The Crow & The Ghost: A Dystopian AU Simon Ghost Riley x Reader

Chapter Five: A Long Day

        You wake up the next morning with one thought on your mind: Never again.
          You and Riley crossed a dangerous line, one that wouldn't work, given the circumstances. You were doing a job together, there were serious issues at stake. If a civil war broke out amongst the Undead and all you had to show Moorehouse for intel was the feeling of Riley's lips on your throat—
          No. No more.
          You get ready for the day with one mantra: Forget that Riley is anyone other than Riley. He's just a Lieutenant. He's just a man you have to work with for a few weeks. He's just a man wearing a mask.
          You've never felt his hand on your back. You've never heard him whisper in your ear. You've never felt his breath on your neck. You've never looked into his eyes and seen something other than sadness.
          You arrive at work and put on your best poker face for Kieran. Shockingly, your friend seems to buy it. He doesn't ask about the mission and he doesn't ask about Riley. It's a small miracle, but one you're grateful for.
          The rest of the day you feel like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for Riley to call you or show up in your office. But he never calls, and he never shows. You don't hear from him the entire day, and as much as you hate it, it gnaws at you.
          Is he angry? Embarrassed? Is he going to tell General Moorehouse? Ask to be taken off the case?
          The day comes and goes without a word from Riley, and not even a glimpse of Soap. It makes you anxious, and you go home with a sick, slimy feeling in your stomach. Like you've done something wrong, like you're in deep shit and you're waiting for the punishment to arrive.
          That night you find yourself glancing at your work phone more than you ever have. You even pick it up once or twice, looking at the recent caller list and seeing LT. RILEY on the screen. You even consider calling him, making sure he's okay.
          But to call him, to check in, that was a defeat of sorts. It was admitting that you cared. It was admitting that not hearing from him bothered you. It would give everything away.
          Forget that Riley is anyone other than Riley.
          You go to bed with your work phone on your bedside table—you usually keep it on the kitchen counter. It's a quiet defeat, but a defeat nonetheless. A pathetic one.
          Tomorrow will be better, you tell yourself. Tomorrow the skin on your neck might not burn as much. Tomorrow your back might not feel so cold.

