The midsts of war [for songofsong]

[bowtimeandspace]

All around the sound of merlin engines whirred through the sky; their delicate hum was punctuated by the painful and piercing sound of the gunfire. The messerschmitt soared ahead, and from John's position in the rear of the plane he could do little but listen and guide as the carnage took place around him

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[songofsong]

The skies held the blackest of nights, but River could hear the bombers in the distance, nearing, bringing with it the orchestra of war. She stood in the empty field, her head slowly turning skyward as the clouds began to light up with activity, the engines coming overhead and racing by. She watched as fire lit up behind the clouds, the deafening sound of an explosion echoing across the valley. The bomber descended from the dark clouds, plummeting in a cascading spirals of debris as it hurtled towards the Earth.

River was already running over when the bomber made contact with the ground, bracing herself against the fiery blast that swept out across the fields, tingeing the air with smoke and death.

[bowtimeandspace]

It took a while for John to move. When he cracked open his eyes his vision was blurred and his ears rang from the explosion. He could feel the crackling heat from the fire that rang through the engines, and he could taste blood in his mouth.

In the back of his head he knew he needed to get away from the mangled wreckage, if he stood any chance of survival. But he knew too that his friend's were there, and how could he possibly leave without them?

Turning, he began to crawl along the fuselage, besides the crushed remains of his desk. It didn't take him long to find his friend's body. Cyril, the engineer, impailled on a length of twisted metal that had broken through the window, and besides him, dead in his pilot seat, Albert. He knew no other of his friends had stood a chance.

There was just him now, and he fought back a pained sob as he closed Cyril's eyes.

He had to get out of there.

[songofsong]

The smoke darkened her vision and clogged her lungs, but River pressed onward, covering her mouth as best she was able. Her boots trudged through the thick mud, cuffing against fallen debris and remains of both man and metal.

"Hello?" she called through the dark, hesitant to shine her torch and startled someone who might have a gun.

She reached the bomber, keeping back from the flames and hurrying around the side of the wreckage. "I'm going to help you. Just shout if you can!"

[bowtimeandspace]

John was just about managing to move and shift a little from the twisted husk that was the plane, when he heard a voice.

A voice, that he realised, was speaking English.

He looked up, a slight frown etched into his face.

"Hello?" he called back. "Yes. I'm here, hello?"

He held both hands up in surrender, doubled on the floor as he tried to see through the haze.