Speed Is King

"Of course not. The most important thing right now is breakfast! I smell something good coming from the kitchen, let's eat! We'll talk while we eat!" Red disagreed and quickly flew up to perch on Elliot's shoulder.

"To the kitchen!" He commanded his master.

Elliot chuckled at his intentional impudence and couldn't be bothered to get into a verbal back-and-forth which his Wind Apostle was definitely trying to instigate.

However, Red didn't need Elliot to reply for him to chatter on, and Elliot's silence merely told him that he was free to take command of the invisible "talking stick", so he immediately launched into a very loud monologue.

"I've always wondered just which race makes the best food and makes FOR the best food. HAHA, do you get it? Which race can cook the best food and which race can be cooked to be the best food? But judging by the wondrous smell that's coming from the kitchen, I am very, very tempted to place you human beings at the top of the list. Of the best cooks, I mean. Wonderful smell. Indeed, it's mouth-watering! It's sensational. I can even picture it by its smell! It smells like its deep fried. Crispy. Some sort of incredible meat from an incredible beast. Ahhh… Very nice! Very nice!!"

Elliot blinked and gulped his saliva. He was torn between wanting to tape his stupid Wind Apostle's mouth and nodding vigorously to agree with him.

The smell was indeed heavenly. The smell of bacon! He hadn't had bacon for many, many long years!

"WELL DONE girls! Well done!!" Red exclaimed when they finally entered the dining room where a sumptuous breakfast was being served by the two girls.

Bacon, eggs, sausages, beans, toast, fruits, and even orange juice!

Red flew off Elliot's shoulder and sat at the head of the table and promptly dove into the huge plate of bacon.

However, before he could take a single bite, Elliot's left hand struck with incredible speed and clamped down on his very long beak!

"MPH!!! MMMMMPHH!!!" Red glowered at Elliot and flapped his wings frantically.

"HEY!" He burst out loudly in Elliot's public mindspace. "HEY LET ME DOWN! What do you mean by this! This is abuse! This is unnecessary violence! This is… HEY! PUT DOWN THAT PIECE OF MEAT AT ONCE!"

Elliot ignored his hyper talkative Wind Apostle and began to eat the bacon with his right hand. "This is excellent, girls! Well done!" Elliot praised the girls sincerely.

"Kara did most of the cooking. She's a great cook!" Camelia pointed at Kara who was smiling and enjoying the sight of Elliot and Red making a food out of themselves over her cooking.

"Well done Kara! Sit down and let's have breakfast together!" Elliot told the girls.

"YES! Let's have breakfast together! Let me down! Let me down at once!" Red squawked in Elliot's mind.

"I'll let you down on one condition." Elliot began.

"Anything! I'll agree to anything! Let me down now! Now! Now!" Red squawked loudly.

"You'll ONLY speak when spoken to. Agreed?"

"WHAT? OF COURSE NOT!" Red protested in indignation.

"Okay, have it your way." Elliot shrugged mentally and began to converse with the girls while they ate.

"Ughhh. Ughhhhhhh. Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Fine! I'll only speak when spoken to! Now let me down!" Red finally couldn't stand the sight of the heavenly bacon disappearing so quickly from the plate and immediately agreed.

Elliot glanced at Red and then released his beak with a smile. "Come join us for breakfast, Red!"

Red immediately hopped onto the table and dove into the bacon shamelessly!

Elliot ignored him and continued his conversation with Kara and Camelia.

"So Kara, tell us abit about yourself." Elliot said while munching on a piece of perfectly toasted bread.

"I'm a senior in the CMSG - California Military School for Girls. Orphan. I know first aid, unarmed combat, and I am proficient in the use of all sorts of weapons." Kara replied casually.

"Wow, Kara you're so cool! Are you a sniper?" Camelia asked excitedly.

"I am a pretty good shot, but nothing spectacular." Kara smiled at Camelia.

"Can you drive or ride bikes?" Elliot asked.

"Yes. I am trained in combat driving for bikes, cars, trucks, everything.." Kara nodded.

"Excellent! As you both probably already know, the aliens will be dropping cars in a few days. We need to secure them and use them to participate in a race to be held in 29 days. Only by participating and winning the monthly race will we be able to thrive in this apocalypse. It's good that you're a trained driver, Kara." Elliot nodded in approval. "What about helicopters and planes?"

"I can fly a helicopter, and most simple planes. I only have theoretical knowledge on how to fly a fighter aircraft though. Why? Do you know a secret military base we can raid?" Kara asked with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

I recognized the gleam in her eyes. Battle hunger. She was definitely a fighter!

"No, I don't know any secret military bases. But I do know where some of the more important alien stashes containing critical resources such as aircrafts will drop in the future. If you can pilot a helicopter, you'll have no problems piloting the alien aircrafts. We'll secure more of them as well in that case."

"I see. Alright. If you trust me, I can be our resident pilot." Kara nodded.

"Excellent! Camelia, you can drive, right?" Elliot asked.

"Yes, I can. I'm not a trained driver, but I do like to do a little bit of street racing." She gave Elliot a toothy grin. Of course Elliot knew she could drive. Her profile was clearly displayed in the Apocalypse Survivor Weekly Update in the last iteration!

"Excellent! We'll move to secure three cars as soon as they appear, then maybe we can have a three-way practice race among ourselves." Elliot said.

"Sounds good!" Kara nodded with a very pretty smile.

"Perfect! I can't wait!" Camelia gushed.

"Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.." Red finished the plate of bacon and moved on to the plate of beans.