Chapter 18 - Rations
I awaken suddenly, my peaceful dream suddenly coming to an end. That was… nice. I haven’t had such a vivid dream like that in so long, nor have I slept in an actual bed for ages. I can still remember it clearly… Calista’s warm, playful smile, the reddish hue of the setting sun, and the gentle wind swaying my hair and wisping away into the distance.
I sit in the bed, still recollecting my thoughts and thinking about Her. If only I could’ve seen her one last time- “Riiiiiiise and shine! How’d you sleep?” Ell1s’ hologram suddenly materializes in the room, strangely cheerful. I jolt in surprise, his sudden appearance snapping me out of my train of thought. “AH- First of all, don’t scare me like that again. Second of all, I slept fine. It doesn’t concern you.” I give him an unimpressed look and fiddle with the bandages on my chest that have loosened slightly since my restful sleep, trying to tighten them again. The pain has dulled since yesterday, but the sharp, stabbing pain still causes me to wince every time I rub against it.
“Oh, come on! It does concern me, I just want to make sure you’re feeling alright…” He pauses and awkwardly looks away for a moment, collecting his thoughts before looking at me again with the same crazed smile. “Oh, right! You must be hungry! My extensive data shows me that humans typically eat a meal right after waking up, known as ‘breakfast’. I’m sure the rations down in the food storage area have some ‘breakfast’ related foods! …Or, something close to it.” I stare at him unimpressed for a minute before I hesitantly respond and cautiously get out of the bed, moving slowly as to not worsen the aching wound on my chest.
“Fine.” Delighted by my answer, he pats me on the shoulder (despite his hand phasing through), and moves along again. “Good answer! After you have something to eat we can talk about your stay. I wouldn’t want you to starve…” He nervously looks away and guides me back to the food storage room, and I begin to rummage through “breakfast” related boxes. None of the foods are labelled, so I’m completely clueless as to what I’m eating.
I unravel the plastic encasing of what seems to be a protein bar. As I cautiously take a bite, I nearly spit it out. This tastes like… cardboard? It’s strangely hard to chew as well, but it’s still something to eat I guess…
“Hey. Um. Do you have, like, other foods?” I give him an unimpressed look, and he realizes I don’t seem to be very pleased. “Well, I don’t think we have much variation in the rations available, but I CAN guarantee that what you’re eating is safe and 90% nutritious! But, uh, admittedly, I don’t know too much about human foods…” He shies away and goes back to watching me from afar.
In other boxes, I find similar foods, mostly those meant to last long without expiring or becoming unsafe to eat. I guess I shouldn’t have expected much, knowing the state of the world we’re in, a cold and unforgiving wasteland. With a sigh, I grab a few cardboard flavored protein bars and stand back up, a feeling of regret still lingering in my mind. Ell1s notices I’ve gotten what I’ve needed, and floats back over to a nearby table.
“Oh! Glad to see you’ve gotten what you needed. Now we can finally talk.”