[Flashback] Survival books

Yuan prepared and they went to his grandfather which was in the countryside. They traveled at night. The way was silent with only them on the road. Some large trucks and ten-wheelers were passing them by as they traveled.

From the window side, the road was seen with only four lanes. One for fast speed and the outer lane for low-speed vehicles.

The pine trees were big enough to fit a small house. From the road, deers were jumping and hopping beside them. As they traveled, Yuan opened his Tupper ware and ate his meal.

He watched his phone and it was early in the morning. They passed by some villages and cabins that were covered with barbed wire and wooden fences.

It was creepy and horrifying to look at. Yuan had imagined that it was like the house of Jason or Freddie from the nightmare in Elm Street.

Thinking of these things, he also envisioned that for example, he was in a zombie world.

'What will I do if was sent to one? Will I survive? I have played PC games with zombie apocalypse themes but not so sure if it was in the reality. Well, games are games but they bring dread and give entertaining experiences. I will survive it, surely.' Yuan concluded.

"We will pit stop at the nearest gasoline station and refill our gas. Buy some snacks while we're on it." Said his dad.

They arrived at the nearest station and his father parked the car beside the pumping station. The gasoline station has a seven-eleven store so Roan hurriedly went outside.

"Okay we're here, buy something you want and we will leave in minutes," his father said to him.

"I will wait here, son. I want to sleep a bit," said his mother.

"Okay It will not take a minute," Yuan said to his dad.

He walked to the store and opened the doorway. He immediately felt the cold breeze of the air conditioner.

The store has many foods and drinks in it, with some emergency supplies like medicines.

He went to the snacks first and chose junk food. He picked it up and smiled as he saw that it was his favorite snack. He went to the drinks and chose a soft drink.

It was an orange-flavored soft drink. He went to the counter and paid for it. He exited the store and entered the car.

"Let's go!" said his father.

They traveled again and they arrived in the countryside. The sky went clearer and they saw a farm of corn beside the road.

There was also a sunflower farm and some vegetable gardens that they passed through. It was dawn when they arrived at his grandpa's place.

A simple wooden house and there was a forest at the back of their home. A diversified garden was in his front yard and many flowers were on his walls. The sun was beginning to shine.

Its rays blessed the garden and the flowers glowed with colors. The vegetables glow as the dew shines with the sunlight.

"We're here. Go greet your grandpa," said John.

Yuan then went outside the car and his grandpa opened his door. He hurried fast to hug him.

"Grandpa!" shouted Yuan.

"Oh hohoho! Yuan my boy! You've grown taller since last summer. You're playing basketball right? You can dunk now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I can dunk! And I am the point guard. Sometimes as a forward but when defending, I am the center. It was pretty tiring though," Yuan said.

"Hahaha, that's my boy! I will cook breakfast! Do you want chicken soup? I will cook you one!" said his grandfather.

"I will help dad. Let's cook one!" John said to Yuan, tapping his shoulders.

"Tanaka and Yuan. Bring your bags inside the house," said his father.

"Yes, father!" Yuan replied.

He grabbed the bags and puts them in the house. His father and grandfather went to kill a chicken.

He, on the contrary, went to watch his father and grandpa. His father killed two chickens and his grandpa boiled water.

"You know son, the right temperature to remove the feathers of the chicken is sixty degrees Celsius. Not the boiling water because it will make the skin and muscles of the chicken tighten. It will be hard to pull the feathers afterward," said his father.

"Really? I didn't know that!" Yuan said.

"Hahaha! That's right! We will chop them afterward. Look closely as we chop them into pieces of meat and remove the internal organs.

"It will help you in the future, you know that survival skills are more useful when in the apocalypse. Learn farming, hunting, survival, crafting, food identification, pathfinding, and tracking from your grandpa while you're here.

"You will thank me later on. Well, you are learning them since you're young every summer vacation so we will be adding new lessons to your knowledge," His father said to him.

"Yes, father! I surely will!" he said to him.

His father then chopped the meat and removed its innards. They washed the meat to prepare it.

"Now we will cook the chicken. Watch how your grandpa cooks it," said John.

They started to cook the chicken. They put in vegetable oil and heated it. They added garlic, ginger, and onion to the oil and it was sizzling.

After the spices were brownish, the meat of the chicken was added to the oil. They added lemongrass to the meat and added water. It was boiled until the meat was soft and tender.

"That's how I cook it!" said his grandpa.

"Let's serve it while it is still hot," said his father.

Yuan entered the house and his mother was preparing the plates and spoons with forks for their breakfast. The table was wooden and it was crafted by his Grandfather himself.

It has curvy legs coated with varnish. He helped his mother arrange the plates and served the rice to the serving plates. He finished preparing the plates and the soup was served while still hot.

"Roan, sit beside your grandfather," said his father.

"We will have fun fishing later on to the lake later on," said his grandfather.

"Wow, that's great! We will be fishing!" Yuan said.

Both Tanaka and John laughed. They ate together with their family.

"Um! I almost forgot! Your uncle Mark will be having a visit this afternoon. He took leave and will visit here. I bet his life being ahead police officer was pretty tiring," His grandfather Merlin said to him.

