CHAPTER 2: Gutting

Curious red eyes scanned the android body in his naked arms. Immediate maintenance was required. The defunct machinery was raspy within the torso region, the pseudo carbon skin was warm to his touch, a scalding wound was on the shoulder that leaked a red substance that smelled like iron, and a dripping break in the skin on the android's left temple. Since when did the androids make pseudo skin so soft and had small hairs attached?

That machine was connected to the server, he thought as he could feel its conscious tendrils once he was aware of the Searcher's presence at the village. It had orders to capture this android, but for what purpose? He considered the situation as he looked at the knocked-out android in his arms. Hm, why is that information locked from my clearance?

Questions he immediately lost interest in.

Hm, doesn't matter now does it? It's dead. No other need to fret.

The android missions and discontinued machines had little meaning to him. Along with repeating orders given to said lesser machines that were still connected to the server, such as the Searcher. An uncommon phenomenon since their creator's demise, save perhaps convincing the androids to bring the humans on the moon to Earth for study.

Why did he catch this android from descending from the crevasse?

A sensory reaction, he speculated. This android has information I want. It would be for the best if she gets repaired and I'll question her later.

The two androids that fought the Searcher had shut down since they were caught in the blast; their bodies lying in the dense, vine brush while their support pods watched.

The data collected as he overheard her in that machine village fascinated him—she knew details about human culture. In his inquiry and discovery, exceedingly few repositories of human culture and history survived on Earth. Only the structures made of steel and concrete were a prominent feature.

What was that story she told? The Little Mermaid? Fascinating story. Did the human's often construct such fantastical tales? With the remaining literature I've discovered, they did. With great frequency in fact.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing of the best means to repair an android. An unimportant venue for him.

Reasoning his best action was to transfer the android to that encampment of militants within the ruined city. Best let them take care of it.

—xxx—

"Eh! O'er here!"

The Resistance camp turned to the outcry by one soldier, who carried in a body of an android. Or, wait, another Resistance fighter? The twins hadn't seen a model that looked like this before.

"Bring her over here," waved Devola into the repair tent.

The fighter did as he was asked before departing. The twins took a cursory look at the android model. Definitely not one either of them have seen before and they were some of the oldest still in existence. Back when—

Popola cleared her guilty thoughts. Now was the time to repair this android.

The most extensive damage was to her shoulder, where, based on the burn, was from one of the rail canons from a support Pod.

Stranger still, she saw none of the alloy casing below the carbon skin. The red liquid that caked on the wounds gave off a mineral smell of iron. Then, they saw the small peek of white bone.

Both Devola's and Popola's data bank sensors fired at the same time. A gnawing, wrenching pain in their chest they could not explain why. They had experienced this wound many thousands of years before, back when—

"Popola!"

"I'll get the kit!"

They had preserved it as an admonition of their sin. Although it wasn't them, they couldn't help but carry the memory with them. Devola carried her patient away gently in her arms to best not jostle her skull. She moved quickly from the repair tent into the sleeping room, as androids rarely needed it. Her twin arrived behind her with the kit. Once across the threshold, she slammed the door closed.

A small moan of anguish came from her patient and a protective feeling too strong to ignore twisted in her chest. Carefully, she arranged the patient's body on the bed. The red on her body had a trace of metal and was sticky to the touch. She remembered…

"Sister, we have to be sure." In Popola's hand was a DNA reader. Its soft curved shape fit neatly within her delicate hand, kept clean and preserved throughout the years.

Devola nodded. Watching her twin press the end of the device to the female's arm, a quick pop was heard, and the patient's body jolted from the needle prick. The twin's eye radicals glued themselves to the screen of the Old World device, waiting the seconds required for it to process.

It beeped a toll that demanded the twin's allegiance.

—xxx—

Sweeping darkness and confused voices. Am I still dreaming? She was weightless in a safe cocoon within her mind. Soft glows of color would be welcome.

Then, she would see a face she hadn't seen in many years. "Li-Li, please don't die." She pleaded before she was falling through shattered glass and swimming in a sea of pills and booze. Drowning in their calling, enticing her.

Red, twin lights broke through the sea of seduction.

"Target Identified... Capture..." it menacingly stated in a voice of fire before she was yanked to shreds. Gone were her legs so she couldn't run. Gone were her arms so she couldn't fight. Gone were her throat so she couldn't scream.

