How's that leg? asked the elder sister.

Fine.

Fine? It's still bleeding. The elder sister crouched over the smaller girl, no older than fifteen. Hmm, said the elder sister. She unwrapped the linen from the girl's leg and examined the bloody fissure.

The little sister winced, but did not say anything. She only exhaled softly. The elder sister noticed this and smiled.

It could be worse. He could have gotten your neck. He was aiming to kill.

Little sister said nothing.

Lucky I was there to protect you. Lucky I got him first. But you should've used the pistol I gave you. You've been practicing with it, right? Plenty of bullets in the world.

The little sister nodded. She looked away.

The elder sister frowned and wrapped her leg back up. Well, that's okay. We got something to eat anyway. Here she patted the garbage bag she slung over her shoulder. Flesh and bone stretched the bag.

Thank goodness for GLAD ForceFlex, the elder said.

Don't smile, little sister said. I hate it.

The elder hurt only a little.

The elder sister was much older than her sister. She wore thin glasses, which gave her a sophisticated savagery. She often cleaned them, though she feared the prescription wasn't potent enough. The elder sister worried about the little sister needing glasses, but it so happened that her sister did not develop her near-sightedness.

The younger one always seemed to be in another world. She spoke rarely. That seemed to suit the elder sister enough. The elder sister had to be her mother, since they had none. No father either. They had only themselves.

The sisters were going through a forest. The elder sister liked how it was raining, and she could see steam rising from the trees. She liked the cold. It kept her awake. She was glad that when she saw them, she and her sister were in a forest. She decided that her little sister could use this encounter as a lesson. A pedagogical moment. The elder sister used to be a teacher.

The little sister saw them too and hoped that they wouldn't notice them.

There were two of them, both men. One of them was much older than the other. The older one looked weary, as tired-looking as the rusty gun by his side. The younger one was shell-shocked. When they saw them, the younger man gave a shout. The older one aimed his gun out of instinct. Then he lowered it and went to the sisters. The younger one followed close behind. He was clutching a knife.

Hey there, said the older man. He had gray hair and an unshaven face. The little sister liked him.

Hello there. The elder sister smiled. Don't see many strangers around here.

Same here.

Where are you bound? she asked.

Maybe the question should be, why are we here.

Well then, why are you here?

The older man stood there and mused. The younger man noticed the garbage bag. He turned ashen and gripped his knife. The little sister touched her pistol surreptitiously.

The older man must have seen the bag too. He pretended he didn't see it.

We don't want to get in your way, he said.

Neither do we, said the elder sister.

They stared at each other. She had a cold smile on her face. He was too tired for that.

He shot first. The elder sister knew he would.

Now! yelled the elder to the younger. The young man lunged for the younger sister while the elder sister shot the old man dead. He must have run out of bullets.

Don't move! screamed the young man. He had the knife to the little sister's neck. She did not shoot him.

Goddamnit sis, the elder sister said. She was aiming at the man, but she didn't make a move. The little sister cried.

Fucking monsters, you guys are fucking monsters, the young man frothed.

Yeah yeah, like I haven't heard that one before, said the elder.

Motherfucking cannibals! screamed the man. He was clearly irrational.

One move, one more move, and I'll shoot! She had the gun aimed at his forehead. The little sister was too small to shield him.

Fuck you!

No, fuck you!

She shot him.

Goddamnit, said the elder sister to the younger. Little sister did not say anything.

God-damn-it, the elder said again. She glared at her sister.

She said nothing.

This is what happens when you waver. This is what happens when you don't do what I tell you.

She pointed to her bleeding shoulder. The old man lived on in the form of a stinging bullet.

Still the little sister said nothing. She trembled like a dog.

The elder sister relented. Are you hurt? She studied the thin lace of blood on her sister's neck. She pulled her to the stream and washed her a bit. The elder sister clicked her tongue.

Lucky I was there to protect you. Lucky I got him first. Both of them, mind you.