Chapter 34

“Can I really have whatever I want?”

“Sure, Anya. Go nuts.”

Granted Emma’s permission, Anya charged through the aisles. Behind her, she faintly heard Emma yell, “Don’t eat the ones with ‘EXP’ written on them!”

“Check for ‘EXP’ label, got it!” The child muttered to herself.

To the group’s good fortune, the tank still functioned after the battle with the Sentinel, which made their journey through the underground city much more pleasant. The humanoid machines seemed to simply ignore them if they were not in direct line-of-sight. Some would glance at the vehicle upon detecting the sound of the engine but would not delve deeper. Despite the solace, Anya was still shaken and unnerved. Among the things that the child enjoyed, near-death experiences were not one of them. Seeing how Anya was still on edge, Emma decided that it was a good change of pace to browse around the city. The woman knew that the Ancients had a preference for large centralized vendors, and thus they stopped at the first building they assumed to be the market. The place was not difficult to find since signs littered the areas surrounding it.

Anya stopped when her eyes met an arrangement of colorful, cylindrical cans within cooling chambers. Above the aisle was a large sign labeled ‘Soda, Tea, and Other Drinks’. She turned the red can in her hand and inspected it.

She read the labeling: ‘Classic Soda’. What’s a classic soda?

The child swept her eyes across the surface of the can and could not find an ‘EXP’ label. However, she did find ‘Best By’ followed by some numbers, but she did not think much of it. She figured that: just because something is not at its best, does not mean it is not edible. Anya fumbled with the can. There was neither a cap nor a cork but a tab on top. An opening revealed itself once that tab was pulled.

It was a strange dark liquid citing a scent that she was unfamiliar with. Anya had never encountered a drink of this color before and wondered whether she should just let go and move on. Yet, her curiosity got the best of her, the child pressed her lips against the chilled metal and sipped.

“Mmm!”

It was a cool and sweet liquid with the taste of liquefied sugar. If Anya was to gather all of the candy she was given throughout her lifetime and melted them, it would still not amount to the volume within the can. The girl could not help but gulp the liquid down. It felt like mere seconds before the can became completely empty. Feeling unsatisfied, the child quickly grabbed another and chugged it. The worries that lurked and the fear that lingered, all vanished like the contents of the can. Anya then opened her satchel and filled it with the liquified cans of candy.

Wait! She thought, for she had barely scratched the surface of the store. Her imagination ran wild with what else she could find.

Hurriedly, she rushed off. The girl went from aisle to aisle; she sampled, tasted, and stuffed as much as she could into her satchel.

“Anya!” Emma called from behind the child. “I’ve been calling for you, it’s time to go.” The woman’s eyes soon shifted to Anya’s bag. “What do you have in there?”

“Snacks!” The girl answered joyously. “You know… for the rest of the trip. Do you want some?”

“Hmm… Let me see them.”

Anya opened her bag and proudly displayed her findings.

“It’s all… candy and sugared drinks…” Emma said with her brow furrowed.

“Yep!” the girl pridefully confirmed with a wide grin. Emma saw that the child’s mood was much better, thus she only sighed in response.

“Just don’t eat or drink too much, Anya… Or you’ll feel sick.”

“Uh-huh!”

Seeing Anya nod in such bliss, Emma unconsciously patted the girl’s head and smiled.

“Let’s go, we have a lot of ground to cover.”

Anya grabbed onto the woman’s hand and the two made way for the store’s exit. As they walked, the child turned her head and glanced around, all the shelves were filled with countless variations of food, drinks, and other miscellaneous items. Though the vast majority were ridden with decay, what remained seemed to be in perfect condition, contained within their bright and colorful packaging.

“It’s amazing…” The girl mumbled.

“Hmm? What is?”

“The Ancients, they must have lived lives of luxury… Well, before the death machines wiped them out, at least.”

“True, I’ve never seen anything like this.” The woman quietly dug through her memory just to be sure. “Not even in Luminus.” She glanced at the girl and saw that she was still curiously looking around. “By the way, where will you be going after this?”

“After this?”

“Yeah, after we get out of this place. I’m guessing since you fell through a ‘hole’ to get here, this place wasn’t your intended destination.”

“No, I was heading to Luminus.”

“Well, that would explain why you were in the area.” Emma pondered for a bit. “Do you have any relatives in the city?”

“No,” the girl responded.

“Then… do you have any money?” the woman then asked.

“Nope.”

“Then… what were your plans when you got to Luminus?”

Anya pressed her finger to her chin as her mind wandered, there were things that she could not reveal.

“I… didn’t think that far yet…”

“Well…” Emma held the palm of her hand against her face. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the girl said with a pout.

“No offense to you, but you never seem to think things through.”

“Sorry…” Anya lowered her head. “I just really wanted to get out of that place…”

Emma wanted to ask what the child meant by ‘that place’, but felt that she should not. Besides, she understood that the desire for a better life drove people to spontaneous and dangerous things.

“If you want, you can stay with me.”

“Huh?” The child was caught off guard and began to panic. “R-Really?!”

“Yeah, if that is fine with you.” Although Emma desired it, she tried her best not to show it on her face.

“YES!” Anya shouted as she tightly embraced Emma from the side. “I mean… If you don’t mind...”

Experiencing the cold of the child’s nose pressed up against her side, Emma smiled and ruffled Anya’s hair. “But first, we’ll have to get out of here.”

The two strolled toward the exit, hand in hand. In the girl’s free hand, Anya held the last of her honey glazed nut bars. They were delicious and at the same time very filling. Whenever Anya felt the slightest hint of hunger, she pulled a bar from the satchel and enjoyed herself.

