Free Moonlight Plains by Barbara Hannay

into the cockpit and swiftly grabbed the pilot beneath his armpits and hauled his limp body out.
    Kitty caught a glimpse of the other man’s flying goggles and his broad nose. Long arms. Loose, floppy legs.
    ‘Is – is he alive?’
    ‘Not sure,’ was the grim reply. ‘Would you mind grabbing his legs, so I can get him clear of this plane?’
    Ed had barely said this before a terrible
whoomp
exploded behind him and a red ball of fire leapt high, lighting up the darkness.
    He yelled and jumped clear, dragging the man with him. Somehow – later, she was never sure how – Kitty managed to grab the injured pilot’s ankles. She was surprised by the weight of him and she was decidedly shaky as they lugged him away from the burning wreckage to a safe piece of cleared ground.
    Behind them, the fire spread quickly through the plane, but Ed paid scant attention to the garish flames leaping high into the night sky. He was too concerned about his companion.
    By now a strange white glow from the fire lit up the night and Kitty watched as Ed knelt and gently removed his comrade’s goggles and leather flying helmet. Ed’s forehead was creased by a deep frown as he loosened the silk scarf at the airman’s throat and pressed long, supple fingers to the side of his neck.
    ‘Can you feel a pulse?’ She had to ask.
    ‘Just. I’m no medic, but I’m sure it’s too faint.’
    Kitty leaned closer, and to her horror, she saw dried blood staining the corner of the unconscious airman’s mouth.
    ‘Does that mean he has internal injuries?’ she asked, pointing.
    Ed let out a heavy sigh. ‘I think so. He needs a doctor. A hospital.’
    Her heart sank. They hadn’t a hope of getting him to hospital, but how on earth could they help him on their own, all the way out here?
    ‘We should at least get him out of this rain and up to the house,’ she suggested, but she didn’t add that there would be next to no help at the homestead, apart from a rudimentary first aid box.
    ‘How far is it to the house?’
    She made a rough guess. ‘A few hundred yards.’
    ‘Right.’ Ed stood. ‘Normally, I’d sling him over my shoulder, but if he has internal injuries it might do him more harm than good.’ He looked back at the burning plane, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ‘If Bobby lost a wing smashing through here, it can’t be too far away. You wait with him and I’ll see if I can find it. We can use it as a stretcher to carry him.’
    ‘All right.’
    Unexpectedly, Ed smiled at her. His smile was tinged with fatigue and worry, but gosh, she couldn’t help noticing how young and handsome he was.
    His gaze dropped to the man on the ground and his smile faded, his voice softened. ‘This is my good friend and comrade, Lieutenant Robert Kowalski. He likes to be called Bobby.’
    Kitty gulped. She was sure Bobby seemed too still.
    A moment later, Ed was gone, hurrying away into the night.
    Kitty knelt beside Bobby Kowalski. He had a nice face, with a broad, flattish nose, fair eyebrows and eyelashes and widely set cheekbones. His lips were very pale, too pale, and the bright streak of blood looked garish by comparison. He looked young, maybe not quite twenty.
    To her surprise, his eyes slowly opened.
    ‘Hello,’ Kitty said softly, kneeling closer.
    His pale-blue eyes accentuated his youth. He stared at her, then he turned and frowned at the burning plane, then back at her again. Fear crept into his eyes.
    ‘Don’t be frightened, Bobby. Ed’s here. You’re going to be okay.’
    Her reassurance was useless. As Bobby continued to stare at her, his eyes widened with terror.
    ‘Don’t be frightened,’ she said again, wishing there was something she could do.
    But he looked more terrified than ever. Terrified of
her
.
    Perhaps she looked weird with the potato sack over her head. Kitty quickly slipped it off and shook her hair free. The sacking was standard wet-weather gear out here, but in the dark it probably made her look more like the Grim