling. Nux just listened with interest.
"On the third day, he just ran away." Knox continued, "Stole one of the scout's cars. He was gone for two days before coming back with more wounds and useful scrape metals filled the car. He said he realized this was not his world any more. Then he just collapsed. I guessed he was finally worn out."
"What happened next?" Nux asked curiously wanting to know more about the story. This alpha was very interesting. His wildness made him think of Slit. But thinking of Slit made his heart ached, so he pushed the feeling away.
"He slept for three days." Knox said, as he carefully placed bandages on Nux's arm. "Grandpa tried his best to save his life. He did survive. His recovery is very impressive, even comparing to other alphas. He was up and running in two days. Some scouts tested his skills. At first they wanted to send him to the Assault unit. But he ended up joining our Guerrilla group instead."
"Assault unit? Guerrilla?"
"Yes," The beta replied. "Assault unit does both scouting and defending Oasis. But they only do short range scouting, just around our boarders. Their main priority is to protect this land." Knox finished treating Nux's arm with a smile. "Then he proved to be more suitable for our Guerrilla group. Guerrilla group travels to other territories. Stealing. Sometimes they helped the scout unit load up what they find in the desert. Sometimes they also ambush Buzzards and whoever crosses their path." The boy moved to get new bandages. Nux guesses it's for his legs.
"Jett, the head of our guerrillas, has said that he is one of the most skilful members of the group." The boy finished his story with a hand on the blanket, asking Nux if he could take it off. Nux sighed and nodded. So Knox gave him a smile before pulling the blanket off.
"Here goes nothing." The beta murmured and started on his task. Nux sighed, gripping the edge of the bed, in case he needed to restrain himself.
The boy worked quickly. Despite his young age, Knox had very steady hands. Nux tried his best not to flinch when the boy gently took the old bandage off, pouring a sticky liquid onto the wounds, and then wrapping them up with new bandages. His left leg was the worst. Nux groaned as Knox worked. War Boys were accustomed to pain, but not this level of pain. Nux almost sighed in relief when Knox finished.
"Alright," Knox smiled, finishing the last bandage wiping sweat off of his forehead. "Phew. You should sleep more. It will help you heal."
"I don't want to," Nux shook his head. "I had been sleeping for days. I want to see this place. I-I…" Nux stopped dead in his track. He wanted to say he wants to go back to the citadel, but as Knox's grandfather had said – they didn't know where the citadel is. "…I want to speak to the scouts that brought me here."
"They go on a patrol when the sun rises." Knox said, standing up. "I will see if they're still around. Maybe today they'll have the day off." Then the boy disappeared. Nux sighed, laying down again. He was sick of doing nothing but sleeping.
As Nux waited for the boy to return, his thoughts started wandering back to Slit and the alpha from last night. Slit had been his lancer since his first drive. His former driver had gone to Valhalla without him. It was before Nux was old enough to be called a War Boy.
The first day with Slit was tough. Well, mercy was not something you could find in War Boy's society, especially in the lancers. Most lancers were also alphas, and they tended to fight a lot. Nux remembered finding Slit in the middle of a fight. His lancer usually won. The only time Nux had seen Slit settle down was when they worked on their car. Slit wasn't a specialist, but he could do the basic repairing. So, mostly Nux would work on the engine while Slit worked on weapons and the defence for their vehicle. Sometimes Slit would help him with the engine, but mostly the lancer would preferred them working separately.
They wouldn't talk much when they were with each other, only discussing what they needed to improve – skill and vehicles. Slit had never given Nux advises without nagging him on the way. Nux just put up with Slit, because he knew the alpha cared about him, to some point. Slit had never asked him for what he couldn't do, always scolding him when Nux did something stupid and non-useful, suicidal. Sometimes the alpha would be kind enough to teach him a thing or two. And sometimes, in the rarest occasion, Slit had stayed up all night to make sure Nux could get through his Night Fever.
Nux sighed. He knew Slit would be very angry with him for betraying Immortan Joe, but he really wanted to see Slit again.
"Hey! It's time to go."
Someone was calling him from behind. He grunted in acknowledgement before standing up. However, he still risked a last glance toward that pavilion. He hoped Walf wouldn't notice.
