Two Worlds Apart || Ghost

4

Ghost

I sit back in my desk chair trying to get through these documents. I look up from the endless stacks of papers and stare at the wall. The room was dark with only a lamp to light the area.

I decide to take a break and walk out of my office for a while. My eyes struggle to adjust to the hallway lights as I walk to the cafeteria. As I walk in, I see Soap and Gaz sitting in the cafeteria. They immediately turn to see me.

"Afternoon LT." He says and I nod in return.

"Work got you crammed?" Gaz asks.

I sit down with them, crossing my arms. "Uh huh. Price has thrown a lot at me these few days." I sigh. "What are you two up to now?"

"I think you should know that Soap just ate the nastiest sandwich I've ever seen." Gaz exclaims.

"Oh, calm down Garrick. It was just mustard. You brits." Soap argues back.

I listen to their stupid bickering which made me roll my eyes. It took a lot for me to not leave and go back to my office, but I really was not interested in going back to my papers.

They both turn back to me after their dumb argument.

"Oh LT, your little nurse left yesterday morning." Soap says smirking.

"It's about time she left. She had no braincells. I'm surprised that she got into nursing." I say coldly.

"Wow Ghost. I thought you were fond of her." Soap says.

"I'm not fond of anyone at the moment." I say and both of them look at each other. "What are you both thinking?"

Gaz leans forward an smirk. "Well, when you went out on Friday night alone, you came back a little late."

I sit back with a cold gaze. "And? What are you saying?"

Gaz shrugs. "You must have been with someone." I raise an eyebrow towards Gaz. "You couldn't have gone out that long without meeting someone? So, what's her name?"

Both Gaz and Soap smirk their dumb faces at me. I roll my eyes and stand up from my chair.

"I was out late to get away from you two for a while. I met no one." I say before walking out of the cafeteria.

I could feel their eyes in the back of my head. Those two. Always trying to get to the bottom of my life. They didn't need to know what I was out doing. Especially, if it involved meeting a woman.

I'll be honest, I couldn't stop thinking about her. She was something else. I've never wanted to keep talking to someone more. We could talk about practically nothing because all I want is to be around her. I didn't even get her number or anything. All I know is her name. Caroline Madden.

Maybe its best we don't keep in touch. We're two different people with our own lives to live.

~~~~~

"Come on, Johnson. Thats all you can do?" I look down at the soldier I threw onto the floor of the training room. He grunts as he slowly gets up.

"You never take things easy, do you?" He leans over and puts his hands on his knees.

I place my hand on his shoulder. "It's not going to be easy when you are out there on the field like this. You have to be ready." He stands back up straight and I stand behind him. "Now, let's try this again. I'm the enemy."

The soldier takes a breath before turning and swinging at me. I quickly grab his arm and place it behind his back. I chuckle. "Huh. You almost got me there."

My legs trip him, and he falls to the mat on the floor again. I stand back up, resting my hands on my hips. Johnson rolls over onto his back, looking up at me.

"I...I can't do it Lieutenant." He says breathlessly. I smirk under my mask.

"Yes, you can. I was in your shoes once. We all were. You're a new solider here. Things are going to get harder." I reach out my hand and help him back up to his feet. "What matters is you listen to me and remember what I say. You'll get better. Trust me." I say, pointing into his chest.

We both stand in front of each other. "Now, let's start again."

Without warning, he immediately throws a punch which was inches to touching me. Every punch I threw, he dodged. We keep sparring for a while. Eventually, he finally got the hang of some things.

He had me in a headlock. He wasn't strong enough to hold me there tightly, so I was able to grab his arm and break free. Once I was free, I grabbed both his wrists and pinned them to his back.

I keep him there until I finally let go. Both of us are breathless.

"You see what happens when you listen to me?" I stand back and look at him panting. "Look at how much better you've gotten already."

He looks at me and smiles. "Yeah...yeah I guess so."

"Youve still got a long way until you're as good as me."

"Or like Soap?"

"Soap can't tell his left from his right." I say and we both laugh. "Anyway, good work today. Your free to go."

He nods and I pat him on the back as he leaves the training room. As Johnson leaves the room, Gaz walks in.

"Ghost. Price needs to talk to us."

"Il be there in a minute Gaz."

His tone gets more serious. "It's urgent."

I look back at him. I nod my head and follow him out to Prices office. We walk in and see Soap and Price already there. I shut the door behind me.

"Price. What's going on?" I ask.

He stands and keeps his hands on his hips. "It's about Khaled Al-Asad and OpFor. They're moving quickly." My eyes widen.

"What all do we know now?" Soap asks.

"They are headed our way. Not directly but somewhere around us." Price sighs. "I'm sure their plan is to terrorize civilians. We need to be on the move. They were last spotted 260 miles north of us. I'm sure they have plans to take in civilians for human trafficking again."

"What do we do?" Gaz says.

"Gaz is loading up with Nikolai in the chopper and looking for any traces of them. Soap and I are taking ground and tracking down any of OpFor. Ghost you will go into town and give them the orders that I will have for you later. Understood?"

We all nod. Before we all leave, Soap speaks up once more.

"Do you think you know exactly where they are headed, Cap?" I ask.

Price looks at me a little worried. "I think I do."