Word Count: 3k

My mother looked over at me from the dark red, worn down sofa adorned with colorful pillows that had long lost their plushness, each with their own intricate design. "Sunflower," she called out to me, her voice soft like summer rain. My eyes looked around the living room as I slowly approached her, my tiny feet pattering against the carpeted floor. The window was filled with a bright light, shining into the area we sat in together as I hopped onto the couch. A small smile formed on my lips as I looked at my mother, in all her beautiful glory. She looked so young, no wrinkles or fine lines were etched into her skin, no heavy eye bags, no stream of tears rolling down her cheeks, she was how I always wanted her to be, how I loved her to be.

"Mama," I replied, my voice holding so much sincerity, so much purity. Much like her, no scars littered my body, no injuries or bruises to tell the tale of my hardships, no blood, no destruction, no loss, just a youthful innocence. My mother smiled down at me, her eyes soft and so full of love, just her presence alone had my heart swelling. "You've grown so much my sweet girl," she cooed, ruffling the hair on my head as she spoke. A high-pitched giggle found its way through my lips as I squirmed around, swatting her fingers from my hair with a bright smile. "I know mama, I've grown a whole inch!" I exclaimed happily, promptly standing up to show her just how tall I've gotten.

My mother shook her head, her smile lasting longer than I'd ever remembered it. "Not like that sunflower," she explained, wrapping her arms around my stomach and pulling me on top of her lap, turning me to face her. "In here," she whispered, pointing her finger to my heart. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked down at my chest, not understanding what that could possibly mean. "But mama-" she cut me off, softly shushing me, "I'm so proud of who you have become my angel," she whispered, pecking my nose with a soft kiss. My heart ached in my chest, but I couldn't understand why. With a kiddish smile, I nodded my head, "Thank you mama," I replied happily. 

With a small smile she began to attack my face with kisses, making my small body shake with laughter, "Mama!" I shrilled, followed by a few giggles. She pulled away with one last peck to my cheek, "I love you my sunflower," she whispered to me softly, her lips still curled up at the sides. "I love you too mama," I replied, smiling brightly right back at her. After a few moments, she turned me back around, picking up the remote and turning on the boxy television in front of us, picking a show I'd never seen before. My eyebrows pinched together as I stared at the screen, watching how one cartoon character looked pretty hurt, "Mama, what is this?" I asked softly, my mother only rubbed my back in return, remaining quiet.

My body began to squirm the longer the cartoon played out before me, the girl who seemed to be hurt was surrounded by a few other people. Some with funny hairstyles and one other with a weird halloween costume. "Mama," I mumbled, not wanting to watch this anymore. "It's okay Y/n," she replied, my chest ached again at the usage of my name, usually she only called me that when I was in trouble for staying up past my bedtime or having one too many sweets after dinner. So, I stayed quiet. Tears brimmed my eyes as I watched the halloween man begin to yell at one of the other people surrounding the girl, the one helping her. 

My gaze traveled up at my mother who looked back down at me with a sad expression, tears filling her own eyes. Not wanting to watch my mother cry, I redirected my attention back onto the TV, clutching her hand with my tiny one. The girl on the television was now getting her chest pumped on, confusion filled my mind as I watched the scene play out. The man with the funny hairstyle was growing very upset just like the halloween man did, the one helping her was sweating, still pumping his hands up and down, up and down. It looked like it hurt a lot. The light through the window began to hurt my eyes as it grew brighter, almost blinding me. Where were the curtains we always had?

"Watch the television, honey," my mother urged me, cupping my cheeks and turning my head back to where she wanted it to be. Nodding slightly, I kept my eyes on the screen, my chest beginning to hurt. The girl wasn't waking up, I began to feel real bad for the other characters on the screen who seemed really sad over it. The light grew brighter, making me wince as it now filled up some parts of the room so much, the area was no longer visible. My mother tensed slightly as she glanced down at me, "Y/n," she stated, her voice growing deeper. My eyes widened as I looked up at her, "Y/n?" She called out louder, making me jump.

"Mama," I cried as I stared at her with teary eyes. "Please wake up," she urged me, her lips curling into a frown. Shaking my head, I looked at her with a face full of confusion, "Mama, I am awake," I responded softly, my chest beginning to tighten even more, feeling like a pressure was being applied. She shook her head back at me, running her hands up and down the sides of my arms, "Y/n, please just wake up," she whispered, except her voice didn't sound like her own, though, I still found comfort in whoever's it was. The bright light flooded the room even more, my consciousness beginning to feel drawn to it, but my mother kept me planted in place. "Please Y/n, please, I need you like you needed me," she begged, tears running down her cheeks.

