The Cost of Duty

It was a cloudy day. Young Kenrick Kemp clung to his father’s leg. "Daddy, where are you going?" he asked. "To work. I’m going to help your grandfather," Reginald Kemp replied, ruffling Kenrick’s hair before setting him down on a chair. Kenrick stood up, meeting his father eye to eye. At just eight, he sensed the danger. He had a knack for eavesdropping.

"Son, I know you know what I know, but I won’t call you out for it," Reginald said with a weary smile. "Promise me something, Ken. We are pawns in a coming war. It might not happen, but we have to be ready. Will you be ready? You are special, even more than your grandpa and I."

"But will you be hurt, Daddy?" Kenrick’s eyes filled with tears. Reginald hugged him. "If I am, know it’s for the greater good, a future of peace between worlds. One day it might be your turn, but I hope it won’t be."

"Why must there be a war, Daddy?" Kenrick sobbed, pounding his father’s chest. "Why can’t you quit? I’ll sell lemonade, baked goodies—I’ll earn money. Why should you sacrifice yourself and leave me? Why not have a normal job?"

Reginald held him tighter. "Because this is for the greater good, Ken. For a world where you’ll grow up safe."

Unbeknownst to them, they would be walking into the arms of death. Inside the laboratory, a man in a lab coat concealed bombs. He had wired the place, knowing the "anti-terrorist" projects, including himself, were all infected by Gene R. As he watched the scientists work, he whispered, "This is an abomination," and detonated the explosives.

Kenrick grew up and resolved to honor his father's memory with every step he took toward a future free from the shadows of war.