Of Courage And Sacrifice: Bot Trilogy Book One by Matt Hartle

Author:Matt Hartle [Hartle, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hartle Films Publishing
Published: 2021-10-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Brad and Adam stood at the back of the large open dining room of Skip’s parents' restaurant. The passage leading downstairs to the Nest was somewhere behind them through a series of halls and doorways.

The front wall of the dining room, facing the street, was built with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Blue moonlight shone in from outside. From their place at the back of the room, the boys could see the street out front was empty—at least for the moment.

Many of the dining room tables were still covered in dirty plates and half-empty platters of food. Chairs were askew, napkins and silverware discarded, drink glasses half empty. It was as if dinner service had been in full swing when suddenly, everyone just stood and left. The effect was creepy—life frozen in mid-action. With the streets and sidewalks empty, the only noise was the occasional buzzing of flies as they feasted on the abandoned food. There wasn't even the comforting hum of overhead fluorescent lighting because the power, of course, was out.

Brad and Adam lurked in the shadows, gazing across the expanse of the room and out the large windows.

"This place is pretty exposed."

"Keep low; I think the entrance to the kitchen is over there," said Adam, pointing to a pair of swing doors across the room.

As they worked their way forward, Brad glanced nervously around, and noticed a pile of egg rolls on a table.

"What are you doing?" whispered Adam.

"I'm starved!" Brad hissed as he poked at a roll.

“They've been sitting there for days!”

"I don't think you can get food poisoning from egg rolls—everything's been deep-fried." Brad lifted one, sniffed it, then took a tentative bite, the crunch ringing in the silence of the room. He chewed thoughtfully and smiled. "Not bad—not bad at all," he whispered as he picked up another.

"Really?" Adam peered skeptically at the pile of greasy rolls, then reached for one himself. He's right, he thought as he chewed; not bad! The oily, flaky crust shattered between his teeth—cold but delicious. Real food, if these could be called that, tasted amazing after the steady diet of sugary snacks over the last several days.

"Who said all fried food is bad?!” Adam grabbed another roll, then ducked toward the kitchen.

Brad munched happily as he perused the other tables, searching for other things to sample. “Twinkies, egg rolls, and cockroaches,” he said. “That’s what’ll be left after the nuclear apocalypse.”

Adam glanced back before entering the kitchen, and whispered, "You coming?"

"Yeah, right behind ya,” said Brad as he poked at a pile of fried rice with an orphan chopstick. Toward the front of the dining room, on a table near the large glass windows, he spied several more egg rolls and a pile of crispy chow mein. He straightened with a grunt, his back killing him from all the hunching over.

At the table, he brushed a couple of flies from the rolls before digging in—hunger had a way of lowering one’s standards, he mused. As he raised a roll to take a bite, movement out the front window caught his eye.

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