Pattern Breaker

Your Sempiternal Lie

John's screams bore into every cell of his body, shaking his bones and sending ice cold chills up the Lieutenant's spine. His muscles were locked right under Ghost- straining to get away. Ghost did his best to keep his hand steady as he dug for purchase on the bullet.

" Simon, please !" He pleaded, tears streaking down his face. Lightning shot painfully through Ghost's chest, but he finally got a good grip on the offending metal and yanked up, holding the bullet like a trophy.

John gasped for breath, panting.

"Remind me to never get shot around you ever again."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Aye, you can get off now." John twitched under Ghost's weight. Ghost just stared at him, curious. "L.t., c'mon. You're a heavy bastard."

Ghost just... stared.

Then shoved his finger into the bullet wound.

John began screaming again at the violation, this time not only out of agony... out of terror.

"Stop, stop, stop!" He thrashed under him, both hands coming up to grip Ghost's wrist in a hopeless attempt to pry him off.

Ghost dug deeper with a sickening squelch until his hand was all the way inside John's arm. His screams became incoherent.

He continued, using his strength to shove his hand deeper into the other man's body, watching in interest as his forearm slowly disappeared into it. Fucking it's way through adipose and tendon. When he worked his way past ribcage and felt the swell of his lungs against his palm, he touched Johnny's heart tenderly,

then crushed it

—

"I've never seen him like this before."

"You should hear him at night, Captain. The screaming. I think he's having nightmares. I had to move down the hall, sleeping on the floor of one of Alejandro's mens' rooms. Not to be insensitive or anything, but I just... couldn't sleep listening to him yelling Soap's name over and over.."

"No, no. Take care of yourself, Gaz." A sigh. "I've been leaving trays in front of his door a couple times a day. Sometimes he eats them, sometimes he doesn't. He's been on a warpath."

"Doing what?"

"Not sure. We've received intel that some of the cartel and whoever is left of Graves' Shadows have been in communication. He disappears for days on end, and comes back covered in dirt and blood. I'm assuming he's out for revenge."

"Shit..."

"Yeah. The other day when he showed back up, he marched straight to where we've got Valeria held, and dropped a... human head in front of her. Part of the spine was still sticking out."

A shutter. "God damn."

"If you knew the half of it, Gaz...It took damn near six of us to get him out of that room. I almost feel lucky he didn't kill us first before going back after her."

"I feel sorry for any unlucky bastard that he gets his hands on."

"You and me both."

—

Ghost stood in the back corner of Valeria's holding cell, leaning casually against the wall with one foot propped up behind him.

She hadn't noticed him dropping through the small window situated out of her reach.