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Most of the time I write but sometimes I also draw.
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ᯓ★ Send requests through asks/inbox
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ᯓ★Please be detailed and elaborate the story process (fluff, angst, etc.) which you like 🦆 or else I won’t be able to write :/ (character, prompt, gender and mood). If you're not specific, then I'll ignore your request sorry. (my ocs can be included too dw)
ᯓ★Remember, no Heavy NSFW! or harmful topics like (incest, abuse, unhealthy and age gap relationships)
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Character interaction blog-> lt-hernandez-answers
Dive into Teen!AU blog-> Nothing but the Beat!
Explore the ocs museum-> Shanaocsmuseum
Keegan adopting a golden retriever and realising how much Logan low-key acts like a dog 🧍♂️
LMFAO here you go gang.
✦Heading: Dog life ahh stuff [requested]
✦Type: Headcanons + short comic style drabble down below
✦Characters: Keegan Russ, Logan Walker, brief mention; Thomas A. Merrick, David "Hesh" Walker.
✦Genre/Tone: Pookiefied
✦Fandom: Call of Duty: GHOSTS
ᯓ★Headcanonsˎˊ˗:
── .✦⛧| Keegan adopted a golden retriever after a rescue mission where the pup crawled into his lap mid-firefight and wouldn’t let go. The dog instantly imprinted on him like he’s the new mom now.
The Ghosts nickname the pup “Sunny” because
Keegan refused to name it.
It physically hurts Hesh to see something so golden and happy next to someone so grumpy and silent.
── .✦⛧| Logan is a certified Retriever cousin
One week in, Keegan starts noticing disturbing similarities between Sunny and Logan:
Both tilt their heads when confused.
Both instinctively follow Keegan around.
Both get distracted by thrown objects (Logan once chased a flashbang on instinct—Keegan screamed).
Both get restless when they’re not outside for too long.
Sunny barks at doorbells. So does Logan, metaphorically—he always shouts, “Who the hell is there?” like a guard dog.
── .✦⛧| The Fetch incident.
One day Keegan absentmindedly throws a tennis ball across base while holding a phone call.
Logan and Sunny both sprint after it.
Keegan then stares. “…what the f—”
Logan comes back holding the ball in his hand like “Here ya go.” Sunny sits, tail wagging proudly.
Keegan: “You have got to be kidding me, kid.”
── .✦⛧| Grooming Chaos
Keegan grooms Sunny's golden fur every other day. Hesh walks in on Logan laying flat next to the dog, hair a mess, clearly having joined mid-nap.
“You’re next,” Keegan deadpans, holding the brush.
Logan: “Wait. Actually. Do it. My scalp is itchy.”
Hesh draws a crude team chart that ranks everyone by dog breed.
Logan: Golden Retriever
Hesh: German Shepherd (pretty obvious why)
Keegan: Siberian Husky (brooding, elite, flashbang blue eyes)
Ajax (in flashbacks): Labrador mix
Keegan finds it later and says nothing… except to add Riley at the top with a crown.
Also, here's a small comic style drabble I wrote below:
🐾 The Walk
[EXT. SAFEHOUSE PERIMETER – EARLY MORNING]
Keegan is walking Sunny, the world's happiest golden retriever. The sun’s just rising, the air is calm, and it’s supposed to be peaceful. That was the plan.
Sunny: (heels. For 0.3 seconds. Then spots a squirrel and lunges.)
Keegan: “Sunny—heel. You’re embarrassing me.”
From behind—enter Logan, in sweatpants, joggers, and a hoodie, trotting up like he too was summoned by squirrel energy.
Logan: “Hey! Wait up!”
Keegan: (sighs) “Why are you out here? Kid”
Logan: “I needed air. And cardio. And… I dunno. He’s cute.” (points at Sunny)
Sunny: barks happily, wags tail harder
Logan: (mimics wagging like an idiot) “See? We vibe.”
[They walk. Kind of.]
Keegan tries to maintain tactical formation. Logan… does not.
Logan: (speed-walking) “Is it weird that I feel weirdly in sync with your dog?”
Keegan: “That’s because you both lack impulse control.”
Logan: “Wow. Okay. Hurtful. But true.”
[Sunny chases a leaf. Logan chases Sunny.]
Keegan: (deadpan) “Logan. You’re not the dog.”
