Chapter 1 - ST. MICHAEL'S BOARDING SCHOOL
Brothers Jerry and Joey have been managing Saint Michael's Boarding School for Boys since the departure of their Great Warriors, Terry and James. The Boarding School has been added to and enlarged several times and there are 6,000 boys living there now.
They have a reputation for academic excellence and college and university recruiters start pestering the two brothers in early spring, trying to recruit boys ready to graduate for their institutions.
Few knew that the boys themselves owned the school, their hard work and ingenuity resulted in the funds to enlarge the school several times from its humble beginnings as a small boarding school in a small farming community. The Saint Michael's Boys' Corporation has, over the years, funded the school with over $15 million in new construction and additional land.
Doctor Chiles recently retired as Superintendent of Education and was replaced by one of their own alumni, Boyson Talbot. Boyson Majored in Education Development at the University and recently was awarded his doctorate degree. It had always been his dream to come back and help the boys at St. Michaels and, when he was offered the position, his answer was immediate, "YES!"
Unknown to most, both Jerry and Joey are Great Warriors, there has been no trouble since the time of Terry and James, so the brothers felt there was no reason to advertise their presence. They had sensed the emergence of the Great Warriors Hospitaler and had noted the addition of the Silver Caduceus on the Chapel door, so it was no surprise to them when Robert, accompanied by Toby, showed up one day.
Joey was showing them around the campus, with justifiable pride, when a large delivery truck came careening through the fence into the play yard. The play yard was filled with young boys at recess and they were screaming in fright and pain.
The driver of the truck was passed out in the cab that smelled strongly of whiskey.
Joey immediately went into change, Robert and Toby just instants behind him, The Great Warrior pried the truck off the injured children and the two Warriors Hospitaler began working on the injured boys. It took the three of them working far into the night to save all the boys from their injuries, the night air glowed red from the pulsating red bar on Robert's and Toby's helmets. The harder they worked, the brighter their Red Bar of Recognition pulsed.
One of the older boys, Joel Thomas, had been in charge of the play yard and had been supervising the kickball game that had been in progress. The injuries inflicted on his charges had shattered his soul. He carried the children to the Warriors Hospitaler so that they might be healed faster.
When the last child had been treated, the spirit of the teen collapsed. With great wracking sobs, he knelt before the two Warriors Hospitaler and said, "tttta Take me with you Great Ones and teach me to heal as you do. Iiii I feel I must protect my younger brothers by being a Healer. Please, Great Warriors Hospitaler, teach me, take me with you that I may serve as a Healer."
Robert raised the teen up and held him tightly, "You ask for a lifetime of service to Saint Michael, the Arch Angel. We go where He asks, we do as He asks. Are you willing to sacrifice your freedom and will to the service of others?"
Joel replied, "Great Warriors Hospitaler, I was a throw away boy, a child whom none wanted. Saint Michael lifted me up from the gutter, he fed me and clothed me, he gave a safe and warm place to sleep at night and he showed me that my father was wrong, I do have worth and a future. He loved me and called me his own. Yes, I will give up my freedom to follow his orders."
Before Robert could reply, a Silver Caduceus appeared on Joel's shirt and a Silver Bracelet bearing a Red Bar on it, appeared around his wrist announcing a new Red Bar Cadet.
Boys were standing around, looks of awe on their faces as one of their own joined the hallowed ranks of the Great Warriors Hospitaler. Joel ran off, curious, Robert and Toby followed him. He led them to the Chapel, where they found him on his knees praying to St. Michael that he might be worthy of the gift bestowed upon him.
As the boy was praying, they all felt a presence and, suddenly, Saint Michael the Arc Angel himself was standing beside the praying boy. He reached down and lifted Joel to his feet, saying, "My beloved son, NEVER were you a throw away boy. Thou art mine own son, My BELOVED GREAT WARRIOR HOSPITALER!"
The Warrior Angel touched his sword to Joel's forehead and the teen rose to 10 feet tall, a shining sword upon his back and a bright Red Bar of Recognition adorned his helmet.
As the Angel of God's Own Army faded from sight, Joel returned to his Human, tears of joy and wonder running down his face. He turned to Robert and Toby and stammered, "IiiiII, I AM!"
Joel agreed to remain at Saint Michael's Boarding School for Boys and open a clinic on the grounds.
