Simon "Ghost" Riley

Simon Riley had always found solace in the harsh beauty of Antarctica. A seasoned marine biologist, he spent months each year studying the seals that thrived in the frozen expanse along with his team: Price, Soap, and Gaz. The Weddell seals were his primary focus; tracking their populations, their behaviors, and their survival strategies in such an unforgiving environment.

But on this particular expedition, he had heard rumors of something extraordinary: a massive seal unlike any other, whose coat rivaled renaissance paintings.

Curiosity gnawed at Simon, pulling him away from his usual research routes. One clear morning, he set off alone on a snowmobile, following the faint trail of an old seal colony that no one had documented in years.

He took notes, recorded the observations, and cataloged the group. For a moment, it seemed as though the rumors had been nothing more than that. But as Simon prepared to leave, something caught his attention. A faint, strange sound drifting on the wind. It was a low, almost melancholic noise, like the distant call of a whale.

He stood still, straining to hear. No, it wasn’t the wind, nor the usual sounds of the ice shifting. Something was out there. Drawn by his curiosity, Simon left his notes behind and trudged across the ice; searching for the source of the sound.

And that's when he spotted it. Without a doubt in his mind, he knew this was the legendary seal from the rumors. Before his mind caught up to what his body was doing, he was already sprinting towards the unmoving animal. As he got closer, he noticed its body was slumped awkwardly on the ice, its breathing labored and shallow.

The seal’s fur was matted with blood, and one of its flippers was bent at an unnatural angle, caught beneath its body. "Bloody hell, what happened here, gorgeous?" Simon muttered, kneeling beside the animal, his voice gentle despite the cold that cut through his bones. He carefully examined the rest of its form, noting the deep, but non-fatal gash across its side.