Subsistence

Without pausing, the girl leaned forward the instant she had swallowed the food and stuck out her tongue again. There was the whirring, the clicking, the brown cylinder rolling into her hand, and then the noisy eating.

The next time, Hanna was ready. Moving quickly, she leaped to the landing and grabbed the cylinder the instant it appeared, throwing the plate and fork aside. The girl shrieked, and Peter's head bobbed down out of sight through the hole. Her hand over her mouth, the girl stared at Hanna. Her features seemed small, lost in mounds of pink flesh; and her body jiggled underneath the white ruffles of her dress as she pressed herself backwards against a flight of steps. Hanna was poised on the lower steps of another flight, across from the girl, her arms folded across her chest and the cylinder swinging casually from one hand.

"Oh, my," the girl said, taking her hand from her mouth and pressing it against her. "Oh, my, you scared me!"

"Well what else could I do, seeing you eating up all that food and me starving to death, huh?" Hanna smiled thinly at her, her head to one side.

"Yes, but—" said the girl, and then uttered another little squeal as Peter poked up his head once again.

"Come on up, Pete," Hanna said. "There isn't much room up here, but there's food."

The landing was a sort of crossroads, four flights of steps rising up from it, each opposite another, as well as the spiral stairway from below. The hole and the food apparatus and the fat girl took up all the floor space, so Peter sat down hesitantly on one of the stairways. If she had to pick the two worst people in the world to be here with, Hanna reflected with irony, it would certainly be these creeps. She studied the cylinder in her hand. It was different from the synthetic protein she was used to, and had a tantalizing smell. She bit off the end and began to chew. An incredibly rich, succulent flavor filled her mouth. She took another bite, and another, suddenly understanding the fat girl's piggishness. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

"My God!" she said, swallowing the last bit. "What is this? It's fantastic!"

"Meat," said the girl. Her voice was high-pitched and babyish. "It's real meat. I can tell."

She was staring at Hanna; there was an unexpected hardness in her small eyes. They were like a doll's eyes, strangely emotionless; and, to her surprise, Hanna felt a pang of fear. But in a moment the girl looked down and edged toward the red structure on the floor.

"Hey," said Hanna, as the girl moved the next cylinder toward her mouth. The girl stopped, her mouth open, her eyes on Hanna.

"Give it to him," Hanna said slowly, making her voice as tough as possible; something about the girl's eyes had put her on the defensive. "It might be the last one."

The girl looked around to where Peter was sitting, and with obvious reluctance stretched her pudgy arm toward him. He took the meat and nibbled at it cautiously. Keeping the fork in one of his pockets.

"And the next one's mine," Hanna went on, nearly snarling. "You've had plenty."

"Then get it yourself!" said the girl. She moved her rear end up onto a step. "I think you're mean."

Feeling foolish, Hanna kneeled on the landing and bent over the screen. She stuck out her tongue. Nothing happened.

"Hey!" she said, and stuck it out again, farther, leaning closer to the glass. But again, nothing happened.

"Ha ha," said the girl, not laughing. "It doesn't work when you do it."

Nor did it work when Hanna made Peter do it, or when she tried again. At last, returning to her steps, Hanna said, "Okay, you try again."

And it worked.

"Here," said the girl, handing Peter the first piece. "You can have as much as you want. But she isn't getting any. She's too mean."

"Aw, cut it out," said Hanna, trying to sound casual but actually feeling rather worried. "Look, I was just trying to make sure we got some too. I mean, who knows how much is in there? It could have run out any time."

"But you didn't have to be so mean about it," said the girl, staring at Hanna as she chewed. "And you didn't have to scare me at first. You almost made me throw up. And I could have fallen off. You should be careful in a place like this, so high up and— Oh! What is this place anyway? When are they going to come and get us out?"

"We don't know any more than you do. They may never come and get us out. Which is why we gotta try to get along, and share things."

It was almost more than Hanna could bear, being so hungry, and at the mercy of this creature. Who is this girl who's tryna eat all the food? another orphan? but that's not all now. 2 more people to come. They got food, but will they be satisfied?