Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 12 11. The Road in the Dark

Just imagine, what will happen if a train running at full speed hits a solid mountain rock?

broken.

This is a doomed result. Ever since humans invented steel objects that can move, these steel monsters have continued to compete with the earth until now, and they have hardly won once.

And in the darkness, the train carrying Meilin and more than 270 other passengers crashed into the inner wall of the tunnel. It fell from all directions, making the compartment behind the completely destroyed front of the car jump.

Like a snake that lost its head, the sections of the carriages rolled and twirled.Under the impact of the kinetic energy, it scattered on the rails, and even slammed on the rails sideways. The heavy cargo in the truck compartment at the rear of the train rolled down, and the exit of the other tunnel was also tightly blocked. Reality.

It was an unmitigated disaster, and most importantly, the timing of it was extreme.

At 5:45 in the morning, when most of the passengers were asleep, it was too late to take effective measures, but fortunately, the train did not cause an explosion when it hit the mountain wall, which made it possible for those victims to save themselves.

Merlin rubbed his head, waking up from the pain of being hit several times. He raised his head with difficulty, only to find that his own carriage had rolled over completely. He was lying on a piece of broken glass, but luckily Ultimately there was no bloodshed.

Others weren't so lucky.

Merlin lying on the ground could hear the wailing from all directions, the groans of the wounded, the crying of pain, and the cries of men.

In the rear compartment, some guests who had woken up were trying to save themselves.This is also thanks to the fact that the speed of trains in North America at this time is not fast, so it did not cause more terrible secondary damage.

In front of Merlin's eyes, the train steward was holding his bleeding head, walking in the carriage with difficulty, organizing the guests to leave the rollover carriage that might be dangerous at any time.

A mother cried while hugging her unconscious daughter, and more people followed the flight attendant silently with a kind of luck after the disaster. With the help of the flashlight and the remaining lights in the carriage, they opened the twisted car door and left. this compartment.

Outside the broken glass window, the surviving passengers, led by the flight attendants, gathered at the edge of the tunnel, and there was a lot of noise. In this dark area, the most basic fear in people's hearts was awakened. Become sensitive and aggressive, and under the pressure of fear, stimulated by blood, people tend to do many terrible things.

The organizers probably knew this too. They separated the men into two teams and quickly explored in both directions of the tunnel, trying to find a way out of the tunnel.

But they lacked tools and lighting equipment. This disaster came too fast and caught people off guard.

Merlin didn't pay attention to the people outside the carriage, and he didn't have time to pay attention to them. Before his eyes, someone needed his help even more.

The old gentleman who had woken him up before was lying on the ground of the carriage at this time, and in his abdomen, there was a piece of broken glass pierced into it, and blood, blood flowed out from his clothes.

There are also those corpses that can no longer move, those lost lives, in this dim carriage, outlines a scene of despair and sadness.

"Hold on, sir."

Merlin half-kneeled beside the old man, he said something to the old gentleman, and then pressed his hand on his wound, inspecting his wound skillfully.

In Madison, Wisconsin, when he was working in Mr. Rubes's private hospital, Merlin was already an excellent nurse. Although he hadn't learned the theory of medical knowledge, bandaging small wounds was no longer a problem for him. .

"No internal injury, sir, you are lucky."

Under the dim light, Merlin smiled at the old gentleman. He tore off his sleeve to make a temporary bandage, and was about to pull out the glass that had penetrated the old gentleman's body.

"Are you a doctor?"

The old man was obviously in severe pain, and his complexion became extremely bad, but seeing Merlin's rigorous preparations, he couldn't help asking:

"Why are you lying in the carriage like a homeless man? And just now... I feel, it feels like you have predicted this disaster."

"No, you read it wrong."

Merlin responded indifferently. Under the dim light, his bloodless face looked extremely terrifying.

And just when the old man was about to ask again, Merlin raised his hand suddenly, and the broken glass that had pierced the old man's abdomen was pulled out.Blood flowed out from the wound, and the old man's body twitched violently for a while. The severe pain also made the old man stop talking.

"Press it, no internal organs are injured, and the bleeding will stop after a while. After you escape, you'd better go to a regular hospital for another look."

Merlin folded a piece of clean cloth and pressed it on the old man's wound. He said to the old man:

"Let me bandage it for you, and besides, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

The old man's face was painful, but he still smiled with difficulty. He looked up at the messy scene around him. In the flickering lights, he said to Merlin dryly:

"It's not your fault, kid, you're a victim too."

