Gifts

by Ethan Marsh

I place the torch on the ground, hoping for my life that the building will not catch on fire. I walk out of the building on the search of food and water. I turn around I walk onto a street in which the building is on. A street sign reads Elm Avenue. I turn left on Elm and stop. Beyond me, many shops and houses lay and the streets are packed with people, and happiness.

  I figure that the food in at least one of the shops, out of the many. I walk to the nearest building to me on the side of the road that I am on, as it labels,

 

  MIKE's GENERAL STORE

  on a very large sign. I am about to open a door to Mike's when I realize that my face has the adrenalin look as well as my hands. I didn't want questions, they would eventually lead me back to him. To resolve this, I pull my hood over my face tightly and walk in. I don't cover up my hands at all. I couldn't care less.

  I was right.

  Shelves of items including food and beverages fill the store. I gasp in relief. I grab a basket from the pile next to the door to carry energy that I hopefully will purchase. I walk over to grab stuff that I will get, then run into another problem. How in the world will I pay for this? I grab my bag immediately as I think of this. I drop it on the floor, prying open the small, beat up pouch.

  After searching through everything I have ever owned, my total in money is thirty-four bolts, which to be honest, I have no clue where I got it.

  Thirty-four bolts, however, is barely enough to buy two loafs of bread.

  Since money is limited, I think quality over quantity. I use the snapped strap to attach the bag back over my shoulder, keeping the small amount of money squeezed tightly in my hands. I scan the hallways, looking for the food with the most amount of protein; so I won't have to eat as much.

  I find many things that I would love to eat, turkey breast, salmon fillet, and pasta, but I can't afford them.

  Then I find something: cheese. I know that cheese contained lots of protein, and it wasn't that expensive either. I took three of the largest blocks of cheese off of the shelf and placed them into the basket. Altogether, the cheese would be fourteen bolts.

  I need a beverage. I was thinking of juice or milk, since I had only gotten to drink those on occasions, and I love the taste of both of them, but water was only five bolts for a gallon. I grab two gallons of water and placed them in the basket along with the cheese.

  I save ten bolts for emergency, just in case I need them.

  Now that I was finished, I walk up to the register, and swipe my items. Then, I place the bolts in the collector and press the button labeled PAY. A little piece of paper comes out of a slot. It didn't seem important, and I had no clue what it was, so I shoved it in the bottom of my bag.

  I walk out of the store, smiling on the inside, not on the outside. There are still many things that ruin my life, but it is really good knowing that I will live long enough.

  Long enough to kill Tedd.

  IXI

  I walk back to the building, and walk through the opening in the door. Eventually, I will have to board it up again, and find another way in. I can't risk people coming in. That would put me in danger, and more importantly, they will be in danger. Of me. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, though.

  Coming to another problem tears me to pieces. The cheese will grow spoiled and bad if it stays in a warm zone. I have to explore and hopefully find a nice cool place to put the cheese

  But first I will eat.

  I tear open the cheese package as I sit down criss-cross on the wooden floor, which looked like there had been a large fire in this building before I had “claimed” it. I grab the water and chug a quart or two.

  I have to be careful on how much cheese I eat .

  I break one block of the cheese in half, and then in half again, and shove the remaining of the cheese down my throat. For the part that I did taste, it was mind blowing to my taste buds.

  Even though I was still hungry, I put the cheese back into the grocery bag. This is challenging, to not eat when I was hungry.

  I glug a few more sips of water, then I set the bag down on the floor and go to explore the building more.

  The building isn't that big. Next to the big room I was just in, there were two smaller rooms. Both completely empty.

  In one of the rooms, a passage way led to a staircase, mostly broken down. I went down the staircase, having to hop down two or three steps at a time, because most of the stairs had fallen down. The passageway leads me to a fairly large room with a huge door leading across one wall. I walked over to the door, and saw that there was a flashing green button near it.

  Out of curiosity, I push the button, and immediately hear a loud buzzing sound. The door is opening.

  Outside of the door, there was a very small track leading back to the road which I came from, and straight in front of me, an immense forest stands.

  I stare at the forest, my mouth wide open, tilting my head so that I can see the tallest tree. I run away to the first room I was in. An idea floats up to my brain. I shall implement it.

  I fly up the stairs and sprint into the first room. I grab the food, and the torch that I had made, which was still burning strong, and run back down to the room with the big door. Another thing in my life goes my way.

  Hot glue. Sitting on the floor in front of me, waiting to be used, by anybody, anything.

  I pick up the bottle of hot glue and stick the torch to the wall, along with two more that I manage to make out of other pieces of wood, just begging to be used.

  I walk back to the green button, and close the large door that kept me from the outside. While it is closing, I notice a single track laid out in the center of the room, as well as the small track outside.

  It was time to train.

  Train.