Kant immediately offered his juice to Gabriel. “Sir, you can have mine. Thank you for carrying me for so long.”
A faint smile touched Gabriel’s lips as he pushed the bottle back toward the boy. “I was just joking with her.”
He tried to make his expression look relaxed and playful, but it clearly had no effect. Kant just gave a timid “oh” and didn’t dare look at him again.
Sylvia pressed her lips together to keep from laughing out loud, turning away and pretending to take a bite of bread.
A bird flew in from the forest and landed on the windowsill, its beady black eyes darting around as it chirped at the people inside. Having never been harmed by humans, it saw them as no threat.
Sylvia crumbled a piece of bread and placed it on the sill. The bird hopped over and happily pecked at it a few times before suddenly taking flight and disappearing.
Gabriel watched Sylvia standing by the window. He picked up his own half-eaten bread and stood. “You two take your time. I’m going to check things out outside.”
After Gabriel left, Sylvia whispered to Kant, “Do you need to use the restroom? You can go with him.”
Kant’s eyes widened, and then he broke into a grin. He nodded, got up, and ran outside.
Sylvia finished her bread and was just about to take a sip of water when a deafening bang echoed from outside.
A gunshot.
Her face went taught. She shot to her feet, ready to run out.
In the instant she left the stool, the door burst open. Gabriel shoved a trembling Kant inside, then kicked a charging man back out into the clearing. He turned and gave Sylvia a rapid order, “Watch him! Don’t come out! Bar the windows!”
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