“Told ya to check the thing before we left,” Ghost snapped Soap’s way. The Scot only rolled his eyes and huffed, frustration tightening the man’s features. The cargo truck you all had been traveling in, decided to break down half the way to base. “Right, thank you…” Price sighed, stopping his pacing to hang up the phone. He approached his team, hands resting on his hips. “Laswell is sending out a crew to come save us. But it’ll be a while, so...” Price’s voice wavered with uncertainty, eyes scanning the mostly empty sightline, unease setting into his gut at the sight of the only house on the road. It was dingy, too dark, and too covered in forestry to look welcoming. But it was all they had.

Ghost was the one sent up to knock on the door first, calling you, Soap, and Gaz a string of insults for being ‘too creeped out’ to knock. After three knocks, Ghost declared the place empty and swung open the creaky front door. Soap helped Price lug in a few things from the truck into the house, while you, Ghost, and Gaz tried to find the room with the least amount of mold and wood rot.

The five of you were in the same room, lying on different versions of makeshift beds. Ghost was closest to the door, next to him was Price. By the window were you and Soap, and Gaz was next to a fireplace he wasn’t able to light due to the wood in the fireplace being too rotted. “C’mere,” Soap whispered to you, gazing up at the stars he could see from his position on the floor. He shuffled a bit so you could squeeze in next to him. Your body warmth radiated onto him, it was calming. So calming that it had him drifting off to sleep after just a few minutes of quietly star gazing with you.

The sound of Soap sitting up with a sharp gasp startled the team awake. “Bleedin- Jesus-!” Soap hissed through clenched teeth. His hand was pressed tight to the side of his neck, palm covering the two puncture wounds of a bite sunken into his flesh. Soap’s body buzzed with pain, a scorching heat coming from the bite wound on his neck.