Carl felt that whatever Paul wanted to talk to him about was serious, as he could feel the air around him almost grow thicker.
Taking a seat on the rock next to Paul, he looked out over the pond and listened to the sounds of nature before he heard Paul speak, his voice held emotion he hadn't heard from him before.
Something raw and real, something Carl felt every time he thought about his dad, anger and sadness.
"I think we both know this world is changing and it's changing fast, even if we haven't seen it yet for ourselves, you're going to have to have to know how to protect yourself.
I'm going to be teaching you how to protect yourself and the people you care about, and naturally that means I'm teaching you how to kill, Carl."
Carl felt his heart racing a little, and his hands grew sweaty. He knew he was nervous, but he also knew that what Paul said was the truth.
"As a kid even younger than you, I was forced to kill and learn how easy it was to take someone's life, but I was never told how hard it was to stop.
It changed me into something I have to fight against every day, but it's also a part of me that's a necessity.
I've learned that there are two types of people in this world, Carl." Carl felt Paul put a hand on his shoulder and looked into Paul's eyes, which were like a dark pit that led to purgatory itself.
"There's the victims, the people who wonder why they should have to, and the predators, the people who just do. Never be the victim." Carl heard Paul's words, though he didn't quite understand them all, but he felt that one day he would come to understand.
"Now, let's go train."
—------------------------------------
"What is that?" Carl looked on curiously as Paul brought out a black case from the tent and laid it on the grass.
"This is going to be your god," Paul said as he slowly opened the case, making Carl hold his breath in anticipation before finally letting out a gasp.
"Whoah." He looked on with both excitement and nervousness as Paul picked up a beautiful black pistol with a silencer on it out of the case.
"As a kid, especially your age, getting into any physical fight or knife fight is going to either get you killed or seriously injured. This right here changes everything."
Carl looked at Paul, who was holding the pistol like it was the most important thing in the world, and maybe it was.
"Before I give you this, you first need to understand the responsibility that you now hold. You can't be the little kid anymore, Carl, it's time to grow up, I'm sorry."
Carl nodded while thinking of the past few days, and it felt better this way, to have more power in his hands to protect those he cared about.
Even if it came at a cost.
"I understand, no kid games." Carl nodded seriously.
"Good. So pay attention. Always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. This is the magazine release and the safety."
"This is a Beretta M9A3 with a suppressor, so you'll need to know how to load the magazine and clean the gun in the future. To chamber a round, you pull back the slide and release." Paul chambered a round.
"Inside the case is a custom-made holster for the pistol. I keep my pistol tucked within my coat, but you can just keep yours on your belt if you like." Paul said while pointing to the black holster, which Carl grabbed and buckled to his right side belt while his knife was on his left.
"It's yours now." Carl slowly reached out and took hold of the pistol, and felt the cold metal and the weight of the pistol in his hand.
It was so real, and he was actually nervous just holding the gun.
"You're holding the gun like it's going to bite you. Let's go shoot some cans so you can get comfortable with it."
Carl smiled, and he tucked the gun into its holster before he and Paul set up some cans for him to begin his shooting practice.
He was on a mission to become a man.