Saya was awoken from the rays of sunlight that filtered in through the variety of holes in the ceiling of the abandoned building she slept in for the night. It had once been a store of some kind that used to hold some form of greater purpose than being left to simply being a refuge from wanderers of the dying land. It had long been ransacked liked all of the other buildings she had encountered along the way, and she’d come a long way from Japan. It had been exactly four months since she’d left the familiar company of Hitoshi when their beliefs clashed to a point of no return, and now Saya had no one else for company except herself. 

The armour she wore was the very same that Hitoshi had made for her, and as far as she knew, there of were only two of the like that existed. It was the only keepsake she had left of him apart from the memories now only the two of them shared once upon a time. Gathering her belongings, Saya took a gulp of water from her filtered bottle before she wore back the helmet that did more than simply hide her visage. 

It also contained an decent enough air filtration system to filter out the air that was filled with the ever-present stench of rust, copper and sand in the air. It had been so long since she'd the luxury of smelling clean fresh air. It also allowed her to see at her, a highly valuable ability when she needed to move around in the darkness of night for whatever reason. The world was dying, and everyone with half a functioning brain could see that. The night was colder these days, but nothing much about the climate really surprised anymore. Not the cold nights, or scorching hot days.

She stuffed her katana back into its respective positions on her belt as she got ready to leave. The sword remained as part of her most prized possessions from her best friend and mentor back when she was still serving in the police force back in Osaka. Putting on her coat and raising the hood, Saya slung on her rifle as she got ready to make her trip back into the outside. 

One thing that still amazed her was that there were still remnants of forests still remaining on the dying world. She would have thought that they too would have been gone like the rest of the things of the past. It just goes to show that nature sure is a resistant fighter to change. Emerging out of the forests, she came upon the first sign of where she once was, Alberta, Canada. North America was a long enough place away from Japan, and the young woman took a few brief moments to reminisce on her journey until now.

Just after she past the abandoned motor charging station, Saya heard the sounds of a fight, yells and gunfire and she quickened her steps as glanced around for the source of scuffle. She positioned close enough to take action should she want to, but far enough that she wouldn’t be spotted if she wished to remain hidden. Clutching her rifle in her hands, she watched as the lone man was cornered on the floor by the others. 

She didn’t know why, but her instincts told her to save the loner. She was about to take action before a deafening explosion interrupted whatever anyone of them was planning to do. A flurry of actions later, the three men raced back to their vehicle and took off, leaving the loner all of his own on the ground. Cautiously approaching the man, Saya spoke. [b]“Are you alright?”[/b] She then pointed to the thick plumes of black smoke in the distance. [b]“Good news or bad news? Where are you headed?”
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