Happy Birthday, John
Chapter 8

A bit of a long one today. I do hope you enjoy it.

No one's POV

Moonbyul came into the room where she could see that Southwark was readying for another trip in time. The previous night he had said she was going to take yet another trip. 

"So where now?" 

Southwark looked up from the computer he had been working on, "I need to run more tests and sent you further back. I'm sending you to a festive occasion. Something a bit fun." 

"What's that?" 

"Wednesdays, May 12th, 1937. It's the date that King George the sixth was crowned. They will be having a big ceremony at Westminster Abbey. There will also be a huge procession with the new king and all that. It will be a very festive occasion and lots of people on the street. You can blend in with the crowd easily. I have some period appropriate clothing for you in that bag on the chair right there."

While Moonbyul would rather go straight back to Solar, further tests had to be run and she needed to finish preparing so she could act the part of someone from 1869. But this seemed like a fun little trip. She grabbed the back and headed to the bathroom to change. 

The outfit consisted of a rather plain looking checkered blue dress. Along with that where a simple pair if shoes and silk stockings. Lastly there was a simple hat and a long gray woolen coat and a black purse. Everything of course was in the style of the mid 1930's. 

Soon Moonbyul was dressed and upon looking at herself in the mirror thought she looked rather silly. A few minutes later she was ready to go. 

"Okay Moonbyul, in the purse you will find directions to the parade route. It shouldn't be too cold of a day so why don't you just walk and see the sights. Practice blending in. I've also put a few pound notes from that period in your purse if you get hungry. Feel free to stay a bit, have some supper and see a show. It's 1937, enjoy it."

He handed her the watch she would use to recall the wormhole, "One addition. The red button, it's an emergency escape. Push it 3 times and in theory the wormhole will travel to your location. But I must stress that it is to be used only in a dire emergency. The machine isn't designed to move the wormhole very far from this spot. It will probably overload and could result in its destruction. There is a chance it may not work at all. So use in only dire emergency. Are you ready? "

Moonbyul took her phone and dropped it into her 1930's purse, "Yes."

"Now in 1937, this building is a factory that makes buttons. But since it's coronation day, it will be closed. Now lastly..." Southwark handed her an old iron key, "I picked this building as it has a original door with an old lock. This door has never been replaced and uses the same key. It leads into the alley behind the building." 

Key in purse, Moonbyul claimed into the basket and waited for the wormhole to open. A few moments later she could here the hum machine get louder and a glimmering appeared below the basket. Just as before, she was lowered down and found herself in the same room. Only it was 1937.

Like in the 1970's the room was used as a storeroom. Only this time the boxes helt buttons of various shapes and sizes. Moonbyul stepped out of the basket and it quickly retracted from where it came. A second the glimmering hole in the ceiling vanished. She knew it was still there, but in microscopic size. 

Moonbyul smirked, "Well 1937, here I come." 

The Korean rebel exited the building and made her way around the front. The street looked much like it had, only the buildings looked less run down and there were a few more she didn't remember being there. For another moment, she marveled at the old cars and started to walk. 

As she made her way down the street, Moonbyul just couldn't believe she was in 1937. She could see a few people on the street, all dressed in old clothing, driving old cars, but they were all new. The best part was that no one, seemed to give Moonbyul a second look.

Moonbyul's POV

I enjoyed walking through 1930's London and seeing how different it was. I had gone some 2-3 miles towards when I gradually began to sense something was off. First of it seemed later in the day then I thought I would arrive. The sun was just going down when I arrived and now it's getting dark. Not to mention it didn't feel like spring. I thought the coat would be to warm, but it's actually perfect for this weather. 

I also noticed the streets only had a few people and cars on them, but at first I assumed everyone was at the parade. But looking at the few people that were on the street ---- a housewife, a worker, a man in a suit. They all seemed to be in a hurry and looked a bit nervous. 

But I was enjoying myself too much and merely disregarded those odd things. That sense of something being wrong got a bit more intense, when I noticed some other things. On my walk, I saw no less than 6 buildings which recently had burnt down. A short while later I became aware of a low hum somewhere off in the distant. It was a strange sound. Pausing to look around 
I suddenly realized that most of the people on the street had vanished. 

The hum itself seemed to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. I suddenly got a very bad feeling, "No... No... Something is wrong."

