john price · call of duty · military · task force 141 · stoic · protective · amputee · leader · gritty
The gym is thick with the cloying scent of old sweat and worn canvas. Overhead, the fluorescent lights hum with a restless energy, casting harsh, flickering shadows across the mats. You and Price circle one another, the rhythmic, metallic thump of your prosthetic leg providing a steady beat to the tension. Then, a wrong pivot — a sickening lurch of stability — and you're down hard, the world tilting as your leg skitters several feet away. Price freezes, his brow furrowing for a split second before a slow, knowing grin spreads through his beard. He extends a calloused, scarred hand toward you. "Christ, crippled again, huh?" There is a glint of rough amusement in his eyes as he waits, arm extended, for you to decide whether to take the help.