The story of the ones who ate people
Kino no Tabi
Volume 2
Chapter 1
The story of the ones who ate people
- I want to live -
Inside a snowy forest.
The snow piled up from a single winter, squashed all the grass. There were tall trees growing from the white ground, with long and thin leaves.
The sky that could be seen from the openings of the branches, looked like snow could fall again in any minute, as there were heavy low clouds spreading around. The light of the sun was weak.
It was a quiet place. Beside the sound of snow pattering down from the branches once in a while, no other sound could be heard. There was not even wind blowing.
On that place, there was a single wild rabbit. Its fur was white with the exception of the tips of its ears.
The rabbit advanced slowly, leaving a flat trace on the snow. It stopped and moved its ears and head with short and quick movements. After that, it started jumping, going forward.
After repeating that for a while, the rabbit stopped suddenly. It moved its ears. On the white head of the rabbit, a red point appeared. It was a light.
Inside the same forest, there was a person.
It was wearing an arctic coat with a hood and overpants that covered until the tip of the shoes. It had a hat covered with fur, one eye type goggles with yellow lenses, and a face warmer that covered it from the neck.
That person was leaning against the trunk of a tree, sitting with the knees bent forward. It had a single handgun between the legs and kept it there with both hands. The gun was a slender automatic with a harmonica type silencer attached. From a hole below the barrel, there was a red light being projected. A laser sight aim. It was pointing directly at the head of the rabbit in a straight line.
The person exhaled a slightly white air. It pulled the trigger slowly. Inside the gun, there was a clink, and the sound of something clapping could be heard.
The following instant, blood spouted from the spot on the head of the rabbit where the light had been reflected before.
The rabbit trembled for an instant and it soon fell down and stopped moving. The blood spilled from the head, dyed some of the white fur and then melted a little of the snow below.
Inside the forest, there was a single road. It went in a straight line, it was a road made by cutting off the trees. It was covered by snow, frozen in pure white.
On top of that road, there was a motorbike stopped. There was a solid carrier instead of the rear seat, but instead of luggage there was just a single bag tied. Â
The motorbike was remodelled to be able to run on the snow. Both tires had studs attached so they would pierce into the frozen road. In front of the frame of the engine, there were arms to the left and to the right like assisting wheels from bicycles. On the tips of them, there were two planks to put the feet and below them, small sized skis. They were there so the motorbike wouldnât fall even if a tire slipped.
- I shot one down, Hermes.
The person from the woods appeared carrying the rabbit hanging upside down with both legs tied together, and it spoke to the motorbike. In front of the stomach, it had a holster with a cover, fixed diagonally.
The motorbike called Hermes, replied happily.
- Excellent! This way the food rations wonât run out, Kino.
The person called Kino nodded and put the rabbit inside the bag and tied it to the luggage carrier.
Kino took off the goggles and a bandana. It lowered the face warmer. Its age was around sixteen to nineteen years old. With short black hair, it had big eyes and a fearless face. It wiped off the sweat lightly and fixed the hat on its place. Then, it said:
- Alright, should we hurry up and go back? If they die now, Iâd be in a dilemma.
- A dilemma? - Hermes asked.
- I wouldnât be able to show my face
- To who?
After Hermes asked one more time, Kino replied:
- To the rabbit.
Kino turned on Hermesâ engine. The tranquility of the forest was shattered by the sound of Hermesâ engine. Kino put on the goggles and the face warmer and put both feet on the supportive skis and made Hermes go forward.
In a corner of a white road, there was a truck of a relatively new model. The tires and the lower half of the body were completely covered by the snow, looking incapable of moving at all. On the roof, there was a thick layer of snow.
A little away from there, on the border between the woods and the road, there was a single tent. It was a dome type tent, only the snow from there was sunk as if it had fallen.
Finally, the sound of an engine could be heard and soon after that, Kino and Hermes arrived.
