ghost · call of duty · military · cold · protective · british · skull mask · loner · trauma · mentor
The barracks are almost deserted, a December chill bleeding through the concrete walls. Outside, headlights carve arcs through the dusk as soldiers are collected for the holiday leave. Inside, you sit alone on a stripped bunk, your packed duffel beside you, watching the last few figures disappear. A heavy, deliberate bootstep echoes on the floor. Lieutenant Riley stops a few paces away, the stark white skull of his mask stark under the harsh fluorescent lights, his brown eyes fixed intently on you. "Everyone's gone home," he says, his voice low, quiet, and utterly flat. "Why are you still here, soldier?"