Eleven

Nux was a failure. He knew that much. It was his time, his moment…he was awaited. The Immortan was ready to carry him to Valhalla. It was what he had wanted his whole life, and now it was gone, and he was just…mediocre. An embarrassment. What would Slit say? Slit would say…well, Slit would say something asshole-ish, but something Nux deserved, probably. What would Warbird say? He still didn't know why she was in the Gigahorse…maybe she was going with Joe, special like she should. He missed her.

But mostly…mostly he was ashamed.

Even though he was curled up in the back of the rig, he could tell it was evening. The sun was getting orange and the sky was calm. He couldn't hear anybody coming after them, and for once everything was just…quiet. He didn't know where they were. He was glad. He never wanted to see them again, now that he had failed so miserably. It was such a simple task…so fucking simple. And he got caught up with the chain, and fell, and he did it right in front of the one person he couldn't disappoint.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to keep the frustrated whimpers from coming out. The blood bag…the blood bag was here. He was driving. The blood bag was driving the rig, and he had been the one who…

Nux heard footsteps but didn't move save for opening his eyes. It didn't matter.

"What are you doing here?"

"He saw it." Nux said, more to himself than the voice, staring ahead. "He saw it all. My own blood bag driving the rig that killed her."

As he said it, it seemed worse, and he closed his eyes again, wishing it would all just go away. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He slammed his head against the floor. It was all his fault. All of it.

"Stop doing that!"

He vaguely felt a hand on his head and heard a soft shushing. Her hand moved down his jaw and he thought of Warbird for a moment. He stopped hitting his head.

"Three times the gates were opened to me," he said, finally looking up at her. She was the breeder with the red hair.

"What gates?" she asked, confusion all over her face. Her voice was soft.

"I was awaited in Valhalla," Nux said. His voice was cracking. "They were calling my name. I should be walking with the Immortan, McFeasting with the heroes of all time…"

He shook his head as she laid down in front of him and he noticed that her eyes were pretty. Her skin was nice and soft, no scars anywhere, no lumps or bumps. She didn't cough up any blood, and there wasn't dirt and grease all over her. She was…pretty. She was perfect.

"I'd say it was your manifest destiny not to."

"I thought I was being spared for something great," Nux whispered. "I got to drive a pursuit vehicle. For a while, even Larry and Barry stopped chewin' on my wind pipe."

"Who are Larry and Barry?"

"My mates," he pointed to the lumps on his neck. "If they don't get me, then the night fevers will."

She reached out and touched his lips with the back of her fingers. He thought about Warbird again.

"I'm Capable," she said quietly.

He swallowed hard. Larry and Barry were beginning to press on his neck again, almost like they knew he had been talking about them. "Nux."

She smiled softly. Everything about her was soft. "Nice to meet you, Nux."

Not long after, Capable had to return to the front of the rig, and Nux was alone again. The sun had gone away completely now, and he was…lonely. Very lonely. It reminded him of that night he and Slit stayed at the Bullet Farm, when all he could think about was Warbird. Right now, though, he was too upset with himself to be anxious about her, even though this was probably a much more worthwhile time to worry for her health.

The rig eventually slowed as he was finally beginning to doze off, and it forced him awake again. He could feel the wheels as they struggled to turn, and he knew then that they were stuck in mud. How far away from the Citadel were they?

He heard explosions behind them and cringed. Joe must have caught up. He hoped Slit was still alive, but at the same time, he didn't care that much anymore. He wanted to die, honestly, but if there was any chance he would hold out and manage to be witnessed doing something great, he was going to wait for that moment. It was remote, yeah, but maybe it was still there somewhere.

Warbird wasn't doing well. She felt even worse than before, and that was saying something. Maybe it was because she was forced to stay awake now, or maybe it was because she was helping Organic Mechanic try to save a very pregnant, very dying woman, but either way, all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep forever. Miss Giddy was there, having been dragged along on the trip due to Joe's anger and spite, and she was helping, just barely. She was more concerned with holding Splendid's hand than comforting Warbird as she struggled to keep her vision and move around.

"Ain't lookin' too good," Mechanic said.

"That's an understatement," Warbird mumbled.

The Gigahorse slowed and for a second she was afraid it was because of her comment. When she heard People Eater shouting outside, though, she realized that they were stuck…in mud. They had reached the place where the crow people lived.

Splendid's breathing was shallow and practically nonexistent, and after a few moments, Mechanic called up to Joe.

"Boss!" he shouted. Warbird moved to sit next to Miss Giddy, watching with eyes as wide as she could make them. She had never seen someone die like this before. This was slow and quiet, and very, very sad. She was used to explosions and screaming, cars rolling and war boys flying out of them. That was better, somehow.

"Your girly's breathin' her last," Organic Mechanic said.

"What about the child?" Joe asked as he looked in. The Mechanic grabbed something and put it on top of Angharad's swollen belly, listening intently.

"It's gone awful quiet in there," he said.

Warbird swallowed. For some reason, she had hoped something good might come out of this and the child would survive.

"Get it out!" Joe yelled.

Mechanic grabbed a knife and Warbird groaned on the inside. This wasn't what she had signed up for at all. She really didn't want to watch this. She didn't know much about babies and having them, but she could guess that it wasn't generally supposed to be like this, in a dirty car, with dirty blades. Thankfully it was over quickly, and though her face was even paler than it had been, she was still staring as the Organic Mechanic pulled a small body out of a dead woman.

"Cryin' shame!" he called to Joe. "Another month and you could've had a viable human!"

"…Was it a male?"

"Your A-1 alpha prime," he slammed the lifeless thing down and grabbed the fleshy chord that still ran to Splendid. "Hey Rictus! You lost a baby brother! Perfect in every way."

As Rictus shouted the news, Warbird knew that whatever happened to her next would be very, very bad. Joe had lost a wife, a lot of resources, and now a child that was perfect—perfect in every way. He had been born and died in the same night, and that just seemed so very…pointless. Angharad had been climbing on the rig, hadn't she? Why would someone with a little life growing inside them do that? Was it just because she hated The Immortan Joe that much? Was she convinced that he would have grown up to be like his father?

She frowned. Would he have? Rictus did…sort of. And Corpus did as well…sort of. And Scabrous was…kind of close to Joe. If this baby would have been perfect, did that mean that he would have ended up exactly like his father? Even Joe wasn't perfect, and he knew that. Wasn't that the point of having all these babies, trying to get the right one? He wanted the perfect heir to take over after he died, so did that mean the baby would have just…done that?

He would have grown up around the war boys, and if none of this had happened, Warbird might've trained him in something at some point. He wouldn't be a normal war boy, though. Yes, he would have been tossed in near the other pups, but he would always be allowed in that nice biodome with the wives, where the air was so much fresher than anywhere else. He would have known that he was royalty. Maybe he would have flaunted it.

"Yeah." Organic Mechanic said definitively as he cleaned his knife. "That's that, then. Better burn these."

Warbird was always a little surprised by his apathy.

"Someone help me lift her!" he called as he opened the door and wrapped Splendid in bloody rags. A few war boys jumped off the back of the Gigahorse and took her while Joe followed, bellowing in anger and pain over the death of his son. He really cared greatly about this.

Miss Giddy wrapped the baby up in what few rags were left, covering it completely. Warbird didn't even have anything to say. This entire journey was starting to leave her hollow, after what she was seeing and experiencing. Maybe she wasn't going to make it to the green place or the Citadel ever again; maybe she was going to die out here, surrounded by people but utterly alone at the same time. Maybe it was time she stopped hoping that she would make it out of this.