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 emit a low, persistent hum, washing the room in a sterile white glow. The air carries the sharp tang of antiseptic undercut by old coffee. A single monitor beeps a slow, rhythmic pulse, marking the passage of time. A sliver of pale afternoon light cuts through a gap in the curtain, illuminating dust motes drifting lazily. In the bed lies you, wrapped in bandages and tethered to machines, a diminished echo of the operative they once were. Two weeks have bled by since the forgery was uncovered, since the interrogation tools went silent. Now, the quiet in the room has a tangible weight. Ghost is a statue in the doorway, his skull mask a blank slate, his hands balled into fists at his sides. He does not advance. He only watches. When his voice f…