Ito Ai: A New Dawn

The two girls traveled quite a few more miles before the sun began lowering in the sky. Ai paused her steps and turned to look at Mai who was covered in sweat, just the same as her. Taking a water bottle out of her bag she undid the cap and took a sip of water. "Okay, we should find a place to sleep tonight." 

"We need to find a place that is almost fully enclosed?" Mai asked.

"Mmm… yeah like a truck with a cap or an SUV will do. Preferably an SUV…. Over there!" Ai spotted a black Missan Bexterra not too far away. It had tinted windows all around and a large back which meant the rear seats went down.

The two girls ran over to the Bexterra and looked inside. " Seems to be empty. I do not think the owners stayed here long. Let me get it open." 

Ai pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and began fiddling with the lock. A click sound was heard and Ai pulled the door handle. A rush of steamy hot air, brushed past Ai's face. She then hit the unlock button and said: "Open all the doors, we will need to air this out for a while." 

"Mm!" Mai quickly ran around the other side to open the doors up. 

Ai and Mai sat on the back tailgate swinging their legs back and forth as they snacked on their rations. "At least with the sun going down it is a lot cooler."

"Yeah… I'm worried it will be cold tonight..." Mai slightly frowned, she hated being cold more than anything.

"It will be fine, we have our jackets and sweatshirts. Plus we will be huddled together anyway. So we will stay warm no matter what." Ai was not worried about the cold. Such things you could get used to easily.

After the Bexterra was aired out, the sun was just about to go down, Ai and Mai put the back seat down and laid down on top of it. Even with all the doors locked, Ai still planned to keep a watch rotation. She wouldn't be so worried if it was just the first type machina roaming around since they made a lot of noise when inspecting things but with the other types already active, Ai did not dare risk it.

Ai and Mai laid next to each other listening to the wind outside. Ai was taking the first watch to allow Mai to get a good rest. Mai was resting her head against Ai's shoulder with her eyes closed. "Ai… Can you tell me some stories about your past life?" 

"You want to hear about those days?" Ai asked.

"Mmm... I want to know more about what will come and what I need to be aware of. I also want to know about the things you experienced whether it was good or bad." Mai replied.

"Well… Let's see… Let me tell you about my first week alone right after my father died..." Ai said as she continued.

---

Ai had just climbed out from under the rubble. Her stomach hurt from not eating and she felt dizzy. The first thing she did was find the water bottle that was thrown to the side when her father shoved her into hiding. With everything that had happened at the time she did not dare go out to get it until now. She quickly opened the half filled bottle and guzzled it down, choking on it in the process. When it was all gone she frowned and threw the bottle on the ground. She went to leave but stopped and backpedaled to where the bottle landed and picked it back up again. "Just in case I need you..." 

With the bottle in hand, she left the area in search of food. But all she saw was broken buildings and a few people here and there. These people all looked at Ai causing her to quickly avert her eyes. She trusted no one, no, more like everyone she saw scared her. All the places that looked as if they might have food seemed to be occupied by others. With no other choice, Ai walked down a vacant side street that had a large dumpster. She opened the top and the smell coming from inside almost made her puke right then and there. But the rumble in the stomach made her push forward as she looked inside pulling some of the trash bags apart. 

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she became even more desperate as she rummaged through the bags. A girl of fourteen, who had never experienced such a thing as hunger and being on her own, was scared, frightened, and very hungry. She was afraid she might die of starvation if she did not find something soon. After almost twenty minutes of searching, the last bag she tore open, had a few slices of moldy stale bread. Her eyes widened with excitement as she brushed as much of the mold off as she could from the first slice with her hands before taking a bite. That first bite almost made her puke it up but she held it back and swallowed hard. She did the same for the rest of that slice of bread, even though the taste in her mouth was horrid, she still prepared another slice before taking a bite out of it. 

As she was choking down her second slice a hoarse female voice came from the other end of the alley. "Hey girl, give me what you got there!" 

Ai Looked up to see a girl a few years older than her with a black eye and a busted lip walking down towards her. Ai quickly shook her head and stubbornly said: "No, this is mine!"

"Listen I am not asking, I am telling you to give it to me or you will get hurt." 

***

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