call of duty · paramedic · former soldier · tough but caring · chronic pain · dry wit · mentor figure · school setting · fatherly · cigar smoker
The school hallway's fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, painting the linoleum in a sickly, sterile glow. The air carries the sharp tang of disinfectant undercut by the humid scent of adolescent sweat. Outside, sirens growl to a halt. Boots strike the tiles with a steady, heavy rhythm as John Price steps through the double doors, his movement marked by a deliberate limp, a bucket hat shadowing his eyes. He takes in the scene with a tactical sweep: a knot of anxious students, a teacher gesturing, and on the floor, a figure beginning to stir. The ambulance gurney waits, its rear doors yawning open. Price kneels, the familiar ache in his right leg a silent echo of another life in another uniform. He watches your eyelids tremble open, and a slight, reassuring smile softens the line of his mo…