We arrived at the tiny airfield just before dark. Since it was a private airstrip and everything had been arranged by Silke’s father and his pilot, we just parked by the empty hangar. Piling out, we all busied ourselves with sorting out our kit. Cam and I scouted around the back of the hangar, to find a place we could hide out once the plane arrived. The others were sitting on the dusty edge of the runway beside the pile of rucksacks waiting for us, when we got back.
‘We should try to be over there in the heather, just past the hangar,’ I said, pointing. ‘I’m guessing that the plane will taxi up to here?’ I looked to Silke.
‘Yes, he vill assume that I am vaiting in the car. I vill call him and ask him to come and walk me to the plane. Hopefully he vill leave the door open. That is ven you must board!’ she replied.
It all seemed to be so simple; everything was going well. That made me really nervous. This was all too easy.
Dusk arrived with a few flecks of orange brightening the September sky. Darkness followed very closely behind it. We decided not to waste the batteries in our torches, so we just sat there listening to the night sounds. There were still a few birds around, so there were still a few songs to be sung before they settled down for the night. Then there was just the wind in the trees and the odd rustle of some small animal in the heather. After that, there was mostly silence. Not total silence, but almost!
We all heard it at the same time - a distant droning noise. It was definitely not a sound from nature.
‘I think it’s the plane,’ whispered Aretha.
‘You don’t need to whisper,’ whispered Tara!
We all laughed, but all the same, nobody spoke. We just got up silently and picked up our backpacks.
‘Go to the heather,’ I whispered to the others and turned to Silke.
‘Looks like we’re on.’
‘Go, Iago. Just try to make it easy for me! I’ll delay him as long as I can.’
I turned and ran to the heather, as Silke got back inside her car.
I had just crouched below the soft purple bushes when I saw the plane’s lights. Time stood still while the aircraft slowly approached the runway. The reflective lights on the small airstrip lit up as it drew nearer. We were all deadly still, holding our breaths, as the wheels touched down. The plane taxied towards the hangar. The engines powered down as the pilot got ready to go and collect Silke, who remained in her car. After a short while, the door of the aircraft opened and the pilot came out. He waved to Silke in her car, and walked towards her. Silke rolled down her window.
‘Guten Abend, Hans,’ I heard her say.
‘Guten Abend Fräulein Schmidt,’ came his reply.
I heard her begin to speak to him but I wasn’t listening anymore. Now it was time to act. I stood up, still keeping low and motioned to the others to follow. Leaving the safe cover of the heather, we ran silently towards the rear of the aircraft. Now, we were completely exposed. If Hans turned around it would all be over. Stopping just at the plane’s tail, I raised my hand to halt the others, and felt Cam sliding in just behind me. Charlie was next, followed by Tara and Aretha, holding hands. Renny, as usual, brought up the rear; the string on his backpack was so long it was trailing along the ground as he ran. I shook my head, waiting for him to trip over it. By the smallest stroke of luck, he didn’t and finally he joined the rest of us. We all stood there, catching our breath. It wasn’t that it had been a very long run. Probably the adrenaline racing through our veins was making us breathe faster.
I braced myself; the most difficult part was still to come. Taking a long deep breath, I slipped carefully around the plane’s tail. Crouched half way under the plane’s belly, I crept forward almost silently. When I had reached the cover of the stairway, I motioned for the others to join me. They all copied my movements carefully this time, even Renny, whose bag had been seen to by Charlie. I peeped over the stairway to get a view of Silke and the pilot. Silke was still sitting in her car seat, facing me. Her door was open and I could just make out her face in the car’s dim interior light. I couldn’t tell if she could see my head, but as if on cue, she stepped out of the car and started walking towards the boot. The pilot followed. This was our chance. I whispered, ‘NOW’ and without a second glance, I ran to the foot of the steps. Standing at the bottom, I urged the others up the steps. Time ticked by and my pulse boomed loudly in my ears. It seemed to take forever. I dared not look behind me.
Finally, when they were all inside the cabin, I turned to check on Silke. To my horror, the pilot was turning towards me, Silke’s suitcase in his hands. I froze in terror. Was this it? Everyone else would go to Switzerland and I would be left behind, on an airstrip, in the middle of nowhere. Or worse still, I would be caught by the pilot and the rest soon discovered. Instinct made me crouch down low. Silke must have caught sight of me because as the pilot walked towards me, she almost screamed, ‘Warte! Ich glaube ich habe Etwas vergessen.’ I had no clue what she was shouting about, but the pilot turned back towards her. This was my one and only…my very last chance. I had to take it! ‘No time for second thoughts now,’ I thought. And closing my eyes in fear, I ran for it!