Chapter Text
Ghost backstory is much more tragic, probably the most out of all of these (so far, at least) definitely a trigger warning for multiple things [: Kidnapping, assault, (possible) rape, self harm (suicidal thoughts), torture, +more I’ll look to tag if it happens]
Ghost story starts out with him as a baby. He was abandoned by his mother, his father had died. His mother dropped him off in the center of a town, not trusting herself with raising the child on her own. An elderly couple, who were out running errands, came across this baby, and brought him back to their house. They tried to find the mother, but to no avail. Keeping an eye out, but taking the child in as their own, they raised Ghost. A complete oversight on their part, is that they never really gave Ghost a name. Sweetheart, bud, kid, etc… They didn’t ever have a name for him, as they would just call him nicknames instead, so a problem never occurred. At the age of 10-12 (I think, come back to that. if I remember correctly, he was in there for 7 years), their town was raided. Ghost and the old man were out hunting, but we’re cornered and held at gunpoint. At least, the old man was. He told ghost to run, and run he tried. He made it away, but there was a guy following his every move (who was singled to follow him). He made it back to his house, to find it lit on fire. Without a second thought, he went in and grabbed the first weapon he could find, a knife. Hearing the guy brake through the front door, he opened the back window and jumped through it. Running to their neighbour to see if they’re ok, but their house was already half burnt to the ground. Hearing the guy running behind him, he ran off into the woods, trying to find a hiding spot. He find one in a cave, a place he has hung out in many times when he just wanted to be alone. But he wasn’t alone, the guy was a lot more close behind him then he thought. Ghost immediately tightened the grip on his knife, getting ready to take action. When the guy got close enough, Ghost jumped into action, attacking the guy, slicing across his chest, back up into the face, then a final stab into stomach, effectively pushing him back. He then tries to run past him, however the guy is able to grab him. He then- sluggishly, because he’s injured- drags him away close to where the rest are, yelling for a friend to take Ghost. Dragging a screaming and retaliating Ghost, he was brought into the centre of town. Where all of the townspeople/villagers were gathered, along with all the (bandits?) men are. Gathered in the centre of it all was a pile of bodies, most alive but severely beat up. (Going through this quickly now, because I’m tired, but also because this isn’t even supposed to be detailed anyway lol). He is placed facing them, gasoline is poured onto them, a match is lit, and thrown into the pile. Now the town is filled with agonizing screams of people being burnt to death, the flames lighting the now darkening sky. Tears silently fall down Ghost’s face. He tries to get out of the grasp of the men, but to no avail. No amount of struggling, turned begging, was enough to make the men let him go. After minutes that felt like hours, sobs turned quite with no tears left, only the crackling of fire in the background, a bag was thrown onto Ghost’s head and he was put in the back of a wagon. One used to carry goods taken from the houses before they were burned.
Taken to a large cabin/house in the middle of nowhere, a huge forest. There, he was beaten, attempted to be raped multiple times, forced to fight, close to being hung, and so much more. A living hell. This is where Ghost learnt how to fight, he was sometimes brought along to their activities (burning down and raiding towns, collecting depts, etc…), he saw them fight and learnt from that, when he was put against another for the entertainment of it, he learnt and improved. When they tried to do anything to him, he started really fighting back, and at some point, it was too much for the men. They were scared and didn’t have much control over him, he was able to fight back. So, one day, they decided they would try to kill him. Waiting for a night where he passed out, they snuck into his room, tied a metal rope around his neck, and kept tightening it, dragging him around and out of the room. The only reason he didn’t die that night was because [they wanted one last good run with him] [they wanted to kill him in a more gruesome way]. Later that night when a guard came to get him, Ghost took action. This is the only chance he had to finally get out, they wanted to kill him. Finally after all these years, Ghost finally learnt the route and memorized it every time they took him out, a fault on their part, really. He learnt what weapons were held on what men, where they were on certain days, and every place to exit from and hide. He was planning this for a while now, but never had a chance before, but now he does.
Because as they come to take him, every man in this building should be around one part of the house, and the guy they sent to pick him up had a knife and a gun on him for extra protection. Pretending he was sleeping, when they man got close enough, he turned. He grabbed the knife, quickly getting up and putting it in his throat. Pulling it out makes the man fly to the floor head first. Quickly grabbing the gun off him, Ghost heads out into the hallway. Meeting no one, he heads off into the direction he believed everyone to be in, because he is not leaving this god forsaken place without making sure everyone here is dead. Even if that includes himself. Finding them all sitting in the living room, he quietly counts the bullets he has, and assesses the room. He quickly and silently takes out the closest guys to the hall. Moving in and using the bodies as coverage, he takes out the rest of the men, one by one. He takes the ones with guns quickly, then using his knife, he fights in hand to hand combat with the others. Checking the rest of the rooms, grabbing food, drinks, and other necessities, Ghost finally leaves the building. Having killed all his captors.
He starts a new life now, taking on small jobs then and there for money (for clothing). To then taking bounties for bigger pays. He lives a quiet and lonely life, but he’s finally free.
Some time later, he stumbled upon a path that looked familiar to him. Realizing it was a road leading to his old home town, he hesitantly started approaching the town. Reaching the centre of the town, it was just like it was left when he was abducted that day. The houses around were all burned and turned to ash, little of the houses remain, but because of the years that have passed by, weeds and flowers have started growing in their place. Moving to the house he was raised in, it looked the same as the others. And just like the others, it still had some belongings buried in debris. Moving around and into what was left of the house, Ghost finds a piece of cloth that once belonged to a dress the old lady loved to wear. Taking the fabric and stuffing it into his pocket (?), he moves away from the house. He couldn’t stay any longer, or he’s sure he won't make it another day. On his way out, in the forest, something shiny catches his eye. It’s the knife he used to stab the guy who initially caught him years back, just lying right outside the cave he tried to hide in. He knows that he’s free from all that, he knows they’re gone now, by his hand no less, but he just can’t shake what overcomes him in that moment. Everything comes flooding back.