Chapter 6
Trying to find my voice, I began to croak out my questions.
“So, first off, how do you know all this? Who are you, really?”
“My name is Alan Victor, that is true. I am on the Magical Underground Resistanace Council, an honory headsman. I am a human, just like you are, or at least I was a human just like you at one time. I have been a part of this secret war between good and evil for over a hundred years. My current job on the council, in addition to regular council matters, is the headsmen of all M.U.R.S.E.s. My current job is to find and train the next M.U.R.S.E.
“I have been here at Henry Ford Hospital for a few years now, the council having good…intel if you will, that the next M.U.R.S.E. would be found here. Usually, I can pick “the one” out rather quickly and begin to train them and debrief them before they even begin to get their powers. With you, I didn’t plan on beginning your training for a few more years at least. I wasn’t even one hundred percent sure you were the one, although my gut and experience told me you were. But now it is clear my feelings about you were founded,” he said.
This was crazy, but I rolled with it anyways.
“How do you know so much about M.U.R.S.E.s? If you are human, how can you have been part of the war for over 100 years? Why have I started getting powers before my training started? Am I the only M.U.R.S.E? Why me?” I asked.
Alan put his hands up, chuckling as he responded.
“Whoa, whoa slow down Colby, slow down. I will answer your questions, but one at a time okay. Let’s see, the reason I know so much about M.U.R.S.E.s is because I was the first. I was just a regular male nurse, just like you a long time ago. But then I was given the M.U.R.S.E powers by a powerful sorcerer, one who had grown tired of waging war on the evil creatures that lived in the shadows on his own. He wanted to build an army, to help him and his sorcerer brethren in their battle.
“When he was wounded while destroying a nest of vampires, he was brought in unconscious to the hospital I worked in at the time. I tended to him, took care of him and nursed him back to health. I thought he was just a crazy old man, but it turned out he would be my greatest mentor, my greatest friend. His name was Zachoriah, and with my help, we soon built an army to be proud of. An army to stand up to the evil that has been slowly overtaking the world. The Magical Underground Resistance was formed. Made up of Sorcerers, Wizards, Sasquatches-” I had to stop him there.
“Uh, did you say sasquatches…as in, Bigfoot?” I asked.
Alan looked at me with a smirk.
“Trust me, son, don’t ever call them that, they find that term insulting and offensive. Think of it as a racial slur towards Sasquatches. But yes, they exist. They are our, pardon the pun, foot soldiers, always on the move, always in the fight. They stay hidden, unseen just as the evil scum they fight against. You will meet one eventually, Magpie, who is the highest ranking Sasquatch agent in the area.
“Anyways, the Resistance is made up of many powerful entities and mythical creatures, but M.U.R.S.E.s are its champions. As humans, M.U.R.S.E.s are the only members of Resistance that can boast that claim. M.U.R.S.E.s were all born human, all lived lives as mortal, human beings up until the point they are chosen to become a M.U.R.S.E. It is the highest honor to be chosen, so you should be proud. Zachoriah was impressed with my compassion, my kindness, but also with my strength and honor. Since that time, male nurses through time have been chosen to bear the torch of being a M.U.R.S.E., of fighting the good fight.
“The only way a M.U.R.S.E can begin to receive powers before the Resistance is ready to bestow powers upon them, is when another M.U.R.S.E. perishes. I fear that we have lost one of our brothers. I cannot confirm it at this moment, but I believe the closest M.U.R.S.E., Steven Ryans, has been killed by the evil forces he has so valiantly battled for years. You see, the earth is divided into 250 sections, a M.U.R.S.E. assigned to each section. The United States contains 50 of those sections, a M.U.R.S.E. in every state. So, no, you are not the only one. But you are one of very few chosen out of millions of male nurses.
“You want to know why you? Because you embody what the Resistance looks for in a M.U.R.S.E. Kind, loyal, compassionate, strong in spirit. You may lack the bravery to talk to a girl you like, for example, but when that same girl is in peril, you will push aside any fear to do what is right and come to her aide. You are a good nurse, Colby, but more importantly, you are a good man, a good person. Steven Ryans power and magic choosing you to be a M.U.R.S.E. was not by chance, you earned the right to wield the FlameSword,” he said.
Whoa, FlameSword? That sounded cool, I had to admit.
“FlameSword, that sounds pretty neat. Uh, Mr. Victor, sir…you forgot to tell me how you could have been a part of this war for over 100 years,” I said.
Alan took a step towards me at that moment, placing a hand on each of my shoulders.
“Well, Colby, that is the interesting part. We haven’t been able to figure out what exactly causes it, maybe it is the bonding of a human soul to the magic that creates a M.U.R.S.E., but regardless, once you become a M.U.R.S.E., your life expectancy enhances to that of a wizard or sorcerer. You stay human, you just age a lot slower and live a lot longer,” he said.
“Oh, um…how long, exactly is that?” I asked.
“Oh, anywhere from five to seven hundred years…give or take a hundred years or so,” he answered.
That had been the last straw. So much science fiction and unbelievable information had been forced down my throat, but I had held on through it all. But the realization that I was going to live for a few hundred years, well that was too much. I doubled over, hands on my knees as I tried to calm my suddenly upset stomach. Alan patted me on the back.
“There is something else you should know though, Colby. Steven Ryans was the M.U.R.S.E. of Michigan. You getting your powers this early can only mean that he is dead. I know that it seems I am telling you all of this very quickly, and very bluntly…and for that I am sorry. But, I am only doing so because you are in great danger.
