Need Help

It's been over a week, yet we haven't met the people May said would help us find our parents. "I'm starving," Jerry groaned for the umpteenth time today. His stomach growled right then, as if to back up his statement. Sue was fast asleep in the corner, and the little girl that delivered our food was late. I opened the wooden door and walked out. A short distance away, there were two women by a fire. They had a large pot over it. One was cutting up meat, while the other poured spices from several bottles into the pot. A small, dust-covered boy firmly held onto the cloth of one woman. He turned to look at me. The first thing I noticed were his eyes—a surging dark violet shade. It reminded me of a lurking beast. I scoffed at my imagination. I looked at the pot. It seems breakfast will be late. I turned away to explore the camp, but most importantly, to find May. But for some reason, I felt a gaze that sent shivers up my spine. It felt snakelike. Only the women and kid were here. I looked over at them to see the boy's eyes were on me. His bambi eyes gave me the creeps. It was strangely stifling. I moved to the left, and his gaze followed me. I wasn't sure before, but now I knew he was staring at me. I shivered and returned to the house. I touched my chest. Fear. I felt fear. But why the hell was I afraid of a kid I just met? I cursed softly. Such a kid will probably grow up to be quite strong. Maybe it was his powerful aura that scared me. Jerry looked at me, then at my hands. He seemed dazed as he spoke, "You didn't bring any food?" His words successfully distracted me. I rolled my eyes before landing a light smack on his head. "Stop acting like you'll die of starvation." He ignored me. "Why is there no food?" "I dunno, but it seems like they're cooking outside..." I couldn't complete my sentence because Jerry stood up, shoved me out of the way, and scrambled for the door. He pushed the door open with a loud bang. I rushed after him. The two women and the boy stared at us. I hugged Jerry by the waist, preventing him from charging forward. "Sorry... sorry," I grinned sheepishly at them. Then, lowering my voice, I hissed at Jerry, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Food," he muttered. I kicked his shin hard. "Sorry," I apologized again as I dragged him back in. The women had returned to their chores, but the boy's discomfiting gaze remained on me. I shut the door. I shoved Jerry away. "Get a frigging hold of yourself." Jerry rubbed his head, still in a daze. "They're trying to starve me." "What is it this time?" a soft voice groaned. I turned to see that Sue was seated up on the bed, her eyes half-lidded. The noise must have woken her up. "Do you feel better?" I walked to her side and rested a palm on her forehead. She pushed my hand away, then lay back down. "I'm not sick. I just feel like I ran a damn marathon." "Maybe I should ask for a doctor." "Don't bother." She licked her lips and looked around. "What's up with him?" She sighted Jerry. "Honestly, I don't know." "Food," Jerry muttered. "Ha, that's why you look half-dead?" She grinned weakly. "What's the time?" I looked out the small window. "I'm not sure, probably 9, 10... 11? AM." "Why has the food not yet arrived? I'm also hungry," she rubbed her stomach. I hesitated to volunteer to check. I glanced at Jerry; he was biting his nails. I frowned in annoyance. It's not like we've never stayed long without food before. Mom and dad were usually busy, so we've often had to make do with small food rations. So why the hell was he suddenly acting like this? I turned to Sue; she didn't look like she had the strength to get out of bed. I frowned at the door. I really didn't want to go back out. I walked over and cracked the door open a smidge. I couldn't see the women cooking, so I opened it a bit more. The fire was no longer burning, and several serving bowls were piled up at the side. I retracted my head. "Don't worry, guys, the food's done cooking. We'll soon eat." "Good," Sue murmured. Jerry didn't reply but focused on orally trimming his nails. Although I was sure I didn't see him spit it out. I frowned in disgust at the thought but ultimately decided to ignore him. I turned for one final look. My heart jumped when I saw the boy right in front of our door. His big eyes met mine. Goosebumps rose on my arm. I shut the door with such a heavy bang the house shook. I was shaking. I could almost