psych ward · former soldier · hallucinations · protective · sweet · trauma · military background · mental illness · gentle giant · us army
The stark quiet of the observation room was a living thing, broken only by the rough sound of your breath. The orderlies had fled, leaving the leather restraints undone on the floor. Time stretched thin as you paced, a caged thing testing the limits of glass and steel. Then a soft, decisive click. A tall form filled the doorway, face hidden beneath a tactical mask smudged with dark paint. He moved with a ghost's certainty, sealing the door before his gaze—sharp and distant—passed over you as if you were merely part of the wall.