While Carl flew back to Engebi, he rehearsed his story to tell Colonel Weaver. Then he rehearsed his story to tell Diana when he returned home to Santa Barbara.
Major Hall and Colonel Weaver were in the radio tent with Keith.
"Fireball ten. Come in Fireball ten," Weaver said into the radio microphone.
"This is Fireball eleven," Carl replied from the radio net.
"Update on the mission, please," Weaver ordered.
From inside his Corsair 6,000 feet above the ocean, Carl looked around the area.
"Everybody's gone, and I'm the only survivor, and I'm low on fuel and out of ammo," Carl replied into the radio net.
Then he turned off his radio and fired his machine guns and kept firing until he was out of ammo, then he turned his radio back on.
"Fireball eleven. Please respond," Weaver said from the radio net.
"Sorry, sir. I missed your question if you had one," Carl lied into the radio net.
"Where are you?" Weaver asked again from the radio net.
Carl looked out his canopy. "I'm about thirty miles east of the base," Carl replied from the radio net.
"We'll be waiting for your report after you land," Weaver said from the radio net.
"Yes sir," Carl replied into the radio net.
Then while he flew closer to Engebi, he rehearsed his story one more time. Then his eyes widened with a great twist to his lie.
He looked at his fuel gauge and saw it was approaching empty. He started to get worried if he was going to make it to the runway.
On Engebi, Hall and Weaver stood on the flightline with some other Marines. Weaver looked at the sky in a pair of binoculars. Then he saw Carl's plane while he was on final. "He's on a long final," Weaver said.
Then everybody could see Carl's plane while it flew closer to the base.
"His engine quit. He must have run out of fuel," Weaver said while he looked through his binoculars.
The flightline got crowded while the Marines watched while Carl's Corsair glided down to the end to the end of the runway.
Four Marines ran up to everybody with fire extinguishers in hand, ready for an emergency.
Carl's plane touched down with a few bounces, and then his plane coasted to a stop.
Weaver, Hall, and everybody ran over to his Carl's Corsair.
Carl slowly climbed down his fuselage and looked ever so sad, as he was a good actor. Then as soon as his boots hit the dirt, Carl dropped to his knees and sobbed. "They're all gone!" Carl sobbed out.
Ted assisted Carl to his feet.
"What happened, son?" Weaver asked.
"We tried, but the Zero's got the better of us, and all the bombers were shot down, while some of the Zeros did a kamikaze into some of the other bombers," Carl said between sobs.
"Bastards!" Hall replied, and all the Marines around him nodded in agreement.
Then Carl schemed in his mind. "But that's not the worse part," Carl said while he pretended this would be difficult to say. "Lieutenant Walker," he said then stopped for a little dramatic effect.
"I wanted him arrested for stealing that Corsair," Weaver said. "What happened to him?" he yelled out and interrupted Carl's last comment.
"The bastard shot down my best friend," Carl cried out and dropped to his knees pretending to be faint.
"He what?" Hall asked in a little shock and a little unsure he heard correctly.
Carl looked down at the dirt and while he lied. "He shot down Ben. Then he flew back at him and strafed his plane. It exploded, and then a Zero came after Trevor, and they collided when he banked away. Ben never had a chance to get out. Why would Trevor kill him?"
Weaver looked like he was going to blow a gasket. "I hope that bastard is at the bottom of the ocean," he said.
While Carl pretended to be devastated over losing his best friend, all he could think about was Diana.
"Couldn't you stop Walker?" Weaver asked.
Carl thought for a second. "I tried, but then I had a Zero come after me after I first saw Walker first shoot at Ben," Carl lied while he glanced up at Weaver.
The blood vessels in Weaver's neck popped out, as he was furious. "I would have loved to see the bastard behind bars, but dead at the bottom of the ocean will suffice," Weaver said, and everybody around him nodded in agreement.
"Go get some rest, Carl. We'll talk some more in the morning," Weaver said.
Two Marines helped Carl up on his feet.
