Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

LXV

5 springs or 1826 sunsets later...

The sun was watching the house over, as the lazy sun rays were running over the old roof as if keeping every resident of the house in the warmth and safety of nature itself. The windows in every room were wide open, letting the wind travel from one room to another, leaving nothing but the fresh summer air behind. The little paws of the gray cat were leaving marks on the fresh dirt, as the little pet was discovering the nature around his new home. Songs of the birds filled up the kitchen of the house, creating a strong bond between the residents of the house and nature which was in control of everything around it. A desire to keep everything under control is part of the human nature. But, every single person is a little part of the big universe, and control is just an illusion that brings peace to our busy minds.

The walls of the thick glass were covered in fog as the cold water filled the glassware. John's fingertips were leaving the prints on the clean glass, as the refreshing drink disappeared in his lips. A hot summer day fell onto the Herefordshire, making the captain feel as if he was in the driest desert in the whole world. For a moment, a man felt as if he could finish the whole jug of water, just to escape the sudden feeling of thirst.

It's been a couple of days since Price came back to the warmth of his own house from a tough mission. Sometimes during the longest summer nights in a soft embrace of his bed, John wondered if the land of Urzikstan would ever see the days of peace. Another russian ultranationalist was inspired by Makarov, and eager to finish what he started. Ivanov's face was circled in the darkest red on the mission plan hiding in the captain's office at the base. Little did Price's new enemy know that the man could only find peace after seeing Ivanov's lifeless body falling onto the cold ground.

However, this mission didn't go as easy as everyone wanted it to be. Every single living being fights until the very last moment of its life, starting from the tiniest bug and ending with the largest animal that could be found on the Earth. People might want to end their sufferings and pain, but everyone wants to live, and Ivanov was no exception. Anything that could be used as a weapon was thrown, used, or hit the captain, leaving marks on his body but hadn't stopped Price even for a moment. The thick bandages were hiding the injuries of the man away from everyone's eyes, and the medicines were numbing the never-ending pain every movement brought to the man.

"Is it still hurting, John?" Amelia watched over her husband, seeing the reaction of the captain to the sudden wave of pain taking over his mind. It was easy for John to hide the pain from people around him, as the physical pain was a long-time mate of his. But, even the toughest man at the SAS base could be caught at the weakest point of his day.

"Should be better now, doc," A hint of the smile appeared on Price's face as a gaze of the deep blue eyes of the man met with the warms of dark brown on the other side of the room. The distance between the two was shortening with each step of a brunette towards her husband.

Knight looked at the time, noting to herself that it was almost time to change the bandages before the house got filled with the voices of the most important people for the family. The empty glass met with the cold surface of the countertop, as a brunette tried to keep her control over every little thing on the summer day. Everything was prepared for the arrival of the large company. Empty chairs in the backyard were waiting to meet with the warmth of the people's bodies, while the colder wind of the evening traveled over the empty plates that found their own places on the long wooden table. Child's laughter entered the room through an open window, as Price left a quick, but full-of-love kiss on the top of woman's head.

"Simon and Isabella are here, Alex is not responding, and Laswell with Jennifer are on the way, guess it's the time to prepare the grill, honey," Amelia whispered to herself as if trying to make sure she remembered every single person who had to share that summer day with the family.