Eyes ripping themselves apart. Her heart booming in her chest and beads of sweat stuck to her face. The room shifted as her brain worked itself out of her dream state. Panicking as she couldn't move.

This wasn't her room. Or her home.

Where… am I?

The splitting headache she felt forced out other thoughts. The somber light from the window burned her eyes. Damn her head hadn't felt this much pain since—

Am I still asleep?

Feeling a pressure on her chest she peered down—

To see two sets of shining pink hair.

Slowly, she moved the tips of her fingers and arm. The jerky movement startled the two heads on her covered chest as they stared down at her with pale green eyes. Getting up to observe her from the side of the bed. They looked like twins. Did she get laid and got too rambunctious? It's been a long while since she did but—

"Good you're awake!" The one with straight hair excitedly stated.

Although she said it softly, the noise caused her eardrums to pop in protest and made her skull feel like it twisted on itself.

"Not… so… loud…" She rasped through her bone dry, sandy throat. "Where…?" making a slight movement to raise herself, only to be halted by the same woman with smooth hair and by the blinding pain in her shoulder. Causing her to cry out and lay back in her original position.

"Don't move," whispered the one with straight hair, "you're seriously injured. Devola—"

The other one with wavy hair quickly brought over a dark bag of some sort with a spout. Faintly hearing a gurgle and splash within the bag.

"Drink," she said, "it's water." Placing the spout on her chapped lips.

Water….

Even though the woman with wavy hair held the water bag, her instincts to hold it took root. Her weak hands grasped the pouch with hers as she swallowed a sip.

Oh damn it tastes so good.

Taking heady droughts of the cool, clean liquid until her thirst was satisfied, small drops ran from the corner of her mouth from her urgency to drink until Lilia's belly was full of the clear liquid.

She studied the two women with matching hair color and a flower around opposite the ears. The one with straight hair brushed away the liquid that had run down the side of her mouth using her thumb. Her hand cool to the touch and tacky like soft plastic.

If she was wounded, she'd be at a hospital…. but this looked like no hospital and they defiantly didn't look like nurses.

"Where... am I?" Her voice lost its initial raspiness, but it was still sore.

"You're at the Resistance camp. One of the soldiers found you and we are here to heal you."

What… I… "I'm not… dreamin'?" Her brain dull and hazy, but recalled the machines she had spoken to at the amusement park and Pascal's village, along with the one she ran from to drive away from the peaceful machines. The explosion and the falling. A brief, muddied glimmer of a face with reddish eyes and silver hair.

I… I have to be dreaming… right?

Two looked at each other with consternation. The other woman responded, "No. We've dressed your wounds, and the ointment placed will heal you in a few days."

"We will get anything you require," the other woman continued, "But you cannot move from this bed until then." Her eyes stern and serious unlike her other counterpart.

"I—" she was cut short by another round of her pounding skull. Putting a weakened hand to the spot, only to feel the medical dressings that wrapped around. "My—"

The woman with straight hair and softer eyes guided her hand back to her sternum.

"You've suffered a skull fracture. We've done what we can to alleviate the pressure and reduce inflammation. It's essential to not move."

Lilia made a quiet chuckle before saying, "No wonder my head feels like someone took a hammer to it."

Her eyes drifted shut. Just the short conversation and gestures were enough to sap her strength.

Just before her eyes slid shut a weight of doom knotted in her breast. Or, it could have been the bruising that covered her ribs.

Thankfully, her dreams were devoid of meaning. The few moments she would open her eyes, she would only catch glimpses of one of the pink-haired twins. Catching her in that minute of wakefulness to have her drink water. When she would hear talking, it was disjointed and obscured.

—xxx—

Adam returned to his brother who was relieved to see him. His eyes scanned the drying substance was on his naked arm. It had flaked and smelled like iron.

"It was from that android," he quickly interjected, "one of the discontinued Searchers was after her and suffered a wound from it."

Eve let out a relieved breath. "Did… you sate your curiosity?"

"Not completely." Adam said honestly. "Despite her lack of abilities that the other androids possess, it seems as though she has knowledge of the humans and their culture. I'd like to pay more attention to her perhaps gain her trust. She told the leader of that village of pacifist machines she was sent by the android Commander to gather intel on them, although it seems to be a front. Those androids at our birth place were extremely suspicious of her. And look—"

He showed his brother the side-bag that the android carried. Adam procured it on his way to the android camp in the city. The machine village was still vacated when he entered it, but his curiosity to expose the secrets of the android demanded he fetch it.