Chapter 2 - IN SERVICE TO SAINT MICHAEL
Robert and Toby remained long enough to see the new clinic built before they had to depart. Joel had no trouble collecting some helpers; all that had taken place had occurred in plain view of the boys living there and he chose Ted and Gil to be his Cadets. The two suddenly sported silver bracelets with the Red Bar of Recognition on them and their shirt collars were adorned with a silver Caduceus.
Either Joel or one of the Cadets accompanied the boys on their school field trips. A trip had been arranged for the boys to visit Point Reyes National Seashore and the historic Lighthouse that was in the park. They went in three buses and planned to spend the night in a youth hostel in Petaluma in each direction.
Gil volunteered to go with the trip and they departed from the school immediately after breakfast. The buses went over to the coast and drove north on the Coastal Highway, US 101. They passed through San Francisco and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge before reaching their rest destination, Petaluma.
The boys were all tired, and they were soon asleep in the hostel. They again left early, immediately after breakfast the next day, the buses wandered across the coastal mountains to the National Seashore.
Two hundred boys wandered the beaches and the lighthouse taking pictures and enjoying the outing. Nobody was ready to leave, but, as it was starting to get dark, the boys reluctantly boarded the busses to return to the hostel in Petaluma for the night.
The next day saw them threading their way through the freeways of San Francisco headed south. They made a short stop in Monterey for lunch of clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls before continuing on their final leg home. Darkness was falling as the buses left the Coastal Highway for their hometown of Salinas.
As the buses passed through the low coastal mountains, the buses began to swerve and sway, they had been struck by an earthquake! All three buses tumbled from the roadbed and rolled down the hillside into a ravine.
The quake was felt at St. Michael's and everyone was concerned about the boys on the trip.
Gil was the first to recover, he looked around and all he could see was tumbled, hurt boys piled up in the bus!
His scream was heard in Salinas, both Joel and Ted "KNEW" the boys were hurt!
So also did Great Warriors Jerry and Joey!
All four emerged into their Warrior and set off in the direction of Gil's frantic call. Traffic stopped as the huge apparitions ran down the highway. Locals, who knew of the Great Warriors followed them, knowing that some terrible catastrophe had taken place.
At the scene of the accident, motorists had stopped traffic and were trying to reach the wrecked buses at the bottom of the ravine. One motorist pointed his automobile over the edge so that the headlights shone on the three buses.
The crowd saw the Great Warriors approaching and they began pointing downhill, where the buses lay. All four Warriors leaped down the steep embankment and began shoving twisted metal aside to get to the boys.
The people up on the road threw blankets and robes down to the Great Warriors, as boys were extracted from the wreckage, Joel, Ted and Gil worked feverishly to save their lives. They worked all through the night saving boys.
All three bus drivers were in critical condition and it took all they had in them for Joel and Gil to save their lives!
As night began to fade into day, the last of the boys were extracted from the busses. One boy, Ben, was horribly mangled and Joel knew he could not be saved.
The boy looked up at Joel, his eyes pleading. Joel knelt in prayer, "Saint Michael, help me save this boy, I cannot do it alone."
Joel felt his hands being guided as he held the boy, his Great Sword laid across Ben's body. Slowly, the boy's terrible wounds began to close and his chilled body warmed.
Joel knew then that Ben was to be his next Red Bar of Recognition Cadet.
The motorists, who had stopped to help, formed a human chain and carried the boys up to the roadside. People filled their automobiles with boys and carried them to Saint Michael's.
The cooks had prepared a huge breakfast for the boys and those who had helped rescue them. Everyone was made welcome and there were some friendships established between the boys and the town folk that were to last lifetimes and, in several cases, boys were offered homes and a Family.
Two of the bus drivers were so overcome with grief, they refused to ever drive again and one came to be an adult mentor at St. Michael's.
The exploits of the Great Warriors were already known, but the Hospitalers were something new and, when their exploits became known to the public, donations began arriving to outfit the new clinic as a full hospital. What had been intended to be a clinic for the care of the boy's at Saint Michael's Boarding School for Boys, quickly became a place of healing for those with no hope, no resources and on their last chance of a cure.
