Sky Knights by Alex Powell

she repeated to herself.
    Her hand was sweaty on the barrel, but she didn't dare take the time to wipe it off.
    Doctor Engel started to swing, and Dounia hurriedly brought the butt end of her pistol down on the guard's temple. The man crumpled straight to the ground, knees folding underneath him and the rest of him following. Dounia didn't even have time to catch him, it happened so fast.
    When she turned, Doctor Engel was checking the head wound on his guard, lips thin as his fingers gently probed at it.
    "I'll see to them in a moment. You have to be off, right away," Doctor Engel said, leaning down to pick up Tanya.
    Dounia and Ira searched both the guards and found keys. Doctor Engel opened the back door of the jeep and started arranging Tanya inside.
    "This isn't a jeep, it's a bucket," Dounia said.
    "Yes, it is a Kübelwagen ," said Doctor Engel with a small smile. "Or, a direct translation––bucket car."
    "Will it drive over this kind of terrain?" Ira asked, her brow pinching up.
    "Yes, it is a very good terrain vehicle," Doctor Engel assured them. "Your main concern should be getting past the lines without being shot."
    "Good," Dounia said, testing the various keys they'd found until she found the right one to start the jeep up. "Good luck, doctor. And thank you."
    "It's been an honour," Doctor Engel said, and waved them off.
    The way forth was clear, with no tents or other obstructions in their way. The Germans had set up their camp so that their vehicle bay had a clear exit. It was a very efficient set-up, and one that worked in their advantage.
    Dounia drove forward without the headlights turned on and made for the front lines, hands gripping the  steering wheel in a death grip. This was it. They either got out, or they wouldn't.
    " Halten Sie!"
    There were more guards, and they were stepping out onto the road in front of the jeep, hands held in front of them to signal the jeep to stop.
    "What do I do?" Dounia hissed.
    "Just run them over," Meow suggested.
    "I can't just run them over!" Dounia protested, wavering between pressing her foot on the gas pedal and slowing down.
    The guards already looked suspicious, marching forward imperiously. However, they didn't draw their guns, so they still weren't alarmed by Ira and Dounia's actions. Dounia was trying to figure out how to get them to move, so she didn't have to run them over. They started coming around to the driver's side of the jeep, no doubt to check her identification.
    "They're out of the way now," Meow pointed out.
    Dounia slammed her foot down on the gas pedal just as the guard drew level with her window. Ira yelped from where she was holding onto Tanya in the back seat, and Meow levelled an unimpressed look at her from his seat.
    The guards yelled behind them, and Dounia pressed down harder, the rough terrain jolting their vehicle up and down. Dounia wished the ride was less wild, but there was no way to avoid bumps and dips in the terrain with her headlights off.
    They hadn't gone that far when behind them, the camp stirred into an abrupt uproar.
    "I take it they've noticed the knocked out guards," Ira yelled from the back seat.
    "Undoubtedly," Dounia said. "I hope Doctor Engel will be okay."
    All at once, they were drenched with light from behind as one of the big spotlights used to highlight planes in the sky was instead turned on their bucket jeep.
    "I hope we'll be okay!" Meow yowled.
    Dounia knew how to avoid spotlights.
    "Hold on tight!" she warned.
    And she threw the vehicle into a wild zigzag pattern just as a shell landed close by and exploded, making Dounia's ears ring. They'd brought out a Panzer.
    *~*~*
    Dounia kept up the wildly wavering driving pattern as shells went off one after another behind them, striking far too close for Ira's comfort. She held on tight around Tanya's shoulders and tried to keep them both from being tossed around. Even strapped in, Ira worried Tanya's injuries would be jostled too much.
    "The tank's going way