Some weird noises filled my ears, two funny accents and the sound of heavy, labored breathing. Distant footsteps pacing back and forth, shouting and yelling, frantic voices ordering each other around. "Y/n, I'm sorry," she whispered, cupping my cheeks with her hand, her smooth fingers feeling more calloused than how I'd remembered them, "I should've never left, I'm sorry," she continued, her voice breaking. A small smile formed on my lips as I leaned into her delicate touch, "It's okay," I whispered, a singular tear running down my cheek. "Come back to me Y/n," my mother asked me for what sounded like the final time, "Just come back." 

Wanting to make her happy, I let my eyes slowly flutter shut, a weightlessness feeling instantly filling my senses that I gladly allowed myself to fall into. For a moment everything felt surreal until my body began to erupt in searing pains, a strangled cry fell from my lips as I forced my lids open again, quickly blinking away the blurriness of my vision. Sounds slowly morphed from distant and muffled into crystalized, recognizable tones, voices that made everything worth fighting for. "Y/n!" Someone shouted next to me, their speech hoarse as if they'd been screaming for a very long time. My head snapped to the direction it came from as I sat myself upright, tears filling my waterline as Ghost stared right back at me, his eyes red as if he'd been crying. "Simon," I whispered breathlessly, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. 

He stood still for a moment before rushing up to me, cupping my cheeks with his bare hands, "I- I was so fuckin' scared," he stated, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. Soap came into view as well, his mohawk seeming more ruffled than usual, like he'd been running his hands through it. "Can't get rid of me that easily," I replied, my voice raspy. Rodolfo stood in the corner, smiling over in my direction as he wiped what looked to be blood on his hands off on a nearby towel. A grin found its way to my mouth as I stared at Soap, "Guess now we're even," I slightly chuckled before coughing. Soap's lips pulled together as he sighed, putting his hands on his hips, "Guess we are," he replied, seeming a bit bummed. 

Ghost glared at him for a solid five seconds causing Soap to put his hands up. "I mean, yes lass, I'm so glad we're even so now I don't have leverage over you which means I probably will end up sitting in the middle for the rest of eternity," he corrected himself, grinning widely. Ghost shook his head, grumbling something along the lines of "bloody idiot" to himself before looking back down at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling as if he was smiling. After offering a small smile in return, my eyes fell down to my torso, a small bandage placed where the bullet had hit me before my gaze wandered over to my shoulder that also was covered in a small dressing. "Nothing major was hit so you'll be alright," Rodolfo stated as he walked up to me, "Just severe blood loss..." a beat of silence followed, "Thought we lost you for a second there."

The room fell into a solemn sadness, no one spoke for a while before someone broke the silence with a confusing statement, can you guess who? "Well, as the pendulum falls," Soap stated sadly, shaking his head as he looked at his feet. My eyebrows furrowed, "What..." I mumbled quietly before breaking out into a fit of painful laughter, making my side hurt. Soap shot his head up and glared at me, "Well 'scuse me for trying to be thoughtful," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. Ghost stared at me with alarm as I continued to laugh, his eyes darting from my bandages back up to my smiling face, once he realized I was fine, he relaxed. "We need to talk about strategy," Rodolfo stated once my laughter died down, and Soap stopped fuming.

Ghost tensed up, glaring at Rodolfo like he just killed his first born child. "Well, us three-" he pointed at himself, Rodolfo, and Soap "-can talk about strategy." My lips pulled to the side as I swung my legs over the small crate I was rested on and stood upright, only slightly swaying, "What about me?" I asked, my voice laced with perplexity. Ghost shook his head, pinching where his nose would be above his balaclava, "Y/n, I don't know if you've somehow bloody forgotten, but you've been shot... twice," he stated matter-of-factly, whipping his head in my direction. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him, "So?" I scoffed, "I still want to help, Alejandro is my friend."

Ghost deeply sighed, and I could tell he was getting worked up. Rodolfo seemed incredibly uncomfortable meanwhile Soap looked like he wished he had some popcorn to munch on. "No, it's too dangerous, I won't risk losing you again," Ghost darkly stated, not seeming like he'd budge even an inch. My eyes narrowed once again, "My side and shoulder were shot, I didn't lose my arms," I stated, throwing my arms up in the air dramatically to prove my point. "Besides, Rodolfo said it was only blood loss, I'll be fine, right Rodolfo," I asked, motioning toward him. Rodolfo somehow managed to look even more uncomfortable as all eyes fell on him, swallowing thickly his gaze darted between me and Ghost.

"Well technically... she is ri-" Ghost shushed Rodolfo loudly, shaking his head as he put his hand up, "Wasn't asking you," he hissed before looking back at me. Rodolfo clamped his lips together as he massaged his temples, shaking his head. "I am your superior, you must listen to me," Ghost stated, using his rank as an excuse. Not on my damn watch. "Last time I checked, I'm also a Lieutenant," I hummed, a satisfactory smirk making its way to my lips. Ghost's eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching from beneath his balaclava. "Not in the 141," he growled. "Well, I don't remember getting reranked, do you Soap?" I asked, looking at Soap with an "you owe me" face. Soap looked as if he'd just been pegged in the ass, "Uh... yep, do not... don't remember that happening," he replied with a smile between clenched teeth.