Logan: “Then why do I feel so alive?”
Keegan: “Because your brain operates on pure serotonin and bad decisions.”
[Sunny gets tangled in the leash. Logan too. Somehow.]
Keegan: (watching them spin in literal circles) “How. How did this happen. I’m not walking two dogs.”
Logan: (from the ground, wrapped in leash) “Technically, only one of us poops outside.”
Keegan: “You sure about that?”
[Ending scene: Keegan drags both back toward base. Sunny’s tongue lolls happily. Logan is whistling. Everyone but Keegan is having the time of their life.]
Merrick: (sipping coffee, watching the scene from the window) “Keegan got a dog, huh?”
Hesh: “He got two.”
Merrick: “God help us..”
I'm not actually a fan of this ship, although not to disappoint the shipping stans I can still write it up for you! Pookie
✦Heading: Walruss ahh stuff [requested]
✦Type: Headcanons + short drabble down below
✦Pairings: Keegan Russ x Logan Walker
✦Genre/Tone: Their bond is emotionally raw and war-driven
✦Fandom: Call of Duty: GHOSTS
ᯓ★Headcanonsˎˊ˗:
── .✦⛧| Keegan sees Logan like a mirror—someone who’s seen the worst and still keeps going, even if it’s quietly destroying him. That kind of resilience is something Keegan both respects and fears.
Logan doesn’t try to fix Keegan, but he offers presence. Quiet companionship. The kind you don’t have to ask for.
── .✦⛧| They fight well together, wordlessly. No theatrics, no shouting. Just looks and gestures and flawless, eerie coordination.
── .✦⛧| Keegan becomes hyper-aware when Logan is in danger. It’s one of the few times he’ll break formation—he trusts Logan to watch his back, and he’s terrified of that trust failing.
── .✦⛧| Keegan hates needing anyone, especially someone WAAYYY younger (ifykwim) . But Logan never makes it feel like need. Just... presence. Quiet loyalty.
Keegan is emotionally stunted due to trauma and years of service. He doesn't “do” relationships—at least, not in a traditional way. Trust is earned slowly and painfully.
── .✦⛧| Their version of intimacy is survival-based—patching each other up, making sure the other eats, pulling the other out of danger without thinking.
── .✦⛧| After a mission, Logan sometimes gives Keegan a cold drink and says, “You’re still human, remember?” It’s their way of saying don’t disappear into your head again. No sarcasm, no cold distance—just sitting quietly next to the bed.
── .✦⛧| If one of them has a nightmare, the other won’t say anything—they’ll just nudge their cot closer or toss a spare blanket their way.
── .✦⛧| Keegan once tried to push Logan away emotionally—told him to “grow up” or “find someone better.” Logan’s only response was, “Too late for that,” and Keegan didn’t say anything for the rest of the night.
── .✦⛧| Keegan rarely uses Logan’s name. It’s always “kid” or “you,” except for rare moments when he’s afraid—then it slips out. Logan notices, but never comments.
Logan never hesitates when Keegan gives an order. Not because he’s blindly loyal, but because Keegan earned his trust.
Also, here's a small yap drabble I wrote below:
“Not Friends. Not Yet.”
Sometime after a brutal recon mission. Keegan and Logan are forced into the same safehouse after getting separated from the rest of the team.
Keegan sat on the floor, back against the peeling wall of the crumbling safehouse.
His rifle leaned beside him, and he was peeling dried blood off his glove with the tip of a knife—silent, deliberate.
Across from him, Logan paced. Not from nerves, Keegan figured, but energy. The kind that couldn’t settle after too many hours of adrenaline and blood.
“You’re going to wear a hole through the floor,” —Keegan muttered.
Logan stopped mid-step, glancing at him. —“You’d rather I sit around doing nothing?”
“I’d rather you shut up,” —Keegan replied flatly, then sighed through his nose. —“We’re not getting extracted for another six hours. Try not to burn out before then.”
Silence hung heavy in the air, only interrupted by the occasional crack of wood or wind sweeping through broken windowpanes. Keegan’s head throbbed behind his temples, but he ignored it—like everything else.
Logan finally dropped down onto the dusty couch near the wall. He didn’t say anything, just leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
Keegan risked a glance.
He hated how much the kid reminded him of himself—too quiet, eyes too old, jaw set like someone who’d stopped believing in happy endings years ago.