"Do you know the new one?"
So much for Walf not noticing, he though as his driver asked. Walf, his new driver, was a super talkative alpha, and annoying as fuck. However, Walf was the most skilled one, so he decided to put up with Walf's personality. Well, not that he hadn't had a talkative driver before.
Walf nudged him, he grunted back. The burns on his throat and on his face made speaking seemed unnecessary, as it would make his un-elastic skin stretched with an unpleasant feeling. It didn't hurt, but it annoyed him.
"You know," The alpha with messy black hair crossed his arms behind his head. "I know you don't like talking, but you can still nod or shrug. Body language."
Slit sighed and kicked Walf behind his left knee, making the other alpha yelp.
"Slit." Walf growled, a playful one though. "Not funny. Seriously! Do you know that omega?"
"We came from the same place." Slit replied, his voice was hoarser than he remembered, not that he cared. He hoped his answer wouldn't make Walf asking for more information.
Then came questions. "Dude, we already know that. You two look alike!" Walf rolled his eyes. "So, what is his name? He looks cute! How old is he?" Slit growled and turned to face Walf, baring his teeth. The driver immediately shut up, knowing Slit was annoyed.
They walked in silence as they made their way to the vehicle cave near the entrance of Oasis. Oasis was a city build in the middle of a large valley. In the middle was a lagoon, a giant water surface that was the heart of Oasis. Around the lagoon there were plants everywhere, endless green.
The people of Oasis lived in pavilions and caves, or houses build into the mountains, all around the lagoon. There were a waterfall at the south of the lake, water from the waterfall kept the lagoon and its people alive. The only part of the lagoon which had no residents was the east part, where the lagoon was connect to a small river, sending water through the abyss between the mountains. Walf said that the river brought the water to the sea. A place of salt water. A place the driver promised to take Slit there some day.
Walf had told Slit that the first people to arrive here were the outcasts from nearby tribes. They arrived here and built the Oasis and lived by the lagoon. For the first ten years, they kept bringing people in. People who were banished from their tribes. Together they built a city, a small happy empire where there was no Immortan, no Imperator, no one to serve but themselves and the people they cared for. There were only family and duties.
The leaders were chosen by election (a word Walf spent two hours teaching Slit). There were 11 units in Oasis. Scouts, assault, guerrilla, farmer or agriculture, live stocking, fishery [another word Walf explained to Slit, he had also taught Slit how to swim], medic, laundry (they mostly washed clothes that where used in medical circumstance, the other people in oasis preferred to wash their own clothes), builder (also called maintenance), cooker and black thumbs. Slit was more than happy to be in the guerrilla unit.
Many guerrilla members were already at the cave, preparing their vehicles, when Slit and Walf arrived. Slit walked to the weapon chambers, picking what he needed before going to the car. Walf's car was a big truck, built for heavy attacks not speed. However, guerrilla attacking pattern allowed its fighters/lancers to move between cars easily, so Slit had no problem starting the ride on the big truck.
Walf climber into the driver seat while his assigned fighters climbed onto the truck. Slit hooked the ammo with robes and knocked the side of the truck, signaling the other fighters to pull them up.
After making sure the truck was ready for today's journey, Slit climbed up and took position near the turret behind the truck tractor. Weef, the fighter assigned for the turret glanced at him. Slit didn't look back at him.
"Slit," Weef started. "My brother said you spent your morning staring at Patro's pavilion" Weef was Walf's older brother. The two of them inherited the same talkative trait. Weef and Walf had two things in common - their black hair and their talkative personality, with Weef swearing a lot more than Walf, especially when going to battles.
Slit grunted back, as he didn't feel like answering.
"Even a child can tell you are being protective." Weef added rolling his eyes at Slit, which had Slit turning to glare at him. He wanted to shut Weef up for good but nevertheless, it had his thoughts running.
Am I being protective of that filth? Slit mused. Funny. He is- was a traitor. Yeah, a traitor I felt my heart beating in joy when I knew he was alive. A traitor I spent every night watching over since the first time we were assigned together. Yeah, I'm totally not protective about him, especially when he turned out to be a late bloomer, or whatever shit Organic Patro had explained.
