My family is dead.
They were all I lived for.
All I fought for.
My PURPOSE.
I don't know how to continue living.
Who am I supposed to save now?
What's my mission?
Do I have one?
I need one.
But wait.
I do have one.
I have a mission!
Dillon gave me a mission to change the world!
He died so I could save people!
Not just my family!
Everyone!
I need to save everyone who is at a disadvantage.
No.
I need to make a world where nobody is like that!
And I know I can do that.
Dillon said I can.
And he's the wisest person I know.
I step out of my bed, wincing in pain, but I still stand.
Fritz looks up at me.
"What are you doing?"
I look down at him and smirk.
I smirk like Fritz would.
I smirk like Dillon would.
Because all I need is confidence.
And a little grit.
"I'm doing what I should do."
I walk out the door and down the stairs.
Then I open the front door and take in the sight of the village.
I see the world in a new light.
It's no longer a world that's against me.
It's a world that bleeds.
It's a world that begs for help.
And I'm going to give it that.
Everything hurts like hell.
My heart and my body.
But I'm the kind of person who gets through that pain.
I did it before, and I can do it again.
Nothing can bring me down.
I put one foot in front of the other, walking down the street.
I don't know where I'm going.
I'm just going forward.
Because forward is always the right way.
Fritz runs out into the street.
"Griffin? What are you doing?"
"Saving the world"
"You're scaring me! Did you hit your head too?"
I chuckle.
"No. I've just... opened my eyes."
I continue walking down the street, ignoring Fritz.
Even though I'm going to save him too.
I know where I'm going.
I'm going forward.
And I'll figure out where forward leads on the way.
I'm in so much pain.
This might be a trauma response.
I might be going crazy.
But sometimes it takes a crazy person to fix something.
Wait.
I… I don't feel good.
My stomach doesn't feel good.
Something is rising.
Blech!
I lose my lunch onto the road and fall over.
"Griffin!"
The last thing I hear is Fritz's screams before I pass out.
Why do I pass out so much?
***
I wake up to the same ceiling I saw before.
Now I have an even worse headache, and… well… you know the formula.
I must've had a mental breakdown…
all that "save this" and "save that"…
Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something…
Or maybe I'm just insane.
Either way, my parents are dead.
And I hate that.
First Dillon.
Then my family.
Why do all the people I love die?
Is this some sort of test?
If it is, who is testing me?
I need to stop thinking about this.
It's hurting my brain.
Though I don't know how it can get damaged any further.
I look to my left and see Fritz sitting in a chair next to me.
He looks guilty and anxious.
"Are you okay?"
I ask.
I'm obviously too caught up in my own feelings to care, but I want to make him feel heard.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine… I just…"
He pauses.
Then his eyes water.
"You had a breakdown or whatever because I told you about your family when you weren't ready… It's all my fault."
"No, it's not."
I feel slightly guilty for giving such a stupid answer, but it seems to make him feel a little better.
"Thanks… Just get better for me, promise?"
"Okay, I promise."
I guess I don't need one big mission or purpose.
Right now, getting better is my purpose, and I don't need to worry about anything else until then.
I let out a deep sigh and fall asleep.