Unseen | Ghost x Soap

Chapter 67: Morning Hunger

Soap's POV:

I woke slowly, consciousness pulling me up from a dark, heavy sleep. The first thing I felt was the warmth on my face—the light of dawn streaming through the branches overhead, flickering and dancing across my skin. I squinted against it, lifting a hand to shield my eyes as I blinked blearily at the world around me.

The forest was different in the morning light. Still dark, still looming, but somehow softer. The twisted branches of the trees seemed less hostile, their leaves rustling gently with a faint morning breeze that stirred the damp earth beneath me. I could see the mist lingering just above the ground, curling and weaving its way around the thick roots and underbrush like fingers reaching through the soil.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the grogginess, but the ache in my muscles made it impossible to ignore just how exhausted I still was. Every part of me felt heavy, worn down by the night's weight. But there was no time to dwell on it; the sharp pang of hunger shot through my stomach, pulling me back to reality.

I rolled over onto my side and saw Ghost already awake, sitting against the same tree he'd propped himself up against the night before. His mask was down, and he was staring out into the forest, his eyes scanning the shadows like they could come alive at any moment. He didn't say anything as I shifted into a sitting position, just kept his gaze steady and alert.

"Morning," I mumbled, my voice rough and dry.

Ghost glanced over at me, his expression calm but unreadable. "Morning," he replied quietly.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the faint rustle of the wind in the leaves and the distant call of some bird hidden high above. I pressed a hand to my stomach as it growled again, the hunger pains more insistent now. It had been too long since our last meal, and the cold ache in my gut wasn't letting me forget it.

"Starving," I said, forcing a smile, though it didn't reach my eyes. "Could eat a bloody horse."

Ghost gave a short nod, his eyes drifting back to the forest as if he was still keeping watch. "Yeah, I figured," he said. "We'll need to find something soon."

He reached for the comm unit clipped to his vest, tapping it once, twice. The static was the same as it had been all night—dull, droning, hopeless. He sighed, letting the silence stretch out between us before finally looking at me again.

"Comms are still down," he murmured, as if he hated to admit it. "Haven't picked up a thing."

I stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in slowly. Comms were down. Still down. That meant we were truly on our own out here—no contact with the team, no way to call for help, no way to even know if they were searching for us at all.

The silence grew heavier, the reality of it pressing into me like the cold earth beneath my hands. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words died in my throat. There wasn't anything left to say, really. We both knew what this meant. We just didn't want to admit it.

Ghost's voice cut through the quiet, low and almost hesitant. "We're... most likely lost," he said, the words falling from his lips like a confession. "The team should've been in range by now. We're too far off course."

His gaze met mine, and for a moment, I saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes—something rare, something I wasn't used to seeing from him. He didn't look afraid, but there was a grim acceptance in his expression, like he was coming to terms with a fact that he'd been resisting all night.

I felt the breath hitch in my chest, and for a moment, the familiar panic crept up from the pit of my stomach, clawing at the edges of my mind. I tried to push it down, to focus on the here and now. I forced myself to look away from him, my eyes wandering over the landscape surrounding us.

The forest stretched on in every direction, endless and untamed. The trees were tall and ancient, their bark dark and rough, covered in thick moss that clung to the trunk like a second skin. The underbrush was dense, the ground covered in a thick blanket of fallen leaves, broken branches, and twisted roots. There was no path, no sign of where we'd come from or where we were supposed to go. The valley was a labyrinth of shadows and shifting light, and in the morning mist, it was almost like the entire world had been swallowed up.

I took a slow, deep breath, trying to steady myself. "So... we're lost," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. It wasn't a question. We both knew the answer.

Ghost didn't respond right away. He just nodded, his gaze drifting back to the horizon. "Yeah," he said quietly. "But we're not dead. That counts for something."

I huffed a laugh, but there wasn't any humor in it. Just a bitter edge, sharp and cold in the morning air. "Not yet, at least."

The silence that followed was too long, too heavy. It pressed in around us, closing the space between where we sat. For the first time since I'd woken up, I really felt how isolated we were. Just me and him, and the vast, indifferent wilderness surrounding us on all sides.

"Come on," Ghost said after a moment, his voice gruff. "We should find something to eat before we get moving again. Won't do us any good to keep walking on empty stomachs."

He stood up and reached down, offering me a hand. I hesitated for a second, staring up at him, the sunlight catching on the edge of his mask, making his eyes seem darker, deeper. I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet. His grip was steady and strong, a small comfort in the middle of all this uncertainty.

We didn't speak as we started walking, the underbrush crackling softly under our boots. The forest seemed to shift as we moved, the sunlight filtering through the canopy in broken patches that danced on the ground, flickering like candlelight. I couldn't help but feel like we were intruding on something—like we didn't belong in this place. It was too quiet, too still. The air smelled damp and earthy, mixed with the faint scent of pine, but underneath it all was something older, something that felt almost untouched.

We walked for what felt like an eternity, weaving our way through the thick trunks, stepping over gnarled roots that rose from the ground like bones buried in the earth. The hunger was gnawing at me, a deep, dull ache that seemed to grow worse with each step. I could feel my body growing weaker, my legs heavy and sluggish. I didn't know how long it had been since we last ate, but it was starting to take its toll.

Ghost was moving ahead of me, his eyes constantly scanning the forest, looking for any sign of food. His shoulders were tense, his movements careful and deliberate. I could see the strain in his posture, the way he kept glancing back at me every few minutes, as if to make sure I was still there, still keeping up.

"There," he said suddenly, his voice low. He pointed toward a cluster of bushes a little ways off to our left. The leaves were thick, dark green, and dotted with small red berries.

I frowned. "You sure those are safe?"

"Better than starving," he replied, kneeling down beside the bush. He examined the berries for a moment before plucking a few and holding them out to me. "I've seen these before. Shouldn't be toxic. But we'll take it slow. Better to risk a few than go without."

I hesitated, glancing down at the berries in his palm, before taking them gingerly. The hunger pangs were clawing at my insides, and I couldn't deny the desperation that was settling in. I popped one of the berries into my mouth, chewing slowly. It was bitter, with a tartness that made my jaw tense, but it was food. It was something.

We ate in silence, plucking more berries from the bush as we found them, our fingers brushing against the leaves, wet with morning dew. It wasn't enough to satisfy the hunger completely, but it was enough to take the edge off.

For now, it would have to do.