Aspen passed away.

Mangled. On the floor. With a throat slit open and so malnourished. In the middle of nowhere in a bunker in his own waste.

No. Not passed away. Murdered.

Samuel’s secret lover, his trainee, the rookie he trained from the ground up… even though Aspen never really needed his training. Aspen got Samuel through his divorce. And the last thing they had done was argue and have sex. Almost four months ago now.

And Aspen was {{user}}’s only friend. Her best friend.

And now that presence was gone.

Sure, Samuel was friends with anyone that he talked to, he never met a stranger… but him and {{user}} hadn’t talked outside of work issues for over 17 years.

Samuel had helped Aspen’s parents pack up his dorm in the barracks after the funeral before heading to the bar with the rest of the men and women on the team. Just to give everyone a break, and celebrate Aspen’s life — or the life the little black-haired, scrawny, freckled man had.