quivered. ‘You’re not supposed to come in here,’ it said with a
cautionary tattle-tale voice.
Abel’s mind detected a squirt of data.
A broadcasted alert. Theyellow robot was beaming an alarm signal. A
fainter signal approximately a quarter of a mile away registered an acknowledgement. He
dropped back on to the ground outside and turned to Faith.
She’d picked that up too.
‘The acknowledgement came from over
there,’ she said, pointing towards a large squat white building, sporting signs of
big-brand retailers. Between them a sea of tarmac beginning to fill with cars parking
up: early-bird shoppers.
‘They are inside that building,’
said Abel.
‘My God.’ Rashim shook his head
with disbelief. He looked around the mini-mart and then reached into a freezer unit and
picked up a shrink-wrapped pack-of-three Ma Jackson’s Shaked n’ Baked
Tennessee Chicken Drummers. ‘This is real?
Real
food?’
Sal nodded. ‘Those? Real chicken legs?
Uh-huh.’
‘From what was once a real live
chicken?’
‘Of course.’
His eyes widened.
When
he’d
come from only the wealthiest could afford vat-grown meat and even then it wasn’t
really proper meat. ‘Meat on the bone’ was muscle cells grown on plastic
rods shaped like bones. It tasted vaguely savoury, with a gelatinous texture, a meat-gel
lollipop at best. Everyone else lived on synthi-soya alternatives.
‘There’s so much!’ He
shook his head again. ‘There’s just so much of this real food!’
‘Yeah, well.’ Sal took the
drumsticks off him and dropped them in the shopping trolley. ‘Best make the most
of it, right?’
Maddy’s call. Since this food
supermarket inside the mall was already open, she decided that since they’d
stopped they might as well stock up on some essentials. The RV had a fridge that worked,
they might as well put something edible in it and thelittle kitchen
cabinets located above it. Maddy said she wasn’t sure whether they were staying in
Boston or moving on. But it probably wouldn’t hurt for them to have a few luxuries
aboard the TimeRiders’ ‘tour bus’.
‘This way, Becks.’ Sal led the
trolley. Becks pushed it dutifully.
‘Affirmative.’ Her language pack
was installed now. Just the default library. Her voice was monotone, completely without
any expression. Sal turned to look at her. She was wearing a beanie hat to cover her
still-smooth head, and baggy jeans and a jumper hung loosely on her slight frame. Her
pale face had a slack, vacant look to it. At least that part of her looked convincingly
teenager.
And at least she wasn’t drooling
now.
‘My God!’ Rashim’s voice
echoed from the next aisle along. A moment later he appeared at the end of the freezer
aisle gazing wide-eyed at something sitting on the palm of his hand. She waved him
over.
‘What’s up, Rashim?’
He hurried over and held his hand out.
‘Are these strawberries real too?’
Great. He’s found the fruit
counter.
Liam put some more boxes of Coco Pops in
the trolley. Bob looked down at them.
‘You already have five boxes of Coco
Pops.’
‘Aye, well, ’tis better to be
safe than sorry.’ He nudged Bob’s arm. ‘Anyway, you like them
too.’
‘They are acceptable to my digestive
system.’
‘Oh, come on … admit it, you
actually
like
them. I’ve seen the way you gobble ’em
down.’
‘They are low in protein. I require
large amounts of Coco Pops to sustain me.’
Liam offered him a sly grin. ‘I’ve
seen you slurp that chocolate milk, like a cat lapping cream.’
‘The milk is the more beneficial food
component of the two.’
Liam shrugged distractedly. ‘Ah
well.’ He surveyed the other cereal boxes stacked along the aisle. ‘Hey
look, Bob. You can even have Coco Pops with funny pink teddy bear shapes in it.’
He picked the cereal box up and held it closer to get a better look at the far too
cautionary tattle-tale voice.
Abel’s mind detected a squirt of data.
A broadcasted alert. Theyellow robot was beaming an alarm signal. A
fainter signal approximately a quarter of a mile away registered an acknowledgement. He
dropped back on to the ground outside and turned to Faith.
She’d picked that up too.
‘The acknowledgement came from over
there,’ she said, pointing towards a large squat white building, sporting signs of
big-brand retailers. Between them a sea of tarmac beginning to fill with cars parking
up: early-bird shoppers.
‘They are inside that building,’
said Abel.
‘My God.’ Rashim shook his head
with disbelief. He looked around the mini-mart and then reached into a freezer unit and
picked up a shrink-wrapped pack-of-three Ma Jackson’s Shaked n’ Baked
Tennessee Chicken Drummers. ‘This is real?
Real
food?’
Sal nodded. ‘Those? Real chicken legs?
Uh-huh.’
‘From what was once a real live
chicken?’
‘Of course.’
His eyes widened.
When
he’d
come from only the wealthiest could afford vat-grown meat and even then it wasn’t
really proper meat. ‘Meat on the bone’ was muscle cells grown on plastic
rods shaped like bones. It tasted vaguely savoury, with a gelatinous texture, a meat-gel
lollipop at best. Everyone else lived on synthi-soya alternatives.
‘There’s so much!’ He
shook his head again. ‘There’s just so much of this real food!’
‘Yeah, well.’ Sal took the
drumsticks off him and dropped them in the shopping trolley. ‘Best make the most
of it, right?’
Maddy’s call. Since this food
supermarket inside the mall was already open, she decided that since they’d
stopped they might as well stock up on some essentials. The RV had a fridge that worked,
they might as well put something edible in it and thelittle kitchen
cabinets located above it. Maddy said she wasn’t sure whether they were staying in
Boston or moving on. But it probably wouldn’t hurt for them to have a few luxuries
aboard the TimeRiders’ ‘tour bus’.
‘This way, Becks.’ Sal led the
trolley. Becks pushed it dutifully.
‘Affirmative.’ Her language pack
was installed now. Just the default library. Her voice was monotone, completely without
any expression. Sal turned to look at her. She was wearing a beanie hat to cover her
still-smooth head, and baggy jeans and a jumper hung loosely on her slight frame. Her
pale face had a slack, vacant look to it. At least that part of her looked convincingly
teenager.
And at least she wasn’t drooling
now.
‘My God!’ Rashim’s voice
echoed from the next aisle along. A moment later he appeared at the end of the freezer
aisle gazing wide-eyed at something sitting on the palm of his hand. She waved him
over.
‘What’s up, Rashim?’
He hurried over and held his hand out.
‘Are these strawberries real too?’
Great. He’s found the fruit
counter.
Liam put some more boxes of Coco Pops in
the trolley. Bob looked down at them.
‘You already have five boxes of Coco
Pops.’
‘Aye, well, ’tis better to be
safe than sorry.’ He nudged Bob’s arm. ‘Anyway, you like them
too.’
‘They are acceptable to my digestive
system.’
‘Oh, come on … admit it, you
actually
like
them. I’ve seen the way you gobble ’em
down.’
‘They are low in protein. I require
large amounts of Coco Pops to sustain me.’
Liam offered him a sly grin. ‘I’ve
seen you slurp that chocolate milk, like a cat lapping cream.’
‘The milk is the more beneficial food
component of the two.’
Liam shrugged distractedly. ‘Ah
well.’ He surveyed the other cereal boxes stacked along the aisle. ‘Hey
look, Bob. You can even have Coco Pops with funny pink teddy bear shapes in it.’
He picked the cereal box up and held it closer to get a better look at the far too
Similar Books
