From horizon to horizon, the bland yellow desert cloaked the earth. Snaking its way trough the empty landscape came a hard, grey strip of concrete. Crucifixes lined the road, the hollowed eyesockets of the corpses bearing silent witness to the windswept road.
Down the silent highway, a bright light appeared. Gradually, it drew closer, revealing a jeep, painted in the unimaginative tan of a military vehicle. The vehicle slowed as it reached the line of crosses. The driver gazed at the corpses silently as the jeep crawled past them.
After about a mile, the driver pulled the jeep to a stop and got out. She approached one the bodies, examining it closely. Nodding to herself, she pulled herself up the cross. Stretching out her hand, she grabbed ahold of the spike and yanked it from the body's palm. The arm fell limply to its side. The driver took the hand in hers and examined it. Blood oozed from the hole. She covered the palm with her own, and when she released it, the gaping wound was covered in fresh pink skin.
Cradling the body to her, she ripped the spikes from the feet and the other hand. She lowered the body to the ground and sealed the other wounds like she had with the first one. Gingerly, she brushed the long brown hair away from its. It was a young man, thin and emancipated. Shoulder length hair and a few days growth of beard seemed a futile attempt to hide how youthful he looked. His lips were chapped and bloody, his light brown skin, hot and dry.
Gently, she carried him to the back of the jeep. She took a canteen of water and tipped it into his mouth. Even unconscious, he desperately swallowed what was given to him. The driver placed the water back under the seat, then got behind the wheel again. She drove on, to the mountains in the distance.
Hours later, after reaching the montains, the driver took a track off the road and followed it for about a mile. She pulled off the track and stopped again. She checked on her companion, then pitched a small tent. She placed him inside, then took out equipment from the jeep and made herself dinner.
She nursed him throughout the night, and near dawn, he stirred slightly and groaned.
"Shhh.... Its all right. You're safe."
For a few minutes she sat next to him, stroking his forehead.
"Wh.. where am I?" he finally asked.
"Safe. By what I know, we're in California, but things have changed quite a bit from what I know."
"Who are you?"
There was a pause. "Call me Mary. It's as good as any. What do you remember?"
"I remember being nailed.... Oh, God. My parents." He sobbed quietly.
Mary held him, rocking him gently. "Tell me what happened."
"The... Guard," he said brokenly. "They arrested my family, said that my parents were traitors. They killed my parents and Harry, shot them through the head. They seperated me and Jessica. I don't know what they did with her. They tied me up, blindfolded me, and put me on a truck. They stopped and forced me out. We were in a desert, sorrounded by crosses. Then they nailed me to one...." His voice faded away.
Mary comforted him for many minutes, making soothing sounds. Eventually, his shivering stopped. "There's water and food off to your right. I'd suggest that you eat, then try and get some more sleep. Its still a few hours until dawn." She quietly extracated herself from him and left the tent.
Mary sat near the jeep, calmly awaiting the dawn. Eventually, the edge of the sky grew lighter, hinting at the coming day. Almostly absently, she pulled a disk from her belt and traced the three interlocking D's with her fingers.
After a few moments, a voice asked, "What's that?"
She started, and turned to find the young man she had rescued yesterday standing behind her.
"Nothing important, kiddo. Couldn't sleep?"
"Not really.... Who are you? Why am I here?"
She laughed. "I told you last night, call me Mary. As for while you're here... well, let's just say I couldn't just let you die out there. Hungry?"
"A little."
"I'll start breakfast then."
Humming to herself, she fired up a propane stove and grabbed some frozen hamburger patties from a freezer in the back of the jeep. "Theres's a set of clothes in the back seat. Go dress in them."
The young man grabbed them and retreated to the tent. He came out a few minutes later, dressed in a military outfit that clearly did not quite fit him. His facial expression was one of puzzlement. "This is a Guard uniform."
"Yep."
"You're not one of them, are you?"
Again the laugh. "Not by a long shot, kid."
"What are you planning to do to me?"
She slid the burgers onto slices of bread. "Ketchup?"
"Err... please."
"Mustard?"
"Yes."
"Ketchup and mustard, coming right up." She applied both to the hamburgers and handed one to him.
"Well, unless you have a better idea, I was planning on taking you along with me." She looked at him critically as he chewed a bite. "But, your going to have to shave. Theres a kit in the back of the jeep."
"Where are we going?"
"I don't talk business while I'm eating." With a grin, she took a large bite out of her burger.
He shrugged and examined his rescuer as he ate. She had dark brown skin and curly red hair. Her body was obviously well muscled, even through the uniform of a captain of the Guard. Her brown eyes glimmered with something that he could not quite place.
He finished first, and dug through the back seat for the kit. He sat on the ground, turning the mirror so he could see himself. In a few minutes, he was free of the beard growth. As he finished, Mary came over and stood him up. She toweled him off, and looked at him critically. She walked around him, tugging at his suit in various places. He thought he heard a soft whine, then realized the suit suddently fit him better than it did a few minutes ago. She pulled out a brush and ran it through his hair. She pulled it back into a pony-tail and wrapped a band around it. She took another look at him. "Yes, I think that'll work. Comon, lets break down the camp."