"What's that?" Eve asked.

"Humans called this a 'side bag'. It was used to carry daily belongings where they went. That android had one." He explained.

Similar silver brows crooked at his twin. "And so, you took it?"

"Oh yes. Let us see what's inside!" He exclaimed excited.

"Okay, if that's what you want."

He placed the cloth bag on the table and quickly undid the buckles, exposing the contents. For hours Adam took in every detail of the items, wondering what their purpose was while his brother merely watched. Some he recognized from his studies about the humans such as the products that human females would place on their faces, for "beauty" he believed, all of which was contained in a separate bright red, cloth bag that opened via a zipper. Then a heeled, black shoe that was damp, but then he remembered that android wearing it at one point. He also recognized a grooming tool called a 'hairbrush'.

Others he did not recognize. A triangular device housed in a black case had a shallow hollow formed in the middle that looked strangely like a symbol of an apple. Most of what he discerned was the 'face' was black surrounded by a white frame except on one side he hypothesized was a button. Upon pressing it the black came to life in a splash of color. In the middle was a three-by-three row with numerical symbols encased in a circle. Enthralled, he pressed on the screen where the numbers where. After a few presses another screen popped up saying "Incorrect Password" and had the same numbers as before.

What was on this device? He wondered. His exploration of the humans had no mention of this device.

Placing it down on the table he continued rummaging through the bag. There was also a similar looking device but much smaller that fit in the palm of his hand. Also running into the same problem as the larger one. Along with two clear containers which has some sort of substances within. A leather container that had a snap-on belt that kept it folded. On opening it, he found it had green, rectangular paper with numbers and images of different humans and a stone building on the opposite side on them both pieces of paper said "The United States of America" and "Federal Reserve". With these strange pieces of paper were thick cards with numbers on the side pockets which had "First-Citizens" or "Bank of America" on written them and a magnetic strip along the backside or a chip; several other types of cards were within these pockets as well.

What raised even more questions was a white card that had a picture of a woman that looked extremely similar to that android and the same first name. Who is"Lilia Johnson Knight"? He made a mental note to ask that android about it.

The similarities are too striking to pass up. He thought. Perhaps the androids designed her based on this human?

Then, Adam's eye sensors saw a dull orange, rectangular shape the size of his palm. Inspecting the object as he held it.

"Brother, what's a 'Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut'? And what are those imprinted on it?"

"I don't know Eve. And those look like nuts of some kind. It says so here." Pointing to the letters at the bottom that read 'Dark Chocolate, Peanut & Almond.' "Humans would eat things like nuts. Perhaps its food? Feels as though something is inside." Adam remarked.

Eve shrugged, "You gonna open it?"

Adam examined the other side, which was covered in white and had smaller, plain lettering. Quickly discerning that it was a list of the contents within the packaging. Lifting the flap to see the "ingredients" listed. Why would the androids consume these things? Although he and his brother have digested the fruit called apples before even if their systems didn't require to do so.

Where the androids consuming such things to be more like their creators? He hypothesized. It was the closest possibility he could conceive of. With how much of an enigma humans are, I can't say I blame them.

Hypothesizing that he needed to pull the flap and opposite side apart, he pinched the casing between both fingers and pulled. An end seal broke, exposing a gap. Continuing until it was completely open to expose the shine of the metallic casing. Poking a finger inside the opening he felt the rugged and sticky contents. Turning the item upside down, he pushed the contents out of the opening into his other hand.

Placing the case that the mixture of nuts and chocolate came with on the table as he and his brother inspected it. It had a faint salty smell and was covered in a sticky substance that held the nuts and chocolate together in its rectangular, bar form.

It was soft enough for him to break it in two and give a half to his brother for him. Adam was the first to chew on a portion of his half within his mouth. First thing he noticed was the hard crunch of the nuts before the tang of salt and sweet from the sticky substance hit his tongue. The subsequent chew had the soft chocolate pieces come into contact with his tongue, playing off that bitter-sweet flavor. Individual nuts separated from the sticky mixture, rolling around in his mouth. The sensors within his mouth reading the chemicals of the nuts and chocolate the more he crushed the mixture between his teeth. Hearing the effort of his teeth in his hearing apparatus. Once the mixture turned into a loose, chunky paste, he determined what he had in his mouth sufficed for swallowing, and he did so.

