Chapter 41 Strange Little Plan (1/2)

Laz's coughing was drowned out by the old men's laughter. He hadn't spent a lot of time with his grandmother before she left the world, but he still remembered her as a constantly smiling face when he was young. Knowing that these two old men were telling him that the smiling face from his youth was able to crush beer cans would definitely be something he couldn't forget.

Then again, he started this so he should have expected it. After he finished eating, he walked over to the barn to start hitting the bag again.

Bill yelled out, ”I didn't tell you to go back there did I?”

”Nope.”

”Oh. Ok. Yeah, go do that. Nothing beats hardening the fists. You would be surprised how weak a normal persons fist is.” Bill seemed to wave him off a bit, but it was true never the less. Hitting the bag over and over again would be the best way for Laz to learn how to control his strength. He needed the practice with that before he ever had to hit a human.

The results could be horrible otherwise. Neither Bill nor Grandpa Crowe wanted Laz to accidentally kill someone the first time he hit them. And with his strength, that could happen.

Laz spent the rest of the day practicing punching and kicking the heavy leather bag. The constant impact over and over again made his bones practically crack from the strain, but he kept going.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was really worried. He knew that his Grandpa was sick but after seeing him out here, he knew he didn't have much time left. As Laz's ability grew, he felt the strain that such things put on his body. He knew his grandfather couldn't survive such strain for long. In the end, the old man, no matter how tough he was, was already nearing the end of his life. This was just making it happen faster.

Laz couldn't do anything but wait and hit this punching bag, again and again. He knew he would be powerless when the time came, but his young mind didn't think this day would come so soon. Like all things, he thought he could face it when the time came and he would be able to handle it. But he was realizing that he wasn't ready. Not by a long shot. Even if his parents were out there somewhere, he hadn't seen them in a few years and hadn't heard from them. He didn't consider them as being a part of his future equation.

Life was a weird creature. Just when you think you have things figured out, it likes making things chaotic again. No reason, just because.

Laz couldn't help but just stop for a minute and zone out. Things were moving too fast, far too fast. He was getting lost and he didn't like it. For a 14 year old boy, this wasn't something he knew how to deal with. Even if he wanted to get angry with someone, who could he get angry with. Thinking about some of those kids in his class, he couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous. They liked to complain about their parents or talk about how they got into a fight with them over something stupid. 'Parents never understand,' they would say, or 'I wish I could live by myself.' These were only things that people who had never experienced hardship would say.

Laz knew he was starting to lose himself. It had happened once before. This time was different. He walked over to the chest where his jacket, backpack, helmet and cellphone ended up. He normally kept them there when he wasn't in the loft.

Grabbing his cell phone, he walked over to a cabinet and opened it up, revealing an old, somewhat worn out radio. Grabbing the custom cut cord, Laz was able to plug it into his head phone jack and ignoring the message indicator, he set it up to play.

He walked over to the to the bag and stood silently in front of it, clearing his mind of all thoughts. The day was somewhat gray and looked ready to rain at any moment. It had only cooled off slightly from the day before, but the amount of moisture in the air made it clear that a storm was coming.

The weather reflected Laz's thoughts perfectly.

Laz stood still and just let his senses spread out, not focusing on anything in particular as the music started playing.

~I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And I fear no evil 'cause I'm blind to it all. And my mind, my gun they comfort me. Because I know I'll kill my enemies when they come.~

~Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell on this earth for ever more.~

~ Sad I walk beside the still waters and they restore my soul. But I can't walk on the path of the right because I'm wrong.~

~No I can't walk.~

~On the path of the right.~

~'Cause I'm wrong.~