"Charlie? What are you doing here?" Wilson asked in surprise, while at the same time, releasing his grip on Dash's leg.
Charlie merely shrugged as he lowered his gun and responded, "Saving your abandoned self."
"Abandoned?" Wilson asked.
"Yes!" Charlie affirmed.
"Who abandoned you?" Dash asked Wilson.
Wilson did not respond to Dash but instead continued looking at Charlie, puzzled.
"I was abandoned?" He asked.
"You did not realize?" Charlie asked back, a little surprised.
Dash chuckled and chipped in an insult, "You are stupider than I thought."
Wilson scowled back at Dash and asked.
"Should you not be taking care of little Sofia? What are you doing here?"
"Oh f*ck!" Dash gasped and ran away, back towards the part of the forest that comprised of the modified hollow trees. He berated himself as he ran. How could he have forgotten his own sister. How dare he do that? He insulted himself and cursed as he ran, hoping and praying that she was still safe. With the amount of time that had passed, she should have awoken.
"Who's Sofia?" Charlie asked.
"Our Sister." Wilson answered as he slowly stood up.
"I thought you were an only child."
"My adopted little sister." Wilson corrected.
Charlie raised an eyebrow and asked:
"You adopted someone in your current situation?"
Wilson shrugged.
"Circumstances called for it and Dash is her biological brother." He responded.
They heard some voices in the distance. "We have to leave now." Charlie said as looked around in search of his jetpack. Wilson nodded and stood up. He forced his still tired and recuperating body and began jogging in the direction Dash ran towards. Charlie followed close behind and scolded.
"Hey. You shouldn't be moving by yourself in your current state." Charlie said.
"If we can get to the hollow trees, we would be able to hide underground."
"Underground?"
"Yes. That is where Dash is headed towards now. Sofia is there too."
Charlie nodded and ran in front of Wilson stopped him.
"Climb my back." He ordered. He was offering a piggyback ride.
"Huh?"
"We will move faster with me carrying you. All you need to do is point me in the direction I should move in." Charlie explained. He did not wait for Wilson's response though before he carried Wilson on his back and sped away leaving Wilson with no other option but to point out directions based on his memories from being chased all day.
As Dash ran with Wilson on his back, Wilson could not help but admit that him being carried was much faster. He was also really amazed at Charlie's stamina.
Charlie not only ran at full speed, but also occasionally, when they met single bounty hunters, he would attack them. It depended on their distance from him and the Wilson on his back; shooting them down if they were quite far but not too far that the hunters could not spot them and cause them trouble, or increasing his running speed if they were near enough; sometimes taking a little detour and slitting their necks with a knife that Charlie explained was very poisonous.
Soon, they arrived at a hollow tree and Wilson told him to stop. Charlie stopped abruptly but did not drop Wilson as he hurriedly looked around.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked.
"Definitely." Wilson confirmed.
"Alright. So, how does this work?"
"I don't know but Dash shout have opened it by now." Wilson responded with a frown on his face.
"Was little Sofia underground?"
"Yes, but not here. She was somewhere else."
"Then should we not go there instead?"
Wilson sighed.
"Do you know the place?" Charlie asked.
"Not very well but if you go in that direction, there should be an exceptionally big hollow tree somewhere around there. That's where we hid her." Wilson said, pointing to their eleven o' clock.
Charlie immediately ran in the direction pointed out, running by the trees as he and Wilson actively looked around.
Not long after, Charlie saw the biggest tree he had ever seen.
"That must be it." He said and Wilson nodded in affirmation.
"Yes."
Charlie darted in that direction. He had not moved far when he and his piggybacked partner noticed Dash standing before the tree dazed and in tears.
The tree had a huge hole in it.
"Dash," Wilson called. He was going to ask where the little lolita went but before he could, Dash yelled:
"They took her, Wilson. They took her."
Wilson's heart shook.
"Then why are you still here. Is she dead?" Charlie asked.
"No... I.... I.. don't think so." Dash answered.
"Then, why are you wallowing in self-pity when you should be doing your best to save her?" Charlie questioned.
Dash looked up and turned his head to look at Charlie. Charlie and Wilson could easily see the change in countenance. Dash changed from hurt and depression to determined. It was a really obvious change.
Suddenly, he dashed right into a tree three meters behind him. Just as he was s out to hit it, he entered into the tree.
Charlie and Wilson looked at each other. Wilson ran at the tree as well.
*Thud*
"Wahahaha..."
Wilson hit the tree really hard and Charlie roared into laughter, unable to hold it back.
Dash reappeared two seconds later while Charlie was in laughing and Wilson's nose was bleeding. He noticed but said nothing. His face was blank; even a little pale and was devoid of emotions. Wilson looked at Dash and shivered. This guy was back in scary mode.
"Come in!" Dash ordered and walked right in. There was a doorway behind him and Charlie quickly ran in, grabbing Wilson while he passed by him.
The doorway shut behind them and before Charlie could say a word, he felt his very existence spin in a stomach-churning experience. It barely lasted a second but felt very terrible.
"Ugh!" He groaned.
Dash walked out briskly, ordering them to do the same. They were back in the control room where Wilson and Dash had previously been staying and picking their targets for hunting.
"Wow!" Charlie was amazed. The monitors and tablets. Those moving, real time heat signatures on the virtual forest map; the videos from different parts of the forest and the tree that Sofia was hidden in.
Dash quickly tapped a few buttons on one of the monitors and played the video back.