Author's Note: Forgive me for not updating in a couple of weeks, but gaining a boy in your life starts to really tie up any free time ;) However, this chapter has been done for quite some time and I'm ashamed that I haven't posted it until now. 6 is half way done, so hopefully I'll get that to you wonderful people soon. Thanks for the reviews, by the way!

Chapter 5: Survival 101

Night fell slowly and every minute that passed I could feel the pain in my stomach become sharper. I was hungry; so very hungry. I vowed that if I had the chance to follow through I'd never skip a meal ever again. Not having breakfast was bad enough, but lacking any sort of food for the entire day was worse. A small urge sat behind me, telling me several times to get up and ask Cell if he could possibly do something about me starving to death.

My answer to that was, well, two things: one—I doubted he'd care; two—I didn't have the nerve to do so after what I saw him perform that day. I knew it was a terrible way to go, but it would eventually put me out of my misery. I looked at my watch; it was nearly seven o'clock. I had been up for over twelve hours now; I hadn't eaten in over twenty-four. I wondered how the body was able to survive near a week or more without food. I knew the lack of water would only go a day or more…but food? How did people survive? I was ready to give up right then and there!

My stomach made a terrible rumble and I feared Cell would burst out laughing. He didn't, which made me feel a little bit better. Actually, I think he really was asleep this time—his head was bowed down so much I was waiting for it to roll off his shoulders.

I sighed and looked around. And then…I realized something. The snacks in the van! We always had stuff in there in case we were on a long assignment and couldn't get away to go to a restaurant.

My heart sang and my stomach grew anxious. I let go of my legs and let them bend in order to raise myself to a standing position. However, I also realized that the last time I went for the van Cell not only stopped me, but kicked it aside. If he did that again my hope of any sort of food was gone.

There was only one thing to do; I needed to get his permission.

I stood up and brushed myself off. I was so hungry that I didn't care if there was a chance he'd slap me aside and kill me. I just wanted to try to get food. I stood up straight and cracked my knuckles before gathering the energy to walk defiantly over to where the tall android stood in his blissful silence.

When I was about my own body's length away next to him, I stopped and looked towards his peaceful face. I tried to figure out the best words in order to ask my question and get the right answer…

But he messed up my attempts. "What do you want?" He asked; his tone was hard to figure out.

"I was just wondering…" I paused. C'mon Layrial! Get it out! "Would you permit me to go to that van you kicked away so I can get some food?"

Cell's eyes opened and his head turned, his neck bending so he could look down at me. "If you wish it; far be it from me to keep you from doing so."

My eyes became wide instantly. That's it? He was just letting me journey out on my own without a second thought? No questions asked? I turned and looked in the direction of the van. It was really far away, now that I thought of it.

I looked back at the android and he was back in his meditation state. I wanted to kick his shines so badly right now it hurt me not to. But instead, I turned and started making my way towards my saving grace. About half-way there, though, I realized why he had allowed me to go without thinking it over first. The van was capsized and he knew damn well there was no chance of me getting it upright again. Damn that android! He was such a bastard!

He was a smart bastard though. He knew the situation and didn't have to think about anything, for the most part. He was aware of what he could do and he knew how negotiate to a point where he got his way no matter what. At least, this is what I figured from the six hours I had spent with him thus far.

Ten minutes into my walking my legs started to get angry on how I was treating them. My ankle was still twisted, even though I had tried to keep it as straight as possible all day. Food was more important though. A progressing limp was the last night I was concerned with at that point. The van was almost at a decent range now, too; there was no turning back.

I started to wonder how far I'd get if I tried jogging instead of the slow paced walk. Maybe even speed-walking would be alright to handle. So I tried it and quickly discovered it was yet another mistake I made that day. I was getting tired of screwing things up. When would it get better?

I reached the van nearly twenty minutes later. I might've made it much sooner if I wasn't practically killing myself to get there with the limp and all. Every step now was nothing less than pure agony. But I made it…now I could finally eat.

I wasted no time yanking the now bottom door open of the back of the van and crawling inside. I knew there was a flashlight somewhere around there, but since the roll over most of the equipment and such had fallen out of place and lay mixed up on the van's side. After relentless searching I found it and switched it on. It was like a tornado struck just this vehicle alone. With the little bit of light, I looked around for the small yellow cooler. After moving several tapes and a shattered light, and the spare camera I found it; it was actually red. Whatever.

