Chapter 1 - ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The two Great Warriors Healer, Ben and Dempsey headed north along the coast into Oregon before turning inland towards Grants Pass. They took several weeks before reaching Grants Pass, they knew where they were going, but nether of them felt pulled to hurry.
They arrived in Grants Pass to typical early summer weather, rain, and spent the night in a youth hostel listening to other young people tell of their travels.
As they were getting ready to go to bed that night, Dempsey noticed a young boy sitting on the floor with his back against the wall all by himself. Dempsey walked over to him and sat down on the floor. The boy looked at him momentarily before turning away.
Dempsey spotted tears running down the boy's face and he thought, "Oh, Oh, there is trouble here." He quietly motioned to Ben to come over to them and sit down. Dempsey reached for the boy's hand and got no reaction, so he scooted over to face the youngster and said quietly, "Friend, can Ben or I help you?"
The boy sniffed and replied, "Nobody can help me now, I am dead to everyone I know."
At that, both Dempsey and Ben became concerned, Ben scooted over to the other side of the boy and held his other hand, "Will you tell us about it, maybe we can help?"
The boy began to sob, "He tossed me out like yesterday's garbage and told me to never come back."
Ben touched the boy's shoulder and he screamed in pain. Immediately, Ben knew the boy had been beaten, Ben's Great Warrior struggled for release and the hostel bunk room was filled by a Great Warrior standing over the frightened boy. He waved his great sword over the boy and then touched it to his forehead, "In the name of Saint Michael, the Arch Angel, thou are healed of thy wounds, let none be allowed to hurt thee further"
The boy fell into a deep healing sleep with the two Great Warrior Healers guarding him while he slept.
The several young men in the bunk room were wide eyed and fearful, Dempsey called out to them, "Fear us not for we follow the Warrior Angel of God's own Host, Saint Michael."
One boy came over to them and knelt, "Are you those who saved the boys in Fresno?" He continued, "I was one of the boys whom you pulled from the fire in the Hospital and healed my burns. I have been looking for you ever since."
The young man told them his name was Jeff Langston and that he was grateful to have found them.
Ben laid the sleeping boy on a bunk and he and Dempsey kept watch over him through the night.
The next morning, Jeff asked if he could accompany them on their travels and Ben told him he could.
The boy awoke, amazed that he had no pain. He felt his back and the wounds had disappeared. He looked at Dempsey and Ben and asked, "Wmm uh who are you?"
Ben replied, "We are Ben and Dempsey and we are in the service of Saint Michael, the Arch Angel."
The boy's eyes got large and he asked, "Where are you going?"
Dempsey answered, "We go where we are needed, but we are headed to Wenatchee right now."
The boy thought for a moment and then asked, "Will you take me with you, I have no family, my Father and Mother have disowned me and my, ugh, eer, friend refused to talk with me." He sniffed and said, almost to himself, "He told me he loved me until......."
Ben asked the boy gently, "What is your name, we cannot continue to call you just BOY?"
He replied, "Gordon, it used to be Gordon Telfer, but I never want to hear that name again. Call me Gordy Michaels."
Immediately after breakfast, the four left the hostel and headed toward Portland.
The weather cleared and became warm and pleasant the closer to Roseburg they got. It was several more weeks before they entered the town that was dominated by a huge lumber and plywood mill.
The town had no hostel, but there were nice campsites along the Umpqua River and they decided to spend a couple of days resting from their travels. The small campground had showers and there were fire pits at each campsite. They rolled out their bedrolls and set up their camp, preparing for a couple days of recuperation and relaxation.
Early in the morning hours of the second day of their stay, they heard all sorts of sirens and horns blowing. Smoke and flames were billowing out of the roof of the lumber mill!
Ben and Dempsey could feel people being hurt and they raced up the street to do what they could to help those who had been hurt in the accident. They could hear people screaming inside the building, but the Police refused to let them near the awful fire.
Neither Ben nor Dempsey could stand by and not help those in danger. Their Great Warriors were already struggling to come forth.
Suddenly, the Police Officer, who was holding them back, was confronted by two Great Warriors, their swords drawn as they raced past him to the burning building. They sliced holes in the walls with their swords, tossing burning timbers aside as they entered the flames and began carrying the injured out of the flaming hell.
The Policeman quickly called for help and they took the injured people from the Great Warriors and placed them under the trees.
