Carter and Allison had stood for a few hours into the garage, talking, thinking and resting, when Carter asked : "Did you already handle a gun ?"

"No, never."

"Maybe it's time you begin… As you surely have noticed, it's useful sometimes. Metal doesn't have that kind of problem. And I got a shotgun in the trunk. You'll see, that's easy."

"Okay, let's try."

Nodding, he rose, opened the trunk and brought a black, military-style shotgun with a retractable stock and a box of standard buckshot ammunition, which he put down on the ground. He then handed the weapon to Allison, who weighed it. It was cold, heavy and bulky.

She shivered a little. It was a strange, a bit scary impression, to have the power to end a life, to decide of a fate, in her little hands.

"Right. This is a SPAS-12 shotgun. It's Italian. Holds 8 12-gauge shells in underbarrel tube magazine. Remember this last thing, okay ? You can fire eight shots, not more."

"Eight shots. Understood.

"Good. So…" He took it from her hands. "… it's unloaded for now. I'll show you how you do it." He opened the box and took a few shells. "You load it here, under the frame. Like this, one by one. See ? You try."

Again, she took the shotgun and loaded the remaining shells like he showed her. "Good ! Okay, now you have to cock it. You slide the pump, here, backwards then forwards. It's a bit hard so you don't need to be gentle." She did as he said, and two metallic clacks rang. "Excellent, now you just have to use the trigger until it's empty, afterwards you reload as you just did. The safety's here. You push it this side, you can't fire. The other, you can. You understood ?"

"Well… Load it underneath, slide the pump, shoot eight times, then reload… Safety has to be pushed one side to work, and the other one to allow fire."

"Very good. Now, I'll give you three advices. Primo, when you use it, keep your arms relaxed, right ? Don't tense them. Never. The recoil could cause damage if you do. Secundo, when you fire, don't concentrate on the gun, but on the target. Cause if you always keep your eyes on the gun, you'll miss. Tertio, if you're facing metal, aim for the left side of the head or the eyes. And don't do it too close, you may injure yourself. Got it ?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good. We can't train here, metal could be patrolling nearby. Tomorrow we'll try to find a good place for training, unless you have to use it first. For now, just remember what I told you and don't shoot it unless you absolutely have to."

"Okay." She then handed him the shotgun back, and he put it aside on the ground. "In case of... surprise attack. You never know." She nodded.

Then they sat again.

They stood silent for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. Allison was thinking. She was bothered by something. Something Carter had just said… she knew it meant something to him. But what ? She thought maybe he wouldn't like to talk about it. Yet it was disturbing. She finally decided to try. "Carter ? May I ask you a question ?"

"Sure, what is it ?"

"…I was wondering… why did you say this ? What does it mean ?"

"What ?"

"Well… you told me you saw me as… a sister of a kind. What does it mean ?"

Carter froze. She could see in his eyes that he'd have wished she never asked that question.

"If… if you don't want to… I can understand, I was just…"

"Yeah, I know… It's just… well, it's a bit painful to think about. Anyway."

He took a deep breath, and began to speak in a low, dull voice.

"Once, I had a sister. A real one, I mean. Was born two years after I was. Survived the nuclear war, like me… Her name was Becky…" He smiled. "… she was… kinda… tough. Could've been in the Special Forces or something… A real soldier. But, she lacked something."

"What was it ?"

"Wasn't cautious enough. Almost got intercepted by metal a few times because of this. I had to go after her to avoid it… But… well, one day… about three years ago… I couldn't make it. I was a bit too far from her. We didn't see the T-1 until it came almost in front of her. Had no time to react, got blown in pieces by it. When you get shot at by two large-caliber Gatling guns at almost… forty feet of range, there's no way you can survive.

"… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. You got nothing to do with this. It's just… you know… I failed. I failed to protect her. Maybe there was nothing I could do, yet she's dead. And then I was alone. I found Sam a few months later. Helped him, trained him… all this. I think I just needed to be sure she wasn't dead for nothing. I just needed to learn my lesson."

"And you're still trying… with me…

"Yeah, I think so. Because… that's what you're supposed to do. I mean when you got a sister… especially a younger one… you're supposed to protect her, watch over her. That was something I failed to do. Maybe because I didn't fully understand it. But if the human race wants to survive, it's necessary. It's something that needs to be understood. So yeah, I'm still trying. Don't get me wrong, you're not a replacement. In any way. But I promise you I won't make this mistake once again. Ever. I'll protect you and help you to protect yourself, no matter what the price is, no matter what I'll have to get through. I promise."

She looked at him. Again, his eyes were steel cold. All she could see was his determination, and she knew he would never let her down. He would keep his promise. Even if he had to die for this.

She was unable to speak. Not after this. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Then she said in a whisper, "Thank you, Carter…"

He didn't respond. There was no need for it. Everything had already been said.

07