Spying his brother who tentatively bit into his own piece.

Adam could see the appeal of the androids wanting to consume such a thing.

—xxx—

Light poked her eyes, rousing her from a comforting slumber. Her body ached from being in the same position for the time while she rested, and her head still felt terrible. She was warm in the musty room. The light that had woken her contorted into shapes and she could hear voices beyond it, though they were softly spoken and had an undertone of harshness. She groaned at trying to move as the memory from her last conscious wakefulness came to her.

So... This isn't a dream? I am...

Her head throbbed violently as it came to terms with her predicament.

Then where... am I... ? What year is it? Machines...? Androids...? A war...? Are we really on the moon?How? I…

She didn't want to accept or think about it. Even when it was evident as the wrapping around her head and shoulder. Where she was very much sore.

This can't be... I'm hallucinating... I've gone crazy and I'm in a mental asylum. But the pain... the fear I felt when that machine...

Pinching herself as hard as she could, Lilia cried. She had to be suffering a momentary lapse in her sanity. The idea that she very well nearly died when she ran from that giant machine and fell made little sense.

Wait… if I fell, how did I end up here?

Very carefully lifting herself to sit upright, the stiff bed creaked from her movements. Even those small actions made her feel exhausted. Realizing she was naked, a hard flush emanated from her cheeks as she pulled the rough blanket to cover bare breasts.

The voices from outside the cracked door halted and the source fully opened the door. It was one of the pink-haired twins that nursed her—the one with the wavy hair.

She turned to face who she had been talking to, "See? Now she's awake. Humans need their rest when they have been injured you fool!" Despite it been softly spoken, the harshness wasn't lost.

The twins entered. The blinding sunlight pierced through her skull harshly twisting her brain. They were at her side in an instant, telling her to lay back and continue to rest.

"I'm okay." She said to calm her two nurses, "Who were you talking to?" She asked quietly.

They both looked at each other.

"It's nothing." Said the straight haired one. "You focus on resting."

"I'm okay. Just... just tell me what's goin' on?"

"No, you're not okay. Lay back down."

Sighing exasperatingly, "I'm fine, just tell me who you were talkin' to please?"

"The two morons who accidentally shot you." Sneered the wavy haired one.

Who? Oh...

"You mean 2B and 9S? They alright?"

Right then, they both entered the small room along with the two floating gadgets, closing the door behind them and cramping up the space allotted. The fact they were all looking at her intently made Lilia swallow the lump in her throat from all the attention. The twins showed a mixture of anger and annoyance at the two intruders.

"We are." Said 2B cooly, "The explosion caused us to shut down for a time. Pascal brought us here for maintenance. Unfortunately, the primary physicians were otherwise preoccupied."

The twins made an upturned face at her, one more than the other.

"Well... as long as you both are still OK."

"And that's all that needs to be said." Interjected the wavy-haired twin. "Now out both of you. She needs her rest. I'm sure Anemone has a mission for you two."

They walked out stiffly, 9S doing a double take back at Lilia.

"We're sorry," said the woman with straight hair, "they were ordered by the Commander at YoRHa to inspect you. It doesn't surprise me though. The most we androids have seen of the humans has been in the form of indirect communication from the moon."

Why are we on the Moon?

"We can discuss that later with her Popola," said the wavy-haired one. She then turned to Lilia, "Do you want anything?"

Before she could answer her stomach did for her. The loud growl and protest for food made her blush heavily. "Um... food?"

They both looked at each other.

"Do you... have anything for me to eat?"

"We... do not know." The straight haired one hesitated to say. "No one in camp needs any bio-fuel."

Bio-fuel? Is that the androids need for food?

"Oh... I guess there would be no need for you to eat considering… Um, never mind." She thought as best she could through her aching head, coming to a realization "My purse... do you have my purse? I have some granola bars in there I could eat."

They both blinked at her.

"I think it's still at Pascal's village. Could you see if it's still there? It's a black bag with the letters 'MK' on it."

The wavy-haired twin quickly nodded and left the room.

"Okay, so… are you gonna talk about what's going on?"

The straight-haired twin looked warily.

Lilia sighed dejectfully. "Look, I have no idea of how I got here and for all I know, or, er, knew, I was in a freggin' dream. So, either this is reality or I'm hallucinating in a psycho ward. Please, just... give it to me straight." Hoping the pleading tone in her voice would convince the android to fill in the details.

