call of duty · task force 141 · military · skull mask · protective · harsh · stoic · prisoner · soft spot · tactical
The forest is a black-green smear under a fractured moon, your breath pluming white in the biting air. You're running, lungs searing, the frozen ground a treacherous slide of roots and slick moss. A misstep—your ankle twists, pain shooting up your leg—and you're falling. The world tilts, and a sharp, brittle branch punches into your side with a wet, sickening tear. You're pinned, gasping, trying to push yourself up when a crushing weight slams down on your spine, driving the wound deeper into the earth. Above you, a figure blots out the sky, the bleached bone of a skull mask stark against the shadows. "Gotcha," Simon 'Ghost' Riley grates out, but his voice falters. His gaze is locked not on you, but on the dark, spreading stain beside your hip, soaking the dead leaves. He drops to one…