This made him smile as he realized his idea wasn't completely impossible. Though it would be difficult, I knew I could make it happen. We could find an abandoned house somewhere far away or hide out in a cave or maybe even become part of society. Okay, that last one was really far fetched, but the idea of being a regular kid seemed really nice.
"So now the question is, what are we going to do right now?" Ash asked. I let out a sigh that swished my bangs up off my forehead.
"I guess right now we should try and find some way to get food," I offered.
"Yes! I'm starving," Cedar told me. I smiled slightly and pulled him to his feet.
"Alright. Come on then," I said. We walked around town, throwing out ideas on how to get money. They ranged from finding a job, which was impossible since we wouldn't be staying long, to selling something, though we had nothing, to stealing from somebody, which I wouldn't allow. We may have been poor, homeless kids, but we still had standards.
So, in the end, we decided to keep walking and collect all the money we stumbled upon. We found plenty of pennies, a few quarters, and even managed to scrounge a dollar bill from under a soda machine. One lady, who watched as Apple excitedly exclaimed she'd found another nickel, walked over and handed her a five dollar bill. I was a bit wary, after all it could have been a bomb or something in disguise, but finally decided she must have just felt bad for the little girl in old, tattered clothing. She must have really thought we were homeless. By the end of the day, though, we had about eight dollars.
"What can we get with this?" Flint asked me as I counted through the change again. I smiled down at him.
"Let's go find out," I said, heading towards one of the fast food restaurants we'd passed.
Inside was insanely crowded and I instinctively grabbed onto Cedar and Apple's hands. Flint and Willow stuck close to Ash as we slowly pushed our way forward.
I'll be the first to admit, I hate crowded places. They make me feel stuck and I do not like being stuck. If I can't get away, that usually means something bad is going to happen. But at the same time, the smell of food was so luring, I made myself keep going.
It seemed the mob of people was a result to some sort of sale going on. I read one of the numerous signs, to the best of my ability, and came to the conclusion it was a 'Get 3 Burgers for One Dollar!' day. I guess this was their way of getting the word out about their new franchise, but it seemed stupid to me. How were they making any money?
Still, I wasn't one to question a good thing. I shoved my way to the front of the line and ordered fifteen burgers and along with fries and a few drinks. When I finally found the rest of my flock, they were sitting at an empty table, waiting anxiously. I sat down and we attacked the food.
Never before have we had enough to eat. Sure it was difficult coming up with money, but being able to get food whenever I wanted, and however much I wanted, was absolute heaven.
We ate until all of us were full. The restaurant had calmed down a bit, but there were still a few people milling around.
"That was great," Cedar smiled at me. "I love food."
"Me, too," Flint agreed, leaning back with his hands over his full stomach.
"I just want to sleep now," Willow sighed, leaning against me, her eyes drooping lightly. I gave her shoulders a squeeze before sliding out of the booth to dispose of our trash. It had gotten dark while we were eating, and I could see streetlights had turned on outside. There weren't many people left in the store, that didn't diminish the paranoid feeling I'd had when we walked in. I did a quick check of everyone around us, but no one looked out of the ordinary. Three teenagers sat behind the counter, talking and laughing amongst themselves. An older man sat in a back corner, eating and finishing a puzzle in the newspaper, while on the other side of the restaurant a couple kept to themselves with small smiles and giggles. Other than that was a single mother with three loud children, throwing food at each other despite their mother's protests.
No one seemed like a white coat, no one seemed like an Eraser. In fact, no one was paying any attention to my flock and I what so ever. So why did I feel so uneasy?
Walking back to the others, I could hear them discussing where we would stay for the night. Flint was pointing out how warm it'd be outside while Willow insisted there'd be too many bugs.
"Come on, after everything we've been through you can't deal with a couple bugs?" Flint demanded. Willow scowled at him, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Hey, guys, let's get out of here," I said glancing around again. Ash looked up, sensing my paranoia immediately.
"Is everything okay? What's up?" he asked. The others quieted down, glancing at the both of us.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I just don't feel right. I want to get away from here. Maybe back to the park…"
"Alright," Ash said, sliding from the booth without a single protest. The others followed suit, Apple handing me the backpack as she followed along. I threw it over my shoulder and grabbed Apple's hand, holding it tightly. Together, the six of us headed towards the door and into the warm city air.
And that's when things went horribly wrong.