Chapter 69: 69
“I won’t just teach them how to fight. There are lots of things to learn here. We have a teacher in one of the houses and she could teach your grandchildren. We have a lot of competent people here that we could learn from, even from you.” I explained.
He nodded for a while and he was deep in contemplation. His wife is talking with everyone while his youngest grandchild sat on his lap.
“Alright, I’ll follow you. Hmm, I want you to have this as a sign of good faith.” He handed me his holster which contains a Desert Eagle. I checked it and it has .50 AE bullets inside and it’s full.
Oscar whistled, “That’s a sweet gun.”
“I had that for a few years. I-”
“Can I have an S&W M&P M2 instead? I saw your inventory; I remember you have one.” I said flatly.
“Grck!” the two old dudes choked at the same time. Kaley was facepalming though smiling while his grandchild is just looking at us in confusion.
“Kid?! You ruined a good moment there!” Oscar yelled.
“What is wrong with you?” Johnny added.
“Well, you’re gonna give me a gun, might as well negotiate for a better one.” I said while scratching my head.
“Oh boy.” Kaley said.
“Wait, you mean to say you don’t like the Eagle?!” Johnny’s face is starting to redden. It’s the first time seeing him giving a different expression from his usual stoic demeanor.
“Well for starters, it’s heavy. The recoil is strong, it isn’t suitable for rapid shooting. And to top it off, 7 rounds? C’mon man, the M&P could hold 18 or 26 if you also give me those extended mags that I saw in the brochure.” I explained.
“But! It’s .50 AE bullets! There’s custom mags for that to be mediated.” He said.
“Doing that would make it heavier!” I retorted.
“But! It’s a freaking eagle!” he shouted.
“Eagle, Taurus, Rhino what other animal-based guns could you think of? Those all have low bullet capacity. So, the M&P, can I have it instead?” I retorted once more with an innocent face.
“You!” he’s red all over.
“Woof!” Zeus tried to join the conversation.
“Is that how we sound? It’s funny and annoying at the same time.” Oscar said to Kaley.
“Yes, Johnny is losing though.” Kaley said.
“The kid is good at talking, he has his facts straight though.” Oscar said.
“This is not a battle of numbers!” Johnny is starting to get passionate.
“Of course, it is! Are you comparing 26 dead zombies over 7?” I debated.
“The bullets have great stopping power and it could pass through those things and hit a few more!” he exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes with an exasperated exhale.
“Why would you need stopping power for zombies though? And bullets passing through? Are you gonna wait for them to stand in line? Hah! What are you gonna say? Okay Mr. Zombie arms up with each other so I could shoot you?” I retorted.
Oscar began shaking his head laughing.
“!…” he seems to be out of words to say.
“This gun is just a sign of good faith okay? Can you just please accept it? My blood pressure is going haywire. They never told me you were like this…” He said helplessly.
“He’s a good kid but with guns he’s the devil himself. Only won once with him.” Oscar said.
“No, you didn’t” I said to myself.
“Just accept it Sky. I thought you really like pistols.” Kaley chimed.
“Okay then. Thanks! To be honest this is really cool. I always pick this gun when I’m playing games.” I said as we shook hands after but Kaley is smiling at the remark.
He went to the catwalk to talk to his son chatting with Allan.
“Thank you.” I heard Joanne said from behind.
“Hmm?” I looked back at the direction of the voice.
“It has been a while since he grew passionate like that. Ever since he got his leg…out of commission, he seemed very depressed and he rarely talks. Add that to what’s happening now…” she said.
“If that was me, I’d happily wear that as a badge of honor.” Oscar said.
“I hope he does think of it that way too. He’s just different, somewhat pessimistic in how he views things.” She explained.
“Well it’s great for all of you to come here.” Oscar said.
“Just don’t tell my husband you know…” she trailed.
“Of course, I get it, my wife gets lonely too. Though we always talk as much as possible.” Oscar said.
“We do too. It’s really hard for me staying at home not knowing whether the next doorbell will be him or a letter.” she said solemnly.
“Hmm, that’s why they always say that freedom isn’t free.” Oscar replied.
I then decided to leave them and I headed to the gym to do my daily workout. Tatiana continued to train Kaley while time passes eventually. Kaley’s body is slowly getting more flexible and I could notice her legs is starting to grow muscle as I see a few contoured spots that was not visible before.
“You focused on her legs huh?” I said to Tatiana.
“Yeah, I figured that she would be busy with her hands as she’s holding guns.” She replied.
“I agree, our legs are much stronger than our arms too.” I added.
“Hey Sky, I can do this now.” She said as she splits on the mat. It was the type where her legs are in the front and in the back. I was surprised at her progress and then she adjusts her position so her legs will be on her sides. She didn’t stop there and she went upside down when she raises her body with her hands while she’s still in the same position then she closes her legs and landed safely on the mat. Her body is starting to bend on angles but still very far from what Tatiana can do.
“A little progress is still progress.” I said to myself.
“Damn. Great job! Both of you!” I said out loud.
We cooled off and then we did this awkward shower again with the three of us. We headed down after we changed our clothes.
When dinner is almost ready, the families from the other houses came and we introduced them with each other.
Tonight, we ate a chicken dish that is prepared with tamarinds which is called Sinampalukang Manok. It’s a hearty broth mixed with a few herbs and it tastes savory and slightly sour. As usual, we ate it over rice and I brought out a separate bowl for myself so after I ate a mouthful of rice and the viand, I would sip from the bowl after. The rest are also amused from my other eating habit though Rin is not doing the same as me tonight.
We tidied up for the meeting as we clear the tables. I stood in front of them as I got their attention.
“Good day today! Kinda troubled though.” I said.
“What’s the problem kid?” Oscar asked.
“We got no Halloween decorations for tomorrow. Everyone outside has gone over the top this time.” I said while giving a double finger gun.
“…” everyone else.
“HAHAHAHAHA!!!” My uncle Zeidrick along with a select few burst out laughing.
“That was too dark kid.” Oscar said as he shook his head.
I saw Kaley in the corner palming her pistol.
“Ahaha…” I laughed weakly.
“Anyway, let’s start this thing properly. Let us first welcome our newest addition to the group. Johnny and Marco’s family and Bobby who we met earlier.”
They stood up for a bit to be welcomed officially.
“I would also like to thank you again for taking me in. This more than I have hoped for.” Bobby said.
I nodded then I continued, “Our scouting group made a good haul earlier and we also found a lot of guns from Joanne’s shop. We’ll be continuing on hauling stuff tomorrow while our builders will continue on fortifying the place. How are we on the status on the fences and the farm?”
“The fences up front are well fortified and we need to work on dismantling the houses in the squatter area tomorrow.” Zeidrick said.
“I planted a few seeds in small cups first so we could transfer them eventually in the farm outside. I also helped with Mrs. Amanda with their small garden at home and we could harvest a few stalks of lettuce and beans tomorrow.” Charlotte said.
“I made my way to the fish ponds earlier. A few of them could be fished now. We could smoke them tomorrow or just salt them and place them on the freezers. We harvested a few pieces of eggs from the chickens and the feeds you got helped a lot. The rabbits are gonna give birth soon so I separated the males when I noticed the first time.” Derek said.
“Okay, that sounds great. Raphael?” I asked.