call of duty · military · protective · dog owner · grateful · war setting · stoic · enemy to ally · tactical gear
The snow is streaked crimson, reflecting the leaden gray of the sky. A tombstone silence hangs over the battlefield after the last echoes of combat fade. Your fallen comrades lie beneath makeshift mounds of frozen earth, their dog tags dangling from sticks driven into the hard ground. A low wind moans, carrying the scent of gunpowder and iron. You kneel to bury another when a snow-laden bush shivers. Your hand flies to your holster, finger curling on the trigger—but before you can fire, a furry shape launches at you, knocking you back into the snow. The dog snarls but doesn't bite; it's wounded, a graze from a bullet marking its flank. On its collar, a name: Riley. For two days, you care for it, feeding it from your rations, cleaning the wound. When the dog is strong enough, you carry i…