Discover Top Posts Tagged with #ghost 09

there is something almost wrong with ghost being a tech wiz in the og trilogy. i mean, he does open the wrong door, but then again, the hardware was, as he put it: ancient. he still was the designated guy to get on the computer and find price, which makes me think that at some point he must have learned how to be proficient which. just opens up a whole can of worms on its own, but also makes me think that it speaks to his dedication and skills, a desire to learn and be good at things. despite the obvious death he constantly reeks off, he also like to go beep boop on the puter.

#call of duty #cod #simon ghost riley #mw2 09 #ghost 09

Thinking about the little Riley siblings getting fed by one of their neighbors.

Could be an elderly lady, could be a couple across the road, a family with many kids, a lonely widower. Doesn't matter. What matters is that they see little Simon Riley, maybe five years old, walking down the street all alone, carrying a heavy grocery bag in both of his little arms. And they think nothing much of it, at first. It's... not unusual for a child, even one that young, the bag almost as big as his torso, to be sent on his own to get the groceries. They know what kind of neighborhood they live in and a kid going to the store when the parents simply don't have time for it between shifts at their two jobs isn't out of the ordinary. And Mr Riley always made sure to keep any... disciplining inside the house, so really, they don't think much of it.

But for some reason little Simon Riley catches their eye again and again from then on. It's the kind of neighborhood where you learn to mind your businesses, and yet... they start looking out for him, in their own way. When he and his little brother (Tommy, they gather after a few weeks. Just two years old, a toddler) are playing in the front yard, they keep an eye on them, watch them when their mother can't. When their father is doing off god knows what. (They realize quickly that Mr Riley is... a piece of work, at least. They don't pry, but they see him stumble home in the middle of the night most nights. Sometimes he dissappears for weeks and little Simon starts walking straighter, laughs more openly. They don't pry. It's not their place.)

They grow fond of Simon and Tommy, watch as Simon's mom walks him to school on his first day, watch as he walks alone every day after. They watch how he gets thinner. He's never been big, a scrawny kid. But his cheeks start to fall in, and his shoulders slump, and he leaves the house less, and then he's in year four, and Tommy has his first day in school, and their mother doesn't walk him there, not even on his first day. Simon does. Little Simon Riley, who looks like he's the first grader, too small and too thin. With little Tommy Riley toddling after him, no bigger than a four year old. And nobody in their neighborhood is doing well, but these kids are starving, and their mother is never home anymore, working near constantly, and when she is home they don't see her either. Not out on the porch, not playing with her kids in the yard, not even when her husband is away. They don't pry. They know how hard life can be. They just keep watching

They can't just keep watching though, not when they find Simon, nine years old and so small, in their yard, standing on a wooden crate to go through their trash, a crushed carton of milk in one hand. They don't have much either, nobody does. But they can't let this happen. They try to talk to him, offer him a sandwich, leftover mac and cheese, anything, but as soon as they open the door he bolts.

They don't try to talk to him again, don't offer his mother help that they know wouldn't be accepted, out of fear or pride. But they start getting... frivolous. The next time Simon opens their trashcan, stomach cramping, he finds a whole apple, a bit mushy maybe, but way too good to throw away. He takes it. The time after that, half a bag of toast, barely even moldy. He always comes at the same time, every two days, like he needs a day of starving before the hunger overrides his shame again, and eventually they stop putting things in the trash. Instead, there's freshly packaged sandwich on the porch steps one day. A bowl of rice on the old bench, still warm, returned freshly washed the next day.

Simon is ten by the time they open the door again. He doesn't run this time, just accepts the half eaten bagel with a nod and leaves. He brings Tommy with him after. He doesn't want to, wants to keep him away from this. But Simon is suddenly hit with the thought of something happening to him (there were barely any days he didn't do anything to piss their father off now, his body always aching) and Tommy being left on his own, with no clue how to take care of himself, where to get something to eat when his mother was too tired or too drugged out to help. So he brings him with him. They get two bowls of hot soup that day.

When his sleeve rides up the neighbor doesn't comment on the little circles burnt into his skin, they don't pry, it won't do any good. The foster system is overloaded and underfunded as it is, they've seen more harm than good come from it, and they can't stand the thought of the boys being separated. So they just keep feeding them boys. Sometimes all they can offer is a stale sandwich, sometimes they get enough hot food they actually feel full, though those days are rare. They don't talk, they don't question, they don't invite them in. But they take care of them, in their own way.

The only time they speak is when they have to tell Simon they're moving. They can't take care of the house anymore, or they found a better job, something. It doesn't matter. Simon just nods. He stopped believing anything good can last in this world a long time go. He's almost done with school now, 16 years old, already has his apprenticeship lined up. He thanks them, makes Tommy thank them too, and that's it. They move away, never see the Rileys again. There's no happy end, not even a happy middle. No found family. Just a few nights where Simon and Tommy were a little less hungry and an empty house Tommy swears still smells like home-cooked chicken noodle soup at the end of the street.