Part Seventy-Five: The Weight of Grief

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König drove us back into the city and away from the aftermath of the scrapyard. I sat in the passenger seat and Price sat in the back with Soap...well, Soap's body.

Although only about a 30-minute drive, it was painfully long and somber. No one said a word.

Mateen made it clear he was no longer a resource for us to capitalize on, but we have nowhere else to go, not with a dead body at least.

Let's just say Mateen was not happy to see us, again, at his front door. Yet, when he saw Price carrying Soap's corpse he immediately let us in, no questions asked.

Nahal and the kids are still away, not to return until 141 leaves the country.

After we settled back into Mateen's home, Price received a call from Laswell informing him that they just landed in Afghanistan and are headed for us now.

Price didn't tell her about Soap.

König and I are sitting in silence in the kitchen with Mateen as we wait for Laswell, Ghost, and Gaz to arrive.

Price took Soap into the barn 15 minutes ago and has not returned since.

As I sit in silence I feel I might drown from the weight of my grief. With each minute passing, I dissociate and replay Soap's final moments over, and over again, in my mind.

I feel sick like I could empty the contents of my stomach onto the kitchen table.

I feel...heavy. Like I have weights relentlessly crushing my body.

I feel numb. Like I've never known what emotions felt like.

The last time I felt this way was when I walked in on my sister's dead body and those feelings didn't go away for years.

I also feel unnerving dread as we wait for the rest of the team to arrive and discover the truth.

"Can I offer you both a drink?" Mateen breaks the silence.

"Nein zank vu," König responds, but I can't muster up any words and he notices this.

"Schatz?" König places his hand gently on my shoulder and I'm instantly reduced to tears.

Mateen stands to his feet and heads towards the sink.

"Come here, Schatz." König pulls me into his embrace. "It is koing to be halright," he says gently, rubbing my back soothingly, and allowing me to cry into his shoulder.

CLINK.

The sound of Mateen placing a glass of water near me.

As I continue to sob into König's embrace, the sound of a creaking door registers in my ears, so I pull away to see who has entered.

Price, with a tear-stained face and puffy eyes, makes direct eye contact with me. Without saying a word, he takes a seat at the table.

I avert my gaze from him but I can still feel his piercing eyes on me.

Price is angry with me.

I get it. I was insubordinate, something I have gotten in trouble for before with my previous team, with Captain Winters.

But I don't want Price to be angry with me.

After about another 20 minutes of sitting in deafening silence, there's a knock on the door.

Mateen peers through the peephole of the door and then opens it, revealing Laswell, Ghost, and Gaz.

Before Ghost can see me I downturn my gaze at the table. I don't have to look to know Ghost is staring at me.

A Ghost Encounter: My Time with Simon "Ghost" RileyWhere stories live. Discover now