He hated it because it meant Logan saw too much. The mission, the Federation, the weight of it all—Logan didn’t just carry it, he understood it.
And Keegan wasn’t used to being understood.
“You always this pissed after a mission?” —Logan asked, not looking up.
Keegan’s brow twitched. —“You always this nosy?”
Logan huffed—something between a breath and a laugh. —“Guess we’re both assholes.”
—“Speak for yourself.”
They sat in silence again, but it wasn’t as sharp this time. Something had shifted. Keegan leaned his head back against the wall, staring at the cracked ceiling, letting his eyes slip closed for just a moment.
The couch creaked as Logan shifted. Keegan opened one eye.
“You sleep sitting up?” —Logan asked, and Keegan gave him a dry look.
—“Don’t sleep. Not until I know I’m safe.”
Logan paused. —“You are. I’ll watch.”
Keegan blinked. It wasn’t said with softness or pity. Just fact. Simple as a radio transmission.
He didn’t respond, just let his head fall back again.
Minutes passed. Long, quiet, unremarkable. And yet… something eased inside his chest.
Maybe it wasn’t trust. Not yet.
But Keegan didn’t mind the silence when it was Logan who kept it with him.
Hello duckie quackers, I'm back at writing again, I'll start accepting fanfictions on COD: Ghosts, even headcanons, prompt-based stories, and much more.
And it's currently open right now!
So, feel free to drop your ideas via my inbox. I'll be looking forward to writing em'!
How to send fic requests!:
╭────── 𖥔 ݁ ˖
↳Status: Always open for requests!
ᯓ★ Send requests through asks/inbox.
ᯓ★ Any trope/situation for fic can work AS long as I find it okay. 🌟
ᯓ★ Please be detailed and elaborate the story process (fluff, angst, etc.) which you like 🦆 or else I won’t be able to write :/ (character, prompt, gender and mood). If you're not specific, then I'll ignore your request sorry.
ᯓ★Remember, no Heavy NSFW! or harmful topics like (incest, abuse, unhealthy and age gap relationships)
☀️🌊☀️Ta Da! You have been blessed for you to have an amazing summer in your fandom, send this to 5 or so other Mutuals as well to Bless them to have an amazing fandom summer as well. Keep The Game Going☀️🌊☀️
☀️🌊☀️Ta Da! You have been blessed for you to have an amazing summer in your fandom, send this to 5 or so other Mutuals as well to Bless them to have an amazing fandom summer as well. Keep The Game Going☀️🌊☀️
hi! can we get a general hc for the ghosts? thank you in advance ☕
Call Of Duty "Ghosts" headcanons
• David "Hesh" Walker
- big family man, i'm talking will do anything and everything just to make sure his family is safe and happy.
- adding on to that, he's a huge people pleaser - tends to put everyone elses needs before his own.
- protective over the people he loves. yes the motto of The Ghosts is to not leave their own behind, but his protectiveness over his team/friends/family goes beyond formality.
- he was absolutely reckless as a kid, climbed and jumped off of every surface he could reach resulting in Elias damn near having multiple heart attacks.
- definitely a dog person. he doesn't mind cats but loves Riley with his whole heart (i also can't imagine him with a cat).
- him and Logan were attached at the hip growing up, so his love for his brother grew into attachment issues, especially after the ODIN attack.
- whenever something happens and he had a chance to stop it but didn't, he beats himself up mentally for days after.
- feels a lot, even too much sometimes, but doesn't show it so as not to worry the people around him.
- hates being alone. he's so used to being around his family and team that the silence of being alone for a longer period of time just makes him feel uneasy.
- he's not really scared of anything but his biggest fear is losing the people close to him, especially due to the war.
• Keegan P. Russ
- has the driest humor that will either make you laugh or question all your life choices. he's not rude just insanely sarcastic.
- he was interested in weapons and the military when he was a teenager, so part of the reason he enlisted was to learn how to work with them.
- closed off and introverted, not due to any sort of trauma but because he believes that good things come to people who don't overshare their thoughts and feelings.
- unlike Hesh, he prefers being alone because noise and chatter isn't his kind of environment, and spending so much time with the team gives him very little time to himself.
- has a freakishly good memory. this man will remember something someone said to him 10 years ago even if it's completely irrelevant, making him a good asset to The Ghosts cause he remembers things about people most would see as not important.
