Page 23 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Probably just a training exercise,’ the other nurse said as she passed.
‘They don’t ever fly near the hospital,’ April muttered. ‘We’ve been here at Tripler for weeks, and when have you ever even noticed that we’re close to an airfield?’
Grace shrugged, thinking that April had probably gotten her all worried for nothing. Just because they weren’t used to hearing training exercises overhead didn’t mean they weren’t ever going to do them. They were at a military base, after all.
They walked outside, the bright sunshine making Grace squint. There was Poppy. In her pretty yellow dress, chasing after a scruffy-looking pup that looked to be enjoying the game much more than her friend was. She grinned and closed one eye completely, raising her hand and looking up, the noise suddenly filling her ears. She opened her mouth, turning to look back the other way, toward the mountain pass between Honolulu and Schofield Barracks, and she grabbed for April’s hand just as her sister let out an ear-piercing scream.
Grace’s heart started to pound as chills ran through her body, like an electric current hitting her spine and traveling all the way to her toes. She was frozen as she watched in horror, as a plane with a huge red circle came toward her, the face of the pilot so close that she could make out every feature of his face. His eyes met hers, a smile creasing his lips as she stared, as she studied his face and wondered who on earth would be flying so low. He waved, and she slowly raised her hand to wave back. As she looked away, she saw another plane, identical to the first, coming up behind him—she could hear them talking on their radios, they were so close—and then she spun around as she realized that this was no training exercise.
‘No!’ Grace’s scream cut through the air, echoing sharply against the drone of aircraft overhead.
‘Grace, stop!’ April called, her hand slipping from Grace’s wrist.‘Grace!’
The planes were deafening, the roar so low and loud that when Grace looked up, she could see the second pilot’s unfamiliar face, could see him smile at her, too, before he unleashed a torrent of bullets to rain down around them. They were under attack!
‘Grace!’ her sister called again.
But Grace ignored her, her eyes locked on Poppy, so close but so far away, bending down toward the frightened-looking puppy. ‘Run!’ she screamed to her friend. ‘Poppy,run!’
Poppy stood, her eyes filled with horror as she looked up at Grace, her mouth open as if she were about to call back.
Grace started running, desperate to get to Poppy, to do something,anything, to save her. What was happening? Who was shooting at them? Why wouldn’t Poppy move?
Seconds felt like days as she sprinted, as she watched Poppy’s mouth open and then shut, before her friend’s body contorted as a bullet hit her and sent her flying backward.
Strong arms circled Grace from behind as her scream caught in her throat, holding her back, forcing her to stop.
‘Let me go!’ she yelled, gasping as she watched more people fall across the field, as the relentless drone continued, ammunition raining from the sky like a ferocious storm lashing the land. ‘We need to get to her!’
‘No.’ The word was whispered, but it was still a command. Teddy had hold of her, Teddy was dragging her back, and no matter how much she clawed at him or struggled, he wasn’t letting her go.
Pain shuddered through her body as tears flooded her cheeks and she gasped out Poppy’s name. They couldn’t just leave her there! They needed to save her, to check her injuries, to see if she was still ... Grace swallowed.Alive or not.
As Teddy’s grip around her waist softened, she turned in his arms, looking up at the pain echoed in his own face, his cheeks as wet as hers.
‘Who would do this to us?’ she cried.
Teddy gently wiped a thumb across her cheek before pulling her in close.
‘The Japanese,’ he whispered. ‘That’s who.’
But why?
Grace froze as the plane circled back, the noise vibrating through every inch of her as Teddy scooped her up and started to run with her in his arms. But it wasn’t taking aim at them this time—it was firing at the American flag waving beside the hospital—and it didn’t stop until it was torn to shreds.
Her body felt numb as Teddy stumbled, as she wept into his chest, her cries muffled by the constant drone of aircraft, the noise that sent waves of terror vibrating through her, cringing as she braced for them to be gunned down. When Teddy stopped running and set her down, she clung to him, her nails digging into his shirt as her legs shook so hard she wondered if she’d even be able to walk on her own. And then she remembered his injury, his ankle that was probably still bandaged. Was that why he’d been here this morning, or had he sneaked down to see Poppy?
Poppy.They needed to get to Poppy!
‘We can’t leave her,’ Grace mumbled, her teeth chattering as if she were frozen cold, arms wrapped tight around herself. ‘Have to go back. Have to get her.’
Sirens wailed, and people yelled; the noise was like a circus, overwhelming and painful all at once. And then she looked up at Teddy and saw tears streaming down his cheeks, streaming into his mouth as he tried to speak, and she knew that he wanted to get back to her as badly as she did.
‘We can’t,’ he croaked. ‘She’s gone, Grace. I saw it with my own eyes.’
April’s hand, familiar and warm, covered her arm then. She looked around, eyes wide, gulping in air as fast as she could, convinced she wasn’t getting enough oxygen into her lungs. Grace clenched her teeth to stop them from chattering.
‘We need to help,’ April said as a man was rushed past them, one of his legs dangling from the knee, blood spurting everywhere.
