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Chapter 2 Survival 101

May 18, 2191

Saturday, 18:00 Military Time

Fifteen hours had passed since the military trucks had left, together with almost half of the people stranded here in the airport, and my Dad and my brother, Carl, were among them. And here I am, still staying in the ruins of the airport, scared and worried sick of what will happen next.

We could still hear a few warplanes passing this ruined building and some explosions from random places, not too far from here. There was no phone signal, no vehicle left that I could use, and definitely no help from any local government of this place. It felt like it was completely abandoned, not only by the military forces but also of hope. There were hurt people and most of them were men. My heart was wrenching inside my chest as I heard the cries and wails of scared children, calling for their mothers. I wish I could help them but I had no idea what to do. My mind was also scattered by the idea that my father and brother were somewhere out there and I didn't know how I could follow them. This place was foreign to me and I didn't know what was happening outside. If it's already safe to go out there. I was scared a plane would drop down another bomb and I won't risk getting blown to bits by any of it. The last time I encountered one, I was lucky to be alive.

Alone and desperate, I tried to explore the inside of the building and look for anything that would be of use to me. I could still hear people arguing whether they will still stay or not. Some suggest they should leave even if it means they will have to walk just to get out of this place.

"Do you think it's safer if we'll stay here?"

It was Jason. Jason Fraser.

I met him while I was crying out of despair in one corner of this building after the military truck left me. As I cried my eyes out, this guy suddenly appeared in front of me and sat beside me and it made me cry more because I was scared he might hurt me or something. He didn't say a word though and he didn't do anything, but he stayed sitting on that corner with me as hours passed. When I got tired of crying, I looked at him and he offered me a bar of chocolate.

While I ate the chocolate he gave me, he introduced himself to me. His name, then he said he came from an Aisean country and was only here for a short vacation. He was actually tall, he had a lean, muscled body that made him look like a gym enthusiast type of a guy. Jason's hair was dark, his eyes were hazel green and he had a pointed nose with thin lips. He looked like a snob guy though but he wasn't really. He made me trust him that fast when he joined me during my stressful moments. Also, the chocolate bar he gave me improved my mood.

Since then, he hasn't left me.

He was carrying a huge rucksack behind him that made him look like he was going camping somewhere. But in this huge city?

I found a soda vending machine that was hidden under the stairs to the second floor and it seemed that it was still intact and the drinks were still inside.

I looked at him with fear in my eyes and felt uncertain about our safety. "I don't know. I also want to get out of his place but you see those planes out there? I don't think leaving here is a bad idea." I grumbled while I swiped my card in a vending machine to purchase a can of soda drink. We waited for the machine to let out a soda but it seemed the machine was already broken.

"Shit. I think it's busted." I grizzled in dismay as I smacked the machine with my hand.

"Let me try."

Jason pushed me gently away from it and then he went somewhere. My eyes widened in disbelief when he went back with a rock the size of a human head and was about to smash the machine with it but I quickly stopped him by grabbing his hand that was holding the stone.

"Hey! What are you doing!" I hysterically hissed at him and turned my head on each side if there were people looking at us.

"What? We're in the middle of a war and there are no rules applied here anyway. We must do things in order to survive." he hissed back at me and pushed me away as he backed a few feet away from it and threw the rock with great force. It slammed and broke the glass into bits of fragments and all the way through the inside of the vending machine, sending the cans bustling on the tiles of the floor.

I went completely nervous and became wary, expecting that some guard of this place would yell at us but no one gave us even a single look at the ruckus Jason had made. It seemed that everyone was so absorbed in worrying about how they could get out of this place that they didn't care about peace and order in this place anymore.

"See?" Jason grinned at me.

I realized I was holding my breath out of distraught and I let out a heavy sigh as I shook my head on Jason. But his grin made me smile nervously, thinking that what he did was a bit fun.

We took the cans of soda that were not destroyed by the stone and we strolled inside the abandoned convenience stores and any shops, trying our luck if there were still goods that had left after the people had taken everything in this place especially foods and anything to drink. Jason and I gathered all the useful things we saw and we were lucky that there were stores left untouched by anyone. We grabbed everything we could. Chocolate bars, canned goods, noodles, and bottled drinks. I also took soaps and personal hygiene especially sanitary napkins, shampoos, and toothpaste. We stashed them all inside our backpack and we hurried back as we both covered all the supplies left with a tarpaulin that we saw in front of the store.

I knew what we did was wrong but we had no choice. We had to be smart if we want to survive here long if we were both lucky enough to outlive the bombs threatening to blow this area.

To get rid of the guilt that was eating me from the inside, I walked towards the cash register to swipe my card but the electricity was down and the machine was not working. I knew paying for these things would be a funny gesture since no one needs it anyway and the owner had already abandoned the store but I did it for my own sanity. Just at least I won't feel bad that we took things from this store.

"What are you doing? Let's go!" Jason hissed at me, his voice echoed in the empty area of the convenience store. The voice that echoed back to us gave a creepy feeling on my skin and I quickly ran towards him, trying to shake the fear I suddenly felt.

When we came back to the hall area where all people gathered, trying to support each other, Jason and I went inside his tent and checked for all the goods we took and we divided it based on our personal needs.

I admit I don't fully trust him. The feeling went stronger when he destroyed the vending machine and how it seemed natural for him to steal stuff from the convenience store. My mind was screaming that he was bad news to me and I worry that he might do something wicked if I let my guard down.

I looked at him warily as I stashed my part of the goods back in my backpack.

"Stop staring at me like that. I was just trying to help you," he said laughing at my little gesture, and opened a can of corned beef. He offered it to me but I hesitated if I'll take it or he was just trying to win my trust again so he could use me to do any evil work that he needed to do.

He got the idea that I was hesitating and he sighed, looking a little disheartened. "Look, I'm not a bad guy, ok? If you want to survive here, you must do what you have to do."

"I still don't know you," I answered him and took the can of food from his hand and started to eat it with a plastic fork. I was surprised that I liked it somehow even though I ate it straight from the can. Or maybe because I was really hungry that anything edible would be good for me.

I swallowed the food and tears sprung from my eyes.

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