The sun was up and the sky was clear. Not a good day to pass the frontiers unnoticed. At least that was what the three women thought. The police weren't actively after them. Months had passed, other accidents happened. Regular inhabitants of the low cities would try to pass the frontiers and they had to be stopped. Crossing the city wouldn’t be hard for Enma and Aeri. And honestly speaking, since anyone can cross the border to the low cities, it wouldn’t be hard either to escape the wardened cities. Coming back from them was nearly impossible but that wasn’t part of their plan. Every existing building in the wardened cities could be considered as an AI entity. Meaning that Enma and Aeri would have to hide their faces to not be recognized. A hat and sunglasses wouldn't be weird since the day was so beautiful. With a poncho, the girls would be able to hide most of their body.

  It was time. Alayna left her house to meet the agent in a cafe near a passing point. He was already sitting at a table drinking a cup of tea when she arrived. They both greeted each other and sat down. They both looked at each other. It was an eye battle. Neither of them wanted to flinch. Thirty minutes after their mother left, Enma and Aeri, disguised, decided that enough time had passed. They went out. There’s never been a lot of people wandering in the neighborhood. The two girls were anxious and were walking too fast. They had to stop and regain their composure when they arrived at the town square. Enma kept repeating the same sentence while holding Aeri’s hand : ? breathe, act normally. ?. It took them around twenty more minutes before reaching the wall. Aeri pointed to the cafe where their mother was.

  Alayna received a notification. They were there. She stood up and told the agent the truth. He tried to calmly lead her to his car but she decided otherwise. Alayna was shouting at him. It was the signal for the girls to go. Enma and Aeri walked towards the tunnel, while Alayna was throwing a fit. The daughters took one last moment to see their mother getting arrested. After that, they decided to never look back. They finally crossed the border.

  The arrest of Alayna was the new talk of the town. Everyone believed that she would’ve been arrested for hiding her daughters. But the discovery of an entire laboratory was even more shocking. Hidden and illegal research. People started to believe that Enma and Aeri stole her car to escape from the grasp of this evil woman. The police interrogated Alayna again on the murder case while the government seized the entire lab and all of her research. Once all of that was done, she was transferred to a facility unknown from the common people. There she was interrogated again on her research this time. They gave her an entire lab and employees. They gave her test subjects. They promised her freedom if she accomplished on the future babies what she accomplished on her own daughters. Of course Alayna was having none of it. The scientist didn’t trust them. That is why she decided to stall as much time as she could until she would find a way to take the whole thing down.

  As for the girls, they were having troubles in the low cities. It was a more chaotic environment than what they were used to. Every corner looked unsettling. They needed a shelter. A place to sleep and hide. There were a lot of buildings in shambles, but most of them weren’t safe. Enma was looking around when she stumbled on a homeless person. She apologized.

  ? Excuse me sir. I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. ?

  ? It’s fine girls, newcomers never see us. ?

  ? We’re looking for our father. His name is Jeff, he has brown hair and brown eyes. ?

  The person scoffed

  ? You’re gonna find a lot of men with this single description, girl. ?

  ? Yes, you’re probably right. But do they all have daughters from the wardened cities ? ?

  ? More than you think. Most of the inhabitants from the low cities come from the wardened cities. No one was born here you know. ?

  ? I see… I apologize again. Goodbye sir. ?

  ? Goodbye girls. And try to stay safe, a lot of people will come for you. ?

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  Enma left without giving a second thought to what that person just said. Aeri, on the other hand, was confused and anxious.

  ? What do you think they meant by saying that ? ?

  ? Saying what ? ?

  ? That people were coming for us ? ?

  ? It’s the low cities, crazy people would do anything here. ?

  Aeri was about to oppose that statement when Enma cut her off.

  ? Look, no signature presence here. It looks empty and warm. It should be secure enough for both of us. We’re gonna stay here for the night and tomorrow we will look for our father. ?

  ? I’m hungry ? claimed Aeri.

  ? Yeah, but we ate earlier and we shouldn’t eat too much of our rations. ?

  They went inside. Found a room that looked somehow clean and fell asleep.

  Some hours had passed. The girls both woke up pretty shaken. Something was gonna happen. It was coming from them. They had this gut feeling that this place wasn’t safe anymore. Both of them scanned the area but saw no one. They stood up and searched around. Aeri was the first one to see it. Enma, witnessing her sister’s face changing, joined her in the corridor. Then she saw it too. Someone was standing there. But they couldn’t detect it with the AI. They were all static. The two young girls heard a whisper that turned into an echo in their heads.

  ? Isn’t it unfair ? ?

  The echoes were so strong. Both of them started screaming. Then two beings made of smoke appeared. They looked like bats, at least for us because the girls had never seen bats before. They were already extinct when they were born.

  ? Don’t worry ? said the whispers ? I’m gonna end it all for you. ?

  The unknown beings disappeared. Enma and Aeri were alone again. This accident had upsetted her. They decided to leave. It was raining outside. Both started running. They wanted to get away from everything. Some men stopped them.

  ? Well, well, well. Would you look at those girls with their fancy equipments. You having troubles ladies ? ? said the strongest of the men while the others were watching the scene and laughing.

  ? Could you leave us alone please ? ?

  ? You have heard the new guys. The great researcher, Ablayda Imiolne or whatever her name is, was arrested recently for illegal test. They said her daughters run away because she was testing on them. ?

  ? That’s right ! ? said one of the men, ? She had this big big lab under her house. And she was working on some kind of revolutionnary project. But she decided to keep it for herself. ?

  The group laughed even harder.

  ? And look at what we have here now ! Two girls with good looking material glued to their bodies. ?

  ? One of them is also wanted for murder. ?

  ? I’m sure the wardened cities will give us lot of meds and food for those two girls. ?

  Enma and Aeri never really participated in a fight before. They didn’t have any experience and didn’t have much strength. But it was either fighting or getting arrested. And they decided to never go back to the wardened cities. One of the men tried to grab Aeri. But she was faster than him. And her equipment allowed her to defend herself. With her robotic arm she grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him towards her so that he would lose balance of his body. And with her robotic leg she kicked him in the stomach. The man was down on the ground. Enma, impressed by her sister’s calmness towards this situation, was even more resolute to fight. She ran to another man and jumped at his throat with her robotic arm. The man behind her tried to protect his comrade but Aeri arrived faster. She kicked him in the leg and hit him in the back of his head. They were all down.

  ? Good job, little sister. ?

  ? You’re welcome. ?

  And they kept running in the rain until it stopped.