Part 16: A new friend

We sat in the kitchen at a small corner table. The kitchen was small and poorly lit, but I could make out the face of this stranger. He was handsome, and average height and build. His hair was short and he had the scruffy stubble of a beard growing in. My hospitable stranger walked towards me with bread and some lunch meat laying on a paper plate.

"Here." He said as he sat the plate down in front of me. I began to grab at the meat before he could even finish setting down the plate. "Are you thirsty? I don't know how clean the water is here, but we do have some type of soda I think..."

"Soda." I manage to spit out between bites.

"Uh, alright.." My stranger placed the cold silver can in front me. I grabbed the can, popped it open, and chugged the sweet taste of Diet Coke down.

"Damn! You were hungry."

"And thirsty...." I finished off the can. "What.. what happened out there?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Jared. I don't rightly know. I was trying to escape the city and I stumbled upon this place. Everything was as you see it out there.... Jared, how did you get here?"

"... Who are you again?"

"Jared, you don't remember me?"

"I don't remember ... anything." I stopped. "All I remember is waking up outside and then stumbling into this house." The man standing in front of me looked disappointed or confused, I couldn't really tell. "I'm sorry I don't recognize you.... what was your name?"

"We were neighbors, friends even. Jared.... it's me, Kyle."