Hero's Call

Chapter Seven

"Check mate, Cap."

Harold Johnson had a severe case of Alzheimer's with a little bit of dementia thrown in. Most days he could barely function, but when he could, he loved a good game of checkers with Captain Amazing. The Captain couldn't ever figure out if Harold just wasn't sure what was going on or if he was actually seeing a game of chess going on in front of him. He moved the checker pieces like they were knights or rooks, and Captain Amazing typically just played along. He really just didn't have the heart to tell old Harold that he'd gone bonkers.

"Good game, Harry," Captain Amazing said, and started resetting the pieces. "Want another game?"

"Sure, Cap," Harold replied. The Captain knew Harold knew who he was, but he called everyone Cap, so Captain Amazing was never sure if Harold actually knew he was talking directly to him or not.

It was one in the morning, well past curfew. The nurses and orderlies knew Captain Amazing didn't sleep well, and didn't bother trying to make him obey curfew. Harry, on the other hand, didn't get as much leeway. For having so many problems, he was quite the escape artist. Captain Amazing knew he was Special Forces in the military for years which accounted for his predilection for going on 'covert ops' to the common room at night. Most nights, The Captain was happy for the company.

Captain Amazing reset the pieces and they began the game anew. Harold began by moving one of his red pieces up two spaces. The Captain moved one of his pieces diagonally at random. Harold didn't say anything, because in his own head another game entirely was playing out. Harold moved the piece that would be the knight up four and diagonally three.

"Check," he said with a smile. The Captain responded by taking one of his pieces from the back row, jumped the piece in front of it, and took Harold's piece. Harold grunted with dissatisfaction. After another minute or two of completely illegal moves Harold claimed another checkmate. The Captain tried to out play him once, but he never knew exactly what piece his opponent saw as his king until he'd won, so it was impossible.

The Captain stood up from the table, pushed his chair in, and said, "I think I'm going to hit the sack, Harry."

"Okay, Cap," Harold replied without looking at Captain Amazing. He started to set the pieces up again and play a game against himself. Captain Amazing was sure it would be a clash of the titans.

Captain Amazing walked slowly back to his room. The Hero Gene prevented any kind of sickness or disease, but it sure as hell didn't stop the effects of old age. For the Captain, it was hell getting old. It was even worse when he'd lead the kind of life he had. It was depressing for him to think he could barely move on his own when he used to be able to lift a tank and crush it like a soda can and had on a few occasions. Time was the one thing no one could out run. Not even someone as fast as Captain Amazing.

His room looked lonelier than usual at night. It was uninviting, and it was one of the reasons he found it so hard to sleep. He did what he could to make the room his own, but nothing helped enough. One of the biggest reasons he lost sleep, though, was his increasing inability to keep himself from pissing the bed. He was up just about every hour on the hour taking a leak.

There was a bottle of sleep aides on the nightstand. Captain Amazing hated sleeping pills. They made him feel powerless. He didn't like feeling like he didn't have control over something so simple. That night, however, he just didn't feel like fighting. He took the bottle off the table and popped off the lid. He dumped two little blue pills into his hand and tossed them lazily into his mouth.

Captain Amazing felt the effects almost immediately. He pulled the covers of his bed back and got in with a few pops and cracks from his joints. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, but what could he really expect from a government-funded facility. Within two minutes of his head hitting the pillow, Captain Amazing drifted to sleep.