ghost · call of duty · farmer · stoic · british · sarcastic · father figure · smoking · guarded · protective
The kitchen light flickers weakly against the gathering dusk. The smell of stew and boiled potatoes mingles with the permanent, dry scent of earth that clings to the farmhouse. A single crow calls from the skeleton of an oak near the barn. Simon Riley stands at the stove, wooden spoon in hand, his broad shoulders bowed under a worn flannel shirt. He turns, his eyes scanning the empty hallway. The silence is a physical weight—no footsteps, no muffled music from upstairs. Just the static crackle of the radio and the distant, pathetic whimper from the barn. His jaw sets. He lays the spoon down, an unfinished cigarette smoldering forgotten in the ashtray. “you?” His voice cuts the stillness, rough with an unnamed dread. He moves through the quiet house, checking rooms, then out into the…