This Time Last Year: I was living with a Superhero

By Nathan Howells

In 2020, the invisible killer came to Earth, promising to decimate the population with ease. But what emerged was the creation of real-life superheroes among us. Thousands stand up but only the very best become superheroes.

Lorraine thinks the ‘Superheroes’ refer to others and well-known comics. Then she hears the crowds flooding into every hospital in despair looking for the NHS to save them. Throwing her world into chaos, she gets into her uniform and strides onto the frontline.

The virus keeps evolving but struggles to take control. Enough was enough, too many were dying.

Engulfed with pain and fear, Lorraine must fight for her life in this page-turning superhero fantasy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brown Dog Books
• Release date: Feb 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839524288

Book preview

Acknowledgement

For everyone who has a dream, go make it a memory.

Thank you to all superheroes …

… especially those in my world.

Buckle Up, Sit Tight and Get Ready

A character (Lorraine) has a problem (must save humanity against an invisible killer), needs a guide (armoury and teamwork) and a plan (to care of the neediest), and simply acts upon the plan (sends recovering people back home to their families) to succeed!

Now unarmoured, with her apple red cloak swishing in the night air, she strode proudly through the puddles on the black pavement heading into her home. Crowds gathered, standing on their doorsteps clapping, cheering with pots and pans clattering, echoing out into the bright and crisp summer’s night.

This is a story about unsung superheroes who confront an unexpected traumatic event to help many people in need. These humble and quietly confident people do the most remarkable things to help others and must be called from the shadows into the spotlight.

Time stood still on the first day of the first month of the new decade. The year 2020, a time in history that will never be forgotten. It is a year that brought the most terrifying and remarkable events in modern times, you could say a time when humanity was on the brink of extinction. For those who survive, it will go down in history and be remembered for generations to come. The children of the future will hear about the horrific tales and stories of bravery.

This is an epic adventure of a particular young woman. Among many, she will lead an army of fellow superheroes into battle to save lives, to save humanity and to help us get back to civilisation.

If you like mighty battles and bloodshed, especially because of violence, like facing the First Order in Star Wars, this one is for you. As Kylo Ren said, ‘We can and will chase every rumour, every scrap, and every vapour trail across the galaxy! We will mobilise every bounty hunter (NHS worker) and informant (journalist) and turn over every rock to find all of them (the deadly virus) … and wipe every one of them out of existence.’

If you are into a love story when a boy meets a girl, like at Rydell High in Grease, yep, it’s in here too.

If you revel in the big smash hits where the ordinary guy or gal must step up to take on new threats in the world that has changed forever, you got it.

AND …

If you fancy getting lost in a mysterious force decimating the population, where only one thing is certain – if you touch it, you will die – where the survivors must avoid encountering an entity that takes over their inner organs, searching for hope and a new beginning, a woman and her comrades embark on a dangerous journey against an invisible killer to help keep people alive whilst a cure is created. To make it, she will have to buckle up her body armour and stay resilient for months or even years.

If you are itching to find out how the story unfolds, and boy is there a story to tell, then go grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, anything you fancy, it’s on me, slump into your favourite snuggle chair and lose yourself in a story that you will never forget.

Let’s go.

Chapter 1

Superheroes

To start, let’s talk about superheroes.

You know the ones I am talking about, they possess exceptional traits that are very different from the rest of us. I am sure you are thinking of a few right now. Whoever they are, I am sure you will agree, they are renowned for their courage and fighting spirit.

Whilst you read on, undoubtedly you have some of these too?

Extraordinary abilities and powers: Being a superman or superwoman is crazy, but being a superhero is possible. Superpowers are not necessarily invisibility, speed of light or heat vision. It is much more subtle, but the power is there, as and when it is needed.

Courage: There is a fine line between stupidity and courage. Courage is not a lack of fear but a willingness to confront fear. They have a strong ability to face fears as opposed to many people fearing for their lives.

Strong moral codes: This is what they are destined to do. They have strong moral codes and are resilient in fighting back time and time again.

Tolerance to pain: Remember, they are dealing with fear and pain every day but they are prepared for pain. Pain will almost immerse them, but they will defend from feeling pain themselves.

A great sense of responsibility: Their key responsibility is to ensure that as many people as possible do not suffer from personal tragedies. With great power comes responsibility but they are motivated by something extraordinary.

Fighting spirit: They can fail and it is to be expected, they expect it of themselves but get right back up and go again.

Mental stability: They experience destruction and pain. They face many challenges and lose people they know as anyone can die. It’s on their shoulders and the things they experience weigh heavily on their mind. The intense pressure would drive most people insane.

Knowledge: Even if you are fast and strong, you must understand how things work. They are smart and this helps them plan how to fight back.

For those who are called into the health and caring profession, their goal is to help people who are suffering. Their purpose is to get them back home to their families as soon as possible. They are motivated to use their skills to save lives. ‘This is what we do.’

We can all get these eight traits. Maybe this is a good everyday checklist of our behaviours as we go about our lives, to be a superhero in our own way too.

Now, even with these superpowers there is still a huge risk. There just isn’t enough armour (personal protective equipment) for who needs them, the helpers and the people being helped. What is unbelievably stressful is that the front line is heavily exposed to getting infected. Health frontline workers die too but it does not prevent their cause. They all come together, stepping back from retirement, volunteering and as a community of superheroes support each other and fight.

