Silver-Lining (Ghost Riley x Reader)

Chapter Forty-Two

SOTD- Pride by Kendrick Lamar, Welcome and Goodbye by Dream, Ivory, and American Money by Borns.

The drive back to base was unbearably silent. It felt as if I could hear the stars scrape against the dark, night sky. I felt a string of emotions tugging at me as if it were a game of tug-of-rope- and I felt like the rope. Anger, sadness, and worry all clouded my mind as I thought about the worst possible scenarios.

They're dead. As badly as I didn't want to think that- it hammered itself into my mind- becoming the only thing I could think of. The voice in the back of my head- the old voice- older than me, told me to find the silver lining. The silver lining grew distant, my fingertips releasing their grip. I didn't have any silver lining in this situation.

They'll be fine. If anyone can handle themselves- it's Soap and Ghost. I kept telling myself. They're dead. That part of me that so badly wanted to take over screamed into my mind almost like a deafening scream. I wanted to tell that part of myself to go fuck themselves. I wanted to tell that part of me that they didn't know what they were talking about.

I could feel the warmth of Gaz's hand on my wrist, giving it a small squeeze. I could tell this was an attempt to comfort me. I wanted to thank him, but my mouth remained shut. I felt as if I even tried to speak my breathing would become shallow and become sharp and uneven. Stop it y/n, stop thinking like that! I scolded myself sharply in my mind. Simon can handle himself.

The rubber tires screeched as the Jeep came to a halt. "Rudy grab soldiers!" Alejandro ordered quickly. Rudy gave him a head nod, quickly stepping out of the car. He ran straight to the barracks where the majority of the soldiers would be.

With each step I took, I felt like my legs would turn to Jell-O and completely give out. The thought of my body colliding with the ground, becoming one with the Earth didn't sound too bad. The meeting room felt cold against my skin. I couldn't find it in me to take a seat and make myself comfortable like the other soldiers did. I took a look at their faces. Their olive skin and brown eyes, some a shade deeper than the rest.

One of the soldiers had a mustache that reminded me a bit of kitten whiskers. His face had a long scar that touched his eye to the end of his chin. The cut was jagged and deep, but still fully healed. "We know that they are holding two of our soldiers hostage." Alejandro's voice sounded like background noise. My vision hazed into nothingness, starting at the blank wall. The scratches on the wall became blurry and each detail became fuzzy. Even though my mind zoned out against my will- my hearing felt sharp.

I took in every detail of their voices, my arms crossed defensively against my chest. "We can outnumber them." Kitten Whiskers spoke up. I completely disregarded the nametag on his jacket. Black letters bolded and etched out into H. Gonzalez. I decided to still call him Kitten Whiskers. It gave a sense of sweet that he did not seem at all.

"And then what? Go to Gunzablazin? We need a strategy." Another soldier interjected. She had a strong build and she was quite short. Her brown hair was slicked back into a bun, the bright light reflecting off of her gelled hair. "Shut it, Cortez." Kitten Whiskers snapped, his bushy brows borrowing and his thin lips turning into a frown. He let out a scowl, his large, tatted hand gripping the pen. "Why don't you come over here and make me, pendejo!" She snapped back, a dangerous glare in her brown eyes.

"Enough from both of you!" Alejandro snapped at the two of them. "We have more soldiers, they have better weapons." Price spoke up.

"Then we use our brains instead of brawns," I spoke up, pulling myself away from the silence. I could feel their gazes fall on me, some stairs were judgemental- especially the stare from Kitten Whiskers. "It's not always about strength- it's about strategy. They have better artillery- then we think of a way to bring them down without getting Soap and Ghost caught in the crossfire."