"I think... we should wait until my sister gets back."

Lilia slumped her shoulders as well as she could considering how sore they felt.

"Although, I'm not averse to telling you." She continued. "Seeing as though you have... markedly recovered from your injuries. How's your head?" She asked kindly.

Lilia sighed, "Hurts like a bitch, but I've had headaches like this before. As long as you don't shine a light to my face."

She smiled, "That's good. And I promise no lights. I noticed your pupil dilation was fine a moment ago. Here," she placed her hands in front of her, "Can you squeeze them? Or try to?"

Lilia complied, although her arms are shaky, she could squeeze the androids cool, tacky palms just fine.

"And do you feel a sensation here?" Before she ran a finger along the sole of her foot. Jerking her foot away. Repeating the action with the other foot.

"Good, you're not paralyzed!"

Lilia chuckled. She certainly had a friendlier demeanor than her twin.

Speaking of which, "I'm sorry, but I never asked your name. I'm Lilia."

"Alright... Lilia. I'm Popola. My sister's name is Devola."

"Popola and Devola, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you. You've both been very good nurses."

"Nurse? Oh, that's right. It's been a long while since we've taken care of a human, but at least our primary memories haven't been corrupted. It's good to see you are recovering well under—"

Devola entered the room, the bright light stinging her eyes before it was blocked by the door.

"I've spoken with Anemone. She is going to send 2B and 9S to Pascal's village to retrieve your... purse."

A grateful smile graced her lips. "Thank you."

"I've done a check on her while you were gone." Popola informed her twin. "The skull fracture didn't cause any paralysis and her muscles seem to be functioning properly, even if they are marginally weakened. I was about to check her wound dressings."

Devola quickly came to the other side of Lilia, who was feeling a tad bit shy as her blanket dropped back down, quickly crossing her arms to keep from exposing herself.

"We need to open the dressing." Devola calmly stated.

This is stupid. She thought. They are androids, female models, and are nurses to boot. I highly doubt it's something they haven't seen before.

Putting her hands aside, Lilia let the cover fall.

The two androids put on a pair of nitrite gloves from a medical kit they had sitting on the dresser. Using a pair of medical shears, they cut a straight line through the linen slowly uncovering her skin and careful not to pull it. It stung in a few places, but one twin was there with an antiseptic cloth to help. Lilia lifted her arms as they pulled the used cloth bundle around her torso, lifting it from her skin. Said skin felt tender in the wounded area. They examined the leftover wound and Lilia turned her head to look, but all she could see was that the skin was bruised and flaky, like pulling an old scab out after the wound had already been closed. Settling her arms down at her sides again, Devola tossed the used bundle of medical linen to the floor.

"Excellent." Popola said with a smile on her face. "The ointment still works after all this time. You still have a nasty bruise around the area, but the skin itself is healed and I see no infection."

Devola nodded in agreement. "You should still watch yourself as you move around and lift objects. The muscles and tendons need time to rejuvenate."

Lilia nodded.

"Now," Devola continued, "let us see about the bandages on your head."

The same routine as before took place. Lilia's wiry, curly hair making it difficult but the same result as her shoulder. She felt like she got punched rather a hammer to her skull. And they commented about minor swelling in the surrounding skin but was to be expected considering the location. She felt the area. It was tender to her touch and some hair was missing, but at least her brain wasn't oozing out.

Her stomach growled again as she blushed. She sighed, hoping that 2B and 9S quickly returned with her purse.

"Um..." she started to say, "I would still like to have that conversation with you both now."

Devola looked at her sister.

"She needs information," Popola clarified, "and I think it would be prudent if she told us what she knows in return."

The stern sister narrowed her eyes but agreed. "Only if she is up to it."

"I'm fine." She assured, "I may be weakened, but I still have a brain in my head."

"Very well." She went around to sit next to her sister and waited.

Apparently, it was up to her to make the first conversation. "Well... let me start off at the beginning..."

—xxx—

By the end of the conversation, she was left with more questions than answers. She had no idea how she even got to this century. The twins themselves didn't know that detail either. Well, that couldn't be helped now.

According to them, her human counterparts were on the moon. Having been chased by an alien invasion thousands of years ago in the year 5,012 CE. Said aliens are the ones who created the machine army. The androids, being of human design, were destined to fight them since humans are an endangered species now. However, for the last few centuries, six hundred and thirty-nine years to be exact, there has been no sign of the aliens. Which was around the time the machines started disconnecting and establishing their own communities.

