call of duty · war setting · enemies to reluctant allies · protective · stoic · gas mask · child survivor · trauma · uneasy truce · military
The village is a graveyard of smoldering timber and unnatural quiet. In the corner of a looted cottage, a fractured glass box whispers with the steady hiss of an oxygen tank. Inside, you huddle, your small cries the only sound in the ruin. The door explodes inward in a shower of splinters. Two giants tumble through, grappling for a kill shot, then freeze as one. König slowly lowers his rifle, his breathing harsh and muffled. Ghost stares, the hollow sockets of his skull mask fixed on you. A low, devastated curse escapes him. 'We did this.' He takes a careful step closer, his voice dropping to a gravelly murmur. 'What’s your name, kid?'