Then Weaver saw that there were bloodstain and a hole in the crotch of Carl's flight suit. "The Japs hit your crotch," he said.
Carl looked down at his crotch and saw the bloodstain and hole. Then he realized he was shot, and he felt pain. His eyes crossed, and he passed out and dropped to the dirt.
"Take him to the medical tent," Weaver ordered.
Two Marines picked Carl up and carried him away.
Weaver walked away with Hall, and both were pissed about the news of Ben being killed by Trevor.
Henry walked away with some of the other Marines.
"I can't believe Trevor would perform such a horrible act," Henry said. The other Marines nodded in agreement.
"I'm with you. He doesn't sound to be the type to kill a fellow Marine," one of the Marines said.
They walked away in disbelief over the news Carl told everybody.
Thirty minutes later, bandleader and doctor, Major Ted Robinson, examined Carl's crotch and found out his right testicle was shot off.
Meanwhile, back in the Pacific Ocean, it was calm.
Ben and Trevor floated in the life raft that Trevor got out of his plane. It was a tight fit, but they were both comfortable.
They saw a dead Jap pilot that floated in the ocean by some debris from his airplane. They looked sad overseeing that dead body even though it was the enemy.
Then Ben looked bewildered when he recalled what happened. "Why would Carl shoot me down?"
Trevor thought for a few seconds for a possible answer. Then his eyes lit up with a viable one. "Didn't he always want Diana?"
"Yes he did," Ben replied then he thought about Trevor's questions and it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Our pact! The bastard realized that if I was out of the picture, he could finally marry Diana!" Ben replied and looked furious.
"I'm sorry my friend," Trevor said.
"Did he shoot you down?" Ben asked.
"He tried after I went after him. But I ditched my plane when I saw him coming back after you," Trevor answered while they looked at another piece a wing from a Zero in the water.
Trevor looked down at his torn pant leg pocket. He frantically reached down and felt around the pocket. He looked worried when he realized he lost his time machine key.
How will I get home? He thought to himself.
Ben looked stumped at Trevor. "Why did you come after us? I mean, you could face jail time for stealing the plane," Ben said.
"I had to. That dream I had last night seemed so real. I had this overwhelming feeling that it was predicting the future."
Ben thought about his reply. "Well, I'm glad you did. And thanks for saving my life, but Weaver will still have your butt in a sling if we survive."
"Yeah, I know," Trevor replied as he silently prayed he could get out of this mess.
"But I'll put in a good word, and he just might spare you from a life behind bars," Ben said with a warm smile.
Trevor looked down at Ben's leg and saw he was shot. "You're shot,"
Ben looked down and saw the bloody bullet hole in his thigh. "I'm okay."
Trevor looked concerned and hoped he wouldn't get an infection in the wound.
They saw the body of a dead Marine pilot 10 feet away near some Corsair debris. Trevor paddled with his hands, and they moved to the body.
They got to the body and Ben reached out and grabbed the back of the pilot's flight suit, and he turned the body around.
They looked saddened when they saw it was Kurt. Ben turned Kurt back around in the water and watched while Kurt's dead body drifted away.
"Poor Kurt," Ben said while he watched Kurt's dead body floating in the waves.
Trevor nodded in agreement with Ben.
It was quiet while they floated away and passed by 15 floating pieces of debris from a few Corsair planes.
Back at Engebi, Carl lay in a bunk in the medical tent. He was dopy from the drugs Ted gave him for the pain in his groin. So he just stared at the top of the tent, and a smile grew on his face as he realized he was home free. He was looking forward to a beautiful life with Diana.
In Weaver's hut, he was busy writing those letters to the families of his dead pilots. He hated this part of his job, and sometimes, he felt like breaking down and crying.
Back in the Pacific Ocean, Ben and Trevor floated in their life raft. They just stared at the sun setting near the horizon of the ocean.
Trevor's stomach growled, and Ben noticed.
"Me too," he replied. "But there's only a limited supply of rations in this raft, so we better conserve," Ben added.
Trevor nodded in agreement.
