Page 129

Mad Max, Baby

T he next morning I am up, dressed, and covered in weapons before the sun even rises.

Dray and I fucked early this morning. I took all my worries and frustrations out on him so I could lock it back up after and pretend to be as confident as I act.

It works, and when I reach my bike, I feel more like myself.

Nan and Reeves stumble after us, and I smirk at the messed up quality of her hair but she narrows her eyes, warning me to fuck off with just a look.

She gets into a car with a scav driving, while Reeves climbs onto his bike.

Dray and I mount up and I cover my mouth with my bandana, looking out at the Wastes stretched before me.

It’s like Mad Max, baby, and I’m the fucking hero in this book riding off to get my men. Does that make them damsels? I smirk then, reminding myself to tell them that when I see them.

I lead the ride, setting a breakneck speed through the sand and dust as the sun crawls through the sky, lighting our way. We should reach Reeves’ by nightfall, where we will stop for a few hours before carrying on to The Rim, then we should be at the Cities in under two days if we time it right.

Two days until I see them again.

I speed up, wanting to see them sooner as Dray chases after me.

I told them no stops, so I don’t bother slowing at all, just pushing my bike to its limit as we race through the rapidly heating dust. Ferals chase us for a while before giving up, and I spot some bodies at the side of the road, but I don’t check for life.

I do stop when I see a blockade of cars across the main road we were taking up head.

Reeves stops next to me and looks at me in confusion.

“Wasn’t here when we came up,” he informs me.

“They don’t look like scavs or roadies,” I mutter, squinting hard to see what and who they are. The trucks are too clean, too well looked after. They don’t look like anything I’ve seen in the Wastes before. “I think they are from the Cities.”

“Fuck.”

“Let’s go see, shall we? Maybe they can help…introduce us.” I grin and Dray smirks as I pull up my bandana and crank my engine.

I hear them laugh as we ride up on the trucks, I circle my finger and I know Dray is headed around the other side to angle them between us. If they are from the Cities, they aren’t prepared for being out here. Just like I thought, their words drift to me, music covering our approach.

“It’s too fucking hot out here,” a man complains from somewhere in the truck, and I spot two men lounging in the back, their eyes closed and the music blaring.

Fucking morons. I search for anyone else, but don’t see them as I cut my bike and stroll up to the truck, the bass almost vibrating the clean metal.

One of them has a hat over his sweaty face, his body encased in black trousers, and a white tank top, showing through an open grey shirt.

The man next to him has the trousers but no shirt, and he’s covered in sweat and clean.

It’s obvious they don’t belong here. Their clothes are brand new looking and way too dirt free, and their boots nearly have me salivating.

They are shiny and big lace up ones. Shit, I wonder if I could get my feet in them?

I look down at mine, realising they are wearing out. Fuck, I love these boots.

Pulling my sword from my back, I lean it against the bare chested one’s neck. “Sorry, boys, didn’t mean to interrupt your afternoon nap,” I tease as I spot Dray leaning against the other open door, playing with his knife as he watches the hat covered man.

They react, but slowly. The bare chested man’s eyes fly wide open and he freezes when he spots the lustre of my blade—smart man.

The other isn’t as smart. He sits upright, dropping his hat into his lap as he tries for the gun at his side.

“Fuck!” he yells, as Dray leaps forward and smashes a knife into the man’s scrambling hand.

He screams, the sound loud and pain filled as he falls back to his seat, clutching his bleeding hand as he darts a look between us.

“Now that I see we have your attention, how about we have a little talk, hmm?” I grin slowly as the man at the end of my sword narrows his eyes.

“We don’t fucking talk to savages,” he spits, his eyes glaring at me defiantly as his sweat covered chest heaves .

I laugh, I can’t help it, and Dray joins in.

“Then this is going to be a painful time for you. You see, your people took something of mine and I want it back, and you are going to help me. Aren’t you?

” I purr, pressing the sword harder against his flesh, drawing blood, and he grits his teeth, his eyes wide in pain. What a pussy.

“Fuck you,” he snarls.

Why is that always their response? You would think they would wise up.

I sigh, pull back the sword, and sheathe it.