Led by these superheroes, people listen and stay at home. Life will never be the same again but by protecting the health service, they can save lives.

The frontline workers are unsung heroes, and it needs to change. We must celebrate the commitment and care of every one of our frontliners who are helping save our generation.

Let me introduce you to Lorraine. She is one of many superheroes, a frontline NHS superhero, fighting against invisible killers every day on our behalf. She won’t admit it, but without question she ticks all the superpower traits.

Lorraine was born in the sticks of Herefordshire, a country bumpkin you could say. It is a cathedral city in middle England. It lies approximately 16 miles east of the border with Wales, surrounded by farmland and fuelled by milk and cider. During the reign of Charles II, cider rapidly became the national drink. Amongst these seedlings was the Herefordshire Redstrake or Redstreak, the apple that put Herefordshire cider on the map. It was unequalled in Britain. Between 1870 and 1900, no fewer than twelve cider factories opened around Hereford. By the 1900s, Bulmer’s, based in Hereford, was the largest apple-pressing mill in the world. Between 1995 and the start of the 21st century, over 2-million cider apple trees were planted in Great Britain, giving England the title as the largest cider producer in the world. If Lorraine was fuelled by anything, I guess it would have to be cider; it is in her blood.

As a toddler, growing up amongst the cattle and farms, she helped her dad with the milk rounds (or was it the cider?) throughout the county. However good life was, she was eager to escape the slow-paced cattle town and head for the big smoke. Well, to the glistening blue seas of Swansea Bay.

She is renowned for being smart, a little cheeky and full of fun. Sometimes quick-witted in a feisty way that always keeps us all honest. Standing 5ft, 5in tall and in her late-thirties, she has spent the past twenty years helping young people, supporting their families, and ultimately saving lives. She has freckled skin with mousy brown silky hair, bright white teeth and 20:20 vision. She has hazel eyes that tease and smile with a glint all the time. And then there is her infectious laugh, heard from far and wide, that brings cheer wherever she goes.

At school, she was a typical nerdy high schooler. Biology was her favourite subject and when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, it would always be ‘I want to be a nurse.’ She liked dressing up as a nurse as a child (and this extended into her adulthood from time to time). At eighteen, she flew the nest and moved away to study nursing. She loves blood and guts, but just kids (trauma, intensive and special care). After graduating, she returned to England to her homeland to work at a children’s hospital doing gruelling twelve-hour-long shifts.

Outside work, Lorraine can be best described as resourceful. She creates wonderful meals from almost nothing. She knows how to use her resources to accomplish her goals and can often do so with almost nothing! She is determined, persevering through any pain to help her family. She takes care of herself, her family, and everyone she can.

Lorraine is surrounded by men, young and old, plus a pooch. Whether it is wrestling in the lounge, endurance football on the Xbox or overwhelmed by mud, snot and grime, a house full of children (including her husband) is a tough gig.

Lorraine is also defiant, as is clear through her actions, like pretending to be alright when in fact she is in pain from an old extreme sporting injury. She is compassionate, which she demonstrates daily by volunteering to lead from the frontline.

Another word to describe Lorraine is modest, because she often wants to stay as far from the spotlight as possible. Furthermore, Lorraine is independent; throughout her life she often resists help. She does not want anyone harmed unnecessarily. Lastly, she is brave, because she continually puts herself in harm’s way to fight for what she believes in and to protect the people she loves and those in her care.

She has now been happily married for over seventeen years to her husband, who she met at university and fell in love with over a pizza, well a few cheeky Vimtos more like. You will often hear Lorraine reminisce of when she met her man, ‘As we drew closer, the figure became clearer, it was a young man, dressed to impress in a fitted luminous orange shirt and tight moleskin Levi jeans. Although he was on the slim side, he wasn’t as fit as I first thought. He wasn’t exactly muscular, but he wasn’t weedy-looking either … there was an air of hidden strength about him, a graceful strength that showed in his balance, the way he held himself, the way he walked.’

In 2004, I am sure you have guessed by now, we walked down the aisle and spoke our vows, in sickness and health, for richer, for poorer. Lorraine had the traditional favourites, the white dress, and the best clothes in the land. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. The wedding rings, titanium, nothing less. The wedding cake. The first dance. The bouquet toss.

After three glorious years as a newly married couple, our family grew. In 2007 along came a beautiful boy, Harry. A few years later he was joined by a younger brother, Jack. Both are full of life, captivating smiles and overflowing with laughter, just like their mum.

The past twenty years have gone in a blink of an eye, having got engaged, got married, had two children, moved home five times, and finally stayed in our current home for over ten years. Work has changed too. We both moved jobs and locations a few times. Life changed fast.

Lorraine is a modern wife and mum. She is so humble, and just gets on with the school runs, keeping fit, cleaning, cooking, and the all-round household duties to keep the house and family flying.

Lorraine does find time to relax and from time to time has done some binge watching. She will deny it – ask her and you’ll see. Today, we are blessed with a collection of streaming channels such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Now TV, and Disney+ but let’s come back to that later. Back when she was young, it was all about those Saturday afternoon prime time shows.

•Street Hawk . After being injured in the line of duty, Jesse Mach is recruited for a top-secret government mission to ride a combat motorbike designed to fight crime.

•The A Team . A team of ex-special forces soldiers are on the run from the military police (even though they didn’t really commit the crime for which they’d been imprisoned) and leave trails of devastation in their