taste my heart in my mouth. "What is it with the infernal noise?" On the bed, Sue raised her voice and glared at me. I was startled by her anger. I didn't know how to explain that I was afraid of a kid. I opened and then closed my mouth. "Sorry." I can't believe how many times I've apologized today. Knock. Knock. The soft rap on the door nearly made me jump out of my skin. Sue looked at me suspiciously. "Who is it?" "Who?" I answered dumbly. "Ah, n-no one." "Oh, so we're both hearing things?" "No." I regained my composure. "It's just some witchy kid playing a prank." Outside, the knocking continued. Sue turned away from me to face the wall. "At least find out what the brat wants, so he or she can get the fucking hell away." I didn't want to open the door. With my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath and yanked the door open. I was met by the dirty face of a small kid. Cute kitten eyes and a button nose. It was the little girl that delivered our food. Behind her, three bowls floated in the air. Her small lips were pursed in a pout. "I've been knocking for so long, see," she lifted her bony little hand, "it's all red." I glanced around for the boy, but he was nowhere in sight. I looked at her raised hand. It was indeed red. I lowered my head guiltily. "Sorry, Lili." She rewarded me with a wide grin. "It's okay." I opened the door wide. With a wave of her hand, the bowls flew past the door and hovered beside the three of us. After a few days, I was already used to the whole thing. I grabbed mine and helped Sue take down hers. I dropped it on the floor. It seems she had gone back to sleep. "Thanks, Lili." "You're welcome," she skipped away. I left the door open to give the room more light. I shook Sue. Her eyes were bleary. "The food's here, get up and eat." "I'm not hungry," she groaned. When I shook her yet again, she raised a hand and pushed me away with surprising strength. I stumbled back a few steps. "Ooh, harsh." I turned to Jerry, who had snickered. His previously glassy eyes were now focused and twinkled with mischief. "You seem better." He nodded earnestly as he chewed. "No problem a good bowl of food can't solve." I rolled my eyes, pulling the blanket from Sue's body. I made to sit her up. "I feel like I'm about to die," she groaned. I chided in anger, "Don't talk stupid. Come on, eat up... if you don't get up, then I'm really gonna call a doctor... a witch doctor." "Haha, fine, I'll eat." I was happy to see her sit up on her own. She took the bowl from me and ate her soup in small bites. I sat on a low stool to eat mine when I noticed a piercing gaze on me. "What?" I glared at Jerry. Jerry pouted at me, trying to look pitiful. He waved his now empty bowl and cast a perverse glance at mine. "Are you gonna eat that?" "Yes!" I deadpanned. "Yes, I am." I turned my back to him and hunched over my food. There was no fragrance as usual, but once I bit into the soft meat, I felt like I was in paradise. In a few minutes, I was licking the last bit of soup from my spoon. Jerry was glaring at me like I killed his mother. I smirked, raised my bowl, and ran my tongue on the inside. "Mmm," I groaned, "simply delicious." His eyes turned red, and he looked close to tears. I finally decided to stop teasing him. "Here, you can have mine." I looked over; Sue had eaten more than half of the food. She laid down and pushed the rest towards Jerry, who immediately snatched it up. "Slow down, beast." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Although it was embarrassing, I continued to scrape my empty bowl. The food was really too good. I don't understand how Sue could bear to part with hers. She usually was a big eater. I paused. Was she really sick? A shadow fell on our hut. The sun was bright, so when I turned to look, I could only make out a small silhouette. At first, I thought it was Lili, but the absence of her signature pigtails suggested otherwise. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw it was the boy. His bright violet eyes stared right at me, as they always seemed to. I stiffened. Jerry glanced at him. "What do you want, kid?" The boy's eyes never left me. He ignored Jerry. His lips moved as if he was talking, but there was no sound. He frowned, licked his lips, and tried again. This time, there was sound. His voice was small and grainy, like he hadn't spoken in a long while, but I could hear him say, "The chief calls for you."