"What if I'm not?"

Merlin lowered his head, while continuing to tear open his sleeves and bandage the old man's wound, he said in a hoarse voice:

"What if, what if I caused all this?"

"how could be?"

The old man shook his head, he breathed a sigh of relief, and patiently explained to Merlin:

"I know there's always a sense of guilt about surviving a catastrophe where people were killed, intact, and that stark contrast. In psychology, it's called survivor psychology. But believe me, kid, All of this is an arrangement of fate, and it has nothing to do with you."

"I know the concept, old sir. I've taught myself some psychology."

Merlin lifted the old man up from the ground and let him lean against the overturned seat. While folding the torn clothes, he lowered his head and said:

"But I'm an unlucky person, and bad luck follows me. Do you want to know why I asked you the time just now?"

Merlin paused, he breathed a sigh of relief, and while fixing the hemostatic cloth on the wound, he said to the old man:

"Because if I stay in a place for too long, disaster will come. The tornado in Wisconsin, the bombing in Chicago, and this train derailment..."

Merlin raised his head, and he looked at the old gentleman with a startled expression in front of him. He took off his sunglasses, exposing his weird eyes.Pointing to his eyes, he said to the old man who met by chance in front of him:

"It, it represents my essence, old sir, that dark essence."

"You, are you a mutant?"

The old man looked at Merlin's black eyes with sparks, and he asked:

"I thought there were no mutants in Chicago anymore. This is not the traditional activity area for mutants."

"No, I am not."

Merlin shook his head, he said with a hint of melancholy:

"If I were just a simple mutant, then I wouldn't need to suffer so much."

"Emmmm, it sounds like you're hating yourself, kid."

The old man leaned against the chair and let Merlin bandage his wound, probably because he was slowly stopping the bleeding. Although the pain still existed, it was much weaker than before.

The old man seemed to be a scumbag, even after seeing Merlin's eyes, he still didn't have much fear.Instead, he's even a little...surprised?

"I have experienced many things, child, I fought in World War II. Although I have not experienced a few wars, I have seen things that do not belong to the mortal world."

The old man winked at Merlin, looked around, and said to Merlin:

"Look, they're looking for a way out, and it looks like we've got a little time to talk. Can you help me get the cigar out of my pocket?"

After Merlin bandaged the wound, he sat cross-legged beside the old man, helped the old man take out the cigar, and lit it.Amidst bursts of acrid smoke, the old man coughed and said to Merlin:

"Do you know Captain America? The hero who beat Hitler up."

"Ok, I know."

Merlin nodded:

"My younger brother... former younger brother, likes to read superhero comics, and Captain America is his most admired hero."

"Well, I adore him too."

The old man smiled, and said with a hint of pride:

"I also performed missions with Captain America back then. Although my troops just followed him to capture the defeated German devils. But how to put it, I actually met him, and he is actually not as good as in the comics. He was so brilliantly drawn, he made mistakes, but we will forget his mistakes and only remember how he helped us."

The old man looked at Merlin's expression and said:

"Just like you just now, you didn't do it voluntarily, right? Your bad luck will torture you before it tortures us, so you are also a victim."

"Look, I told you my story, shouldn't you tell yours too?"

Having said that, the old man showed a sly smile, lowered his voice, and squeezed his eyes like an old urchin:

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."

"My story has nothing to tell."

Merlin shrugged. In this dimly lit carriage, he told the old man in front of him, who didn't even know his name, all his experiences of the past 18 years. These things had been in his heart for too long, and he desperately needed a sharer.

Help him share the pressure, help him share the pain.

But Merlin's life story is just beginning after all, and in just a few minutes, the story he is currently experiencing is coming to an end.

"Well, you mean, that demon destroyed everything about you? You still have its power in your body?"

The old man frowned and said:

"This is not good. I have read the Bible, ancient Indian poetry, and some ancient Chinese stories. No matter what mythology, demons are not decent people. You have to find a way to save yourself."

"But I can't help it."

Merlin said disappointedly:

"I don't even know where to start, I can't even stay in one place for long. I'm tired, sir, and most of all, I'm lost, I don't know what to do, every night, those dark The sound of every sound will create nightmares for me, and every day I wake up, I feel that I am one step closer to falling into the dark."

