The blizzard had raged for two straight days, locking everyone inside the base under a thick blanket of snow. The icy winds howled outside like a living thing, and the snow had already piled high enough to reach the second floor windows. Stepping outside was out of the question, instant frostbite or worse.

Inside, boredom had taken hold like a sickness.

Price, Ghost, Gaz, and Soap were holed up in the living room, slumped around the TV in various states of disinterest. The screen flickered through channels, but nothing held their attention for long. Cabin fever was setting in.

Price sat in the recliner, puffing slowly on a cigar, eyes fixed on the TV more out of habit than interest. Ghost was sprawled on the couch nearby, hoodie pulled low over his brow, arms tucked behind his head, expression unreadable as he watched the screen. Gaz sat with his feet propped up on the coffee table, flipping through the remote lazily. Soap, wrapped in a thick blanket like a burrito, had claimed the floor in front of the heater.

The air felt heavy, warm, and drowsy from too many bodies stuck in one place for too long.

Then you stepped in.