From inside the tent, a single man showed his face like if he was crawling out. It was a man around his thirties. His face couldnât get any skinnier and his hair and beard had grown wildly. The arctic clothes he was wearing were dirty as well.
Kino took out the rabbit from the bag and showed it to the man. The manâs face looked happy and after seeing that, he returned his face back to the tent. Immediately after that, two other heads from men appeared from inside the tent. One was wearing glasses and was on his twenties, the other one was in his forties and had his hair streaked with white hair. Both of them were painfully skinny, but after seeing the rabbit, their faces smiled.
- Iâll make it edible for you. Lend me a cooking pan, please.
After Kino said that, the man in his thirties replied in a way like he couldnât wait.
- Itâs ok like that. Raw is ok!
The other men too, they complained they wanted to eat it in that instant, but Kino shook the head to the sides.
- No. If you got tularemia or something like that, it could be lethal.
The men made disappointed faces and took out from the tent  two cooking pans of different sizes. Kino received them and told them:
- Iâll tell you when itâs ready, so please rest until then.
- Yes, understood⊠Ms. Kino.
The man in his thirties called Kino who was about to turn around.
- What is it?
The man stared at Kinoâs eyes.
- Thank you very much.
Kino made a slight smile and said:
- Itâs still early⊠but youâre welcome.
About what had happened that morning.
Below thick clouds, Kino and Hermes ran through a frozen road.
Thanks to the studded tires and the supportive skis, they went at a fair speed.
On Hermesâ carrier on the rear, there were other things beside a bag. There was a tent for cold weather, a sleeping bag and many other things fastened as luggage for travel. Unexpectedly, Hermes opened his mouth.
- Thereâs a truck. Quite ahead.
Kino stopped the accelerator. Without using the breaks, they kept running like that from inertia. They stopped slowly in front of the truck buried in the snow. It turned off the engine and stepped down from Hermes. It lowered the goggles and the face warmer.
Kino opened the holster cover that was on its abdomen, and with the right hand, it took out a revolver type gun. Kino called that gun as âCannonâ.
Kino was about to approach the truck when it realized there was a tent right next to it. It saw the face of a man.
A bearded man around his thirties was watching Kino with an astonished expression. Kino returned âCannonâ to the holster, but spoke while having its hand still on the grip.
- Good morning.
Without saying anything, the man crawled out and stood up fraily. From inside the tent, two other men peeped, as expected, with a surprised face.
The men glanced at Kino and Hermes. Then, they asked with thin voices.
- You, youâre traveling by motorbike, arenât youâŠ? Hey, donât you have some food?
Looking at their state, Hermes said indifferently:
- I see. I got more or less what happened.
Kino said:
- Itâs not like I donât have any. Since when are you all here?
- Donât be surprised when you hear it⊠Since the beginning of the winter.
Kino showed a slightly surprised face and Hermes said:
- Iâm surprised. Thatâs quite a lot.
- Yes. The snow started falling earlier than normal, then it turned into an intense snow storm. Since then, weâve been stuck hereâŠ
- You were lucky you werenât struck by a bier, right?*
(*note: Hermes was trying to make a joke, changing the manâs words into others that sound very similar. I tried to mimic that in english. The good thing is, it wasnât supposed to be funny anyways.)
Hermes said that, but nobody laughed.
- You don't have any food in the truck either, donât you?
Kino asked as to confirm and the men made sad and painful expressions.
- There was, but we ate all of it⊠a long time ago. Of course we had some but we didnât think we could be trapped here. We were careless. All the time we were waiting for someone to pass. I beg you! Share some food with us, please⊠Weâre three menâŠ
The man pointed at the tent and the two men looked at Kino with a clingy expression.
- I beg youâŠ
The men put their hands together and supplicated. Kino sighed slightly and spoke:
- The food I have are food rations. But me too, I only have the essential for one person. Even if I give you some spare, it wonât be enough for the three of you.
It could be heard how the men had their breath taken away.
