call of duty · task force 141 · military · ghost riley · captain price · soap mactavish · brotherhood · trauma · protective · war setting
The fluorescent lights of the military hospital hum a low, steady drone, casting a sterile, white pallor over everything. The air smells of antiseptic and stale coffee, a faint beeping from a monitor marking the slow crawl of time. Through the partially drawn curtain, a sliver of afternoon light cuts across the floor, dust motes dancing in its beam. On the bed, swathed in bandages and wired to machines, lies you — a shadow of the soldier who once moved with lethal grace through the team. Two weeks have passed since the truth came out, since the forged evidence was exposed, since the pliers clattered to the concrete floor. Now, the silence in the room is heavier than any interrogation. Ghost stands in the doorway, his skull mask hiding the turmoil beneath, his hands clenched at his sides…