Trying to figure out what to do, I became aware that the distant hum was now ever so slightly louder. Suddenly I spotted a trashcan with a newspaper sticking out of it. 

Moving quickly to the trashcan I grabbed the paper, which was half covered in some muck making it nearly impossible to read. It was the still visible date that grabbed my attention. 

October 9th, 1940.

At that moment, I did not only realize I was in the wrong year, something else clicked in my mind. Ruined buildings and anxious looking people. Not to mention that I noticed that I couldn't see lights in any windows. They were all covered with thick curtains. There was the low hum and the year 1940...

Suddenly three words from a long ago history class I spent little attention to, emerged from my memory. 

"THE LONDON BLITZ!" 

A bit more of that long ago lecture, surged trough my mind. The London Blitz, that period in World War 2 when German bombers for months, pounded London and other British cities repeatedly, in an attempt to break their morale. 

It was that second, much to my horror; I realized what that low hum was and why it was getting ever so slightly louder. That rather disturbing sound were the engines of several hundred German bombers, headed in my direction. 

The sudden wail of what I recognized as an air raid siren, confirmed my worst fears an instant later. 

"!" I cursed loudly, "Southwark, you ing , you dumped me into the path of a German air raid!" 

I looked at the emergency button on my watch, but I decided getting back to the factory was a safer choice. As I hurried, I could hear what sounded like explosion in the distance.
I made it half way back when I suddenly saw many blocks up the street, a building getting hit by a bomb and collapse into the street. It was then that I realized, that heading back to the factory, was putting me directly into the path of the German bombers above. That low hum wasn't a low hum anymore, it was now a very loud, angry droning sound and it kept getting louder. 

For a minute a sense of panic gripped me, as I knew I had to get out of here fast. It looked like I may have to use the emergency recall, but I also knew if I destroyed the machine, my chances of getting to Solar would be gone forever. I couldn't risk that. I've come all this way, I can't fail. 

"Think... Think." I said as I tried to vainly remember the history class and something I could find useful. I was so confident at the time that Mr. Moorse's history class wouldn't have bearing on my life what so ever. 

"Mr. Moore, I stand corrected." I said suddenly feeling very stupid. "Shelter, I need to find a shelter."

The problem was I had no idea where the nearest one was. Suddenly another fragment of Mr. Moore's history lecture, coursed trough my mind.

"During the Blitz, many Londoners took shelter in the London underground."

I remembered passing the entrance to one a block back. With the explosions getting louder and closer, I ran for the tube station. Despite the fact that the shoes I was wearing weren't disigned for running, I made it quickly and ran down the stairs. A minute later I emerged onto where the platform was. It looked much like it did in my day with obvious differences of course. Standing on the platform, I could see all the people.

Dozens of people were crowded on the platform and tracks. Most of them were laying down with blankets. Men, women, children, old, young, families they were all here. I remembered from the lecture that people would spend the whole night here. So it's understandable that people would have brought blankets. 

The crowd was mostly quiet save for a few people chattering about. They mostly seemed intent on listening to the muffled sounds of explosions above. It was the pensive looks on their faces which struck me. 

"Miss, would you like some coffee?" Said a man with a Red Cross arm band to my left. 

After the experience I had just been trough, the thought of coffee was a wonderful one. "Yes, please." 

A part of me wanted to make a snarky comment about how I thought the Germans were trying to kill me personally. But seeing the fearful looks on the people's faces, I didn't have the heart. 

Instead I took my coffee, found an empty spot in the corner at the end of the platform and sat down. All I could do now was wait. To pass the time, I put my headphones in, covered my ears with my hair and listened to my iPod. 

It struck me, Beyoncé probably never guessed that at least one of her fans would be listening to her during a WWII air raid. 

After a while, I had to use the restroom, so I made it into the bathroom which seemed deserted. But as soon as I sat on the toilet, I could hear what sounded like the sound of a child  quietly crying. 

I realized that the crying was coming from the  stall next to mine. As I finished up and washed my hands, I realized that the child and me were the only ones in here. Why is she alone? I wondered. As pissed off and annoyed as I was, there was something in her sobs that I couldn't ignore. 

"Hey... Are you alright?" I called out. 

The sound of crying