Rations were something he’d long grown used to but Finn had found something particularly sad in returning to the mess hall in the military base for something that was barely a step above MREs. Out in the field he would’ve choked them down for months on end but this wasn’t a matter of being three hundred miles from the nearest grocery store. The shortages in this city were thanks to the fact that pretty much the whole world had been locked down by this virus. In the end they’d likely all be guzzling from those little foil packets, dreading the day they’d run out. It would come, although by that point how many of them were honestly going to be left?

Not enough.

Scratching at his jaw as he released one side of his mask for a moment to take a sip from the beer the bartender had set down in front of him, Finn dreaded that day too. The world had a cycle to it, the population periodically being devastated by something – war, disease, a massive freaking comet from outer space that would wipe them out the same with it had the dinosaurs millions of years ago. It came back in the end but it didn’t mean millions didn’t lose their life in the meantime. With the rate they were going with finding a cure it would be billions. Right now the numbers were unspeakable and most had no clue of their real size. The government wasn’t about to go yelling those from the rooftops, not without inciting mass panic and that was already bad enough.

Dark eyes glanced at the shaded windows that looked out on the street. There’d already been riots, despite the curfew being introduced. Folks were starting to tip down that slippery slope of fear and once they gathered speed there wasn’t gonna be holding anything back, not even with the military involved. Finn swallowed hard, took a gulp from the bottle. Soon as his food was done he was taking the bottle and the little plastic containers back to his quarters in the barracks. A few hours picking through what he had been able to find out at Prism while he was ‘on duty’ and maybe he’d snatch a couple of hours sleep before he headed back.

The woman that sat down further along the bar drew his eye for a moment, his hand going back up to fix his mask back in place before he paused. Finn narrowed his eyes, frowning faintly as he studied her. His finger brushed his mask and he considered just slipping it in place and staring at the mirror behind the bar until his name was called but he shifted slightly in his seat instead, his jacket falling over, the ID he still wore at his neck dragging across his chest. ”Feels like it’s taking an hour,” he muttered, tipping his chin towards the kitchen door. ”I guess it’s the same everywhere. No staff, short supplies … folks not wanting to cook for themselves.” Folks without much choice, or at least, no other choice they wanted to take.

Tagged: @harley * Word Count: 520