Page 17 of The Spitfire Girls
‘Fill her in, Ruby,’ Ben said. ‘I need to see if I can help.’
‘It’s bad. There was a big crash,’ Ruby told her, her voice shaking as they set off.
May’s mind was racing. Who was flying right now? Who could have been injured? Were they dead or ... She breathed deep as the screeching noise of the ATA fire and crash crew pierced the air.
‘What crashed? What actually happened?’ she demanded, breaking into a run. How had she not heard anything? Then she remembered the big bang, the boom that she’d rolled her eyes at, not thinking it could have been an aircraft landing. ‘Ruby, tell me what’s going on! Was it one of my girls?’
‘A Halifax,’ Ruby said, she and Polly running alongside May. ‘It came in out of nowhere on the wrong approach, and it tried to land but it didn’t go well.’
‘Oh hell! Move the planes, then!’ May yelled. ‘I want every plane parked here taxied away now!’
Why would a four-engine bomber be landing at White Waltham? It must have been an emergency because they didn’t have any bombers, let alone a huge Halifax, at their headquarters. At least she knew it wasn’t one of her pilots at the controls; none of them had been cleared to fly that type of aircraft yet.
‘I’m on it,’ Polly hollered back, sprinting off.
May caught Ruby’s panicked expression and grabbed her arm. ‘Get in the nearest plane and move it. Anyone you pass, scream at them to move one on, too. There could be bombs on board that aircraft!’
May kept running, leaving Ruby behind. Her only priority right now was getting all her planes out of harm’s way in case ... The flames licked upwards as she watched and she hoped to God the fire crew managed to put it out fast. Where the hell had this plane come from, and who was in it?
‘Get those planes moving!’ she yelled as she passed pilots who’d emerged from a nearby building. ‘Get them out of the way!’
They were near a railway line and the last thing they needed was a stray bomb taking out any transport lines or, heaven forbid, any of the planes that were ready and waiting to be delivered. She rushed to the crash site and watched as crew members were pulled out. One of them, a young man of no more than twenty, was so badly burnt that it was almost a relief to see he was unconscious. But five others were taken safely out and she was impressed by how quickly her team had worked, the entire ferry pool jumping into action to help. The Halifax had a full crew of men and they must have ended up off course, or something had gone wrong with the plane. She took a moment to survey the scene, her head pounding.This could have been Johnny. This could have been him, injured, but with no one around to help, no one to pull him from his burning aircraft and drag him to safety.
‘Commander?’ Polly asked, suddenly appearing at her side.
May pulled herself together, tearing her eyes from the young men on stretchers. ‘Get that fire out and clear the site,’ she ordered, stepping back as the patients were moved. She looked at the planes being taxied away, knowing that she’d probably been overcautious but feeling comfortable with her decision nonetheless.
There was a Spitfire, one of her favourite planes, still too close for her liking, and she took it upon herself to move it rather than ordering anyone else to do so. She broke into a run, feeling clumsy in her big boots. As she reached the aircraft she burst into tears, sobs gasping from her lungs, the pain of seeing the plane engulfed in flames too much when it came to her base and her girls.And her memories.
‘May?May?’ Ben was behind her, his forehead creased with worry. ‘What do you need me to do?’
She met his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping her cheeks and taking a big, shuddering breath.
‘May?’
‘I’m fine. I just ...’
‘You’re sure you’re all right?’ he asked.
She nodded.
‘Remember this morning, May. You know this plane is ready to go, and all the others are, too.’ He smiled and nudged her forward. ‘I’ve triple-checked every engine myself. You and all your pilots are safe. That wasn’t one of your crew back there, and it wasn’t a plane I’d cleared.’ He held out his hand. ‘Here, let me help you.’
She let him guide her up into the cockpit, angry with herself for letting her guard down. She didn’t go through all her usual checks or bother strapping herself in, just waved at Ben that she was off and hastily flicked switches, pumping the prop and then pushing the ignition to start the engine. She taxied in the rumbling plane to a safe part of the adjoining field. Her other pilots were climbing out and the planes were all lined up neatly as May forced herself to get out, too. She would have preferred to take off and leave all this behind her and just fly, but for now she needed to focus on being the commander in charge.
‘May, will we ...’
Ruby’s question, called out to her as she jumped down onto the grass, faded as she noticed a column of smoke rising into the sky from the crash site. She held up her hand, about to speak, when an explosion boomed around them, like thunder echoing through the air. May watched as the aircraft disintegrated, the explosion taking the entire plane with it.
Holy heck. A jagged edge hurtled into the ground at her feet, a piece of the aircraft that had moments earlier landed at her airfield with no warning whatsoever. Thank goodness all the men had been rescued, and that it hadn’t been any closer to the railway line!And I thought the Americans were going to be the most difficult part of my day today.
‘Commander Jones!’ May turned to see Polly holding something, her eyes wide and fearful.
‘What is it?’ May asked, trembling now, the adrenaline that had been pumping through her disappearing and leaving her light-headed.
Polly placed a piece of paper into her shaking hands.
Senior Commander Jones,
