Reborn ↣ Simon "Ghost" Riley

chapter one - the find .

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103 days.

Ella looked out the tiny window of her prison, gazing out over the vast, rolling desert that had been her only view for so long. Often she wished that the warmth outside would penetrate her cell, allow her to feel anything but the bone-aching chill that plagued it. She had forgotten what it felt like to be warm with the sun kissing her skin, legs free to take her wherever she pleased.

At first she had fought her captors, her spirit refusing to die despite the cell, the mistreatment, and the pathetic rations she was given daily. She had stuck it out through the torture, spitting in the face of her tormentors, staying strong despite the abuse. She saw each developing scar as a testament to her will, every bruise as a reminder of who she was, who she was fighting to keep alive.

That will had died the first time they lay their hands on her. Despite how hard she scratched at her skin, scrubbing at it until her skin flared red when she was allowed a short cold shower, their touch lingered on her body. She could still feel the way his fingers gripped into her flesh, the fingerprint bruises trailing up her thighs. No matter how she had screamed, begged, or pleaded, they wouldn't stop. They never did.

She had been prepared for torture, but not like that. Selection had drilled it into her repeatedly, a process that continued into her training, but never had anyone laid a hand on her in such a way. No one had taken her freedom from her like that. No one had taken her rights away so carelessly, branding their mark into her skin so deep she felt it penetrated her soul.

The hope that a team was out there, looking for her, had died after the first six months she was imprisoned. For months she fought off the devastating reality that no one would even know where to look. Hell, she didn't think they knew she was alive.

The mission had been simple. Task force 107 was due to travel to a safe-house hidden within one of the western Afghani mountain ranges, where they would then gather intel and ambush a group of Taliban smugglers who were bringing weapons into the country. The mission was estimated to take a month at most, with the members of her task force expecting to be back in time to go home to their families for Christmas.

How wrong they had been.

The mission had gone horribly wrong, as her task force found themselves surrounded while trekking through a particularly treacherous mountain range. Lacking knowledge of the area, it was nothing short of a massacre. The rain of gunfire came from nowhere, catching Alex first. One moment he was striding ahead of the group, looking back to flare a cheeky grin as he made quips at the various members. The next, he stopped, body collapsing to the side with a spray of crimson and brain matter.

His body had just fallen to the ground when Gary took the next bullet, then Geoffrey, Ray, and James. Ella was the last to fall, taking a bullet to the left thigh and right shoulder. Not fatally wounded but effectively incapacitated. She had been the only one to survive the ambush. The last thing she remembered was counting the bodies of her fallen task force, and counting all but her captain's.

Blinking, Ella's thoughts were interrupted when one of the guards outside her cell muttered something to the other. Despite her attempts, she had been unsuccessful in picking up Farsi save for a few select phrases she had been able to glean the meaning of. Their conversation was short, but resulted in the two of them leaving their station, their footsteps fading as they walked down the hall. She took the opportunity to rise on shaky legs, walking the few steps to her door and peering out through the small window that allowed the guards to look in on her.

The dirty gray hallway was empty for the first time since she had been there. The long hall, which housed many cells identical to hers, had always been occupied by at least six guards. Then, it was desolate, like a church outside of service. The overhead lights flickered every now and then. Had they always done that? She couldn't remember. She wasn't the only one to notice as the unrest among the other inmates grew. Something was wrong, it was almost palpable in the air.