The smells were driving me to a form of insanity I had never felt before. It had been years, maybe over a decade, since I had smelt anything this good. The building was small compared to some of those in the distance, the ones that seemed to scrape the very sky with their rooftops. The broken cities of my world looked like that once, though more in tune with nature. The floor was some kind of tiled, checkered pattern of black and white, though some of the tiles were stained a shade of brown or yellow here and there. There were several tables with chairs all about the open floor of the room, and on the edges there were more tables in a booth style. At the very back of the room was a large bar with stools all across it. Behind the bar was another older man, taller than Samuel but even thinner and less dark skinned and wrinkled. He wore a white apron over red slacks and a white button up. He had salt and pepper hair and smiled as he spoke, talking to someone sitting on a stool. Samuel led me over to an empty stool and say down, I followed suit.

  “Jim and his partner Herald make the best burgers, but if you don't want a burger their steak and eggs are good too.” Samuel sat down and pushed a menu towards me and I looked down at it. I could tell the words were a language, but I wasn't sure which one. I only knew Common Lathean. After staring at the words for a while I started to feel something, a warmth in my body, and then I saw them change. They twisted and curved into different shapes and symbols until they matched my home language. I stared in shock, my mind rebelled against what my eyes saw, but the words had… translated?

  “A burger would be great. Thank you.” I said to Samuel, very ready to taste the thing making that wonderful smell. Jim came over after finishing with the other person and sighed upon seeing Samuel, though he had a slight smile on his face.

  “What’ll it be Sammy? Gonna pay this time?” Jim said and raised an eyebrow. Samuel gave a sheepish smile and placed some kind of blue paper on the bar. The paper had a ‘24’ on the top left and bottom right of it, as well as an image of a island with a very long bird flying across the top and a smiling bald man with small features on the bottom.

  “I got a decently paying odd job in Westown recently, so I can pay you for today and some of my tab!” He smiled broadly and slid the paper across to Jim, whom grinned less jokingly and more appreciatively.

  “Nah Sammy, you know your money is no good here, we love ya.” As Jim said this another man with midnight black hair and sparkling green eyes behind round glasses walked out from a swinging door to the kitchen and snatched up the bill. The new man had a square jaw and larger build, but was shorter than Jim, and had muscles visibly showing from underneath his clothes. He wore an apron same as Jim, but his said ‘Kiss The Cook’ on it, and he wore multicolored shorts and a shirt that said ‘Maiden Steel’ on it with fire all around.

  “But you do owe us, Old Sam.” The new man said, putting specific emphasis on the last two words, a crooked, broad grin on his face. Jim just put a hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. I just sat, still wanting food and finding the antics of these people overwhelming.

  “You okay, miss? Harald and Sammy are unbearable together, but they will calm down in a bit. You hungry? A new friend of his?” Jim had noticed my eyes glazing over and snapped me back to reality before I could start drooling mindlessly in a hunger based fugue state.

  “Yes… yes Samuel is my new friend. And I am starving, and would like a burger. This place smells so delicious, I need a burger.” The intensity of my words seemed to startle Jim a little as I leaned over the bar. He cleared his throat as he stepped back and behind Herald and grabbed one of his ears.

  “This lovely lady would like a burger, love. Get to it! We have a business to run!” He pulled Herald away from a small argument he and Samuel were having and pushed him through the swinging door. Samuel called out about wanting a burger as well and then turned back to me and smiled wistfully.

  “Well, I'm sure you can tell but these two and I go way back. Anyway, speaking of the past, we should find yours out as soon as we can, find out where you are from and get you back there and all that.” I stopped looking around the restaurant and turned quickly to Samuel, fear evident on my face.

  “Please don't make me go back…” I said almost too quietly to hear.

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  “I can't go back to that place…” Samuel calmly looked at me, studying my reaction, and then nodded.

  “Don't worry Kara. Wherever it was, you don't have to return there. Out here we protect each other, and I'll help you.” His words touched a long forgotten part of me, a place I thought had died along with my uncle and my world. I stared down at the man before me and the tension I had been holding as I waited for the ball to drop and for everything to go wrong lessened. It was still there, it would be overwhelming if I wasn't so used to it, but it hadn't lessened like this in years. I smiled for the first time in ages, and then I lost that smile. Why did I deserve this? Because I was the best at running and hiding? My uncle, the Hero of Lathea, should have been the one to find safety like this. He fought to the bitter end for our world… for me. I left him to die as he screamed at me to run. I had thought for years that we should have died together, only recently being able to not think about it as much.

