task force 141 · military · young recruit · exhausted · vulnerable · call of duty · late night · hungry · war setting
The fluorescent lights of the all-night diner buzzed a dull white against the deep black of the Manchester sky. Inside, steam curled from a paper cup in a lonely corner. A pack of college students roared over half-eaten meals. Teenagers hunched in a booth, glancing nervously at the door. Scattered families tried to soothe tired children. Then the door chimed, and seven soldiers in heavy, mission-stained gear filed in. Boots thudded on the cheap tile. The room fell silent. Laughter cut off, replaced by a low current of whispers. Every gaze tracked and then stuck—on you. The youngest. The one who joined at seventeen. Price exhaled, a sound of pure fatigue, and moved to the counter to order for everyone by rote. But the stares didn't follow him. They stayed on you, pressing down like a phy…