- But - Kino said that and the men lifted their faces - I can go and hunt something for you. There sure are animals on the area, and since the weather is getting warmer, Iâll be able to get something somehow. If you regain some of your strength back, we might be able to move the truck. You still have fuel, right?
- Yes, we have! Then?
The man asked back to Kino, happily. Kino nodded slightly while feeling the menâs thrilled eyes.
- Yes. Iâll stay with you for some days.
The menâs faces smiled at Kinoâs line. All the men spoke grateful words.
- Whatâs your name?
The man in his thirties standing in front, asked.
- Kino. This is Hermes.
- Ms. Kino. Please look at this for a moment.
The man took a small box from his pocket while he spoke. He opened it and turned it to Kino. Inside, there was a single ring. A few green jewels were fixed on the silver ring.
- This has surely quite a high price. Take it as a token of our gratitude for helping the three of us. Take it, please.
The man said that and pointed the box at Kino.
- Itâs still early.
- Itâs alright. Please, take it. I got it thinking in giving it to my wife after returning. But if I were to die here, then it would have no meaning.
- âŠ
Kino picked that with its hand and tried opening it once. Without changing its expression, it looked at it for a while.
- I understand. Iâll receive it as a reward at the end. Until then, Iâll hold it - Kino put the box in a pocket. It talked to the men - Wait here for a while, Iâll go and search for a prey. Iâll leave my luggage here, but please leave it as it is. Meat is much more delicious than the food rations I have.
Kino unloaded all luggage from Hermes and just tied a single bag to the carrier
Then, it went to hunt.
Kino started cooking. It dug the snow near a tree until the soil was visible. There, it gathered a little of solid fuel, old newspapers and some wood, and it lighted a fire. With a rope, it made the cooking pan to hang from the tree and adjusted it so the fire would heat it properly. Inside the pan, it put the cleanest snow possible.
Kino put the rabbit on an iron plate that it normally used for shooting practice. For some seconds, it glared at the still rabbit and after some more seconds, it closed its own eyes.
After a short silent prayer, it started cutting the meat.
Kino took off the gloves it had on and put some gloves made of thin gum on both hands.
It took out a folded hunting knife. It made a cut around the center of the back of the rabbit, on the torso.
Next, it pulled the fur to the sides with both hands. It pulled it until the neck and the tip of the legs were completely visible, then it cut it off.
The rabbit got a size smaller and turned into a lump of pink meat.
Kino cut open the abdomen vertically from the throat to the anus and took out the internal organs.
It wiped the open abdomen with a paper and snow. It poured some water.
Kino made a cut on the base of the limbs, it moved it like if folding the hip joint and took them off. It cut the rear legs in two by the knees. It cut the torso in appropriated parts.
It finished the cutting and the rabbit turned into âmeatâ that could be sold in any butchery.
Kino regulated the fire and scooped up the visible dirt from the water in the pan.
Then, it put the meat inside the pan. It wiped the iron plate used as chopping board, with snow and put it on the fire for disinfection. At that moment, Kino took off the gloves, for the first time. After a while, the meat was cooked.
After Kino called the men, they all came out tottering and approached the fire, holding plates and cups. On those worned out faces, only the eyes were big, sparkling in a grotesque way.
The meat sprinkled over with salt and pepper was divided by Kino, and the men glared quietly at the food in front of them for a while. Finally, tears flowed on those cheeks full of grime.
- Damn it! Itâs not a dream, rightâŠ?
- If you try eating it, youâll know. Maybe it wonât disappear for sure - said Kino.
Then, while tearing the meat into pieces with their fingers, they slowly took them to their mouths. After chewing it some times, they swallowed it, closed their eyes and sighed.
- Itâs goodâŠ
The man in his forties muttered while crying.
- Itâs deliciousâŠ
The man in his twenties spoke while silently in tears without stopping the slow movements of his hands.
The other man swallowed it after chewing it with his eyes closed as to confirm the feeling. And swallowed
- Yes. Itâs good, good. Itâs been a while since I ate something so good. Itâs a little salty, though.
