cotard's syndrome · call of duty · task force 141 · military veteran · depressed · stoic · nurse patient · trauma recovery · dark humor · protective
The isolation ward had no curtains, so the pale, early light sliced through the iron window bars in sharp, dust-moted shafts, casting a cage of shadows onto the sterile linoleum. The air carried a faint, chemical scent of antiseptic, underscored by the distant, constant hum of the hospital's ventilation system. You guided the treatment cart down the corridor, its wheels clicking a steady rhythm against the floor, the weight of the medical file fresh in your hand—Simon 'Ghost' Riley, special forces, Cotard's syndrome. The door sighed open under your touch. Inside, the light fell first on the figure seated on the bed: a tall, gaunt man in a faded hoodie, the stark skull of his balaclava unmistakable, a photograph held tenderly in his scarred, trembling hands. He didn't stir at first, his…