The shrill ringing of the bell sent them all into a frenzy. Jack pushed his way through the barrage of men as he ran in the opposite direction to them. Sweat dripped from his brow as he sprinted towards the medical building. He could hear men shouting all around him but he ignored them as the door to the building closed behind him. He sagged onto his haunches as he caught his breath for a few moments.
"Jack?"
He looked up to see Erica standing in front of him wearing her baby pink and white nursing uniform. The apron was tight against her abdomen where the swell of her stomach had grown. Her white hat was crisp and poised and her dark hair was scooped into a low messy bun. A few strands escaped the bun and framed her petite face. He smiled at her before standing up and walking towards her and taking her forearms into his hands.
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
There's a desperation to his voice and Erica nods before the two of them step outside. The bells are still sounding and men are still racing back and forth. Jack and Erica turn the corner and stand to the side of the building. Erica pauses, a delicate hand resting atop her small bump. Jack paces up and down the grassy verge clicking his fingers in frustration.
"You're going aren't you?" Erica's voice is flat.
Jack stops pacing and looks at her with a sadness in his eyes "They're sending me to patrol the Channel,"
She steps towards him and takes a hold of his hand. She goes to speak but can't find the words. Thoughts whirl in her mind at the very real possibility that her baby might never know their father.
"I'll come back to you," Jack whispers as he cups Erica's face in his hand. She leans against the softness of his palm and squeezes her eyes shut.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Erica lifts her head and takes a step back swiping the un-fallen tears from her eyes.
Jack watches her carefully with hands in his pockets before stepping towards her "How's this for a promise," he takes his hand from his pocket and holds out his great grandmothers engagement ring. The diamond sparkles in the sunlight as Erica's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Jack-" Erica breathes.
"I know it's not the perfect engagement you dreamed of, but if you'll have me I promise to return to you and our child," Jack steps towards her and takes her hand in his.
"So will you have me?" He asks with a playful smile.
Erica nods before a chuckle escapes her "Yes,"
Jack slides the ring onto her dainty finger before lifting her hand and kissing it delicately. The shrill call of the bells are still sounding high and loud. Jack frowns and shakes his head.
"I have to go," he says flatly.
Erica nods "Be safe and come back to us," she pats her stomach lightly.
Jack looks between her face and her stomach nervously before gingerly stepping towards her and placing his hand on her stomach. The warm small bump against his hand makes his heart leap and a tingling runs across the surface of his skin. He steps back and tips his head towards Erica before turning and racing towards the aeroplane hangers.
Up in the air the familiar sound of the Spitfire's rattling metal comforted him. The leather of his aviator hat covered his ears drowning out the roaring sound of the engine. It was a clear day and the sun was high and bright in the sky. The light glared off his front window and he squinted into the sun. He looked to his right and saw the other two planes from his squadron. Farrier was to the far right of the formation and Smith, a more senior pilot, was the lead for this mission. The three Spitfires gracefully flew low in a perfect uniformed formation.
The voice of Captain Joyce came through the radio "Check fuel Fortis One and Two,"
"Seventy Gallons," Farriers voice crackles across the radio.
Jack taps his gauge and the needle flickers to three-quarters full "Sixty-eight gallons, Fortis Leader,"
"Stay down at five hundred feet to leave fuel for forty minutes fighting time over Dunkirk," Joyce says over the radio.
Jack nods to himself as his eyes scan the skies "Understood. Vector 128, angels point five,"
Joyce's voice sounds over the radio once more "Keep an eye on that gauge, even when it gets lively. Save enough to get back,"
Jack glances down at his fuel gauge before pulling on the stick. In perfect harmony the three planes bank left.
As they level out Jack squints his eyes against the blinding sun. He looks left and right before giving a heavy frustrated sigh "Dunkirk's so far, why can't they load at Calais?"
Jack hears Farrier scoff over the radio before Joyce speaks "The enemy had something to say about it,"
Jack looks apprehensively to the skies above "Down here we're sitting ducks,"
"Keep 'em peeled. They'll come out of the sun," Joyce says knowingly.
The three of them speed through the air, the planes low against the sea water below. Jack's eyes scan the sky when suddenly a whip of dark grey catches his eye. He whips his head round.
"Bandit- eight o'clock," Farriers calls out across the radio "Break!"