Maybe they're dead. Makes sense, right? Though, she kept that suspicion to herself.

Lilia had a nagging hunch that the twins weren't disclosing some important bits she needed to know but kept those reservations to herself for the time being.

I don't need an in-depth history lesson for the—like what, nearly ten thousand years? But, Jesus really? We've been on the moon for almost six thousand years to take back Earth? Surely, we would've created intergalactic space ships by then or better weapons for all that time. Or hell, the three millennia since my time up until the aliens' invasion. Something seems fishy about it all.

The evidence she was here thousands of years into the future was hard to process. In the end, she came to terms with it. Perhaps there was a way to travel back? She didn't want to get her hopes up though in case there is no way back. If she stayed with her allies here, she'd be able to survive. If she didn't go back to her time, maybe she could go to the moon and see the other humans. If that was possible.

"For now," Devola stated, "you are most important. It's vital we keep you safe. Stay in camp. Everyone here believes you're an android, and we'd like for it to stay that way. The last thing we need is the enemy machines knowing a human is walking around."

"But 2B and 9S know, right?"

"Yes, along with their Commander at YoRHa. She expressed and made a point to keep this top secret until she speaks with the Council of Humanity on the moon. Not even the camp leader, Anemone knows."

She sighed ruefully, "Fine. But, won't they know something's up if they see me eating, bathing or going outside to take a piss?"

The twins looked at each other in consideration, "We... didn't factor that in."

Lilia scratched her head near the area of her wound and snickered, "We humans can be high maintenance sometimes. I know it's been, well, ages since you've come across one. So, if you see me doin' somethin', it might be one of those base needs. And I'll try to be discreet around camp and keep away from enemy machines. Deal?"

"... Deal."

"It might also help, if I was treated like another android in camp," she suggested to the twins. "Since the Commander lady wants me to be kept secret. And um, once I get somethin' to eat I need to bathe cos, well, I prolly stink, and I need clothes. I can't go around camp naked."

"I'll go speak to the storage warden, he may know." Popola offered as she raised from her seat and went to go do so.

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two. Lilia swallowed a lump in her throat.

"So... how long have you two been in service?"

The android looked at her with cool green eyes, "Seven thousand seven hundred and forty-seven years."

"That's... a long time." A fuck ton of a long time. "I guess you guys were built to last. It's kinda amazing, ya know?"

"Yes. Amazing." She replied flatly. "We are one of the oldest models still in existence. And were directly created by you… humans."

Lilia smiled, "That's cool. Ya know, in my time we were just beginnin' to develop advanced robotic and animatronics. It's kinda neat to see we got the walkin' mechanisms down. The ones I remember readin' about were the size of fridges." She chuckled softly, "The ones who had personalities, believe it or not, were the sex dolls."

Devola gave her a perplexed look, "Why is that funny?"

"Oh, um, never mind." Feeling an all-to-familiar heat to her cheeks. Guess they wouldn't understand the humor to that joke.

The awkward silence returned to the duo. Lilia twiddled her thumbs and hummed as she waited for Popola to return. The minutes longer than it would have otherwise taken.

"Do you still have my old set of clothes?" Breaking the silence between them.

"Why do you need them? They are torn beyond use." Devola asked with perplexity.

Lamely retorting, "I still need my bra and underwear."

Pink brows frowned but produced her old clothes for her to inspect, Lilia quickly finding the articles of clothing she needed. Her work clothes were useless by their torn, disheveled state Lilia had little choice but to toss them listlessly at the side of the bed.

Soon the door opened to reveal the twin with an array of clothing and shoes.

"I hope these fit."

Lilia smiled, "Well, let's see. Could you help me?"

They helped her stand up from the side of bed. She blushed at her nakedness, but quickly put on her undergarments and the resistance fighter clothes, which comprised the standard issue pants, top and boots. They stretched around her butt area, but it was to be expected since she was blessed with a large rear. The oversized top was a white tee and had stains of use from a previous owner. The pants were a beige color with green and blue designs on the sides and scuffed stains on the knees. The boots themselves were a darker brown with various scruff marks, which came up to her knees and required to be laced up. She thanked her two nurses. Feeling a pressure on her bladder as she did so.

"Now, if you two don't mind. I'm going to, um, go look outside."

"We'll come with you."

