Breaking but not broken.

Chapter 2

One of the boys threw me over his shoulder once we were inside the walls. You see, the place they took me to was surrounded by big red rocks, seamlessly in the middle of nowhere. Green decorated the top of the rocks, which almost made me faint. Green was something I hadn't seen in years. There were people, disfigured and covered in rags. Well sort of. The rags only covered parts of them. The people, if you could call them that, lived in small shacks made of trash and dirt and sand. Beside the depressing sight of people, this palace was enormous in size and in guarding. Merely being inside made me feel inferior. Breaking out of here was going to be a task.
The boy who was carrying me didn't make the effort to be gentle, and my stomach dug into his shoulder while his feet threatened to kick my face. He walked onto a platform that was made out plywood and rusty nails that had been carelessly hammered in. It started to take us to the top of this 'palace' as I kept calling it.. I wanted to cry out, I felt like I was going to be sick. The boys shoulder ruthlessly shoved into my gut over and over making me want to throw up what little food was still in my system. But, I bit my tongue for the sake of my own well being.

[The white painted boy spoke with high respect towards his leader. "Immortan Joe, we have brought you a scavenger."
"Why is this scavenger so important to be in the presence of me?" Immortan Joe questioned.
"She's a woman."
Immortan Joe perked up at the mention of a female. He turned around, slowly to create dramatic effect. He analyzed the girl, starting at her ratty brown hair that would curl when washed, to her wide hips.
Joe snapped his fingers. He wished for the girl to be brought closer for a deeper inspection. The boys brought her over, grabbing her arms roughly so Immortan could examined her again, although he couldn't see much since she was covered in several layers of clothing. He grabbed her chin, making her to gasp, and swiped her hair out of her eyes. The Woman's brown eyes finally made their way to his crazed, old, cloudy eyes. She could see the way they lit up when he looked at her.
"Clean her up and place her with the others. She is not to be harmed further."
Immortan Joe's orders were immediately obeyed.]