  “Two burgers and fries.” Jim came back out and set the plates down in front of us. I must have spaced out because looking at Samuel he had this worried look on his face. I smiled at him, still trying to get used to it, and when he took a deep breath and reluctantly smiled back I looked back to my burger. I leaned down and sniffed it, it was unbelievable how good it smelled to me at that moment. There was the bread, then a green plant of some kind, I would have to get used to these strange green plants. Then the next layer was a tomato, I knew what that was, and cheese on the hot meat layer.

  “Dig in then! Want some coffee or anything else?” Jim asked me and Samuel. I looked to Samuel to see what he would say and he asked for a coffee, which I agreed to as well, whatever it was. I saw Samuel pick up his burger and did the same, the bread was soft and warm in my rough hands, and I brought it up to my mouth and took a bite. The sensations were electric, savory and salty, sweet, tangy and acidic. I chewed that first bite far less than I should have as I went in to take more bites, Jim and Samuel giving me curious looks, but I didn't care, this was definitely the afterlife.

  “You, uh, want another one?” Jim asked as I finished the burger in record time, and I nodded my head in affirmation.

  “Alright, coming up.” Jim chuckled as he went into the back, giving Samuel a look of some kind I couldn’t read. Samuel just shrugged and laughed lightly himself, he wasn’t even half done with his burger.

  “Try the fries. Jim mixes his own seasoning and I haven't been able to figure out what is on them.” He whispered conspiratorially. I looked down at the plate and picked up a fry, it was crispy and I could feel the reddish seasoning on my fingers. I smelled it, it smelled almost like the tubers from the ration packs, and was brought back to those days in that one single safe place. I took a deep breath and took a hesitant bite, the flavor was worlds beyond the ration tubers. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, seasoned with something salty, sweet and slightly spicy. I quickly ate all my fries as well and then looked over at Samuel.

  “I have no idea what's on them, but they are amazing.” I said as he had just reached halfway done with his burger.

  “Well, someday I will figure it out.” He shrugged and popped a fry in his mouth, chewing methodically. Just as my second burger was coming out held by Jim there was a ruckus from the front of the building. Three people swaggered, a tall, blond man wearing a muscle shirt, a short, blue haired woman wearing short leggings and a sports top, and in the front was an aggressively muscular guy wearing a cheap suit. The patrons of the restaurant all stopped eating and talking all at once as the three walked in. The tall blond picked up someone's burger and started eating it as they went. The blue haired woman held a scowl on her face, looking like she wanted trouble. The muscular man in the front was neutral in all but his walk, which screamed ‘I'm in charge’. They got to the bar and the muscular man stepped up next to me, looking at Jim with a smile that showed several golden teeth.

  “Well well, Jimmy boy. How you doin?” Jim looked angry for a moment, and then passified his features.

  “Ollie, can we discuss this in private?” He asked, fear in his voice and eyes. I flicked my gaze over to the muscular man called Ollie and waited, unsure what was happening.

  “No, we can't do that Jimmy. You owe us more money, and we need to make an example.” The two goons behind Ollie snickered as they looked at eachother. Herald apparently saw or heard what was going on, because he stormed out from the kitchen and pointed a finger at the thugs.

  “Hey! We paid you already! Get the hell out of here!” He was enraged, and Jim reached out and vainly tried to hold Herald back.

  “Herald, stop.” Jim said quietly to Herald, worry on his face.

  “No! They have stepped all over us for too long! And now, when we finally start getting close to paying off the debt they come in here and try to pull some obvious extortion shit! No!” Herald was pissed, and I thought rightfully so, based on what I thought was going on here. The thugs seemed to think this whole situation was amusing, especially Ollie.

  “Listen, you can have your marital spat all day for all I care—after we get our money.” He lifted up one hand and started counting phalanges with his thumb.

  “Let's see… a hundred bucks for extra protection, a hundred for security, and a hundred for quality insurance, that's three hundred Jimmy. You know we can guarantee your safety without money.” The two goons behind Ollie laughed, eyeing him and Herald. I liked Jim and Herald so far, and they fed me such delicious food, so I came up with an idea to help.

  “I can provide security and protection for free Jim. Well, not exactly free, maybe a meal or two here and there. That means you only have to pay the third one, right?” I smiled at Jim, but he looked even more frightened as my words entered the quiet of the room. Herald was surprised for a moment and then smiled, Jim noticed and shook his head in horror—but it was too late.