Kitchen.

(knacker wagon chronicles - XIV)

Lenny escorted Baye outside the barracks. The complimentary fellow outside the door when Rev brought Baye to the barracks was still sitting on the front porch. "Hello Bug," said Lenny.
"'lo Lenny," replied Bug. "Hey, did the newbie get any smarter inside?"
"Well, Bug, he knew how to go inside, and I guess we've just confirmed he knows how to go outside."
Bug cackled gleefully. "If he knows how to eat, maybe he even knows which end to crap out of!" Baye was mildly put off by the exchange. He thought Lenny may be a crackpot but Bug was looking like a simple idiot. Maybe Bug was like Pudgi, nothing much to look at but somehow commanded a lot of respect. He doubted this, from what Baye saw, Bug was aptly named, and really, not much to look at.

They crossed a street running directly in front of the barracks. The ground was parched with weedy yellow-greenish scrubgrass interspersed among dusty pockets of dirt. The air felt cooler to Baye as the sun hung low near the horizon. Lenny marched up a short flight of stairs and yanked open a door to another building with similar frontage to the barracks. Pleasant smells wafted outside and Baye realized how hungry he was. If he didn't imagine where the food originated, he figured he could even eat. The entered a what appeared to be something like a diner. There were a few tables and chairs haphazardly strewn about and a counter at one end of the room. Behind the counter was a crew of men bustling to and fro, sliding plates of food onto the counter. Lenny grabbed a tray and set a plate of food upon it. Baye followed suit. He saw a tuft of hair on the edge of his plate and decided not to examine any closer.

Lenny took his place at a table. As Baye moved to sit, Lenny grunted out an "Ahem."
"Pardon?" asked Baye.
"That seat is taken," said Lenny. Baye shuffled to the next seat at the table. "Ahem"
"Taken too?" asked an incredulous Baye.
"Yes, they're all taken," said Lenny. Baye rolled his eyes and walked to another table.
"Dude, they're ALL taken," said Lenny.
"What do you mean ALL?" asked Baye.
"I mean, every seat in here is not for you. Go outside if you wanna sit. Or else stand and eat, I don't care." Baye was hungry enough to not want to fight. He stood and manage the best he could to hold his tray and eat with utensils in a dignified manner. He didn't bother looking over at Lenny for he didn't really want to start any trouble.

Pudgi swung the kitchen door open and held it wide, announcing "Stand UP!" On cue, Lenny stood and looked at Baye, presumably to make sure he was still standing. Sarge marched through the kitchen door and headed straight to the food counter. Hamm entered behind Sarge. All three newcomers loaded up with trays of food and found seats and the same table as Lenny. Only after Sarge seated himself did the others also sit. Nobody paid Baye any attention and left him standing in place, struggling with his dinnerware.

There was no conversation at the table. Forks clinked against plates and drinks were supped but no words uttered. Baye wondered if his presence prevented discussions he was not privy to hear. He would have appreciated the distraction, as he was not fond of looking too closely at his food. It resembled a coagulated stew, pureed to an indiscernable clump. The tuft of hair was itself disconcerting, but not exclusively. Some of the darkened splotches on the brownish matter had the distinct outline of legs - cricket or roach maybe. The overall coarse and gritty texture of the food denied tactile confirmation of his suspicions. So much the better. Finally, Sarge broke the silence.
"Vengeance put on a show today." He paused for another bite. "They're due for a beat down. If they were in this camp we'd ambush them just outside the walls. Fortunately for them they're not in Nowhere. Tomorrow we need to run a patrol along the northern boundary and I'll take the van south - maybe we can provide some push against the other Nowhere crews. Lenny, take Baye with you and run the northern patrol. I'll cover the night calls."
"That's the newbie, right? Baye's his name?" asked Lenny. Sarge didn't answer. He merely looked at Lenny and nodded slightly.
"He's not a moron so try not to get him killed." Sarge pushed his chair from the table and stood up. Everyone else moved to stand up as well. Sarge turned and left the kitchen. After he exited, everyone remaining at the table sat down again to finish eating.

After he was done, Lenny got up and motioned for Baye to follow. They headed out of the kitchen. The sun had fallen below the horizon. "Dude, you're not allowed to used the barrack bathrooms yet, so relieve yourself outside. Get some sleep. Since I need to TRY to keep you alive tomorrow, I need you fresh."