"Do you want to explain? Or will you tell me to shut up again?" Weef continued, staring intently at Slit. "There are many un-mated alphas interested in the new one. And from the way you look, it's easy to see that you two came from the same place."
"It's complicated." Slit replied. "I don't want to talk about it." Turning back to viewing the guerrilla members as they were getting ready. And Weef got the message that if he kept pressing the issue Slit might throw him of the truck.
Jett, the head of the unit announced their schedule seconds later. Today they would go to their allied town called the Metal Factories. There was a new War Lord and his army trying to take over the Metal Factories.
"Nux, that scout group has already left on patrol."
"Oh," Nux sighed, feeling his disappointment surface at Knox's words. But his head perked up as Knox's added.
"But my brother has a day off." Knox said. "And he will be more than happy to show you around, if you could walk with a cane."
"Of course I can." Nux smiled, very happy to finally get out of the pavilion.
Knox's brother, Kadaz, was a slender man with the same red hair. From his scent, Nux could scent that Kadaz was an omega, an omega with much confidence.
Knox found Nux some loose pants and helped him into them. And after making Kadaz promise he would send Nux back in half an hour, Nux was free to go.
Kadaz started with telling Nux about the units and how they arranged duties here. Nux was impressed. This place seemed to be more organized than at the citadel. Kadaz had told Nux about how he started up as an underrated scout, but now was one of the best captains in the units. Nux was even more impressed. So he told Kadaz about the Citadel and his life there, until Immortan Joe's death. Now it was Kadaz's turn to be impressed. They talked and Kadaz told him more about the people of Oasis, as they made their way down the path.
"We call ourselves 'Rogues'. People always say 'they have gone rogue', instead of calling someone a traitor." Kadaz grinned as Nux wobbled after him. "We take and we give. We're just another tribe, making our life by hunting and bargaining. At times we go with the name 'the Outsiders'." Kadaz said, waving to some boys that were running around, playing a game or helping out their parents. Nux also saw many teenage boys walked in the same directions, carrying large baskets with them.
"They're going to the Herb House." Kadaz explained, as they continued walking. "We can visit if we have time." He said, leading Nux forward and turned a corner. Nux gasped as the image before him unfolded. He had never seen so much water in his life. A huge landscape, filled with water and vegetation.
"As you can see." Kadaz waved his hand toward the lagoon in front of him. "This lagoon is the heart of Oasis. We use it for agriculture and live stocking. Also fishery." Kadaz's voice seemed to fade away as Nux blink again, trying to make sure he wasn't imaging all of this. Of course Nux had no idea what fishery is, but he could see why this – what Kadaz called lagoon- is the heart of Oasis. On his left, Nux saw large fields full with vegetation. On his right was a field filled with animals. Also, they were people on some strange wooden things, floating on the water. Nux had no idea what they're doing, he guessed it had something to do with 'fishery '.
"Wow," Nux knew he was gaping. "I don't know what to say. I have never seen so much water before." He gulped. "Not even in the Citadel water storage" Not even close. The Citadel water storage looked like a drop of water compared to this.
"Hmmm, I really want to see your citadel." Kadaz said. "From what you describe, it seems to be a huge place."
"Yeah," Nux nodded slowly, still taking in the view before him. "Very huge. I hope it's a better place now, as Immortan Joe is dead. I hope Furiosa and my friends will change it into a better place." Then his eyes alight with hope. "Oh, and… I think I might be able to show you the way back to the Citadel."
"How?"
"It's not far from where the scouts found me." Nux smiled. "It's not far from the Canyon. If the scouts can take me back there, I can show you the way back."
"Interesting." Kadaz smiled. There was something in his eyes that Nux didn't like. However, Kadaz changed the topic before he had time to ask. "But I guess I should show you back, or grandpa would be angry. He is very serious with his patients not walking around more than they're allowed."
Nux wanted to stay and see more of Oasis, but, Kadaz insisted that his time was up. So Kadaz had to take him back to his pavilion, much to Nux's disappointment.
"Most of the people here seem to be betas." Nux said as they made their way back to Patro's pavilion. Kadaz nodded.