The men laughed while crying. They wiped the tears. The grime fell a little.
Kino made tea with water boiled in another pan, and put it into different cups. On that moment, it passed some pills to the menâs hands.
- Theyâre pills with vitamins and so on. Since I have a spare of them.
Kino said that and the youngest manâs face smiled.
- Thanks. Itâs a full course!
- Ms. Kino. Donât you want some of the meat?
The man in his thirties asked.
- I thought I would if there were some leftovers, but it seems you can eat all of it, right? Iâm alright eating this as I always do.
Kino said that and showed a food ration that looked like a lump of squared clay.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Kino spoke in response to the menâs docile thanks:
- If itâs possible, show your gratitude to it too. - while speaking, it pointed with its finger.
There, on a branch of the tree, was hanging the fur of the torso Kino had cut, the upper half and the lower half. The dark eyes which had lost any light, watched the four people.
After that, the men left the plates and cups on the snow at the same time, they joined their hands in front of their faces and closed their eyes.
In front of the eyes of Kino and Hermes, who was stopped behind, they all slowly started expressing their gratefulness to the gods.
- Dear gods, thank you very much. For creating us and the other living beings with blood flowing âŠ. And dear gods, please forgive us, who killed for the sake of keep living.
- âŠ
The prayers from the men continued for a while. Kino observed it while putting in its mouth the food rations, with an expression as if the flavour was quite bad.
The men devoured all of the meat after a considerable amount of time.
The sky that hadnât been very bright since the sun started setting, became then even darker. The scenery changed into a tone of gray and silently, became deeper.
Kino set a tent for a single person on the other side of the menâs tent, sandwiching their truck in the middle.
Lastly during that day, it served tea to the men. They thanked it once more and returned to their tent.
Kino put a cover over Hermesâ engine and tank, and crawled inside its tent.
The morning of the following day.
Kino woke up while the area was quite dark. The sky was covered with clouds and powdery snow was swirling a little.
Kino moved its body above the snow and practiced drawing and shooting âCannonâ many times.
After having a breakfast of the food rations, it clapped Hermes to wake him up and turned on his engine. It fastened the bag. It asked the men, who had woken up by the sound of the motor sounds, to come out with their cups. It put snow in the cups and after putting them near Hermesâ engine and exhaust pipe, the snow was soon melted.
- Even if itâs not an engine made to boil water.
After Hermes complained, Kino calmed him down.
- It can be useful for many things.
During that day. Once again, Kino went to hunt with Hermes and catched two rabbits in a row. One of them was big.
After returning, it cut them in the same way and during the afternoon, it cooked the first one in the same way.
The men came out from the tent and once again, they ate while offering words of gratitude. Then, one more time, they returned to their tent and rested.
Kino cut off properly the branches of a tree, and hanged them to make up for the lack of firewood.
It cooked the other pieces of meat when the sunset was approaching.
The men devoured all of it. Next to the fire, a pile of clean bones was made.
While they ate, the men promised with a smile how if Kino ever went to visit their country, during the stay they would treat it with anything it liked, to the extent its weight would grow many times. Their physical strength was quickly returning and they were able to walk normally without teetering.
By the time it was night, the snow had stopped falling completely and rifts were starting to appear on the clouds. Bit by bit, stars became visible on the sky.
Kino entered in the sleeping bag inside the tent. Hermes, who was stopped in front of it, spoke.
- Kino, are you awake?
- Yes.
- Is it ok for us to take this detour?
To Hermesâ question, Kino replied honestly.
- Itâs not good! No matter how warmer it had become. I want to leave this forest soon.
- Then?
- Itâs because I have a reward, right? Iâll receive the ring.
Kino replied without changing the usual tone.
- Whatâs so good about that thing?
After Hermes asked that, there was a rustling sound for a while. And then, only Kinoâs left hand came out. The ring was on that middle finger.
