Hello! Im wondering if there will be a part two to the radio fic you posted. I have so many questions and theories for it. Is is ghost!reader x ghost? Is he just hearing things, haunted by his own guilt? What actually happened to reader?
So originally I was not planning a part two , but now you've got me curious....hehe
Thank you so much for asking lovely! And I'm sorry for not seeing your message sooner. <3
(Slight gore warning for the end.)
After that night, he just couldn't do it anymore.
He took a week off from active duty, and nobody really questioned it. The official report was filed under 'medical complications' but everyone knew that was not the reason.
He suited up, gear and all, and headed out. It was early enough the sun had just started to peak the ridge, the dark blue sky disrupted by an orange crack. That spread across the horizon, crawling is way forward across the land.
He took Riley along with him also, maybe the site was fresh enough he could find a track, trace, or reminet from you.
He wasn't looking for you necessary, but simply for closure. So he could move on, or maybe thats just what he told himself. Whatever helped his guilty conscience.
After several hours he reached the site, and everything was just as it was, nothing moved, nothing disturbed.
Heck even the patterns in the earthen soil was the same.
He felt his chest tightening as the memory materialized in front of him again. No matter how hard he shut his eyes, or turned away the scene it unfolded repetendly.
He swear he could hear you calling out for him, like you were right behind him. He actually spun around expecting...nothing..
He felt like throwing up.
After a few minutes he was able to unzip a pouch on his person, bringing a small rag into view. He knelt down to let Riley get a sniff of the sample.
It was a sock of yours, oddly enough. He had swiped it from your laundry hamper, unwashed. It surely would carry your scent , complete with dirt and grime.
The pup sniffed for a few seconds then read the air. He began wandering around the area before Riley took a track and began meandering through the rubble.
Simon watched and began following at a distance, not wanting to disturbed his working dog.
The dog stopped, and let out a sharp bark.
Simon heart quicked as he drew closer to where the dog had sat. He began sifting through the remanence and found your pack. It was stained with a dark liquid. He didn't want to linger on that too long.
All of your stuff was gone out of it, med kit, mags, and granola bars he knew you always kept.
The search continued for the rest of the day, the mutt continuing the scented trail, only to lead down to a steep concrete embankment, with a small river running along side it.
Simon tried to keep his breathing steady as his eye caught something.
Your black boot was resting on its side next to the stagnant water. As he got closer with caution he noticed the laces were gone ...thats odd
A foul smell lingered above the water and surrounding area, not just rot but also something overly sweet..?
As he picked it up, it was clear two things.
It was heavier than it should have been, and two, there was a sizable slit on the back of the boot, right above where your heel would be.
It was clean through, definitely a blades doing.
Simon had to grip it with both gloves to keep from fumbling it.
Dark fluid poured from it as he tilted it slightly, small bugs flowing along with it.
He stomach churned as he inspected the boot further, it was undeniably soggy for being outside in the dry climate ...
He wasn't ready ,but he forced himself to look in the boot. Tangled tendons wrapped around a mangled bone, wedged inside. He nearly threw the blasted thing on reflex.
He had to sit down and rest for a few minutes , trying to keep from shaking. Riley plopped beside him, nuzzling his forearm, silently curious to his hander's discovery.
Things became more and more clear as more time he sat on the embankment, as he pieced things together.
Someone, or something probably had found you, and slit your achilles tendon so you couldn't get away.
Then dragged you to this river side, away from prying eyes and potential help.
What happened next he didn't exactly know, had they thrown your body in the river? Burned it? Or maybe taken it for organ harvesting?
But all that assumed, it was a person who did that, not a beast or something more unexplained..because in all of his years of active duty he had never seen a scene so perfect..?
The things left behind were not consistent, and why did the air smell sweet?
Simon's mind wandered, maybe something beyond his imagination, sure he thought things like monsters were childish, but the evidence just didn't make any sense...
Had you really been eaten by a wendigo or maybe a hydra?
The odds were very low, but never zero
You had probably died a very painful and slow death.
Which filled him with more grief and rage then he'd ever known. He wanted closure, and sure he got some, but not like this..
...not like this because time wouldn't heal this wound..
And boy, if your ghost didn't haunt his ass now..