Flashbacks
Martin Guiterrez

The Northwestern Perimeter was in chaos. Though the bug horde had been driven away and the Arachnid tunnels were gassed until every bug in Orlando was dead, chaos still existed.

The Sabers arrived too late to help, but Wallace's Wildcats had defeated the bug horde almost singlehandedly.

Sergeant Leonard Barton's face bore a expression of great worry. He barged into what had once been one of the downtown skyscrapers that was now a Field Hospital. DiStefano immediately went to help the wounded.

He saw an MI sergeant sitting beside a bed, holding the comatose occupant's hand. Barton walked closer and to his everlasting horror he saw Melissa lying in a coma on a bed. "She's stable," said DiStefano, "But bleeding internally. I'll have to operate."

He recognized the MI sergeant as Melissa's significant other, Alan Reinmann. Barton's face was paler than the white plaster wall he was leaning against.

His mind, however, was not in that hospital where DiStefano was about to perform a surgery, but it was back four years, the year 2077, the year he was a sophomore in high school. The flashback played itself through it's head in the following events.

"C'mon Lenny," said his friend, Lars Randolph, "Go to the dance. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Alright Lars," said Barton, "I'll go."

"Yes!" Lars said, "I have a ride."

Barton was already sixteen, meaning he could drive already. He saw Melissa there, but she didn't pay any attention to him. She was focusing on the blond haired, fairly muscled football star, Alan Reinmann. When they slow danced it was all he could take.

He stormed out of the gym, shoving a startled freshman out of the way. Lars followed him. "Leonard," said Lars, "I know you like her, but she likes Alan, it's time to move on."

"F$%k you!" Leonard exploded, "Leave me alone!"

"Leonard, there are plenty of other fish in the sea, like Lyse Johansen..." said Lars. A blow from Leonard's fist landed, like he was grateful to have a physical enemy to attack.

Barton was brought back into the present by DiStefano saying, "I've stopped the bleeding, we can't do anything but wait now."

Lars had gone into the service, the MI to be exact, while Barton had begun his first and only year at the University of Florida before he curtailed his education to help out in the war effort. Lars had been killed on Pluto just after Barton had finished Basic.

DiStefano put a reassuring hand on Reinmann's shoulder and the two men walked off, leaving Leonard alone. He walked to Melissa's side. She was still comatose, the only sound he could hear from her was the beeping of the electrocardiogram attached to her chest.

"Melissa," Leonard began, "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't there when this happened. I wish there was some way I could go back and stop the attack, even if I had to die if it meant you would be alive and uninjured. I wish I could know what I did wrong, what I did to deserve the cold shoulder from you for all this time so I could apologize for it."

Barton was brought into another flashback, this one taking place during an earlier part of the same year, when he was running cross country with the school team, along with Lars and Melissa.

The Jacksonville Invitational didn't go so well for the team. They finished last place in that meet. Leonard went over to comfort Melissa, for she hadn't done as well as she'd hoped. "Go away Leonard!" she shouted at him.

Barton walked away, hurt. His part in the race was about to start. "Hey, Leonard. Melissa's just mad that she didn't do well, it's no big deal."

Barton exploded on Lars and said, "F$%k you! Get the hell out of my face!"

"Hey, Leonard, calm down!" said Lars, backing away.

The starting gun sounded, and Barton, drained by his depression, collapsed halfway through the race. He remembered waking up in the hospital. From that moment on, communication with Melissa was a difficult and tentative activity.

Back in the present, Barton saw Reinmann walk back into the room just as Melissa's eyelids fluttered open. Alan was overjoyed that a tear escaped his eye. The two embraced and Barton felt his heart crack like a china plate against a concrete wall. "My hero." Melissa said.

Reinmann had saved Melissa's life when the Imposter Bug had stabbed her in the abdomen. He ran, through a volley of plasma fire, with her in his arms, to safety. Melissa had been barely conscious that time, but she recognized her rescuer.

Barton stormed out of the makeshift hospital room and into the corridor. "Leonard." Melissa called after him, but he didn't hear her.

"I'll talk to him." said Reinmann.

"That's not a smart idea, I don't think." said DiStefano, "Considering the emotional state he's in."

"I can handle it." said Reinmann.

Barton saw Reinmann jogging to catch up, "Barton, chill, let's have a..."

A savage blow from Barton's fist landed, and Reinmann pitched into the wall, stunned. Barton stalked off.

"I told you so." DiStefano said, when he saw Alan Reinmann walk in with a black and blue circle over his right eye.

DiStefano walked to the roof, joined by Jenkins, Rico and Flores, who had seen Barton storming off. They saw Barton standing at the edge of the roof, looking out over his ruined hometown and heard him shout, "Almighty God! Enough! Enough!"

"Leonard," said Flores, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Barton replied, recoiling.

"Yelling, 'Almighty God! Enough! Enough!' loud enough to wake the dead doesn't constitute nothing." said DiStefano.

"This obviously had a great emotional impact on you." said Jenkins.

"Okay Nostradomus, what does your crystal ball say now!" Barton said. He was obviously hurt because he was snapping at four of his closest friends in the Mobile Infantry.

"What the hell," Barton said, "She hates me anyway!"

"She doesn't hate you!" said Flores, "That's ridiculous."

"She did sound worried about you when she called after you." Rico said.

"Explain the fact that she rarely to never wrote me while I was burning my butt off on Tophet, or nearly getting skewered on Tesca Nemerosa, or dodging death on Klendathu." Barton replied.

"I talked to her." said DiStefano, "She said she was trying to show that she did care, but she didn't want to lead you on."

"Leonard," said Flores, "Don't worry, there are other fish in the sea."

When Barton calmed, his friends left him to deal with his pain and his flashbacks from a troubled past.