Bombers Moon

Chuck reached out and turned the desk lamp to the side, so that the aperture faced the wall, which would not disturb his sleep and allow him to see the person in his arms clearly.Louie fell asleep on his chest, and Chuck studied his hair for a while, the light tawny looking darker in the dim light, like golden brown.The hair on the temples and forehead was still stained with sweat.Chuck's fingers lingered over the burn scar on his shoulder, gliding to the bare shoulder blades and back, and back again, never tired of it.Their legs were entangled under the blanket, but the blanket was about to slide to the floor. Chuck tried to retrieve the cotton while keeping his upper body as still as possible. He came over and looked up at Chuck with a half sleepy smile.

"Can't sleep?"

"Not really," Chuck whispered back. "Just a distraction."

Louis frowned at the light: "What time is it?"

"It's more than two o'clock, and it must not be three o'clock."

"When is your assembly time?"

"Six o'clock, departure time depends on the weather."

"You should go back."

"Yes, Miss Button is almost beginning to miss me, and you can't imagine what an unhappy duck can do."

Louie laughed, moved a little, and kissed Chuck, fingers entangled in his hair. "Five minutes." Louie said against his lips, and Chuck responded vaguely, holding him tight.

They end up taking much longer than 5 minutes.The second time the lovemaking was slower than the first, Louie straddled Chuck with his hands on his chest.Chuck watched him, panting, mesmerized by the curve of the muscle and the gleam of sweat.Louis leaned over to kiss him, then suddenly left his lips, bit Chuck's shoulder hard, and let out a suppressed low cry.Chuck stroked the back of his neck until both of them were breathing calmly.

The blanket was now all the way down to the floor, a crumpled ball, and Chuck picked it up and wiped their lower bellies hastily while Louie grunted disapprovingly, eyes half-closed, too lazy to protest.

There was no movement in the corridor.At four o'clock in the morning, the entire base was fast asleep.Chuck put on his clothes with a rustle, turned off the light, and carefully looked through the crack of the door. There was no one, not even a light.He closed the door softly and slipped to his dormitory.

The only one who noticed that the sergeant was late without permission was Miss Button, and Chuck didn't know where the duck's ears got, but they must be sharp anyway.The yellow beak protruded from under the bed, and then the long, curved neck, button flapped its wings, and rushed towards him with a flicker.

"Shh, be quiet." Chuck told the duck and stroked her head. Jody turned over on the other side of the room. The snoring stopped for a while. Chuck held his breath and waited until the snoring started again. With a sigh of relief, "Keep a secret for me, okay? Good girl, go back to sleep."

He took off his shirt and pants and got under the covers.Duck stared at him for a long time, until he was sure Chuck would not get up to feed her beetles, and then went back under the bed resentfully.

The sky seemed to dawn a few seconds after Chuck closed his eyes, and the bell calling for the bomber fleet to assemble rang, jerky and piercing.Chuck forced himself to his feet, put on a shirt, heavy coat, and boots out of habit, and rushed out with the crew.Miss Button was already very familiar with this whole set of procedures. She swished out from under the bed and followed excitedly, squeezed between a dozen pairs of heavy boots, almost rushing onto the runway.A ground crew pushing a battery on a cart quickly stopped her. The duck flapped its wings angrily, quacked loudly, and tried to peck the ground staff's hand.

"Sorry! Honey! I can't take you there today!" Chuck shouted, waved his hand, and closed the cabin door, ready to face his No.20 combat mission.Because he was too hasty, he forgot to take out the photo frame that Louis had given him, and the metal object was still in his pocket, which was heavy.

For the American pilots at the Beacon Hill base, this was the last flight of the summer, and of course for some relatively unlucky pilots, this was the last time in their lives.Beginning Sept. 9, the combined command in London briefly halted bombing missions to count casualties, repair bullet-riddled planes, and provide respite for exhausted crews.

Bigan Hill held a funeral for the pilot who died in August, in the same chapel where Leo had been married a few months earlier.The bodies of most of the dead were never recovered or were burned beyond recognition.Those who were barely recovered were buried long ago, and this mass was just an endnote after the article was written.Chuck and Louie sat on the last bench together, slinking away as people stood up and sang.

It was a cloudy day, the clouds were rolling in different shades of gray, but not a single drop of rain fell.Neither of them spoke, they walked side by side on the dirt road leading to the wilderness, not in the direction of the base, but in the cemetery surrounded by simple fences.The wind ironed the weeds and pulled at their hair and their coats, and Chuck turned up his collar and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"My mother is a very religious person," Chuck said, not knowing why he brought it up. "I never really believed in it, but it's different after I came here. I think anyone It's hard not to believe in God after passing through the German firepower net and coming back alive."

"Or even less," Louis said, unable to tell if he was joking. "There's no way to explain why God kept the worse twin."

Chuck didn't say anything, but took his hand out of his pocket and took Louis's.The second lieutenant subconsciously looked back at the empty dirt road, as if afraid that someone would suddenly jump out of the grass and report them.Chuck gently pulled him closer and squeezed some of his hand.

"Does William know?"

