1984 Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a peaceful retirement community nestled in the mountains. Safe from the everyday rush of the city. There were several little homes that grouped together around a swimming pool, each with a perfect yard decorated with tacky lawn gnomes and plastic flamingos. A minivan with a sticker of a stick family of five made its way through the community, searching out the right house.

“Mom, why do we have to go stay with our grandparents?” The eldest boy asked. The mother turned around in her seat and looked at them.

“Because they’re your grandparents and you love them.” She said.

“But they don’t have Wifi!” The middle child, another boy, whined.

“And papaw smells like old.” The youngest, a girl, said. The mother bit her lip to keep from laughing and turned back to look out the windshield.

“Hank, help me out here.” The mother said.

“Kids, you need to spend as much time as you can with your grandparents.” The father, a man named Hank, said. “They won’t be around forever and I never got to know my grandparents. So treasure every moment with them.”

“But we have grandparents on mom’s side.” The middle child said.

“Jason, no one like a smart aleck.” The mother said. “You, Bryan, and Lucy are going to go to your grandparents, you’re going to have fun, and that’s final.” The three kids groaned.

“Here we are guys!” Hank said, pulling the van into the driveway. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, but it was probably in the garage, but there didn’t seem to be any lights on in the home. Hank looked at his wife.

“Are they here?” She asked. Hank shrugged.

“Well, there’s one way to find out.” Hank said. He got out of the van. “Grab your things kids.” Bryan, Jason, and Lucy all grabbed their bags and dragged themselves from the vechile, their mother behind them. Hank went to do door and rang the doorbell. After a minute, an old, yet still notably British voice, sounded from behind the white door.

“We don’t want any!” The voice yelled. Hank chuckled softly.

“Dad, it’s me.” Hank said.

“I don’t know a “me”.” The voice said.

“Dad, it’s Hank. I’ve got the kids and Judy with me. Remember, you and mom promised to watch the kids for the week?” There was silence on the other side of the door. Hank sighed. “I’m your son.” There was the sound of locks being turned and the door flung open, revealing a man in a blue bathrobe with black pajama pants, and black slippers. He had a mass of curly, white hair on his head and thick, Buddy Holly style glasses over a eyes with a mixture of blue, green, and gold.

“Hank!” He said, hugging Hank. “It’s good to see you! Come in, come in! Your mother and I were just settling in to watch Wheel of Fortune.” He ushered the family of five into the tiny house. A small woman then with long hair with fading dye came out of the kitchen then.

“Hank, my dear.” She said, hugging her son. “What brings you here?”

“You promised to watch the kids for the week, remember?” Hank said. His mother thought for a second before she nodded.

“That’s right.” She said. “Would you like a cuppa?”

“Sorry, but we have to someplace we have to get to.” Hank said. He kissed his mother’s cheek. “But when we come back to get the kids, I would love a cup.” She smiled.

“Well, you two kids be safe.” She said. Hank and Judy left then, the kids watching them sadly as they left. Their grandparents stood there, looking at them.

“So…what do you kids do for fun?” Grandpa asked. Lucy looked up at him.

“Why do you sound British while we sound American?” She asked. He chuckled and set down and pulled her on to his knee.

“That’s because you weren’t raised in England like me and your grandmum wanted you to be.” He said. The boys sighed and looked at him.

“Why don’t you boys sit down and watch the Game Show Network with us?” Grandmother asked. They shook their heads.

“No thank you.” They said, taking their gaming devices out of their bags and sitting on the floor. Lucy looked up at her grandfather.

“Tell me a story?” She asked. He looked down at her.

“What kind of story? A princess story?” He asked. She shrugged. “Well, all my stories aren’t exactly child appropriate. Why don’t you guys go explore the house for a little bit while we try to figure out what to do.” The boys groaned and put their games away but followed Lucy around the house while their grandparents set on the couch and watched TV.

****

“I don’t know if we should go up there.” Lucy said as she watched her brothers climb the ladder to the attic.

“They told us to explore, didn’t they?” Jason asked.

“Well…yeah…”

“Well, we’re going to explore then.” Bryan said. Lucy sighed and followed her brothers up into the dusty attic.

There were boxes everywhere. Most of them were marked with things like “kitchen”, “closet”, or “clothing”. Lucy walked over to a chair and set down in it while the boys looked around the boxes.

“This place is full of junk!” Jason said.

“Really now?” Bryan asked. He started walking to the other side of the attic when he tripped over a nail that was sticking out of the floor. He landed on a box, knocking it over.

“Way to go klutz.” Jason said. Lucy just laughed. Bryan got up and dusted himself off. That’s when he saw a picture frame that he had knocked out of the box.

“Did you break it?” Lucy asked. Bryan picked it up and knocked some dust off of it. It was an old photo with about nine people in it. Two of them looked somewhat familiar.

“Is that…is that grandma and grandpa?” Bryan asked, showing the picture to his siblings. They looked at it, unaware that someone had climbed the ladder to look for them.

“Yes it is.” Grandfather said, making them jump. Bryan dropped to frame then. It clattered at their feet. “What are you kids doing up here?”

“Uh…exploring.” Lucy said.

“Grandpa, you were so…not old.” Jason said. Grandfather laughed. He grabbed the frame.

“Come downstairs.” He said. “I think it’s about time you kids heard this.”

****

“Now, you have to remember to not tell your parents all the details of this story.” Grandfather said.

“And to not repeat the words that he uses.” Grandmother added.

“Grandma, I’m ten.” Lucy said. “I’ve probably heard it all before.” She laughed and pressed her painted lips against Lucy’s forehead.

“Well, shall we begin?” Grandfather asked. The kids nodded. He smiled.

****

In 1941, there was a group of eight men fought behind the lines Nazi Germany, killing as many of the enemy as they could and successfully stealing several plans and materials kept under lock and key by the Germans. The Inglorious Bastards, or simply “The Bastards” were both feared and respected by everyone they ever met and lived to tell the tale. But, sadly, this is not where our story takes place. Our story takes place in 2015, where a group of five men paid tribute to those eight and made their own name in history…