2 Weeks Earlier
"Check." Ron moved his bishop into line with Stan's king for the third time. His eyes shown with a fierce excitement as he knew he was within two moves of winning the game.
"Check, check, check, is that all you say anymore?" Stan said playfully as he moved his king behind his final rook.
"Just the move I expected from an amateur such as yourself." Ron said taking on a fake aristocratic air.
"I'll amateur you, you British fairy." Stan said as he reached across the table and joshingly jabbed Ron in arm.
"Oh now you're asking for it you brute!" Ron moved his bishop once more setting up the perfect checkmate. "See now I..." But he was cut off by the sirens in the firehouse.
"Good game buddy, we got to go." They both jumped up and ran to the lockers.
Stan quickly stepped into his pants, pulling the suspenders up around his shoulders as he swung an arm into his thick jacket, and grabbed his hat. Within minutes the fire truck pulled up to a dilapidated apartment building on the east side of town.
It was an very aged building that looked like it hadn't been taken care of in decades, and of course to top off its tragic look it had a small fire slowly sweeping across the top floor. Stan jumped off the truck before it stopped, grabbed an ax, and ran towards the outside stairwell with Ron close behind. They reached the top of quickly and saw three rooms severally affected by the blaze.
"You take the left one. I'll take the right, then I'll meet you in the middle." Stan shouted to Ron over the roar of the fire. Ron nodded, lowered his shoulder and broken through the cheep apartment door. Stan looked at the door in front of him, yelled out to see if anyone was inside and hearing no response he broke the handle with the ax, and kicked the door in. A burst of smoke hit him in the face as he rushed in looking for survivors.
"Hello? This is the Austin Fire department, is anyone here?" At first there was no response, but sometimes this was the case with people who had been knocked out by the smoke. Stan covered his mouth and entered the single bedroom. Inside he saw an old man slumped over a desk. Stan began to operate on instinct as he picked up the man with a fireman's carry and rushed back towards the front door.
As he broke out into the far less smoky air he saw Ron coming out of the left apartment. "No one was in there. You take that guy down I'll check the middle room."
Stan nodded and rushed down the stairs.
Just as he reached the ground there was an explosion at the other corner of the apartment complex. He looked up in concern as one of the guys jumped into the divers seat of the firetruck and quickly drove around the corner to the new blaze. Stan repositioned the man he was carrying and walked a dozen more feet away from the building. Laying him down on the grass, Stan told the unconscious man that help would be there soon. Then he turned to return to the action.
"Wait." The man lifted out his hand to Stan. "I'm not long for this world."
Stan turned back around and knelt beside the old man. "You're going to be ok sir, I have to go get the rest of the people out of there."
"There is no one else. I am the only person living here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. Listen it was going to happen one way or another, but I knew today was going to be my last day."
"You'll be ok sir."
The old man waved his hand. "I'm going to go to the hospital where they'll be waiting for me and I'll be killed."
Stan looked at the old man with an odd expression. This guy was most likely out of his mind, probably one of those conspiracy guys who believed in aliens, thought the government did warrentless wiretapping, and would vote for Ron Paul.
"It doesn't matter what happens to me, I have little left to give. But what I do have should not be taken lightly." The old man's eyes looked up into Stan's face as if studying him. "You're a good person, so for what I am about to do I am sorry." With lightening fast speed, uncharacteristic of people born more than 3 generations ago, he grabbed Stan's face. Stan tried to pull away but felt an almost magnetic attraction. The old man muttered three words, let go, and fell back onto the ground.
He lie there breathing heavily as if this last move took all the energy he had left in him. With tired dying eyes he looked up at Stan. "I am sorry, but I was the last one." Stan looked down and him confused but felt a weird tingling sensation over his body. "I did not have enough left to make you one of what we were, but I have given you all that I have. You will not believe me now, but Stanley you are invincible."
Stan scrunched up his eyes in disbelief but figured he'd hear the man out.
"When you believe in what you have been given and remove every article of protection from your body, when you stand as naked as God made you nothing will be able to harm you. Your body will be like that of a ghost diamond. Yet when clothing again surrounds you, you will be like them and death will be able to find you. For what I have done today and for what I have failed to do in my life I am sorry. I am sorry." And with that he closed his eyes as the EMS personal rushed up to him with the stretcher.
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