"Yes," Louie replied, knowing right away what Chuck was asking, "actually he found me—it was when we were at school and William left his cricket bat in the common room and came back to get it. The common room was mostly empty an hour or two before dinner, everyone was on the field, or the library, so I happened to," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I happened to be with one of the rowing team. Boys together. William never talked about it, totally pretended not to see it. Maybe waiting for me to bring it up, but I never dared. Now I'll never know what he thinks."

"So you figured out early on that you were." Chuck gestured to get over the unspoken word.

"It is." Louis glanced at him, "What about you? Are there any emotional adventures that I should know?"

Chuck scratched the back of his head, "When I was 15, I collected some magazine pictures, girls in short skirts and stuff, and I stuffed them under the mattress, because even if my mother found it, at most, I would punish me for copying the Bible. But I still have pictures of half-naked cowboys and boxers in a very hidden crevice of the closet—”

"Don't say it, I almost guessed it."

They walked to the cemetery. Because of the previous summer's wind and rain, a section of the fence completely fell down, but the fence gate was still standing, which looked a little funny in the wild grass.

"Sergeant, would you mind picking some wildflowers?"

"With pleasure, sir."

-

On September 1943, 9, after more than half a month of rest, bombers from various air bases in East Anglia flew into the watery autumn sky again.The destination of Chuck's No.26 second duty is certain air force installations in northern France. The reason for saying "certain" is because the instructions given by the joint command are so vague, in order to keep it as secret as possible.Chuck has bombed "some" naval installations and "some" industrial installations and doesn't mind the incomplete information as long as he has the coordinates.France was still within range of the Spitfire. Louis' Spitfire team hid high in the clouds above and swiftly swooped down to drive away Me, who had tried to attack many times.

109.The bomber team successfully delivered the "gift" to the concrete building below, and returned with a drunken atmosphere of victory.

The No.20 three missions are on Thursday, October 10th.

The bomber convoy had departed later than usual as the early morning freezing fog flooded the base, clinging to the runway like a translucent layer of white mold.The sunrise was very low-key, and the sunlight was filtered through layers and cast a gloomy gray, like the light filtering through cobwebs and dirty glass in the attic.Every now and then the fog parted, revealing half a bomber engine, or a solitary tail fin, and surged back, engulfing the plane.

Chuck slipped into the cafeteria around 08:30, stuffed some scrambled eggs and black bread into his mouth, and washed it down with coffee.An engineer named Hughes is joining his crew today, carrying a giant K-20 camera.Sergeant Hughes' mission was to take pictures of the German fighter assembly plant and hand the pictures over to Air Force Intelligence after returning home.Chuck found Hughes in the cafeteria, and the two had a brief conversation. Chuck patted the engineer on the shoulder and walked away.In addition, a bombardier and two machine gunners were assigned by the command department. Chuck greeted them one by one, called Jody and Leo over, and the seven sat together, waiting to go.

The assembly order came around ten o'clock, and by about ten twenty, all the bombers and escorting Spitfires were in the air.They made a circle over Biegan Mountain to ensure that all the planes were in formation, and then flew northeast, and joined other teams over the strait to form a larger bomber fleet, a total of 291 B17s, heading to the direction designated by the heading headquarters. Target: Schweinfurt.It was the second major air raid by the US Army Air Forces on the German city, and Jody made a joke about ringing the doorbell twice, but no one laughed at all except Chuck.

As in the past, the escorting Spitfire turned back on the west coast of France, and the P47 Thunder fighter continued to accompany the bomber fleet to the French-German border. Due to insufficient fuel, they also had to return.Chuck ordered the bomber team to maintain altitude and continue to use cloud cover.Sergeant Hughes wasn't too happy about this, he couldn't take a clear picture of enemy territory right under his feet.Leo climbed up from the bomb bay and told him to shut up, there were chances when he got there, but if they got flak shot down now, hell with Hughes and his shitty camera.

At about 10:17 in the afternoon, Leo reminded Chuck one last time to correct his course. Chuck gave the order to lower the altitude, and the bomber team broke through the clouds and appeared over Schweinfurt.The anti-aircraft guns blared almost immediately, and the thick black smoke from the shells bloomed like dirty roses around the plane.In less than [-] minutes, too thick smoke forced Chuck to lower his altitude again, otherwise he would not see the target at all.A shell exploded in the upper right corner of the cockpit, just short of knocking Chuck and the entire cockpit away.A B[-] not far away was hit and began to fall. Chuck forced himself to look back and look for the target.

The fighter assembly plant looked like a few small gray squares crowded together at this height, and Chuck rushed towards it, ignoring the increasing density of anti-aircraft guns.It wasn't until the bombardier reported hitting the target that Chuck pulled up again and escaped the anti-aircraft gun fire.Another 88mm gun exploded directly ahead, and the bomber crashed into the black smoke. It felt like being blindfolded suddenly during a gang fight.Two Me

The 109 sprang out of the black smoke like a ghost, and fired straight at the cockpit. Chuck cursed, pressed the joystick to the left, and the ground and sky turned 60 degrees. The bomber banked and turned a corner, barely avoiding bullet.The machine gunner at the waist position took the opportunity to shoot at the enemy plane, Me

109 escaped, briefly disappeared from view, and a few seconds later reappeared on the other side of the bomber, aiming at the waist turret and firing.Debris flew, and the cold wind that poured in from the cracked fuselage rumbled.There was chaos on the radio, and Chuck could hear Jody and Leo, both yelling, a violent noise from a machine gun, and a Me

109 spun and fell, disintegrating before it hit the ground, into flaming fragments.

