As Ethan suspected, getting to the end of Central Park took the remainder of the day. Along the way, he watched the people closely. If they were stopped, he would stop to talk with them. They were inclined to be secretive and suspicious, but that was just at first. Soon, they’d be telling Ethan everything he wanted to know. Almost every single one of them was heading to a place where they had heard of better opportunity. Someplace that promised food and shelter. They might be going to one of the other boroughs, or to another state. One of the families he met was heading to Canada.

The one thing that Ethan noticed was no-one stopped to have lunch by the side of the path. He found that odd. All these people on a trek, and no one stopping for lunch? He did notice some people furtively raising bits of food to their mouths as they walked. They were being so secretive, they hardly chewed. Food must be awfully scarce if they were hiding it to that extent.

The truth was, food was very scarce. Him and Elsie hadn’t come across any the entire time they had been walking. Elsie assured him she was used to it and all right, but that didn’t sit well with Ethan. By nightfall they came to a paved public area at the edge of Central Park. This was the place where the Consortium began, and everything else ended. It was on the park side of the dead zone, but controlled by the Consortium. Denizens came to experience living on the edge while still in the relative safety of the Consortium. It was touristy. There were booths and carts selling food.

Ethan was angry he hadn’t been able to find food for Elsie all day, and headed for the first booth he saw.

“What are you doing?” Elsie said, grabbing him by the shirt. “We can’t go in there”.

“Why not?”

“Any space beyond the park is forbidden. There’ll be Sheriff Bobs all over. They’ll catch us for sure”.

It saddened Ethan that someone as young as Elsie could or should feel so much fear towards something.

“We can fix that Elsie,” he said. “Come on”.

Ethan found a little opening in the park right up against the Consortium public area. There was a Sheriff Bob patrolling back and forth in case someone tried to enter.

“Run into that area there,” Ethan said, “and get Sheriff Bob’s attention. “I’ll fix it so we don’t have to worry about him anymore. Pretend you strayed in there by accident, but make sure he notices you”.

Elsie looked at Ethan like he was crazy, which he was clearly showing signs of. She wondered just how committed a damsel was supposed to be in a relationship.

“I’m not going in there,” she said. Even the thought of it made her want to run away.

“It’s okay,” Ethan said. “I’ll make sure nothing happens”.

Something about Ethan’s assurances had a calming effect, but she still hesitated.

“Look over there Elsie. There’s hotdogs and french fries just waiting for us.

Elsie could smell the food. She was starving and it smelled better than any food she ever smelled before.

“Trust me Elsie. I won’t let any harm come to you”.

Shakily, Elsie made her way to the spot Ethan told her to go. It was the scariest thing she had ever done, and she was sure her legs were going to give out on her with every step.

Sure enough, once she had made herself seen, Sheriff Bob came running after her. When Sheriff Bob grabbed her, she almost peed. “You have reached the age parameter for microchip implantation. Prepare for...”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Ethan was there behind Sheriff Bob, and flipped his lid causing the robot to automatically release its grip on Elsie. He accessed a small screen inside Bob’s head and started swiping through the menu. When he found what he was after, he backed up a little and called Elsie over to him.

“Smile for the scanner,” he said.

“What?” Elsie asked, but Ethan was satisfied, pressed in a few more instructions and flipped the head of the robot back to its regular position.

“There,” he said. “Sheriff Bob won’t bother us anymore”.

Elsie didn’t believe that for a moment.

“Look,” Ethan said. “He’s operating right now, but he can’t see us”.

To prove his point, Ethan started making faces, dancing and occasionally charging at Bob which only caused the robot to backup.

“See,” he said. “As far as Sheriff Bob is concerned, we're nothing more than a wall he doesn’t want to bump into. He doesn’t see us as people anymore. Try it”.

Elsie hesitantly waved at Sheriff Bob. Nothing. It was like she wasn’t even there.

“See,” Ethan repeated, while making a particularly stupid face at Bob.

Elsie giggled, and gave Bob one of the stupidest faces she could come up with. She felt it was pretty stupid and this and Ethan laughing at her, encouraged her to make more. Then she started dancing like Ethan, and tried to do that as stupidly as possible too. All in all, they both looked pretty stupid and enjoyed laughing at each other. Then Ethan told Sheriff Bob to laugh too, and he came out with the fakest, most robot laugh you ever heard. This dropped them to their knees, holding their bellies, they were laughing so hard. Elsie was happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed and had fun.

“Come on,” Ethan said. “Let’s go find some food”.

When they got to the food booth, the server looked suspiciously at Elsie. “What’s she doing here?” he asked “No outcasts are allowed here”.

Ethan looked at Elsie, and then back at the man. “Don’t worry. She’s with me”.

The man looked closer at Ethan. “You don’t look like you belong here either”. He then looked beyond Ethan and Elsie for a Sheriff Bob.

“Don’t look there, look at me,” Ethan said.

The man ignored him.

Ethan placed his hand on the man’s forearm. “Look at me”.

The man reluctantly looked at Ethan.

“We’re here for some food”.

The man’s eyes remained fixed on Ethan for a moment, then noticing Ethan’s hand on his forearm returned him to the present.

“Of course,” he said. “What can I get you”?

“We’ll have two hotdogs, two large fries and...what kind of pop do you like Elsie”?

“Pop?” Elsie asked, not sure what the choices would be.

“Two cream sodas,” Ethan ordered.

“Coming right up,” the man said.

The man brought the food. Ethan thanked him and they turned to head back to Central Park for the night.

“Aren’t you going to pay for it”? Elsie asked.

“His payment is the gift of giving,” Ethan replied. “It’s worth a lot where I come from”.

Elsie had never eaten such delicacies, ever. Never before had she eaten anything so fresh and well prepared. The hotdog bun was as soft as could be and the fries. She had eaten old shriveled potatoes before, but never a crispy french fry. Although she had never had them before, Elsie considered french fries to be as good as ice cream. Especially with ketchup. She never knew food could taste so good, and the cream soda to wash it all down? That was her favorite part of the meal. She drank all hers, and most of Ethan’s too.

When she finished, Elsie was fuller than she’d ever been. Tired too. It had been a long day.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” she asked Ethan sleepily as they settled in for the night. Settling in was resting against a fallen log and for Elsie eventually wiggling her way under Ethan’s arm and resting her face against his chest.

Ethan petted her and squeezed her shoulder.

“Tomorrow we’re going to find that ice cream I promised you”.

“Ah, yes. Ice cream for Me Lady,” she replied sleepily; already halfway to her dreams.