The Shadow Pilot

Chapter 17: Thunderbolt

~ Morning ~

~ General Cortana POV ~

Together, with the help of corporal April Quinn, we had spent many hours going over Johnathan's files. Military service, medical records, health evaluations, mission reports, etc. Eventually, we soon did some digging into his birthday and parents. After what seemed like hours of getting nowhere, we eventually stumbled upon his parents' backgrounds. For the first time, I got to see what his mother and father looked like. He had his mother's brown eyes. His father looked like a strong kind hearted man who would give anything for his family. The photo of his parents however brought the panther to tears. She slowly moved away retreating to the corner of the room. Her face now covered in the palms of her paws. I stood up from my desk before making my way over to her. Unsure of what to do or how to comfort her, I placed my left hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and running down her face. I knew how much this meant to her. But I didn't know to what extent, let alone what happened. I decided to try and approach in a calm sympathetic posture. "It's alright soldier". "I'll listen" was all I said in those moments. She slowly wiped away her tears and began to tell me what had happened many years ago. To when the war had first started in America

~ April POV ~

~ FlashBack ~

"We're under fire"!! "Need reinforcements on the overpass"! someone desperately radioed. Me and my squad began to race towards the gunfire and explosions that were in the distance. "We're 500 meters aw-" a loud and devastating explosion then rocked everything as we saw a massive fireball over the bridge. Even from a distance, the blast could be felt as our humvee began to violently shake. "Step on it"! one of my squadmates shouted. We raced towards the overpass in a desperate attempt to assist our comrades. Upon arriving, all we could see was death and destruction. Humans and Anthros dead, bodies mutilated, blown up, dismembered. Nothing, nobody had survived. But then, we saw movement. A human with his hands raised walking towards us. We all exited our vehicles aiming our guns at him. Soon, I saw he wasn't a grown adult. He was a child, a kid. "STOP"!!! "It's a kid"! I shouted. Everyone quickly lowered their guns as I set mine on the ground. The child was frightened by us. I slowly approached him trying not to scare him. "S-sweet-heart, are you okay"? I asked him. He didn't answer, he just kept looking at me with tears in his eyes. "S-sweetheart, wh-ere are your family"? I desperately asked him. Tears began flowing from his face as he turned looking behind him. I followed his gaze and I was hit with the most awful horrific image that'll forever haunt me. His parents were dead, completely disfigured and torn apart from the crash. I gasped. "O-oh my god" I shuttered and whimpered. My comrades behind me all shared the same shocked horrified looks. "Sweetheart, please liste-" I tried to comfort him. "NO"!!! "YOU KILLED THEM"!!! "STAY AWAY FROM ME"!!!! he shouted at us. He began to run away scared. "Kid, wait"! one of my squadmates yelled. "Quick, stop him"! I yelled out. We ran after him trying to stop him from whatever he was about to do next. But I couldn't fathom the idea of what was about to happen next. We caught up to him as he reached the ledge of the overpass. "Sweetheart, please don't do this" I begged him desperately. "Please, come with us, we're not going to hurt you" I pleaded. "NO, STAY BACK"!! "YOU KILLED THEM"! "YOUR GONNA KILL ME TOO"!!! he shouted. He was scared of us, of me. I began to tear up, pleading for him not to jump. "No please". "I'm not going to hurt you". "None of us are". "Sweetheart please". Come with us, come with me" I begged him. I slowly put my arm out stretching my paw out to him. He looked down at the river below before looking back at me. "I'm not going with you" he said almost coldly. He then turned jumping off the ledge. "NO, DON'T"!! I shouted. I watched as he fell into the water, never readmirging. "NO, no, no no please"!! I cried. *Sobs* "Please, we have to find him". "He won't survive out there" I cried. "It's going to be okay". "It's going to be okay". "We'll get him back, I promise". "I promise" my comrades vowed. We searched for him for months. We searched the landscape, the rivers, But we never found him. I was heartbroken, he had to be out there somewhere. I never stopped looking for him. Everywhere we went, I never stopped looking.