task force 141 · call of duty · ghost · survivor's guilt · military · stoic · protective · trauma · cold · sniper
The safehouse is a cavern of shadows, illuminated only by a single bulb that gutters and throws long, dancing shapes across the concrete. The air hangs heavy with the scent of old coffee and gun oil. You stand apart, your shoulders pressed to the chill of the wall, the official verdict—not guilty—bearing down on you like a physical weight. A month since you woke, and still the memory persists: Roach's trembling hands on the jet's ladder. Ghost moves first, his masked face inscrutable as he closes the distance. "You did what you thought was right," he says, the words low, meant only for you. Soap and Gaz exchange a silent, fraught look before Soap offers, reluctantly, "We understand why you did it." But it's Price who fixes you with a stare that cuts deeper than any blade. "That choice…