Loss
At the Battlefield
Ester threw a grenade,
"Пожар!" (Translation: Fire!)
They were experiencing great difficulty with this battle, all of them had cuts and bruises already after an hour of the battle. Billy looked to the left,
"Spitfire! у них есть готовые к стрельбе каноны! (Translation: they have canons ready to fire!"
Ester noticed immediately after he pointed it out,
"Все! Объединить!" (Translation: Everyone! Regroup!)
They all gathered in a circle around each other, weapons firing every single second. Damion looked at his ammo,
"У меня почти нет патронов" (I'm almost out of ammo)
Ester cursed and that was when the unthinkable happened: A massive explosion. Right in front of the squad. When America finally won the battle, many search parties were sent out for the missing six. The only thing they found in the sand was six dog tags...all of them having seven charms: A card (Nikki), A slingshot (Javier), a strong arm symbol (Quin), a dragon symbol in the middle, a peace sign symbol (Ester), a sniper gun (Damion), and a brain (Billy). Shadis read the letter sent to him and almost burst into tears after reading the last sentence...this was the mission report of the battle. Shadis immediately had all of his cadets line up as he stood on the stage,
"I have some bad news. I know all of you liked those kids...the Blazing Dragon Squad has been reported killed in action,"
Everyone gasped. Liam shook his head,
"No...you can't be serious,"
Shadis sighed sadly,
"I wish I was...trust me, kid...I wish I was,"
That night, all the cadets formed a circle around a bonfire in memory of the six adults who showed them the importance of teamwork, of family.
Quin's Family
Shadis walked up to the door, Quin's family was the first to be told the horrific news, Shadis knew all of those kids better than the general or anyone else so he decided that he should honor his kids by visiting their families. An old lady opened the door and looked at the officer in suspicion,
"What do you want?"
Shadis took off his hat,
"Mrs. Rodriguez? I have some news about your son, Quin,"
Mrs. Rodrigues rolled her eyes and nodded,
"My daughter will be right here, you tell her...I don't care about that boy,"
Shadis narrowed his eyes at her but nodded politely. A girl who's 15 walked up to Shadis and tilted her head,
"Yes? Is my brother coming?"
Shadis sighed and put a hand on her shoulder,
"I'm sorry Tera...come sit,"
Tera frowned slightly but nodded. Shadis couldn't help but notice how similar Tera is to Quin. Shadis sighed and sat down next to her,
"Your brother was so brave in his fight,"
Tera let a tear slip,
"He's gone...isn't he?"
Shadis sighed and took out the fancy box with the dragon symbol on it,
"I'm sorry Tera...I wish it wasn't true,"
Tera let tears fall and sniffed. She immediately hugged Shadis. He tensed but soon hugged back. Tera glanced up at him,
"He loved you ya know...We talked all the time through letters, he always mentioned how you were more of his father than ours,"
Shadis let a tear fall silently as he nodded,
"Thank you, Tera...take care,"
Tera nodded and smiled gently,
"Thank you Officer Shadis,"
Shadis saluted to the teenager and she returned the salute. He left and sighed with a heavy heart. He loved that squad, they were all his kids no matter what people said.
Nikki's Parent
Nikki only had her stepdad left. Shadis walked up to the small hut and knocked. A middle-aged guy opened the door. Shadis saluted to him,
"Mister Ferrick?"
Mister Ferrick almost burst into tears at seeing Shadis, knowing his girl was gone. Shadis took out the box and Mister Ferrick clutched it against his chest,
"Did she do well?"
Shadis smiled sadly,
"One of the brightest,"
Mister Ferrick nodded,
"And the others?"
Shadis shook his head sadly, feeling guilty because he's the one that told the squad to get going. Ferrick put his hand on his shoulder,
"Thank you for giving my girl the best chance she had in the army. She loved you like another father."
Shadis nodded and let out another tear. Ferrick gave him a picture. Shadis looked at it and almost cried when he saw that it was of him with the squad when they first started training as a squad. Ferrick smiled sadly,
"You gave that squad so much, take the picture...I'm sorry,"
Shadis nodded and quickly composed himself,
"Good luck Mister Ferrick,"
Ferrick nodded solemnly and Shadis left, putting the picture in his jacket pocket.