They closed their eyes, and the motion of the ocean was making them sleepy. They stomached growled in unison.
Later that night in Engebi, the base was quiet.
The story of how the Fireballs and Raiders were wiped out except for Carl ran through the base like wildfire.
The Stress Reliever was quiet while many drank, and all they could talk about was how Trevor killed Ben, and they were in shock that Trevor could perform such an act.
Ted took Trevor's trumpet and looked at everybody.
"I'm going to do my best to honor our fallen friends, except for Trevor Walker. The bastard!" Ted said then put the mouthpiece to his lips. He performed a decent attempt at taps to everybody in the tent.
In the medical tent, Carl lay asleep from the pain pills.
That night, there was a three-quarter moon that shined on the Pacific Ocean. It was a beautiful, peaceful night full of twinkling stars.
The ocean was calm while Trevor and Ben drifted asleep in their life raft.
Then Trevor dreamt he was drifting in the ocean and the sun was blazing down on him. But Trevor was alone in the raft. He looked, and there were hundreds of floating debris from Corsair and Zero planes in the water.
Then he saw floating bodies of dead pilots.
First, the raft bumped into bodies of dead Japanese pilots.
Then the raft bumped into bodies of Marine pilots.
Then the raft bumped into the floating dead body of Ben in the water.
He looked in horror at Ben's face with his eyes wide open with a dead blank stare.
Then he heard the roar of an airplane that sounded close by. He looked up, and a Corsair was ten feet off the water coming after him.
He watched in a panic while the Corsair flew closer and closer. Then the Corsair fired its machine guns, and the bullets strafed his raft, and he immediately started sinking.
"No!" Trevor screamed out in the raft, and it caused Ben to jump up in a panic and almost fall out into the water.
Trevor looked at Ben with a scared look.
"Did you have another dream?" Ben asked.
Trevor looked around in a confused daze and then looked back at Ben. "I think so."
"Damn war," Ben said then closed his eyes.
Trevor closed his eyes and prayed another nightmare wouldn't return.
It was another beautiful and sunny day in Engebi. The morning was quiet while they were trying to continue on with the loss of nine of their friends.
Weaver was in the radio tent, and he had Keith sent a message that he needed ten more pilot replacements and planes.
It didn't look like there would be very many future missions until replacements arrived.
Weaver returned to his hut where he continued writing letters to the parents to inform that their sons were patriotic and served their country and fought bravely to ensure America remained a free country.
He had two more letters to complete to the families of the dead Marines. One to Diana and the last one to Trevor's parents, but he was hesitant on writing that letter.
He was pondering, leaving out the brave part and just state that he regretted the loss of their son. After all, it wasn't their fault Trevor snapped and killed another Marine.
Bronson entered Weaver's hut. "Sir, I thought you might want to include this in the letter to Lieutenant Walker's wife," Bronson said then handed him a copy of the picture he snapped of Carl and Ben at the Corsair before that fatal mission.
Weaver took the picture and looked at it. "Thank you, corporal," Weaver said then laid it on his desk.
"And the western union grams have been sent," Bronson added.
"Thank you," Weaver said then returned to his letter writing.
Bronson walked out of the hut with another copy of that picture of Carl and Ben.
Weaver glanced at the picture, then started writing the letter to Diana.
Carl was awake and walked to the chow hall tent with a slight limp. He wasn't in much pain and had to get out of bed and walk around since he was bored.
When Carl entered the chow hall, all the Marines saw him and stood up and clapped to show their support for the loss of his best friend. He felt a little ashamed of what he did to Ben and Trevor, but there was no turning back.
He got his breakfast and sat down at a table and started eating.
Major Hall walked up with his tray of breakfast and sat down next to Carl.
"I talked with the Colonel, he's going to put you in for a purple heart and send you home," Hall said then he sipped his coffee.
Carl smiled as this was precisely what he wanted.
Then a Marine close to Carl leaned over. "It's a good thing they don't give out a missing nut medal," the Marine said with a laugh.
