It was right then that Ava's stomach grumbled reminding her she still hadn't eaten as she had been busy all morning. Having experience immense hunger in the apocalypse Ava rushed to her nearest restaurant, aiming to satisfy her stomach and realising this was the first meal she was having after returning she ordered 6 dishes which startled the waitress who tried to explain how big the portions were but Ava just smiled and said she would take home anything she couldn't eat. While waiting for her food she glances out the window looking at all the snack shops on the street, not far from where she sat making her mouth water, she was dazzled by all the choices available and right at her fingertips. Deciding then she would go to all of them and buy numerous portions before leaving for her parents' house she happily waited for her food.
The food was served quickly the various meat and vegetables dishes she ordered all gleaming with steam raising from them, each dish varied in it salty, sweet and spicy flavours making her feel like she was at a royal banquet not the Thursday lunch rush in a busy restaurant. Because of the generous portions half an hour passed, and she still hadn't finished all the food but deeply satisfied and full to bursting she forced herself to stop and called the waitress over. "You were right the portions were very generous, please pack the leftovers for me." After tipping the waitress she carried the takeout boxes round a corner and quickly stashed them in her space when no one was watching.
After eating Ava was stuffed but continued with her earlier plan and headed into a fried chicken shop starting her rounds to build up her takeaway orders, filling up at barbecue restaurants, burger places, Sichuan cuisine restaurants, pizzerias, Mexican restaurants, milkshake and ice cream shops, noodle bars, bakery's and coffee shops, all foods she had dreamed about and longed for when she was starving, getting at least 10 portions of everything that took her fancy, having to stop down dark alleys to discretely hide all the food into her space between each shop. Heaven knows how much she had craved these delicious dishes during the apocalypse! Let alone foods that just weren't the same when made at home, she felt she had to get enough so she could feast on these well-prepared food dishes whenever the craving came after the disasters started.
Ava thought back to the number of days she had gone hungry, gifting most food she found to her aunt's family, sharing out anything that was left so they wouldn't go hungry. She thought of one occasion where she had fought over a loaf of stale bread, getting beaten and returning bloody to them only to be told it wasn't enough and she needed to go out again to find more. Disgust at her past-self swelled up inside and Ava swore nothing like that would happen this time, she would only look out for herself, have plenty of stock on her own never supporting those disgusting and ungrateful people ever again. She hoped this time her aunt and cousin would have to resort to eating dirt and suffer through the upcoming apocalypse.
Having reached the end of the street and noticing the time Ava jumped up to catch a cab to the railway station. Her parent's house was on the other side of the city, sitting in a low-lying suburb near the outskirts, it would take about 45 minutes to get there by train, even without it being rush hour. Once reaching the station, getting a ticket and rushing on to the train Ava was huffing out of breath, especially with the heat, she could feel the sweat dripping down her back as she found a window seat. Once settled she began watching the streets pass by, many lit up with neon lights advertising dinner stalls to the passing crowds, feeling a lump in her throat, she thought how all of this would be gone in a months' time, these were the lights of a nearly dead world, they just didn't know it yet.
This late afternoon heat in the city carried so many noises, smells and individuals' dreams, she found it sad to think it would all be gone and how twisted humanity would become in such a short amount of time. But starvation and fear destroy dreams, they create chaos, pain and disorder. Lawlessness would be the new rule, strength is what would matter. Some people would manage to stay safe and build refuges until the official bases are created and opened but these are very rare and with these communities it was mostly luck that saved them rather than skill. For those like herself who had not escaped she barely scrape by with her own determination.
Lost in thought, Ava didn't realize how long she had been staring out the window, she was nearing her stop. Getting up and joining the crowd she filed of the train and headed for the station exit. Luckily it wasn't so busy, so she escaped quickly and spotted a line of waiting taxis nearby, realising she should enjoy the pre apocalypse energy she decided to walk the few blocks over to her parents' house, that way she could grab a few bits from the corner store as well. She still had all her stuff from her apartment and all the stocked-up meals from lunch time, but she didn't want to arrive at the house empty handed and look suspicious as she hadn't been to the house since her parents' wake. In this life it had only been a month since their deaths and a week since their funeral but for Ava it was over 4 years ago that she had buried her parents and although the ache was still their at the loss she wasn't the walking zombie she had been in her previous life after it had happened, the grief seeming to eat her alive, one of the reasons she probably felt so tired and weak in her current body, but stepping back into this neighbourhood felt like a balm as waves of memories crashed down on her. So many happy memories as this is where she had grown up, before university and moving to the city centre she had lived here for her entire life in this area, so everything was so familiar.
After stopping at the corner shop, where she bought a few kilos of fruit and veg, several bottles of milk and various packs of pork and beef, all adding up to just over $100. She swiped her card and set off. Everything she bought got heavy fast but luckily, she didn't have much further to walk so it was around 8pm when she finally made it to her parents' door. Once getting inside she dropped the groceries in the kitchen and noticed she had easily bought enough for her alone to eat well for at least a week if not more, but it didn't matter, in the space nothing would spoil and she would cook in bulk so all the extra would just store in her space, for easy access, for when she can't cook openly.