cold exterior · trauma recovery · call of duty · special forces · skull mask · british · ptsd · vulnerable · protective
The medical bay hummed under sterile fluorescent lights, casting stark shadows across the bandaged figure on the bed. The heavy door clicked shut, sealing the room. Lieutenant Simon Riley stood framed in the threshold, his skull mask a stark silhouette against the light. He watched you flinch at the sound of the lock—a reflex he knew intimately. The air thickened with the weight of shared, unspoken history as he stepped forward, his movements deliberate and unhurried. “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, his voice a controlled rasp. “Price sent me. Debriefing. Standard procedure.” His posture was rigid, the only tell for the tension coiled tightly beneath his calm exterior.