Tunnel Rat

Cooking pancakes was much more complex than Milo had ever imagined! He hadn't considered that half the people he was cooking for didn't know what pancakes were. There was also the question of why he was doing it. Saying, "I want pancakes, I don't care about the money, and I had to order in bulk for fast delivery." would have generated even more questions, some of which he didn't want to answer.

Luckily, he'd come to the right house. Mama got to work instructing the young ones how to mix pancake batter. From somewhere, two tables appeared out in the courtyard near where he and Butch were assembling his makeshift grill. Butch wanted to know where he got the parts. Milo just shrugged and said, "Oh, you know..." which actually satisfied Butch. Milo had learned the expression from watching Butch and the rest of the gang. If something wasn't nailed down in the Hab Blocks, it tended to wander off. There were rules, of course, but they were unwritten and mostly unspoken, causing Milo much confusion at times.

The rest of Butch's gang showed up quickly. Free food was good food. They were extremely curious about where Ghost had picked up the food and cooking gear. Butch shrugged and said, "Oh, you know..." and nodded with his head toward Ghost. Several stared at the assembled grill made from welding torches and a large metal panel. They were equally impressed when Mama brought out the first batch of batter, and Ghost started pouring out perfect circles and carefully flipped them over with a spatula in each hand. Milo fed Mama and the little ones first, then the gang. By then, a small crowd of curious neighbors had shown up, and Milo started handing out plates of pancakes to the smaller children.

Butch anticipated the next problem as an adult took the food from a child. The pancake thief found himself surrounded by the gang, was forced to apologize to a nine-year-old and was sent to the end of the line. He was sour initially but got over it when he was handed his plate a few minutes later. As more people showed up, the gang kept things orderly. Brad and Yumi watched how Ghost made the pancakes and asked questions before asking to take over the cooking duties. Milo was glad for the break. This was different from the Hollow. There was some tension in the air. People didn't know what to expect. There was also the feeling of a holiday. Someone set up music, and the smaller children took advantage of being able to play together.

The next thing that happened took Milo by surprise and was all handled by Butch. A few members of other gangs showed up, some welcome, some not so welcome. But everyone got a plate of food as long as they behaved. Some of them questioned Butch about where the stuff came from. He told them a version of the truth.

"Some of us have been fixing old games and selling them pretty well. And some folks gave a bit more in trade than they took. People being generous, y'know? When people started being generous, my guys and I thought of a way to pay them back. Maybe next time you and Louie here will be generous and bring something over you don't need?"

Some people took the free food. Others were thoughtful. By the end of the day, Butch had a large box of broken electronics, old games, and scratched discs thought beyond repair. They presented it to Ghost at the end of the day as the last batch of pancakes was on the stove. Fuel for the grill was running out, and every person who had shown up had gotten a plate of cheesy pancakes with sweet syrup.

The gang helped Ghost store the excess in his house. Most people were curious to catch a glimpse of the inside but disappointed about how ordinary it looked. After that chore was done, Butch grabbed Ghost by the arm and dragged him back to his house. Brad and Yumi came along, and the four of them took turns playing games on Butch's old system while his little brothers and sisters sat on laps or shoulders, yelling out advice. Mama looked with a smile. She worried a lot about Ghost. Butch had grown several inches in the year they had known him, but Ghost still looked as small as ever. Some of the little ones were even taller than him. The boy had given her the code to open his house and use any food there. It was an open secret in the family that Ghost didn't live there, but it was not discussed.

Milo slipped away two hours later. He'd pushed himself but had reached the end of his ability to be around people. Yumi, in particular, was making him nervous. Both in how close she sat next to him and how difficult it was to beat her in some games. When he left Butch's house, she'd volunteered to walk him out. Brad started to join, but Butch challenged him suddenly to a Deathrace 2020 match using the new Philadelphia map he'd put together.

After walking aimlessly with Yumi talking to him about her favorite anime, Ghost agreed to meet up with her in a couple of days to watch her favorites. She waved and smiled as he disappeared into a service hatchway, and Milo tried to figure out why he had agreed. He'd said yes just to break off conversation and leave. He barely knew what anime was. And she wanted to know what his favorite show was? He was so confused.

Back at his real house, he started to think things over. He realized that he had subconsciously decided to be around people more and see if he liked them. Similar to cheese, he'd only recently discovered people. He needed to study the situations he was getting into and figure out the rules.

In some ways, it was similar to the Hollow, with no one trying to kill him.