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Part Seventeen

   "Hi Leo."

   "Are you hungry?"

   "Uh...sure." Sam was not hungry, he normally couldn't afford to be, but the more he spent time with his humans, the more he felt the need to conform to their habits. Plus, it wouldn't be so bad to put on a few pounds and lose the sickly features on his body. To think that one day he could lift his clothing and not see a pile of bones and pale skin was a miracle of its own, and one he was willing to acquire with the help of his friends.

   "I'm gonna get the bowls, I'll be right back," Leo declared as he set down the three forks and tin foil.

   Tin foil was never something Sam learned to take for granted. It was considered a luxury in his household from the moment he was born, and even his parents made him aware of its many uses in Sam's daily life. If his hook and string were the most important tools in his life, than the tin foil was a close second, and it was the first thing he walked over to as soon as it was placed on the table.
 
"What is this for? Can I use it?"

  "Yeah, it's for you. We couldn't find anything small enough so we figured you could just make your own utensils," Skip replied, stealing a fork from the pile. "Do you need help?"

   "No, no this is what I'm good at."

   Both Elijah and Skip watched in awe as Sam's tiny hands worked magic, ripping off a perfect portion from the blank tin foil and rolling it into a perfect stick with three ends protruding from it. Not only was it the perfect size, but the perfect replica of a utensil worthy of eating for Sam.

   "Have you made stuff with that before?"

   "Loads of times," Sam said. "My life is all about using what I can to survive. Tin foil is really helpful for weapons, too."

   "...weapons?" Leo came back, holding two bowls in both hands and another held up inside the crook of his arm. Once he settled each to its assigned human, he took a portion of pasta from his bowl and poured it onto the remaining tin foil for Sam to eat, sliding the material closer to him.

  "Sam, didn't you say you were, like, evolved or something?" Elijah spoke up, leaning forward before Leo pushed him back by the neck of his collar. "What do you mean by 'survive'?"

   "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Leo reminded, and Skip nodded to the side.

   "It's okay," Sam stood up. "I already pretty much did, it's just sort weird talking about my life without...you know...lying." He cringed at his words, but it was true, wasn't it? He hadn't told the truth about anything in his life when speaking to his friends over the phone, and last night was the first time he ever talked to another person about how rough he had it. But, knowing his humans, his friends, would listen with open ears and open hearts, Sam figured it would be alright to share as much information as he could about himself. If not to spare himself from going insane, then for the people that deserved to know more about him.

    "So, It's kinda obvious I'm not human, so I'm sorry for not telling the truth over the phone. Like I said, I was scared and didn't know you guys would be okay with me."

   "We are," Skip huffed and dug into his bowl of noodles. "But what exactly are you?"

   "I'm a borrower. Okay, technically I'm an evolved borrower, which is different and the definition has changed a lot over the years, but I'm basically just smaller with a few different features. We mostly live in the walls. Some of us, the ones who aren't so lucky, live outside, but the only others I've met are my mom and dad."

   "If you've only met your mom and dad, how do you know there's others?"

   "Skip!"

   "It's okay," Sam reassured Elijah, who looked about ready to cry already. Sam hadn't even gotten to the sad part yet. "To be honest, I can't know for sure, but it's nice to think there's more like me, yeah? And my mom and dad told me they met from two different colonies before moving out together into this home, so I sort of rely on their word. Especially after...you know, they died, it got really lonely and I wanted to believe someone else would come to these walls and start a colony with me "