The Terminal Warrior - Short novel

The Terminal Warrior

John Tinen is a common unassuming man that works in an ice cream factory. He is single and does not date much. A quiet and gentle man which is quite a departure from his youth. He used to study the martial arts heavily and particularly the sword. He ranked pretty high in his old martial arts schools but all that was silenced with time and maturity. He used to be a health nut but after a while became a fast food junkie like most people. Overweight and lethargic are his modes of life now. Some might say he is on a self destructive course of not taking care of himself. A slow suicide, slow enough to be acceptable by society. But that is all about to change as he develops a new appreciate for life.

John has a sharp pain in his right side and wonders if it is a gas pain or something more serious. He tries to ignore the pain so it might go away but it does not. He finally gives in and sees a doctor. The doctor examines him and then sends him to a specialist. Like most specialist they assume if you are there and referred by a general doctor you must really have something wrong with you. In this case apparently he does as the pain is getting worse. Extensive tests are done on a array of possibilities. The tests come back eventually and John sits in front of the doctor to hear the bad news.

John is told he has cancer and it is inoperable. He will be fine till near the end and will suffer a very painful decline. He is given a year to live. For most of it he can function. John leaves the hospital in a daze. He thinks to himself why him. He ponders of all things he has not done, like getting married, having kids on and on. The regrets pile up like mail in the dead letter office. He goes to the beach and meditates on how to spend his final year. He goes place to place thinking, pondering, wondering what to do with himself. He finally decides he is not going to die sick in bed. He wants to go down fighting. To die with his boots on as they say. Well he is too old to join the US military and then there is no guarantee he will be sent into conflict and see action. He sees that there are wars and battles being fought all the time in South American countries and they recruit anyone even non citizens of their country. So he signs up with the Bolivian army and fights domestic terror groups.

He is trained a whole week then armed, uniformed and sent into an area of battle. The battle is won in 15 minutes and turns out that was the only resistance that country had so the war is over.

He slips out of the country and joins the Peruvian army and fights terror guerillas there. Battle after battle and each is won and he sustains no injuries. This is not working out because several months have passed and he has not died yet.

He then joins the Columbian army to fight illegal drug trade. Now an enemy that has power. They go into an operation against the cartels and his army group is badly out numbered. He knows this is it so he fearlessly fights with nothing to lose. His bravery and zealousness to engage the enemy inspires his fellow soldiers and despite the overwhelming odds the battle is won and the cartels are toppled. He is revered and a hero of the people. Awarded and then given a high rank and desk job he sits perplexed that he cannot seem to get himself killed. He then puts a gun to his head and thinks, I will just do it finally. He stops and thinks his "luck" can not go on forever, surely some battle will cut him down.

After pondering the dilemma he decides he will fight for the bad guys since they keep losing. So he joins the remnants of the cartels and rebuilds them. They start to battle the Columbian army and when the army discovers their hero general is now with the cartel they join him in causing a coop of the government. The government is toppled and John is installed as the new dictator and president of Columbia. He stands on a balcony as thousands of citizens chant his name. He cannot believe this is happening.

John thinks that he must have enemies everywhere and all he has to do is walk around without bodyguards in public. So he alerts the media he will be visiting certain cities at certain times by himself and unarmed. Surely someone will assassinate him. In doing so the people love him and see him as a great warrior and public figure willing to be among them. His would be enemies are softened by his bravery and leadership. Peace and prosperity have quickly taken hold of the country and he is regarded as a great man even among religions.

He thinks he could simply tax them to death and have police round up people to be tortured then there would be a revolt. But for some reason he seems he cannot do this as he feels he has accomplished something great here. Maybe to die now naturally would be a good way to go out. He decides to retire to die in peace and installs a man that followed him in all this that is good. He takes advantage of the doctors to give him an update when he will die. After he is thoroughly examined the doctors tell him there is nothing wrong with him. It must have been a mis-diagnosis. He laughs heartily and suddenly has a feeling of mortality come over him. He decides to go back to the US and do all the things in life he wanted to originally.

After arriving in the US he starts having attempts on his life from groups he fought in early battles. One after another come after him as he fights to not die this time but to save his life. Because of his experience he battles on assassin after another and wins barely. Finally his contacts in other countries tell him it is over, that he seems to be unbeatable and the heat is off. He may live in peace. As time goes by he finds a nice lady and makes her his wife. She is pregnant and he is elated that his life is on track. She holds a surprise birthday party for him and as he celebrates his body becomes weak and he is very nauseous. Going to the hospital they tell him this is the beginning of the cancer he was first diagnosed with a year ago. He said that Columbian doctors told him it was wrong. His doctor tells him they often do that to leaders of their country so they dont get killed for giving bad news. But now he will die in a month. He is sad that he is going to die in the way he fought so hard not to and with the life starting he really wanted.

Days go by as his wife takes care of him and his health slowly but surely declines. Day after day she tends to him. One day the president of Columbia stops by to talk to him. Alone the president tells John that the country is still doing well and a huge statue has been place in his honor. He should not worry that his wife and child to come will be well taken care of with wealth. John tells him that he did all of it to die and escape this decline of death. He wanted to go out fighting. The president tells him that he freed a country, gave life and peace to countless and now has a wife with a child that are going to live well. What person can has that kind of legacy? The president said you will die well. They shake hands and he leaves. John's wife kisses him and leaves for the night. John lies there recalling everything in the past year. He finally is happy and closes his eyes to embrace death.