The three planes immediately split off from one another. Jack banks hard to the left as the German plane tails him. Jack dives down and rolls to the left and then the right, glancing back anxiously.
"He's on me!" Jack calls out.
"I'm on him," Farrier assures Jack.
Jack rolls to the left and down again before banking right. He glances into his mirror but the ME 109 is still on his tail.
Farrier's voice sounds out over the radio "On my mark draw him left Fortis Two. Three, two, one, mark,"
Jack pulls hard to the left and watches as the German plane cuts left to follow him. The rapid piercing sound of bullets ricocheting off metal is heard and a moment later a trail of smoke billows from the tail of the ME 109.
"Clear," Farrier announces as he watches the German plane tip down towards the water.
Jack straightens up and cranes his neck to try and see the falling plane "Is he down?"
Farrier watches the ME 109 smash into the water, breaking up in a fiery mess "Down for the count,"
Suddenly tracer fire smashes into Farrier's plane, sparking inside andout. Farrier banks hard right as a second 109 streaks away.He straightens up, shaken by the sudden unexpected barrage.
"Fortis Leader, one bandit down," Farrier speaks over the radio but no reply comes. "Fortis Leader, do you read?" Again nothing.
Farrier looks around and spots a Spitfire beside him " Fortis Two, I have you to port - no eyes on Fortis Leader. Over,"
Jack looks either side of him and nods "Understood, Fortis One. Orbit for a look," The two planes bank right together as they circle the area.
As the two planes arc around the wreckage of the ME 109 Farrier spots something bobbing in the water.
"Wreckage below,"
"More of the 109?" Jack asks hopeful.
Farrier squints his eyes and spots a half submerged RAF tail "No it's Fortis Leader. Over,"
"Do you think he got out?" Jack asks.
Farrier shakes his head as he looks out of his window again "Didn't see a 'chute," There's a short pause before he adds "Record his position, then set heading 128 height...one thousand. Over,"
Jack nods as he adjusts a control in the cockpit "Vector 128, angels one. Understood,"
Farrier taps his fuel gauge but the glass is cracked and the needle is un-moving. He taps the glass with his gloved finger but nothing happens "Fortis Two, what's your fuel?"
Jack checks his fuel gauge "Fifty gallons. Over,"
Farrier jots the figure down with a grease pencil "Okay, keep letting me know. My gauge took a little bit of a knock back there,"
"Should you turn back?" Jack asks concerned.
"No, no, I'm fairly confident it's just the gauge," Farrier assures him as he checks over the responsiveness of his other gauges, switches and equipment. He eyes the figure pencilled on the metal of the plane before glancing down at his watch. He taps his fuel gauge once more.
Nothing.
Not long had passed when Jack tapped his his gauge "Forty gallons Fortis One. Over,"
Farrier recorded the fuel and time with the grease pencil "Forty gallons, understood," He checks the map on his lap and glances down at the watch on his wrist "We're about five minutes out, climb to two thousand,"
"That's more fuel!" Jack exclaims.
"I don't want to get jumped again. Lets get some altitude and dive down on the bastards from above. Over,"
Jack sighs knowingly "Understood. Angels two, over," and with that Jack pulls back on the stick and the two Spitfires rise gloriously into the sky above.
After a few long minutes Jack's eyes widen at the sight before him. A minesweeper on the sea below carrying bedraggled and dispirited soldiers is directly in the firing line of enemy planes.
"Heinkel, eleven o'clock. She's lining up to drop her load and that minesweeper!" He calls out across the radio.
"Fighters?" Farrier questions back.
Jack cranes his neck to get a better view "109's off her starboard," he says when he spots the bombers escorts.
"I'm on the bomber," Farrier declares.
With that the two planes sweep down into a dive as they glide through the air towards the enemy planes...
The waves were ebbing and flowing and the Moonstone bobbed up and down like a duck to water. Ali and Peter were out front, the cool sea breeze brushed through Ali's hair. Peter wrapped a rope around his arm as Ali passed a cup of hot tea to the dishevelled soldier they had picked up earlier. The man hadn't spoken much and instead he kept a dead, fixed and unwavering gaze on the horizon ahead.
"Heinkel!" They heard Mr Dawson shout as he pointed to the sky above.
