The Nightingale || John Egan

V

Up in the sky was where worries crept in each of their bodies. Iris kept a picture of her baby brother in the pocket of her jacket, against her heart.
Through the speakers, Iris heard everything.
"Damn it! There's a fort on top of us!"
"Roger. I see him".

Bosser was in the hole, Curt and Buck piloting, the bombardiers with her as she sat down, the map in her hands, breathing through her mask.
It has been a while since the last time she had been on a mission and all felt too familiar. The skips the heart takes involuntarily and the cold that wraps all of your body, although you are covered well enough.
She was sat in a position where if she had an emergency, she would be able to rescue the one in need immediately and with no difficulty.

But then, loud bombing sound erupted from beneath the planes.
"Here we go. Flak incoming. Hold on, boys" said Cleven.
The planes shook with every bomb being sent upwards.
Iris kept her calm as she hold onto the bag with piece of cloth and other medicine necessities.
There wasn't any visibility and Iris feared they would return back with a mission labelled as failed.
She shook her head as she heard the words.

"Repeat. Roger. Uncle. Fox. Xray".

Disappointment flushed over her, they're scrubbing the mission.
"They're scrubbing" Iris said to herself but her words reached a bombardier who looked at her quickly before re-focusing on the 'target' muttering a "Damn it!".
And as the plane shook, it stopped and the flak stopped as well. Iris looked left and right, anticipating it's return. But it didn't. And that was not good news.

"There's only two left from the 349th, sir" Dickie informed. Only?
"Call turret to pilot. Sir, they shot a hole in the turret. I'm freezing to death. Can somebody get me out of here?"
Iris scrambled to her feet and approached the turret, she opened it with ease and grabbed Bosser by the back pulling him outside, the other two came and noticed his suit all shot up.
Iris fetched him a blanket and told him to keep it tight around his shoulders.
"You heard the Major, we'll be back at the base in no time" Iris reassured before she stood up.
Nothing major happened, at least on her plane.
Either they went down with the plane or they bailed out.
Iris wouldn't know what to do exactly if she ever had to bail out, especially on hostile ground. Or on ground occupied by the enemy.
The parachute was big and bright, making it visible to anyone and if one does not make it in time to hide and leave behind the parachute, they are as good as dead as one might say.

Iris believed they were reaching the base, and as soon as they touched the ground she took off her mask and helped Bosser off the plane, the two boys helped her carry the hurt out of the plane, the ambulance came, there were injured men that did not emit any sound and there were un-injured men panicking all over the place.
Iris knew she would be needed to go to interrogation as much as she was needed in the Medical Wing, despite the amount of nurses there were, she needed to help.
She looked back at the plane, destroyed and filled with holes, she was sure the motor was shot.
With one last look, she glanced at Buck who looked at the plane with sad eyes before glancing at her, she offered him a small smile before she hopped on the vehicle along with the others, asking to questions as she was driven to interrogation.

The girl was greeted by the doctor she knew quite well, he raised his eyebrows and gave her a small smile "Had fun, Grey?" he asked, although an ironic question, his tone was serious, she clicked her tongue and sighed "Does it look like it?", he motioned to her lip, she pressed her finger onto it and brought it up to her eyes seeing blood and muttered an "Oh". He offered her a cup of liquor but she refused and thanked him before walking into the room.
To say the least, interrogation was the part she favored less after a mission, mostly failed. All she did was sit among men and listen and stay silent.
So there she waited, breathing slowly and calmly awaiting it to come to an end, and eventually it does, it only takes time.
They were filled with questions, when and where exactly. There were precise answers and uncertain answers or silence.

"Chutes, did anyone see chutes?"
"No".
"There was zero visibility, no one could see anything".
Iris brought her wrist up to wipe the wetness she felt on her lip and chin from the blood, she hadn't felt or noticed it until the doctor pointed it out, she pressed her hand on it and kept it there.
She looked away and found John Egan looking over at where she and the others sat, she sighed and his gaze found hers before she looked away once she heard her name being called.
"Iris, are you sure you haven't seen any chutes?"
"Like all said, nothing was visible up there and if I saw something I would be certain of it".

The first thing Iris did when she stepped out of the room was go to the medical wing and do her job.
And as soon as she stepped inside, the smell of blood filled the air.
"Iris" she heard from behind and turned around to find Alissa dressed neatly, the blonde girl walked up to her friend and embraced her lightly and carefully, Iris exchanged the hug before she stepped away.
"I'll go change and help-"
"Oh no, Iris. You can't. You mustn't, and oh- that lip looks bad".
"Oh stop it, Alissa. It is not".
"How did this happen?"
"I've got no idea".

Alissa walked away motioning Iris to follow and she did, she fetch a bowl of water and some cotton and a small piece of cloth, Iris sat on a bed as the blonde dunked the piece of cotton in water and pressed in on Iris' lip.
"I feel like on of the boys that come in here for a small paper cut, do you remember that one that came in groaning in pain?" Iris said, Alissa chuckled and rolled her eyes "Such a baby" she said before cleaning up Iris' bloodied chin before placing the piece of cloth onto the cut.
"All done although, Iris if I might be frank with you, I don't believe you have much time, the cut was very deep-"
"How will you live?"

"I won't" the girls giggled and both sighed together.
"Go take a shower".