The long seconds of silence were broken by Duggi.
"Food is too scarce here," he said, his voice lower now and less flat. "There's nothing left. The animals have migrated or been eaten, and the fruits are gone. We can't survive on water alone."
Kuggi nodded, an exaggerated motion from someone who was almost asleep while sitting up.
"We need to move soon," he said, his voice drawn out. "Before everyone starves to death."
Kaira, who had been quiet until then, spoke up.
"I saw men from the nearby 'village'."
All eyes turned to her, and Duggi frowned.
"From the village? Where?"
"It doesn't matter." Kaira's voice was firm, but quick; she wanted to cut the conversation short before it went deeper. "I'm fine. He won't bother anyone anymore. He's already a pile of bones. He was devoured alive by insects."
Grandma grunted, a guttural sound that came from deep within her throat. "The villagers are bad," she spat on the ground. "Very bad. They steal, kill, and take the women."
"I know, Grandma. That's why I was cautious."
"But you were still alone!" The old woman slapped her thigh. "It's dangerous!"
"I wasn't alone the whole time." Kaira vaguely pointed in Hawke's direction.
The men followed her finger and finally noticed a stranger standing in the darkest corner of the cave. Duggi blinked, while Kuggi frowned. "Who is that?" Kuggi asked, sounding more confused than suspicious, as if he had stumbled upon a stone where there should have been a gourd.
Hawke opened his mouth to speak, but just then, they heard footsteps outside. Everyone froze.
Quick, uneven footsteps, almost stumbling. A gasp for breath. A figure appeared in the doorway, bent over with hands on his knees. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and disheveled blond hair clung to his face. A deep cut on his left arm, a mix of dried and fresh blood, trickled down to his elbow.
He was very young, thin, and tall.
"TAIRO!" Grandma jumped up and rushed toward him, covering the distance in some quick steps. She slapped him hard on the shoulder; not a caress, but a punch. "You idiot! You're alive! I cried for nothing!"
Tairo gasped, trying to catch his breath. His eyes were wide, the whites showing around his irises.
"Grandma... I... saw..."
"What? What did you see?"
Tairo remained silent for a moment.
"SEEN WHAT? Tell me quickly, brat!"
Tairo raised his head. His face was pale despite the run, despite the sun outside. Truly pale, the kind that comes from within. "A large carnivorous dinosaur." The voice trembled. "It had enormous fangs. Like this." He raised his hands, curled his fingers, and imitated something coming out of his mouth. "It's nearby. Close to here."
Grandma narrowed her eyes.
"Carnivorous? Here?" She shook her head. "No. There aren't any here. It's not common. Only herbivores. There are many trees and leaves here. None have ever been seen. You're seeing things." She crossed her arms. "This forest is safe."
"I'm not! I SAW IT!" Tairo imitated the creature again, more exaggerated now. He walked from side to side, hunched over, his arms close to his chest. "It was enormous! It had small hands like this, it walked like this..."
"Tairo, you're tired," Grandma interrupted, her voice now softer. "You're hurt, and you must be hungry. Your mind plays tricks on you when…"
"What he says is true."
Everyone turned to look.
Hawke had spoken.
Now, all eyes were on him. The three men; Duggi, Kuggi, and the newcomer, Tairo; stared at him as if he had just sprouted from the ground. Duggi frowned in confusion, while Tairo tilted his head, resembling an animal trying to understand an unfamiliar shape.
"Who is that?" Tairo asked, pointing with his chin. His tone wasn't aggressive; it was filled with genuine confusion, as if he was wondering when that person had entered the room.
"I saw it too," Hawke said, ignoring Tairo's question and the stares around him. He continued, "Everything he said is true. There's a carnivorous dinosaur nearby." He paused for a moment. "It chased me to a cliff and almost caught me."
Tairo's eyes widened even more, if that was possible.
"SEE?" he shouted, his voice rising an octave. "I'm not crazy!"
"Nobody said you're crazy, you crazy idiot," Grandma murmured, though her voice lacked conviction. Her eyes flickered between Hawke, Tairo, and the cave entrance.
Duggi approached Hawke, studying his face closely as if examining an unfamiliar tool.
"Seriously, who are you?" he frowned. "I don't recognize you."
Hawke opened his mouth to respond. Finally. He was ready to introduce himself properly, to share the whole story, or at least what he could recall, to explain that he wasn't sure how he ended up there, that his memories were fragmented, and that perhaps they could help each other.
But Duggi had already seen.
The bag.
The eggs.
The insects.
"HEY!" The finger pointed, the face lit up like a child seeing sweet fruit. "KUGGI! LOOK HERE! FOOD!"
"WHERE?!"
Kuggi practically flew. It wasn't a metaphor, his stocky body crossing the distance in two seconds. He fell to his knees in front of the sack, hands gripping, groping, grabbing.
"YOU SAID FOOD?!"
The two threw themselves at the sack as if it were an animal about to escape. Hands dug into the hide, ripped out eggs. Hunger didn't conquer civility; there was no civility to conquer. It was just hunger, pure and immediate, the kind of hunger that blinds and deafens.
Kuggi grabbed an egg without hesitation. He didn't search for a stone or attempt to crack it gently. Instead, he punched the shell with his closed fist, causing it to crack open. He inserted his fingers into the opening, grasped the yolk, large, yellowish-green, and viscous, and pulled it out.
He brought it to his mouth and ate the raw egg.
The yolk dripped through his fingers, down his chin, and onto his chest. He was chewing—chewing? There was nothing to chew; it was liquid. Yet he chewed anyway, his jaw moving with the emptiness, his whole body vibrating with satisfaction.
"Hum... hum..."
Kuggi didn't hold back. He grabbed the same egg and buried his face in the opening Duggi had made. He sucked it down like an animal drinking water from a stream.
The two competed for the same egg. Duggi pulled to one side while Kuggi held the other, liquid dripping between their fingers and onto the ground.
"Hey, you guys aren't even going to..." Hawke began.
**********************************
Nobody paid attention.
"Aren't you even going to fry it?" His voice rose in frustration. "Prepare it? Anything?"
Kuggi ripped off an insect's leg, joint included, and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed with his mouth open, bits of chitin crackling between his teeth. Green liquid trickled down his chin, forming a thread that swayed and dripped onto his chest. He didn't wipe it away.
"That's not how you eat something!"
Hawke felt his stomach churn. It wasn't exactly disgust, perhaps it was, but it was also something else. Something like, this isn't right. You don't eat food like this. Not with your hands, not with your mouth open, not making those sounds.
They continued to ignore him.
Tairo had also joined the feast. He had forgotten the cut on his arm, forgotten the dinosaur, forgotten he had been panting for thirty seconds. He cracked an egg with a punch, his fingers diving inside, and put it in his mouth. He sucked the contents like a thirsty vampire, his eyes half-closed in pleasure.
"Seriously!" Hawke stepped forward. "You ask a question like, 'Who are you?' and you don't even wait for an answer! When you ask a question, at least be willing to listen!"
*Chewing.*
*Wet sounds of swallowing.*
Zero attention to him.
"It's basic!" His voice nearly cracked. "BASIC EDUCATION! Savages!"