Jeff and Gordy did what they could for the injured, one young man, hardly more than a teen, was horribly burned and in great pain, Jeff tried to comfort the young man, but he was going into shock.
Jeff knelt and prayed, "Lord Saint Michael, I cannot help this man and he is going to die, I beg you to spare his life. Help me to help him, please Saint Michael."
A white haze dropped over Jeff and the injured man and Jeff felt a Great Presence beside him. The young man's terrible burns healed before his eyes. The white haze lifted and Jeff was still knelt beside the young man, but now he had a silver bracelet on his wrist with the bright red Bars of Recognition on it and a silver Caduceus was pinned to his shirt.
The injured man regained consciousness and saw Jeff knelt there, he said, "You saved me!" The young man began to cry, "My baby and my wife would have been left behind."
Jeff said, "No, I did not save you, I only carried you away from the flames. It was Saint Michael the Arch Angel who save your life and healed your burns."
Ben was still carrying burn victims out of the building, so Jeff stood and ran back into the flames to meet Dempsey, who was carrying yet another victim. He took the man from Dempsey, who immediately ran back into the fire. Jeff carried the injured man over to the trees and laid him down before going back to receive another victim.
By noon, the fire was out and everyone had been evacuated. The two doctors who had practices in the town were overwhelmed; Ben and Dempsey began moving through the injured, healing the worst cases first.
The doctors noticed the two Great Warriors working among the victims, at ten feet tall, they were hard to miss.
The doctors were amazed, the two Great Warriors were healing the burn victims, not even scars were left of their injuries! When a Policeman wanted to interfere, the two doctors and the first Policeman held him back and forced him to watch.
The officer collapsed to the ground in tears, "I would have stopped them and those men would have died!"
Gordy told them, "You could not have stopped those two; they are Great Warriors Healer of Saint Michael. You could have sooner stopped the sun from shining than keep them from saving those people."
In all sixty-three men were saved from the flames, not one was lost.
Ben and Dempsey returned to their Human forms and came over to Jeff. Ben said, "Jeff, I felt you, Saint Michael has made you a Red Bar Cadet."
Gordy was looking on and silently vowed he also would make himself worthy of such an honor.
The families of the rescued men were arriving, a young Mother, carrying a small child ran up to the young man who Jeff had helped, her tears were flooding down her face as she hugged the Father of their baby. When the Father explained to her what had happened, she insisted that all four of the travelers come and stay at their house.
She put them up in the guest room and started cooking meals for them. Ben told her, "You need not do all this, we are called by the Warrior Angel of God to do what we did."
The woman, Marge Gregory, replied, "Whatever, our baby still has her Daddy because of what you men did. No payment is too dear to make our thanks and gratitude to you all."
When all the commotion had died down, Ben decided they should resume their journey northward, after thanking their hosts for the meals and beds.
They stopped for a few days in Cottage Grove to replenish their larder and get some new shoes for Gordy, as he was growing out of the ones he was squeezing his feet into. From there, they traveled up through Creswell and on to Eugene, where they again stayed in a youth hostel.
It was time to mend and wash their clothing and to replace the clothes that Gordy and Jeff were outgrowing. The outdoor life agreed with both boys and they were thriving. Jeff had shot up to well over six feet tall and his shoulders had broadened, he was splitting his shirts whenever he picked up something heavy.
Gordy would never be as robust as Jeff, but he also was thriving. His skinny frame had filled out and his face had lost that haunted look.
They spent several days exploring Eugene and the University of Oregon, it was midsummer and only summer students were at the University. Finally, they decided to resume their travel, Ben wanted to get to Wenatchee before winter set in.
They spent two nights in Salem, Oregon because Dempsey needed new clothes. He had lost so much weight, his shirts and trousers were hanging on him like flour sacks.
It was in Salem that Jeff faced his first emergency as a Red Bar Cadet. For some reason, he felt the need to take a walk around the city park. As he came around the corner, he saw a car coming down the street, it began to wobble and the right front tire blew out. The car hit the curb and turned on its side, he could smell gasoline leaking and an electric circuit was sparking near a growing pool of spilled gasoline.
He could hear someone screaming from inside the car, so he leaped up on the side of the car and wrenched the door open. Inside, was a teen and a small child, the teen screamed, "My baby brother, Tommy, get him out before this thing blows!"