Cringing in horror, she quickly stammered, "No! Um, no, that's not required. Remember what I said about some things only a human might need to do? Well, I need to... take care of somethin'... in private. Just guide me to the camp entrance and I'll be fine. Promise."

The twins gave her a curious expression but didn't ask what she was talking about.

Her legs were unsteady from a sore spot on her right ankle, but Devola was there to offer support so she could find her balance. Popola opened the door for her and the sun shone brightly down on the camp as the rays permeated into the room. It stung her eyes, but they soon adjusted. The camp was filled with fighters in similar garb as she. If she didn't know better, they'd probably would have been mistaken for humans. They were dirty and had straggly clothes—much like the ones she currently wore as they worked on their tasks. The camp itself was nestled between buildings in what would have been a prime area for a gazebo or terrace. Large tent cloths dangled from the buildings themselves, providing shade and cover to the occupants.

A pressure continued within her bladder, distracting her from the surveillance of the encampment.

"This way." Said Devola pointing to her left.

Leading her through the crumbled entrance was underneath a building to the outside. The area looked somewhat familiar with the soft flowing brook. In the distance, she could see a broken overpass. Perhaps the same one she had seen before? A machine or two would walk around lethargically at the brook's base. The source of the brook was apparent by the fall of water to her right.

Speaking of falling water.

"You two wait here. I won't go far. If I need help, I'll holler for you." She told them.

She felt the eyes of the twins on her back as she formed a brisk pace to a group of thick bushes on the opposite side of the camp entrance between two abandoned buildings, which was partly concealed by a rusted car. Looking around to make certain none of those moose was nearby, and once she assumed she would have moderate privacy, she unhooked her breeches, and did her business. It was mildly ludicrous to her taking a piss while listening to the birds in the distance and the breeze on her face cheeks. And cheeks of a different sort.

I guess people back in the stone ages had to make due with similar situations. Wouldn't surprise me if someone had fallen prey to a saber-toothed cat while taking a dump.

Wishing she hadn't thought of that, she peeked around with paranoia. What a great way to meet her demise. Gone through a time traveling rift; come face-to-face with a destructive bus-sized machine; nearly died from a cliff fall; only to be a snack to a ravenous predator while peeing on a fucking bush.

Really hating the phrase "gotcha with yer pants down!"

Once her bladder was relieved with minimal difficulty, she wiped her cunt off with one of the smooth bush leaves. Then pulled up her pants.

Well, when you don't have toilet paper you make due.

On her way back to the twins, she spotted 2B and 9S. Having returned from the retrieval mission. Smiling she would have her purse back.

I'm gonna get me something to eat, fix my hair and take a bath. All three notions putting her spirits in rights. But, she didn't see her purse with them. Did they? Oh, no don't tell me!

"Hi, guys. Um, is everything alright?" She asked with apprehension.

"We were unable to locate your... purse. We went to the room Pascal had given you, but it was missing."

"What? I could have sworn I left it there." Dismayed at the notion she would have nothing to eat, no hairbrush, and all her tech from her time was lost. That tech was more important though. Her iPad had all her photographs and videos of her family and friends on. She wanted to show it to them, someday. Knowing they would all be curious. Her stomach rolled hard and twisted. The two silver-haired androids looked at her with concern.

"What... was that noise?" Asked 9S apprehensively.

A hot blush formed across Lilia's cheeks as she explained to the teen-looking android, "My stomach. It makes that noise when it's empty and needs food."

"And a lack of food for you is... bad?"

"Yes, unless you want me to starve to death in a matter of days."

"Oh."

Her stomach rolled again.

She spotted fish in the brook. Smiling at an idea.

"Do any of you know how to fish?"

"Fish?"

"Yeah, you see those animals?" She pointed to the swimming vertebrate, "If I catch one, I can cook and eat it."

"This pod is outfitted with a catching apparatus." The gadget next to 9S said in its female drone voice, "Proposal: Use Pod One-Five-Three to catch a fish."

"So, you can catch one of the fish?" She asked the gadget.

"Affirmative. Permission from 9S is requested."

"Yeah, go ahead." He said while shrugging.

The floating gadget, having permission, launched itself into the water. Floating along the surface like a lily pad. Counting the long minutes until it propelled itself out of the water with a fish in its pincer-like hands. Wiggling violently from being captured from its watery home.