“When a M.U.R.S.E. is killed unexpectedly, their magic and powers flow into the nearest candidate to be the fallen M.U.R.S.E.’s successor. In this case, you. The problem, however, is that there is a catch. A glitch in the process, a glitch that the Evilness knows far too well. When a M.U.R.S.E. gets their power this way, an opportunity presents itself to the Evilness. If the new M.U.R.S.E. can be killed within one year of getting their powers early, just as you did, then the powers and magic of that M.U.R.S.E. die with them. They do not transfer to a successor, and the Resistance is weakened, down a M.U.R.S.E.
“We no longer have the ability to create M.U.R.S.E. magic out of nothing, from scratch if you will. We can only transfer power from one M.U.R.S.E. to another. The Evilness knows this, and have been going after all M.U.R.S.E.s with a vengeance to trigger this series of events, killing a section’s M.U.R.S.E. then quickly coming after the replacement to kill them before they are able to fully defend themselves. That is why some of us on the council have begun to seek out possible M.U.R.S.E. successors and begin to debrief and train them, so that if it does happen, they are prepared to fight and survive for a year, at that time ending the chance of their magic and powers being destroyed forever.
“We have a slew of possible successors, all prepared and ready to take over if needed. Some of them have even begun to seek out and attempt to kill creatures of the Evilness, wanting to do their part to help the cause. Although very brave and commendable, these men are acting foolish. They are putting their lives in danger, and ultimately, putting the M.U.R. and the future of M.U.R.S.E.s in danger.
“I have told you much, things that I know your human brain is having problems handling. But there is no time for second guessing and denial. Your training must start right now. I will use the pull my position warrants in the
hospital to get you the rest of the day off, then you and I will commence your training immediately,” he said.
Something stuck out in my mind.
“Mr. Victor, you said the Resistance can no longer create M.U.R.S.E. power and magic from scratch. Why is that?” I asked.
Alan got a very sad and a very faraway look in his eyes as he answered.
“We can no longer create M.U.R.S.E. magic because the only being who was ever capable of doing so is dead. Zachoriah lost his life to the war with the Evilness last year,” he said.
I could tell I’d dug up some buried emotions.
“I’m sorry, sir. I know you said he was a good friend,” I said.
Alan just shook his head, looking away to hide the tears forming in his eyes.
“He was more than a friend, Colby. Zachoriah was the founding father and creator of the Magical Underground Resistance, he was our leader. But now he is gone, and it is up to us to finish what he started. Now, about your weapons,” he said.
Allan pulled something out of his labcoat’s inside pocket. Offering it to me, I took it in my hand, realizing it was a watch.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Just put it on, I will explain,” he replied.
I put it on, wondering why it was so important. It didn’t take me long to realize why. The watch immediately bonded with my skin, fusing into my wrist and becoming one with my arm. To say I freaked out would be putting it mildly. Alan grabbed hold of my flailing arm and clamped a hand over my mouth to shut me up.
“Quiet, Colby, now. I know that was alarming, but you are okay. That watch is the source of your M.U.R.S.E. weaponry. It looks and acts as a regular second hand watch, something every nurse would be wearing anyways. But if you press the red button on the side, it will activate your M.U.R.S.E. battle gear. It bonded to your arm, becoming one with you. That way, you will never lose it and will always have it with you. You can understand the damage that could be done if the Evilness got a hold of one of these watches. Now, you will also need this,” he said as he reached into his pocket for something else. Impatient as always, I pressed the red button.
I felt a jolt of energy explode through my body as huge armored gloves materialized on my hands. Armor appeared all over my body, covering and protecting my body from head to toe, including a tough, bad arse looking battle helmet. I felt a heavy weight on my back, and when I reached back over my shoulder, I felt the hilt of a sword. Wrapping giant steel fingers around the hilt, I pulled the sword free of its sheath. Holding it out in front of me, I stared in awe at the crackling and burning flames engulfing the entire blade of the sword.
“Whoa…the FireSword?” I asked.
It all disappeared suddenly as Alan reached forward and hit the red button on my watch again. I looked at him and saw anger on his face, directed at me for the first time since I’d known him.
“Don’t do that again. You need to be extremely careful with your powers. You need to keep them secret, only using them in public if absolutely necessary. If you do need to activate you battle gear, use this first,” he said, holding up the item he’d retrieved from his pocket.
I looked at it with a frown. After experiencing the battle gear the watch had to offer, I was not impressed by this new item. It was a t-shirt with a hood. Although pretty cool, I didn’t really see the point. Alan must have been able to tell what I was thinking by the look on my face, because he huffed shoving the shirt towards me.
“Trust me, it is cool. It originally began as a cloak, but over time, we realized it was not realistic for a nurse to wear. An undershirt was eventually decided upon to make the most sense. Depending on the weather or your preferences, it can morph back and forth between a short sleeve shirt and a long sleeve shirt.”
“What does it do?” I asked.
“It renders its wearer invisible. Put the hood up, son, and you will be invisible.” Alan said with a smile.
I took back my original thought about the shirt. It was awesome. Alan continued as I looked down at the powerful shirt.
“We understand that it may not be reasonable to expect you to allow the shirt to bond with your skin and body, so it is just a regular shirt in that regard. Able to be put on and taken off…and also to be lost. Keep track of it and be sure to wear it as often as possible. You may wash it just as you would anything else.
“Okay, those, as well as your enhancements, are your weapons to fight the Evilness with. We have been up here for a while, so we should be getting back.
“Pack up and meet me in one hour at the address I’m about to give you, our training will start then. And be on your toes, like I said, you are in great danger. Welcome to the Magical Underground Resistance, Colby Jack. Congratulations on being our newest M.U.R.S.E,” Alan said.
With that, he handed me a business card with nothing but an address on it, then he embraced me, slapped me on the back, and led me back into Henry Ford Hospital. My life was changed, and things were going to be different from that point on.
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