Chapter 11: A Decent Meal

Sarah sat in their stolen car outside of a gun shop, waiting for Kyle to return. She nervously glanced around every few seconds to see if anyone was following them. She slowly rocked herself back and forth, trying to convince herself that everything was going to be alright. After everything that had happened the past two days, it was hard to believe. She had almost lost all sense of time and only recognized time once they were preparing for another attack.

Sarah's blue eyes flicked up as the door opened and Kyle came jogging out with a brown duffel bag. He quickly jumped into the passenger's seat.

"Let's get out of here."

"What did you do?"

"I got what we needed."

Sarah didn't argue with Kyle and pulled out of the shop, noticing that he was uncomfortable about what had happened in there. She glanced at the bag and spoke slowly.

"Did you get it all?"

"Most of it."

Sarah noticed that his right hand was near his pistol as if he were waiting for something to attack them by surprise. She licked her lips nervously before she spoke again.

"Did you have to threaten him?"

"Yes."

Sarah let out a silent sigh and decided not to continue with the conversation. Kyle opened the bag slowly, rummaging through the contents.

"I made it sound like I wanted to buy the guns but when the time came; he realized that I didn't have the money to pay for it. So I had to rob him."

"Do you know what guns they are?"

Kyle nodded as he moved them around to show Sarah a glimpse of them.

"A Smith & Wesson Model 15 handgun, a Ruger Security Six pistol, and an Ithaca 37 shotgun with ammo for all of them. It's a good start though. And some of his money."

"Good, because we will need to get gas soon."

"Okay, we're also going to need some medical supplies and some food just in case."

Sarah nodded slowly, her stomach growling at the mention of food.

"It's been a while since I've eaten. Aren't you hungry?"

Kyle zipped up the bag and turned to Sarah, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm used to not having anything to eat. You get what you get and try to work through it."

Sarah shook her head slowly as she tried to imagine what that would feel like. She couldn't imagine not having enough food for the day. Sarah noticed a small grocery store off the side of the road and pulled into the lot, glancing at Kyle expectantly. He grabbed a wad of cash and turned to her.

"I'm going to grab everything we need here. You take the rest of the money and the guns and get gas. I'll wait here for you, okay?"

Sarah nodded.

"I'll put the bag in the trunk."

"Good idea."

"Okay."

Kyle closed his door and walked quickly into the store while Sarah stepped out and shoved the duffel bag in the trunk of the car. She didn't want to have to explain what it was if someone asked. Sarah then drove a little way down the road to the nearest gas station and walked inside the store to pay before she got the gas. They had done enough stealing for the day and she had felt uncomfortable the whole time. They were practically fugitives by now. She smiled at the cashier and handed her the money and then walked out and began to pump the gas.

She heard a truck rumble behind her and she glanced over her shoulder, afraid it was the machine. She was relieved to find that it was a small family. Two boys jumped out of the car with their mother and giddily ran into the store, dragging their mother with them as they begged for some kind of candy. Sarah smiled as they stepped inside the store and watched the father wait until his wife had paid for the gas that he began to pump it.

Sarah's wind wandered as she tried to think of having a young family herself. She thought about she had never been patient with children and wondered if that would change if or when she would have her own. She felt the tank fill and withdrew the nozzle, stepping back into the car. She drew in a deep breath as she started the engine and drove back to the grocery store to wait for Kyle. She sat in the parking lot, placing a hand on her growling stomach and wondered why she hadn't thought to get something at the gas station.

Kyle walked out a few minutes later with four bags and he motioned for them to switch places. So while he took the groceries to the back, Sarah moved over to the passenger's seat. Kyle sat down at the driver's seat and drove away as Sarah reached in the back to see what he had gotten for them to eat. She pulled out an apple and grinned.

"Yes, apples!"

Kyle glanced at her with a smile.

"I remember you saying that you liked the red ones."

"Well, at least I know some things don't change in the future."

She bit into the apple and chewed it slowly, savoring every bite. She then grabbed another one and handed it to Kyle.

"Try it. Trust me, you'll like it."

Kyle hesitated but eventually bit into it slowly. Sarah leaned forward, eager to find his reaction and smiled when he did.

"I can see why you would miss them. They're so…"

"Juicy, sweet, and crisp."

"Yeah. They're really good. I can see why you would miss them."

Sarah drew in a slow breath as she leaned to the back to rummage for the other foods that he had grabbed.

"You don't have any of this in the future, do you?"

Kyle turned to look at her but looked away quickly once he realized most of her was in the back of the car.

"No. Finding a coyote or even a rat… meant a lot."

Sarah forced herself from gagging as she crawled back into her seat.

"Well, there is one food we absolutely have to try then… hamburgers and fries. That's my favorite meal."

"And where would we find these… hamburgers and fries?"

"We would have to go to restaurant. Keep driving and I'll look for a McDonald's."

"McDonald's?"

Sarah giggled softly as she tried to read the signs they were passing.

"Yeah, just trust me on this one. You'll probably taste more in that meal than anything else you've ever eaten."

"How often do you eat these hamburgers and fries?"

"Me? Too much."

"Really?"

Sarah nodded.

"For sure. My mom had to limit the amount of money she was giving me to help me through the first semester of college because I would get them too often."

Sarah noticed Kyle's eyebrows furrow and she realized that he probably didn't understand most of what she was saying. She noticed the logo and pointed.

"Go down that road. We'll stop for a little bit and get food and then we'll have to find a place to stay for the night."

—

Sarah and Kyle quickly unloaded everything from the car once they had secured a room for the night and set everything down on the kitchen counter. Sarah grabbed the McDonald's bags and motioned for Kyle to follow her to the small dinner table. She separated the food, placing it in front of him.

"I'm not sure what you'll think of it but it's worth a try."

She watched with a small smile as he unwrapped it slowly, looking over everything before he ate it. Sarah grabbed napkins from the bag and grabbed her fries, watching Kyle as she ate her food. He cautiously took a bite and she tried to stop herself from giggling as she watched his expression. At first he seemed slightly repulsed but his eyes widened slowly and nodded slowly.

"It's different but…"

"Really good?"

Kyle nodded again with a smile.

"Yes!"

Sarah watched as he devoured the food.

"I can't bear to think of most of the world starving. It's… sad."

"Well, the humans that work with Skynet are well fed but… they hardly seem like humans. They're traitors to their own kind."

"They just want to live."

Kyle glanced up at Sarah, his eyes colder than usual.

"Everyone does. The problem is that they think that because they work with Skynet… that they won't die. But sooner or later… Skynet will get rid of them all. It… it doesn't need humans."

Sarah shook her head slowly as she bit into her burger, savoring the flavor.

"If Skynet doesn't need humans… why is it so against us?"

"I wish I knew. I'm just a soldier who… does what he is told. We don't really… know why it wants to kill us all."

Sarah's mouth curved into a frown before she took another bite of her burger, watching Kyle wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"You're already finished? I should have gotten more."

"It's alright, Sarah. That's the most I've eaten at once in years."

He smiled at Sarah and she returned it.

"So… what do we do now?"

"After you finish that, you are going to go sleep while I keep watch."

"Okay, but only if you get me up in a few hours so you can sleep; you need it too. Right?"

"Right."

Sarah let out a small sigh as she sat back in her chair, looking over Kyle quickly.

"Did you like it?"

"The food? Yes."

"Good."

Sarah slowly rose to her feet, adjusting her filthy shirt.

"I'll see you in a few hours then?"

"Yes."

"Okay… good night."

"Good night, Sarah."

Kyle smiled as she turned her back to him, grabbing one of the pistols as she walked into the bedroom. Then he rose to his feet and started working.