Every morning, there would be a line of people waiting at the door for Joel or Ben to admit them, Little Ben had refused to be separated from Joel and he was allowed to sleep in the Clinic at night. The child spent all his free time there and Joel knew it was but a matter of time before St. Michael would select the boy as a Cadet.
Every night, Ben accompanied Joel to the Chapel before bedtime and he would accompany him as Joel made the rounds of the dormitories to tell each boy goodnight.
As Ben got a little older, he began walking about the town and the fields where the famous artichokes were grown. When he came across an adult or a child, sick or hurt, he would walk with them to the St. Michael's Clinic. In some cases, he would carry a sick or hurt child in order to get that child some help.
Ben became well known in the small town, the small children knew he kept sweets in his shirt pocket and was a soft touch for any child who needed a sweet to brighten his or her day.
The adults quickly found that Ben could quiet a fussy baby and sooth a frightened child. Mothers would ask him to sooth their children and any child knew that they could come to him if they were lost or had become separated from their parent or older sibling.
One afternoon, after school had let out, a young mother came screaming out of her house, "My baby, my baby is hurt, she pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove!"
Ben followed the woman into her home and found the young child screaming in pain on the floor. Ben knelt beside the child, tears flowing down his young face, "I don't know what to do, I am not yet a Hospitaler. O' Great Saint Michael, help me to help this child."
He found his arms being moved and a Great Sword was thrust into his hands. As he waved the sword around, the child quieted and stopped crying. Her horrible burns faded and the blisters shrank and disappeared.
He heard behind him a gasp from the young mother, as he turned, there stood Saint Michael the Arch Angel, his great white wings spread from his shoulders and his hands glowing with a bright, white light, "My Beloved Benjamin, thou art mine Hospitaler. Go forth from this place and care for mine children, thou art mine Hospitaler."
The Great Angel faded from sight, leaving Ben holding a Great Sword in his hand and a shining helmet on his head with a Red Bar of Recognition on it. He raised his hands and the sword slipped onto his back, the handle with a Silver Caduceus just barely visible above his shoulder.
Chapter 3 - A WANDERING HEALER
Ben suddenly knew he had a task to perform, it was his and his alone. Although he was but a teen, he also was a Great Warrior Hospitaler and, as such, he feared neither beast nor man.
He went to his mentor and supporter, Joel, and explained what he must do. Joel did not like it, but he also knew the boy must follow his task. Ben collected his few belongings in a shoulder bag and bid his friends goodbye. He started out, across the farmlands of that coastal valley, healing and treating the farm workers harvesting the artichokes.
His wanderings took him from community to community, and he soon became a legend in the folklore of the harvesters and farmers. Wherever he went, those needing assistance seemed to know where he was and they came to him for help.
It was not long that he attracted a following, children, teens and young adults who had no family or home to call their own, they began traveling with him as he wandered into the great Central Valley of California and found himself in the city of Fresno.
As was his practice, he located the poorer section of town and started looking for a place to settle for a while. He discovered an old warehouse near the railroad tracks that appeared to be empty. He pried some loose boards back and stepped into the dim light of the empty warehouse. He heard the sound of scurrying feet and knew there was someone in the building with him.
He called out, "I am Ben and mean you no harm. Please come out and share my meal with me."
He spotted two red haired boys peeking around a column, they appeared to be twins and were dressed in filthy clothing, more holes than cloth. The two boys shyly edged up to him and asked, "yyYy you won't hurt us will you?" Ben opened his arms and both boys leaped towards him seeking comfort in his embrace.
Both boys were starving and Ben fed them all he had with him. He said to the boys, "Wait right here, I will go for more food."
As he started to leave them, he heard a great voice, like the wind, roaring, "MINE WARRIOR HOSPITALER, LEAVE NOT THIS PLACE. ALL THAT IS NEEDED IS COMING TO THEE AND THE BOYS WHO ART WITH THEE."
Both boys were thoroughly frightened now and Ben held them, "Fear you not, for that is Saint Michael the Arch Angel. He is sending us food and all that is needed for your care." Ben patiently waited and, after a short time, a large door was opened in the warehouse and two delivery trucks backed into the loading bay.
One of the drivers got out and asked, "Mr. Ben Tillotson?" The man never blinked when he saw that Ben was just a boy himself. The drivers and their helpers unloaded boxes of food, clothing, bedding and a whole box of shoes in assorted sizes.
