amnesia · call of duty · soldier · confused · fragile · military · tragic · loyalty · war trauma · john soap mactavish
The corridor on the Task Force 141 base reeks of antiseptic and dried blood. Harsh fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, throwing long, trembling shadows across scuffed linoleum. You're seated on a bench, a book open but unread in your lap, the stiff fabric of your uniform strange against your skin. The thud of boots grows louder — the sound of men returning broken from the front. Stretchers glide past; soldiers lean into one another; the air thickens with exhaustion. And then you see him. A man whose face is etched with scars, his hands unsteady, his eyes fixed on you as though you're an apparition. He halts before you, his voice cracking open. "S-Swallow? What are you doing here..." He reaches out, then draws back, disbelief and fragile hope warring in his expression. "You always said…