Chapter 11: Arc 1: Chapter 11: The Road in the Darkness

Imagine, if a full speeding train crashes into a mountain, what would happen?

It would shatter.

It is a predetermined fate; ever since humankind had invented these mobile steel giants, they had not won a single match in this contest with the Earth.

And in this night, the train carrying Merlin and 270 other passengers had crashed headfirst into the walls in the tunnel, the tunnel walls crumbled, sending large chunks of rocks through the kinetic impact onto the train, causing the train cars behind the wrecked front of the train to 'bounce' and shake violently.

Like a snake that had lost its head, the train carriages began to roll and spin. Under the kinetic energy, the train carriages were scattered across the tracks, even smashing on the cargo carriage behind, causing the cargo to fall off and block off the other end of the tunnel.

It was an unprecedented disaster; what's more important was the time of its occurrence.

It was 5:45 am, when most of the passengers were still asleep, unable to take safety precautions, though there was no explosion when the train hit the walls, so the passengers had time to save themselves.

Merlin rubs his head, waking up from the pain of being knocked around countless times, and lifts his head. To his astonishment, his entire carriage had rolled over, and he was lying on the shattered glass; thankfully, he wasn't bleeding.

The others were not so lucky.

Merlin could hear the painful howls coming from all sides, the moaning of the wounded, the painful cries, and the shouting of the men.

In the carriages at the back, the passengers who had awoken were trying to save themselves. Thankfully trains did not move too fast at this time of the day. Otherwise, there would've been a catastrophic secondary impact.

In front of Merlin, one of the train's attendants, though bleeding from her head, was walking through the carriage, organizing the passengers to get off this dangerous carriage.

A mother cries as she holds her unconscious daughter, even more, are relieved for surviving the disaster and follow behind the attendant quietly. Using torchlights and the train's remaining in-door lights, they hacked the door open and exited the carriage.

Outside the shattered glass, as the passengers gathered on the outskirts of the inner tunnels, the crowd was getting noisier. Man's most ancient fear is awoken. Everyone becomes sensitive and aggressive, and under the pressure of fear and blood, people can do some terrifying things.

The organizers know this too, so they split the men into two teams and begin searching for a way out of the tunnel along the two collapsed ends of the tunnel.

But they lacked tools, as well as lighting equipment, this disaster happened too quickly, and they were caught off guard.

Merlin did not bother with the people outside the carriage, nor did he have the time to do so, as someone needed help right in front of him.

The elderly gentleman who woke him up earlier was lying on the ground in the carriage, and a large piece of shattered glass was embedded into his abdomen, causing blood to flow out.

As well as the bodies that can no longer move, the deceased, form a desperate and sad view in the dusky carriage.

"Bear with me, sir."

Merlin half kneels beside the elderly man and begins to pressure the wound while he begins to examine his injury skillfully.

While working in the hospital at Madison County, Wisconsin, Merlin has become an excellent nurse; although he has not learned any theoretical medical knowledge, he can still bandage up minor wounds and cuts.

"No injuries to the organs, sir; you're lucky."

Under the dim light, Merlin smiles at the elderly sir, and he tears off his sleeve to act as a temporary bandage, preparing to pull out the shattered glass embedded in the elderly sir's body.

"Are you a doctor?"

The elderly man was clearly in lots of pain, his facial expression worsens, but as he watches Merlin prepare so skillfully, he asks:

"Why did you lie in the carriage like a homeless man? And just now...I felt like you had predicted this disaster."

"Nope, you saw wrong."

Merlin replies slightly coldly, his ashen face looking scary under the dim lights.

And as the elderly man tries to ask another question, Merlin lifts his arm sharply, removing the glass embedded in the elderly man's abdomen. As blood begins to gush out, his body cramps and the elderly man feels incredible pain, cutting off his question.

"Keep pressure on the wound, there were no injuries to the organs, so the blood should stop in a while. When you get to safety, you should find a hospital for a checkup."

Merlin folds a clean piece of cloth and places it on the wound; he says to him:

"I'll start patching you up. Also, I'm sorry."

"Why apologize?"

The elderly man was in pain, but he still forced out a smile; he looked at the mess around him, and under the flickering lights, said:

"It wasn't your fault, child, for you were also a victim."