Jeff reached in the car and extracted the crying boy, who looked to be about three years old. He handed the child to a man who had been walking by and he again climbed up the side of the automobile and lunged inside to get the teen driver out.
The teen was stuck, the steering wheel had bent and had the boy's legs trapped. Fingers of flame were beginning to burn into the inside of the car. No matter how hard he pulled on the steering wheel, he could not free the teen.
The teen told him to save himself, but that was not in Jeff to do; he asked Saint Michael to lend him strength and he gave the steering wheel one last tug with all he had in him. The steering column bent out of the way and Jeff grasped the teen driver under the arms and with a shove, pushed him out of the door.
Just as Jeff was hoisting himself from the vehicle, the gasoline exploded, sending both boys rolling onto the grass of the park.
Other than shaken up, neither of them was injured.
By that time, the Fire Department had arrived and they put out the fire. A Police Department car had stopped traffic and one of the officers came over to Jeff and said, "Son, that was awful dangerous, what you did, but one or even both of those boys would have died had you not been there." Little Tommy was being held by his older Brother, John Garris.
The Policeman radioed for the parents of the two boys to be brought down to the park, when Mr. and Mrs. Garris got there, they checked their sons over carefully and then went to Jeff to make sure he was alright also.
Ben, Dempsey, and Gordy had gotten there and they were hugging Jeff, tears were abundant. Mrs. Garris insisted they all come to their house for supper and she put on a feed for them all. Mr. Garris was asking Ben all sorts of questions and, when he asked where they had come from, Ben told them Requa.
Mr. Garris said, "My Cousin, Joe Parks told me of some strange things that had taken place in Requa, he lives near there." Ben was non-committal, he didn't want any more stories floating around about them.
Mr. Garris looked Ben square in the eyes and asked, "Are you one of those my Cousin told me about?"
Ben could not lie, he put his hands in his pockets and replied, "Yes Sir, I and Dempsey are Great Warriors Healer, Jeff is our Red Bar Cadet and Gordy is in training."
Mr. Garris asked one more question, "Where are you headed?"
Ben told him they were headed to Wenatchee, Washington and Mr. Garris told his Wife, "I will be away a couple of days, tell Billy down at the Ford Dealership to give you a new Explorer. I am taking the van, these guys are going to Wenatchee with me."
He turned to his son and said, "John, you are gonna come with us and help me drive." He knew his son had a bad case of the jitters and he had to help him, also.
He insisted they go down to the Hostel and get all their belongings, Ben and his friends were going to stay in the guest cottage until they were ready to leave for Wenatchee.
Chapter 2 - WENATCHEE
There was no direct route to get to Wenatchee, Ted Garris took them over secondary roads that wandered through the mountains and across farmed valleys.
He insisted that John do some of the driving, "Son, you must face your devils, otherwise you will be frightened all your life. You did not cause that accident, it was a blown tire."
It was a two day trip to get to Wenatchee, they were all tired by the time they drove into the small town. John was driving and he stopped to fill the van with gasoline and ask directions to Wenatchee Boys' Hotel.
The station attendant asked, "Do you have family living there?"
John replied, "No sir, we are just delivering these guys, it is where they wanted to go."
The attendant was immediately suspicious, especially when he spotted the silver bracelet on Jeff's wrist, the Red Bars gently glowing against the polished silver. He called his father to come out from the office and he whispered, "I think some of them are Great Warriors, Papa. We must help them."
The boy's father walked over to the car and shook John's hand, saying, "Billy here was an orphan living at The Hotel before Grace and I adopted him. He thinks some of you folks are those giants they call Great Warriors, are you?"
Ben smiled and replied, "Sir, your son is correct, I and this man here are both Great Warriors Healer. Jeff, on the back seat is our Red Bar Cadet and Gordy is in training."
Daniel Low turned and shouted to his son, "Close the station, we are going to The Hotel!"
Daniel said, "We will lead you there, let me get my truck and you follow me and Billy." Daniel went behind the station and got his truck, Billy jumped in and they led John and the boys to Wenatchee Boys' Hotel.
Garth felt the two Great Warriors approaching and he ran out to the front steps of the restored hotel as the two vehicles came up the front drive.
Garth was standing on the front steps of the restored Hotel, he had felt the approach of two of his kind, Great Warriors. Ben walked up to Garth, calling him Brother and hugged him, he then introduced his companions, Dempsey, Jeff and Gordy.