-

          When you arrive at work the next day, you don't even get to leave the armory before Captain MacTavish sprints in.
          "Crow," He breathes. "I was hoping you'd be here. I was about to call you. We have a situation on Star Ave, can you back me up? I can't find Ghost."
          "Yes, of course," You say, and he takes off towards the lobby of Headquarters, you following close behind. When someone asked for back up, you didn't ask questions, you didn't ask for details. You only say yes and follow their lead.
          You sprint through the hallways, but when you both reach the lobby you come to a brisk walk. The lobby was open to the general public, and it was Defense protocol to not scare the shit out of people if not absolutely necessary. If visitors saw two Defense members sprinting through the lobby with guns in hand, it was more likely to cause unnecessary panic. Unnecessary panic could get people killed.
          You take the moment to get the information you can. "What's going on?" You ask Soap. You can see his fingers twitching at his sides—he's ready to move.
          "I just got a call from Private Alder that there's a couple of Undead circling the Star Avenue Elementary School, they requested backup,"
          You furrow your brow. "They can't handle that?" It was rare for the Undead to be milling around in broad daylight, but that was why the Defense existed. It was common for soldiers to try to corral the Undead back to Vampire Alley or close to it, or take them down on the spot. It was the most basic of training and a fully expected responsibility for even year one mandatories.
          "That's what I said," Soap replies. "But Alder sounded nervous. It makes me wonder how many Undead are lurking around, and how close."
          Odd. Very odd. "You needed me specifically for back up?"
          "Like I said, I couldn't find Ghost," Soap glances at you, gives me a small smile. "And you're the next best thing, Crow girl."
          You shove him playfully with your shoulder as you reach the lobby's exit. "I hate that name."
        "That's why I love it." Soap looks far too proud of himself, and you roll your eyes.
        As soon as you're out the door, both you and Soap reach for your handguns, holding them tightly to your bodies as you begin to jog towards Star Avenue, only a block away. You don't even see the elementary school before your eye catches an Undead man milling about. He looks innocuous enough, but then you see another Undead. And another. All of their bodies faced towards the school.
        Their body language is relaxed, casual, but something about it sets you on edge.
        You and Soap both stop before the first Undead man can see either of you.
        "I see three," You say.
        "As do I," Soap confirms. "Makes me wonder if there are more on the other end of the street, or closer to the school,"
        "Or in alleyways," You add.
        "Christ," Soap murmurs. "What do you think we should do?"
        "It's your mission, Captain." You say. "You make the rules."
        Soap says nothing for a moment. "Okay," He says. No follow up.
        "Where is Private Alder?" You ask, skipping over the sudden awkwardness.
        "I told him to stay by the school and shoot anything that comes too close," Soap says, recovering quickly. "I hope he can fucking handle that."
        You don't know Private Alder—there are so many mandatories that weave in and out of the Defense and you can't keep track.
        "Oi!" Soap calls out without warning, making you flinch. All three Undead turn around at the sound, and Soap walks out into the street. It's only a busy road during school pick up and drop off times—otherwise it can be quiet, despite being so close to the Defense Headquarters. Not many people liked to be out and about in the city, just in case.
        "I'm with the Defense," Soap announces. "We received a concerned call about loitering near the school. Can I ask what's going on?"
        "Are we not allowed to walk around?" The first Undead man said. The Undead all have gravelly, horrible voices from their vocal cords being damaged with decay. Some Undead even went mute if they lived long enough. You absently wonder if Maria Mortissmo was mute at the end, if when Meara killed her she couldn't even scream. You push the thought out of your mind.
        "No one should be loitering near school grounds while school is in session," You say, coming to stand beside Soap. "This is a universal expectation."
        "Maybe I have a kid in there," One of the other Undead, a woman, says. "Can't I be near my child?"
        She could be lying, but she could not be. The woman looked more freshly Undead, as did the other two. There was a very good chance these people had been parents to younger children. It made your heart sink. You didn't know how to answer in a way that wouldn't make them upset.
        "Ma'am—" Soap starts, but the Undead woman's face suddenly contorts.
        "You can't make me stay away from my kid!" She screams, her face showing a deep pain that makes your stomach twist. "You can't make any of us stay away from them! We're their parents!"
        "We just want to see them during recess, when they're outside," The third Undead said. "We've been doing this all school year. It wasn't a problem until today."
        "For fuck's sake, Alder," Soap mumbles. You see his fingers readjust on his gun. "These aren't their parents anymore."
        No, they weren't. Even if these Undead remembered their children, wanted to be a part of their lives—it was far too dangerous. There was no telling what could happen, what switch could flip.
        "Why did he just call today about this?" You ask quietly, so the Undead can't hear.
        "I bet more of these people heard they could be near the school without issue and got the idea to join," He whispers. "I bet there's more closer to the campus."
        "How do we know that they're all parents of kids in the school? They could be—"
        "Hungry? Bored?" Soap growls. "Yes, exactly."
        And that's when you hear a gunshot.
        The world is still for a moment. You look up the street but can't see the school, it's set back away from the road. You look back at the Undead before you, and their rage is palpable.
        "You'll murder us for wanting to see our kids?" The first man seethed. "We're people too!"
        "No, the fuck you're not." Soap replies, taking a step forward and holding his gun up. "The sooner you accept that the easier this will be. You need to go back to Vampire Alley immediately, or this will escalate. You cannot visit school grounds anymore."
        You hear distant yelling. Another gunshot. A scream. You hear an alarm go off, and you guess it must be the school's lockdown procedure initiating.
    God dammit.
        "We're not the monsters here," The second man says. You find that you can't even look at him, nor the woman.
        "Leave," Soap says. "Or I will make you leave."
        And that's when the Undead woman pulls out her own hand gun from the waistband of her disheveled pants. She cocks it and points it at you and soap. "Over my dead fucking body," She says.
        You don't think, you just shoot. The Undead woman's gun clatters to the ground as she falls, her body smacking the pavement in a heavy thunk. The first Undead man moves towards you, and you swivel your body in his direction before you aim and fire. He falls, too, his grotesque face flat on the ground.
    Where the fuck did she get the gun?
        The second Undead man is shot by Soap only moments later, and after the cacophony of your defenses goes quiet, you then start to hear the flurry of gunfire from down the street.
        "What the fuck is going on?" Soap exclaims before breaking into a sprint towards the school. You have half a mind to pull the gun that's strapped to your back, a larger one with more capabilities than your handgun. You hold it in your arms as you run behind Soap, quickly advancing towards the school.
        Both you and Soap stop just before the school. Neither of you want to get shot in the crossfire, especially if Private Alder is unwieldy. But the gunfire has already stopped. The only sound is of that alarm going off.
        "Private Alder!" Soap yells out. "It's the Defense, at your aid."
        "Captain," A young man's voice calls back. "Captain, I'm here!"
        "Don't shoot, Private," Soap says, then looks at you and nods. You both step out, facing campus. Star Avenue Elementary School is one of the smaller elementary schools in the city, a squat brick building a half acre away from the street. The front of the grounds is a playground and small field, and it is there that you see about seven Undead bodies laying motionless on the ground.
        Way, way too damn close to the school.
        There were at least ten of them here, you realize. Ten Undead within a quarter mile radius of these children. You weren't sure how many of them were really parents, or how many of them were bored, hungry, using this as the perfect front for an attack. Children were so vulnerable, so easy to get a hold of.
        Private Alder was a fucking fool for letting them get this close. An idiot for letting them stay close by with regularity. It went against everything the Defense was trying to do. If Soap didn't report this to General Moorhouse for immediate discharge, you would.
        The idiot in question was standing in front of the school's main doors, his gun in hand and a wild look in his eyes. It was almost as if he was making a final stand, fully expecting the Undead to overrun him and get inside the building if they had the chance.
        "What the fuck were you thinking, Private?" Soap says after a moment. For once, he seems at a loss for words.
        The Private bursts into tears, dropping the gun and covering his face with his hands. He falls to his knees, as if realizing the magnitude of what's happened here. If he had failed, the Undead would have gotten into the school.
        They would have attacked—
        Your phone rings. It's ear piercing in the aftermath of what's happened. It doesn't seem like Soap hears it. You step back and take the phone out of your pocket.