Dash, of course, still didn't trust Wilson. He just believed that he had a good grasp of Wilson's strength, speed and skill level, as well as character and had faith in his own ability to pick up the signs and if, perchance, Wilson began to have any stupid ideas, he would easily get rid of the threat.
Inside of the tent; it was a spacious, well lit room with four beds at the four corners of the room and a huge fridge that stood in the center of the room. It was much bigger and way more beautiful than the room at the hotel Wilson had slept in and he could not help but wonder how in the world all that could fit into the small tent he saw outside. It was insane.
"Sleep over there!" Dash said, pointing Wilson to the farthest bed from the one which his sister slept in.
"And keep your mouth shut!" He ordered.
Wilson glared at him; eyes blazing; his words of rebuke at the tip of his tongue but eventually, he changed his mind. Dash had helped him quite a bit today. He should just tolerate and ignore his rudeness. Tomorrow; maybe, not so much. So, he walked to the bed quietly and laid on it, exhaustion seemingly pressed him down on the bed and he could not even get himself to lift a finger. He fell asleep in minutes.
**********
It was not until mid-afternoon, the next day that the little girl woke up. She was both astonished and delighted to see Dash and Wilson together.
They sat together, feeding on beef jerky as they were still not sure if the squirrel meat was poisonous or not.
While they ate, Wilson kept glancing at the Dash's little sister over and over again, ignoring the constant glares from her big brother, Dash. He glanced as they all ate until he could not hold back anymore.
"What's your name, pretty girl?" He asked.
The little girl blushed, but, before she could answer, Dash beat her to it.
"Don't answer him. He doesn't have to know."
"Come on, Dash. She is old enough to make those kinds of decisions on her own." Wilson said and looked at her. "Am I right?"
"Yes!" She nodded in agreement and looked up at Dash who was standing beside her. Dash, knowing fully well that his sister really wanted to introduce herself, groaned very, very exaggeratedly.
She turned her head to look at Wilson who was sitting opposite her and answered:
"Hi, my name is Sofia."
"Hello, nice to meet you, Sofia. My name is Wilson."
Dash looked at Wilson in surprise.
"What the hell?" He exclaimed. "Why are you being so... so... so..."
Dash could not come up with a befitting adjective.
"Courteous?Is that the word?" Sofia asked Dash.
"Yes, yes, that! Why are you being so courteous?" Dash asked.
"Because my mom taught me basic manners." Wilson answered with a shrug - much to the ire of Dash - and stood up. He pointed in a direction.
"I think someone is coming!"
"Who?" Sofia asked, at alert.
"No idea." Wilson answered politely. If it was Dash that had asked, he would have given a response brutally laced with sarcasm.
"How many?" Sofia asked a second question to which Wilson once again, responded.
"Just one."
"Oh okay, do we have to run or something?" She asked, already on her feet.
Wilson quickly shook his head.
"No. No need for that. It's just one person. I can handle it."
"You sure?"
"Yes! Just stay in the tent for now." Wilson said. His eyes did not leave the direction in which the person was coming from.
Sofia vehemently shook her head.
"Hmm-hmm." She hummed. "I want to stay and fight!"
Wilson shook his head and called: "Dash, please talk to your sister."
There was no response. Wilson turned around to see only a chuckling Sofia behind him. Dash was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Dash?" He asked.
"He left as soon as you mentioned that someone was coming."
"What?"
"He has probably already met with the person coming and will soon be back." Sofia said. And just on cue, as if they had timed it, Dash returned; a blur and small rustling sound caused by the wind that resulted from his high speed, heralded his return.
"He is dead and buried! There is no need to worry over nothing. We still have to get moving though. We have spent too much time here. They will soon start arriving at the forest." He said, sucking the tent into the spatial bracelet and getting rid of every sign of fire from the night before.
"They?" Wilson asked and got no response. He was completely ignored.
"Time to go! Come on, Sofia." Dash said, grabbing Sofia's hand and walking briskly away. Wilson hesitated before following behind them. He promised and convinced himself that he was doing this not because of Sofia but because they were going in the same direction; Forest Garden's forest entrance.
Sofia and Dash walked briskly in the front and Wilson followed briskly behind them.
Many a times, Dash would turn back to glare at Wilson and at those times, Wilson would smile, frown or wave at the former just to annoy him.
All of a sudden - about two hours into their walk; while they ascended a small slope - they heard rustling and rumbling sounds coming from behind them; footsteps fast approaching their direction; remote motorbikes roared across the forest as they sped in their direction.
"Bounty hunters!" Sofia whispered.
"The actual hunt has already begun?" Dash was, for the first time since Wilson met him, flustered.
"Actual hunt?" Wilson asked. Having picked up speed earlier to stay right behind them, he had naturally heard them and deduced something from their conversation.
"You are also being hunted?" He asked.
Dash did not answer. He looked around them. They were in an open space that was quite wide. The nearest covers that they could find - naturally created by the trees - were half a kilometer ahead of them. They immediately began to run in that direction. Running at full speed would tire them out too quickly, leaving them with inadequate stamina to fight. So, they had no other choice than to pace themselves. Even then, considering the fact that Dash's ability was superspeed, Wilson still had to run very quickly to keep up.
As they ran, Wilson asked questions.
"Are these group of people coming for you?"
"Hmm." Sofia, who was enjoying a free ride on Dash's back, answered with a hum and a nod of her head.
"Why?" Wilson asked further.
Sofia hesitated and looked at Dash's face who sighed and answered this time.
"Someone old, wealthy and powerful wants my sister."
"Why? Because she is a Lolita?"
"Yes!"
"I see!" Wilson nodded and glanced behind him. By his estimation, they should be able to get to the trees before those bounty hunters arrived at the wide open space.
"How do you intend to escape them?" He asked.
"We have some traps and my and big brother's abilities." Sofia said.
"With what I hear, there should be at least twenty hunters on our tail. Will that really be enough?"
"No." Dash answered. He turned his head to look at Wilson. This action barely affected his pace.
"I need your help." He pleaded.
"We need your help." Sofia pleased as well.
Wilson wasted no time to give a response.
"Sure, no problem!"
"What?" Dash was surprised. That was a little too quick, no?
Wilson could tell what Dash was thinking.
"Relax! I'm also being hunted. An alliance is the best thing for us right now. Not to mention, I have always wanted a little sister. One as beautiful as that. If you are willing to share...."
"Sure." Sofia said. She smiled as she said. "Big brother Wilson!"
It melted Wilson. For goodness sake, it sounds so good to be called 'big brother'.
Right then, they arrived at the tree area but only stopped after running another hundred and fifty meters, with Dash constantly looking around them as if searching for something. Passing by trees and weaving their way between branches and over roots and fallen stems, Wilson had to admit to himself that he was now pretty adept at running through the forest.
'I guess all that time in the forest then, was not a complete waste, after all.' He thought to himself.
Dash suddenly stopped before a tree and turned around.
"We have to stop them! Get rid of the threat." He said.
Wilson looked at him and asked: "What's your plan?"