Lin had made what she could with their limited resources—protein bars that supposedly tasted like chicken, green paste that might have been vegetables once, and something called fruit juice that tasted more like someone's memory of fruit.
Eve stared at her plate with obvious disappointment. "It's all... dead."
"That's how we eat food," Sera said carefully.
"But the good stuff is gone! How am I supposed to keep my body working with this?" She picked up a protein bar, smelled it, and her nose wrinkled in disgust. "It smells like poop."
Lin Xu spoke up gently, "I know it's not great, but it has all the nutrients we need. The bars have vitamins, minerals, and protein."
"But the good stuff is broken!" Eve insisted. "My body needs fresh meat to work right!"
"Fresh meat isn't exactly available right now," Rosa said, taking a defensive bite of her own bar. The texture was like chewing leather that had opinions about being eaten.
