Zeppelins Over London, March 5th, 1917.
The very first air sirens built in London wailed again, for the hundredth time. A 15-year old named Darnell Hardy dashes out of a Cafe on the northern side of the Thames, and runs out into the street, watching possibly hundreds of people run to shelters. A automotive rushes through the streets, with the words 'Take Cover' on bars welded to the side.
Darnell runs up Farrington Road, pushing through the crowd, which has now swarmed the streets. The lights of storefronts close, attempting to make their buildings less of a target. The streets began to grow darker, while Darnell finally reached home, an apartment flat of 3 stories. As Darnell ran up the stoop, the door quickly burst open, and Darnell came face-to-face with his Mother, who looked relieved to find him.
Just then, the ground rumbled, and the screams of people hung in the air.
"Get to the cellar Darnell! I need to get something!"
Darnell, this time more out of breath, ran around the building with several other people, when a lick of orange was caught in the corner of his eye. He looked up and heard several more rumbles, but Darnell kept his feet glued to the ground, staring at the scene from the sky. A German zeppelin had caught fire and was slowly falling to the ground. English Biplanes circled it, and were hit by large volleys of machine gun fire. All this time, people were rushing around Darnell, through the back yard, and his mother had finally come out.
"Darnell! Into the cellar! What did I tell you?"
Snapping from his stupor, Darnell speeded into the cellar, and stayed with his Mother until a man, the Landlord, climbed in, and shut the doors.
After several minutes of commotion, Darnell realized that his mother was carrying a large suitcase. He asked,
"Ma? Why are you carrying that suitcase?" "It's full of our clothes, what else do you think it is?"
After about 3 hours, it was 9 PM. Everyone had settled down, with each family having 1 or 2 separate rooms, and most had retired to bed, along with Darnell and his mother. Using a curtain as a door, some light from the main room leaked in. However, Darnell could not fall asleep, as the sounds of explosions and gunfire kept him up. He spent this time in bed, wondering what he thought it was. Once the hefty landlord turned off the lights, Darnell waited 5 minutes, and opened the suitcase. As his mother was in the other room, Darnell lit a small lantern and placed a candle inside. However, the suitcase had several hidden compartments. Most of the suitcase was indeed clothing, but one section contained several photographs. About 80% of the photos were of Darnell and his mother, with one photo of Darnell's father, who had died early in the war. However, there were still 3 pictures of a women that Darnell didn't recognize. He decided to ponder this in the morning, and went to bed.