Dwindling Light

Into Austin - Ace

Into Austin

                Ace

Summer wanted to swing on

through Austin, deciding that

maybe we could find a quick

meal there. She figured it'd be

better than moving through

some more small towns. If

we were lucky, we could keep

in the city for a while without

being seen by too many

people, although I doubted that

the police were on the lookout

for us. We were far enough

that it felt secure enough.

We entered the city, stomachs

growing, ready to down some

food, pretty much anything we

could find. I knew we didn't

have hardly any money left, so

we'd have to eat cheap, maybe

even borrow a couple bucks off

of some people if necessary.

Jesus, I thought. This is way

harder than I would have expe-

cted it to be. "Summer, do you

see any places to eat nearby?"

                She scanned around as we

                drove, finally apparently

                spotting something promising.

                There's a McDonalds here, it

                looks like. We should be able

                to eat there, even if we have to

                eat off the dollar menu.

I nodded. "Sounds fine by me."

***

The food wasn't the best; it

was extremely greasy, but my

stomach welcomed the grease

as compared to the emptiness

that it had been holding onto

up to this point. I scarfed down

my food, and so did Summer.

We ate in silence for the most

part.

                After we finished the food and

                our drinks, Summer said, You

                know, we're going to need to

                find somewhere to stay until

                we can get back on the road.

                Her voice was low, fairly quiet.

                She definitely didn't want the

                people around us to hear that.

                Two homeless kids walking

                around? We'd surely be reported

                by someone.

I thought about it. "If we need

to," I replied, "we can always

sleep in the vehicle until a place

comes up. If we can find an

abandoned warehouse, that

would be great, though, you

know?"

                She nodded. Come on hun,

                let's go.

I followed her closely back

to the vehicle. We got in

and started driving around

again.

I just hoped we'd find

somewhere here that we

could stay for a little bit.