Page 40 - The Spirit of Christmas 1940

Chapter 6

soldier. He would find a chance to have a word with him while
Rose wasn’t about. But for now he would just keep an eye on her.

He walked across to Rose with a cheerful look so she wouldn’t
be suspicious of him.

“Oi Rosie, I’m off to the Swan for a pint, do you fancy joining
me for one before we go home?”

Rose was about to answer when the air raid sirens started to wail.
Jimmy looked up “That knackers that, then. C’mon, down the
tube” They walked across to the subway entrance, no rush needed,
There was always a few minutes before anything happened.

They reached the top of the stairs and began the long decent to
the underground platforms.

“I’m getting fed up of these raids. All they ever do is kill
innocent people and destroy there...” Jimmy was cut off mid
sentence with a blinding flash of light as the station erupted. For
a moment he could hear nothing, then intense noise from the
explosion, then just ringing in his head. The shockwave from the
blasted lifted them both off their feet and threw them into different
directions.

It seemed an eternity of unconsiousness. Almost peaceful,
oblivious to the chaos going on outside his mind. He wanted to
stay in the calm, he felt safe there but something was trying to
break in. Something that wouldn’t let him stay in the peace.

Only a few seconds had passed when he opened his eyes
gagging on the mixture of dust and smoke charging down the
stairway. He coughed over and over desperately trying to clear his
airway and get his mind focused.

And then reality hit him, Rosie, where the hell was Rosie. She
was with him but now she was gone. He got to his feet, his eyes
were blurry with dust. He tried to make out what was going on
but nothing was clear. He wiped his eyes, clearing some of the

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