Ghosts of the Past (A Call Of Duty: Ghosts Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty One

We hiked for multiple hours, no conversation picking up. Logan had shifted with Keegan and took the lead without words exchanged between them. Riley moved around in the group, occasionally pausing to scratch at the back of his head and then trot forward to stick mostly with Logan. I was relieved the snow was starting to decrease as we hiked through the quiet woods, making it easier to pick up the pace of our walk.

    Walking in silence allowed my mind to slip away, dangerous as it may have been. I reflected on my weeks with Rorke first, thinking again on the story he'd told boldly about my parents. There was something that had never completely added up right. My mother not trusting Rorke...there was good reason behind that, I knew. Rorke doing 'business' deals with my father...that made me question more.

    I ached inside knowing that Merrick had been the key to my past. He would've known what happened that day my mother had been hurt—Rorke was still with the Ghosts then and Merrick may have been on that mission, or at least heard of it. Keegan might have been the only other one but I doubted it; the originals had been Merrick, Rorke, and the Walker boys' father named Elias.  

    Slipping where I mantled over a huge downed tree, I gasped out a breath of panic. Things are still treacherous even without snow. 

    "Careful," Keegan had waited for me, offering a hand that I glared at and ignored. His mouth twisted into a smile underneath his balaclava. "Accepting help doesn't make you a burden, you know." 

    "I don't need it," I straightened in front of him and then continued to walk up the slope ahead. 

    "I don't trust him," Keegan kept his voice low as we walked alongside each other, his eyes regarding Logan and Riley ahead of us. 

    "It'll take time," I murmured back.

    "I don't think so." 

    I didn't respond, knowing that internally my thoughts echoed his. Logan had come too willingly to make it seem believable. At the same time I knew it would take time for him to truly come back from four years with Rorke. Even then he would never truly be the same and it didn't help his older brother wasn't here to assist with the transition. 

    "I found your town," Logan looked pointedly at me as he stopped at a small peak. 

    Joining his left side, I gazed downward at the secluded small town. There were bits of white patches here and there, but the town had mostly been spared from the storm we'd been through. From where we were at I couldn't make out soldiers from either side.

    "No activity," I breathed and looked to the two men on my right. "That must be good, right?"

    Both of the experienced soldiers spoke the same thing at the same time. "Not exactly."

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Not exactly was exactly correct.

    The town was deserted, no soldiers or regular people. My guess was that with the infiltration of Rorke on the south, through the old New Mexico, people had fled anywhere else but here. As we dropped out of the mountain range, the three of us grew more wary. 

    Keegan led the way through the deserted town, checking up and down, left and right. It felt right to be back behind a weapon, working alongside a Ghost again. Riley stayed quiet too as he trotted alongside Keegan. 

    "There's an old car dealership," Logan mentioned quietly, looking off to our left. "Perhaps you could steal something for us Acker?"

    Bastard. "Only for you, Logan," my voice was snappy.