September 2030

Splinters

He ducks.

He ducks! How is that even possible?

The knife flies through the air with the sound of an arrow and digs itself into a big tree, sharp splinters shooting out in all directions. My eyes widen again, but this time even wider. The boy gets up and smirks. I tried to kill him and he smirks.
"Accident, right?" He asks with an ironic tone.
"No."
Why is he so... Happy? He doesn't seem angry at all, and he didn't drag the gun resting in a belt just above his hips. He actually seem just as relaxed as when he slept earlier. Or did he see me coming and fake it?
"Why did you leave?"
"What?"
"Why did you leave the house?"
"I didn't want to stay."
"Fine."
He shrugs and I roll my eyes.
"What?"
"Why are you so relaxed?" I ask with a curious tone.
I know that it's not worth it trying to attack him again, and it's not like I'm going to take him down using only my fists considering his speed, so I just stand still.
"Oh. That's a secret."
I glance at him, he's reaching down for his backpack. I don't even bother to try and fight him again.
"You can go if you want to."
Uh? What? I raise my eyebrows. He seems to be full of surprises. So I can just go? But knowing that I probably wouldn't win a fight if he attacked me, I start walking towards the mountains again. It's not worth it worrying over something you can't control, and I wont stay if I can go. It's his problem.

After a while I realize that he's walking behind me, a couple of meters away.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Walking."
"Well of course I know that. But why are you following me?"
"You seem to need company."
"I don't need company."
He laughs. A real laugh, that shows his teeth and that makes his eyes sparkle. I almost smile at the sound. Haven't heard someone laughing in months.
"Ok. I guess that then I'll be the one needing company." He states.
I keep quiet.
"I guess I'll just take that as a fine then."
I keep walking and he follows. But I don't tell him to leave.