Chapter Two Week Curse

He spent another three weeks in South Africa before he was sent back to the States. His parents had been notified but he was no longer close with them. After saying he wanted to be a medic instead of a doctor in some hospital, they’d constantly argued.

He’d left them behind, not caring for what they thought.

Now their questions were returned with punctual emails.

Rossy didn’t make it, Keller either, Yoreck was recovering. It was two weeks afterwards that Erik was back in the states, Rugrat had been sent with him.

That was when the pain started, pain that seemed to come from every molecule of his being as if he was being torn apart and rebuilt.

That was when he got more news, he was free to be released, and he had two weeks left on Earth.

“They call it the two-week curse. What was originally being called an age of heroes, has now taken a drastic turn for the worse,” the news reporter said.

Erik watched the report with dead eyes, it was the same report he had seen before he had gone out on his last patrol. He closed his eyes as tears appeared at the corners of his eyes, with a shaky breath he was able to push down his emotions.

He once again focused on the television and the recorded broadcast, that was now being shown to everyone that had the two-week curse to get used to their new circumstances.

“Two days ago, the first of the disappearances began with people vanishing into thin air. Many are calling for answers, some people even saying that it’s a government conspiracy. However, there have been no answers at this point. Without fail, people are disappearing roughly two weeks after they contract the curse. We now bring in our expert on the matter, Doctor Werstein,” the lady said. “Thank you for coming on the show Doctor Werstein. I’ll jump right to the questions on everyone’s mind, what is this two weeks curse and why are people disappearing?”

“The Two-week curse is hard to describe, but it looks like it removes the natural limitations of those that contract it, and allow them to gain access to mana, magical power, like we see in video games and comic books,” Doctor Werstein said in a serious voice.

“Surpassing limitations?” the reporter asked.

“Before if you worked out, then you would tear the muscle fibers, they would repair, and you could lift more. There was an upper limit based on the strength of your bones muscles and body before it had negative effects. After reaching a certain threshold your body can’t improve anymore unless you focus on only training. People that exercise and that have contracted the curse have a numerical value of how strong they are, a normal adult male has a strength of about four, with women having a strength of three. Normal people can train all they want but they reach an upper limit of what their body can do. You can put in all the effort in the world but you can’t defeat your genetics. The cursed, it seems that the more you train, the more your body improves, it becomes increasingly harder to reach those higher stat levels, but there doesn’t seem to be a limit for upward growth.

“So a human right now is limited in the stats they can reach, a cursed has no such limitation?”

“Possibly, we have seen a slow down in people reaching higher levels as they aren’t able to get the nutrients or find environments to push themselves. With people disappearing after two weeks few people are willing to do studies,” Werstein shrugged.

“Tell us about that, the reason that it is called the two-week curse with the strange disappearances,” The reporter leaned forward.

“Well I’m a medical professional, but based on testing, this same mana energy, is used when they disappear. It seems that they are being teleported to somewhere, we don’t know where,” Werstein sighed.

“Is there anyway to know why people are being targeted?”

“There are no common factors, people are picked at random,” Werstein said.

Erik flipped channels from his bed, seeing other experts talking on the curse, then pictures and videos of people disappearing.

The strange circle that appeared in the air and descended on the cursed. A flash of light and they were gone, a hole burned into the ground.

This was the new reality that he had woken up to.

With a thought he called up his newest addition.

Character Sheet

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Name: Erik West

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Level: 0

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Race: Human

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Titles: From the Grave

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Strength: (Base 7) +0 (-3 due to injuries))

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40

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Agility: (Base 6) +0 (-4 due to injuries))

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10

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Stamina: (Base 9) +0 (-5 due to injuries))

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60

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Mana: (Base 2) +0

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20

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Mana Regeneration (Base 1) +0

0.95/s

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Stamina Regeneration: (Base 7) +0 (-6 due to injuries))

0.95/s

==========

He waved his hand. The vision disappeared but another screen appeared.

Title: From the Grave

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You’ve died and come back to the land of the living not just once, but twice. You’re a true survivor who has put one foot in the grave.

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Rewards: +0.50 modifier to Stamina and Mana Regeneration.

==========

He was a thirty-three-year-old combat medic without both his legs and his left arm missing.

He had two weeks, then he’d disappear.

He’d been doing private security work in south Africa, looking over VIP’s and metal shipments.

All it took was a spit second and he was no longer a soldier but a cripple. Silent tears appeared in Erik’s eyes as he threw his body around, his useless numbs flailed around as if taunting him, telling him he wasn’t a true man anymore, that he was worthless, some discarded piece of meat just surviving there.

A cruel smile appeared on Erik’s face.

“Fuck even if it mattered, I’ll be gone in two weeks,” Erik snorted, looking back on his life, his three wives, loveless relationships, he didn’t have children, he didn’t want to bring them into this world of pain.

What did he have left? A cabin in the woods, a rack of medals and an insurance company fighting with him about his benefits as he slowly drained his bank account.

Disappearing, it sounded kind of nice compared to this life.

All Erik could do was sit there, playing it back in his mind, remembering the last feeling of having limbs.

Thinking of the others who had smiled an d joked as they loaded into their trucks. The moments that they’d talked and laughed or got to know one another.

He couldn’t help but think of the families. Honcho had a wife with a kid on the way. Rossy was the father to two kids.

Yoreck’s family were close with him having two sisters and three brothers.

Gone and he was sitting here in a hospital bed with two weeks left.

He pressed the call button for the nurse.

“Is there anything that I can help you with?” she asked with a soft smile.

“I can’t get to sleep; do you have something that could help me?” Erik gave her a smile, more for her than himself.

“Sure, I’ll go get you something,” She said, turning and leaving.

Erik pushed his head back into his pillows.

Here lies Erik West, used by many, loved by few and weakling.

He snorted at his own thoughts, he was a warrior, but when had he fought for himself? Now when it was all coming to an end he was filled with regrets and weakness, he wasn’t a warrior charging forwards into the breech, he was a sad man wasting away in some hospital till his time was up and they’d only need to change the sheets.

He didn’t regret serving, nor did he regret his time with the military and private security contractors. He wished he had been able to pursue more things in life that the military had kept him from.

Thankfully the nurse returned quickly and added some new chemical to his IV.

“Thanks,” Erik said.

“No problem,” The nurse looked like she wanted to say more, but what was there to say.