Safer With A Ghost | Simon "Ghost" Riley

Chapter 22

Once escaping an intense fire fight from Graves and his Shadows, and walking for what seemed like hours, Konig and Ivy had traveled far away enough where Konig felt comfortable enough to stop. Setting Ivy down softly on a large rock near a river, Konig inspected his weapon, taking note of the amount of ammo he had left, disappointing him instantly as there were only a few that sat in the magazine. Looking at Ivy through his sniper hood, Konig struggled to find the right words as he was unable to read her facial expression. It was blank yet her eyes were filled with emotions that were unknown to him. He cleared his throat as he broke the silence, "Are you okay, Ivy?" She didn't respond at first, seemingly thinking quietly to herself. "Ye-Yes, I'm alright." She finally met his eyes, emotions still unreadable to her savior. Her lips curled into a smile, but tears rolled down her red cheeks. Almost startled at the sight of her being upset, Konig threw his weapon over his shoulder into its position and kneeled in front of Ivy. "Was ist lo smit dir?" Shaking her head, Ivy fought a losing battle with her tears as she attempted to speak. After finally calming down, she took a deep breath. "I just don't know if I'm relieved or sad I'm away from him."

Searching his mind for a response to put her at ease, he lightly put a hand on her shoulder, "Ivy, you deserve better than pain, suffering and control." Suddenly the memory of Ivy's time at the safehouse popped into his head. "Do you remember when you first arrived? At the safehouse, I mean." Ivy shook her head as more tears flooded her eyes. "You hated being there. Always asked to speak to someone named Price." Ivy's face dropped slightly as memories slowly came to her mind though she couldn't comprehend any of them. Konig continued, "You also constantly asked for, uh, Geist, Ghost Team." More memories entered her mind, but she still knew almost nothing about anyone or anything. There were just blurry faces and bits and pieces of days that felt important. "When Graves first took over the house, you fought him day in and day out, even though you knew it meant torture. You were strong minded." He smiled gently under the hood, hidden from Ivy, "Until one day, you looked different. Acted different. I'm not sure what Graves did to you to convince you that what you had with him was love, but it wasn't, Mein Schatz. He looked at you with such... Domineering lust. Loving eyes are gentle."

Shaking her head, "I don't know, Konig, I don't even remember who my family is, who my friends are, do I have anything worth going back to?" Her eyes met the ground. As she scanned the ground, she looked among the brush and dirt, until her eyes settled upon a small black rock that roughly resembled the shape of a skull.

She snapped her eyes back up at Konig, "Simon."