Nobody’s Home

1999, four years after the Outer Heaven Uprising. The month was December, Washington DC was experiencing some mild snowfall during the holiday season. The entire city was in festive spirits, family and friends traveling around the world to see each other for the holidays. At Ronald Reagan International Airport, a twenty seven year old woman with dark red hair and blue eyes was making her way to the exit with her luggage. She was wearing a winter jacket, jeans, boots, gloves and a winter cap, despite her coming from a warmer climate. She stepped out into the snowy streets, looking for the people who were going to pick her up and smiled once she saw them. Standing in front of the car was her uncle, Colonel Roy Campbell, commander of FOXHOUND and Kazuhira McDonnell Miller who were both happy to see her.

"Uncle Roy, Kaz!" She said excitedly, she went up to Campbell and gave him a hug,

"Welcome back, Meryl. Glad to see your CO let you visit for the holidays." greeted Campbell,

"Well, when you say that your Uncle is the commander of FOXHOUND, that's bound to get you benefits." Meryl replied with a grin,

"Fair point." replied Campbell. Kaz opened the trunk to let Meryl put her luggage in,

"Where's David?" she curiously asked, Campbell and Kaz weren't sure how to approach the subject of David.

"Well…he's been going through a rough time." Kaz said. She raised an eyebrow, curious on what he meant,

"Last time I visited he seemed fine." Meryl said,

"Yeah, he does that a lot. He hides everything through missions he does so no one questions him." explained Campbell,

"Sounds like a cry for help." Meryl stated as she entered the back of the car,

"I see you're putting that degree in psychology for good use, Meryl." Campbell remarked,

"Always good to have a backup, I remember David was excited to join the military and be a part of FOXHOUND." said Meryl,

"He was…that was before the Uprising." Kaz said as he got in the car,

"What even happened on that mission?" Meryl asked, Kaz and Campbell looked at each other, wondering if they should say it.

"It's…probably best if David explains it to you. It's a lot to unpack and I'm not sure where to begin." Kaz added,

"You're right, besides we're old friends, I'm sure he'd open up to me." Meryl replied.

"I hope so…" Kaz said as Campbell started the car and began driving away from the airport. Meanwhile in an apartment in downtown Washington, David Halley also known as Solid Snake was sitting on his chair flipping through TV channels. His hair was up to his upper neck, he had some facial hair growing and his eyes were slightly baggy. He couldn't sleep after all, constantly having disturbing nightmares of the Uprising. Even thinking about it now, he could feel the snake shaped scar across his chest sting in pain, all given to him by his father, the former commander of FOXHOUND, the mad terrorist himself, Big Boss. Everything about that mission haunts him, the A.I. Pod, the zombie, how everything was meant to be for him. He turned his head towards his uniform that was in the closet, his new one was an olive green uniform, similar to his old one but with a different color. David got himself up and walked towards his kitchen, he opened the fridge to see if he could eat something,

" Need to go out to the grocery store and get some food. Not like I even eat much anyways… " thought David. He then went to his answering machine and pressed play to listen to the messages,

"David, it's Ellen. Look I know it's been a while since we dated but I just…I'm worried about you. Catherine, Kaz and Roy told me you spend more time on those missions than with them. I was there you know, I saw the things you saw and…you can't keep it buried forever. Despite what you think, you are only human, it's ok to talk about the things that are bothering you. I know the last time we talked, we were yelling at each other but…I'm willing to talk still, call me back please." The machine stopped the message and David simply sighed, he knew the majority of that yelling match was definitely his fault but he wasn't sure what to do. David decided to put his clothes on and stepped outside of his apartment, that's when from the corner of his eye he saw a blonde woman in a peacoat approaching him.

"David Halley?" she called to him, David turned to her confused about what she wanted,

"Yeah, who are you?" asked David,

"Holly White, reporter of the Washington Post. I'm here to ask you some questions." She introduced, David began to walk away and Holly shortly followed,

"What do you want, Ms White?" asked David,

"I'm here investigating what happened four years ago in South Africa."

