Title: A Child's Worst Nightmare
Author: Cherry Koivula
E-Mail: cherry988@hotmail.com
Rating: PG
Warnings: Scenes of extreme domestic violence and nondescriptive character death may be disturbing to some readers.
Legal notice: "SWAT Kats – The Radical Squadron" and most of the chars in this fic are
property of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and are used without permission. Alexander and Gina Furlong belong to the author.
----------------------------------
Chance sat in his room; he could hear his parents so clearly. And, he didn’t want to! He hated when they fought. Why couldn’t they be friends again? Chance squeezed his pillow tight, while trying to close the world out. It didn’t work, he could still, just as clearly hear his parents fight.
----------------------------------
“Hah, I’m tired of this!” Alexander Furlong shouted. He was the father of Chance Furlong, the now-a-days very cute and humble five year old kitten. All though, he was tired darn tired of all this, his wife, his son… he was sick of it all! Sick, sick, sick! He couldn’t stand it. Not after what happened that faith-full day, exactly a year ago.
It’d been just any other day on work, just another day on patrol for him, Officer Furlong. He and his partner, not just any partner, perhaps; it’d been his brother. They’d just been called out on business; it wasn’t anything serious, just a stolen car that they’d been called out to follow.
If they’d only known that the driver was drunk, armed… and heavily dangerous. If they only had known that that man would cause Jason Furlong's death.
One mistake. One shot. And, it all was over for poor Jason.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Alexander! You were such a loving father, but now… now I don’t even know you!” Gina Furlong exclaimed; she was the mother of Chance Furlong. She knew that those words would hurt. She knew that. But, he needed to hear them; she’d been so patient with him. But, he was still grieving over his brother’s death.
“You… you… You don’t even understand! Your brother didn’t die one year ago!”
“No, he didn't. It was worse for me! I lost my brother-in-law, and my husband! You might look like him, and you might act like him, but you’re not my husband that I married, and that I love!”
“Oh, that does it…” Alexander said through his teeth. He grabbed his gun, the gun that he’d held so many times before. The same gun he’d held when his brother died, “I’m sick of this!” He pointed it at Gina, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
He pulled the trigger.
----------------------------------
Chance squeezed his eyes shut again. He heard his mother shouting again, something about losing her husband. Chance sniffed, while looking at his teddy that was faithfully looking up at him from his position in his lap.
“I’m scared, Teddy… I want mommy and daddy to be friends again…” he sniffed again, “I want dad to be normal…”
He didn’t have time to finish when a loud ‘bang’ could be heard.
“Teddy? What was that?” Chance was even more scared. He knew that sound from the many times his father head taken him to his work when he’d practice.
But, no! No! It couldn’t be… maybe it was from the TV. Or the street, or…
Chance placed his Teddy back on his bed, while silently standing up from his sitting position on the bed. He walked carefully out of his room and walked silently into the living room.
Then the odd smell hit him… It was the same, the same from his father's work.
No… maybe, maybe dad had shot a vase or something!
But, his world seemed to fall apart when he saw his mother on the floor, bleeding badly. The beautiful Gina Furlong, his mother, on the brink of death.
“No, mom!” Chance ran over at her side, “Mommy! Can you hear me? Mommy? Mommy, please!” he pleaded while grabbing her paw, squeezing it tightly in his small paw.
“I’m… sorry, Chance…”
Her face became empty; she was dead.
“No! Mommy, no! Don’t leave me!” Chance was now crying, and sniffing loudly, “Mommy, please, please come back! I’m sorry… I’m sorry!” he sniffed more, “I’m sorry if I was too wild! I’m sorry I lied about that vase before; it wasn’t Teddy that broke it! It was me! Just come back, Mommy, please!”
Alexander looked down at his son. Only five years old, and he had came in touch with death already… He looked at his still smoking gun, then back to his son.
Suddenly, Chance looked up, meeting his father’s blue-eyed gaze, meeting it with his own green.
“Why?” Chance asked softly, so softly Alexander wasn’t sure he’d said anything.
Alexander looked down; a sudden rush of guilt came to his senses. But, he shoved it off. Alexander raised his gun once again, this time aiming it for his son.
“Dad? What are you doing? Dad?”
Alexander took one last long look at his soon. The green eyes were from Gina; he had her beautiful green eyes. His golden fur and the brown-ish stripes from his mother’s dark hair.
He smiled briefly, “Sorry Kiddo…” He quickly changed the aim from Chance to his own head.
“Dad?”
He pulled the trigger.
“Dad!” Chance broke down, crying so much it seemed to blind him, and soon enough, he’d fainted.
----------------------------------
Chance woke up, startled. He looked around. Where was he? And, where was Teddy?
“That poor boy… lost both his parents on the same night… and from the look of it; he saw it all too…”
“Yeah, that boy has been through enough already!”
“Yeah! More then enough!” The man seemed to look over the other person's shoulder, and saw Chance awake. “Hey kid… how are you? You seem to have a rough night, huh?”
Chance sniffed softly while nodding. ”Have… have you seen Teddy?”
The man nodded shortly while pulling out the old Teddy from a bag.
“Thank you, sir…” Chance looked around again, “Where am I, sir?”
“MegaKat Memorial…” he smiled softly, “I’m Doctor Barry Grade, and this is Robin Walker, one of our fine nurses…” he said, pointing to the young girl in the background who winked.
“So, Mr. Furlong… How do you feel?”
“I’m fine, Ma’am…”
“Robin, please! That ‘Ma’am’ thing makes me feel old!”
Chance nodded, “Then, I‘m Chance, Robin…”
“Now, Chance… You’ll have to stay here until the government has decided what to do with you, I’m afraid…” Doctor Grade said. “We’ll leave you alone now. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to push that button, and we’ll be here…” he said, while walking out the door, Robin following shortly.
Chance laid back into the bed, clutching Teddy closely. He shut his eyes tightly, while making himself an oath before he fell asleep. “No one…” he yawned, “no one will ever hurt the ones I love while I’m standing…”
And, that oath he’ll try to hold in the rest of his life…
The End?