Children of a Lesser God

"AAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH," Laz's scream echoed through the barn, shocking the two old men out of their daze. He grabbed his right hand with his left and started cradling it.

"Well, that's to be expected," his grandpa muttered walking over to him. He seemed somewhat relaxed. Although it was hard to tell from his expression, Laz almost thought his grandpa was happy he got hurt.

"Well now, guess that bag was in worse shape than I thought, ah well. I will string it back up tomorrow." Although Bill seemed nonchalant, he knew that this old heavy bag was still in good shape. Bill had been many things in his past and a boxing trainer was one of them, so even if he had retired, he still kept up his equipment.

"So, how did that happen?" Grandpa Crowe ask Bill while reaching for Laz's hand.

"You got me. Your kid here is what? 50 kg max? That bag is a 70 kg one. Honestly speaking, it should have knocked him flying," Bill replied while walking over.

"How's it look?"

"Sprained, but not dislocated or broken, so no problems." Grandpa Crowe rubbed around the wrist a bit more while Laz gritted his teeth hard, trying not to scream.

"Alright, least he didn't mess that up. Ok old man, get yourself home. He will be ready for pick up tomorrow around 5 pm," Bill commented while looking at his watch.

"Ok, thanks again Bill. If I don't make it here.." Grandpa Crowe began before muttering a bit.

"Yeah yeah, it's fine. I will send him back."

"Alright. See you tomorrow Laz. Try not to move that wrist around much. Bill will splint it up for you later. And uh... just remember... this is for your own good." Grandpa Crowe stopped speaking at this moment after uttering those ominous words. He looked at Bill and walked back towards the truck.

Laz walked over in time to watch him turn the truck around and head out on the dirt driveway.

"You know, your grandpa is one of the best men I've ever known," Bill stated while going into a trunk that was sitting next to the door. He began digging through it before pulling out an old glove attached to a harness.

Walking over towards Laz, he slipped his throbbing hand into the glove portion before locking the harness into place on his forearm. This would lock his wrist into place and not let him move it for the time being.

"The why did you call him an asshole?"

"Just cause he's a good man doesn't mean I have to like him, does it? Lets go get some dinner."

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Dinner consisted of a stew cooked in an old iron pot on top of a camp fire. Laz gathered the wood from the wood pile while Bill washed out the pot and grabbed the ingredients from inside the trailer.

With the fire burning, it helped to chase away the constant cold in the air and actually caused Laz to feel quite warm.

"Your sleeping in the barn tonight, climb the ladder to the loft at the far end. The barn should stay pretty warm but there are some blankets next to the first stall. Take one to sleep on and one to cover up with."

"Why am I doing this? I don't even know what my grandpa by bringing me out here," Laz complained feeling somewhat more comfortable after having ate. He had never questioned the old man before, but the more things happened, the less he understood..

Laz had always been on the move growing up. His parents would drag him around all over the country so he had never really had a concept of home before. The two years he had spent at the apartment would mark the longest he had even been in one place. He was grateful for that which was why he always respected his grandpa's wishes, but he was just too confused now.

"He said he wanted you to learn how to fight right?"

"Yeah, he got the wrong idea about something and thinks I got hurt at school."

"Right, I don't give a damn about that."

"Uh..."

"I also don't give a damn about you."

"Yeah..."

"So quit asking fucking questions and just do what your told."

Laz stared at the old man dumbfounded. Even if he didn't like him, sharing a bit wouldn't cost him anything right? Apparently he wasn't going to learn anything so he might as well just shut up.

"Get some sleep. We are getting up at dawn for a bit of a jog."

"Uh.. ok." Laz walked to the barn, entered and closed the door behind him. The dim light from the free hanging bulbs could only make Laz wonder that if one of them broke, could the entire barn go up in flames and kill him?

Probably.

Laz gathered two blankets as instructed and made his way up to the loft. The barn was old, but enclosed tightly, not letting in so much as a breeze. Since it was winter, there was no need to worry about air circulation. The only view of the outside was from the loft and the only thing to look at was the sky.

After everything that had happened today, Laz had almost forgotten about his eye sight and hearing enhancements. Since the only thing he could currently look at was in the barn, he closed his eyes and focused with just his hearing. He could hear the sound of mice on the floor below, an owl hooting in the distance and many other various sounds of nature.

Laz found that if he focused on just one sound, he could amplify the sound even more while isolating the sound around him. The more he practiced with it, the better he got.

After a while, he pulled his head out of the world of sound while laying back, ready to take a good sleep. It had been a long day and many things had happened. The biggest problem being that he was becoming more and more worried about his grandpa.

Although this camping experience might be fun for some and miserable for others, Laz was feeling very relaxed and he didn't know why. He wasn't sure what kinds of things he would be doing with the old man, but he somehow knew he needed to sleep.

As he closed his eyes and relaxed his body, the last thing he thought of was the dangerously sexy smile, the dark red lips and those glowing green eyes.

'Ah, she was really hot and crazy.'