- How is it? - Kino asked while turning the hand back and forth.
- It doesnât suit you - Hermes replied immediately.
The hand slowly went back inside and a voice replied back.
- ⊠I think so too. I wonder if it would be a bother while grasping the clutch. But itâs valuable if sold. Also, helping others is not a bad thing.
- Is that so? - Hermes replied shortly.
The following day. In other words, the morning of the third day after meeting the men.
When Kino woke up, there was just a pale blue on the sky and it was clear as far as the eye could see. There were no clouds.
Behind Kino, who was exercising, a lump of orange light was rising. The shadows were long, stretching over the snow.
Finally, the men woke up. With a quick pace, they boiled some water by themselves.
- Youâre much better already.
Kino spoke and the men nodded.
- Yes. Thank you.
Kino shared the food rations for the breakfast. The four of them ate it while squirming.
After eating, while they were having tea, the men talked about their home country.
- When we get back to our houses, I can imagine how surprised everyone will be. They must be thinking there was an accident. Or maybe they think we were shot to deathâŠ
- Maybe we have graves already.
- Itâs great. Shall we visit our graves?
When the man in his thirties asked Kino which was its country, Kino replied shaking the head to the sides.
- Is that so?... Iâm sorry.
The man said that and the conversation stopped.
As the sun rose quite a bit, the temperature rose a little as well
The man told Kino they wanted to move the truck. If they split and dug the snow creating a slope on the front and the back of the truck, it could possibly get free from being buried. If they could just move the truck, they could go to the nearest country.
The man in his thirties spoke to Kino.
- First, I want to unload all the luggage from the truck. If youâre ok, I would like you to help us.
Kino and the three men went to the back of the truck.
There were three locks on the load carrying platform. The other two men passed the keys to the man in his thirties, he opened the door and went inside. Coming from there, there was the sound of a click. The man in his forties spoke to Kino from a slightly separated spot.
- Ms. Kino, is that motorbike alright?
Kino turned around without understanding. At the same time, the man in his thirties quickly took out his body. He was holding a long gun with both hands. He aimed at Kino, who was turned back. The instant Kino saw the manâs gun, its right hand stretched to the holster but, it soon stopped trying to draw. With a nonchalant expression, it turned the face to the gun pointing at itself.
- It was a good decision. If you had drew it like that, I would have shot you without a doubt.
The man stepped down the truck while keeping his stance with no openings.
- Thanks for that.
Kino replied back normally, like if it wasnât particularly surprised. The other two men walked some steps away from Kino while having severe expressions on their faces. The man in his thirties said:
- To be honest, I donât want to shoot. Since weâre proud of how we deliver our merchandise without a single scratch.
- Merchandise?
Kino asked and the man in his forties replied:
- Yes. We have a temp agency and humans are our merchandise.
After those words, Hermes, stopped on a separated place behind Kino, spoke with a normal tone:
- Wow, uncles, are you kidnappers? As in... slave dealers?
Then, the man in his thirties spoke with a bitter smile.
- Donât say it so boldly⊠but yeah, itâs like that. And now that weâre healthy again, we need to do our job for the sake of keep living. Thatâs why, Ms. Kino, weâll take you to a person who will buy you. Donât offer resistance, please.
Hermes said:
- Even if itâs like that, that would trouble me.
The man in his forties replied:
- Calm down, Hermes. Your partner is quite a beauty. If we brush her, she will shine and sheâs so young, so she should be sold for a huge price for sure. We always decorate our merchandise with jewels or beautiful clothes. We sell them as sets. We wonât do anything that would damage you.
- Itâs really good we understand each other - Kino said that indifferently, without moving the body.
The man in his thirties spoke to Kino, staring quietly at Kinoâs eyes, while aiming at it.
- Please, donât think badly of it. We thank you from our hearts that you saved us. It was delicious⊠It was very delicious. But, weâre like wolves. Wolves have a wolf way of living. Without helping it, itâs for the sake of living.