They dragged me away and into another room, being gentler than before. Well, gentle for dragging me across the floor I guess. The room was dark, dark as a pupil, and had a wood fed fire raging in the corner. I could see something when I squinted. Someone else was in the room. I moved my head so the fire lit up the figures face. It was a man, around my age, he was gruff looking with his tan, scared skin and scruffy chin. He was being held off the ground by chains around his arms and legs. I watched as a man with goggles and a rotting tooth pick hanging halfway out of his mouth tattooed his back. The skin was bloody and was probably going to be infected if it was left open to elements. Another boy, one who appeared the same as all the others, was cutting his ratty hair that looked suspiciously like mine. Well, it looked like mine when it was ratty and to long.
During the long and nerve racking drive to this fortress I had wondered why all these boys were covered entirely in white paint. Was it protection from the sun, or, was it a ritual type thing. It wasn't the first time I'd seen people covered in paint, many groups out in the wasteland used paint to signify their members, but I had yet to see someone covered fully in a bright white paint and black around the eyes. They all looked like skeletons.
They wrapped a freezing chain around my forearms and legs; the metal dug uncomfortably into my skin. I was stripped of my outer layers leaving only one layer to cover me. They cut my hair and scrubbed my skin till it burned. I was fortunate enough to not be getting a tattoo like the poor man next to me. I glanced at him every now and then, but his eyes never met mine. I broke my neck trying to look, but I could finally see his full head. He was gagged. Why was he gagged? One of the men grabbed my head and faced it back forward. I struggled a bit, but my attempts were futile. Nothing was happening, just them scrubbing the hell out of my skin, when a man with mean eyes and a crazy scar on his face turned around from the wood fire with a long metal stick, burning bright red with a skull at the end. Was he going to brand us? The gaged man finally looked into my eyes and we shared a moment of panic.
I knew what I had to do. I wrapped my long fingers around the chain holding me and ripped them away from the boys. They lost their grip and I took the chance to thrash the chain around. I was aiming for the face or upper body. The man copied my actions. He got free and ran to the doorway, but stopped. He was waiting for me.
He was risking everything even if it was just a few extra seconds. I was, one could say, flattered by his gesture. But I also thought he was an idiot. I also knew both of us wouldn't get far.
"Run!" I demanded.
I could see it in his eyes. Thank you, his eyes said. The man followed my order and bolted out of the doorway. I had given him his best chance. A painted boy ran after him, but I swung the chain, hitting him in the side of the head to which he responded by collapsing. I was biting and clawing and elbowing anything that moved in my general vicinity until one boy punched me in the face. I was disoriented for only a second but that's all they needed. I was restrained, tied up again. And the scolding metal was pressed solely against my skin.
Honestly, after that everything was hazy. My legs were being scraped along the ground that was covered in dirt, rocks, and sweat. I was being dragged somewhere. Voices. I could hear lots of voices. They're shouting.
"She's a raging feral!"
A gunshot rang out and my vision cleared. The man with the horrifying breathing mask, who was also the one who ran the palace, had shot one of the boys restraining me. The others went white, or, I assume they did.
"....her with the others. Muzzle her. She must not harm the others."
A muzzle? Like for a dog? They dragged me away, earning a groan for me.
I was pushed against a wall, the dirt floor dug into my bare legs, though it wasn't my number one problem at the moment it was still uncomfortable. Two boys held my arms and legs down while a third tried to strap a metal contraption on my face. I shook my head and snarled at them. They were right! I was a raging feral dammit! A fourth white man rolled his eyes in disgust before pressing my head again the wall. He didn't slam it against the wall, he just pushed it back gently, which was odd. The metal thing smelled funny and it pressed roughly into the bridge of my nose. I couldn't bite anyone with this thing on, I guess that's why they put it on. They retrieved a belt with scary looking teeth like things that would cover my region. It was heavy and dug into my gut and it would leave bruises on my hips no doubt. The boys escorted me down a hall, my head slouching towards the floor. My neck hurt from the branding and I no longer had the strength to hold my head up. I heard clicking and peaked up to see a gigantic metal door. A door to a vault it seemed. I started to squirm again, although it wasn't much of a fight since most of my fire had been stomped. A quick couple steps and I was dropped to the ground.
Click click click.
The door closed and locked letting me know I would be residing in this place for a while. My face would be pressing against the surprisingly clean floor if not for the muzzle, so I guess it had one use. One.
A dozen hands turned me over. Women with all different hair colors and lengths were hovering over me. They saw the muzzle and guessed I was dangerous. They quickly let go of me, like my skin was made of acid? and they stepped back.
The women all had different heights and skins tones but were clothed in the same white cloth and they wore fear full faces. I suppose that was because of me. They were also stunningly beautiful. Small and thin, high cheekbones, plump lips. They were beautiful, but couldn't be more harmful than a bunny. Since they didn't look dangerous I ignored them and looked around.
I was now in a drastically different setting. The warm air from the wasteland could not reach me any longer and that alone earned a sigh of relief. But I was still trapped. Trapped in this new and odd looking vault. It was made up of different levels and there must have been hundreds of books in one corner alone. This whole palace, including this room, was not quiet. It had a constant trickle of water to keep the air full of sound and a home body shop around the corner. Green herbs and various plants sprouted from the dirt pots that were festooned around the room. I wasn't used to all this noise and it was upsetting for me to be subjected to it so mercilessly.
I caught a glimpse of myself— I was solely in my last layer of clothing. The shirt and shorts were torn and merely threads now, but they served their purpose. I padded my chest for my locket, just to make sure it was still there.
It wasn't.
I dug around my shirt, my heart starting to beat faster, then ran my hands over my neck. My heart ceased to pump. My necklace was gone.
My eyes darted everywhere. Maybe it just dropped onto the ground? No. It wasn't here. I failed to protect the ones I cared for twice now. I panicked even more. I leaped to my feet in my rush, which turned out to not be my brightest idea. My head started to go fuzzy rather quickly. I attempted to use the dirt wall next to me for support, but it wasn't enough. My hand slipped. I blacked out before I made contact with the ground.