Ghost glared at Soap, looking moments away from exploding. "For fucks fucking sake," he growled under his breath, taking the biggest deep breath I think I've ever heard coming from anybody before. "Fine," he grumbled before taking two steps toward me, closing the space between us, "Just..." his voice turned softer as he looked away from where I stood, "Make sure to stay safe, okay?" He mumbled before walking off. Rodolfo nodded his head, clasping his hands together, "Well, now that that's out of the way," he stated with a deep sigh before traipsing over to a small table with a blueprint sitting atop it illuminated by a small lamp, "Graves is holding him here."

The rest of us walked up to the small table, a slight limp in my step, but the pain had at least subsided somewhat, besides I've fought under worse conditions. Soap looked down at the paper, crossing his arms over his chest, "His own personal black site prison," he mumbled to himself whilst shaking his head. "My team is locked in here too," Rodolfo added, pointing at a different part of the blueprint. "How do we get him back?" Soap asked, looking between the three of us. "We break in," Ghost stated, his voice a little agitated, still glaring at Soap and Rodolfo for agreeing with me, making my eyes roll. Ghost pointed at the paper again, slightly scoffing, "It's gonna take more than this," he grumbled.

Rodolfo grinned before walking off to a large wooden sliding door behind him. His hands grasped around the handle attached to it, pushing it downwards before pulling it to the side, revealing a large array of different firearms. "It's well stocked," he stated, shrugging his shoulders slightly. My eyes immediately brightened when they fell on a particularly large row inside dedicated to different kinds of knives. "We're gonna need new wheels," Soap added on, slowly approaching the weapons room, eyeing the different selections laid out for our choosing. Rodolfo nodded, pulling a set of keys from his pocket before throwing them at Ghost, whom of which caught easily with one hand. My ass one hundred fucking percent would've completely missed, without a doubt. 

Ghost and Soap exchanged glances as Rodolfo walked over a small lever to his left, yanking it upright resulting in different overhead lights sequentially powering on before the final one shone down upon an up-armored military SUV. "Alejandro thought of everything," Ghost muttered, eyeing the vehicle up and down before looking back at the rest of us. "Yeah he did," I stated, slight admiration in my voice. Ghost snapped his attention in my direction and narrowed his eyes before shaking his head and grumbling something to himself. "Let's go get em'," Soap chirped with a wide grin. Rodolfo smiled and motioned us back toward the blueprint, grabbing a small red pen and marking up the different structures on it.

We spent about an hour bouncing ideas off one another, coming up with different strategies on how to get in as undetected as possible and out with as little casualties of the Los Vaqueros soldiers we'd be rescuing, Shadows, on the other hand, were deemed as target practice. A large prison was where he was being kept, stationed on the very outskirts of Las Almas. Rodolfo looked between all of us, "There is no airstrip, but expect helos for security and air supply," he stated before pointing somewhere else on the blueprint. It was decided we'd drive to an offset, and against Ghost's wishes, ruck up a wall to get inside the compound. "How exactly is Y/n gonna do that safely?" He demanded at Rodolfo who just nodded, "The equipment won't irritate her stitches," he replied, changing the topic soon after.

Cameras became the new discussion quickly, there was a CCTV security room that we'd need to use to locate Alejandro and his men, Ghost immediately volunteered me for it because of course he fucking did. "That's safe enough," he grumbled, avoiding my deadly glares. "While Rudy finds Al, me and Y/n will use the cameras to help Ghost plant charges in key areas," Soap stated, looking up at the rest of us before returning his attention to the blueprint. We came to an agreement that once the charges were set, we'd go get Alejandro and his men, carrying extra guns and supplies with us--except me because apparently in Ghost's words "it's too bloody risky"-- to supply the men with before fighting our way out the way we came in.

Ghost sighed and straightened up, "Any questions?" He asked, looking between us collectively. My mouth opened to speak, and without even giving me a chance to enunciate my first fucking syllable he nodded, "Good." Groaning inwardly, I followed after Rodolfo as he made his way toward the armored up vehicle, everyone else filing behind afterward. My stomach began to churn as I stepped inside of the SUV, my palms sweating profusely. A shiver ran down my spine leaving a subtle unease in its wake. The atmosphere surrounding me, once indifferent, seemed to thicken with an intangible tension, like the calm before a storm. A knot formed in my stomach, its roots burrowing into the recesses of intuition. Alarm bells began to ring around my brain, screaming danger. Shaking my head, I deduced it down to nerves, doing my best to just shake it off. That's all it was, nerves. 

Right?