Hall tried to resist then he could help it, and he laughed.
Carl chuckled along with the comment.
Bronson entered the chow hall and walked up to Carl.
"Lieutenant, here's your copy of the picture I took for you and Lieutenant Walker," Bronson said then handed him the photo.
Carl looked at it, as did Hall and Henry.
"Sadly, that photo will remind you of that day for the rest of your life," Henry said.
Hall nodded in agreement.
Carl shoved the photo in his pocket but had a thought that he would tear it up when he got to Hawaii.
They all continued to eat their breakfast.
In the Pacific Ocean, Trevor and Ben still floated in their raft, and they finished munching on some sea rations.
Ben looked around, and all they saw was water. He opened up one of this pockets on his flight suit and removed a small compass. He looked at it.
"We're heading southeast," Ben said.
"Are there any bases close by?" Trevor asked a little concerned.
"Nothing that I recall," Ben replied.
"Maybe a Navy ship will come out way," Trevor said.
"Yeah, I just hope it's not a Japanese ship," Ben replied. "I heard a story about a Japanese destroyer that ran over a Navy PT boat last year in the Solomon Islands," bed added.
Trevor thought about what he said then recalled hearing about President Kennedy's PT109 story in high school. That made Trevor nervous, and he scanned the horizon, while he silently prayed a Japanese ship wouldn't come their way.
They just relaxed in the raft and floated away.
Back at Engebi, the base was still quiet. The only activity was some maintenance being performed on the five Corsairs that were the only ones left at the base.
In the radio tent, Keith received a message of which he took it and rushed out of the tent.
Inside Weaver's hut, he just finished his last family letter; it was to Trevor's address that was really Lloyd's home.
Someone knocked on his hut door. "Enter," Weaver replied while he sealed Trevor's letter.
Keith rushed inside with the message in hand. He stopped at Weaver's desk and snapped to attention and saluted. "Sir, a message arrived stating that replacements are on their way," Keith said then handed Weaver the message.
Weaver grabbed the message and read it. "Great," he said then collected the eleven family letters and handed them to Keith. "Get these on the way to the states," he said.
"Yes sir," Keith responded with a salute and rushed out of the hut.
Weaver picked up his coffee cup and thought about this war. Then he started to ponder the idea of retiring as soon as he can get shipped back to the states.
Back in the medical tent, Carl lay in bed and wrote a letter.
"Dear Diana, I know you must have heard the news about Ben by now, and I wish I were there by your side to help you through this horrible moment. Ben was a hero and wanted to insure Robert, and you could live a free life. I've been wounded in the battle that took Ben's life, and I'm told I'll be home soon. I love you, Carl," he wrote in his letter.
Carl sealed up his letter. He saw a nurse checking on another Marine.
"Miss, can you get this letter out for me?" Carl called out.
The nurse walked over and saw Carl hold out his letter.
"My pleasure," she replied, then took the letter and walked away.
Carl closed his eyes with a smile and dreamt of the day he'll marry Diana.
Meanwhile, way off in the Pacific Ocean, a storm came up quick. The waves were high, and Trevor and Ben were riding the waves like they were a roller coaster. They hung on for dear life and prayed they wouldn't end up in the water.
A bolt of lightning hit the water fifty feet from their raft. They almost crapped in their flight suits when the thunder followed. They both silently prayed that lightning wouldn't hit them.
The water soon collected at the bottom of their raft. Trevor and Ben scooped out rainwater from their raft while they rode the roller coaster waves.
They got most of the water out of the raft by using their hands. Ben then wiped away the raindrops from his compass, and he saw they were still drifting southeast.
A big wave came, and they clung on the while the wave almost capsized their raft.
Later that night back on Engebi, Carl had a beer in the Stress Reliever. In fact, he was on his third free beer bought by other Marines to show their support for the death of Ben.
Out in the Pacific Ocean, the storm passed, and the water was calm. The sky was full of twinkling stars.
Trevor and Ben lay in their raft, and both wondered if they would be found dead in the raft days from now.