Ghost: A Call of Duty Fan Fiction

Chapter 1

The heavy odor of gasoline and burning flesh was what brought him back to consciousness. The pain in his chest felt like it was going to rip open from the inside. Then there were his arms, they were covered in blood, the sticky liquid soaking through his clothes. It all came flooding back, the smell, the gunfire, the screaming.
'Oh, God...'
He tried to move, but pain radiated from his chest. The knit fabric of his mask stuck to his skin from the dried blood. He could feel the heat of flames, and realized he was lying in a puddle of gasoline. His gun still lay beside him. With difficulty he lifted himself up into an upright position. He manage to crawl onto the dry dust. A smoldering charred body lay nearby.
Roach.

Ghost gagged on bile.
'Sorry, mate.'
Ghost rested his back against a rusted-out truck, trying to get his bearings. He saw the bullet hole in his fatigues. The bullet had tore through his tactical vest, lodging in his shoulder. He felt around his wound. There was no exit wound. Just a jagged, bloody tear through the fabric. If he hadn't been wearing his vest underneath, then he'd probably be dead. As hurt as he was, he couldn't stay where he was. He saw the path out of the boneyard, leading towards the road beyond. He took one last look at Roach, his face distorted and unrecognizable as anything more than a smear of burned flesh. And then Ghost left the carnage. His legs felt weak, and when he put too much weight on them, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He kept moving forward, slowly. He knew he couldn't trust anyone now; an American leader had betrayed them. Who else was in danger? He thought hard....he was a British SAS soldier....could there be a UK unit out there? He could maybe make it to one of their camps, but if he got there, would there be any protection? He had to be careful not to draw attention to himself.
There must have been soldiers in that area. He just hoped he could find them before his leg gave out. He wasn't sure how long he traveled through the desert. The pain was worse than the hunger and thirst.

He almost rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real; a house. It sat away from the main village, which was further down the valley. It was cement block, with a wall where the yard was. A garden grew outside, sparse and patchy, but it looked relatively healthy. It was dark though. A well! He was too thirsty to think of anything else. The house itself seemed untouched, although it may have been abandoned during the war.
He moved closer to investigate. Maybe some fresh water and food. He didn't notice the young boy kicking the battered soccer ball until he was almost to the well. The boy froze as soon as he spotted Ghost.
'Fuck. Should have taken my mask off.' he thought. He  lifted the bottom part up so the kid could see his chin, that he'd know it was just a mask and not a blood soaked monster that had walked out of nowhere. Did the kid even know English?
Ghost didn't speak Farsi either, but he guessed it wouldn't make much difference.
"Hey. I mean you no harm."he offered with a smile. The boy stared at him for several moments and then slowly nodded, still staring.
"You're alone here?" he asked. He was starting to feel dizzy, but tried to stay on his feet. That little movement was enough to knock all the remaining energy out of him. He slumped to the ground, feeling the earth shake under him. What was happening? Was this the end? Was that why everything had happened? Because he was losing his shit in front of this kid? The door to the wall opened, and Ghost saw a swirl of bright blue. A woman, covered from head to toe in a burqa, entered. She approached Ghost. His heart stopped. This was it! He was about to die! She'd hand him over to some terrorist group. But then she kneeled next to him, placed her hand gently on his forehead. She spoke softly to him, in English. For the first time ever, he heard someone speak English!
Ghost was exhausted and confused. Had he really died? It was one word, but it was the last thing he heard before he passed out.
"Safe."