"Come back here you little prick!" screamed a guard in a set of large and heavy metal armor that could barely cover his large and fat belly.
If it weren't for the metal armor, his large stomach would be visibly heaving up and down. A river of sweat could be seen pouring down his forehead. The guard was chasing after what appeared to be a 12-13 year old boy holding a large loaf of bread. The two had been chasing each other through the market square for nearly fifteen minutes.
The kid wasn't having such an easy time either. He was small and skinny, looking as if he hadn't eaten a good meal in a long while. His breath was just as ragged as the guard's. His short and unkempt sweaty brown hair was sticking to the top of his forehead. He certainly didn't look like he could last much longer, but his grayish blue eyes held a fierce and determined look.
He wore a white t-shirt appearing nearly two sizes too big which had turned brown and gray from the long use. His black shorts, which had many patches on it, could barely stay up on his scrawny waist. Just one look at the kid, and anyone could tell how much he needed that one loaf of bread.
"God Dammit kid, just bring -whew- the bread -whew- back!" The out of breath guard reached for the back of the kids shirt collar, but missed only by a couple of inches. "Agh!" With rage, the guard picked up the pace.
The kid was rushing through the packed streets, the guard close behind him. While the kid wasn't as fast as the guard, his small build allowed him to move easily through the bustling market square. It also helped that no one in the streets was trying to intervene and help the guard. It was already hard enough for them to survive in this world, why would they try to help someone else? The people just glanced at the scene and carried on with their business.
As the guard was finally starting to catch up, he tripped on a stone brink in the intricately laid pavement, nearly falling on his face. Right at that moment, the boy managed to duck through the thick layer of people in front of him, leaving the guard behind.
The boy rushed past stall after stall. Once he made it a curtain distance away, he looked back to see if the guard was still behind him. Right as he turned his head, he rammed right into a huge sea of people. He tried to squeeze through like he always did, but the crowed was too thick, even for him.
The boy panicked. "What do I do?" He needed to escape! The boy looked left, only to a see a large street stall selling a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and varying spices. "Can't go that way," he thought. then he looked right, but all he saw was a tall brick wall, three times his height. "Dammit!" he couldn't help but curse. The boy turned back from where he came only to see the guard a couple of yards behind him. He was out of time with nowhere to go. Right then, he and the guard made eye contact.
"There you are, ya little shit!" The guard had a large sinister grin on his face. "You sure are quick, kid, but you've got no where else to go, ha! Imma make you pay for all the hard work you made me put in today!"
The guard was irritated. He wasn't able to catch up to the kid earlier, forcing him on a chase throughout the whole marketplace. The guard wouldn't have cared about the kid taking a single loaf of bread, but his superiors already figured out he was shirking on his duties, so if they knew that he got outrun by a little kid, they would send him back to guard the city wall. He couldn't let that happen! Guarding the market place was such an easy gig. All he had to do was sit around all day doing nothing and he would get the same pay as all those sad chumps guarding the walls. That was dangerous work!
The kid was backed into a wall with no where else to go, but he still didn't want to give up. He couldn't give up! He needed to get back so he could feed his siblings. They weren't his real siblings though, he was an orphan just like the rest of them. They didn't have anyone else to rely on. No one in this city cared about anyone but themselves. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Taxes were high, and everything cost a fortune. You needed a whole weeks worth of pay just to buy a couple loafs of bread. No one had time to bother with a bunch of orphaned kids, so as the oldest one among them, at 15 years old, Callum needed to be the one to provide for his younger siblings.
While Callum may have been 15, he certainly didn't look like it. Due to malnutrition and lack of food throughout most of his life, he hadn't been able to develop like other kids his age, so he looked as if he was only 12 or 13 years old.
Callum was running out of time, as there was now only a couple of feet between him and the guard. With no other choice, he had to make a decision. Right as the guard was about to reach out his hands to grab him, Callum ran to the stall on his right, grabbed a hand full of spices, and chucked it right into the guards eyes, blinding him.
"Argh! You little piece of shit!!" The guard instantly grabbed his face, his eyes burning. He couldn't see with the spices in his eyes. It was at this moment Callum took his opportunity to run back to the stall. He grabbed as many fruits and vegetables as he could before sprinting past the guard, and starting to make his way through the crowd again.