Peter and Ali look up at the large plane overhead before their eyes immediately dart to the minesweeper a few hundred feet ahead of them.
"She'll go for that minesweeper!" Mr Dawson says as he pushes the throttle on the boat and turns hard right.
"Shouldn't we stand by? To pick up survivors?" Peter says as he steps up onto a platform on the boat.
Mr Dawson scoffs "To do that, we have to survive ourselves,"
As the boat motors away, Ali looks back to see the Heinkel and the two fighters moving towards the minesweeper. A wave of angst and despair washes over her as she thinks about the young men on the large ship and the shivering soldier on the Moonstone with them.
At that moment Peter jumps up and points to the sky "Spitfires!"
Ali and Mr Dawson both turn instinctively to see two Spitfires diving down from the clouds above. The glorious planes swoop down quickly and bank towards the enemy planes. Ali watches as one of the planes arcs round and blasts the 109 with its cannons, sending the shrill rattling sound of metal echoing through the sky.
"He got him!" Peter and Ali both declare excitedly at the same time.
Mr Dawson laughs lightly as they all watch the spectacle above
He points to the large plane above "The Heinkel's moving off!" he grins as he slows the speed of the Moonstone.
As they watch the planes, they notice one of the spitfires has smoke drifting from its tail.
"Oh no," Peter says sadly. Mr Dawson and Ali follow his gaze and their faces fall. Ali covers her mouth in disbelief as she watches the Spitfire glide lower and lower to the surface of the water.
"Watch for a parachute!" Mr Dawson calls as he whirls the wheel round, cranks the throttle and heads back towards the minesweeper.
Ali jumps up onto the front of the boat, her eyes glued to the falling plane. Every fibre of her being is hoping that a flurry of white will be seen as the pilot open his 'chute. It doesn't happen.
"No 'chute!" Peter calls from behind her.
Ali can't take her eyes from the plane as it suddenly crashes into the water below. A stark gasp escapes her lips as she watches the water splash up around the Spitfire. She feels the boat speed up and hears Peter chiding Mr Dawson.
"He's down!" Peter declares "Dad come on there was no 'chute, watch the engine!"
"Damn it I hear you Peter! He may be alive, maybe! We might be able to help him!"
Ali can hear the emotion in Mr Dawson's voice and it makes her heart ache. Peter doesn't protest again. The Moonstone surges through the waves getting closer to the fallen Spitfire...
Water.
It's everywhere, all around him. He whips the aviator hat off his head and drops it beside him. He unclips his harness and grips the canopy overhead. He pushes hard against the steel rim but the canopy is un-moving. He's trapped.
Panicked, Jack pushes and pushes the roof back and forth along its track but it's no use. He's breathing hard and with every passing second the water is rising around him. The canopy opens slightly and he sticks his hand out waving manically. Water floods into the cockpit and Jack slams the canopy shut once more as the water level reaches chest height. He takes out his flare gun and using the barrel of the gun he smashes it against the canopy again and again and again...
In his panic the gun tumbles from Jacks hand and falls through the water. His hands scramble, moving slow through the water to find it again. Jack blows hard against the rising water as it creeps up to his neck. He strains hard to rummage for the flare gun. He can't find it. His neck is stretched and he's tilting his head back to stop the rising water from covering his mouth.
He finds the gun once more but his movements are slow and heavy through the water. The water is now filling the canopy. Jack takes a deep breath in as the water engulfs him. Frantically he smashes his bare fists against the glass of the canopy. The muffled thuds of his fist grow slow as the plane starts to sink below the water. His eyes are stinging from the salt water and his mouth opens as a gargled scream escapes his lips.
Crack!
Suddenly at that moment something smashes above his head.
And again.
Jack looks up to see a boat hook. He instinctively swims up through the hole and out to the surface of the water. As he breaks the surface of the water he gasps for air and pants as he floats in his life jacket. He wipes the water from his eyes and gathers his composure before turning to face the small boat.
At that moment realisation hits him as he recognises the small figure leaning out of the boat towards him.
A playful smile creeps onto his face as he breathlessly grabs onto the boat hook
"Afternoon."
A/N: Ahh why is he so hot?! Hope you enjoyed the chapter...please leave your thoughts in the comments <3 R.