The hint of a high-pitched sound startled her enough to jump to her feet, and Ruby ran upstairs and grabbed both hers and Fred’s bags. She clattered back downstairs and out of the door to the shelter. Her heart pounded. Fred. Fred was not home. Please keep him safe.
She pulled the shelter door to one side and ducked inside just as a scream from above pierced through the evening sky. Voices, horns and sirens filled her ears and Ruby’s resolve to remain strong left her. She slammed the door shut and lit the oil lamp Fred had secured to the ceiling. She curled up on a bench and pulled blankets around her. Even if she’d remembered to snatch up her book from the floor indoors, she knew she’d never have settled into reading it whilst another attack raged over her head.
A spider meandered along the wall beside her. It spun a web and scuttled down to the floor and, as she watched, Ruby wondered if it knew what was happening in the world. What she’d give to be that spider at that moment. Carefree.
‘Ruby! Ruby!’
Startled from her daydream, Ruby jumped from the bench and answered the banging on the door. She recognised Fred’s voice above the hideous sounds surrounding them. She lowered the flame of the lamp and opened the door. ‘Quick, inside! Beatty!’
‘She’s hurt,’ Fred said and guided their friend into the shelter.
‘What happened?’ Ruby asked.
‘The siren started but we were closer to her house than the shelters, so we moved as fast as we could towards the jetty behind her house to get to the garden shelter, when boom – the house went down like a house of cards.’
Ruby settled Beatty into a seat and increased the flame to give more light.
‘A flying brick caught her forehead. She didn’t faint. I knew there’s no point in going to the hospital – it was hit last night. Did you hear? We were told by Beatty’s neighbour.’
‘Never. They bombed a hospital?’ Ruby said, shocked to the core to think the already injured faced upheaval – or worse.
‘Keep your head up, Beatty. We’ve got a box of bits here and I can patch you up a little. I don’t think it’s a large gash.’
Beatty, unusually quiet, simply nodded. Shock had paled her face and the small trickle of blood stood proud, congealing like a black piece of artwork.
‘I can’t believe they’re here again,’ Fred said.
‘It’s exhausting,’ Ruby replied.
The walls of the shelter vibrated when an explosion nearby hurled everything it touched into the air and it clattered to the ground again.
‘That was close,’ Fred whispered.
Ruby heard the fear in his voice and reached out to touch his hand. ‘We’ll be fine, Fred. Tucked in here with the comforts you’ve given us. A proper little palace.’
Beatty remained silent. It unnerved Ruby.
‘Beatty. How’re you doing?’ She knelt down and stared into blank eyes. Beatty never blinked or said a word.
‘It’s as if she’s here in body but her mind is outside somewhere,’ Ruby said.
‘I saw a lot of men like that during the last war. Some snapped out of it, but others stayed shell-shocked. We both know how it feels, and poor Beatty was frightened the moment the sirens started. She acts tough as old boots but she’s a big softy once you get to know her.’
Ruby nodded. ‘We’ll look after her; she can move in with us. I’ll make up a bed in the back room using the spare mattress. We can turn it into a bedroom for her.’
‘That’s a grand idea. She might not want to stay but, looking at her now, I think she’ll just go wherever we take her.’
Gentle snores soon hinted her companions were sleeping and Ruby allowed herself to relax for the final hour of the attack. Blurry-eyed she woke to silent skies. She peeked outside as dawn rose to herald another day. Ruby shuddered when she saw the outcome of the night raid. The shed and back buildings of the shops behind were badly damaged. The cat and kittens sat on the shed roof, which lay on the floor, waiting to pounce on a rat scurrying past them. Again, a pang of envy crept in and Ruby scolded herself. She had a job to do and no time to feel sorry for herself. She’d committed to Fred and Beatty. To care for them.
‘Fred, come on, sleepyhead. Time to take a look at the damage. They were close.’
Surrounding Garden Cottage, the world hurried by and Ruby acknowledged people moving in different directions around her. Luck was on her side this time. Her home had survived another night.
She and Fred guided Beatty inside the house. Ruby opened the bathroom door and directed Beatty to the facilities, and softly closed the door behind her in the hope Beatty would respond to her surroundings. Fred stood guard and Ruby tugged a few pieces of furniture around the back room, dragged down a spare mattress, pillows and bedding. By the time she heard a flush of water from the bathroom, Ruby had managed to create a temporary haven for Beatty.
Beatty appeared from behind the door and Fred took her by the elbow and guided her towards Ruby. His tender words of encouragement were touching and Ruby knew he thought of Beatty as more than a friend. It pained her to see him look so worried.
‘She’ll be all right, Fred, I’m sure. Beatty, take a rest on the bed – your bed. You can stay with us.’ She helped Beatty move onto the bed and covered her with a blanket. ‘You rest.’
A hammering on the back door broke the silence of the house and Fred hurried to answer it whilst Ruby closed the door on Beatty.
‘Fred – Ruby there? Safe?’ Helen’s voice rang out from the doorway.
Ruby rushed to greet her. ‘I’m here. I’m safe.’
Helen stepped inside. ‘Thank goodness. When they said your shop had taken a direct hit –’ She stared at Ruby. ‘You don’t know? Oh, Ruby, I’m sorry. Come here.’ Helen pulled a sobbing Ruby into her arms.
Fred closed the door behind him and pulled on his jacket and cap.
‘I’ll go and see what the damage is, Ruby. You stay here with Beatty.’
Ruby stepped away from Helen. ‘No, Fred, I’ll go. You stay here. I need to see it for myself. Thank you, Helen.’
‘I’ll go with her, Fred. I’ll make sure she’s not in any danger.’
Gaping holes where there had once been a row of shops stared back at them and both Ruby and Helen gave small squeals of horror. Shadwell’s Buy and Sell no longer existed. Much of its stock rose skyward as smoke, whilst flames licked their way around it in a monstrous fashion.
Helen pulled Ruby to her and held onto her trembling body. Before she passed out, Ruby heard Helen call her name, but she was not able to stop the faint. She welcomed the darkness, embracing the floating sensation and feeling of peace which came with it. Ruby no longer cared about watching fires, listening to the cries of frightened people or the radio reports of how brave they all were in Coventry. She no longer wanted to be part of the world in which everything that brought joy into her life was destroyed by men with their fingers on a button, snuffing them out at will. Undoing all that they fought to rebuild. No, Ruby wanted to stay in a dark world of warmth and comfort. With only the beat of her heart settling into a slowing pace within her chest. This was a space where nobody could destroy her faith in mankind, where she could give up the will to live and join her family, find their spirit in the calm.