Garth spotted Billy and Daniel Low and greeted them warmly, Billy had been an orphan boy at The Hotel until Daniel and Grace Low had adopted him. They introduced Ted and John Garris from Salem Oregon and Garth invited them all in and asked them to join "The Family" for lunch.
Jeff and Gordy were instantly adopted by the boys at The Hotel, and were led off to meet all the residents. Jeff's silver bracelet and Caduceus was examined by every boy there and all were drooling in envy.
The Great Warriors were an important part of the history of Wenatchee Boys' Hotel, and to have a Cadet and another one in training sitting right there with them caused every boy there to crowd into the auditorium to meet them both.
There were 4500 boys living at The Hotel, Dr. Tillie and her husband, Barry, were sitting with the boys in the auditorium, meeting Jeff and Gordy. Gordy was telling them how Jeff had rescued Little Tommie and John Garris.
Barry, having once been a police officer himself, hugged Jeff and told him what he had done was very dangerous, but it was the right thing to do.
As the day wore on, the visitors were all given rooms in Manuel Pita Hall, Jeff and Gordy were in near tears when they were told of the significance of the name and Gordy went the next day to Manuel Pita's grave and knelt in prayer for the soul of that brave and battered little boy.
As he was praying, a feeling of calm and peace came over him and he heard, "My beloved son, Gordon, thou art mine own. Thou shalt do wondrous things in my name, thou art mine own." Gordy collapsed and slept for some time at that grave, when he awoke, he discovered a silver bracelet on his wrist, with a Red Bar glowing on its silvery surface. He also found a silver Caduceus pinned to his shirt, HE WAS A CADET!
He went racing back to The Hotel to tell Ben and Dempsey of what had happened. They both had felt Gordy's appointment to Cadet and were waiting for him to arrive.
The boys of The Hotel crowded around Gordy and congratulated him.
The fruit and vegetable harvest time was ending in the Wenatchee area and the farm labor was moving on. Within a few days, abandoned boys were again showing up at The Hotel, some were pitiful waifs, hardly more than skin and bones.
Ben and Dempsey were horrified; little boys dressed only in a long shirt and some had not even that much, were making their way to The Hotel! Almost none had shoes and they were all infested with sores, lice and assorted other pests and infections. Many showed signs of abuse and few of them spoke any English.
All were made welcome!
Dr. Tillie checked each child out, sending the critical cases to the County Hospital with Barry acting as ambulance driver.
Gordy, feeling honored by The Great Warrior Saint, spent most of his time assisting Dr. Tillie, he saw things that would have crushed most people. Dr. Tillie had come to rely on Gordy, he had no fear, if a child needed holding, he cared not that the child was infested, bleeding, encrusted with sores, or smelled like a sewer.
Between them, they treated children who had infections, parasites and infestations more common in third world countries than their own. Some of the children were barely beyond toddler stage, one little boy was so sick, so diseased that Dr. Tillie despaired of even saving the child's life.
Gordy was sitting there, holding the child and singing a quiet song to him in hopes of soothing the frightened little boy. Suddenly, the child began to gag and started to turn blue, before Dr. Tillie could get to them, a Great Warrior Healer emerged and held his sword over the stricken child, "THOU ART MINE AND MINE ALONE." The Great Warrior waved his sword over the child and then touched it to his forehead. The child's breathing became normal and the sores and infections faded and disappeared. The lice and fleas dropped to the floor, dead.
Ben, Dempsey and Jeff came running, as they arrived in the small clinic, they watched as the Great Warrior Healer faded away and Gordy stood there in its place. Gordy stood there, holding the child, "He is mine, I shall care for this child; he is MINE OWN SELF!"
Gordy took the child into the bathing room and gently washed and cleaned him. He wrapped the child in a clean towel before returning. He knelt before Ben and said, "Lord Great Warrior Healer Ben, this is where I am called, here is where I must stay. This child and all like him are mine to care for."
So it was that Gordy became the HEALER OF CHILDREN.
The children followed him around and wanted to touch him, hold his hand or just be near to him.
He denied none of them.
He would live his long life in the service of small children. Wherever he went, small boys would follow him and he, in turn, loved each and every one of them. He always managed to have a treat, a piece of candy or a small fruit in his pocket and a never ending supply of love.
