After having the strong Greek coffee, Anna was energized and alert. "What is keeping the Macedonian?" she wondered as she paced back and forth.
"Have you seen Lieutenant Petros?" she asked a passing soldier. He pointed to the rear of the convoy. Finally, she spotted Petros in the distance running toward her. Anna ran to meet him halfway. Breathing heavily and trying to catch his breath, Petros said:
"We have to leave for Heraklion immediately."
"I'm ready, Petros," Anna responded quickly.
"My commander took it upon himself to look at the information inside the envelope."
"He did? Can you tell me what it is?"
"Yes, a huge German parachute invasion is to take place tomorrow morning," said a serious Petros, looking straight into Anna's eyes. Anna just stared into space openmouthed, unable to say anything. She thought of Nikolas and hoped he had made it safely to the Souda Bay Naval Base.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," shouted the recovering Anna, impatiently rushing toward the trucks.
"We are taking the jeep, Anna," said the tall lieutenant.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," she responded and got into the jeep.
The convoy of trucks blocked the road for them to pass but Petros figured it would be better to go through the fields and return to the road further along past the convoy. Anna admired his knowledge of the terrain and his driving skills. All of a sudden, two airplanes appeared on the horizon. The soldiers ran wildly for cover in the fields, as Petros began to zigzag, driving in an irregular pattern to avoid the bombs. In no time, the trucks were all in flames. Petros and Anna somehow managed to avoid getting hit and returned to the road to Heraklion.
Shaken and covered with dust, Anna tried to clean her clothes with quick strokes of her hand when she noticed that her ankle was bleeding again. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. The lieutenant handed her the jeep's medical kit. She winced as she cleaned the wound and then continued to bandage it.
"It won't be long before we arrive in Heraklion. Then I have to go on to the villages to notify them about the expected parachute invasion. The people will need to prepare. They have few weapons and even less ammunition. But they do have pitchforks, picks, shovels, and their own strength," said the lieutenant. Anna listened carefully as he continued, "It is very important, most important, to unite the different factions for the common cause, to fight the Germans."
"I hope they realize the importance," replied Anna.
"I hope so too, I certainly hope so."