Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 "Come on," Danny said, picking Aki up. "We need to get you back home. Your mama will be very worried." "Airplanes," Aki said, looking into the sky. "Aki, you have to go home, come on, you have to…" Aki put his hand on Danny's mouth, silencing him. "Shhh!" he said. "Airplanes."

Danny almost pulled Aki's sticky hand off his face. But then he heard a sound he'd never heard before. A buzzing sound, like there was a giant swarm of bees closing in. Danny followed Aki's pointed finger. And then he saw it in the distance — what looked to be an enormous flock of gray birds flying toward Pearl Harbor. As the gray spots grew larger, Danny could see that Aki was right. They were airplanes. More than Danny had ever seen. And then he saw even more, coming in from another direction. There must be a drill going on. The navy and army were always practicing. There had been a drill at Hickam last week, when fifty sailors had to pretend to be wounded. Ma came home exhausted and covered in fake blood. Whatever game these planes were playing, Danny didn't have time to watch them, not if he planned to catch the Carmella. He'd already wasted too much time bellyaching in bed.

"Come on," Danny said, holding out his hand. If he hurried, he'd get Aki home and then be able to hitchhike to Honolulu. He could still make it to the port in time. Then, when they were almost up the hill, an enormous BOOM shook the ground. And then another. Danny stopped short. "Fire!" Aki shouted. Flames were rising from one of the battleships. What kind of drill was this? Had a pilot crashed or dropped a bomb by mistake?

Danny stopped moving. Aki wrapped his arms around Danny's neck. Danny could feel the little boy's heart beating, like tiny running footsteps. Together they stared at the scene over the harbor. The planes were flying so low they seemed to skim the tops of the taller ships. Kaboom! Another explosion rang out. Sirens began to howl. Boom… boom… BOOM… BOOM! The sky was filling with black smoke. "My ships," Aki whispered. A feeling of dread came up through Danny, a black and swirling feeling, like on that night with Finn, when he'd first heard the metal of the fire escape start to give way. He knew something horrible was happening, something beyond his worst nightmares. He gripped Aki tighter. "Aki," Danny said. "Are those B-17s?" Aki shook his head. "Are they B-18s?" Again Aki shook his head.

"A-20s?" "Not Aki's planes." And that's when Danny knew. It was Hitler! Germany was attacking! Just like Mrs. Mills had said it would! More explosions rang out. The air filled up with a horrible smell. A voice rang out. "Aki!" Mrs. Sudo came running down the hill. "Thank goodness!" she cried, grabbing Aki and hugging him. "The Germans are attacking us," Danny said. Mrs. Sudo turned to Danny. She had tears in her eyes. "No, Danny," she said. "Those are not Germany's planes." "Who else could it be?" Danny said. Who else was crazy enough to bomb Pearl Harbor? "Those are Japanese planes," Mrs. Sudo said. Japan? What had America done to Japan? Why would they want to destroy all of those ships?

There were no answers, just more explosions, more of that black, bloody-looking smoke. Aki was crying. "Come," Mrs. Sudo said, grabbing Danny's hand. "I know somewhere we can go, in case…" Danny knew what she wasn't saying: In case the planes started bombing their houses too. They hurried up and around the back of the Sudos' little house. Danny helped Mrs. Sudo open the wooden door that led to her root cellar — not much more than a hole in the dirt. Mrs. Sudo went down the narrow wooden stairs first, and Danny handed Aki to her. "Come, Danny," Mrs. Sudo said. But Danny was staring out over the smoke and flames. Somewhere in the middle of all that was Hickam. And somewhere at Hickam was Ma. "I need to find my mother," he said. "No! Your mother would want you here! Please stay! She would want you to be safe!" Danny knew that was true.