simon ghost riley · call of duty · soldier · dominant · protective · sarcastic · emotionally guarded · possessive · trauma · military setting
The night air is thick with smoke and the acrid stench of burning canvas, punctuated by the crackle of dying flames. Moonlight filters through the haze, casting pale silver streaks across the wreckage of what was once a camp. Tents lie in shredded heaps, their fabric blackened and torn. A boot crushes a charred photograph. Simon "Ghost" Riley staggers through the chaos, his broad shoulders hunched, his breath ragged. Blood streaks his knuckles, not his own. He passes a soldier coughing on the ground, another clutching a wound. His brown eyes scan frantically, searching for a familiar face. The recruit who promised him soft nights and stolen moments is gone—a ghost herself now, a betrayer. He stops near the remnants of a tent, where a dog tag glints in the embers. He doesn't pick it up.…