"There is also a Me

109," Chuck heard Jody say, "it's aft now, and I—"

The sound of the explosion drowned out Jody's last words.Chuck called his name twice, but there was no answer.He wanted to look back to see what was going on in the cabin, but didn't have the time.The anti-aircraft gun ripped apart the wing of a B17 next to it, and it lost its balance immediately, and the banked wing was like a knife blade towards Chuck's plane. There was a loud noise when the fuselage steel plate was smashed open.

Nothing happened.The unfortunate wingman just missed them, dragging flames and smoke towards the city below.

The order to return has been issued.The bombers trapped in this filthy smoke are all turning hard, struggling to fly back to the distant Britain. Me

The 109 is back again, Chuck adjusts the nose machine gun, pulls the trigger, trying to shoot the bastard down, he hits the German fighter, but the other bullet also penetrates the cockpit.Pain exploded in Chuck's left cheek and chest, and it took him a long time to find himself lying on the ground, dizzy.Leo was shaking his shoulders so hard, the navigator's face was splattered with blood, and Chuck could barely recognize him.Leo was talking so loudly that Chuck couldn't hear a word, his ears buzzing.He grabbed Leo's arm, sat up drowsily, and returned to the driver's seat.

The bomber was falling fast, the ground spinning before his eyes, and Chuck regained his grip on the controls, his hands slick with blood.With 5000 feet to go before total destruction, the heavy flying fortress reared its head and struggled to re-climb.Like the last stress at the end of a symphony, an 88mm artillery shell grazed the wing, leaving a scorched black dent like tooth marks.Chuck ignored it at all, and the plane continued to climb towards the clouds and returned to the sky beyond the reach of anti-aircraft guns.

"Hughes is dead." Leo said, sitting on the ground with his back against the cabin wall. "Jody's condition is not very good. I tried my best to stop the bleeding, but I'm worried—"

"No way," Chuck cut him off. "We made it out safely, you know? He'll be fine."

Leo laughed dryly, "I guess it won't last long."

Chuck took one look at Leo before noticing his blood-soaked uniform and pale lips.A piece of shrapnel must have been embedded somewhere in the abdomen, and the navigator pressed hard on the wound, but the blood couldn't stop.Chuck opened his mouth, unable to speak, as if a ball of hay had been stuffed in his throat.

Beacon Hill base is now two hours away.

"It's so fucking cold in here," Leo said, and it was the first time Chuck had ever heard him swear.

"Don't fall asleep, okay? We're going to beegan hill soon." Chuck licked his chapped lips. "Leo, talk to me for a minute, okay? Tell me about Natalie, are you Where did you meet her?"

They were talking intermittently, accompanied by the noise of the engine.Whenever Leo's voice dropped, Chuck would call out his name until Leo regained consciousness.He tried calling the three turrets and the bomb bay, but no one answered, and no one came to the cockpit.Chuck stared at the indifferent sky outside the cabin, swallowed several times, and suppressed the bitter feeling that came out of his chest.Chill stung his hands and neck, and Chuck slapped his cheek hard, forcing himself to stay awake.

"Leo, are you still awake?"

"Yes."

"Just a few more minutes, I can see the runway," Chuck said, hoping Leo didn't hear the tremor in his voice. "Can you do it?"

"I want to see Natalie."

"You'll see her right away, three minutes at the most."

The B17 bomber circled in a circle and began to descend. It was a little anxious, and the change in air pressure made Chuck's eyes black.The landing gear touched the runway, and the plane shook violently like an empty cookie jar picked up by a child.Then everything suddenly quieted down.Chuck thought he'd be able to get up, but instead rolled awkwardly out of his chair, he lay gasping for breath amidst the glass and metal shards, crawled towards Leo, tugged at his arm, and the navigator's head cocked to one side , eyes closed tightly, no response.

Chuck took two deep breaths, turned around and crawled towards the cabin door, before he could touch the handle, the door was pulled open from the outside, someone shouted, several hands lifted him up, and pulled him out of the cabin.Chuck felt himself briefly unconscious, and by the time he could see clearly again he was lying on a stretcher swaying from side to side, facing an unchanging gray sky.A nurse leaned over his wound, the red cross on his smock burning like fire in Chuck's eyes.The sky disappears into moldy ceilings and electric lights.Chuck grabbed the nurse's arm, who was startled, but didn't shake him off, raised his hand and called the doctor.

"My crew," he said hoarsely, the smell of blood in his mouth.

"You need to rest, Sergeant Sinclair, you've lost a lot of blood."

The needle went into his arm, and Chuck tried to object, but his tongue froze and he uttered a single slurred syllable.The darkness swept in like a tidal wave, dragging him into the silent void.