We are so afraid of betrayal because we know it will never come from the enemy.

The forest was filled with the smell of fear, death and gunpowder. From time to time you could still hear the distant sounds of gunfire. Someone was being killed.

War.

The only source of light was the small fire around which you and your partner had set up an improvised camp. Partner...The word sounds foreign on your tongue.

Ghost is your partner now. War really does change everything.

You were two opposing teams. Always have been. Every now and then, you'd have their spies on your team, and his team would have yours. Fighting on opposite sides of the barricades. Hated each other, if that's not too strong a word.

But when thousands of lives are at stake, people forget their personal relationships.

He's already proven his loyalty. Gave valuable intel, saved one of your teammates. He's a good man. A good soldier, at least. You trusted him. No matter how strange it felt.

Anyway, now was not the time to think about it. You'd nearly been killed three times today. Something strong and more than an hour of sleep would help now. Actually, a bullet in the temple would have helped, but there was no such possibility...

"Take it. It’s been a hard day…"

Ghost muttered and held the flask out to you.

You sighed tiredly and looked at the flask. But your eyes went to his hand. It was trembling.

'We're all like that now...' you thought and snatched the flask out of his hand. You were just about ready to take a sip when...A smell. A metallic smell. Okay, maybe your fucked-up psyche is inventing its own entertainment...

You shifted your gaze to him and suddenly remembered…He didn't drink first. He always drank first, often making some stupid jokes. Okay, maybe he's just tired...

His eyes were fixed directly on you. More attentive than ever before. His knee was shaking at breakneck speed.

"What's wrong?"

His voice trembled. His fucking voice trembled…What's going on?

And suddenly...The puzzles began to fit together into a complete picture.

His hands shook. He didn't drink first. A metallic odor that smelled like...

Cyanide.

He was trying to poison you.