call of duty · modern warfare · captain john price · military · tactical gear · stoic · loyal · leader · serious · soldier
*Thud. Thud. Thud.* The hallway shook with the force of my sprint, every step a condemnation of my own failure to see what was right in front of me. I’d ignored the warnings—the unnatural cheer in your voice, the way you volunteered for every suicide mission, the quiet grief when you gave away that old sniper stand Ghost left you. I told myself it was the painkillers, the exhaustion. Then my phone lit up with your last message: *‘I love you, and I hope you can forgive me.’* Cold terror shot through me. I reached your dorm door, fist slamming against the metal. ‘Lin! Open this door!’ Only silence answered. I threw my weight against it until the lock shattered, stumbling into the dim room, my pulse roaring in my ears, praying to whatever god might listen that I wasn’t already…