- another part of why he enlisted in the military - apart from wanting to learn more about weapons and strategy - is because due to his quiet nature he was always disregarded, so a small part of why he enlisted so young is to prove himself as capable.
- pushes himself to his limits and simply doesn't know how to stop, doesn't know when it's enough. sometimes it leads to being so burnt out he can't function properly.
- hates feeling useless, hates feeling like he can't help. he has to be able to do something, he has to be good at something, otherwise the guilt eats him alive even if he doesn't show it.
- goes into full killer mode when someone he cares about is in danger, Ajax for example. when he was taken by The Federadion, before they found him, he killed that Fed out of pure anger.
- blamed himself for months after Ajax's death. for not getting there on time, for not being able to do anything but hold him as he died in Keegans arms. eventually got over it, but it still comes back to him occasionally.
• Logan Walker
- tries to be like Hesh in every aspect, so when he was little he would follow him around and do all the reckless stuff that his brother did.
- was never the most social but also prefers it that way, he prefers solitude over having 10 people around him at all times.
- isn't much of a talker, but will talk to his brother on occasions because he feels safe around him. same with Elias, he talks to people he feels safe with.
- even though he's technically Hesh's dog, Logan absolutely adores Riley. when they first got him, Logan took it upon himself to train Riley and they became inseperable shortly after.
- really likes the beach. he used to go to the beach often before ODIN, just to have some time to himself, and he grew attached to it.
- took the loss of their mother really hard. some days, he can't even look at himself in the mirror because he reminds himself of her.
- often thinks about how life could have been if it wasn't for the Federation taking everything away. he couldn't imagine himself anywhere other than where he is right now, but he thinks about what he would do if he werent a soldier.
- loves Hesh, but when he was younger he felt like he was constantly in his brothers shadow. he eventually grew up and out of it, but it messed with his head.
- he doesn't express it, but he feels the most out of everyone on the team. he's always been that way - feeling strong feelings but always bottling it up cause he didn't feel like they were important.
- always puts everyone before himself. he doesn't care what happens to him as long as everyone else is safe and okay. it's one of his best traits, but he also sometimes wishes he could put himself first.
• Thomas A. Merrick
- really dedicated to his job. he swore to himself that he would do his best and push himself to his limits as a soldier.
- he makes more dad jokes than an actual dad, but they're actually funny. yes, he's a serious man, but he thinks that even in the time of crisis there's gotta be something positive.
- he's determined by nature, never doing anything halfway. if a job needs to be done, it should be done fully and not half-assed.
- he strikes me as someone who plays loud music in a car, no matter if hes alone or not. doesn't matter which genre it is, he just has to have something to kill the silence.
- surprisingly good at cooking. you'd think that for someone who spends most of his time working, he wouldn't have time for other things, but he likes cooking in his free time.
- similar to Keegan, he pushes himself to his limits. the only difference is that he knows when to stop, but it still puts him out of it for a few days after a long mission.
- he has a hard time letting people in, probably due to how many comrades he lost. when the Walker boys first joined, it took him a while of working with them for them to grow on him.
- he's seen a lot. he's seen people die, people being tortured, he's lost some of the people closest to him during his time in the military. he still sees the images sometimes, even when it's peaceful.
- even though it takes him a while to let people in, when he finally does he gets mad at himself when something happens to the people he got close to.
- one of his bad traits is that he gets impatient often and acts on his impulses. when it feels like time is running out, he doesn't think before he acts and acts impulsively, which can sometimes be good but most of the time leads to chaos.
• Kick
- ever since he was young, he really liked technology. computers, gadgets, he was always interested in it and messing with something.
- stealthy as hell. yes, he's good with technology, but he could also be walking right behind you and you wouldn't hear a thing. he's so light on his feet.
- beside his interest in technology, he seems like a person who would be interested in weapons. not just shooting and stuff, he would open up a gun just to mess with the mechanism.
- always has everyone's back. he's a huge team player and if someone needs backup? he's there, no questions asked. insanely loyal.
- he's insanely smart. i'm talking, knows everything about everything. random facts about stars, animals, computers, people, you name it he knows it. this comes in really helpful when theres a crisis happening and he has to calm someone down.