"No comment." David began walking faster, Holly followed quickly,

"There's something strange going on Lieutenant Halley, every FOXHOUND operative that was involved in that mission has gone missing. Steve and Diane Hudson, Jennifer Mercer, Kyle Schneider and Randall Reigns. The only ones who haven't gone missing yet are you and Frank Jaeger." informed Holly, David annoyingly turned to her,

"Ms White, this story is something you don't want to know, I really suggest backing off before you fall into a deeper rabbit hole you can't get yourself out of." David put a cigarette in his mouth and walked down the stairs to leave his apartment. Holly sighed figuring she blew her only lead on the South Africa story,

" Way to go, Holly. " She thought to herself. It was there Holly thought to follow David without him noticing, she quickly put her notepad in her pocket and went to her car as David went to his. On the other side of DC, at the John F Kennedy Opera House, there was a performance of the classic opera War and Peace . In the balcony sat Frank Jaeger, also known as Gray Fox, watching the performers do the Waltz. He usually had an empty seat on his left when he would go to these events, especially War and Peace . As he would watch the dancers, his eyes were hollow, his face was empty, like a soulless doll. His ears were the only thing that wasn't hollow, he heard the lovely orchestra playing the music to the scene, the thing that brought him back to his happier past. After the performance was finished, Frank stepped out of the opera house and heard his cell phone go off, he picked it up and answered,

"Hello?"

"Hey Frank, it's David. Are you busy later?" asked David,

"No, I really don't have plans. You want to head to the bar?" asked Frank, figuring that's what David wanted,

"Yeah, in a few minutes. I'll see you there." David said right before he hung up. Frank walked then got in his car, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a laptop then opened it. Frank opened a file titled Zanzibar Lands and began typing something before opening a timer. The timer was set for tomorrow night, an hour before Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, David drove to the suburbs of Washington DC, heading to the house of his childhood, Kaz Miller's house. He hadn't been here as often, despite his memories, it doesn't feel like home anymore. David parked the car in front of the house, walked towards the front porch then knocked on the door. After waiting a few minutes, his sister Catherine answered the door,

"Dave, oh what a surprise." She happily said at the sight of her adopted brother,

"Hey, I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by and check in on you guys." David scratched the back of his head,

"Well, it's good to see you here. Come inside, we were just about to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life.'" She gestured for him to come inside, David put his hands in his coat and walked inside. He walked to the living room and saw Kaz and Campbell sitting on the couch drinking a beer and laughing but who really caught his attention was Meryl. He hadn't seen her in years, but yet she still looked as beautiful as she did before. Meryl looked at David and couldn't help but smile despite her feeling worried by just how he looked,

"David! It's been a while hasn't it?" She said happily, David scratched the back of his head and awkwardly smile,

"Yeah it has, when did you get back?" he asked her,

"Today, I've just been here relaxing with Uncle Roy, Kaz, Cat and her son." Meryl replied, David then felt something grab onto his leg, he looked down to see a little four year old boy,

"Uncle Davey, you're here!" the little boy yelled happily,

"Guess I am, how are you Hank? Are you being good for Santa Claus?" David asked,

"Yes, Mama said Santa is going to come tomorrow with my presents, I wished for a bunch of cars to come down the chimney!" Little Hank exclaimed, David rubbed his little head briefly smiling. Meryl could see what Kaz and Campbell meant with David, his smile was hiding something really sad and almost painful. She couldn't help but feel bad for him, Meryl wanted to know what was bothering him. So a couple of minutes later, David and Meryl were sitting on a porch drinking a beer, laughing at old stories that Meryl was telling him,

"Yep so that's what led to me having to clean stalls for a week, just because I told my CO her husband was cheating on her." Meryl explained with a chuckle,

"Wow, that's more ridiculous than when my CO got me in trouble which almost ruined my chances with the Berets." David replied as he sipped his beer,

"Yeah…can I ask you something, David?" Meryl said,

"What is it?"

