Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 16: What It Means To Be A Man

Laz took almost 3 hours to make it back as it wasn't in a hurry. This also allowed him time to practice with his eye sight to help him make better use of it. It's easy to think about, but not so easy to put into practice. Things looking like different shades of red, orange, yellow and so forth does not make it to figure out what it is. Although it is easier to determine the size of something, it is not easy to figure out what it is just based on this.

Laz didn't want to think about walking up to something and thinking it was a hunched over human but finding out it was a rabid dog. That was not an ending he wanted to see.

Although he had gotten himself familiar with it, he would still need work to use it effectively.

Laz didn't want to admit it, but he had a bad feeling about a lot of things. Had he only known about the tree, he would simply look on like everyone else. But these changes within his body made him think that there was far more going on.

He was pretty sure he wasn't crazy, so therefore it had to be something else that was causing it. Truthfully though, he didn't rule out crazy. The insane always feel that the sane are the weird ones.

Coming back to the farm clearing. Laz caught sight of Bill in front of a fire with a rack placed over it. He was sitting on a log while blankly staring into the flames.

"Took your sweet time did you?" Bill asked with a strange look on his face.

"Screw you too," Laz replied, sitting on a stump near the fire.

"How did you do it kid?"

"I got lucky."

"Yeah, that would clear one of those. Rubber bullets might move slower, but they still fly a lot faster than a human could see and you weren't even looking," Bill remarked, thinking to himself.

After the walk back, Laz felt better than ever, so he didn't really pay him much attention. He also didn't feel like explaining.

"Laz, your grandpa didn't tell you about me, did he?" Bill asked, looking somewhat worried.

"Nope, he just said don't ask questions."

"You know I'm not crazy, right?"

"Why would I care?"

"They are real. I only used it as an excuse before, but things changed."

"An excuse?"

"Your grandpa knows he isn't right most days. It hurts him, especially when it comes to you. I owe him a lot over the years and the debt keeps growing. He's never asked for anything, but he doesn't mind giving everything." Bill looked up at the sky, obviously lost in thought.

Laz was quiet and just kept listening. He knew enough not to ask what shouldn't be asked. Anything that he needed to know would be said.

"I wasn't going to make him suffer this alone. If he is going crazy, we are going together. As a brother, I owe him that much.".

Laz looked up. He never remembered his grandpa mentioning he had a brother. Bill reached over to a paper wrapped package on the ground next to him and unwrapped it, revealing a large slab of meat. He set it on the rack and pulling out some seasoning, he started making dinner.

"You grandfather and I met during the war, almost 50 years ago. We were both young and stupid and had no idea what were we getting into. They dragged all of us kids to go fight a war no one wanted in a country that had nothing to do with us. This was all about pride. As a country, we couldn't admit to a loss."

Bill was obviously agitated as he spoke. You could tell he had a lot of hate in his heart.

"People died, a lot of people. Strangers, friends, enemies, allies, and brothers... most of us were just kids. They didn't want to kill me anymore than I wanted to kill them. But there we were, on the opposite sides in the war."

"I've spent a lot of nights awake, thinking about it. We were the invaders, the outsiders. We were fighting a politicians war just so they could stroke their own egos. I'm not saying anyone was right. Wars may be started for the right reason, but the people dying couldn't care less about that."

"Your grandfather saved my life. A member of our squad, Ziggy, stepped on a landmine while we were on patrol. We heard the click and almost everyone froze. I was between your grandpa and Ziggy on the line. I didn't even get out so much as a thought before I felt your grandpa bear hug me from behind and toss me down." Bill stopped to take a breath at this point, constantly flipping the meat while adding on additional seasoning.

"Ziggy was nothing more then a pile of flesh and blood spatter and I had a piece of him end up in my throat since I didn't close it quick enough. That's also when I lost this. Shrapnel" Bill pointed at the eye patch, almost laughing at himself.

"19 years old and I got to see I guy I knew for a few months go splat like a popped balloon. That was the last thing this eye ever saw. Shit like that changes you Laz and not in a good way." Bill stopped talking and just looked at the meat in a daze.

"What happened after that?" Laz couldn't help but ask.

"A hell of a lot more than I want to talk about. Your grandfather and I arn't good people Laz. We will burn in hell one day when the time comes. But he will always be my brother by something thicker than blood, they all will. We might have gone there as stupid kids, but we became men bathed in the blood of our enemies and friends."

"All of this, because someone fucking told us to. I would have just as soon gone out drinking with those boys I was firing at than have to kill them. Or be killed by them. But because someone gave the order, we fired, or we died. Simple as that. I think something like that might happen again."

"What?"

"You've noticed it, so don't lie to me. I'm not going to ask, but at least listen to what I have to say. People are going to change real soon and I've got no fucking clue why. What I do know is, it won't be good. And when different people start showing up, the ones in charge are going to get worried. Normal people will get worried. And when enough people start thinking dumb thoughts together, that's when the real monsters will come out to play."

"Old man, what do you know exactly?" Laz couldn't help but ask, looking directly at him.

"This eye hasn't worked since 1971, when it was yanked out with the shrapnel. But over the last few days, even when I have it covered, I'm seeing things."

"It's like, watching two tv's right next to each other. On this side," Bill pointed to his normal eye, "I can see whats happening around me normally. I can see you, I can see this food, I can see the fire."

Bill then lifted the eye patch to show a mostly empty socket. This might have been the sickest thing Laz had ever seen, until he looked closer. He noticed there was a small, white, worm like thing inside of it, laying along the bottom of the socket. It had a shiny round head with a small black dot right in the middle and it seemed like the other end ran into Bill's head with no end in sight. Even his enhanced vision failed him at this point.

It almost looked like a tiny eye.

"And this one is playing a constant movie that might last almost 2 years. The two years we spent in hell. Even when I close both my eyes, one goes dark and the other just keeps on playing the movie."