Chapter 10: The Girl
The boy continued in the forest. He looked at the compass and then turned to the road a few meters away.
The boy learned from interacting with that priest that if he blindly followed the road, he might get hurt.
He should hide, just beside the road.
A week had gone by since he saw the priest. The boy ever so cautiously walked, alone.
He didn't really know why.
He just... walked.
Slowly, surely, each step he took brought him closer.
But closer to what?
Freedom? Safety?
To what exactly?
The Man told him to go to this city and he just followed.
Why exactly?
The boy just followed what the Man told him. He just did it.
Why, though?
Didn't he want to die? To sleep forever without waking up to suffer the next day?
Then what changed?
What changed?
He didn't know. And he didn't care.
The boy could care less.
He just followed.
And followed.
After all, he was dead already, ain't he?
***
The moon rose, and the sun set, the skies turned dark as the stars unveiled themselves.
When night came, the boy went deeper inside the forest and found a small clearing. He made that place into a temporary campsite for him. He cleared the ground of leaves and then took out a sleeping bad.
He didn't light a campfire because it might pull in unnecessary hostile people to his camp.
The boy made sure to hide himself from sight and then snuggled inside the sleeping bag. He looked at the skies for a moment, the trees rustling along the air, and let out a soft breath.
Then he closed his eyes.
Rustle.
Before opening them again.
He heard something.
He slowly sat up and held the gun that he hid inside his sleeping bag. Then he pointed it towards the direction where the sound was.
Rustle. Rustle.
More noises sounded out from that direction, indicating that something was going near him.
Step.
Step.
Rustle.
"Ah!"
Stumble.
A little girl got out of a bush and fell down. She fell face flat on the ground.
"Ughh it hurtss...."
She stayed there for a moment, shaking.
The boy stared at the little girl, his eyes looking at her tiny form ever so cautiously.
"Uff, uuuhhh...."
Sniff.
The little girl started crying.
The boy stared at her, his eyes narrowing to a slit. He gave it a thought for a moment, then got out of his sleeping bag. He grabbed a stick.
"Hey."
When his voice sounded out, she stiffened and then looked up. Her eyes shook when she saw him, fear filling it.
Then she scanned him up to down and found that he had no weapons with him, she let out a sigh of relief.
"H-Hey?" She muttered cautiously.
The boy stared at her for a moment before he held the stick and poked her with it.
The little girl immediately rolled to the side, dirtying her clothes, and then she hurriedly tried to stand up before falling face flat once again.
"Uuuuugghhhh..."
Groaning in pain, she forced herself to stand up and face him directly.
Then she reached to her bag and took out what seemed to be a small gun.
When the girl took out the gun, he immediately pulled out his own and aimed it at the girl.
"..."
The girl looked at him in surprise, seeing that he also had a gun and aimed hers towards him.
The two came to a stand-off.
One holding his weapon with a resolute and convicted gaze while the other was holding her weapon with reluctance and fear, her arms shaking as she aimed it at him.
"..."
The girl looked at him with fear.
The boy only stared at her with a cold and indifferent gaze.
The two stared at each other's eyes for a few moments. Studying each and every movement of their opponent, trying to find a single way to shoot the best.
A few minutes passed, and the girl's arms, which were already shaking, shook even more. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she looked at him with shaking eyes.
The boy stared at her, then opened his mouth to warn her, "Shoot, and i'll do my best to shoot you too."
He warned her with an indifferent tone. His gaze now locked on her finger the nearest to the trigger.
He focused his eyes on those tiny fingers filled with band aid for a moment before he turned to look at her in the eye.
"When you are in a stand-off, what should you do first?"
"..."
"You must first tell them to put their weapons down. The two of you should do it together. Stay calm, don't panic, and trust the other person."
The boy remembered what the Man first told him when he was talking about the rules of people who use guns.
He ought to do it.
After all, that was how he was taught.
"Put your weapon down."
The boy remarked.
The girl stiffened and resolutely forced her arms to stop shaking and looked straight at him, dead in the eyes.
"...."
"Trust me. We'll do it together, okay?" The boy said.
Not trusting his words, the girl aimed her gun towards him, then slowly walked back.
Seeing that, the boy nodded and slowly walked back too.
The two still aimed their guns towards each other while they slowly backed away from one another.
That had happened when all of a sudden, a bright light lit up the entire forest for a moment.
This earned two little children lying face down on the floor, carefully trying to not get spotted by the person who was using the light.
The two children found themselves in a predicament.