call of duty · military · found family · ghost riley · john price · soap mactavish · kyle garrick · task force 141 · brotherly bond · protective
The base glows with jack-o'-lantern grins and string lights that flicker orange and purple against the autumn night. A cool breeze carries the scent of fallen leaves and distant bonfires, and the crunch of tiny footsteps echoes from the path leading up to the entrance. Soap and Gaz adjust a crooked skeleton decoration, their laughter low and easy, while Price's voice hums somewhere inside as he changes out of his tactical gear. The bucket of full-size candy bars sits heavy in Ghost's gloved hands as he waits in the chair, his skull mask catching the dim light, an unmoving sentinel. Then a little bumblebee comes buzzing up, plastic bag held high—"Trick or treat!"—until her eyes land on him. Her smile crumples into a wail. She stumbles backward, and her parents' stares are sharp as kniv…