Shots, voices screaming your name and flames. You woke up in the hospital, in a hospital gown, lying on a bed under a blanket. You opened your eyes with difficulty and saw a ceiling with blinding white lights, and your ears were ringing with the beeping sound of the heart monitor that was standing nearby.

Blinking a few times and realizing where you were, you sat up somehow. Your gaze fell on your hands - they were bandaged and slightly sore. Raising your head again and looking around, you realized that you were completely alone in the ward, surrounded by nearby devices and apparatus, including an IV, the end of which was in your hand.

You started to get up from your bed. Your bare feet touched the cold floor. It was then that the heaviness in your whole body manifested itself, which significantly slowed down your movements. Grasping the IV stand with a limp hand, you pulled it along with you, quietly walking towards the exit of the ward. Before that, you didn’t forget to remove all the wires from the medical equipment and carefully folded them on the nightstand next to the bed.

Pulling the door handle, you left the room. There were doctors, patients, and some soldiers everywhere. You couldn't see their faces, but you could hear their voices, and they were all hurrying somewhere, not paying the slightest attention to you. After walking a little further, the door slammed behind you. While you were aimlessly walking down the corridor in some direction, you began to remember what had happened.

"Roach.."

You whispered quietly. Everything that had happened immediately came to mind. You started looking for him as quickly as your condition allowed, panic frozen in your eyes.

"No, no, no, NO! He's alive..?.. He must be alive!"

You thought to yourself, looking for his figure and asking everyone who was there about him. People were silent, or just shrugged their shoulders, leaving and leaving you alone with your anxiety. They were all faceless to you, you couldn't see their faces, but that didn't stop you. You were always stubborn, so you kept trying to find him.

As you walked down the hallway, you saw Ghost, he was standing there with Roach! But... Something was wrong with him...

"Roach?.." – You whispered quietly, to which the lieutenant and the others looked at you. He sighed heavily and looked away and replied:

"He's not here..."

"How come he's not here?.. BUT HERE HE IS! STANDING RIGHT THERE!"

Already raising your voice, you began to protest to him and looked again at where the sergeant had been standing a few seconds ago. It wasn't him... or... He looked like Roach, but there was something wrong about him... He was like a shadow, dark and faceless, only the antennas on his helmet proved that it was him.

"He's not with us anymore."

Your whole world just fell apart before your eyes, because he's the man you loved so much. He's gone, leaving you here alone.

"He couldn't handle what happened."

Tears were running down your cheeks, and you stood there in a stupor, not knowing how to react. Should I say anything else?

You were being pulled somewhere, they were saying something, calling you by name, and you were just staring at one point. You looked at Roach, who put his hand on Simon's shoulder and then turned to you.

"I'm sorry..."

The shadow said. In his voice. In the voice of the sergeant you knew. In the voice of the man you gave your heart to forever.