Chapter Five – Rescue And Restore
24th April 9:10 PM
Ren was alone when she woke up; the driver’s seat was empty and the pickup was parked in front of a small building. The smell of grease filled her nostrils, wafting through the open window. She instantly began searching for Matthew, the driver while staying as still as she could; spotting him after a few seconds on the other side of the parking lot holding two Styrofoam containers. He smiled widely, jogging back across the car-park and attempted to open the door without using his hands. She watched him with a blank look on his face before reaching over and opening the door from the inside.
His smile widened as he handed her one of the containers, opening his own. She did the same, staring at the humans excuse for a meal inside. The grease from the steak had sunk down into the bread bun, through the layer of what resembled egg and lettuce.
“What’s the matter?” he asked cheerily, “Never had a steak burger before?”
She shook her head distastefully; as he tore a chunk out of his own “No actually, I haven’t. You people eat this?”
He nodded, chewing a little slower so that he could continue talking. “It’s much better than it looks, try it out.”
She frowned at the burger one more time before taking a large chunk out of it, grinding the meat firmly between her teeth. Sauce dribbled down her chin, it actually wasn't that bad; true it wasn't the food she was used to but it was a suitable replacement if only in taste alone. The corner of her mouth tweaked up as she ripped into it again, finishing it off in five large bites. Matthew stared at her, impressed as she swallowed the last mouthful.
“Damn” he laughed after swallowing himself, “You can eat! How long has it been since you've had a meal?”
She thought back, wiping her chin with the napkin “Three days or so.” Impatiently she waited for him to finish his burger, licking her lips to get rid of the aftertaste. “Thank you.”
“No problem” he replied, turning the key in the ignition as the vehicle rumbled back to life.
It sickened her to think of how many times she would have to thank this human before they parted ways. Killing him would save her pride, though she doubted it would be worth the walk in her condition.
“We’re maybe a day’s drive from Baltimore, so we’ll have to check into a motel. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes, but I’ll sleep in the car.”
“Like hell you will” he shook his head, pulling onto the road, “You can sleep in a warm bed for the first time in god-knows how long. This isn’t up for debate.”
“No” Ren said harshly, “It isn’t. We are not friends, you do not know me. You are simply my ride from A to B. If you don’t like that you can pull over right now and let me out.”
He recoiled, obviously a little hurt “And leave you in the middle of nowhere? Have it your way, you can sleep in the car.”
She stared silently ahead, the sooner she got to Baltimore the better.
‘Found something!’ I thought to Serena, walking across the beach to the bushes. The object lay half buried in the sand, though the dull gleam of the black metal caught my eye. I picked the scythe up with one hand, suddenly getting a lot more worried about Belisarius.
‘He’ll be ok’ Serena thought back, laying a hand on my shoulder. ‘Come on, there’s still some Silverlight soldiers hanging around up the beach.’
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