Pray For War

For Whom The Bell Tolls

A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me

----

Ghost and I moved through the sewer silently, I took the front like old times and he stayed a few steps behind. The armour that had clung tightly to my body had always given me the feeling of invincibility but against that thing that had dropped down from the ceiling, I felt defenceless.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep," Ghost whispered, "If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." I breathed out with a smirk and turned back to him. He flickered a glance in my direction then snapped his head to the sound of dripping water. He was just as uneasy as I was.

"What do you know Sin?", Eric asked quietly,

"What do you mean?", I replied with a raised brow.

"You've been two steps ahead of us this whole mission.", He clarified.

"There is something fucked up happening here, Eric. Something the UAC has kept covered for a decade, perhaps longer. I don't know what it is. But I'm going to end it", I breathed softly, treading through the water. 

"What was the price, Valkyrie?", Eric met my sight, his face saddened. He knew I didn't want to be here and I wouldn't have been if it wasn't essential. 

"My freedom", I shivered in the water that rippled beneath our legs.

"Valkyrie, when your feet meet that tarmac again on the outside. I want you to keep walking until you're far away from the Marines. From RRTS. You keep walking and you don't look back", Eric murmured in his deep voice.

"What about you?", I asked softly, tapping my finger against the side of my rifle.

"I've been in the marine corps for 27 years, Valkyrie, It's too late for me", Eric explained, shining his light ahead.

"I don't plan to walk when I hit that tarmac. I plan to run", I smirked, leading ahead.

"Move on" My voice came out soft but echoed off the surface of the sewer water. I struggled to move my legs forward as the water became deeper and reached just below my hip.

"What happened to you after our last mission?" I asked quietly but I knew he'd heard me. 

"My shoulder healed and I came back to base. Where there was now a memorial in the hall for unit 1 with my face on it. I was the only survivor and they treated me that way. They still do.",  

"These missions make me feel like myself again",  He replied simply.

 My head snapped left and right down the intersecting paths of the tunnel as we soldiered through the disgusting water. It seemed only logical to keep going straight until we reached the end then double back so I pushed on. Out of the corner of my eye, Eric's beam of light quickly flicker down both sides of the crossroads in the tunnel then settled forward. My PDA was being eerily quiet but I had to assume the blueprint of the sewerage system wasn't in its database.

"You suffered post-traumatic stress disorder?" I asked calmly, "Something like that" He confirmed and we moved ahead. I spiralled into a cloistered existence where I shut people away for my own sake. It was safer for them. 

"I didn't mean to leave you to deal with that" I stated firmly and illuminated the sewer ceiling with my light. "I know you Valkyrie, you wouldn't have left without a reason" Ghost replied and I smirked. He was always so forgiving.

"Goat, Sin, I think there's something coming up behind you." Reaper's voice echoed in my ear. "It's in the water." Fuck

"Shit" I cursed and spun around to shine my light behind me, it was clear...for now. I saw Ghost's light flicker in the corner of my eye and watched as it faded to nothing.