Ghosts Broken Mask

1 - 'Rage'

You heard it. The soft crying of a male and you knew who it was.

Ghost, your Lieutenant. It was coming from the closet in the HQ hallways. His intimidating and harsh demeanor you'd always known had vanished as you heard his sobs.

Hours earlier in the cafeteria Ghost had been targeted by some higher ranks for his 'snarky' responses. Everyone who knew Ghost was used to this, it's what made him - him.

It was a group of three, you'd seen them around They traveled in a pack, and acted like the typical high school bully in the American movies. They were just muscle not brain, that's why they were here.

They had humiliated Ghost, ripped his mask off, and smashed it on the floor while people just watched.

You had seen the commotion and tried to force your way through the crowd to help him, but the circle of people didn't budge. You only seen glimpses of what was happening, but you got the understanding.

You and Ghost weren't close, but he was your Lieutenant, and he trained your class of recruits.

Ghost had walked off with his head low, you tried to catch him, but he was gone before you could. People had laughed and some gasped, pointing fingers, and whispers spread like wildfire.

You knew Ghost was stern and cold, that he avoided any conversation he could and always had expressionless eyes.

You had been a recruit for 3 months now and he was always the same. Intimidating and demanding. You had tried to make conversation with him before, but you were brushed off with a wave of his hand.

You had always felt the urge to be friends with him, you weren't exactly popular on TF141 either.

Due to your small size and skill, people made fun of you wondering how you would become a soldier, or how you had survived so long. Insults like 'midget' and 'dwarf'. You had grown up with verbal abuse and bottling emotions and feelings weren't something you needed to think about, they just naturally stored themselves away, deep down.

You felt one emotion more than any other, but you never portrayed it. Anger. It boiled down deep beneath your surface, your emotionless face heated and scowling underneath its cold mask. One day it'd melt right off, and you'd show them. Ghost was rather a loner as well. That was when he was without his friends.

He usually sat alone, walked alone, and worked alone. And it intrigued you, but he had made it clear he barely remembered you existed. You had started to look for Ghost immediately, although he seemed fine after the incident, you just wanted to talk to him. Your excuse was to ask for extra training time.

You didn't care in the slightest what his face looked like without the mask, what mattered was he wore it everywhere, and never took it off and for it to be forcefully torn from him was something to be punished for.

You had been wandering around for a couple of hours, you'd circled back and collected the mask pieces.

You had almost decided to give up when you walked past the closet and heard it. The halls were empty, you usually liked to walk the back halls, they were always empty, and you liked to be alone, you were beyond the point of making friends here. This was work, not school.

You had remained silent on the other side of the door; his sobs made you feel angry. Not at him but at them, those stupid fucking high ranks. You clenched your fists, your knuckles going white as your nails dug into your palms. You didn't speak, you didn't dare make a noise.

You felt that maybe if Ghost was aware he'd been found crying it'd humiliated him more and you weren't going to be responsible for that. Your teeth were gritted as your thoughts raced. Confusion was mixed with your anger. Why were you angry about something that happened to Ghost?

You felt like there was gasoline pumping in your veins, fueling you and setting your skin on fire as you itched to make them hurt. Your chest heaved and your heart was pounding, you weren't nervous or scared, you were angry. It was pulsing through your nerves and lighting up your eyes with flames.

Your fists shook and before you knew it your body trembled slightly from your anger, you felt as if it was radiating off you, your skin burning and your brain resisting your desires. Pent-up rage flooded you and washed over you, leaving you seeing red, and you seethed.

Your eyes glared and your jaw clenched as you wanted nothing more than to hurt those motherfuckers, humiliate them the way they had your Lieutenant. This was something you couldn't bottle; you couldn't calm yourself and comfort him. Your mind, body, and soul wanted one thing at that moment.

The bottles of emotions inside you shattering and stabbing you like needles injecting more and more anger into your system.

You felt heavy as you stood, like a weight of wanting had been dropped onto you, you felt like you could move mountains and absorb oceans with the sudden rush you were feeling. Your footsteps were silent as you walked away from the closet, your fists remained clenched and despite your wrath, you felt a sense of happiness as every inch of you agreed to hurt those assholes.

You walked as if you were leaving raging flames behind you. This frenzy of fury overtook you as you smiled an angry snarl. The sunlight in the courtyard greeted you as you stepped outside from the back halls. You glanced around, you knew they'd be here. They always were, catcalling female soldiers and cackling like children after insulting an innocent being.

On the far-right side of the courtyard, you heard their obnoxious laughs from them, and your body tensed but the anger never left your side. Your brain which was usually buzzing and racing was quiet and calm for once in your life. You approached them, their backs turned to you as they laughed at something between them.

You were aware of your size compared to theirs, their rank and position too - but they weren't going to stop you. You felt like a volcano that had boiled so far over the edge it just burst, you couldn't help but smile as you got closer. Sure, you looked like a manic, but you didn't give the smallest fuck.

You tapped the shoulder of the tallest one, your body yearning for the satisfaction of hurting them, your system burned with boiling acid, your eyes blazing as you watched him turn around, seeing that punchable face left you feeling something other than human.

You felt like a word and that word was. - You pulled your arm back, fist clenched, the world seemingly moved in slow motion even though you advanced quickly.

Rage.