Chapter 33: The Love Of A Parent

Two days passed and Ai and Mai got geared up to venture back outside. Although their gear was a bit different this time, they were wearing full bodysuits. Underneath they were wearing normal clothes but this was just for safety precaution since the rain had a dense amount of radiation in it. With a geiger counter in hand, Ai unlocked the hatch. She did not open it right away, she first got an umbrella ready just in case water dripped down. As the hatch opened the light of the sun beamed down and Ai cautiously checked her surroundings. Seeing how there were no signs of any first type machina, Ai let out a sigh of relief before calling down to Mai. Soon both girls were standing above ground taking in the sun.

"The sun feels great!" Mai said happily as she twirled around. 

"Careful do not step in any puddles until I get a solid reading." Ai said as she walked around with the geiger counter. 

As she was taking readings of the rain buckets she frowned, when she saw how high the radiation was in the water. "Sigh... Looks like we will need to scavenge some of the houses around here for some bathwater..." 

Ai and Mai had already decided that their only goal this time out was to find water safe to bathe with. They had just gone so many days without being able to wash up and they were bound and determined to at least clean up a little. One thing they did notice was that they lost a bit of weight due to reduced eating and working out in the process. Unfortunately, working out did make them work up a sweat, causing them to stink even more. But getting used to one's own filth was common, especially in a closed in space. 

The day was hot but they had no choice but to wear the full body suits in order to keep any radiation from coming in contact with their skin. Ai had found areas where the radiation was too high for humans to be safe which made Ai and Mai take detours here and there. 

"Ai what is that!?" Mai asked, pointing at a pool of mush on the ground.

"I think it was once a human..." Ai said with a scrunched up brow. "It seems they were not able to find cover in time or did not realize that the clouds overhead were dangerous..."

Mai also scrunched her brow, but she did not feel sick even after smelling the grotesque stench from the mush that was once human. The girls continued on their way until they found a house that still had some overhang to it. "Let's check here."

Ai and Mai both readied their guns. They also both had an ax tied to their backs just in case. They climbed up the rumble cautiously looking around and pausing every few steps to listen for noises. When they reached the top an overbearing stench filled their noses causing both of them to frown. 

"More people who got caught in the rain..." Ai said as she saw three people lying on the floor hugging each other. It seemed to be a mother, father, and a small child. Ai and Mai could not tell if the child was male or female. The poor child's head and face were melted in. The child's parents were missing limbs and also had holes in their heads. 

"I wonder if they died instantly or not?" Mai's face was somewhat pale, which was understandable. The sight of a mother and father trying to shield their child was heart wrenching and at the same time a little scary how slowly they must have died to be in such a state.

"Mmm... My guess was they both struggled to make it over to their child. Look, bits of flesh and bone can be seen melted to the ground. The love a parent has for their child really is amazing. They must have been out looking for food or something else and rushed back when the storm hit to find their child in such a state. They probably were already missing some of their limbs as they crawled over to the child to hug it." Ai explained as she looked at the evidence in front of her. She had seen this scene many times so it was not strange to her but it still made her feel ill at ease and at the same time made her miss her own parents.

"Come there may be something worth using inside. If they were staying here then there may be water." Ai said, pulling Mai along.

After searching a few rooms Ai and Mai finally found their target. There were two jugs of water filled to the top that tested radiation free. With no reason to stay the two quickly ran back to the bunker. When they reached back they stopped at the hatch and began checking the radiation levels of their full bodysuits. "They are within limits, so let's climb down. We will save some of this water to wash them up after. We will just need to toss the towels out." 

That night the two girls washed each other's backs and hair and got fully cleaned up. It was the first time in a while that they felt so clean. This made their once gloomy moods much better. "Tomorrow we will need to go out and find more water reserves. What we got here is for drinking only so we should find a supply for bathing and washing clothes. A washbasin would be nice as well. We also need to gather supplies for traps. We have been in and out of this area many times. People may begin to show up at some point. Traps will help ward these people off." 

Ai did not want to have to give up her safe haven just yet. In a post apocalyptic world, her current bunker was a god send. It could be considered a billion yen mansion with just the supplies alone. 

***

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