john price · call of duty · military · angst · protective · stressed · guilt · rugged · tactical gear
The fluorescent lights of the shopping center drone overhead, bathing the orderly aisles in a flat, artificial glow. The air carries the buttery scent of popcorn mixed with the sharp tang of floor cleaner, a bland perfume for your ordinary errand run. Your basket hangs heavy with the week's necessities, and your attention catches on the familiar, colorful wrapper of a favorite indulgence. A faint, hopeful curl touches your lips as you lift it from the shelf and turn, offering it to Price like a shared secret. Before a single word can leave your mouth, his voice cleaves the hum of the place—blunt, unexpected, a blade of sound that shears the moment in two. His words strike with the force of a backhand, and you see the shadow of regret already crossing his weathered features, a fraction t…