"What if I wasn't?"

Merlin keeps his head low and proceeds to tear off his sleeve to patch up the elderly man's wounds; he speaks in a coarse voice:

"What if...I was the one who caused this disaster?"

"How come?"

The elderly man shakes his head and lets out a soothing breathe, patiently explaining to Merlin:

"I know, when surviving a disaster with casualties unharmed, the strong contrast would make people feel guilty. Psychologically speaking, this is known as Survivor Syndrome. But believe me, child, when I say that this was all destined to be, and it wasn't anyone's fault.

"I know the concept, old sir; I self-learned some psychology."

Merlin helps the elderly man from the ground and leans him against the overturned seat of the carriage. He continues while folding the torn clothing with his head lowered: 

"But I am an unfortunate man; misfortune follows me wherever I go. Do you want to know why I asked you the time just now?"

Merlin stops, let lets out a sigh; he tells the elderly man as he fixes the cloth against the wound:

"Because if I stay in one spot for too long, disaster strikes. Wisconsin's Tornado, Chicago's Explosion, as well as the derailed train today..."

Merlin lifts his head and looks at the elderly man, whose face is in shock; he takes off his sunglasses, exposing his eerie-looking eyes. He points at his eyes and tells this elderly man he met by the chance encounter:

"This, this is what I truly am, old sir, the darkness within me."

"You, you're a mutant?"

The elderly man looks at Merlin's crimson-spark filled eyes and asks a rhetorical question:

"I thought there were no more mutants in Chicago, and this isn't the traditional area of activity for mutants."

"No, I'm not."

Merlin shakes his head, and with a trace of melancholy, says:

"It would've been better if I was a regular mutant."

"Ermm, it sounds like you hate yourself, child."

The elderly man leans against the chair, letting Merlin bandage his wounds; maybe it's because that the bleeding has stopped, the pain has also subsided.

The elderly man seemed like a stubble; he showed no fear even after seeing Merlin's eyes. On the contrary, he was...excited?

"I've had my fair share of experiences, child; I've been through World War 2. Although I didn't fight in many battles, I've seen a few supernatural things."

The elderly man winks at Merlin; he looks around and tells him:

You are reading story The Path of Shadow in American Comics at novel35.com

"Look, they're still looking for an exit, so we have a little more time to talk. Could you take out the cigars from my pocket?"

Merlin finishes patching the wound and sits beside the elderly man; he takes out a cigar and lights it. In the bursts of pungent smoke, the elderly man coughs and tells Merlin:

"Do you know Captain America? The one who kicked Hitler's ass?"

"I do."

Merlin nods:

"My brother...he once loved superhero comics, and Captain America was his favorite."

"Ai, he's my favorite too."

The elderly man chuckles, and with a hint of pride, he says:

"I executed tasks with Captain America back then, although my division was only for sweeping up German prisoner. How do I put this? I've seen him in real life, and he's not exactly as heroic as the comics make him, he makes mistakes too, but we forget about his mistakes and remember all the good he had done."

The elderly man looks at Merlin's expression and says:

"As you were just now, he didn't make those mistakes voluntarily, right? Your misfortune strikes at you first before it affects anyone else, and that makes you a victim as well."

"Look, I told you my story; why don't you tell me yours?"

The elderly man lets out a mischievous smile and lowers his voice, and winks like a stubborn old fool:

"Come on; I won't tell anyone else."

"There's not much to say."

Merlin shrugs, and under the dim lighting of the carriage, he tells the elderly man that he knows not the name of everything that had happened to him in the past 18 years. He desperately needs to share the story he had kept in his heart for so long.

To share the pressure and the pain.

But Merlin's life story was only beginning; after all, in a few minutes, his story comes to an end.

"Hmm, so you're saying, the demon ruined your life? And that its powers still dwell inside your body?"

The elderly man frowns:

"That's not good. I've read the bible and some ancient songs of the Indiana tribes and Chinese folktales. Demons have never been the good guys, no matter which story you find. Child, you have to save yourself somehow."

"But I don't know how."