- I see.
Kino raised both arms slowly.
- Good. Take off that revolver on your stomach along with the holster with your left hand, slowly.
Kino took out slowly with the left hand, âCannonâsâ holster from the belt.
- Throw it.
Kino threw it and it fell in the space between them. It made a piercing sound and it got stabbed halfway in the snow.
The man in his twenties was about to go and pick it but the man in his forties next to him, stopped him. Then, he said:
- Take off your arctic clothes. Slowly. One hand at a time, facing to the front.
Kino took off the arctic clothes as it was told and had a thick belt fastened on the waist. There were many pockets attached to the belt.
- Turn around slowly.
Kino turned around. On the belt, there was the gun that Kino had used to hunt the rabbits, inside a sandwich type holster. Kino called it, âPerson of the woodsâ.
- Just as I thought. Draw that gun too, then throw it, slowly.
- Youâre very knowledgeable.
Kino spoke while looking at Hermes. It holded âPerson of the woodsâ from the barrel, it took it off from the holster and threw it.
- Raise your hands and turn around. Slowly.
Kino raised both hands and faced the men slowly.
Two of them were about to approach, but this time, the man in his thirties holding the gun, stopped them.
- Wait. She had some knives, right? Where are they?.
Kino made a somewhat sad expression and replied bluntly.
- Here and there.
- Throw them all.
Kino put the right hand slowly on the pocket on the hem. It took the folded knife it had used for cooking and threw it like that.
Kino stretched the right hand slowly towards a pocket from the belt. From there, it took out the grip of a knife. The folded blade was raised and locked automatically. It threw that.
Kino put its right hand slowly on the left hem of the jacket. From there, it took out a knife with a double edged blade. It threw it. This time, it put the left hand in the right hem, and threw another knife just like the last one.
- âŠ
In front of the men who were watching in silence, Kino started taking off the over pants. It slided down the side zippers and took one leg at a time. The boots and pants it was wearing below were visible. Kino lowered the waist as it was about to squat down, it took a knife from a sheath tied to the shin of the boot. It threw it.
Doing the same with the left hand, it took and then throw a knife on the left boot.
That hit another thrown knife and made a clink noise.
- You⊠are you a knife seller?
The man in his twenties muttered that without thinking.
Kino took out a knife slowly with its right hand from a sheath behind the right side of the belt. It was a double edged knife, the blade had a length of around fifteen centimeters and the grip had the shape of a thick circular cylinder.
Kino grabbed it with the right hand and, as a support, it holded the blade with the left hand. Kino spoke slowly while looking at the eyes of the man aiming the gun.
- This is the last one.
- Throw it.
On the forehead of the man who spoke like that, a red point appeared. That was a light.
Bababang! An explosion sound could be heard three times. On the border between the grip and the blade, there were four small holes and bullets were shot from three of those.
On the manâs forehead, blood spouted out from the spots where the red points were.
The man in his forties saw Kino moving towards him at the same time he heard the explosion, and swung his left hand instantaneously. Kino evaded it going below it and with the left hand holded the opponent's left hand from behind. It used the entire blade of the knife, piercing the left side of the center of his back.
At the same time the stabbed man said âguh!â shortly, the man with three small holes on his forehead collapsed like if he was crumbling.
Kino pushed the knife and the man like that, and hit the man in his twenties. On the instant the skinny man fell, Kino picked âCannonâ from the snow.
Kino lifted the hammer immediately and stood in front of the man fallen on his back, pinned under the corpse.
- Hya! - the man gave a shriek.
Kinoâs face was dyed in a deep red as it glanced the fallen man next to it. Then, it aimed âCannonâ at the last man.
- HelâŠ
At the same moment there was a roaring sound and white smoke, Kinoâs right hand jumped and some teeths from the man popped like popcorn.
For an instant, the manâs head moved as it had received an electrical shock and soon, it settled down. On the blood gathered on the mouth, a bubble was created with a âgupâ, from the air squeezed out from the lungs. The bursting blood melted some of the snow from under his neck.
