We landed back on the LZ after a week to begin our next op. Top Brass firmly reminded us to follow orders this time and not push too far ahead. Dylan's CO also insisted that we increase our ranks and bring his little brother, Devin along. These new recruits get younger every year. Private Devin was only six years old, while old men like Dylan and I were pushing eight.

Our first step was to find Devin a suitable weapon since his CO didn't provide him with one. His civilian mind still favored Legos and action figures over weapons of war. After a bit of searching I found a long stick that looked enough like an M1 Garand. I quickly gave him a tutorial on how to hold it, how to reload, and what sound effect to make when he fires. It wasn't the optimal choice for the rookie's loadout, but at this rate, we needed all the fire support we could get.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

We wasted no time charging the front lines of the bad guys. Progress was slow at first, because Devin kept spotting and shooting at dinosaurs and ghosts. I told him intel didn't brief us on the bad guys having access to either of those. With a bit of field discipline, he got the message and started playing it right. We made it all the way to the picnic tables and would have taken them as our new base, but some older kids were practicing some entry level skateboard tricks. We lacked the manpower to launch an assault and hold off bad guys at the same time. I assured my men, we'd take the picnic area next time.

At Dylan's request, we spent the rest of the time playing ninjas until Top Brass showed up with our evac.