Come Fly With Me (The Skylarks)

Chapter 1

The Skylarks had been called to a road traffic accident. Maya was on shift with the red team. She grabbed her helmet and went out to the helipad to get the helicopter ready. It was all systems go and she usually had the crew up in the air within four or five minutes of the job coming in via the phones at the airbase.

Today was no different and as soon as the other crew members joined her with the extra gear they needed, they were off. As the pilot for The Skylarks, or by their official name, the Whistlestop River Air Ambulance, Maya’s focus was on the flying, the transfer of a patient, the aircraft, keeping everyone safe. Her head couldn’t be anywhere else, not on her personal problems, that was for sure.

The Whistlestop River Air Ambulance was afforded priority over other aircraft in the area by air traffic control, so the airspace was theirs on the route Maya would take to reach the patient. As she flew them to their destination, they discussed the job – the extent of the patient’s injuries, possible treatments that might be necessary, landing sights to get Bess and Carl, the two critical care paramedics on board, as close to the patient as possible.

It was teamwork all the way. They approached the location indicated by not only the coordinates they had from dispatch but beaconed by the flashing lights of a road ambulance and police cars at the scene, first responder teams they were used to working with.

‘Landing sites are few and far between, Maya.’ Bess was in the seat in the cockpit next to Maya and along with Carl in the rear of the aircraft, both of them were scouting for somewhere to land safely using their iPads and by looking out the windows.

Maya deemed the field on their immediate right too small, the one next to that too hazardous because of the power lines.

‘There’s a field approximately forty-five degrees left from the farthest flashing blue lights,’ Carl suggested.

‘I don’t see access in or out of it,’ said Bess. ‘Your best bet is the dual carriageway itself, Maya.’

They’d already been updated via radio that the police had cordoned off a big section of the road and Maya knew with no other option it was the safest and the most advantageous for her crew and for the patient to get the care they needed. The road ambulance paramedics would do as much as they could on scene but the critical care paramedics with the air ambulance could often do more. Then the decision would have to be made as to how best to get the patient to the further help they needed.

Adrenaline kicked in as she hovered above the strip she’d earmarked to land, Bess and Carl both checking the surrounding area to ensure safety for everyone involved.

It wasn’t long before they touched down. Bess and Carl grabbed the gear and raced to attend to the patient. Maya stayed with the helicopter, ready to help them load the patient on if that was required. They had enough fuel, something she like other pilots was obsessed about, and she’d be ready to leave the moment her crew were back with her.

Maya loved her job. She’d dreamed of doing this since she was a kid. Being paid to soar high above the jaw-dropping landscapes of Dorset was a thrill in itself, never mind the privileged position of being a pilot with The Skylarks, whose name was displayed on the logo of their uniform along with the silhouetted wingspan of the bird in flight. Her job enabled her to be part of the team who could make a difference to people far and wide, and their loved ones; to give people the best chance of survival and recovery when they needed it the most. And in the world of employment, Maya knew it really didn’t get much better than that.

As far as work went, Maya was sorted. It was her personal life that was causing her no end of issues: a father she felt had been against her almost from the start, an ex-husband who seemed to forget they were divorced, and a son with little to no bond with his dad, who would never be in line to win a father of the year award.

Her problems crept into her psyche briefly as she waited for her crew but she pushed them aside as soon as she heard over the radio that Bess and Carl’s patient required airlifting. She spotted them hurrying towards her, aided by a police officer, carrying the scoop, a type of stretcher that separated into two, which enabled the crew to safely immobilise the patient and get them back to the aircraft.

Bess closed the rear door to the helicopter once the patient was secure and then climbed into the seat next to Maya, put on her helmet, and fastened her seatbelt. Up into the air they went with a forty-nine-year-old female driver of a vehicle who had lost control and crashed into the central reservation barrier on the dual carriageway. Given the location, the road ambulance would take almost four times as long as it would for Maya and the crew to fly the patient to the hospital and with head injuries that had the potential to be worse than first suspected, the crews on the ground had all agreed to err on the side of caution and transport via aircraft.

Landing on the hospital helipad was a breeze compared to the challenge of landing at the scene and once they safely touched down, the patient was handed over to the doctors and nurses.

Back on board the helicopter, Bess radioed the HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services team) desk to say the crew was clear and available. The crew secured the doors, put seatbelts on and Maya went through the familiar pre-flight checks.

‘Clear left,’ Bess, in the front left seat of the aircraft, confirmed through her headset, a vital piece of equipment for the team in order to communicate when they were up in the air given the noise of a helicopter. The headsets and microphones also provided radio contact with the HEMS desk, who had called through the initial job and continued to liaise with them en route.

‘Clear right,’ Maya confirmed into her own headset. ‘And clear for take-off.’

She lifted the helicopter into the air and they were soon cruising at 1,000ft above ground level on their way back to the Whistlestop River airbase, in the town of the same name. She steered the aircraft comfortably out of the way of hazards like trees, power lines and buildings – not that Dorset was well known for skyscrapers, only a handful of taller-than-usual structures.