Right as he was running past an alleyway, he heard a voice. "Callum, this way! Hurry!" He turned to face the alleyway, his eyes landing on another boy, who appeared to be about 12 years old. He was similarly unkempt and dirty, but he seemed to have been eating slightly better. The younger boy looked only a little less skinny but he still looked like he hadn't eaten well in a long time. He had short blond hair that stuck up in a wild fashion, but because he hadn't washed in a long while, it appeared almost a muddy brown. Underneath his blond hair were his bright blue eyes which shone with both excitement and worry.
"Nick!?" Callum was surprised, rushing over to the alleyway. When he got in front of the blond boy he grabbed him by the wrist and started to drag him away. Once they turned the corner, he grasped the kids shoulders, staring right into his blue eyes with an angry yet worried look, asking, "What are you doing here, Nick!? I told you to wait back at the hideout with the others!" He couldn't help but shout at the boy.
Nick had a guilty yet defiant look on his face. "I know Callum, but I couldn't just wait there while you went out to get us food, what if you got caught again, what would we do then?"
Nick was visibly upset. The last time Callum had gone out to get food, he didn't come back for three days. The kids had nothing to eat all that time, and all they could think about was if Callum was okay and if he would ever come back. All that these kids had in the world was each other and the only one they had in this world to take care of them was Callum. He was like their brother, but he was also like their guardian. Without Callum, they would be lost.
Without even missing a beat, Callum replied, "That's exactly why I told you to stay with the others." he paused for a second, looking Nick in the eyes and rubbing his hand through the boys messy blond hair, "your the next oldest after me, Nick, If I don't come back one day, it will be up to you to take care of the rest, just like it was for me when big brother Michael disappeared." Callum couldn't help but say with a depressed but stern look on his face.
Callum was upset thinking about his brother, Michael, but the seriousness in his eyes and voice showed how sincere he was. Nick was initially unable to look into his brother's eyes, but as he could feel Callum's gaze on him, he was unable to look away for long. He knew how when his older brother Michael disappeared a few years back, Callum was the one who stepped up to take care of the rest of their siblings.
Nick looked up at his brother with a sad expression. "Brother Callum, I-"
Just as he was about to continue, the both of them heard, "Where the hell did that bloody kid go!?" When they peeked around the corner to look back down the alley, they saw the guard running past, back on the lookout for them.
Callum looked back at his brother and said, "lets get out of here while he still hasn't noticed us."
"Ok brother Callum." Even though Nick wanted to apologize right away, he knew how dangerous the situation was so he didn't argue with his brother. The two of them then turned and started to make their way back to the hideout.
The walk back from the market square to their hideout wasn't all that long when compared to the total size of the city, but it was still an hour walk. The city was the largest one in the entire empire. The two even shared the same name: New Hope. New Hope City was the first city to get built back up after "The Great Desolation." That's why it was called New Hope, at least that's what Callum's parents had taught him. Callum wasn't really sure what the Great Desolation was or what caused it, but he did know that as a result, there were huge monsters that roamed the Earth. That was why the city was surrounded by huge, hundred meter tall walls.
Every time he would glance up at the tall walls from the distance, the only thing he could think of was his parents serious faces saying, "Callum, these walls you see surrounding our entire city are meant to protect us, but they also stop us humans from discovering what we were truly meant for. There is a lot more to the outside world than those large ferocious monsters, you just need to go and discover it. The world is a beautiful place, it would be a pity to never see what it looks like beyond these walls."
There wasn't much else that Callum remembered about his parents, only the little things really. Like how when he used to wake up with nightmares in the middle of the night, his mom would sit next to him and hold his hand until he went back to sleep. Or like how every time his dad came home, he would brush his hand through his hair and ask how his day was. Callum didn't really like it when his dad would do that, but thinking back on it now, it was one of his most fond memories. Callum especially remembered the times when they would spend the whole afternoon at the local park playing and enjoying the cool summer breeze. Those were good times.
But now, as Callum was with out his parents and the oldest among his siblings, he was now the one needing to do those things for the others. Callum was a lot more mature than the other kids his age, but he also had to be. In order to survive, he had to grow up faster than the rest.
Soon, Callum felt Nick tapping him on the shoulders bringing him out of his thoughts. "Brother, we're here," said Nick with a concerned look on his face. It was then that Callum saw the familiar shape of the ruined house in front of him.
"Yes, Nick, now let's hurry inside." Callum put a hand on Nicks head to comfort him as he started walking towards the building. Then, lifting up the loaf of bread, he added, "I'm sure everyone is hungry."