[oilchange]

> The boy offers to give the man his pistol but the man tells him to keep it. That indicates the man is not trying to trick him.

Yes and the nice cannibal they killed offered to give them food and shelter. Remember how nice that cannibal was? The pistol was worthless and if I remember correctly, it didn't even have a bullet left. Of course he let him keep it. It's no threat.

> Talking about odds in a fictional story is misguided.

No. It's a matter of determining what is most likely.

> The odds are 100% whatever the writer intended.

Yes. The author wrote everything that led up to the meeting for a reason. Everything the author wrote leads to the man and woman being cannibals. It's pretty obvious. It isn't a children's book. For children, the author explains everything clearly and spoonfeeds you. But for adult books you have to think about what the author is trying to say. Did that world seem like it had any good samaritans that you envision. No it did not. For a reason.

What the author intended is 100% obvious. You don't like it because you childishly want a happy ending. Cormac wasn't writing disney books or children books. If you are still confused and you seem to be, go read his other books. You'll understand what kind of writer he was.

[huthuthike]

It had one bullet left. You should consider that if you don't know these details you might not have solid footing for your opinion of the ending.