Family Ties

Part 47

"I'll have a word with them, don't worry." He frowned, thinking of what type of horror those two would have planned.

"No, no. It's fine. It'll only be for a week and how bad could it really be if Skye is coming along?" He reasoned, bolstered by the fact that if he got both fathers' approval, the rest will fall into place.

"If you're sure?" Raymond was still sceptical that it was going to be as easy as he made it sound, but Skye was going along, so he should be safe. Either way, he was going to have to have a word with Skye to look after Jackson.

--

A week later Jackson stood with his camping gear ready to be picked up. He had just about bought everything they recommended he needed for this trip. His eyes widened in surprise as an old and battered range rover pulled up in front of him.

"You don't need all those things, just a change of clothes," Damon called out by way of greeting, getting out to sort through his gear and throwing most of it aside, leaving only a backpack and a walking stick.

"There, now you're ready for the week!" He said excitedly, while Skye cheered from the back. The ride to the campsite was bumpy and uncomfortable. At some point, he thought they were driving through the potholes on purpose as he kept bumping his head against the frame.

When they got out, he didn't see any buildings or signs that other campers were around. He watched as the men each took out a backpack, checked it and slid them on. Even Skye had a smaller version that didn't look any lighter.

"Em, aren't we going to the campsite?" He asked perplexed as he slid on his own backpack.

"This is survival camping. We will hunt and forage what we need for the week and go trekking about the forest to have a bit of fun." Damon rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

With trepidation he fell in line with the others, smiling when Skye took his hand as they walked through the forest. It felt like they'd walked uphill the whole way and when they got to a small clearing, Jackson almost cried out in relief. He watched as the others slid off their bags, while he slid to the ground out of breath, dying for some water.

Struggling out of his backpack, he looked for his water bottle but found that it was empty. Surely he had it filled up this morning?

"Does anybody have water?" He asked, desperate for a drop.

"Nope," Damon informed him with a smile. "We only come with our clothes and tools, everything else we have to find ourselves. If you want water, then go find some and be sure to bring back enough for the rest of us." He dismissed Jackson, who looked at him in disbelief.

Were these people for real? Where the hell would you find water amongst all this vegetation; he'd been walking for so long that he didn't pay attention to where they were going.

"I'll go with Jackson, Grandpa!" Skye jumped up and grabbed Jackson's hand, confidently walking into the thickets.

"Do you know where to find water?" Jackson asked incredulously as Skye led him by the hand.

"A little way back the ground was soft and smelled like rain." Skye looked up at Jackson. "Don't worry, it's going to be fun."

Jackson soon came to learn that his idea of fun vastly differed from that of Skye's. After dragging water to the camp, he was sent off to find firewood without a moment's rest. At least the tents were going up he thought morosely as he trekked through the forest trying to find dry wood.

"Look, here!" Skye pointed to a tree that had fallen. "It's still dry!" He started jumping on the lower branches to break them off.

"Hold on there little one, that's dangerous," Jackson warned while breaking branches himself. By the time they dragged it all back to the camp, the others were sitting outside their tents.

"Finally, we'd thought the two of you got lost out there." Jesse watched as Jackson dropped the branches next to the fire pit they'd dug. "Now you've got to get your tent up so we can get something to eat."

"My tent? I thought you guys did that already." He almost fell back in shock. He was hot, sweaty, thirsty and now he had to put up his own tent! Grunting in frustration he got up and unclipped the tent from his backpack.

"Do you want help?" Skye came to stand next to him.

"Nope, look at this." He unzipped the tent from its bag and flung it like a Frisbee to the ground. It immediately popped up into a fully assembled tent. Hammering the pegs in, he wiped his brow and dragged himself to the two men who stood waiting for them.

"Come on boys, we still have to get something for supper and we don't have a lot of light left." Damon urged them on, holding out a bow and arrows to Skye. "Have you ever hunted?"

"No." Jackson wasn't sure what was going on, but they all seemed to be armed.

"Well, you're getting a crash course today." Jesse laughed, taking them off the trail.

He watched as the three stalked through the forest, looking, sniffing and feeling their way around, in utter confusion. What the hell were they doing here when there was obviously no food to be found?

Without warning an arrow flew past him, hitting something on the ground. Turning around, he watched as Skye came rushing toward him, sliding to a halt next to a rabbit. Pulling out the arrow, he quickly snapped its neck before holding it aloft to his grandfathers.

Jackson felt as if he was about to be sick from what he'd just seen. How does a six-year-old snap an animal's neck as if it's the most natural thing in the world?

"Well, what are you waiting for Jackson?" Jesse interrupted him. "Take the rabbit. You can hold them while Skye tries to get us some more.

Sitting next to the fire, Jackson felt exhausted. He'd been running around all day and had to carry the carcasses of dead rabbits around the forest, while the two older men cheered Skye on as he seemed to decimate the local rabbit population. Now they were all chatting excitedly about what they'll be doing next while the rabbits roasted over the fire.

He wasn't too sure that he'd want to eat any of it, considering how he had to watch them disembowel the cute creatures and strip them of their skin. As if that horror wasn't enough, he had to clean his own rabbit. Thank god he hadn't eaten anything the whole day, or else he would have puked all over his dinner.