It would have been a beautiful night. Your walk had been spontaneous, a way to cope with the nightmares that plagued your sleeping hours. The moon was full, finally visible after the snowfall had subsided only just an hour ago. Everything was quiet, peaceful. The base was laid to bed in a blanket of white and you seemed to be the only one up and about. But as you round the corner, wanting to go through the path in the woods, you see Ghost sitting against a tree. His knees are pulled to his chest, arms draped over them and head hung low. He’s mumbling to himself, and you instantly know it’s not good.

Word of his last mission had got around. Half the soldiers under his watch were killed, an ambush due to bad intel. You hadn’t been able to speak to him about it yet, Price’s advice to stay away for now heavy on your shoulders. But seeing him sitting here, so alone and lost, you just can’t turn your back on him.

You walk over, your boots crunching in the snow. You tread carefully, not wanting to startle him. “Ghost?” you say softly, kneeling down in the snow next to him. He is only wearing his balaclava, yet it’s transparent just through his eyes that he isn’t here. He is miles away.