When I opened the cover I was mildly disappointed. I didn't like the selection as much as I had hoped, but it would do. Even if some of it was stale, I didn't care. It was food and that's all that mattered, wasn't it? I reached into an overhead compartment where there was a net still spread across a shelf that held emergency supplies—including a fire blanket I knew would be useful. I spread it out and put what I figured I'd need, which would be all of the food (rolls, little cream-filled cakes, a bag of chips, cookies, and three rice cakes), the six-pack of bottled water, the entire first-aid kit, batteries for the flashlight, and my purse, which had given me a struggle since I had left it in the front seat.

As soon as I was out of the van I sat down and spread open the blanket far enough to grab what I could in the means of food. I was so hungry I didn't even think of rationing anything. I ate three of the five rolls, the bag of chips, some of the cookies and a rice cake. The combination would probably torture me within the hour, maybe a little longer if I was lucky, and that struck another point—what would I do for bodily necessities? I'll be damned if I ask the android to point me in the direction of a bush.

Before I took off back to the site of the fighting tournament I checked how badly my face was messed up from running makeup. I was surprised when I saw that my mascara only ran a little bit and I pretty much rubbed off the eye shadow. My lipstick I had ended up wiping on my sleeve, which is very un-lady-like and it disgusted me to do so, but lipstick and desert dust didn't make for a good mixture. I did what I could with my handkerchief a bit of the water from the bottled.

Then I pulled up the corners of the blanket and threw it over my shoulder once I was set to go. Unfortunately I had a feeling my back would be killing me after carting all this stuff the way I was, especially with the favoring of my ankle. To think what it would've been like if I wore the high-heals I was going to originally wear. The flashlight would be my means of feeling semi-safe during the night when it was pitch black out. I hated the dark and not knowing what was around me scared me almost as much as the android did.

About halfway back, I had to stop. My arms were hurting, not to mention my back and my whole left side, which was taking the brunt of my weight for the time being. I pointed the flashlight ahead and it barely showed how much farther I had until I reached the pearly-white arena. I wanted to scream out to Cell to tell him to come get me, but I thought twice about it. He'd probably laugh anyway.

I don't know how long I waited, or how much longer it took me to finally make it back. I didn't care. I didn't even bother glancing at my watch. But when I got back, I found something; rather, I didn't find something. Cell was gone.

I looked around with my flashlight and he was nowhere on the ring. I turned around sharply, thinking perhaps he was going to sneak up on me to scare the crap out of me, but he wasn't there. The only means of hope I had to survive the night was actually him because I figured maybe he'd save me from whatever beast would try and attack.

I was scared. No; I was terrified, more-so than I had been all day. I was all alone in the middle of the desert with very little food, one blanket and no one to protect me. How could he do this? Doesn't this count as cruelness towards the human and a violation to that agreement you made, Cell! WHERE ARE YOU?

I dumped out what I had curled up in the blanket and threw the fabric around my shoulders. It wasn't exactly a piece of fleece, but it would have to do. I curled up again and remained still and quiet. I was doomed the minute something set its eyes on me and thought I was a full course meal.

Maybe Cell went looking for me because I was taking so long, I wondered. Yes, that had to be it. He was looking for me and he'd be back as soon as he realized I had returned. It shouldn't be much longer. I'd sit here quietly until he returned.

I backed up against the pillar in my little corner, thinking that it could be my protection from any rear attacks. A chill ran down my spine, whether from fear or the cold I do not know. I knew the desert could get pretty chilly at night and then get warmer during the hours of sunlight, but I never had an interest in camping out here to find out for myself. Why couldn't Cell get back here so I could go to sleep and forget about how much my life sucks for at least a couple of hours?

After a while, though, my eyes started to get heavy and I was having a terrible time staying awake. It actually hurt to stay awake. I couldn't fall asleep now, though. If I did, I was dead for sure. At least I could run from an animal, maybe kick it if I was lucky enough to land one without having my foot bitten off. But it would be so much easier if Cell would just come back now….Please?

I started to think of odd sort of things. Like, why did I ever dump Kenji back in college? I could be married to him right now, in a warm house with a loving husband and no worries in the world. Oh yeah, that's right; I got mad at him because he went and did a semester abroad. Damn it.

Then there was the mild thought if Sazuke would notice his news team hadn't returned. Would he send out a search crew? Would they be able to stop Cell if they brought enough live ammunition? I was beginning to doubt anything could stop Cell, though. Or maybe that guy Goku will sneak up and rescue me when Cell's not looking. Or…maybe Cell would get bored with a human taking up space and just let me go? Yeah, as if; even if he did, how the hell would I get back to the city? Or even a town…village…hermit hut that just happened to appear somewhere nearby?

Eventually I started to slouch down against the pillar and I became vaguely aware of what was going on around me—nothing. There were a few crickets somewhere near my head; the sky was clear and full of stars. And I was still very much alone.