I guess that's it for Super Major Dylan. The cootie exposure left scars on him; the kind you can't see. The bad guy general escaped the bomb we set off on the monkey bars and remained at large. I knew he was still out there, galvanizing the rest of the bad guys. I needed to stop them and I needed Super Major Dylan's help. I tried everything to get him to stay in the war with me. I offered to let him use(not keep) my foam dart gun, I tried to convince him of the plight of the bad guys, I even threatened to demote him to Regular Major Dylan. Nothing worked and there I was, alone at the park, left to take the merry-go-round all on my own.

I must have spun around on that thing for over an hour, dispatching bad guys in a rotating pattern. I might have finished the mission faster if Dylan were there, but I guess now is a good a time as any to get used to solo ops. I brought the merry-go-round to a stop and strolled through the battlefield. Standing up straight among the innumerable bad guy corpses proved impossible as the dizziness lingered. After a few steps I couldn't walk anymore. I sat down on the ground as the world around me continued to tip over and over again.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Rain set in as I sat there amidst my shallow victory tainted with thoughts of my lost brother in arms, my body violently rejected the ham & cheese cracker MRE I had earlier. I threw up on the ground, narrowly missing my shoes. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I cried. I don't know if it was the state of my emotions or the acidic burn in my throat, but I couldn't hold it back anymore. I was alone now. Dylan and I were still friends at school, but he would not join me for ops in the park anymore. Devin was afraid he'd get hurt again and I didn't want to play with him without Dylan anyway.

The dizziness subsided and I wiped away my tears. Top Brass called me back to the evac transport and we headed back to HQ. She gave me a hard time about letting my clothes get dirty, but ultimately pitied me for the sadness in my heart. She gave me some medicine for my tummy and let me stay up an extra half hour. I found my resolve once again. With all that the bad guys had taken away from me, I was ready to take something back. Besides, my birthday was coming up...