Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 55: War Stories

Laz blanked out. He didn't know what he was expecting, but this wasn't even in the same plane of existence. So he kind of short circuited for a few moments. Then he had to come back to reality.

The old man seemed to be enjoying the joke, so much so that a smile was plastered on his face that wouldn't come off for a long time. He even reached over to grab the paper and rolled it up before writing dragon fist on it and trying to hand it back to Laz by hitting him with it a few times.

Laz's entire face twitched like he was experiencing the world's most nagging itch before he took the paper that Grandpa Chu had been hitting him with.

"You're not serious, are you?" Laz finally voiced the world yelling through his head.

"Yes. Quite serious!!" The old man responded back.

"Laz, try it first before you think it's not possible," Uncle Chu had just walked in the dinning area from the kitchen and took a seat beside the two.

"But... Uncle... This?" Was Laz's only reply.

"Look Laz, I know it may seem like the old man is messing with you and the chances are he probably be is. In fact, I can almost promise you that he is messing with you. But, consider this. Would he ever do anything to harm you or waste your time?" Uncle Chu smiled while looking at the young man.

Uncle Chu was pretty fit and quite handsome for a man in his 30s. While others were settling down and getting married, he just wanted to keep living day to day. It was almost like he was always looking for something, but had yet to find it. Although his dad had told him constantly that he didn't need his help and he should go do something worthwhile like his sister, Uncle Chu would not give up on the old man. Although he might have joked at times that he would only leave once the old man passed away, he really meant that.

Grandpa Chu was not young and had lived a long life. Losing his wife had done a number on him and Uncle Chu knew that the old guy didn't have a lot of time left. Therefore, as his son, he wanted to make sure the old man wasn't lonely for his last days. He might not have a son, but with Laz running around all the time since he had first come here, he knew the old man was treating him like one of the family and that was especially helpful for Uncle Chu since that meant the old man wouldn't constantly pester him about grand kids.

Uncle Chu's first name was Steven. Having been born in the US, his parents had given him an American first name since they wanted him to blend in more. He had no relation to the Nobel prize winner either. Although his parents were pretty traditional, they were also pretty flexible people. Their thought was that if you choose to live in a country, then be a part of that country. Heritage is important, but no one ever succeeded by only looking backwards. Instead, keep moving forward. And besides, one day, heritage wouldn't really matter.

At the time when Laz heard about this, he has asked his Uncle what it meant. Taking a deep breath, his Uncle looked him dead in the eye and said, "My dad feels that at some point, the entire world is going to keep fucking enough that there will no longer be many races, just one big genetic sperm slurpee."

'Oh, that's right,' Laz thought. 'Grandpa Chu is friends with my Grandpa and Bill." He couldn't help but remember some of the things they thought of.

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After that, Laz learned not to asked questions if he wasn't prepared for answers.

"So... why are you giving this to me now?" Laz had the question in his head. Why now? He was here almost everyday after school, so why did his Grandpa Chu decide to bring this to him now?

"Because, you're not always going to fight against normal people. You've probably heard this from your Grandpa and Bill but, things are changing. Take it from this old man, you can never be too ready. I don't want you to be caught in a situation where you might die due to your own inability. And here's another thing, don't trust the feds. Look Laz, no matter what country you're in or what type of government they are, they have only one concern, themselves. That's not changing anytime soon. So when it comes down to it, you need to be able to survive on your own. That's what this is all about. If there ever comes a day when the ones in charge decide to start rounding people up, disappear. Go some place else, be some place else. Understand?" Grandpa Chu looked at Laz, waiting for his confirmation.

"Yes Grandpa Chu," Laz said as he nodded his head.

"Good boy. Keep that back straight and remember that if you don't do stupid things, you won't end up in a tragedy. Oh and here." Grandpa Chu slid another paper across the table at Laz.

"This another mystic art here?"

"Smart ass. Next time you have a week off from school, go here and train a bit. It will be helpful."

Laz looked at the paper and it was an advertisement for a dojo in the next town over. About a 20 minute ride on his bike, assuming the weather stayed decent..

"Sure thing Grandpa Chu. Thanks!" Laz said as he reached over and gave the old man a hug.

"Ha, so big now. I Still remember holding you after you were first born. Time never stops huh," The old man commented as he stood up.

"Alright, go on and get home." The old man walked towards the stairs that led up into the apartments, leaving the two younger men downstairs.