"Oh! Uncle Mark! He will be teaching me shooting skills right? Last summer was pretty amazing! Considering he taught me how to assault the enemy base.

"He even taught me how to fire with precision and reload faster. Disarming the enemies and disabling the enemies," Yuan said cheerfully.

"Oh, so it was etched in your mind now? Hehehe! Don't forget that I will reforge your martial arts. I have learned different martial arts and you will be my training dummy! Hahaha!" laughed his father.

"Dad! I didn't forget about it! It was too painful to forget," said Yuan.

"I will teach you again the six martial arts that I've learned. Taekwondo! Kung fu! Karate! Mui Tai! Jujitsu! Kali! All of it will be etched in your soul that you will be skilled even though you will have amnesia. Hahahaha!" Proudly said his father.

"Seriously? Amnesia? Even I will be having amnesia? That's great! I will learn it all but I mastered it all last year right? What's new about it?" Yuan said.

"It was easy to know but takes a lifetime to master. I will surely hammer it to your mind," said his father.

"Okay! But be sure it was worth it," said Yuan.

"My father called from japan that he wants to see his grandchild," said his mother.

"Maybe next week. We will travel to Japan," John said.

"You will leave immediately?" said his grandpa.

"I will make this vacation worthwhile then. Hurry up and I will teach you all I know," added his grandfather.

"Sure!" said Yuan as he placed his plate in the sink.

His grandfather then went to grab his hunting bow with a quiver of arrows. Roan then went to the forest together with his grandpa. While they wander in the forest. His grandfather saw tracks.

"Roan, What tracks can you see?" his grandfather asked.

"It was from the deer," he said.

"That's right! Now let's hunt him down," his grandfather said.

As they were walking and following the tracks, they saw that the deer was drinking from the brook. Not minding them a bit.

"Now let's sneak and fire an arrow at the deer. The deers were alert and cunning animals. They will dash immediately if they will saw a hunter," he said.

His grandfather fired an arrow at the deer and it was hit to the neck. A feat of an expert bowman. The deer was down without a fight.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Yuan said.

"Let's carry it home for now." He said as he pulled the arrow from his neck.

His grandfather tied its feet and carried it to his back.

"Grandpa, will it taste good?" Yuan asked.

"So you didn't taste venison yet?" I will cook it for you later on. But first, let's go home and clean this meat,"

They arrived at their home and his father was waiting for them.

"Father! We have venison meat!" said Yuan.

"Okay! let's cook it later on," said his father.

"Roan, I will give you my books, treasure them like it was an heirloom that came from me. Considering the one week that you will leave after.

"All I can do was pass it on to you. I've already mastered it so it will be better for it to be yours," said his Grandfather Merlin.

His grandpa went to his library and gave him books. A book for farming, hunting, herbology, survival books, crafting, pathfinding, and tracking.

"Read it for now and all my knowledge was in there. I won't last long on this earth and it was better to be handed to the next generation," he said.

"Don't say that grandpa! I know you will last long on this earth!" Yuan said.

"Really? That was reassuring to hear," he said.

He placed his books in his backpack and grabbed his fishing rod.

"Let's fish!" Yuan said to his grandpa.

"Let's go fishing!" Merlin agreed

John looks at them and he saw that they were like best of friends.

"The two of them were like best buddies. Father was enjoying his remaining time. And we will also leave so suddenly," said John Smith.

"Yeah! But let's prepare the venison and dismantle it first, for now," said Tanaka.

Yuan arrived at the lake and they fished there.

"Hey, grandpa! I've got a fish!" Yuan said.

"Pull it!" his grandfather said and he helped him to pull the fish.

"It was a bull trout! What a find. Now let's fish some more!" said his grandfather.

They fished and fished until it was evening. They fished different fishes like catfish, brook salmon, and bull trout. They also fished a large American shad.

"Whoo! It was a great fishing time!" Let's go home for now shall we?" Merlin said to his grandson.

They hurried home and traveled to the forest. Stepping on dried leaves as they traveled. The sun shone brightly and the rays passed through the leaves of the trees.

"You know what kid? It was a great life that I met you as my grandson. You keep me smiling even though it was simple fishing. Let's hurry home and have fish soup to eat," Merlin said to him.

"It was hard without grandma, right? She passed away last year. But we will be here for you. Let's have a delicious lunch later on," said Yuan.

"Yeah!" Merlin said.

They arrived home and Yuan ate lunch with his family. Marlin reads the books his grandfather gave him in his room.

They chopped and hung the venison and let its enzyme improve the meat's quality. His father talked to his grandfather.

Roan was in his room and didn't hear them talking. He was busy reading books.

"No! Father no! How can you say that? You can survive this!" shouted John.

"Son I felt that I will soon pass away. I have cancer in my liver. Even though I can survive cancer. My wounds won't heal due to my old age."

"All I can say is that you go next week to Japan and let Marlin enjoy it for a while. Well, your brother will arrive later night and he already knows."

"I will undergo surgery after you will leave America. So I said this as my last request. Go," Merlin said to his son John.

They didn't mind the time and it was already afternoon. A vehicle arrived just outside. It was none other than Mark Smith, brother of John Smith. He exited his hammer vehicle and put off his black glasses.

"Did I arrive late?" said Mark to John.