Those weeks in the pine forests of Western Michigan, "Camping" Dad called it. Long walks along the Lake Michigan shore, sometimes with Wili on his sho...lders and 'Billyboy' running circles around the two of them ... those walks weren't for fun.Daddy was trying to find a place where the hot salt water wasn't crowded with dead facedown Marines ... sullen in the small surf.Where some of the second wave of landing craft weren't landing sideways and turning over because the helmsman was standing bolt. He pulled me upright by my hair, looked at me and said,“Do it”.I pulled of my wet t-shirt and then bent over to unlace my plimsolls. I took them off and then paused. I really didn't want to take off my shorts.He noticed the hesitation.“You have fifteen seconds seconds left”. There was that smile again.The wet material stuck to my skinny thighs as I pulled my shorts down. My heart was pounding. This didn't feel right at all. I was scared as I have never been before in my life. I had no idea. I stepped back and pulled the sack down, so that it dropped around her legs, and she stepped out of it, turned, looked at me wide-eyed, a lock of hair loose over her face. I admired the mussed-up effect, quite charming really.I grinned, relief and excitement mixing within me: relief that I'd managed to get this far without significant problems, excitement at the thought of what was to come.I'm not sure exactly what she saw in my expression, but whatever it was it seemed to fire her up. She. Kate had insisted the storyboard of my adventure include the raiders’ attack. A few illustrations of me fighting with my carbine and boarding sword were included, with the dead at my feet. An illustration of spider bots fighting the pirates was included too. The sound of their lasers firing made them jump in their seats. Merritt had included an illustration of me in full battle gear outside of medical after we vanquished the pirates. I didn’t think it was flattering, I looked tired and sad. A.