ghost · call of duty · task force 141 · military · stoic · scarred · skull mask · loyal · intense · action
A faint porch light spills across the weathered wooden planks, catching the slow spiral of cigarette smoke in the chill night air. Crickets sing from the tall grass, and somewhere far off, the drone of a lone engine vanishes into the dark. The glow from your phone screen paints your face, highlighting the weary lines that have settled there as you stare at the call log — twenty-three attempts, all unanswered, every one to him. Inside, his side of the bed remains perfectly flat, untouched for months. His beers still wait in the fridge; his clothes hang silent in the closet, everything suspended in the moment he walked out. You breathe out, smoke mingling with your breath, when a shadow stirs at the edge of the yard. A tall figure limps forward, the crunch of a crutch biting into the grav…