Mary Poppins woke with a start as the air raid sirens began to wail. Throwing the blankets off of herself, she reached for the pair of shoes she kept by her bed. Slipping on the sensible heels, she grabbed her carpet bag, blue coat, and umbrella before almost running into the children's room across the hall. She found them sitting up in bed, eyes wide in fear. "Get your coats and shoes please, spit spot," she said, and the children hurried to follow her command. As the two children pulled on shoes and coats, Mary crossed to their beds and picked up Elizabeth's stuffed rabbit and a few of William's favourite model cars which he collected, placing all of them in her carpet bag. Then, the first bomb hit. There was a terrific boom and the floor beneath their feet trembled slightly. The brother and sister looked up at the nanny, frightened, but Mary Poppins kept her cool, calm expression. "Downstairs, quick now," she said briefly, and the children ran out the door and down the stairs, to their parents who called their names.
"Lizzy! William!" they almost screamed.
"Here, we're here, we're alright!" said William. Mary Poppins clicked down the hardwood staircase a moment later, carpet bag and umbrella in hand.
"We'll go to the Underground Station across from the park, if you please."
"The Underground? But-" Mrs Forrester began to protest, but Mary cut her off.
"Goats butt, birds fly, and those individuals who do not wish to-" she glanced at the children, "Shall we say, 'bite it', will kindly proceed to the Underground for safety." And with that, she crossed the foyer and stood, holding open the door and ushering the family through it.
As the five hurried down the street to the park, Mary appeared to be calm and collected, but really her mind was elsewhere, particularly on the safety of two people; Bert and Uncle Albert. At the moment, Bert was staying with Uncle Albert at the house, so that when they had to go into shelters of some kind during the raids, they were always together. Therefore Mary didn't worry quite so much, but of course she still did worry.
However, she was soon relieved of her concern by the voice of none other then her uncle behind her. "Mary Poppins!" shouted Uncle Albert, the sound hardly reaching her over the screams of the sirens. She turned around, and lo and behold, there were both of the men who had only just occupied her thoughts. They hurried to catch up with the nanny and the family, and Bert caught Mary's eye, giving her a small smile. She returned it. "You don't know how glad I am to see you, my dear," Uncle Albert went on. "And are these the children?"
"Yes, Uncle Albert, but there will be plenty of time for proper introductions later. For now, I suggest that we continue towards the shelter of the-" But she was cut off by the explosion of a bomb only two streets away. The world shook as it hit, and the loud, piercing whistle it created as it fell through the sky combined with the sound of the explosion left their ears ringing. A column of smoke rose above the rooftops, and the glow of bright orange flames was visible, their light dancing on the roofs of the houses. "Go, now!" Mary Poppins shouted, and they all took off at a run. It seemed that none of them had ever run faster, yet it seemed that it took impossibly long to run the length of a city block. Finally approaching the Underground station, the children latched on momentarily to the railing bordering the stairway that led down, to swing around and clamour down the stairs. The adults followed, Mary counting heads as they rushed by, and only followed them down into the station when she was sure that everyone was accounted for.
Once across the open square which the stairs led into, they continued down a tunnel to one of the platforms, and were absolutely stunned. There were people everywhere. Most were stretched out on the ground, using jackets or friends as pillows, blankets covering them, some sat propped against the walls, a few stood, and some even lay in the space where a train would be, across the tracks and in the 'gap'. But the truly surprising thing was that very few appeared melancholy or depressed. A low buzz of conversation filled the space instead of silence, reverberating off the cold tile walls, and the occasional laugh could be heard. Mary made a mental note to thank Mr Winston Churchill if she ever met him, for he did an excellent job of keeping people's spirits up, even as their city exploded and burned.
The group of seven picked their way across an obstacle course of people, towards a relatively small area that was not occupied. Mrs Forrester sat down, shaking, and her husband sat next to her, appearing rather lost. The children sat next to Uncle Albert, for a man who smiled during an air raid was fascinating, and Mary began pulling blankets out of her carpet bag and handing them out. She gave Elizabeth her rabbit and William his automobiles, and then she herself sat. Bert took the liberty of claiming the floorspace at her side. Mary looked at her hands, neatly folded in her lap, as Bert gazed at her face, trying to figure what she was thinking. Bert had to remind himself that she had seen war before, just as he had. But this time it was different from the first Great War; now civilians, the people of the countries, and not just the military, were targets, and he knew that it hurt her to have to sit back and watch, defenceless, as part of her city died each night.
"Bloody Germans, don't they sleep?" said an older man to Bert's left. The chimney sweep actually laughed out loud at this, for he realised that it was very true, and even Mary repressed a smile.
The hours ticked by, and the children fell asleep. Uncle Albert went to join some other men on the tracks, for he proclaimed that he had always wondered what it was like down there, and at long last Mary Poppins felt her eyes begin to droop. Bert, out of the sight of anyone else, reached his hand over and laced his fingers with hers. Glancing over at her charges and their parents to make sure that they were sleeping, she leaned her head against Bert's shoulder and soon fell into a light sleep.