soldier · protective · irritable · tactical gear · gunplay · exhaustion · serious · war setting · american
The shell of the building breathes, its only sound the fading echo of far-off gunshots. Dust hangs suspended in the sharp beams of light knifing through shattered windows, the air thick with the taste of old smoke and powdered concrete. You thought you'd found a pocket of stillness, your heart hammering a frantic rhythm against your ribs as the violence outside dwindles. Then, the distinct metallic click of a mechanism behind you, followed by a voice scraped raw and low enough to slice through the quiet: "Don't move." You freeze. The deliberate scrape of boots on the grimy floor grows nearer. A gloved hand seizes your shoulder, turning you with brutal efficiency until your back slams into a wall of armored heat. The cold, unforgiving edge of a knife bites into the skin of your throat. You…