They took down the tent and packed everything back into the jeep. They climbed in, and Mary gunned it back the way they had came.
"Do you even know my name?"
"No... and I think its better if I don't. I'll just call you Kid, for now."
"Okay. Where are we going?" the newly dubbed Kid asked.
"Los Angeles." Kid drew a sharp breath. "Don't worry, your safe enough with me. No one will have any idea who your are."
Kid nodded unhappily and looked at the scenery. They spent hours driving. Several times, he tried to get Mary involved in conversation, but she refused to expand upon who she really was, or why they were going to Los Angeles.
Finally, the first checkpoint of Los Angeles came into view. Kid stared at it, every muscle in his body screaming for action.
"Calm down, we'll get through, no problems. At least try to _look_ calm."
Kid managed to relax a little as they pulled up to the stop. The guard came over to the driver side.
"Good afternoon, sir. We weren't expecting anyone at this time of day. May I see your papers?"
"Of course, sergeant. Here you go."
The guard examined the papers, looked up at Mary, and then Kid. He raised an eyebrow at Mary. A ghost of smile crossed her lips. "She's... with me."
"Yes, sir. One of the advantages of rank, eh, Captain?"
"Indeed."
"Welcome to Los Angels, Captain Marshall. Enjoy your stay."
"I'm sure I will. Thank you sergeant."
They drove away from the checkpoint, heading further in.
"She?" Kid asked.
Chuckle. "You look the part, Kid. They assumed you were my lover. Just about the only thing Eric did right, destroying that social hangup."
"Huh?"
"Long time ago, same sex pairings were considered morally wrong."
"The New Order encourages them. My parents said it was because it cuts down on population growth."
"Figures."
They passed by the next two points and finally reached the busy downtown of the city. Kid saw that most of the people moving around wore Guard or New Order uniforms. Every block, oversized televisions blared the lastest news and announcements. That the mayor, Lord Raymond Itz, was speaking that afternoon barely impinged upon his awareness as he gawked at a part of his city he was never cleared to view before.
"Lord Raymond Itz?" Mary snarled. "That lousy sack of flesh survived long enough to be the dictator of a major city? Well, I guess I know exactly what we're doing now."
"Huh?"
Mary pulled over the jeep and stepped out. She grabbed a young official by the arm. "Where's the mayor giving his speach at?" she growled at him.
"Uh... the Overlord's square," he answer, startled.
"Directions?"
The young man nervously rattled off the way. Mary climbed back into the jeep and drove off down the street. After a few minutes, they reached the square. They parked the jeep and got out. There was already a small crowd gathered at the podium where the mayor would be speaking. Mary and Kid walked to the back of the crowd.
"Stay back here. I'll be back for you later."
With that, Mary left him, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. Kid passed the time waiting for the speech by looking around the square. A half dozen Guard in battle armor stood between the crowd and the podium. They were armed with ballistic rifles. Kid noted two power cannons situated up the walls on either side of the square. It occured to him that it would be awfuly easy to kill crowd that was tightly jammed in here.
Soon, the square was filled with people, and Kid was crushed between people. He briefly spotted Mary at the front of the crowd, then someone blocked his view. He wondered what she was planning and suddenly felt very nervous.
Lord Raymond Itz finally appeared, flanked by two more guards and clad in battle armor with a cape flowing down the back. He stood behind the podium, and began a speech. Kid easily recognized that it would follow the usual pattern of praising the Overlord and the New Order, and encourage the people to expose traitors in their midst. Such speeches had always annoyed his parents, though they tried not to show it.
After a few minutes, Kid saw some movement in the front. Aburptly, he felt his point of view change, as if he was standing right in the front of the crowd. Mary had stepped forward, away from the crowd and between two of the guards. She pulled to guns from out of nowhere and pointed them at Itz.
"In the name of the Martyr, death to you, Lord Itz!" she yelled.
She opened fire, the bullets shredding the armor covering his chest, spilling blood everywhere. People began to scream and turned to run away from the scene. Kid tried to keep his place, fighting against the flow of the mob, trying not to get trampled.
His sight, however, was still on Mary. She had quickly turned and gunned down the guards beside her. She twisted to her left and finished the other guards in that direction. The remaining guards opened fire on her, but their bullets seemed to simply pass through her. The power cannons on the wall fired at her next, the bolts passing through her to destroy the stand. She shifted her aim to the cannons, bullets ripping the metal to shards. The guards to her right continued to frantically throw slugs her way. She turned slowly, oblivious to the bullets and walked towards them. She shot the closest guard, and he collapsed to the ground, blood leaking out the holes. She ignored the middle guard as he desperatly fired at her, and shifted her aim to kill the one behind him. She tucked one gun into her belt and kicked the rifle out of the remaining guard's hands. She slugged him, sending to the ground. Ripping off his helmet, she shoved her gun in his face.
"Tell the Overlord that the Martyr is coming for him."
She slammed him in the temple, knocking him out. She examined her handy work, then hurried over to Kid. "Comon, I think we had better make ourselves scarce."