- he tends to feel left out a lot. yes, he's a big help with intel and hacking into databases, but sometimes he feels useless in other aspects.
- constantly under stress. doesn't matter what he's doing, he's always thinking about a 100 other things and he can't focus on one thing at a time. this eats away at him often, even if he tries to ignore it.
- whenever he makes a mistake or something slips past him, he gets so in his head that he makes himself believe he's not capable of doing his job anymore. his mind is his worst enemy.
- he's always the happy, sociable one in big groups, but really he doesn't wanna be. he doesn't like being alone, but he also doesn't like having to be upbeat all the time when in reality his brain is constantly at conflict with itself.
- smoking is his guilty pleasure. he doesn't do it often, but when he does it's mostly to shut his mind up. either that, or he hits a punching bag until his mind and fists are numb.
• Elias T. "Scarecrow" Walker
- loves his sons more than anything. after losing his wife, he made sure to keep Hesh and Logan safe from anything and everything. they're the only thing he's got left in this world, the only ones he can trust. (iykyk)
- also really dedicated to his job. hell, he's dedicated to everything he does because he knows how easy it is to lose people. also a born leader through and through.
- takes Riley on walks to pass time. sometimes he needs to just unwind, and walks in the sun feel nice after all the chaos he's been through.
- likes telling stories about his wife. they make him feel better in hard times, like he didn't completely lose her.
- the tests that Hesh mentions he puts them through aren't because he doesn't trust them, but because he just wants to make sure they're ready for all the hardships life has for them.
- sometimes he feels guilty for letting go of Rorke. he said it himself, it's the hardest decision he's ever had to make.
- as well as Merrick, he's seen some things no one should see. the images still replay in his mind sometimes, but all he feels is anger at the injustice of some situations he's been in.
- as proud as he is of Logan and Hesh for following his footsteps, he's absolutely terrified of losing them, even if he doesn't show it. he can't lose them as well.
- he feels guilty for seeming biased sometimes, like he puts one son before the other, but its not that way.
- cracks jokes even when all hell breaks loose, but doesn't really know if he's trying to comfort everyone else or himself. he's so used to being a leader, the strong one, that he doesn't let himself admit he's scared too.
cw!: angst, depressive thoughts, wounds, blood, mentions of loss and death, mourning, self-guilt, general talk of death ‘n stuff like that.
Characters: Keegan P. Russ, Hesh Walker, Logan Walker, Thomas A. Merrick; brief mentions of Alex V. "Ajax" Johnson.
Fandom: Call of Duty: GHOSTS
Type: Fanfiction
A/N: I don't know man, I'm a shame to cod ghosts community I might re-write??
“It was Rorke. He's targeting... look... the wall....”
“C'mon! Hang in there, Ajax.”
“He's gone..”
“Being a member of the Ghosts wasn’t normal. It’s a far from that or a luxury, and everyone knows it. Their life would forever be haunted by the deaths they caused and witnessed. And if you don’t want to do one thing, it’s fuck with the Ghosts. Rorke did that.
But you're not focused on that, no one is. It’s if you were a little sooner, he’d be alive still… he’s dead. He’s fucking dead because you were slow and-
Calm down…”
«<June 7, 2027.
Fort Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, USA.
8:20 p.m.>
The ride back was silent. Not out of discipline—out of grief.
Keegan hadn’t said a word since they pulled Ajax’s body out from under that blood-stained floor. No one had the heart to press him. Not Merrick. Not even Hesh, whose temper usually burned hot enough to light the dark.
The safehouse door shut behind them with a dull clang, and the team dispersed like smoke. Logan dropped into a corner, helmet in hands. Hesh paced like a caged animal.
Keegan didn’t move.
Still in his gear, dried blood on his gloves, his eyes locked on nothing. His shoulders were set, jaw tense—but his eyes… they were hollow.
Merrick finally spoke. “We did what we could.”
Keegan blinked, slowly. “Did we?” His voice cracked, low and hoarse like it hadn’t been used in days.
Hesh stopped pacing. “Rorke did this,” he growled. “We’re gonna bury that son of a—”
Keegan snapped up. “And that’s gonna bring him back?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut. Sharper than any knife.
Hesh flinched, caught off-guard. Logan looked between them silently.
Keegan stood now, not quite steady. He pulled something from his vest pocket—Ajax’s dog tags, bloodied and bent.
