Chapter 1

I was shocked to hear that I would be spending my summer with both Grandparents. Usually there is a big fight and I end up splitting my summer between them. My paternal grandparents Grey Eagle and Snow Owl Noble are American Indian from the Black Valley Tribe. My maternal grandparents Jinshen and Teipan Nagimoru were Japanese.

Grey Eagle was a Medicine Man, Spirit Warrior and member of the Tribal Council. He was always teaching me everything he knew about living off the land, tracking, and hunting, what you can eat and will kill you or just makes you wish you were dead. He taught me how to set and detect traps along with making weapons like bow and arrows, tomahawk, spear, slings and knives. He also taught me how to call on the Spirit World in your time of need. Snow Owl taught me how to make potions to heal, make you stronger, faster or even invisible; ok so I did not believe most of what they taught me, but it was so much fun spending the time with them.

My father was a Soldier and Grandpa had taught him all this stuff too. Dad was always getting sent on trips to different countries and sometimes he would come home hurt.

Jinshen was a very quiet man. In fact, one time when I was 9 years old, we were at a store and three punks came into the place intending to rob it. The White guy had a cut down shotgun; the other two had pistols the Hispanic had a revolver and the Black had an automatic. Grandfather and I were just walking up to the register to pay for our stuff. I was carrying the small basket when they walked in. White guy stood at the door, the Hispanic was at the counter talking to the clerk, and the Black guy was standing just to the side of Grandfather.

Faster than a snake strike Grandfather grabbed a small can of tomato sauce from the basket and threw it into the face of the White guy with his right hand. His left hand grabbed the Black guy’s gun arm by the wrist pulling it in line with the Hispanic’s back. Of course, the Black guy fired his pistol shooting the Hispanic guy just above his belt in the small of his back. Grandfather’s right hand continued moving and struck the Black guy in the throat so hard I heard his neck snap. Grandfather caught the pistol with his left hand as the Black guy dropped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Just as fast Grandfather threw the pistol like a tomahawk into the forehead of the White guy who was still trying to gain his senses from the can hitting him in the face. Grandfather only took one step and kicked the White guy so hard in the chest that he broke the glass in the door as he was knocked through it. His shotgun dropped on the floor inside the doorway. The White guy was lying on the sidewalk and it did not look like he was breathing.