Little Penguin (13-3)

*Continued*

Tim did not want to be around when the Citizen Eaters showed up, but he knew that if he did not have any supplies he would not get very far from the town.  He knew that he would have to give into Rupert's demand of staying until the end of the day.

"I guess I will have to stay.  I will need your help to catch up with my family.  Do you know about how far I will have to go to find them?"  Tim inquired to mislead Rupert.

"I do not know how far your journey will be or if you will even make it.  The thing that matters right now is that we need to get to the restaurant.  Now, let's get going," Rupert indicated.

Rupert's restaurant was not far from the house.  They arrived at their destination within a few minutes of leaving the house.  The restaurant was nothing flashy.  It was a small building that did not look much different than the houses around it.  Inside there were a few tables set up for customers and small kitchen in the back.

Rupert's restaurant was not busy the whole day.  Tim wonder what was the reason that the restaurant was not busy.  He came up with a few ideas.  The first was that the Citizen Eaters were destroying business throughout the town by scaring away visitors and by capturing the towns citizens.  Another possibility was the only thing on the menu was fish cooked in different ways.  No mater why Rupert's business was not doing well, he could not be making enough to keep it afloat.

Tim felt bad that Rupert was not doing well in life.  First his family was taken from him, then his business is not doing well.  Tim knew it would be only a short time before Rupert would not be able to pay his taxes and the Citizen Eaters would be coming after him.  He knew now more than ever that he should not stick around this town.

Back at Rupert's house they put together a travel pack that Tim could take with him.  It contained food and some medical supplies that would help in the track that lay before him.

Rupert wanted Tim to stay the night and leave in the morning.  Tim would not hear of it and insisted that he leave immediately.  Rupert insisted that he help Tim to the edge of the town.  At the west end of town they stopped and said their goodbyes.  Rupert stayed at the edge of town to watch as Tim went away.

Tim continued west until he could not see Rupert anymore.  Once out of sight of Rupert, Tim turned to start his trip around the town so that he could head east.  If the Citizen Eaters were heading west, Tim figured the best direction to head was east.  Making his way around the town took some time and the sun had gone down by the time he started his eastward journey.

*To Be Continued(3)*

©2014 Brady L.B.