Boris was already ready and waiting next to the tank. The man’s face was tinted red and his hand was wrapped around a bottle of what could only be presumed to be liquor. Having spotted the two approaching, the man waved his bottle and smiled.

“This place make me happy man,” he jested. “What of your hunt, tovarishch?”

“Besides water, I didn’t find much else that would be of use,” Emma responded and shot a glance at the gleeful child. “But Anya went to town in there.”

“Went… to town?” the girl questioned.

“It means you got really into it.”

“You did tell me to ‘go nuts.’”

“That… I did.” Emma wanted to lecture the child, that Anya should have grabbed essentials rather than sweets, but just about everything else was spoiled beyond use.

“How about we have toast?” Boris raised his bottle in the air. “Not everyday we kill giant metal monster.”

“Boris, I really think we should get out of here fir-”

“I’ll do it!” The child dashed toward Boris with a large bottle of soda in her hand. She raised it as high as she could and the two clinked the bottom of their drinks together. The man then swallowed a generous gulp while Anya chugged the sugar water without breaks. Both Emma and Boris watched in silence as the little girl finished the entire bottle in one attempt.

Once the last drop of liquid slid down Anya’s throat, the child ahhed in delight. The girl noticed that the other two had been staring blankly at her, resulting in Anya turning her head back and forth, switching her attention between the two.

“What?” the girl then asked.

“HA!” Boris broke the silence by bursting into laughter. “She will grow to be fine woman, no?”

“No.” Emma replied, “Don’t go overboard, Anya.”

“Eh?! Why?!” Anya contested with an exaggerated frown before continuing.

“I feel fine! Better actually! A little bloated though… But great! Awake, really awake, like I have all the energy in the world! Wait, I want another! It’s fine right?” The girl mumbled away as she began to jump and run around in circles, screaming incoherent things.

Emma laid her back against the tank next to Boris and watched the child exert her overabundant energy. The man then leaned over.

“So this is what they call sugar high.” Boris scratched the stubble on his chin. “Should we do something?”

“Let her wear herself down.” The woman briefly scanned their immediate vicinity. “I don’t see any of the machines, so we should be fine for now.”

After a short period of nonsensical sprinting, the girl eventually slowed down with her hands over her stomach.

“Oh no,” The girl’s eyes squinted and her cheeks puffed as she hunched over.

Blehhhhhh!

Everything she had drunk beforehand rushed out in an endless stream of black liquid.

“I’ve made a mistake-”

Blehhhhhhhhhh!

Boris held an expression of disgust while he observed the scene before him.

“Should we do something now?” he questioned again.

“Yeah… we should.” Emma sighed and pressed her hand to her face. “What am I going to do with her...?”

…

“I… I don’t… feel so good…”

“Of course you don’t, Anya.” The woman said as she scanned their surroundings through the periscope that was bolted around the turret hatch. “I told you not to drink or eat too much of that junk.” She then raised the periscope and attempted to comfort the child. “Do you want some water?”

Anya was slouched over in her seat holding a bucket, just in case her system was not completely cleared. The child’s eyes were barely open and her nauseousness refreshed with every bump on the road.

“No… I just… want to… take a nap...”

After hearing the girl’s response, the woman stored the bottle of water away.

“Anya, just tell me if you need anything.”

The child weakly lifted her hand and gestured a thumbs up, before quickly returning her arms around the bucket.

Seeing the girl in such a state tugged on Emma’s heartstrings, especially since stopping at the store was her idea. Even though she warned Anya beforehand, she still felt guilty.

“Boris, how long until we get to the hideout?”

“This tank is not as fast, maybe one hour.”

Emma then grabbed Anya’s satchel and placed it on her lap. She found it strange that Anya did not feel better after the initial vomiting. The woman dug through the bag and inspected the contents until something caught her interest.

“Fruit Cake,” she muttered to herself as her eyes skimmed the packaging. “Made with real fruits, keep refrigerated…”

A revelation immediately fell upon Emma.

“Anya, please tell me you didn’t eat any of the ‘Fruit Cake.’”

The child slowly and gently nodded.

“No… ‘exp’... written…” mumbled Anya.

What the girl said was true, the packaging did not have ‘EXP’ written on it, but it did contain ‘Eat Before’ followed by what Emma understood as dates. The Ancients had various formats for citing dates that were different from the ones they used. In fact, there was no centralized standard for date tracking as it varied from town to town and city to city, if any at all. Therefore, Anya did not understand the meaning of the ‘Eat Before’ label and just assumed it was another random snippet placed on the packaging.

“Still…” Emma voiced, “it contains fruits, and fruits tend to go bad quickly. You shouldn’t have taken the risk.”

“Sorry…” The girl said in a near whisper, “didn’t know… never… had them before…”

With the child’s usual cheerful demeanor, Emma had forgotten that she came from an impoverished background. Generally speaking, fruits were a luxury only the well-off or prosperous individuals indulged on, since they were difficult to produce.

“It was… very sweet…” The girl then added.

“The sweetness must’ve masked the taste of spoiled fruits.” Emma gave a brief and loving pat on the child's head and tucked the girl’s hair behind her ear. Then, she took off her own cloak. Using whatever cloth and fabric she could muster, the woman scrambled together a makeshift bed within the turret using the satchel as the pillow. Carefully, she placed the suffering child on the cloth padding, ensuring that Anya laid on her side.

“Rest for a bit, we’ll be there soon.”

Not wanting to speak, Anya replied with another nod before her consciousness drifted asunder.