Description

Panel One: Doc, Cal and Blanche in the front of the cart. Cal is now wearing his new protective gear, including a hat and white gloves. Blanche is driving. Doc asks Cal, "Can you breathe okay?" and he nods. Blanche leans over and asks, "About that, any idea why were you coughing up blood?"

Panel Two: Cal puts his hand on his chest and looks down. The background is black, with wisps of smoke as he answers, "I'm not sure, but I do have a condition." Doc, off-panel, "A breathing condition?" "Yeah. When I was little, I walked into the fumigation shed and breathed in a bunch of sulphur fumes. I almost died, but my grandpa saved me."

Panel Three: Doc asks Cal, "Do you get winded easily?" "Yeah, if I exert myself too much I get dizzy."

Panel Four: Doc continues questioning Cal. "So what did you do for an apprenticeship? Or did you tend to the shop?" "I didn't want to run the shop, so I tried a lot of different things."

Panel Five: Cal looks sad. "Nothing worked out. I either couldn't physically do the work, or I just hated it."

Author Note

And here we learn a really important thing about Cal - He can't breathe well. I wanted to put this in because I know people (including kids) who have survived having COVID-19, but came away with (sometimes permanently) diminished lung capacity. Granted, Cal's is from an accident when he was like, five years old, but the effects of sulphur damage on the lungs can be quite similar. I didn't want to just give him COVID-19 because, well - That might hit a bit too close to home for some people, and honestly, it's 200 years in the future. If it's still around, it's probably WAY worse!

But why sulphur fumes? Well, in case I don't get to draw it (maybe this'll be a bonus comic later, or it'll appear in the regular comic, IDK) here's the story:

Due to a mite infestation, many townsfolk needed their blankets fumigated. Some of the people volunteered for the task, including Cal's dad. Tiny Cal wanted to help his dad, because he's got a near-fatal case of helium hand, as we are about to see. Of course, Smol Cal is not allowed to help fumigate the blankets because HOLY CRAP that's dangerous, and besides, he's TINY. Like, he's barely over five feet on this page. Cal is not and has never been a big guy.

Little Cal is not happy about this, but his small child brain thinks, "Oh, I know! I can help my dad and his friends by bringing them drinks!" So, he gets a pitcher of water and some cups and takes his little wagon to the fumigation shed. Burning sulphur is pretty easy to find, so he gets there with no trouble. Of course, he doesn't know anything about the process, and doesn't realize that no one is actually inside of the shed. He opens the door and goes into the smoke, and is soon overcome by the fumes.

Lucky for Cal, someone notices the sudden plume of acrid yellow smoke from the shed, and drags him out. His grandpa, Dr. Mackenzie, rushes to the shed and revives him, but the damage is done. Cal can't run and play as hard as he used to, but otherwise, he's in good health. Of course, that means he and his family are extra-vigilant about diseases, because a chest cold can knock him flat, so you can imagine what that would do to his lifestyle.

And there ya go! Some backstory that may or may not happen in the comic, we'll see.

Stay Safe,
- Bran