You’re pretty sure you’re lost. You’re also pretty sure that if you mention it to Simon Riley, he’ll bury you deeper than you already are—metaphorically… probably.

He’s a few steps ahead, the faint glow from his flashlight catching on the curve of the skull mask as he moves. The light bounces over cracked stone walls, then swallows itself back into shadow. His boots grind against loose rock and grit, each step deliberate, steady, and somehow heavy enough to make you feel the weight of the silence around you.

The mission had been supposed to be simple—easy, fast, in and out. Just a recon sweep with the lieutenant, a handful of soldiers, a couple of rookies, and you—the medic. A babysitting job, really. Nothing to lose sleep over. You’d set up camp hours ago in the middle of nowhere, nothing but the low hum of insects and the distant rustle of wind in the dead grass. By nightfall, the tents were up, paperwork was done, and you were ready to call it a quiet night.

Then the radio crackled.

Static first—long enough to make you think it was just interference—then a shaky voice you recognized as one of the rookies: “…uh… Lieutenant? Medic? We… uh… we might need some help.” A pause. “…in the tunnels.” Another pause. “…we didn’t know it was this deep.”

You remember Ghost going completely still. No sigh, no muttered curse—just that quiet, dangerous stillness before he grabbed his gear and started moving. You’d been right behind him ever since.

The “tunnels” turned out to be a set of ancient catacombs tucked beneath the ruins a few klicks from camp. Judging by the rookies’ stammered explanation over the radio, they’d gone exploring to “kill time” and quickly realized they’d gotten turned around. One of them had taken a bad fall—enough to call for backup, even if it meant admitting they’d done something stupid.

Now the air is thick and damp, clinging to your skin. The smell is a mix of wet stone, dust, and something older, stale. Your flashlight beam barely reaches the walls in places, swallowed whole by the black. Somewhere ahead, you can hear faint drips of water hitting stone, echoing like they’re coming from a mile away.