Tortured | Simon "Ghost" Riley

Chapter 8

Standing there in disbelief outside of a restaurant, Ghost stared at a woman that sat in a booth, reading quietly. She was alone. His heart throbbed almost painfully, and his breathing grew rapid. It was Anastasia. But how? 6 months ago, he watched from afar as a coffin holding his beloved Anastasia was lowered into the ground, surrounded by her friends, family and Task 141. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to wake up from this dream yet hoping she wouldn't disappear, and when she didn't, he turned to walk into the restaurant. Walking slowly towards her, Ghost didn't blink. She looked slightly different. Her once, long black hair was now dark red and lay on her shoulders; her sun-kissed skin, slightly lighter. But it was Anastasia. His Anastasia.

As he approached her, she looked up. Her hazel eyes pierced his just as they always did. A speechless Ghost was in a daze as she spoke. "Hello." She smiled at him, taking what was left of his breath. He still couldn't speak. Setting her book down on the table, a confused look spread across her face. "Uh, can I help you with something?" Ghost fluttered his eyes, "You don't recognize me, love?" shaking her head gently, "I'm so-sorry no. Should I?" the words tore through him like a glowing hot blade. Confusion and pain spread in his chest as he sat across from her, taking her by surprise. She shifted uncomfortably, "I'm really sorry, I don't know you." She scooted towards the opening of the booth to leave before he grabbed her hand gently. "Anastasia, it's me, Simon." She looked down at his hand with slight fear in her eyes. "Simon? I don't know anyone named Simon." Just as she finished her sentence, two men with handguns walked into the restaurant. One of them shouted, "Everyone out." The other people in the place filed out quickly. Anastasia stood up, scared as Ghost stood up as well, standing in front of her to protect her. The other man that walked in locked the door and spoke, "Ghosty, you weren't supposed to be here for quite some time." He looked at Anastasia, "Maid. Zebra. Rainy. Parcel. False. Wax. Whisper." First confused by the random words, Ghost quickly realized they were trigger words. He turned to look at Anastasia who was now in a defensive stance with a knife drawn. She looked at him with rage and disgust. "Anastasia-" Before he could speak further, the other man muttered, "Ataque." Taking a step away from Anastasia, Ghost narrowly dodged the blade that she swung towards him. As they fought, Ghost desperately tried to get through to her, but it was ineffective. She continued to attack though Ghost was able to dodge most of the strikes, she was able to land a few blows. The men stood by the door laughing and smiling. After fighting with Anastasia for a few minutes, one of the men repeated the words that triggered her once more, causing her to stop and come to. Her face showed confusion and fear as she looked down at her hand that still held the sharp blade. Dropping the knife, she frantically looked around until she rested her eyes on Ghost that stood before her. Looking back at her, his eyes silently begged her to remember him. "What's going on?" Anastasia's voice shook as she spoke. The men standing at the door laughed once more before one spoke. "You've been trained to kill, Anastasia." "Brainwashed." Ghost said coldly. The man nodded in a sarcastic manner, "If you wanna call it that, sure. Brainwashed. Doesn't matter, she's not yours anymore, Ghost." He smiled an evil grin. Tension was thick in the air as Ghost gently grabbed Anastasia and pulled her behind him again. At first, she pulled back but changed her mind quickly as she looked at the two men who looked at her through scowls before one spoke once more. "Oh darling, it's pointless to hide. All I have to do is mutter the words and you're a mindless soldier again. Ma-" before he could speak a word, a popping nose filled the air. Blood sprayed through the air and a hole appeared in the man's neck. Grabbing at it and gasping for air, he fell to the floor as the other aimed his gun, looking around for where the bullet came from. Before he could, he was shot through the skull and immediately dropped to the floor.

Ghost looked around as he grabbed Anastasia who still stood behind him. After not seeing anything, he turned to face her, "Are you alright?" Anastasia nodded shakily, "Ye-Yeah I'm okay." She took a deep breath as she wiped her forehead. Ghost turned towards the door where the men's bodies lay, noticing movement outside across the street between buildings. Squinting his eyes, he tried to make out what it was. It was a figure that was covered in the shadows until it walked into the street. "Price." Grabbing Anastasia's hand, he pulled her towards the doors, and stepped over the lifeless bodies. When Ghost and Anastasia walked outside, Price froze in the middle of the street with his gun resting across his torso in his hands. He stared at the woman behind Ghost in disbelief. As the two approached him, his breathing stopped as he became convinced his eyes were playing tricks on his mind.