"Ha. I'll tell you little brother. I think my old man likes you more than me," Uncle Chu said while standing up.

"Nah. I'm just better looking," Laz replied back with a smurk.

"In your dreams brat. You can't beat this sexy face no matter how much you try." Uncle Chu said with a laugh. while walking Laz to the door.

"Little Bro, has anyone ever told you how the old men met?" Uncle Chu said with a serious look.

"No, I don't think so. I've wondered, but no one ever said anything exact, big bro." Although Laz and his uncle were formal around the old man, when it was just the two of them, they treated each other like family.

"My dad told me the story once. You know how your Grandpa and Bill fought in the Vietnam War right? Where American Troops were sent in to support South Vietnam?"

"Yeah, so what of it?"

"Well, my dad was serving in the PLA at the time. He was actually there assisting the North Vietnamese troops."

"So, they were enemies?"

"Exactly!"

"Then..."

"Well, the story goes like this. The weather there can get real bad, real quick. So one day my dad and his troop were sitting out the storm in a village when two lost Americans wandered in. It caught everyone by surprise since neither troops were suppose to be around there. The village itself was sympathetic to the Chinese troops who where helping the north fight so they froze up in fright when the two men stumbled in. You have to remember, to them, the Americans were the invaders and basically all kinds of evil. The area the men stumbled into just happened to be were a bunch of children were playing around so the people there started panicking. For the two heavily outnumbered Americans, their best tactic would have been to grab a few kids and use them as hostages to escape. In fact, there were plenty of civilians around that they would have gotten mowed down had anyone started firing, hence what made the Chinese troops hesitate. They were worried the Americans would open fire just to make a mess and flee in the chaos."

Laz listened on with rapt attention. He'd never heard this story before so he really wanted to know what had happened.

"As you probably already guessed, the two solders were your Grandpa and Bill. Seeing the situation, they just looked at each other, then at the people standing between them and my dad and his troops and they just lowered their guns. Your Grandpa reach a hand out while they were being aimed at and rubbed a boys head before waving him away. The kids, now a bit less frightened by the friendly gesture, ran towards their houses along with all the aduts who had finally regained their senses, leaving only the troops standing around. My dad and his company hesitated for a bit, not understanding what was going on. They had come across some villages in the past where all the civilians had been killed by the invading Americans so they didn't really grasp what the two Americans were trying to do. Everyone just stood around for a few moments before my dad woke up and ordered his company to lower their weapons. Your Grandpa and Bill, acting like there was nothing wrong, just walked up to the men who had previously been eating dinner and sat down, while taking out some rations. My dad and his men sat down as well and just started eating again. They even went so far as to offer the two 'enemies' some hot food which they gladly accepted, handing over a few candy bars in return. After that, they all just sat around, eating and drinking while watching the rain and giving out their names. When the food was finished, your Grandpa took out a map from his pocket and speaking some of the worst broken Vietnamese my dad said he had ever heard, asked where they were so that they could find their way back. Although it took a while, my dad got them pointed in the right direction along with how to get back to their base. Your Grandpa then gave my dad his home address in America and invited him to visit if he ever left this hell hole. After that, my dad said the two Americans stood up and saluted the Chinese solders and then left.

And that was how they first met."

"Wow. That just sounds crazy," Laz's heart was beating pretty fast when he thought about how everything could have ended much differently.

"Yeah. My dad has told me that based on orders, they should have never let the two Americans go. But when they saw the two lost solders not wanting to get the civilians involved, it caused them to not take them as enemies, but just two lost travelers. So they felt the need to help them."

"That's a good story, but what is the point exactly?" Laz suspected that there was some moral here his big brother was trying to impart onto him.

"The point, little bro, is that even when stuck in hell and surrounded by enemies, don't lose yourself. Dad was able to see your fight today and was worried that you might get a little rage happy and lose control. That's why he wants you to learn to focus your energy. And as for me, I want you to remember that sometimes, winning isn't about fighting, but about being able to walk away at the end of the day. Sometimes, lowering your gun means that your enemy will lower theirs, got it?"

Laz was pretty confused by this. He thought it was just a story about how the old men all met each other, but apparently there actually was a profound meaning. He wasn't going to try to understand it, but since it was something his big bro told him, he would keep it in mind.

"You bet. Alright, time for me to go." Not waiting around to be lectured again, Laz finally made it back out onto the street, leaving in a hurried manner.