"No no no no!"

The old man listened carefully to what Merlin said. He denied what Merlin said. He looked at Merlin and said:

"You didn't fall into the darkness, otherwise you wouldn't have risked staying here to help me just now. Maybe you thought you were turning into a villain, but no! Child, you are still a good person in your heart, and you are willing to help others."

"Listen, boy, it's an old man's experience."

The old man took a sip of his cigar, patted Merlin on the shoulder, and said to Merlin:

"Remember the Captain America? We've heard a lot of legendary stories about Steve on the battlefield, but few people know what Steve did before he became a hero, but I do. He is a Frail young man from Brooklyn who just wanted to do something nice."

"But what I want to tell you is that in your life, you have to distinguish what can support you and make you stronger and stronger, and what will be washed away by time and let you waste your time."

He stretched out his finger, pointing to Merlin's heart, and said earnestly:

"Those things that can give you persistence should be adhered to. Because life is too long, you have to fight against yourself. Your love for your family, nostalgia, expectations for hope, will to solve problems, persistence to the light, etc. wait."

"And those things that will be filtered by time, you don't need to pay too much nostalgia, just release them, because life is too long... Do you understand? If you always hold on to those meaningless things, it's like Carrying a mountain that gets heavier and heavier, you'll eventually get crushed. Yeah, I'm talking about your hatred and loathing for yourself, which is unnecessary."

"That's not something you choose to be like this, you're forced to go this far."

Merlin didn't answer. He didn't know how to answer. After several minutes, he raised his head and looked at the old man with clear eyes:

"I can't understand what you said, but I will try to do it. Can you give me some advice?"

And the old man put the cigar in his hand into his mouth, took a sharp puff, and said:

"Hehe, I'm just a cartoonist. I've never experienced your story. How can I give you advice? Merlin."

"But when I joined the army, we had a psychologist in our ranks. You know, psychologists were very rare in those days. Anyway, he always told us a lot of things, and I forgot. , but I still remember him saying something, which made a lot of sense."

"Merlin, we must get used to withdrawing from this world, or replace some things we like and are familiar with... This process is called growing up."

"The taste of growing up is always very complicated. The familiar past may only be used for nostalgia, and the things you depend on may have to learn to let go. You are no longer the past self. What I want to say is that you have to get used to the present self. You have to accept yourself, including the power in your body."

Having said that, the old man rolled his eyes, like an old fox about to steal a chicken, and he said to Merlin:

"Ahem, speaking of this, I remember, you just said that last night, you caused an explosion in Chicago? Can you control that power?"

Merlin looked at the old man suspiciously, and the old man pointed to the cargo behind the carriage and the twisted carriage that blocked the entrance of the tunnel. He lowered his voice and said to Merlin:

"There are more than 200 people trapped in this tunnel. We have no ability to break the blockade. It is almost dawn, but people are restless. According to my experience, Merlin, if there is no hope, something bad will happen. gone."

"I mean, if you can control the power in your body, you can create another explosion that blows the stuff that's blocking the tunnel...get us out."

The old man stretched out his hand, patted Merlin's shoulder, and said:

"Don't you want to know how to ease your guilt and self-hatred?"

"Then go and atone, use this cursed power to atone, be a...well, be a hero, like Steve. Merlin, Steve said a word, I heard it with my own ears, It is definitely not your strength that determines who you become, but your heart."

Seeing that Merlin was still hesitant, the old man struggled to stand up while supporting the seat. He pushed Merlin on the shoulder and said:

"I will take care of myself, go ahead, Merlin, go be a hero and use your power well."

Merlin stuck his head out of the car window and saw the panicked people in the darkness. Those people lacked strength, and they needed help.This is more than 200 lives. If they can be saved, then I, who blamed myself for the series of disasters caused by bad luck, may really feel relieved.

Merlin looked back at the old man, his eyes were full of encouragement and support.The red spots in Merlin's eyes jumped, and in the darkness, those panicked cries for help could be heard endlessly, so Merlin said softly:

"Okay, old sir, then I'll try."

The old man shrugged his shoulders, put the cigar in his mouth and took a breath. Amidst the rising smoke, he looked at Merlin who turned over from the carriage, and said with a smile:

"I have a name, what a rude brat. You should call me Martin, or like all the other young men, call me..."

"Stan."

(End of this chapter)