Her Protector

Into the late morning, she woke to the rising heat of the sun and eyes of the other barely still alive Powder Gangers. Her sweat is all that she felt but she was sure of why she was brought back to where she had started. She had pissed him off for the final time, his patience had worn out. She whips her head quickly to the crunching steps of Vulpes coming to stand over her.

"More of my men are missing from here, Susan...where is he? I know he is here." he hisses holding her knife in his hand once again threatening her other cheek seemingly paranoid showing he had not gotten any sleep through the night.

Feeling now panicked and confused she falls to her left side, dirt flies up covering her cheek and her dried blood. Her eyes closed and her breath shaken and scurried. Opening her eyes she sees Vulpes clutch to her chest with her knife to his hand gliding it's tip along her chest's skin just above her breasts and his fingers gripping her tank top with hate and vengeance at his eyes. A low powerful sound suddenly rings out. His other left-hand clings to his own chest showing a dark red pour over his clothing, he had been shot through. His headpiece slips off showing his buzz haircut like her father's. Wiggling down from incoming and responding fire she hears more shouting from troops as they rush to spot where the shot had come from. Hearing a firefight she quickly brings her face to her blood-stained blade now on the ground and grips the handle to her teeth. Struggling to get up with her elbows she hears a voice yell out to her as she almost gets up to her knees.

"Get down!" The disembodied voice calls out to her she falls back down now focusing on footsteps, behind her a shot rings out and a Legion troop falls behind her and into the fire screaming in agony. She rushes to get back up and gravity rides her blade's handle to fall into her shaking hands. She catches it and twists it around to get a clear cut to her bonds. She sways her feet to the front of her and now urgently cuts to the ropes at her ankles and becomes free. The warmth of her hands rubbing her raw wrists sting. A quick glance after she grips her blade tight in defense she sees the now tumbled over bodies of the Powder Gangers. They had shared the fate she had been dragged to but she had escaped with help. Her eyes were blinded by tears, dirt, and the bright sunlight directly into her view gleaming just from above the tents to her left. All grows silent as she winces her eyes to barely see. For the moment she was blinded by dirt and sunlight and in that light a shadow had come over her, engulfing her, as she knelt. She tried to focus and she could see a single dark hand come to a clearer view. A few blinks and her vision was clear.

"Joshua...you came..." she says in humbled fear and with a tear aching breath now seeing the white bandages she knew all too well reaching up to his sleeve and then eyeing his vest up to stop at his blue piercing eyes. She has a flashing thought of her dream, the Burning Man was her savior, perhaps the only thing keeping her sanity through her trying times. Her eyes dry as she slowly takes his hand. He pulls her up, his words her beacon, his words her hope.

"You are not alone, Susan. I promise. I know your place now and mine. It is by my side. I was to not leave you here. My demons...appeased by the battle in Zion, are extinguished because of you. Your words, your guidance, you chose to unfold, I need that path. I will not have you give up. I will be your foundation beneath your feet to keep you standing strong." he says as he lifts her up. Susan keeps her left hand to his right, she stands equally to his side now and takes her right hand up to her face to rub her eyes, to free them from her blindness.

"I...I am not who you say I am. I am at such a loss, don't count on me for anything…return to your people." she says instantly, reminding herself of her lustful act in taking advantage of Daniel and of having been drugged for Vulpes' murderous hands when she should have fought harder.

Letting go of him she steps away to stumble on the body of Vulpes she cries more as she lands to her knees. Not from the pain she feels but from herself, her guilt of all that led to her despair. 'If only I looked early, years early…' she thought heavily. Eyeing the black knife holder on Vulpes' right arm she yanks it off and holds it close to her. She pulls herself up to head to the tent, she had despised to be back in, to retrieve things from his chest. Using her knife quickly she breaks it open by smashing the handle to the lock as she cries. Keeping her mind off her heart aching words, she harmed herself more than him, just out of habit by returning to her defense of pushing people away. He follows her inside as she slips her blade to the strap to her thigh and holsters her gun to her returned belt around her hips.

"Tell me," he says, kneeling down to her urgently scooping her up to his arms carrying her tight in his way to comfort her as she tries to fight it. It pains his skin but he bares it for her and just for her. She punches his chest in frustrations of herself whimpering and crying in pain as his arms tighten at her waist and under her legs.

"I used Daniel in his moment of open-heartedness. It has been years since I have had someone indulge in my presence. I was- I just wanted to forget my troubles, just for one night. I feel so bad b-but we chose to forget it. To walk away. What kind of person does that?!" she slows her punches and she grips hard at the edges of his vest just beneath his armpits. She was broken and he knew it, it pained them both.

"An individual who is broken. Lost and blinded. You are living for yourself but know you should live for others who matter. For that time, you felt alone." he says as he walks up a hill and to her bike. He had taken it to track her down to where she had been captured and held. He had left her helmet, rifle, and satchel tied tightly together on her left satchel. Slowly sitting her down to her bike's seat, her dusty jacket roughly glided over the seat and he kneeled down to her lowered sight. He stays to her view waiting for her to respond patiently, willing to make any sacrifice for her.

"I just want some time...I need to forgive myself. Understand what happened and what I saw at Cottonwood." her voice filled with mournful loss. She glanced her eyes up to his. "What took you so long?" She wanted to laugh but she felt that she did not matter and was left to die or to end up in the slaver hands of the Legion.

"I had waited for the major war parties to leave the camp. Made sure their scouts went missing to lower their numbers bit by bit during the nights. That night Vulpes had taken you...I knew I had to make some distraction. I heard the struggle from inside the tent." he slowly turned his head to her as he stood over his bag to his feet at an empty sandy area he planned to make a fire at. He chose his words carefully.

"Had sure you were safe from harm. Kept him on his toes, kept him from defiling you. Till this morning I knew I had to make my move, his empty threat was unforgivable. Forgive me, from the length of time I took, the worry I must have put you through.'' his voice tender and selfless. He felt the need to stay near her, he was truly worried and saddened of what she must have been through. What would have happened if he did not risk his life? He had a door open to his true humanity. Taking a deep breath feeling conflicted inside of what she thought of him, he left for the moment to gather supplies from the once overwhelmed camp. For the short time, she sat still to her bike and sucked in a breath keeping silent of what could have happened to her.

"That night was the one that terrified me the most. He drugged me…" she muttered hearing his footsteps trail up the hill.

"I know, chloroform. I intentionally left scouts to rot in the wilderness. Kept him and his men looking for me throughout the night. It gave me enough time to see to it that you were unharmed. He even left men to guard his tent which was no threat to me." he says as he placed scavenged bandages and ammunition just in front of his duffle bag. Gathering some wood and dried grass to be ready for the night, she kept her eyes to him as he did.

"You...you kept me safe?" She asks to reassure herself that he in fact protected her during her time of need and helplessness.

"Yes." his voice deep and quick to answer. Their eyes kept a hold on each other both making a silent promise of their words. He soon breaks the tension.

"We shall camp here for the time being. It will be a few days before more will show up. By then we will be gone. So take a moment to ease your burdens and be at peace." His voice was warmer, almost fatherly but more so filled with humility and love.

Sliding down her bike and to the ground, she had exhausted herself and had given herself a moment to breathe. For this long minute, she felt the worry and constant paranoia wash away. The shadow of the bike hid her irritated eyes. She had thought of all that was said; she did not want to believe it but it kept a warm place in her heart and soon she fell asleep now easily knowing she was in good hands. Sometime in her deepest sleep, she swore she could feel him tend to her wrists with some ointment medicine.