Survive [Mad Max: Fury Road]

Chapter Two

"Is that the wind, or just a furious fixation?"

-The Dag

"Miscarriage." Miss Giddy confirmed, though I had hoped she would tell Immortan Joe that I was infertile. I still hurt, my inner thighs bruised, my insides feeling as though they had been raked, which essentially they had been. I lied on my back as Miss Giddy inspected my body, covering my lower half with a white sheet. Immortan Joe stood at my side, arms crossed as he looked at me with disgust, and then at Miss Giddy.

"You told me she could bear children." He growled at her, his mechanical voice reminding me of what he had done to me.

Miss Giddy stood up straight, and I sat up, keeping the sheet over my bare hips. She looked at me cautiously, and then back at Immortan Joe. In that glance, I knew that she was lying about the miscarriage; she did not believe what she had told the man, but she was telling him that to keep me alive. Holding back a smile, as I knew I was not in the clear yet, I listened to her explain that some women cannot have children, and that she could not determine that until now.

"So we try again." He said, "This happens all the time."

Miss Giddy froze for a second, and then spoke quickly. "The miscarriage damaged her, so the chances are slim."

"But possible."

"Yes..." She was reluctant to give him such an answer, but knew that she had to.

"When will she be ready?"

"Give her a month."

When Immortan Joe was gone, Miss Giddy looked sharply at me. In her ripe age she was wise enough to know what I had done, and cunning and caring enough to prevent Immortan Joe from knowing what I had done. She grabbed my chin and held tightly, her bony fingers causing a mild pain in my jaw, but nothing compared to the throbbing ache between my thighs I had caused myself. "Why did you do this?" She hissed.

"I am not a Breeder." I growled back, "I will not let Immortan Joe raise my child into a War Lord."

"Then you will be cast out to rot in the wasteland."

"Then let me rot." I growled, though I knew that I had to be kind to Miss Giddy, as she had just prolonged my life for at least a few more months. I stood up even though it pained me both in my pelvic region and in my gut, and then straightened up so that I was standing a head taller than Miss Giddy, whose back arched in her old age. She had been a midwife for Immortan Joe for as long as I could remember, and longer even than that. I wondered, perhaps, if I could take her place when she died, but remembered that I would have to watch so many girls and women suffer through being Breeders, and knew that I couldn't remain here for much longer. In the few months I had before Immortan Joe discovered that I was infertile or that I had done it to myself, I would have to begin collecting supplies to help me survive the Wasteland.

"You best pray you are fertile."

"Praying is for the weak." I hissed and then limped back towards my bed; some of the others wives were talking in hushed voices, and I knew that they already knew. They had overheard and the word would spread. Whether it was with intent to get me hurt or not, I knew that even among the few of us here, it would get to Immortan Joe before I would have the chance to prove my infertility. I was almost glad that I wouldn't have to suffer through his violation again, but I could not deny the fear brewing within me. Fear of the unknown, fear of being tossed out, fear of being killed. Would I be turned into a blood bag to fill withering War Boys? Or would something worse come my way?

Over the few weeks that slithered by, each day more dangerous than the next for me to still be there, I noticed that Immortan Joe had selected new Breeders; they were too young for now, but soon they would be of age. I remembered when I had been chosen from the Wasteland, plucked out like a flower among the weeds, and given what I believed to be the world. Water, food, the ability to run through the crops, shelter from the blistering sun. It was what I believed to be all one could ever want, only I didn't know the price back then. When I met the other Breeders, some pregnant and about to pop, others not yet violated, I realized then what I was there for.

The new Breeders were stunning, some of them looking like they had come straight from the books on the shelves, the ones that hadn't turned to dust. One of them had flaming red hair, and I envied her uniqueness. This was my chance to shine, though I feared I would become attached to these girls and want to save them as well. With new Breeders, though too young even for Immortan Joe, he would be focusing on them, and I would have a chance to slip away, preferably unnoticed. How I was going to escape the vault that we were locked in, I was unsure, but I had a few more days to figure that out.

My body had healed as well as it could in the time that I had free of inspection and violation. Here and there Miss Giddy would check to see if the scratch marks were still inside of me, and she would furrow her brow when she was done, confirming that they were. I had a mild sense of satisfaction for taking my life into my own hands, but I had only dipped my toes in the water, it was time to take a dive, and I would either sink or I would swim.

Capable. That was her name, the one with hair brighter than the sun, red like blood. She came to me one night, when only a sliver of the moon was visible from our sky lights. Her small frame curled up next to me, and I winced at the human contact. Though us Breeders often did each other's hair and slept close to one another, none had come near me since the word began to spread about what I had done. Capable was no more than ten years old, and she was a small, malnourished human. When she curled into me, I recoiled like an unsure feline.

"I heard you can't have babies." She whispered in the darkness.

"Who told you that?" I asked inquisitively, trying to sound mature and older than I was, but I was only eighteen.

"Ira." She replied.

Ira was the older breeder, a woman who had birthed four children for Immortan Joe already, one of which had not survived child birth. Ira herself nearly died that time, but was pregnant again for the fifth time. She had held a sort of pride in having had the most babies, and been the oldest, been a wife for the longest. Almost as if it was all she had to hold on to, and she tried to make her role seem glorious, when the rest of us pitied each other for suffering that fate. None of us were here on our own free will, and yet Ira made it seem like she was.

"Do you know my name?"

"Omega."

"Do you know what the Omega is?"

Capable shook her small head, a flurry of red hair spilling over her cheek.

"The Omega is the final letter in the Greek alphabet." She replied, "The weakest of the pack is the Omega."

"Why is that your name?"

"Because I was believed to be the weakest." I replied, knowing full well that I had been a runt when Immortan found me, only a small child. The older Breeders all assisted in raising the younger ones, only none of them had wanted to choose me. Whether it was because I was competition, or because I was worthless, I never discovered. But now with damaged insides, I would be the Omega in Immortan's eyes as well, the pack member that got tossed out when food rations got low.

"You seem strong."

"One day, you will see just how strong I am." I said, though I was half convincing myself as well.

My goal is to keep these chapters around 1500 words. That way I can pop out a chapter in one sitting, but it isn't so short that it leaves you underwhelmed. Again, I have some plot set up, but I have no idea how long this story will end up being. All feedback is welcomed and loved!