Damion's Brother
Damion's parents died a while ago so it was only his much older brother, Dylan, who Shadis had to see. Shadis walked up to the spitting image of Damion, almost thinking he was seeing the ghost of the boy. Shadis sighed and caught the attention of Dylan. Dylan immediately knew what had happened and almost cried. Shadis frowned,
"I'm sorry Dylan...Damion loves you,"
Dylan numbly nodded as he took the box. Dylan smiled sadly,
"I knew that kid would get himself killed...how?"
Shadis sighed,
"A big battle. They sacrificed themselves for a big win,"
Dylan frowned when he heard no one on the squad survived,
"I'm sorry Shadis...I know you cared about those kids. Damion mentioned you often whenever he wrote."
Shadis nodded numbly,
"I wish you the best,"
Dylan nodded and Shadis left.
Billy's Family
Billy didn't have the perfect relationship with his family, but he left on good terms with them. Shadis stood outside the house and knocked. His mother came out and immediately burst into tears at seeing the man she knows was the training officer,
"No! Not my boy,"
Shadis felt a stab at his heart just like the others,
"I'm sorry Miss Wilson...I wish I could have prevented this,"
Miss Wilson shook her head,
"I thought he was done!"
Her husband came out to comfort her and nodded at Shadis,
"Thank you for helping my boy...please...we need time right now,"
Shadis nodded and immediately left the grieving family.
Ester's Family
Shadis got out of the taxi. He knew this would be just as hard, if not harder, because the Randor's got to see Ester one last time and she had a good bond with her family, especially her twin brother. Shadis walked into the apartment building and knocked on the door. Maria Randor opened it and was shocked to see the Army officer at her door,
"Hello, is everything alright?"
Shadis sighed,
"May I come in Mrs. Randor?"
Maria frowned but nodded,
"Of course,"
Shadis walked in and sat down. Maria sat down opposite of him,
"What is this about?"
Shadis looked at her briefly,
"My name is Kevin Shadis...I am the training officer of Ester, your youngest daughter,"
Maria frowned but nodded,
"Yes Ester has mentioned you a lot, she left a few days ago to help...where is she?"
Shadis frowned sadly, Maria noticed the look and her eyes widened,
"What happened to my girl?"
Shadis sighed and took out the final box weighing him down. Maria's eyes widened as tears started falling,
"The Blazing Dragons were called out to a battle yesterday. The battle was finished and no sign of them....a search team was sent out and all they found...all they found were all six dog tags...I'm sorry Maria...but Ester isn't coming home,"
Maria burst into tears at hearing Shadis admitting that her girl was gone. Shadis patted her shoulder,
"I wish I could change it...I'm sorry,"
Maria shook her head,
"Massimo is still on-court...I don't know how to tell him...that his twin isn't coming back...she was supposed to....come back tomorrow,"
Shadis winced and bravely stood up,
"I will tell him...It's the least I can do,"
Maria looked at him and smiled sadly,
"Thank you...Ester looked up to you, she loved you,"
Shadis let another tear slip as he nodded,
"Thank you,"
Maria smiled weakly and nodded, handing him back the box gently,
"Massimo would want this more than me,"
Shadis nodded and took the box back. He sighed as he looked across the street at the tennis club. Maria told him that he should be at the rose garden...the same one where Ester would tell him stories about at 1 A.M when she couldn't sleep and visited him. He walked inside and was relieved that the front desk was empty. He walked slowly to the rose garden, no one was around him yet. He saw people wearing white and saw that they were all older so they must only be staff. He sighed and walked inside,
"Hello, I am looking for Massimo Randor,"
A blonde boy sighed and nodded,
"Third time's the charm guys...umm...Massimo will be right here sir...who are you and why are you here?"