Merlin replies with a disappointed tone:

"I don't even know where to start; I can't even stay in one place for too long. I'm tired, sir. More importantly, I'm at a loss; I don't know what I can do; every night, those voices would form nightmares, and every time I wake up, I could feel myself closer to the abyss."

"Nonono, no!"

The elderly man listens as Merlin recounts his story and denies his statement; he looks at Merlin:

"You've not fallen into the abyss. Otherwise, you wouldn't be risking your life here helping me, maybe you think you're becoming a bad person, but you're not! Child, you are a good person deep down in your heart, and you're willing to help people."

"Listen to me, child, as words of an experienced old man."

The elderly man smokes his cigar and taps on Merlin's shoulders:

"Remember Captain America, whom we just talked about? We've heard many legendary stories about him on the battlefield, but little do people know, what he did before he became a hero, but I know. He was just a young man with a weak body, trying to do some good."

"What I want to tell you is, in your life, you have to distinguish what can support you, what can make you stronger, and what should be wasted along with time.

He reaches out a finger and points at Merlin's heart; he speaks meaningfully:

"The things that give you persistence should be persisted. Because you've still got a long life ahead of you, your battle has yet to end. Your love for your family, the nostalgia, your expectations for life, the will to solve problems, and your persistence towards the light."

"And those that time will filter, don't hold onto them and just let them be, because life is too long...you get me? If you keep trying to grab onto the meaningless things,  the more it will weigh you down, eventually crushing you like a mountain. Yes, I mean the hate and disgust you have towards yourself; those are unnecessary."

"You aren't here by your own accord, but you were forced to."

Merlin does not answer; he knows not how to respond. A few minutes later, he looks at the elderly man with his eyes clear:

"I can't fully understand the things you've said, but I'll try to; got any more suggestions for me?"

The elderly man takes another breath of the cigar and says:

I'm just a comic-book artist. I've never experienced what you've been through, how could I give you suggestions? Merlin."

"But when I was back in the army, we had a psychologist in our platoon. They were quite rare back then; he used to blabber to us about many things. I've forgotten most of it, but here's something I do remember that makes sense."

"Merlin, we have to get accustomed to getting away from the world or replace some familiar things we like...we call this growing up."

"It's always complicated growing up, your familiar past can only be used for yearning, and eventually, you have to learn to let go of the things you depend on. You're not who you were before; what I'm trying to say is, you have to get accustomed to who you are right now; you need to accept yourself, as well as the power that dwells within you."

Stopping here, the elderly man rolled his eye, like a sly fox whose prey was within reach, and said:

"Ahem, let's stop here; I remember, you said that you caused an explosion in Chicago last night? Can you control that power?"

Merlin looks at the elderly man confusingly; the elderly man gestures to the cargo and carriages blocking the tunnel entrance and whispers:

"There are over 200 people trapped in this tunnel right now; we can't break out of here, it's almost dawn, but the people here are getting restless. From my experience, Merlin, if nothing good happens soon, some bad things are going to occur."

"What I mean is, if you can control that power inside you, you could create an explosion and use it to blow a hole through the wreckage...and save our lives.

The elderly man reaches out and taps Merlin on the shoulder:

"Don't you want to know how to lessen that guilt and self-hatred?"

"Then go redeem yourself, redeem yourself using this cursed power of yours, become a...yeah, a hero just like Steve. Merlin, I heard Steve say this once before, so I'll say it to you now. What determines who you become is not your powers, but your heart."

Seeing as Merlin still hesitates, the elderly man gets up and gently pushes Merlin on the shoulder:

"I can take care of myself, so go, Merlin, go be a hero, and use your powers wisely."

Merlin looks out the window; he watches the people panicking in the darkness; these people lack strength and need help. If he could save these 200+ lives, it could potentially make him feel better and lessen his guilt.

Merlin looks back at the elderly man, whose eyes were filled with encouragement and support. The fire is Merlin's eyes flicker, and as he listens to the panicking crowd outside, he speaks gently:

"Alright, old sir, I'll try."

The elderly shrugs as he smokes his cigar. As he watches Merlin exit the carriage, he chuckles:

"I have a name, rude brat. You should call me Martin, or as the other youngsters call me..."

"Stan."

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