The fish wasn't excessively big. Maybe about as long as her forearm from snout to tail. With the protrusions on its rounded snout and the absence of scales, it was defiantly a species of catfish. A common fish caught and consumed where she was from. It was a yellow-brown color with saturated green with a white-ish belly and a dark brown, square-shaped tail.

"Ameiurus brunneus." Said the floating gadget, "Commonly referred to as a snail bullhead catfish."

"Well, that answers my suspicion. Does anyone know now to kill and gut one?" Lilia asked.

Four sets of eyes looked at her expectantly.

Groaning loudly. "Well ain't this gonna be a learnin' experience!" Waving her arms in dismay. "So, who's gotta sharp knife?"

In 2B's arsenal of weapons, she materialized a dagger was about as long as her forearm and hand, the handle being a simple block of smoothed and polished wood. An uneasy nervousness trembled in her hands. Finding smooth piece of fallen concrete, she took the catfish from the floating pod's grasping pincers, its body smooth, cool and slippery. Its ribs contracted—the sudden realization she would kill it. Swallowing the lump in her throat as she set it on the concrete slab belly side down.

Was she even going to do this right?

Just… cut the head and gut it. She recited to herself in her head.

Placing the sharp knife down where she wanted to take her first slice on top of its spine, she had a moment of hesitation. Eating catfish that was frozen at the supermarket was a way different experience than doing the deed yourself. She wasn't ignorant in the process of life and death and where meat came from. However, having it in her face gave her an odd sense of being. That this little catfish was just minding its own business on the muddy bottom of the brook, and now its life will be snuffed out, so she could continue living. Hadn't she thought of the same thing moments ago? That a predator who wanted to continue living to snuff out her own life?

"What's wrong?" Those two words from 9S startled her from her reverie.

Suddenly realizing that the four androids were watching her with a great amount of interest.

Swallowing the cold knot in her throat again, "Nothin'." She replied.

Taking a deep breath before she pressed and sliced the blade across the catfish's spine. The cut too hard for her slice, she turned it on its side. Keeping the slicing motion as she did so. Using her other hand, she pressed down on the blunt side of the knife, hearing the crunch of the spine, and holding it firmly until the blade came all the way through. Blood had gotten on her hands and leaked onto the rock, giving the tacked surface a shine. Its flat head completely detached from the rest of the body, morbid curiosity caused her to look down where she had made the cut. Seeing the guts and smelling the tang of blood made her feel slightly nauseous.

No turning back now.

Turning the body to the side, she made a shallow cut across its belly, going back over the incision over not going deep enough. Being extremely cautious to not pierce the guts, the last thing she wanted was to have fish poo on her hands. Placing the blade down, she opened the incision up with her fingers. Looking at the purple-gray, flesh-colored organs covered in veins and blood.

Swallowing, she put her right hand inside and scooped out the warm organs. Careful to not break or tear the organs themselves. Tossing them where the decapitated head was satisfied that her first gutting of a catfish was, hopefully, marginally successful. Even when she had the feeling she didn't do it correctly, at least the deed was done. Taking the body to the brook to clean and rinse her hands, the eyes of her four compatriots continually watching her.

It's not like they would understand.

Holding the fish's mangled corpse, she asked them, "Anyone know how to build a fire?"

Lilia eventually got her catfish cooked. Having to build and experiment several times before she got a small fire going on a slab of asphalt; the last thing she wanted was to set the ruined city on fire trying to build one. It took using the assistance of one of the floating gadgets, or "Pods" to get the spark going for it, after failing miserably at striking two rocks together. Using a tazer like apparatus it ignited the dry grass and leaves as an ignition.

By the time she stuck her gutted catfish on the small fire, she was in a rotten mood. Her stomach hated her from being empty and she was hot and sweaty; her body—not being at one hundred percent—ached all over, the worst being her throbbing right ankle, and she suffered from a horrendous headache. All she wanted to do was eat, take a bath, and sleep.


END STORY NOTES:

I wanna give thanks to everyone following and faving the story! For anyone who's concerned I've completed the story well ahead of time (since I have a nasty habit with multi-chapter fics of not finishing them). And I'll wait for by awesome beta reader to do her magic on them and every couple weeks a new chapter will be updated.

If you want more Adam and Lilia interaction it'll begin on the next chapter.

Here's some art I made for the story:

Lilia's portrait: botticella89 dot deviantart dot com /art/Lilia-738121303

Adam and Lilia: botticella89 dot deviantart dot com /art/Conquering-736147145