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The crowd slowly encompassed the crew while their looks of hatred devoured the poor girl's spirit. The once-proud look in her eyes turned to panic. While the circle shrinks, she stammers gibberish. In a matter of moments, the people they had kept alive for so long had turned on them. Without skipping a beat, the bored mother cried crocodile tears. " they accused my starving child of stealing food!". Her loud wail grated their ears, but the crowd relished in the idea of tearing down the image of the people that had prolonged their miserable life.
Creed brought his hidden knife out and pointed it at the crowd. " get back, you monsters!", the desperation in his voice leaked from his eyes. He blindly swung his blade, but he purposely missed the people. Tristan used his overbearing strength to snatch the blade from his hand. His glossy eyes hid an unfathomable anger, but he whispered with undeniable kindness, "we can't hurt them". Just as the word's left his mouth, the bored mother threw an empty mug at his head, effectively knocking the giant out.
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Jason tried to take the initiative, " w-we worked s-so hard-", but his voice was drowned out by the crowd. The crowd pushed and pulled the crew, leaving them in utter confusion. Finally, Jackson broke away from the crowd. He shoved his way through the people to climb up the mainmast. While partially above the crowd, he bellowed, "People! We've been working so hard to help you, why would we harm you now?". Such simple words calmed the crowd. It was clear, they only acted out because they wanted someone to blame for the situation.
The bored mother bellowed back, "we're still out of food! And it's your fault we don't have any left!". The emotions behind her voice were convincing. However, she made the mistake of not sharing with her child. Through tears, the kid screamed, " just stop! I took the food! She told me I could eat if I brought her all the food...". A fire lit the mother's eyes while she smacked the boy. While the crowd turned their backs on the crew, a voice asked the mother, "what have you done with the food!".
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The mother took a step back while hissing, " if you touch me, I'll never tell you where the food is!". Everyone shared a look of frustration, but they didn't dare cross her. She threw her boy into the crowd and ran below deck. It took half a day for them to find her.
Unfortunately, it was too late. By the time they got there, the mother shoved the last of the food down her throat. As she turned her stuffed face towards the crowd, a burst of bitter laughter escaped the landfill she called a mouth. While she laughed, a chunk of bread lodged itself in her throat. Needless to say, no one felt like helping her. Instead, they watched as her face turned blue and her life left her eyes. Her child pushed through the crowd, fell by her side, and begged for his mother to stop the act, but he only succeeded in making everyone feel guilty. Other than the mess of crumbs, the only thing left in the room was her corpse.
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For a while, nobody could move. They were frozen by their guilty conscience. Everybody watched the crying boy grip what used to be his mother's hand. What could they have done? Most of them enjoyed watching the scene. No one wanted to admit it, but they had felt alive for the first time, in so long. After so long of doing nothing, something finally happened. Both the crowd and crew were afraid to approach the boy on his knees, all except one.
Jason broke away from the crowd and kneeled by the boy's side. The boy's eyes flared as Jason approached. With his young voice, he began shouting, "you all killed my mother!". The boy rushed Jason and began using his skinny arms to mercilessly attack his chest. It was a good thing, Jason let the boy attack him. He knew the pain that came from a death that was brought too soon. The frustration from knowing you couldn't save the people you love. They all knew, but Jason let the boy vent out his frustration. After a couple of punches, tears began falling from the boy's eyes and he fell into Jason's arms.
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Just like how he let the boy attack him, he let the boy cry out his pain. Through his sniffling, the boy muttered " s-she... was my mom...". His words lingered among the crowd. I wish it was because the boy's words touched their hearts, but the crowd only felt the loss of the food. Anger and resentment murmured through the crowd. A rough voice yelled from the back of the crowd, "what are we going to do about the food?". Not even half an hour of mourning had passed, but the crowd was already consumed by their hunger.
The crowd turned their frustration on the crying boy. Another voice yelled, " your mother stole all of the food!". The crowd became conflicted. Half wanted to blame the child for the crime the parent committed, the others wanted to leave the boy be. Regardless, the two halves formed a ring around the boy crying in Jason's arms. One pushed the other away from the boy, while the second tried to tear away his protection.
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The crew was left to watch as the crowd became an angry mob. Their anger became palpable. Hatred had manifested itself in the air, and no one knew what to do.
Suddenly, Delilah screamed out, "we'll find a new source of food!". She surprised herself with her words, but it was too late to take them back. They had no other choice but to clean up the mess made by the mother. The crowd was stunned. No one had expected her to offer a solution. She used their dazed state to drag Jason and the boy away from the mob.
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ns 15.158.61.48da2