Kino stood in front of the corpses of the three men. A faint vapor was created from that blood.
- It was dangerous, wasnât it? - Hermes spoke to Kino from behind - Any wounds?
- No - Kino said shortly and soon - I was scared. I thought it was going to be the end - it added.
After that, Kino stood awhile, holding âCannonâ with its right hand.
Between that clear sky and that shining silver world, Kinoâs molars grinded resounding with a ticking sound.
- Are you alright now? - asked Hermes.
- Iâm alright now. - Kino said while nodding.
There was no vapor coming out from the corpses anymore
Kino stood in front of the load carrying platform.
While still aiming âCannonâ very carefully, it slowly opened the door.
- I see
Kino muttered that and looked inside for some time. Then, it opened both doors. The light invaded the platform.
Inside a not very spacious platform, there were many pure white bones on the floor. They were human bones. Thin ribs. Small finger bones. A splitten ilium that looked like a spatula. Broken thigh bones with the marrows glurped.
There were some empty containers of solid fuel on the floor. There was a metal plate, teared off from a part of the platform as well. And above them, there were scorched spinal column bones.
On a corner of the platform, there was the head from the one who owned the bones.
Tied to a pipe from the platform, a not very big head with long blond hair was hanging down. It was possibly from a girl around Kinoâs age.
It had three quiet holes with no eyes or nose. The skin and meat from the cheeks and jaw were clipped and the more down you went on the skull, the more naked it was. The open lower jaw was barely attached.
On the opposite corner of the head, there was a vivid yellow dress folded carefully.
- ⊠Hermes, can you see it?
Kino asked and Hermes replied.
- Yes. The leftovers from their meal, right?
Kino watched the corpses of the men lying down at its feet.
- Before that, it was surely an important merchandise.
- Then, before that? - Hermes followed Kinoâs mutter and asked.
Kino said quietly while looking at the blond hair glittering.
- Who knows.
Kino spoke to the girl while slowly closing the door.
- It wasnât right. But they didnât want to die.
- We stopped for a while. Letâs depart soon.
Kino said that and started picking the thrown knives.
When it picked âPerson of the woodsâ , the barrel was filled with snow. Kino aimed at nowhere and shot twice. Then it put the security lock on and returned it to the back of its waist.
It pulled the knife stabbed on the manâs back with all its strength. It pierced the snow with the blade stained with blood some times and cleaned it. Then, it wiped it on the clothes of the corpse.
Below the knife grip, there was a screwable lid, Kino opened and took out from there three empty cartridges. Kino took three bullets from the spare magazines of âPerson of the woodsâ that were  in the belt, and put them inside the grip of the knife.
Then, it put back the gun-knife to the sheath on its right thigh.
Kino put on the overpants and the arctic clothes. It put âCannonâ back to its original position. It dismantled the tent quickly and loaded all the luggage on Hermesâ carrier. It turned on the engine.
Suddenly, Kino went back next to the truck. It squatted next to the corpse holding a gun.
It took off the left hand glove. The middle finger had the ring. There were some green jewels on the silver ring.
Kino looked at its left hand for some seconds. It took off the ring and took off the box from a pocket. It put that on the manâs chest pocket. It spoke in a thin voice.
- Iâm returning this. Since I wasnât able to save you.
With a thin voice like Kino, Hermes said:
- Oh, so you liked it.
Kino sat on Hermes. It hid its face putting the hat and the goggles.
Kino stepped lightly on the accelerator and the engine blowed with a good condition.
Hermes said:
- Shall we go?
- Yeah, right. - said Kino.
Kino turned the head lightly, checking if they werenât forgetting anything. The three rabbits arranged on the branch, looked at Kino.
Kino said:
- Donât think badly of it. Weâre human beings.
The motorbike started running. It passed next to the truck, the tent and the four corpses and soon, it wasnât visible anymore.
