Storms of War

You have your orders! TAKE THE SHOT OR SO HELP ME, I WILL GUT YOU ALIVE CORPORAL!

        My sides hurt, my throat hurt, and my eyes burned. The warehouse, empty at this hour, thundered with the rain on the roof that echoed my tears. A standard issue sidearm shook in my hand, alternating between being clenched in my teeth and being pressed under my chin as I tried to come to terms with what I had done.

Two Gryphons… one in a uniform, one in an evening dress. Two children. My rifle against my shoulder, the hesitation. I can’t do this. This was not what I signed up for.

BOOM. Another crack of thunder, and I flinch.

The echo of a shot, and he is down… the last of four, and the only one that should have died.

        “Mom… What’d I do? Dad, did you ever do this?”

        My voice was raspy against the rain and hail. The lights flashed again from outside, and another rolling thunder turned into a gunshot. The barrel of the pistol was cold, and felt good against my fevered forehead.

I lay on my belly, looking through the scope. “We got lights on down there. I don't see any guards, sir” I said, slowly panning left. There were two windows visible on this side, and one of them had to hold our target. The enemy commander who had been so clever in sending his personal guard to attack us had left himself wide open to a counterattack.

“Roger… Two windows. Do you have eyes on the target?”

“Negative. Silent Knife… can you hand me the bipod?”

He nodded, handing it over to me. It was pouring down rain, but my pegasus hide was made for this sort of thing. Inclimate weather did not bother me one bit, and my hands were steady as a figure walked into the second floor window. I adjusted the scope…

“It's a Gryphon. Looks like a Hen… Confirmed, the General’s wife. No sign of the Echo Tango. We got two kids with her. Looks like they are sitting down for dinner, sir. I thought he was supposed to be alone?”

Path Finder sighed. “He was SUPPOSED to be. This complicates things… we need no witnesses here, we don’t want them to be aware that their top brass in the area is KIA. Dammit… Still no sign of troops?”

I looked to the courtyard again. “Negative. From all the mud tracks, looks like everybirdy left in a hurry. Sir… I see him! I have eyes on the target!” I stated, heart jumping as a gryphon in a military uniform entered, embracing his wife and ruffling the crest of one of his kids. He looked to be a family person despite being our enemy commander. “Sir, I have a clean shot!”

“One minute, corporal. What’s the room status? Do you have full vision in the entire room?”

I nodded, before turning my head and taking a draw from my canteen. Soaking wet and still thirsty… “Yeah, I do sir. There is a table in there, but even if I missed and he hid under it, I could nail him right through it. Sir, I have the shot.”

After a moment of whispering with his sergeant, he nodded. “Steel Wing, you have a go. Eliminate the target.”

I tingled with satisfaction. I would be the talk of the entire company for this… I could see it now. Where were you last night? Oh, just hanging out with special forces, killing enemy top brass. Another drink, please, for me and the twelve hot mares hanging out with me…

I could see his head… the bastard that had ordered this. “Taking the shot. Tell the crew down below to get ready to move in to confirm.”

I let my breath out, inhaled, held, and gently squeezed the trigger.

A peal of thunder hid my shot, and the flash of lighting would have protected me from any return fire if there had been any to be had. Below, a family gathering was interrupted as the gryphon’s head snapped back, blood spraying across the wall. One shot, one kill.

I grinned. “Target is KIA, sir! Standing down!” I said, beginning to get up as the mother and two children stared in horror at their dead general.

A hand on my shoulder stopped me. “No witnesses. Eliminate the remaining targets, Wing.”

        My stomach heaved again, already long since emptied. The sight of the two children, eyes dull as they slumped against a wall. That hen, her eyes turned towards me before I ended her grief. The single poor soldier that had tried to make a run for it, before I stopped him just short of the forest like an afterthought, a footnote.

        I hadn’t killed five enemies. I had murdered five helpless gryphons. Murder. My stomach turned over again, and my hand shook. I looked down at my hands again… the pistol in my right, and a bottle in my left. I don't remember what was in it, only that I had drank most of it when I got back, and my hands were still shaking. The blood. I could still see the blood.

        The next loud sound was not the thunder, but the door being kicked open by Blaze and Radio Wave, both of them looking around before she saw me. “Over here! He’s over here! Wing, put it down! Linen Wrap, get in here!”

        My vision swam, and a moment later two strong hands were under my arms and a third was gently pulling the pistol out of my hand. The bottle fell to the ground and shattered, strong liquor splashing over all our boots.

        “Celestia Almighty! That reeks like tank fuel! Wing, how much of that shit did you drink?”

        I looked up at Blaze’s eyes. They swam with tears, and Radio Wave cursed several times. “Dammit! What the hell happened? Wing, what’s going on? Is this about the mission?”

        I wanted to tell them. I wanted to tell them to shoot me, that I was a murderer. I had followed orders, but that did not absolve me of what I did. My mind was hazy, and my throat burned before I finally spewed what was left of the brandy in my stomach over Blaze and Linen Wrap.

        I finally welcomed the darkness as a choked sob escaped.