"Are you happy?" asked Meryl, David rolled his eyes,

"C'mon don't use your psychology mumbo jumbo."

"I'm serious, the others say you've been avoiding them. You rarely talk to anyone, even that girl you dated."

"Since when did you care about the people I date?" asked David, Meryl sighed,

"You're avoiding the question." Meryl pressed,

"Why are you trying to see if I'm happy?" David asked,

"It's the same reason I got into psychology, my dad." David's annoyed face died down once she mentioned her dad.

"Oh right…" David replied awkwardly, Meryl drank a bit more of her beer,

"I see a lot of what happened to my dad happening to you. Have you ever heard of a soldier not able to come home?" asked Meryl, David shook his head no,

"It's common for a lot of soldiers, it's a new thing in psychology to be aware of a soldier's mental health. When a soldier doesn't come home, it means that they can't seem to escape the battlefield or the mission. They feel out of place in a normal life because they feel like they can't escape the war zone." explained Meryl, David related to what she was saying, it definitely sounded like what he was going through,

"What are usually the symptoms of this whole…soldiers not able to come home?" David asked,

"Nightmares, relieving each detail of the mission, isolation, anti-social behavior." Meryl replied, she took note of what David asked, feeling she was getting closer.

"Sometimes the best thing to do is to admit that you feel trapped. It's ok for you to talk about your feelings, if you're scared, if you're sad, if you're hurt. Maybe you feel like no one could understand what you feel but you'll never know until you try." Meryl explained, David simply sighed and put the beer aside for a cigarette,

"I…Meryl I wish I could explain everything I feel but…I'm not sure I understand how I feel either. It feels like an empty void in my chest…something that I want to fill but I don't know how to. It's more than just trying to leave the battlefield, it's just…trying to find my place again. I feel like I get it and then this surging feeling through my body takes me back." vented David,

"What happened back there in South Africa?" asked Meryl, putting a hand on his hand. David wanted to answer, but he could feel the sting in his chest from the scar given by his father. He closed his eyes and could still hear his voice echo through his mind, hear his laughter, him madly shouting Snake and his rambles about war and himself. Meryl felt his hand tremble slightly from thinking about it so she nudged him a little bit which made him open his eyes,

"You don't have to tell me until you're ready to. Sorry I didn't mean to pry into it too hard." She reassured him. Meryl got up and walked back inside, giving David some space was for the best, still it bothered her what happened to him, maybe some time hopefully he'd tell her. David let out a deep breath before deciding to get to his car, it was there he felt a familiar presence approaching him from behind,

"How long have you been following me, Ms White?" asked David as Holly approached him,

"Look I just want to apologize, I saw your conversation back there and figured you were talking about South Africa." Holly said, David rubbed his eyes figuring that she wouldn't leave without a lead on her story.

"How about this, can I get your number?" asked David, her face lightened up a little bit once he said that.

"Wait really?" She asked to confirm, he held his hand out and gestured at her to give him her notepad. She scurried through her pocket and grabbed her pen and notepad then gave it to him. David lifted a page and wrote his home and cell number then gave it back to her.

"Perfect, and here's my number." She said as she wrote her number then ripped the paper out to give to him.

"I'll call you about the interview. Just know, don't expect too much." David told her, Holly nodded and gave him a quick excited hug, happy that she got a lead.

"I promise I won't ask personal questions, I just want to figure out what happened in South Africa." Holly said to him,

"Right, I'll see you around." David said as he got in his car and began driving away, a lot of what Meryl said to him stuck to him.

" I wish I could say it. I wish it was as simple as saying 'My Dad was a madman who tried to kill me and destroy the entire world' but it isn't…I just wish I never went, I wish I never joined FOXHOUND ... .I wish I was dead… "