The virus of sins

Part 11: How about some pancakes?

As the sun settled, the two were already out in search of a place to eat. Eni wondered if he had to drag Arlo along through all of this...he didn't want him to get hurt or worse because Eni would be to blame.

Arlo was a sweet kid. He didn't have many people near him so he couldn't make friends easily. All children thought that he was weird because he'd always tell them these crazy stories about the virus when his father allowed him to go out which wasn't very often. That's why Eni had to take care of him throughout the so called journey for them both to not get into any danger.

The two finally found a small diner two blocks away from the motel. They went inside and they found a woman there that seemed to be friendly.

"So.. you two want something to eat? It's rather early for you to be here.."

Eni had to think of a lie ASAP. He knew that if Arlo spoke it would be over and the lady would ask them for their parents whereabouts. He didn't want to go back to this hell..

"We um... were really hungry you see, my.. cousin and I have been trying to find a place to eat and we stumbled across this diner. Our parents let us both order something here and that's-"

The lady cut hin off with a sigh. 'Maybe it worked' Eni thought.

..."Very well. You can sit down and look at the menu. Call me if you are ready to order"

The two boys sat down and having nothing to lose they looked at the menu. That's when they realised how hungry they had gotten.

"Hmm...it has all kinds of food! Arlo, which one would you get"

"I'm.. not that hungry Eni, although you may order for yourself if you want to"

For.. himself? That's certainly wasn't fair but Eni saw that Arlo had already made up his mind. So he decided to order something light and he chose something according to his tastes

Pancakes.

The lady nodded and went to get his order ready as the boys were waiting in their table.

Arlo was looking kinda bored and Eni tried to strike up a conversation

"So...why didn't you want to order something?"

No answer from Arlo. Only a slight look and Eni realized that he wanted him to shut up. He had never seen Arlo be that serious before and he started doubting if Arlo really wanted to be friends with him although he seemed to like the thought at the beginning.

Suddenly the smell of syrup and pancakes filled the room as the woman brought the plate over to the table.

"You can share it since your cousin didn't seem to have ordered anything. Enjoy your food!"

And with that the two were alone in the diner so Eni decided to eat his pancakes and not pay much attention to Arlo since he seemed to be lost in thought.

When Eni finished eating they asked if they had to pay for the food which surprisingly the woman said no to.

Arlo wanted to speak. To tell her that he wanted to see his father again, to tell her that his 'cousin' forced him to escape his own home and to run into the city but nothing. Nothing was said and the two were now ready to go back to the motel. But Arlo had enough of it. He tried to tell Eni to get back and that people would ask why they were alone but Eni didn't want to hear it. They went back to the motel and the man decided to let them stay for one more night but afterwards they had to leave.

The two were sad but they understood the situation so they went to their room to relax. Arlo went straight to nap while Eni decided to go outside for a bit.

Hunger had already started taking over him and he didn't want to risk Arlo's life for it.

He went to a small corner in the back of the motel and sat down trying to calm down.. Then he heard the faint sound of thunder. Thankfully he was able to sit down under a small metal cover, most likely a power outlet under the roof.

It only was the middle of the day and it had already started to rain heavily. Eni didn't want to go inside still hungry and possibly become a threat. He knew that people that were infected weren't treated well from others because of the virus. He had no choice but to stay out in the rain searching for something to eat and possibly something that could work as a blanket. He was sure that Arlo would be worried as to where he went but after the fight some days ago he thought otherwise.

The rain had started to calm him down.. the faint sound of the droplets falling down and creating new puddles of water. He felt calm hearing these sounds and that's when he heard... something meowing. It was a small kitten looking for warmth and Eni felt bad for it. He tried to ignore his hunger and took the kitten in his embrace to help it find some warmth from his now clean purple sweater.

He started to feel tired and the purring of the kitten along with the sounds of the rain drove him to sleep instantly..