The Night of Fire.

The wailing siren rose to its eerie peak in the early evening air sending a chill down everybody's spine.

'They're starting early tonight.' Frank commented darkly to no one in particular. He jumped to his feet pulling on his tin hat and securing the strap under his chin.

Nora and Betty manning the comms desk looked at him, fear gleaming in their eyes. It made no difference that they had been through this several times now, it was just as worrying whether it was your first night or your fiftieth.

'It's going to be a bad one isn't it?' Nora asked willing Frank to deny it. Her knuckles were white as she clutched her pencil. There was already the distant throb of engines to be heard from outside.

Poor kids, Frank thought. Neither could be much over eighteen but here they were once again awaiting the inevitable calls to start flooding in. Fires, bombed houses, blocked air raid shelters, unexploded bombs, it seemed endless the pain and misery that came each night. All the while the pair took down reports hoping desperately that it wasn't their street, their home or someone they might know.

He’d seen war before, too old to fight in this one he’d jumped at the chance to be a message runner for the fire service instead. Anything to help end the suffering.

Frank squeezed both their shoulders to offer some reassurance, in times like this you needed the people around you, they were your lifeline. The first crump of an explosion shook the room. There was a moment of calm as the trio steeled themselves for what was to come and then the phones began ringing. They wouldn't stop for many hours to come.

Frank waited for Nora to finish writing the first address and information before grabbing it and running it to the first crew who were waiting, their truck was already running and ready to go.

Calls came thick and fast in the next thirty minutes and before long there were no crews left to send. It was Frank's turn to venture out now and deliver orders direct to the crews and save them the trip back to the station.

Outside in the cold night air Frank ran to his motorbike. Looking up at the sky as he went he could see the moon shining brightly over the city. Tonight it had betrayed them by lighting up the city for the enemy overhead.

Beams of light swept across the night sky in search of their prey. The thunderous throb of their engines was almost deafening overhead now. Swarmed over the city in an endless dark cloud dropping their destructive loads on the blacked-out streets below.

The explosions were getting closer and there was a different warmer glow lighting up the skyline now. Fires burnt wildly across the city lighting the way for the next wave of planes above.

Frank kickstarted his bike and it roared to life under him. It was time to go face the enemy head-on once more. With his satchel slung across his chest, a pair of goggles to protect his eyes and nothing but a tin hat to protect him from the bombs falling from above he roared away from the station towards the centre of the city. Frank marvelled a he went, he must be utterly mad.

The explosions were coming from all around him as the dark silhouettes of aircraft passed over his head. Their angry engines still audible over the roaring bike and the crashing explosions. This was most definitely a bad one, Frank decided thinking of poor Nora and Betty back at headquarters still answering phones as bombs fell around them.

Debris covered the roads, shards of glass glistened with a strange beauty in the road as they caught the light of the burning city around.

Frank swerved around the obstacles in the road, swinging around the corner he found himself on the brink of toppling into a new crater in the middle of the street. Water gushed out of a mangled mains pipe that had been blown out of the ground.

Frank swore loudly as he jerked the bike sideways to avoid ending up in a soggy painful heap at the bottom of the crater with his bike. The destruction seemed to be getting worse as he got nearer to his destination. He slowed to swerve and weave his way between rubble and craters and the odd person.

As he turned into Coopers Street he brought the bike to a stop. It was unrecognisable. Not a building remained just mounds of masonry and wood where houses had once stood. Fires burned fiercely along the street and Frank could already feel their warmth on his face.

Swinging his leg off over the bike he broke into a run along the street. There were people everywhere digging at the rubble, ambulances were already patching up the injured while the ARP tried to organise the search and rescue. The lovely ladies in the green of the WVS were wrapping shocked people in blankets and giving them tea as they led them away from their destroyed homes to safety.

Spotting the fire truck ahead Frank dashed through the crowd.

'Ted!' he called as he grew closer to one of the chaps. As he turned Frank noticed his face was soot-covered and drawn.

'Frank?' Ted seemed shocked to see him. 'What are you doing here?'

'We've got endless calls back at the station. I've brought the next orders along for where you're needed next.' As he said it Frank looked around knowing there was no way the crew could leave. Fires were still burning strong in the destroyed street and the crew of Parker Station were trying to control it enough for the rescue crews to search for people. Houses and back gardens were difficult to tell apart as rubble covered everything. There was the occasional tuft of dusty scorched grass between bricks and splintered wood.

'The shelters?' Frank asked looking for any telltale sign of the Anderson shelters that should be in the back gardens of the missing houses.

Ted shrugged, exhausted already with no end in sight. 'Some have survived the blast but even then they're covered in rubble. We're having to find them and clear them to see if anyone was inside.'

Frank nodded, there was nothing to say to make it any easier. They were all experiencing a living hell that night as the city burned around them.

'I'll update the station and divert orders on to the other crews, maybe they'll be able to attend them sooner.'

Ted nodded and was already heading back towards the crew. 'Take care out there tonight Frank.'

'You too lad.' Frank said but he wasn't sure Ted had even heard him. With a sigh, he turned and began jogging back to his bike. From behind him, he heard a panicked shout.

'Gas!! Everybody clear the site!'

Frank spun around to see who had shouted the warning just as a fireball engulfed the end of the street where Frank had stood talking to Ted only moments before.

'No!' The cry ripped from Frank's throat as he watched helplessly.