19 Live to eat

Jack looked at the three bodies laying on the grass, and he thought to himself if he would be as relaxed about it if they were human. He hoped he would never have to know...

»Anyway, let's get out of here first,« Jack mumbled as he shook his head.

He didn't pick up anything and just went to the level 7 door. As he walked in, there was only a congratulation notification of passing level 6 but no rewards mentioned of unlocking new features. What made Jack happy was the timer that appeared.

7th level commences in 48 hours.

He was getting more time between levels. Jack hated that feeling to have to be at home at 1 pm every day since if he upgraded his stats, he would collapse during synchronization. If he happened to be somewhere in public or in the middle of traffic that would have been a disaster.

After 30 seconds the light flashed, and Jack reappeared on his couch. Wearing his out of date green sportswear he yawned and stretched his hands as if he just woke up. He picked up his mobile phone and started looking for lunch.

He got a sudden inspiration and Googled Chicago food challenge.

The long list of results made him smile. He checked the first one, and it was a 2.5 kg or 5.5 pounds burger with bacon and fried eggs free if eaten in 30 minutes 33$ if not. You even get a 100$ gift card a free t-shirt and a picture on their wall if successful.

He checked the location, and it was quite close using the Chicago »L« train system. Jack decided he would save his money as much as he could right now and he didn't need to fear almost anyone on the train now. With 2.5$ one way ticket, it will be significantly cheaper than to go with a cab.

Jack changed his clothes and went to the nearest train stop which was a quarter of a mile East of his home. The train tracks ran all over the town. They were either elevated or subway, but they offered a decent alternative to buses and cabs for people who didn't own cars like Jack.

If you didn't mind an occasional drunkard and other problematic people using it it was practically the most excellent way to travel around Chicago. What you should never do though was compare it with other town's transit systems since all you could do then was sigh how primitive it was. What you don't know about won't hurt you...

Jack only had four stops to go before he reached his destination and he quickly made his way over to the restaurant. It was called Tony's Grill, and Bar and the dish he was having was Tony's famous skillet Challenger burger.

When he got inside, he witnessed a typical decor of a sports bar. LCD televisions everywhere you could possibly think of. Some patrons drinking beers and some munching on their burgers. A tall blonde was working as a bartender. She looked around forty but had a friendly smile and had a seductive way of walking and talking with the customers.

Jack got a seat at the bar and ordered the challenger burger with a pitcher of water and a glass. The bartender was used to people not ordering alcohol or carbonated drinks when doing the challenge, so she made no fuss of him trying to no even pay for drinks if he ate the burger.

Honestly, looking at Jack, you would sooner expect that the burger would eat him than the other way around. He did get a little of his flesh back, but it was still a long way from normal.

Jack looked around, and there were indeed around ten photos of people with smiling faces and empty plates framed on the wall near him.

His stomach was a bottomless pit right now, and he knew he was going to join them soon if he was fast enough. Jack never considered how fast he should eat to finish the burger in 30 minutes time limit but was not worried he could not finish it at all.

After a 10-minute wait, a monstrous plate with a burger topped with a fried egg and plethora of bacon served on a bed of hash browns, and fries arrived making him drool.

After she put down the meal, the bartender started the timer and said enjoy your meal.

Jack just grabbed the knife and fork and started cutting everything apart as fast as he could without making a mess. The food he didn't cut apart well enough stayed on the plate, but the rest was disappearing into his mouth at a shocking speed. In his first cutting session, Jack reduced the meal by more than half. As he finished the second cutting session all that was left were some leftovers which he cut into 2-3 pieces and chowed down. He took the big glass of water and made a big sip then looked at the timer.

There were 14 minutes left. An eerie silence was permeating the bar, and as Jack looked up from his plate and looked around, he noticed everyone was looking at him as if they had seen a ghost.

Jack told the bartender, »I am done.« With a timid voice and she just used smiled at him an stopped the timer.

»16 minutes. Well, that's a new record,« she said with a polite tone of voice.

»Will there be anything else?«, was her follow-up.

Jack really wanted to say: »Give me another challenger burger!« But he shook his head and asked for the check.

»It's on the house. In fact, let me take a picture.«, she said as she took a picture with her phone.

Then she filled out a 100$ gift certificate and gave him a T-Shirt.

The gift certificate was for this bar, so he asked if he has to spend it all at once. Jack was told he can use it more than once, but not for the burger challenge. Jack's idea for getting an infinite free burger supply was squashed as soon as he had it.

He felt a bit sorry for what he had done and gave a 5$ tip to the bartender. She didn't really bother herself with him after that except saying a polite thank you. Jack made them lose money, and the 5$ was not going to change anything. He basically made them lose 133$ and gave 5$ back.

Anyway, the restaurant has earned plenty with this challenge in the past and Jack winning it once was far from disastrous for them.

As Jack got out of the bar, he checked for the next one.

He found an ice cream challenge not far away, and he went for it. 18 scoops of ice cream, 2 apples, 6 bananas in an hour free or 50$. It was just what he needed after the burger.

As he exited the place, there were still people staring at him since he just used 25 minutes for that massive bowl of ice cream. He only stirred everything together until it was soft and scooped it out into his mouth. After 10 minutes of stirring and 15 minutes of eating it was gone entirely.

When Jack finished, he saw the female worker looking at him, and he asked her if he is supposed to lick out the bowl. She just shook her head and handed him his T-Shirt and took a photo.

Jack looked at the time, and it was 3.30 pm. His stomach was quiet for once. He felt good as he breathed in the fresh... scratch that ... smelly Chicago air.

He was considering his options. Should he go home? Go around town some more?

Then he saw it. A gym.