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Wordy had never felt such disgust, especially towards himself. And the guilt. It threatened to overwhelm him. Spike was one of his best friends and he had coldly decided to leave him behind on the obstacle course. With Spike's pained cry of "Wordy!" echoing in his ears, he'd jumped down the other side of the wall. He could hear the scrabbling of Spike's boots against the wall as he tried to regain his footing. A second later, the enormity of his decision hit him, threatening to bring him to his knees. What was he thinking? A few hours ago, he would have never considered leaving his friend behind. The interview with Toth had left him so shaken that he'd retreated into self-preservation.
The sight of his friend's face filled Wordy's mind, pulled from the last glance he'd taken before dropping out of sight. A shout of frustration reached his ears and he hurled himself back up the wall, stretching his arm down to his struggling friend. The sight of the blood smeared across Spike's hand brought Wordy's heart to a stuttering stop. His friend was injured and he had still decided to leave him behind. Thoroughly ashamed, he completed the course, still finishing several seconds ahead of Spike.
Panting at the end of the obstacle course, he turned to his friend, not sure what to say. The argument that sprung up was more vicious than either of them could have predicted. When it was over, Wordy stared after his retreating teammate, confused, defiant and angry. This day had turned out so much worse than anyone could have predicted, but Wordy knew that one of the memories that would stick with him the longest would be the hurt expression on Spike's face when he was left behind.