He took the elbow. It hurt, but his grip remained. A vivid image of a kid younger than Peter, nine or so, flashed into his eyes. He didn't want to go on another hike carrying literally 100lbs of weight for the third time that day because he unit had been the slowest. He had whined and stopped his feet and threw the bag on the ground at the commanding officer's feet in front of the rest of the boys, Alec included. The officer shot the kid in the foot saying now he had a real reason not to hike, but told him he needed to find his way back to the barracks on his own - a 15 mile hike on its own. No one had been allowed to help and they all had to divide the weight of the extra pack among themselves and continue their training.

"Why are you so angry?" He didn't let go, like a solid tree rooted in the ground.