Maya heard a whoop of joy over her headset from Carl in the back of the helicopter, followed by, ‘Maya Anderson, that landing for the job was spectacular. You are one hell of a pilot!’

All of them were in good spirits knowing their patient was in good hands and the outcome likely to be a positive one. It wasn’t always the case; sometimes they returned to base with heavy hearts and sadness that their best simply hadn’t been good enough. And that feeling could swallow you whole if you let it.

‘I hope that cheer has nothing to do with the fact that this is your last shift with us, Carl,’ Maya laughed.

Bess groaned. ‘Still can’t believe he’s deserting us.’ In the absence of a co-pilot, Bess was also the technical crew member and her primary role was to assist Maya with aviation safety and navigations. All three of them were well versed at working together to ensure their own safety and that of anyone on the ground.

‘Rest assured my cheer is only because of your skills as a pilot,’ Carl assured Maya. ‘Thanks to you, I’ve loved this job and I’m still in one piece.’

‘I appreciate the vote of confidence,’ she called out.

Bess finished off the snack bar she was eating. The crew often had to rush from one job to the next and eating when you could was often the way it went. ‘Only an hour left on shift before you’ve got a few days off, Maya. Bet you’re excited.’

Maya said nothing, which of course prompted Bess – who was a friend as well as a colleague – to ask whether everything was all right.

Maya knew she might as well admit the truth: that today, she’d started her shift with a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t because her sister Julie was getting married later today; she was excited for that. It was everything else. And some days, her messy life bothered her more than it did on others.

‘I don’t know what’s going on with me; I woke up with a funny feeling this morning and I can’t shake it.’ She spoke loud enough for Bess to hear, Carl too if he wanted.

‘As in you feel sick?’ Bess probed.

‘No, not sick or unwell. You know I’d never take chances as the pilot. It’s more a feeling of… I don’t know, anxiety, high alert.’

Carl piped up from the rear of the helicopter. ‘Kind of the nature of the job, Maya.’ Neither of them could see him, only hear him over the headsets. The back of the aircraft was separated from the front by a sheet of heavy-duty plastic required so that all the medical equipment in the rear didn’t interfere with their night-vision goggles when they went out on a job in the darker hours.

‘Unless she’s planning on running off with the groom,’ Bess teased. She would know how excited Maya was about Julie’s wedding; she’d been going on about it for long enough. But she also knew how Maya felt about seeing her father on any occasion, particularly one as big as this.

‘Ha ha,’ Maya replied. Bess always had the ability to make her feel better, even if all she’d done was share her concern.

Maya hadn’t been able to arrange a stand-in for her shift today so had pre-warned her sister that she might be late to the wedding if she got a call. Julie being Julie had said no dramas, get there when you can. And much as it might appeal to conjure up an imaginary job so she could avoid her father for as long as possible, she didn’t want to do that to her sister. They were as close as siblings could be, always had been.

‘Ten minutes to go,’ she said as they drew closer to the airbase. ‘And yes, I suppose you’re right, Carl. Nature of the job.’ She liked him; she’d miss him when he left the crew to move up to the Lake District, where his wife had a new job as a teacher. He wasn’t quite sure of his own career plans at this stage but he was ready for a change and Maya couldn’t be happier for him.

‘Maybe it’s the looming birthday,’ Bess suggested. ‘Almost mid-forties, it’s got to be scary.’

Maya laughed. ‘Not at all. I’m embracing my age. And I’m turning forty-four so don’t put me in the mid-forties bracket until I’m there, thank you very much.’

Bess still wanted to find out what was up. ‘Are you worried about Isaac?’ she asked Maya.

‘No more than usual.’ She mellowed at the thought of her son.

Isaac had chosen a university in Scotland and Maya did her best to believe it was because that was the place that offered the best course for him, that he wanted to see more of the UK, but part of her suspected it was to put some distance between himself and his dad. She’d been supportive when he told her, said that it was his decision and to have a wonderful time, but when other kids his age had chosen to go somewhere an hour or so from home or even stay living with their parents because of the cost of living, Scotland felt like a world away. Still, she’d put on a brave face and driven him up there last September, hugged him and told him to have the time of his life as well as working hard. And she’d left him with a heavy heart but also with the following summer to look forward to when he’d return home to Whistlestop River.

‘Maybe the anxiety is because you miss him,’ said Bess.

‘All I know is it’s a feeling that’s new to me.’ Maya was used to talking while she dealt with the array of gauges, dials, buttons, and screens in front of her and took charge of flight controls. ‘I’m not a person who usually has much anxiety; I don’t panic, I don’t build things up in my head and catastrophise. If I did that, I’d never climb into this seat.’

Carl chimed in. ‘Maya, it’s my last day on the job with you and I want to make it back to base in one piece. So this feeling… please tell me it doesn’t involve you losing control up here.’

‘Course not. I’d never do that to you, Carl.’

‘Yeah, right. Not sure I believe you. You’re not planning a surprise mid-air drill, are you, as a send-off, and you’re nervous about whether you can pull it off?’

