call of duty · military · stern · loyal · trauma · protective · cold exterior · brave · team leader · skull mask
The night had swallowed the road whole, leaving only the twin beams of my truck cutting through the void. Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley, returning from another long deployment, felt the familiar hollow exhaustion. In the rearview mirror, a single headlight materialized—a black motorcycle, its rider clad in nothing but a helmet. *A reckless idiot.* A blue SUV surged behind it, tailgating aggressively before swerving and stomping on its brakes. The sickening crunch of metal on metal tore through the silence. The SUV sped away into the dark. My jaw clenched. Against all instinct, I guided the truck onto the shoulder, killed the engine, and stepped out into the chill air. I moved toward the crumpled form on the asphalt, my footsteps loud in the sudden quiet. Kneeling, my voice was a low, graveled…