The searchlights were scanning the foggy skies and the sirens were blaring throughout the city, signaling the impending bombing to its citizens. German bombers were being pelted by antiaircraft guns and were swooping through the air in effort to avoid being shot down. The pilots looked down at the city below and aimed their weapons. With a push of a button bombs were being dropped, drastically effecting the lives of the people down on the ground.
In one of the houses below, a young boy with black hair and large brown eyes eagerly watched all the action outside through his bedroom window. His eyes followed the planes and the bright lights from the search lights and the exploding bombs. His mother opened up the door and sighed at the sight of her son.
"Edmund." She sternly called, rushing over to him.
"Get away from there!" she grabbed him and pulled him away from the window. She frantically closed the blinds.
"Peter!" she called for her oldest son. He came running into the room.
"What Peter says you'll do it!" the brown haired mother told Edmund, leaving no room for argument.
"Peter take him out of here now!" she told the dark blonde hared boy. He obeyed and grabbed his brother's arm harshly.
"Come on!" he yelled, dragging him by the arm. Edmund then remembered something.
"Oh wait no!" he protested after a moment.
"No, leave it!" Peter argued, still pulling on his arm. Edmund was easily over powered and dragged away from the room. Their mother quickly grabbed some blankets and other necessary things.
In another room, the youngest of the Pevensies laid in her bed with her hands over her ears.
"Mommy!" she cried tearfully. Just then the oldest daughter, not too much younger than Peter, ran into the room and looked around. She shined her torch over towards the bed and saw her sister crying.
"Lucy come on!" She urged and grabbed her hand. Lucy immediately ran along with her sister. The family scrambled out of their house toward the bomb shelter in the backyard. They shouted encouragements of 'come quickly' and 'run' to get their family to the shelter faster. Lucy was running right behind her mother and Peter, as the man of the house, brought up the back. He was very protective of his family. As they reached the shelter Edmund thought back to what he left behind.
"Wait Dad!" he cried and slipped around Peter, running back toward the house.
"Ed!"
"Edmund NO!" Peter and his mother cried, seeing him take off. Lucy and Susan had made their way into the underground shelter already. The bombing and sirens had gotten louder now.
"I'll get him!" Peter shouted back to his mother before racing after him.
"Peter come back!" she protested in fear. Of course she wanted Edmund safe, but she couldn't lose both of her sons either. Peter caught up with Edmund just as he ran inside. Edmund reached for a picture on the side table. Peter heard the siren's wailing increase and dove for his brother.
"Ed get down!" he warned as they both went sprawling to the floor as a bomb went off near the house. The force of the blast shattered the window above them.
"Come on you idiot RUN!" Peter shouted at him and yanked on his arm. Edmund pulled against him and reached for the now shattered picture frame. Just as he grabbed it, he allowed Peter to pull him out.
"Get out!" Peter urged as the two of them sprinted to the shelter. Their mother was at the entrance watching and waving them on to hurry. They scrambled down the stairs and Edmund was pushed onto the cot on the floor.
"You never think about anyone but yourself, you're so selfish! You could have gotten us killed!" Peter screamed at his brother. He was livid that Edmund had pulled a stunt like that.
"Peter stop it!" his mother scolded. Peter stopped his rant and everyone looked toward the teary eyed boy on the floor, clutching the broken picture of his father. His mother lifted him up and hugged her whimpering son. He was terrified enough already.
"Why can't you just do as you're told?" Peter harshly asked. It was obvious that he was equally shaken up by the experience. Edmund looked up with scared eyes at his brother. Peter sighed and turned to shut the door of the bunker.
On the other side of the city there was another family who were also trying to flee the bombing. In an average sized two story house a girl, age 16 runs around her room filling a small bag full of her belongings. Her raven hair is in a mess from being woken up suddenly as she frantically snatches some clothing and throws it into her satchel. As she continues her sea green eyes scan the dark room as best they can for anything she could've forgotten. She spies an old frame that contains a picture of her family when it was whole. Her father, a younger version of herself, and her now deceased mother. Her father worked in the war office, which wasn't too far from their home. Because of his outstanding character, his superiors allowed him to avoid the draft to fight on the front lines so he could stay with his daughter. They were all each other had left, so he didn't want to be parted from her.
She grabs the picture and puts it into her satchel just as her bedroom door is thrown open. A middle aged man with dark hair stood in the threshold, his eyes landing on his daughter at the far end.
"Aleisa [A-lee-sa] we need to get out of here! Come on!" he was frantic as they made their way towards each other. They made a move to leave when they heard the whistle of a falling bomb. Her father's eyes widened and he dove to the floor covering his daughter. "Get down!" The bomb fell and landed close enough to rattle the house and shatter a couple windows. Once the blast had passed the two of them sprinted down the stairs toward the back door. They ran outside towards their bomb shelter a few feet away. The bomb sirens were blaring through the night air as they ran, fearing for their lives. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the doors and he pulled them open. He ushered Aleisa down the stairs into the underground room below. She shuffled across the room and lit a couple of the lamps so they could see in the cement room. She heard a loud thud and the sounds of the chaos outside were muffled. She turned to see her father climbing down the stairs. He leaved a heavy sigh and gave her a stern look. Aleisa didn't meet his eyes and looked down. She knew better than to stay up in her room that long when the bomb sirens went off.
"What were you thinking? You could've been killed. What was so important that you couldn't come down the stairs in time?" he sternly asked her. He didn't need to raise his voice for her to hear the disappointment and fear he felt. He was always a gentle, soft spoken man and even in extreme cases he rarely rose his voice. Her mother was the one with the fiery temper. She looked up with watery eyes. Reaching into her satchel she pulled out the frame and held it out to him.
"I had to take at least one picture of her with me. Just in case the house got hit." She whispered. He looked down at the picture and smiled. He knew her mother and the memory of her was important to Aleisa. He reached over and enveloped her in a hug as silent tears ran down her cheeks. She wasn't really one to cry but the close call had really shaken her up.
"I know love, I know. It's ok, you had good intentions but no picture is worth your life. We will always have her memories in our hearts." He told her as he held her close. She was so much like her mother. He didn't need a picture of her every day because Aleisa was practically a spitting image, minus his hair color. Aleisa nodded and let out a small laugh, wiping away the tears.
"It seemed like a noble cause at the time." She chuckled and he soon joined her. He set a hand on her head and smiled down lovingly at her. Looking down at his watch he sighed again. It was pretty late.
"Alright Tiger, let's get some sleep. It's not like we have much else to do at the moment anyway." He told her. She smiled at the familiar nickname. She had also inherited her mother's temper and can-do attitude, so her father thought the name suited her. There was one decent sized bed over in the corner of the room. The two of them climbed under the sheets and Aleisa snuggled up close to her father. She wouldn't admit it but she was still frightened and hearing her father's strong heartbeat gave her comfort. He smiled down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. As he heard her breathing even out, he laid awake thinking about what to do. He couldn't keep her in harm's way, no matter how much she protested. He decided that perhaps he should send her away temporarily. He wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to her. Making his decision he soon fell asleep too
