Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

I

The cold winter sun was shining down on the rough tops of the tall mountains covered in the blanket of cold snow. Underneath the white peaks, the creaking of the soft untouched by the cold ground echoed in the silence of nature. The snow had taken over the peaks, while the green grass was still covering the ground. One step after another, a group of men was getting further into the unknown land where the heavy boots of neither of them ever touched the ground surrounded by nothing but the tall trees and the rocky mountains.

Even if nature was peaceful, human beings rarely listened to the song of the birds or watched how fast the clouds flowed in the endless sky above them. Another cold day away from home, another mission on the minds of all four men, and that was exactly how life felt for every single one of them throughout the years in service of their own country. Nobody said protecting and holding the weight of the whole world on their shoulders is easy, and every scar left on the body of any of them could prove that. Pain could be easily taken over with the painkillers, or forgotten with time. Nothing was more haunting than their own minds in the middle of the quiet night. The captain felt the sun kissing his rough skin when the rays managed to get to his face under the cover of the hat. Graying hairs in the perfectly trimmed beard of a man were telling the story of John's life and experience with no words spoken out loud. The mixture of the voices in the headset was leading them deeper into the mountains, to finally meet with the goal of the mission. The time was running away too fast, especially if it was in the hands of Makarov. Every single mission that had his name written on it felt personal, too personal Price. Every step at the time was bringing him closer to a bastard, and at every point, the captain was ready to end it all with his bare hands. 

Sudden sharp pain took over the captain. In one moment, nothing was on John's mind other than a misunderstanding of what went wrong with his own body. Anger took over the man, as his legs kept on taking more steps further, ignoring the pain and pushing further. John was never the first one to quit, even if his body suddenly was giving up under the pressure of the mountains, the man's mind was standing strong and was ready to move further. A large palm of John's hand fell on his side, trying to inspect where the problem came from. The red liquid was drawing an unknown picture over the captain's uniform, and eventually, drops of red blood covered the rough fingertips that held a cigar just a while ago. 

"Stay with us, sir! " Soap's voice echoed in John's head as his mind followed the body, and was ready to give up. Three pairs of eyes were kept on the captain as if trying to predict what would happen in the next moment, when in reality even Price himself couldn't predict the response of his body after a single second. Unable to fight with his own body and mind any longer, the light of the blue eyes was covered by his eyelids as the head of the man fell down on the sharp ground.

"6-2 to Watcher, we need medevac now!" Gaz looked over the captain whose head was peacefully resting on the cold ground of the mountains. The world around was quiet. Not even the sound of the wind or the song of the bird reached their ears. There were questions running around in the air, but none of them was able to vocalize it.

Time was going slower with every steady, but slow breath the captain took in the trap of his unconscious body when Gaz's fingers found the pulse under the heavy uniform of the captain. The rising torso was telling the members of 141 that the situation wasn't as bad as everyone expected it to be. At the end of the day, one of the worst nightmares military men can encounter in their careers is losing the family they gained on the field. The noise of the helicopter's engine took the quiet peace away from the nature of the mountain area. Metal bird wasn't a usual part of the landscape, but was a critical part of the day for Price, and maybe the whole team. The team boarded the helicopter as fast as it was possible when the medical team brought the captain from the cold ground up into the air. Ghost's gaze was traveling around, hoping not to see the familiar faces on the ground. Luck and fate are not something any of them ever believed in. Having a rifle in your hands can turn any of them into a horsemen of fate. However, on that quiet day, even Simon believed a bit of luck was on their side.