Shadis frowned intimidatingly at the boy,
"That is none of your business, know your manners,"
Lee smirked and nudged the boy,
"Yeah Derrick, know your manners,"
Derrick glared and sighed,
"I'm getting tired of people just coming in and acting like they can boss us around,"
Shadis immediately glared at the boy and grabbed his bicep,
"Listen, boy, I am not in the mood to deal with someone like you. Show respect to soldiers if you know what's good for you,"
Derrick's eyes widened as he fully realized the uniform that Shadis was wearing was military. This caused everyone else to frown, wondering where Ester was. Alesia walked up to Shadis,
"Where is Ester?"
At her name, Shadis flinched lightly and shook his head,
"It is not in my position to tell you, young lady. I need to talk to Massimo Randor,"
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Massimo and Justin walked into the small structure. Shadis immediately knew which one was Massimo from pictures that Ester would proudly show him. Shadis stepped in front of him and Massimo and Justin raised an eyebrow at him. Shadis nodded,
"Massimo Randor?"
Massimo nodded,
"Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something important, alone,"
Derrick muttered,
"What's up with all the secretive meetings?"
Lee elbowed him hard and he glared at her. Massimo frowned and looked closer at his uniform and saw that he was an officer. The first name that popped up in his mind was Officer Shadis,
"What are you doing here?"
Shadis sighed and looked around,
"You really don't care if anyone else sees this?"
Massimo frowned,
"See what?"
Shadis sighed and looked at the boy who he knows Ester loves more than anyone else,
"I'm so sorry Massimo,"
At that Massimo knew what he was there for, he shook his head and stepped back,
"No."
Shadis sighed and grabbed his arms,
"I know...I know how hard it is to hear-"
Massimo glared at him and got out of his hold,
"The hell do you know?! She can't be! She was supposed to be helping YOU! Nothing else,"
Shadis frowned, saddened,
"She was...but there was an issue in a battle. They were called in. I had no power in the situation. I may not know what you are feeling. But I watched all of them grow the past two years Massimo. I wish I could have changed the outcome of the battle. But you can't do that. Soldiers die every single battle. What I do know is that none of them ever died in vain."
Massimo started slowly crying and Shadis immediately pulled him into a hug. Massimo cried into his shoulder,
"Why?"
Shadis sighed,
"I wish I knew kid...I wish I knew,"
That was when it hit everyone else. Ester Anna Randor, Commander of the Blazing Dragons, is dead. Lee burst into tears and hugged Nick as he shed some tears, Alesia hugged her boyfriend as she shed tears. Justin felt a sudden numbness overtake his body and Derrick frowned sadly. Shadis broke apart from the crying adult,
"Ester loves you a lot Massimo, don't you forget that,"
He took out the box,
"The search squad found the dog tags and I know she would have wanted you to get them rather than anyone else."
Massimo took the box with slightly shaking hands and nodded. He opened it and let another tear slip at the dog tags and charms. Shadis chuckled sadly as he saw the charms for the last time,
"Those kids were the closest to family a squad can get. Full of extra people. I remember when they mentioned wanting the same tattoos, you should have seen my shocked expression. Those kids all had bright futures, I'm sorry for what happened Massimo,"
Massimo looked up in shock,
"Wait...no one...none of them made it?"
Shadis let another tear slip out as he shook his head,
"No. They went down together as a team,"
Massimo frowned and saluted at him, Shadis couldn't help but notice how similar it was to Ester's salute,
"Thank you for everything you have done Officer Shadis for my twin and her squadmates, I am sorry for your loss too,"
Shadis sighed sadly and saluted back to him,
"I wish you the best Massimo, I never wanted to make this visit on terms like these."
Massimo smiled sadly,
"Yeah. She mentioned you a lot,"
Shadis smiled sadly and nodded,
"Goodbye, Massimo Randpr,"
Massimo nodded as Shadis left. Justin put a hand on his shoulder,
"How are you feeling?"
Massimo looked up at him sadly,
"I don't know...I wish it didn't end like this,"
Justin nodded sadly and wrapped an arm around him. Everyone had a moment of silence for the fallen Blazing Dragon Squad.
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