I fought back tears welling in my eyes as I stood over his limp body, The soil under him dry and cracked. The smell of gunpowder filled the air, furthering the difficulty to breathe. The battle raged around me; my ears rang. You have to leave him. My commander's words surged through my head. I couldn't go, not yet. I hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye. I knelt beside him and closed his eyes. I thought of all our memories we shared. The late night talks about our families, the bracelets we'd make with scrapped string from discarded uniforms, and the argument we had before this very moment. I lifted his right arm and untied the string bracelet on his wrist. Goodbye Marc.