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Chapter five

‘What Do You Want Me To Do?’

Regan was asleep in her bed. She was dreaming. In her dream, she heard the roaring engines of planes and the thud of exploding bombs. The ground was shaking. She smelt smoke and she saw flames. She heard screams and the sounds of people running.

‘Stop! Stop! Come back! Don’t leave me,’ she shouted. Then a dark shape was standing in front of the flames. It was a man. It was the dead pilot - Glen Loosthawk! In her dream, Regan looked at his terrible, burnt face and she screamed.

Suddenly, she was awake.

But the ground was still shaking. Regan got out of bed. She walked towards the window and pulled back the curtains. There was a red glow in the dark sky. The glow was over Lychford Green airfield.

Regan turned away from the window. She got dressed quickly and went downstairs. Ten minutes later, she was on her bike, cycling to the airfield. The night was fine and clear.

The American girl reached the airfield, and left her bike by the gates. She found a broken place in the fence and walked through it. Almost immediately, heavy rain started to fall. Then Regan heard a voice.

‘Help me! For God’s sake, help me! The children! The children!’

The voice was coming to her from across the airfield.

Regan closed her eyes for half a minute. Then she opened them again. Nothing had changed.

‘I’m not asleep,’ she said to herself.

‘The children,’ the voice shouted again. Regan started to run across the airfield. After a moment, she saw the burning house.

‘I can’t help you! It’s too late,’ she shouted.

Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The heavy rain fell on her face. But she went on running towards the flames.

Then the pilot was standing in front of her. There was blood on his face. His clothes were burnt and torn.

‘What do you want me to do,’ Regan shouted.

The man took a step towards her.

Regan screamed. Then she turned and ran hack towards the gates. But suddenly the pilot was standing in front of her again. Regan tried to turn, but she slipped and fell to the ground. A hand touched her shoulder.

Regan looked up. ‘What do you want me to do,’ she said again. This time she spoke quietly.

The man pointed towards the burning house.

‘I can’t do anything,’ she said. ‘It’s too late. It happened nearly sixty years ago.’

Regan stood up and started walking. Soon she was near the fence. As she walked through the broken place in the fence, the rain stopped. The night was fine and clear again. But Regan was wet and very cold. She got on her bike and rode slowly home. She was shaking with cold and fear.

‘I must tell the others about this,’ she said to herself. ‘But they must finish the project without me.’

‘So that’s why I’m not going to the airfield again,’ Regan said. ‘I had to see you and tell you.’

It was the next morning. The four friends were in Jack and Tom’s house. Jack, Tom and Frankie had heard Regan’s story.

‘The pilot was trying to tell you something,’ Tom said. ‘Why did you run away from him?’

‘I was terrified,’ Regan replied. ‘I was very, very frightened. I’m not going back to the airfield.’

‘OK,’ Tom said with a smile. ‘If you’re afraid, you don’t have to help us.’

‘I want to help you,’ Regan replied angrily. Then she was silent for a few moments. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. ‘I will go back to the airfield, if you all come with me,’ she said. ‘OK,’ said Tom.

Then the phone rang and Jack answered it. When he put the phone down, he smiled at the others.

‘That was Darryl,’ he said. ‘He’s arranged our flight. His friend will take us up in the old plane tomorrow.’

‘Brilliant,’ Tom said.

‘Darryl told me something else,’ his brother went on. ‘There’s a private museum at the Lychford Country Club. It tells the story of Lychford Green airfield during the Second World War. Darryl has arranged for us to go there. We can go now.’

‘You two go there,’ Regan said. ‘Frankie and I will talk to Florrie Skinner. We’ll all meet at my house later.’