The Only Honor (Based on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

Chapter 15- Terrible Decision

His familiar blue gaze held such a ferocity in them, someone might think that they were his prey. Dark brown hair usually combed, it was ragged and tangled, showing signs of dried blood or mud. There were scars, but some not of which the eye could see. Irons had beat him down mentally- to a point of which even a tough soldier like him couldn't handle- and physically.

I watched again as Mitchell tried to lift the weight off the floor. His teeth clenched in what seemed like pain and, suddenly, he dropped the object tirelessly. Gideon shook his head next to Cormack and then left the room, almost embarrassed that such a soldier couldn't lift a bar with no weights.

"Don't stress it, Mitchell," Cormack told the blank-faced man. "That shoulder will heal with time."

"Time that we don't have," Mitchell muttered as Cormack patted his shoulder and left in a sad silence.

Mitchell, without pressure this time, tried once again to lift weight. When he failed with a sigh, I snuck out from behind an exercise machine and walked to him.

"Give it a rest, friend," I put a hand on his lower bicep and I felt him flinch only slightly. "A nice meal will suit you, a good night's rest as well."

"How can I be expected to help when I can't?" Mitchell faced me, his gaze dark.

I had no answer.

"Defeating Irons with his plans is my number one goal now," Mitchell continued, looking away from me. "And my stupid fucking shoulder stands in the way of it. So, tell me Keona, how can I 'give it a rest?'"

"I'm not asking as a comrade," I spoke sternly. "I'm telling as a friend, a best friend."

Mitchell's blue gaze hovered back to my careful one for a few moments before he sighed. "Leave me alone with your riddles, Keona."

An aggrieved feeling in the pit of my stomach made me narrow my blue gaze. A small part of me felt offended that Mitchell wasn't listening to me, but at the same time I felt as if he was right. As if he didn't need help and I did need to leave him alone. But how could I? It had been close to five years since we had actually had a deep, friendly conversation. And I missed the comfort Mitchell would always give, yet hated him for leaving me to go without it.

"Leave him be, lass," Gideon's gentle voice made me exhale the long breath I hadn't realized I'd taken in. "He needs his time."

"Time?" I faced him. "We don't have time! Irons is out there planning god-knows-what and we're here dealing with an almost-silent Jack Mitchell!"

"Calm down, Keo," Gideon held his hands up in defense.

For once his thick accent wasn't calming me down. Usually it would make it hard for me to not smile and heat up to him, but this time was different.

"Keo? Don't call me that! I told you to leave me alone, Gideon," I glared at and started to move past him.

Grabbing my arm harshly, Gideon looked down slightly into my eyes. "That won't happen, Keo. You keep telling me that you'll never love again, but never speak why. Why?"

I looked up into his deep blue gaze and fought to keep a shudder from going down my spine. There wasn't a doubt in my mind whether to tell the truth when I told him.

"Because I'm scared, Gideon. I'm scared that as soon I love someone and they love me we'll lose one another. It's not a fairy tale of love in this world and perfect things like it don't happen. I lost Will and I won't put another life in danger by loving someone again."