Page 56 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Quickly, help me lift him!’ April cried, the first to reach him, her hands under his arms as Eva looked on, frozen.
Grace was there then, too, on his other side.
‘Eva! Help us!’ April yelled.
She clawed at the dirt to push herself up, forcing one foot in front of the other as she scrambled toward the soldier and then hefted his mangled legs with all her might.
‘We need to turn him,’ April instructed. ‘So he’s on his back. Maybe we’ll need to drag him if we can’t hold his weight.’
Eva nodded, following orders.
‘Come on; on the count of three we roll him over,’ April said. ‘One, two,three!’
They flipped him over and then collapsed beside him, all panting as he howled out in pain, regaining consciousness.
‘Soldier, what’s your name?’ she heard April ask as she stared at his face, watching as his cracked, dry lips parted. April bent low to listen, but in the end even Eva heard his whisper.
‘Arrr,’ he finally croaked. ‘Ar-thur.’
‘Well, Arthur, we’re going to get you to the hospital—aren’t we, ladies?’ April said.
Eva nodded, over and over again, unable to stop. She anchored her feet and pushed up, taking strength from April as she motioned to both her and Grace.
‘Let’s try to carry him as best we can. Come on.’
They all groaned as they lifted him up, his weight almost impossible to bear even with three of them trying as hard as they could.
‘One foot in front of the other,’ she whispered. ‘Just one step at a time.’
They all stared at one another, not needing to say anything, determined in silent solidarity to get this broken soldier to safety. How long had he been out there? Had he been part of the battle in the sky they’d watched as if it were a fireworks display? Guilt plagued Eva as they walked, her teeth gritted as she struggled to hold him, her fingers gripping tight into his pants as she fought not to let go. Only hours earlier they’d passed through, and she’d wanted to keep going instead of looking over the wreckage, and while they’d giggled and explored the palace, he’d been moaning in pain, trying to drag himself to safety.
‘We’re going to save you, Arthur,’ she whispered. ‘I promise.’
And as Eva stared at his pale skin, dark hair clinging to his forehead, his full lips swollen and burnt, he opened his eyes, and she found herself gazing into the most piercing blue irises she’d ever seen in her life.
‘You’re safe now,’ she whispered, stumbling but never letting go and never looking away. ‘You’re safe.’
She might not have been able to keep her Charlie safe, but nothing was going to stop her from getting this man to the hospital. Nothing.
‘Arthur,’ she whispered, shaking his shoulder as gently as she could. There was no response. Eva bent low and stroked his forehead, biting hard on her bottom lip to stop from crying out. ‘Please, Arthur. Wake up.’
Eva held his hand and stared at him as if she could will him awake as she waited for April to get help inside the hospital. They’d carried him so far, and he was a big man; her shoulders ached, and the muscles in her arms were burning, but she didn’t care. She just needed him to live.
‘I don’t think he’s going to make it,’ Grace murmured beside her, on her knees as they both watched him. ‘Look at his legs.’
They were mangled—that was for sure—and as Eva looked down at them, her eyes traveling over the peculiar angle of both his lower limbs, all she cared about was whether he’d survive. They had great doctors, surgeons who could surely fix his legs; she just wanted him to breathe. To know that they’d found him in time and given him a chance at life.
‘It’s my fault,’ she whispered. Charlie’s death had been her fault, for not letting him go, and now this man was going to die because of her too.
Grace’s arm went around her, holding her tight. ‘How is this your fault? He was injured in a plane crash!’
‘If I hadn’t been so desperate to get going instead of looking around, we would have found him earlier. Those couple of hours might have made a difference; he might have lived ...’
‘Stop it! We saved him, Eva. The three of us managed to carry this man all the way back here, so don’t you even think like that,’ she said as if she were reprimanding a child. Eva had never seen Grace angry before, but she looked furious now. ‘It’s not your fault this man was injured, and it wasn’t your fault that Charlie was either.’
Eva stared back at Grace. ‘What?’
Grace’s face suddenly collapsed. ‘I’m sorry. I should never have said that. I’m just so tired of seeing you with the weight of Charlie’s death on your shoulders as if it was your fault he was killed. Because it wasn’t.’