"Many betas are good at agriculture, live stocking, and fishery." The red hair omega explained. "So we see them walking around in Oasis more than alphas and omegas because their work places aren't in specified places, or outside the valley." He gestures toward the betas that were transporting vegetables to the area Kadaz called the kitchen.
"Most of the omegas are cookers, black thumbs, and medics. We have a steady hand when it comes to tasks that require delicacy." Kadaz continued. "And alphas, they are everywhere. But as you already know, most of them are scouts, assaults, guerrillas, black thumbs, and builders."
"I see," Nux nodded. "People here seem to have more freedom than in the Citadel. Every omega males were killed when born, and every beta and omega females were sent to produce 'Mother's milk'. If they're lucky, or unlucky, they would be made a wife, breeders." His voice grew quieter as he spoke the last sentence. The era of Immortan Joe's terror had ended, but talking about his wives made Nux think of Capable. And then he realised how much he missed his friends.
"Well… but they are changing, right? As the female alpha you told me about…ummm.. Furiosa? Is going to be the new leader of that place." Kadaz gave a Nux a reassured smile that made Nux feel a little better. "I'm sure they will be fine."
"Hope so," Nux's face brightened. "By the way, I have never seen so much water before, not in my entire half-life. This place is amazing. I can't wait to tell my friends." He thought of Capable and others. They were going to be so excited. However, as he turned to Kadaz, the red hair omega's eyes had darkened.
"I don't think you can tell them." Kadaz said, his voice a bit colder than before, his face dark. "This lagoon, the waterfall, is our heart. We can't let others know, it's too risky. There are tribes, scumbags, bastards that know nothing about sharing. There are people who will wretch war to take control of us. And we can't risk the city becoming overpopulated."
"What do you mean?" Nux felt his heart drop. He already knew what Kadaz was talking about, but he was too stubborn to believe.
"Oasis is our secret." Kadaz replied. "We will never talk about our home to anyone else. We can't risk have all scavengers coming here, nor some strangers decided to live here. This is why the assaults will kill anyone who ever trespasses into our territory. We also cannot risk that anyone lives to tell others." He glanced toward the mountains surrounded them. Nux could see some heavily armed people walking around the cliffs. "They will kill anyone who tries to get in here, or too them unlucky enough to wandering into the valley." Kadaz explained, turning toward Nux. "Also, anyone who leaves without permission." He added, and Nux felt his heart dropped.
"Wait… what?" Nux blinked. "Wait… what about me? I- I have to go back to the Citadel. I have friends!"
"You can't." Kadaz paused in his track. He turned toward Nux, and his voice went even colder. "You can't. When you're with us, you can't be with others. If you leave, we will kill you."
"I…" Nux gulped, feeling both angry and disappointed. "But you can go out! You say you make deals! Bargains! Why I can't?! And why did you save me in the first place?!"
"I am a scout, I have a permission to go out." Kadaz shrugged. His voice dark, no friendliness left. "Also, they saved you because they thought you have no friends and no family. If they knew, they would have let you to die in that cave."
"Fuck." Nux felt like crying. But Kadaz pushed him, not to gently, to walk back to the pavilion. "What about the alpha!?" He snapped, but he was too weak to really fight Kadaz.
"Which alpha?"
"The alpha you brought here days ago, before me" Nux spat. "Knox said he ran away and then came back. And you guys didn't kill him."
"Oh, that alpha." Kadaz laughed. "Honestly, we have never seen someone like him before. He knocked out ten of our guards on his way out, and knocked out another ten on his way back. Jett just wanted to keep him. He could be very useful, especially when he came back to tell us his home was dead. I don't know what that meant, but without him, we wouldn't have so many supplies from just two big fights."
They were at the pavilion when Kadaz finished. Knox was already there, preparing medicines. Nux walked in without any farewell. He laid on his bed and closed his eyes. He was still angry and so disappointed. So when Knox asked if he was okay, Nux just bared his teeth at the boy and turned away. He felt bad for doing that, but right now he was too caught up in his own emotions to apologize.
The former War Boy could hear Knox and Kadaz talking in the distance as he drifted off to sleep. And from their raised voices, he already had made Kadaz dislike him.