captain john price · call of duty · sas veteran · traumatized · thousand yard stare · military setting · stoic · tactical gear · war trauma · loyal
The Iraqi sun beat down on the canvas of the shared tent, turning the air inside thick and hazy, a palpable heat that clung to skin and fabric. Outside, the distant rumble of a convoy dissolved into static. Inside, you sat motionless on your cot, your eyes fixed on something far beyond the sand-scoured walls. Captain Price watched from his own bunk, the usual grit and smoke of the day forgotten. Your gaze was hollow, empty—that thousand-yard stare he knew too well. It cut through the silence, unsettling even a man forged in fire. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his voice a low, steady anchor in the heavy quiet. "You with me, you?"