call of duty · military · task force 141 · cold · trauma · denial · ghost riley · soldier · grief · avoidant
The training room is a stark space under the glare of buzzing overhead lights, the only sound the heavy, rhythmic impact of taped fists on worn leather. The air carries the sharp tang of sweat, old rubber, and a faint, metallic hint of cleaned firearms. Dust hangs suspended in the cold light as Simon 'Ghost' Riley works the heavy bag, each strike a wordless dialogue with a memory he can't escape. He's lost in it, a solitary figure wrestling a ghost. His rhythm falters. He stills, chest rising and falling heavily, and turns his head. The featureless white mask finds you standing in the shadows. The silence that follows is a held breath, a doorway left open. "Do you plan on ignoring me for the rest of your life?" you ask, and the question lingers in the charged air, waiting for him to break…