“I was really hoping to do this quickly. Oh well, your choice.” I shrug and my arm darts out before he can spit another insult at me, smashing into his face and sending him sprawling back into the seat.

Dray is hauling his man—still screaming—from the car, so I tap mine. “Out,” I order.

“Fuck you!” he yells, turning to face me to show me his split lip.

“I thought we just discussed this?” I reply with a grin.

“Would do as she says boyo, she has an awful temper on her, ya know?” Nan calls, and I wink over at her where she is standing with Reeves, watching us.

I look back at the man and shrug. “She’s right, I also have a tendency to kill first and ask later. I only need one of you so...your choice.”

Stepping back, I wave over to the sand next to us. “Come on, sleeping beauty,”

His gaze darts to everyone behind us, his mind spinning so fast I can nearly see it. “I wouldn’t try it. In fact, I would, so please fucking try it. I have a terrible temper recently and it needs to come out, otherwise that guy is going to get the brunt of it later,” I say, jerking my head at Dray.

“I fucking love it, soulmate,” Dray retorts.

“He’s not joking, he’s crazy,” I comment like the man asked.

“Fuck,” he mutters, and he slides from the car, keeping his distance from me as he steps up next to his friend. Dray kicks out his legs and they both kneel in the sand, watching us as I prowl around them.

Crouching in front of them, I let my face go blank and cold, and my eyes go dead. “Now, to business. You answer every question or I will let crazy here have his fun.”

“What do you want?” the man Dray stabbed whines. I spot sewn on name tags declaring him as “Yates.”

“Information, of course.” Everyone but them laugh then. I look to the man I cut to see him glaring at me again.

“Why are you here?” I begin easily.

They look at each other and I sigh. “Am I going to have to kill one of you to prove how serious I am? ”

Yates instantly shakes his head and I zero in on him, knowing he is the weak link. “We were sent to report back anyone heading south.”

“Why?” I snap.

“I don’t know, they don’t tell us,” he replies. I pull out a knife and he shakes, falling back, his eyes wide. “I think they are planning something, they are mobilizing troops, sending us farther than ever past the Dead Sea into the dead lands up here, they are stretching us thin.”

“Dead lands, huh?” I grin at Dray then. “I prefer Wastes.”

Yates nods, obviously encouraged that I haven’t stabbed him. “They don’t want us to know, but I heard rumours they are running out of food and water, more and more outer ringers are dying, starving.”

“Shut up,” the other man hisses, but Yates throws him a glare.

“I don’t plan on dying for them,” he snaps, finally showing some backbone, and looks at me. “There is unrest in the Cities, people wanting to know the truth, unhappy with the dividing of supplies and the labour they pull compared to the inners.”

Blowing out a breath, I still the blade. “Inners?”

He nods then. “The Cities are split into three rings—outer ring, middle ring, and inner ring. Outer is for labour force, they are the last to get supplies, middle is for the…well, middle, like engineers and that, and inner is for the government, doctors, and the rich,” he explains and I scoff, what a way to run a place.

“The government is getting paranoid, claiming riots as an act from the outers and sending troops in to ‘cleanse’ them. I think they are just trying to reduce the population.”

“You think a lot,” I point out.

He turns red and slams his mouth shut.

“Are there more check points along the way?” I inquire, and he shakes his head.

“Not on this route, further west and east there are, but we are the last check point before that shanty city and then the Cities,” he offers helpfully, kind of making me sad. I wanted an excuse to vent my frustrations on the spoiled pricks.

“The Cities, tell me everything. Everything I need to know to get in, who’s in charge, the people, don’t leave anything out,” I order, sitting in front of them and waiting.

“The Cities used to be a city back in the day, cut off from bombs, and separated into three, but the rulers built bridges to connect them all. The one in the middle, which is heavily protected, is in the inner. The one to the right is middle, and the one to the left, the most destroyed, is the outer. Each have their own guards and jobs, none interact unless called for. Each have separate entrances and exits, one gate at the front of each. It’s filled with broken buildings and the reminder of the world before, the inner is the least destroyed, and if it wasn’t for the walls and crumbling architecture, you might believe it was from a time before… ”