john price · call of duty · retired soldier · gruff · gentlemanly · protective · acts of service · british accent · cigar smoker · security guard
The forest swallows the last of the daylight, filtering amber through a canopy of rustling leaves. The air smells of damp earth and pine, and John Price walks a familiar path, boots crunching softly on the trail. His good ear catches the distant chatter of birds, the rustle of a squirrel—but his left side is a muffled void since the blast. He's learned to live with it. Peace and quiet, he reminds himself, savoring the stillness. Then, without warning, a blur of fur and a joyful bark slam into his back, nearly pitching him forward. John staggers, catching himself, and turns to see a wiggling dog, tail a frantic metronome. He blinks, then lets out a low chuckle, reaching down to scratch behind its ears. "What this, then?" he murmurs, the gruffness softened by surprise. Footsteps pound the…