Ben wondered why so many shoes and in so many different sizes, he was not to wonder very long.
The boys discovered a kitchen and dining room at the rear of the warehouse and there were bunkrooms, complete with beds and bedding on the second floor, along with showers. On the first floor, they discovered a Healer's Clinic and several beds for those who were hurt.
The twins spotted a Red Bar on the Clinic Door and Ben showed them by entering his change, he brought forth his Great Warrior and showed them his sword and Red Bar of Recognition on his shining helmet. The twins dropped to their knees and said, "Great Lord Warrior, we beg to be accepted as your cadets and help others as you have helped us."
As Ben watched, Silver Bracelets with the Red Bar of Recognition appeared on their wrists and a Silver Caduceus was pinned to their shirt collars. So it was that a boy, hardly older than his Cadets, set up Clinic in the slums of Fresno, California.
Word spread quickly that help was available and a place to stay that was safe. Most nights, every bed was filled with a boy seeking shelter and safety. The Cadets, Carl and Dennis Holtmann helped Ben take care of those boys who had been hurt and their Silver Bracelets opened doors for them all over the city.
Businessmen and suppliers would stop them on the streets and ask if Ben needed anything.
He usually did, there were beds for 200 boys and they were usually all filled each night.
Food was delivered daily and volunteers would come to help with the boys, school teachers and counselors were always welcome. Ben sometimes wondered if he should be traveling, but he received no indication from St. Michael, so he felt the Warrior Angel was pleased with what he was doing.
They had just gotten all the boys bedded down for the night and turned the lights out when the fire horn began to blow on the nearby Fire Station. Carl looked out the window and screamed, "The City Hospital is on fire!"
Carl roused Ben and the older boys in residence and they raced up the street to help. The Children's Wing was fully engulfed in flames!
Ben's Great Warrior took over, suddenly there was a 10 foot giant apparition blasting flaming timbers aside with a mighty sword. Again and again the Great Warrior dove into the flames and brought children out. The fire was getting worse and two more Giants appeared, carrying children, nurses and doctors, even adults from the general wards.
All through the night, the three Giants battled the flames to rescue patients from the burning structure. All three wore the Red Bar of Recognition on their helmets. Towards morning, all the patients and employees of the hospital were accounted for, not one had been lost.
The Fire Chief knew who had rescued the people, he had been a lost boy cared for by The Great Warriors of Saint Michael in his youth. The Red Bar on their helmets puzzled him, but he knew them for what they were. He asked around and was told about the Clinic in the old warehouse.
He decided to see for himself.
Fire Chief Daniel Perkins walked up to the warehouse and knocked on the door. Dennis answered and invited the Chief in. They walked past boys studying or talking quietly among themselves, other boys were assisting in the kitchen or running the washing machines and still others were reading to the younger boys.
The Fire Chief sat down, tears flooding his eyes. Ben came up to him and attempted to console the man.
The Fire Chief asked, "You are a Great Warrior of Saint Michael, aren't you?"
Ben replied, "Yes, I am a Great Warrior Hospitaler of Saint Michael the Arch Angel and these are my Red Bar Cadets."
Chief Perkins answered, "I was a boy, a boy thrown away by my father. The wonderful Warriors at Saint Michael's Boarding School for Boys in Los Angeles took me in. They fed me and clothed me, they sheltered me and educated me. They made me what I have become."
He had to stop and wipe his eyes before he could continue, "What can I do, what can my Department do to assist you, Great Warrior?"
While they were standing there, the room lit up in a blinding white light and, there stood The Great Warrior of God's own Legions, his mighty wings flared and his sword in his hand, "MINE SON, THOU ART WRONG, DENNIS AND CARL ARE NO LONGER YOUR RED BAR CADETS, THEY ART MINE OWN GREAT WARRIORS HOSPITALER!"
Chief Daniel Perkins agreed to oversee the Free Clinic and work with Dennis and Carl as they cared for the children and poor folk who had no access to health care.
Ben would continue his travels as a Warrior Hospitaler.
TBC
This ends our visit to Saint Michael's Boarding School for Boys in Salinas, California, but we shall meet up with the Wandering Great Warrior Hospitaler again the future. Our next visit will take us up the coast to the Famed Giant Redwoods and Requa Inn Refuge for Boys.