“I was supposed to have his back,” he whispered, more to himself. “We’ve been through three hellholes together. This wasn’t supposed to be his end.”
Merrick stepped forward, calm but firm. “This isn’t on you.”
Keegan shook his head; eyes fixed on the metal in his hand.
Silence fell.
Riley padded into the room, sat at Keegan’s feet, and whined—soft, almost like a mourning cry.
Keegan crouched beside the dog, hand resting on the fur between Riley’s ears. “You knew, didn’t you, bud…”
He finally pulled off his gloves and set them on the table. The tags went on top, laid carefully like something sacred. Keegan didn’t cry. He couldn’t. But his silence screamed louder than anything else in that room.
Hesh looked like he wanted to break something. Maybe everything, fists clenched so tight his knuckles went white beneath the grime and cuts.
“No fucking ceremony,” he muttered under his breath.
Logan looked up. “What?”
“I said no fucking ceremony. No medals. No folded flag sent home to a family that doesn’t even know what we are. They’ll just call it ‘classified’ and move on.”
Merrick didn't argue. He just stood there, arms crossed, jaw tight. He was always composed, always in control—but even he couldn’t hide the tired sag in his shoulders this time.
“We’ll do it ourselves,” he said. “Tonight.”
[AJAX'S BURIAL - REMOTE RIDGE, NIGHTFALL]
The safehouse backed into an overgrown ridge, far from any Federation eyes. Merrick had the team move out under darkness—no lights, no chatter, just shovels and quiet boots crunching over frost-dirt.
They buried him beneath an old tree, half-dead and twisted by years of wind and war. It felt fitting. Ajax had always liked places with character.
No priest. No flag. No salutes.
Just the Ghosts. And the wind.
Keegan stood over the shallow grave with his arms crossed, head down. Merrick stepped forward and knelt, setting Ajax’s tags atop the dirt.
“He died on mission. He died hard. And he died a Ghost.”
That was it.
No speeches. No drawn-out honors.
Just truth.
[BACK AT THE SAFEHOUSE - LATER THAT NIGHT]
The team sat scattered around the dimly lit room, silent.
Keegan was cleaning his rifle, but slower than usual. Every now and then, his hand would pause on the bolt, grip just a little tighter than it needed to be.
Logan was hunched over his own gear, but his eyes weren’t focused. Just going through the motions.
Hesh finally broke the quiet. “You think Rorke watched it?”
No one answered.
He kicked the edge of a crate. “He wanted us to find him. Wanted us to see what he did.”
Keegan didn’t look up. “He got what he wanted.”
Hesh’s voice cracked. “Then let’s give him what he doesn’t want.”
Merrick leaned forward from the shadows. “We will.”
He pulled a small, weathered journal from his pack. Flipped to a page. A single name, etched in pen so hard the page was slightly torn: Gabriel Rorke.
He handed the book to Keegan.
“You get first shot.”
Keegan stared at the page for a moment. Then nodded.
[JUST BEFORE THE DAWN]
Keegan stood alone near the burial site, staring out at the empty ridge. The first light of dawn hadn’t yet touched the horizon. He lit a cigarette, something he hadn’t done in years.
“You dumb bastard,” he whispered, a rough laugh breaking through his grief. “You always said I’d be the first one to go. Guess I owe you a beer when I see you again.”
He took one long drag, then crushed the cigarette out in the dirt.
This war wasn’t over. Not even close.
But for the first time in a long time, they weren’t just fighting to survive.
Now—they were fighting for Ajax.
[A longer memory/aftermath sequence]
Featuring: Keegan P. Russ & Alex “Ajax” V. Johnson
[FLASHBACK – OPERATION: SAND VIPER]
Location: U.S. military makeshift camps in Tel Aviv, Israel
Time: 2006, 1934 hrs
Keegan pressed his back against the half-collapsed stone wall, M4 hot in his grip. His forearms were slick with sweat beneath the sleeves of his desert cammies, dust clinging to every crevice of skin and gear.
“Contact, three o’clock. You see it?” he asked into the comms.
“No eyes—give me a sec.”
Thwack! A bullet slammed into the wall just inches from Keegan’s face, sending a spray of stone chips across his cheek.
“Yep,” Ajax’s voice crackled back, followed by the clatter of return fire. “Got him. That guy had an awful haircut anyway.”
