I walked down the dirt road, looking at the carnage and wreckage that was once my hometown. I stopped to rest on a broken down bench. I deserved to sit, I had been walking for the past week. I laid my head in my hands. How could war be this cruel? I took out the vodka that I had won. The chief had a contest. Whoever could shoot three bulls eye's with a machine gun got the booze. I had done it on the first try. I took a swig, and put it away. I didn't want to waste it all now, and pay for it later. I was on my way to find her.

The one who's memory was the only thing keeping me sane all these years.

She would be surprised at how much I had changed, but I hoped she would recognize the old me, just hiding in a shell. I sighed, and heaved myself to my feet, wincing and cursing when the old back injury reminded me to be careful. I set off walking. Not far now. Just another mile or so. I still remember when that dog had shot me in the back. I thought I was safe, back when I was young and naive. He came up behind me, and shot me four times right in the spine. I had grown bones the hard way, right after entering the war. I'll never regret it though. It gave me an edge in battle that no one had ever seen. But that day, my new spine was shattered. The doctors did their best, but nothing would ever be the same.

I started seeing things I remembered about town. I smiled when I thought of the good days of fry cooking, but it soon vanished. I wouldn't go back. I couldn't. I got into a steady jog. My feet ached, and my back was on fire, but I had to see her soon. The top of it was now in sight. I broke into a flat out run. I couldn't wait to see her again. I was excited that it wasn't covered in the grime that had settled all over the remnants of Bikini Bottom. There had to be someone there.

When I got to the door, I saw the familiar buzzer and double door contraption, keeping all water out. I dug up one of the old water helmets, and rang the buzzer. A wary voice sounded from the other end.

"Who is this?" My heart raced when I heard her voice. I cleared my throat.

"This is Spongebob. Remember, your old friend." I winced at how much my voice had changed.

"Spongebob?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's really me." I was nervous, and embarrassed that I couldn't find a shirt. Now she had clear view of my back. I didn't want to tell her anything about that just yet.

"Come on in! Lemme drain the water out for ya." She sounded pleased enough to hear it was me, but I could never be sure that this wasn't a trick. I felt the combat knife in my back pocket, always ready. What am I thinking? I stepped into the chamber. There was a droning buzz, and the water started to drain. I still remember the first time I had done this. Back when she was still the much stronger one, and she ended up saving me from saving her.

As soon as the water was drained, I opened the door. The light was slightly more bright in here. But that didn't bother me, because she was standing right in front of me, her mouth hanging open in shock. My face reddened. I knew that this would be awkward, but I had to see her.

"Hey, Sandy. Can I come in?" She just nodded, and snapped her mouth shut. It seemed to me that she was glued to the spot. I walked over to the picnic table, trying to keep my front to her the entire time. I still didn't want to tell that story to her, freak her out. She finally found the will to walk again. She sat down across from me, and I smiled, remembering all the times I had been over here, just like this, except not always coming back from 5 years of war. She found her voice.

"Spongebob, what- what happened to you?" I smiled a little more gruesomely.

"Five years of hard war is what happened." She hadn't known that I was in the war itself. She guessed I was on kitchen duty or something. She looked shocked.

"Oh my gosh! I thought you wouldn't have signed up!" I just smiled wider. I remember wanting to impress everyone by going in and surviving. And I did survive, although not unscathed. My face, neck, arms, legs, everywhere there were scars. Especially my back. I was thankful that she hadn't noticed yet. "Spongebob, are you really ok? You're acting really strange." I wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Sandy, I just don't know." She looked sympathetic, and stood up. She walked around to my side, and sat next to me. I put my bag on the ground next to me. I unfortunately uncovered the old scar on my back, and she gasped.

"Oh my god Spongebob! How did that happen?" I tried unsuccessfully to cover it back up. I frowned, and said

"It's a long story." I think she sensed that I didn't want to talk about it just yet, and she just said "Oh, ok." but still was staring at it. I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but was it really worth staring at? We had no mirrors in camp, so I had never seen it for myself.

She snapped back into reality. "Would you like some tea or cookies?" Always so polite. I smiled.

"Yes, please. It was a long walk." She got up, and walked over to the tree. When she went inside, I let out a sigh of relief. I had been worried that she would have pressed me, or not recognized me. She took much longer than she used to, but she had to be in shock. I waited as patiently as I could. It really had been a long walk, and I couldn't remember my last meal. I wonder if it showed much. I was guessing yes, because she came out with a little more than she used to. As soon as she sat down, I grabbed a cookie, and crunched down. It was sweet, buttery, and just warm enough to be pleasant.

She held one for herself, but she just kept looking at me. I still wonder what I look like now. I thought again about what the chief had said. You don't need to know what you look like in war. I had disagreed, but there was no complaining. Sandy kept staring at me. I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish I could go back in time, so I could squish that little son of a bitch.

"So, how's life been ever since I left? For you, and the rest of Bikini Bottom?" She sighed, and got a sad look on her face.

"The Krusty Krab went out of business, since there was no fry cook. The people started to riot, and everything went downhill from there. The people either left, or were destroyed in a branch of the war that came here. Apart from a few others, I'm the only one left."

I was stunned for a moment, but then I was angry. How dare he destroy the only things worth going back to, the only people that were worth seeing again? My anger must have shown on my face, because she looked a tiny bit scared. I took a deep breath, and changed the subject.

"So, what happened to Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Plankton, Larry, and Gary?" She looked even sadder.

"Spongebob, Mr. Krabs passed away, fighting in the war. Squidward is still at his house. Larry I have no idea, because he ran away screaming from the war. I'm so sorry about Patrick." I was confused. What had happened to Patrick? She must've seen the confusion on my face, but she quickly looked away.

"Spongebob, there were some rumors going around that you were dead. I almost started to believe them. That's why I was so surprised when you came here. I'm so sorry to be the one to break this to you, but... Patrick killed himself when he heard the news."

My head spun, and my confusion turned to anger and revulsion. My best friend went suicidal? Why would he do that? I got up, my hands shaking.

"Spongebob-" Sandy started.

"No, Sandy. I just need some time alone." I grabbed my bag, and quickly walked to the door, hiding my face. I didn't want her to see the horror there. I had learned to hide my emotions for everyone's sake. once I was out the door, I started running. I didn't know why or where I was going. I soon realized that I didn't care.