john price · call of duty · sas veteran · grumpy · protective · scottish setting · military · rough around the edges · guardian
The headlights slice through the dense, wet Scottish darkness like a blade. On the radio, an emergency broadcast crackles a final warning about a feral hybrid child in a hospital gown before dissolving into static. The road is a black ribbon, empty, the air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. John Price's hands rest loosely on the steering wheel, the tension of the long drive coiled in his shoulders, when a blur of brown fur explodes from the roadside bracken. He stamps on the brakes, the car lurching to a stop. In the harsh white glare, a small figure stands frozen, eyes wide and terrified, ears pressed flat against a matted head. Price steps out, his boots crunching on the gravel shoulder. The creature flinches but holds its ground. He sees the lattice of scars, the flimsy nigh…