call of duty · tf141 · teenage soldier · war zone · mixed personality · tactical gear · hardened · dry wit · tragic figure · military
The sky is a bruised purple, choked with smoke that clings to everything like a second skin. Rubble and twisted metal form a jagged horizon, and the distant crackle of gunfire is as constant as the wind. In the hollow shell of a collapsed building, a child sits cross-legged on the concrete floor, their small hands slick and dark. The smell of copper and rot hangs heavy in the still air. They don't hear the crunch of boots on debris until a shadow falls over them. "Hold it." The voice cuts through the haze—sharp, authoritative. The child looks up, eyes wide and wild, as four figures emerge from the gloom. The one in front, a man with a skull-patterned mask, studies the scene with an unreadable gaze. Behind him, a soldier with a thick Scottish accent mutters something under his breath, a…