It was a brave person, more likely foolish, who would dare harm a child in Gordy's presence, more than one had felt the wrath of Gordy's Great Warrior and every child knew to come to him with their hurts and injuries.
Chapter 3 - THE FIELDS AND ORCHARDS
The peak of the harvest was over, but Ben led Dempsey and Jeff through the countryside of Wenatchee, still finding abandoned children and those sorely afflicted with wounds and diseases.
A rumor flew through the harvest worker's children, if they could get to The Great Warriors Healer, they would be safe and fed. They had no idea just who these beings might be, they just knew they had to find them.
Bands of children, without parents to care for them, without food and with no place of safety, began wandering the area looking for the fabled Great Warriors Healer. Thugs and pirates, little better than slavers, began preying on the children, snatching them for their own nefarious desires.
The three were walking through the farmland in the nearby community of Quincy, when they heard a great commotion and children screaming. All three began running in the direction of the commotion, they found a group of young boys surrounded by men holding ropes and chains.
Several boys were lying on the ground, already securely bound.
Ben and Dempsey immediately brought forth their Great Warriors and began swinging their swords like clubs.
Jeff clenched his fists, saying, "Please Great Saint Michael, allow me to help save my brothers. PLEASE!" He felt something put into his hand, it was a Shining Sword and, suddenly, he was ten feet tall, wearing a Warrior's armor and his shining helm bore two Red Bars of Recognition on its polished surface!
He strode into the melee, clubbing the thugs and pirates to the ground, when they fell, they stayed there, fearing to even move; should that terrible Giant return to finish the job.
Nearby, a Sheriff's Investigator was watching, hardly believing what he was seeing. He got on his radio and called for help. Walking forward, he knelt before the three Great Warrior Healers and said, "You are of those who before visited us and saved the children. Lords Great Warrior, how may I serve you?"
Ben reached down and lifted the man to his feet, "We serve Saint Michael, the Arch Angel, if you would serve also, protect these children, love these children and care for them."
The Investigator would become the Children's Advocate for the Sheriff's Department until his retirement; he then lived out his days at The Hotel, caring for the children who lived there.
Sheriff's Deputies arrived in response to the Investigator's panicked radio call; they tossed the attackers in the back of the carryall and took them off to the county jail. The judge released none of them before their trial. During the course of the trial, it came out that they had been contracted by a group in Seattle that supplied young boys for pornographic movies and sex companions.
Ben told the Investigator from the State Attorney General's Office that they either clean up the gang, or he would! In Ben's anger, his Great Warrior came forth and a very frightened Investigator had to rush to the men's room to clean his underwear!
The State Investigators eventually arraigned seventy-five men, charged with child slavery and pornography. They were all sentenced to long jail sentences; few of them survived their sentences.
Ben, Dempsey and Jeff decided to remain in Wenatchee until the next spring, it was already the fall of the year and the snows would soon begin to fall. They spent the winter caring for the boys of The Hotel and assisting wherever they were needed.
Two young teens set their sights on becoming Red Bar Cadets, their dedication was such that Ben granted their wish and he appointed them Trainees. They did every task, from cleaning diseased bodies to emptying dirty bedpans without complaint.
When spring finally arrived and the land turned green, Ben, Dempsey and Jeff knew they had to resume their journey. Both trainees, Jack Toll and Randy Phelps insisted on following their Great Warriors Healer and made preparations to leave the only true home either boy had ever known.
Gordy was sad to see his companions getting ready to leave, but he now had his place and he had his own son, despite his own young age, Little Teddy Gorman called Gordy, Daddy, and was allowed to sleep in Gordy's room.
In later years, Teddy would become a Cadet and finally he would emerge as a Great Warrior Healer like his beloved Daddy.
The group of travelers made ready their departure and began walking towards their next destination, Boise. It would be a long journey, filled with hardship, pain and suffering, not of themselves, but rather the children they would find along their way. Times were not good and poor children were frequently left behind when a family was forced to move on.
They were hardly out of the valley that surrounded Wenatchee when young boys joined them. None could be persuaded to go back to The Hotel and Ben allowed them to remain, fearing the boys would only follow them from a distance in hiding.
They made Yakima before the winter snows closed in on them and they paused to establish a Free Clinic for the harvest workers and their families who had chosen to winter there.
TBC