As part of their ongoing and very regular training, they practised flight drills and Maya liked to do some of them up in the air – after all, that was where they were going to happen. She’d done one a few weeks ago and Carl hadn’t enjoyed it at all, had said he was counting the days until he finished his time galivanting around the county in a helicopter.

‘Carl, I’ll miss the way you always say what’s on your mind,’ Maya said into her headset.

‘I’ll miss you girls too. You’d better hope my replacement is up to scratch.’

‘You’re a tough act to follow,’ Bess declared.

Maya hadn’t met the new critical care paramedic joining the red crew yet. All she knew was that Carl and Bess were the best people in the world to work with so whoever it was had high standards to live up to, both with their expertise and knowledge and in personality.

‘See to it that it’s another cracker of a landing back at base, would you, Maya?’ Carl requested.

‘Your wish is my command.’ This was what she did best, after all. ‘Relax, you two, no funny business with drills, and the helipad at the airbase is in the easy category, especially given the fine conditions.’

If it was windy, it made for some interesting landings no matter where you wanted to touch down but today couldn’t be better with the sun shining, not much cloud in sight, bright blue skies – the sort of conditions that left Maya in no doubt that this really was the best job in the world.

‘Cake back at the base,’ Bess reminded them both: the send-off for Carl was to be short and sweet, as he preferred, but with his favourite cake – lemon drizzle – and a mug of tea.

The town of Whistlestop River came into view. Soon they’d be passing over its majestic, ribbon-like river veering to the right slightly as they continued on and prepared to land at the airbase on the outskirts of the town.

Maya might have a feeling of unease today but she never lost appreciation for the way she and the rest of the crew got to see views of the country and the county of Dorset not many others would ever get to witness.

A patchwork of fields spread out on the left, more on the right and from up here, Whistlestop River was like a make-believe town, toy-like in its dimensions. The river was at last in sight. They cruised well above the roofs of homes, above the local town hall, the handful of shops and businesses, the pub that backed onto the river and finally came in to touch down at the airfield.

When the doors were clear, the rotor blades slowed to a halt, Maya patted the door frame next to her twice. ‘Thanks, Hilda, mission accomplished, again.’

As well as a make and model to identify the aircraft, this helicopter had a name – Hilda – an apt choice because the name Hilda meant ‘Battle Woman’ and although they weren’t fighting in a war, it still felt appropriate with a battle to help patients survive and keep the crew safe. The name had been chosen in memory of one of the Whistlestop River Air Ambulance’s first supporters, Hilda Browne, who passed away some five years ago. Hilda had been a dedicated volunteer with the charity-funded organisation and had been in charge of numerous fundraisers over the last twenty years. Her efforts had resulted in an upgrade to the aircraft and the name Hilda was now proudly displayed in white below the identifying wording, The Skylarks, as well as the air ambulance’s logo on the helicopter’s red and yellow body.

Inside the building at the airbase, located on a small airfield solely for their use, Maya put her helmet onto the shelf with the others. ‘It’s hotting up out there.’ And in the aircraft. She pulled out her hair tie and let her chestnut-brown locks free, but only for a moment until she gathered her hair up again and deftly pulled it into a bun off her neck.

Bess shrugged off her bright-red jacket and restyled her hair too, favouring tying her tumble of curls up and well out of the way. ‘You don’t need to tell the pair of us who have been wearing this uniform.’ She lifted her knee to indicate the hard-wearing, red trousers that matched the jackets with fluorescent strips.

‘I’ll consider myself lucky, shall I?’ As the pilot, she wore a less bulky uniform apart from the heavy boots which were nobody’s favourite come summer. Instead of bright-red trousers, she wore a black, all-in-one flight suit with four epaulettes on each shoulder to show captain status.

The shift ended with cake and Carl’s farewell and Nadia, their operational support officer, in a panic that the blue team were one critical care paramedic short.

Maya gathered her things together and as she passed the desk out front in the reception area, Nadia was smiling. She’d found a last-minute fill-in quickly enough so neither Bess nor Carl would have to offer to do a double shift.

Maya smiled, waved goodbye and was about to head out when she spotted the familiar cocky swagger of the man heading for the entrance doors. And it was too late to hide and pretend she’d left already.

She cursed.

Bess came up behind her to pass a file to Nadia with one hand and shovel the remains of a slice of lemon drizzle cake into her mouth with the other. ‘Your ex-husband won’t take no for an answer.’

‘No,’ Maya sighed. She could feel a headache coming on from the frown that always seemed to appear whenever he showed up. ‘I need to leave; I have a wedding to get to.’

And she was tired of having him ruin things time and time again.

‘Saved by the bell,’ Bess declared when the phones situated in various points throughout the airbase all rang out in unison, announcing a call. The pair of them had invented a similar sort of escape plan many a time when her ex thought it a good idea to show up at Maya’s work just to remind her that he was still in her life. Maya shrugged in his direction, read his lips and the swear word, heard him yell, ‘Seriously!’ when she turned her back and she and Bess headed into one of the meeting rooms away from everyone else.

Conrad would assume she’d had to go out on the job and he’d leave.

And Maya only emerged from the meeting room and left the airbase once she knew he had.