Future me

We are not talking as we make our way back.

He is silent… Is he upset? Everything he does is like a mystery. I really can't get smart out of this guy. I have many questions to ask him, but one comes to my mind that has been bothering me since the first time we met.

I'm not sure if I should ask it, but I'll give it a try.

"You know…"

I start talking and he looks at me with a surprised expression on his face.

"Could it be that you know my future? Or at least… I don't know, have we met before? Or will we in the future?"

His eyes widen as if I just asked the most hilarious and unrealistic question ever, but he somehow doesn't look as surprised as I thought he would. Am I right?

"You're asking too much sometimes. You're being weird, is everything alright?"

He asks with a sigh but I don't respond immediately. Was I wrong? From the first day we met… or in general he never really acted like a total stranger to me. It felt like he must at least have heard my name before.

All this doesn't make sense in my head. Maybe I should stop focusing on it… we kinda need to hurry anyway, before this whole building collapses.

"Shin, we need to hurry."

He nods and starts to run, as if I told him to run a marathon. He runs way faster than me, but I somehow manage to catch on with him. I don't have the stamina to walk like this for a while, but it should be enough until we make it to the exit.

"It's not like you think."

He says while running. He doesn't look at me and I can't see his face, since I'm a bit behind him, but he sounds serious. The tone in his voice is calm and quiet. He doesn't sound as silly and unserious as normally.

"I can't really tell you about it, but it's different than you think. You will find out soon enough. First of all, we should get out of here quickly."

He says and we continue running in silence. Should I have said anything to that?

Surely he knows something about me, but why? I Never left this building before. Or… Is it really that I will meet him in the future? Arghh! I really hate this and the knowledge that I am missing to solve a problem like this.

He said it's not like I think, but what else could it be…?

"Jinsei, we are here."

He suddenly stops and I almost crash into him, but fortunately I can stop in time before that happens.

Now I have time to look around the area. Everything looks horrible, it's like a sea of corpses. The ground is covered in blood and the few people who are still breathing will probably not make it. The gate is open, but even outside I can see corpses on the ground. How many made it out? How many are still alive? I am not sure anymore if we can really make it out. If we don't, and he dies, what will I do then? Will I end up as a lab rat again and work for a different professor or will I end up like them, in endless torture.

Even though I'm pretty sure that's almost the same thing. My heartbeat is razing and I get goosebumps all over my body.

Yes, I'm scared, but who can judge me for it?

Just before I'm about to sink on the ground in fear, a hand grabs my shoulder from behind.

"Jinsei, let's go."

I look at him for a few seconds, before I start to walk with him.

Did he know I was panicking?

"We need to run fast now, got it? Not a lot of people are still running towards the exit.

Most are dead and didn't make it, so most eyes are on us. They will try shooting us, so you need to run fast or you'll end up dying. I'll distract them by running infront of you, got it?"

He looks at me, his eyes serious and his breath fast from the running. He is covered in blood, he looks exhausted and I think this might be the first time where he actually looks just like a normal person. He doesn't look as scary as he used to look for the first time we met. He just looks normal, like a normal boy who clings to his life like all the others do.

I nod and stand up to make myself ready for the run.

"Okay when I give the sign you run as fast as you can. I'll be faster than you anyway, so you will be a few meters behind me."

I nod and wait for him. He takes a deep breath and makes a gesture with his hand, it must be the sign. I start running as fast as I can, which is not as fast as I would wish to run right now.

I'm so exhausted from before that my legs barely even want to make a step, but I can do it. I have to.

I look infront of me. He is running like there is no tomorrow. No but for real where the hell does he take that stamina from?

It's like running in slow motion. I can see him running, my legs hurt it feels like I'm running so slow, I can't even feel them.

On the side I can already see the weapons that are directly focused on us.

Will we really make it? There are still about 50 meters to go. I'm not sure if I can make it, but he surely will.

He made it. He is on the other side of the gate, he is outside and I'm still so much behind him. He is yelling something, what is it? I can't hear what he is saying, am I deaf now? It's so weird everything is so slow and I'm so dizzy. He makes a gesture with his hands… Behind me? What does he mean behind me?

As I turn aroun I see a person with a gun behind me. They are just lying there on the ground, with the gun in their hand, directing it in my direction.

If I die here, then I'll be unconscious for a bit and Shin would try to save me. He would probably die.

I turn around to shin again, knowing that this is my end. I need to tell him he has to go.

I can't let him die here.

"JINSEI!"

He yells, but I just shake my head, before I close my eyes to prepare for the bullet to hit my head.