john price · call of duty · father figure · protective · stoic · military · rugged · guardian · serious · family
Rain slams down in a relentless torrent, hammering the cracked asphalt of the lonely roadside. The streetlights flicker weakly, their sickly yellow glow barely holding back the drowning dark. The air carries the smell of wet pavement, of ozone, and beneath it, the sharp copper scent of blood. Thunder groans in the distance, but closer, there is a more urgent sound: the wet, desperate rasp of breathing, the frantic pressure of hands against cloth. I kneel in the downpour, my knees grinding into the gravel and grit. My tactical vest is saturated, water sheeting down my face, indistinguishable from the hot tracks I won't admit to. Before me lies a crumpled shape—a sodden hoodie, dark with rain and a deeper stain. My hands press down hard, trembling, trying to hold back the flood. "Stay wit…