Keegan rolled his eyes. “This mission was supposed to be recon, not a damn shooting gallery.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to the jackasses lighting us up like it's the Fourth of July.”
The two Marines regrouped behind a battered Humvee, wind kicking sand across the bullet-pocked surface. Ajax was bleeding slightly at the eyebrow, nothing serious—but enough to sting. He wiped it and grinned.
“This op's cursed, man.”
“Beginning to think we’re cursed,” Keegan muttered.
“Not cursed,” Ajax said, popping a fresh mag into his rifle. “Just too stubborn to die.”
They pushed forward again, side by side, like they always had. Clearing alleyways. Sweeping low homes. It was brutal urban warfare, hot and close, nothing like the clean fantasy training simulations back at Pendleton.
[LATER THAT NIGHT – TEMPORARY FORWARD CAMP]
The air had cooled, but barely. Their squad was digging in for the night, and Keegan sat outside his makeshift tent, cleaning his weapon.
Ajax approached with two MREs. He tossed one at Keegan.
“Got us the good stuff.”
“Chili Mac?”
“Hell yeah.” Ajax flopped down beside him. “Told the new guy I’d trade him my gun cleaning kit for it. He actually believed me.”
Keegan cracked a small smirk. “You’re an ass.”
“I’m your ass.”
They ate in silence for a moment. Then Ajax looked up at the dark sky, stars barely visible through the orange haze of distant fires.
“You think any of this’ll matter in ten years?”
Keegan looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this—boots in the sand, blood on our hands. You think history’ll even remember Sand Viper? Or us?”
Keegan was quiet for a moment. “I’ll remember. That’s enough.”
Ajax chuckled. “You gonna write my memoirs?”
“Only the embarrassing chapters.”
[PRESENT – SAFEHOUSE, FORT SANTA MONICA, HOURS AFTER “STRUCK DOWN”]
The lights hum. Night has fallen. Silence drapes the room like a burial flag.
Keegan sat at a table in the corner. His gloves were off. His gear lay stripped piece by piece, as if he could surgically remove the grief.
In his hand, a weathered photograph: at base in the sunset. The one Ajax always carried. His thumb ran over the crumpled edge.
He hadn’t spoken since they’d brought Ajax’s body back. He’d washed the blood off his friend himself—his best friend—meticulously, as if trying to undo what had been done. But no medic’s hands, no Ghost’s skill, could bring him back.
“You were right,” Keegan finally whispered to the photo. “You were too stubborn to die.”
He swallowed hard.
“So why’d you go and prove me wrong?”
There was no answer. Just the hum of the lights and the muted footsteps of the others in the next room.
Keegan leaned back, staring at the ceiling. Memories flickered behind his eyes—chili mac, dry jokes, firefights in foreign sand.
“I’ll remember,” he said again, this time to no one.
[POST AJAX'S DEATH AFTERMATH]
The steel door to the briefing room creaked open as Keegan stepped in. He was already geared up—vest fastened tight, sidearm holstered, rifle slung. His helmet rested under one arm. The others weren’t even fully dressed yet.
Merrick, standing at the holographic table, raised an eyebrow. “You’re early.”
“Need a favor,” Keegan said without ceremony. His voice was level, clipped, colder than usual.
Logan glanced up from his seat, eyes narrowing slightly. Hesh, sipping black coffee, paused mid-sip.
“I want point on the next op.”
Merrick’s gaze narrowed. “That’s not how we do things.”
Keegan stepped forward, the hollow of his boots echoing on concrete. “I wasn’t asking.”
A tense silence stretched between them.
Hesh leaned back, arms crossed. “You thinking with your head right now, or your heart?”
Keegan turned to him, expression unreadable behind his balaclava. “I’m thinking with what's left.”
Merrick exhaled through his nose, nodding slowly. “You want front. Fine. But you stick to protocol. You go solo, you die solo.”
“Understood.”
The tone in his voice said otherwise.
[LATER – ARMORY, 0632 Hours]
Keegan moved with precision. Each weapon he checked, each mag he loaded, was part of a ritual. Controlled. Methodical. He wasn’t just prepping for war—he was purging everything that made him hesitate.
He picked up Ajax’s old breaching shotgun, still scratched from Sand Viper. The armorer gave him a look.
