Prosper (War Shadows: Book 1) SAMPLE

i-ii. The Drop

Evelyn wasn't sure how long she slept that night, but she didn't think it was very long. It seemed like she'd just put her head down on the pillow when someone gently started to shake her shoulder to wake her up. In the darkness of the barracks, all she could see was the outline of a man at her side. She thought that he was wearing a military uniform, but she wasn't sure.

"It's time."

Evelyn sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Across the room, she could see someone she assumed was Gene, pulling on his pants as he finished getting dressed. The man at her side must have been one of the poor soldiers stationed at the airfield they'd dragged from bed to help send them off to France.

"What's the time?" she asked as she swung her legs out of bed and scratched the back of her head.

"Early," he said. "You have thirty minutes to get dressed and ready to go."

With that, the soldier left with Gene right behind him, leaving her alone in the barracks to get dressed.

As Evelyn changed out of her nightgown and into a shirt and pants, the nervousness she'd felt the previous night returned. Her heart began to pound against her chest as she buttoned up her blouse and her pants, her hands began to shake as she laced up her boots; by the time she was done putting her hair up in a bun, she felt like she was going to be sick.

Once she was done getting dressed, she began to pack up the last of her personal effects to be sent home. She folded up her blanket, which bore the blue, red and green tartan of clan McIntyre; her silver locket with a picture of her mother and her father in it; a worn picture of Will in his RAF uniform; a stack of encouraging letters from friends and family; the bible her father had taken with him into the trenches of Belgium and France; it felt like she was packing up pieces of her life rather than some odd comfort items, and it wasn't, by any means, a good feeling.

Lastly, she pulled her crucifix necklace out from under her pillow; however, rather than put it with the rest of her things, she held it in her hands, trying to decide what she was going to do with it. The SOE was going to let her bring it to France with her, since a lot of the country was Catholic like her, but she wasn't sure if she was going to do it. Gene had a Star of David necklace that his mother had bought for him for his Bar Mitzvah, and thanks to the German's anti-Jewish policies, he wasn't allowed to bring it. It wouldn't be fair to him if she did, right?

Finally, though, she put it around her neck. Gene had told her to take it when they gave her the approval and she asked him about it, and having some small comfort from home would be nice to have, anyway.

When she walked outside that morning, she saw that it didn't look any different than it had when she'd first went to bed. The sky remained dark and full of stars, with only large floodlights to light the night so they could prepare for takeoff. Men were fueling up the plane, pilots were checking the plane's systems to make sure they were all working properly, soldiers were loading crates filled with supplies for the French resistance that would be accompanying them to France; it looked like it wouldn't be long until Evelyn and Gene were to leave for occupied France.

Soon after she'd stepped outside, she saw a familiar face walking toward her. Vera Atkins, the woman in charge of all the female SOE agents in occupied France, wore her usual outfit that morning: a white blouse underneath an olive green jacket and tucked into an olive green pencil skirt, and a pair of old, brown oxfords. She walked with a certain air of authority, even though she was little more than a glorified secretary, as far as official positions went.

"Good morning, Miss Evelyn," she said as she came closer. "How are we feeling this fine day?"

"Nervous," Evelyn admitted.