The Pilot Who Never Came Back

DLP with Mirage A3-22, 1972.

 

The mist was rolling in clouds, opaque

As I hurried along the line,

Looking for A3-22

The Mirage of Lieutenant Devine,

There wasn’t much hope of flying time

If the weather didn’t improve,

But I still had an Instrument Pre-Flight

‘Just in case,’ said the Duty Crew.

 

‘You never know with Devine,’ they said,

‘He’d fly in a howling gale,

At the first swift burst of sunlight, he’ll

Be sitting right here on your tail,

Trying to give you the hurry-ups

As you strap him into the seat,

A bit of a caution is Jack Devine…’

‘A pain in the arse,’ said Skeet.

 

Skeet was the Armament Fitter that

I found under 22,

Fitting the Matra Missile there,

And a sidewinder, or two.

‘Where the hell is he going, this

Is more than a training run!’

‘He’s going on out to the firing range

Out there, past Avalon!’

 

Devine appeared in the mist, while

Taking the pitot covers off,

I pulled all the undercarriage pins

As he gave me the hurry-up,

‘I’m going the moment the mist has cleared,

So do what you have to do!’

I climbed in, ran up the gyro’s

Checked out the auto-pilot, too.

 

He wouldn’t wait for a moment

So I threaded his lanyards through,

Pulled out the Martin-Baker pin

And held it out for his view,

He sat on the live ejection seat

Took whiffs of the oxygen,

And sat impatient, drumming his feet

‘Til a little bit after ten.

 

I stood by the guy on the battery cart

To wait for the mist to clear,

The pilot gave thumbs up for a start

We could finally disappear,

We watched him heading off down the strip

With a roar like an avatar,

And headed on back to the duty hut,

‘He’ll be back in less than an hour!’

 

We grabbed a coffee, an hour went by,

But still no sign of Devine,

The Gunny had given a meaningful look,

He was cutting it more than fine,

He wasn’t fitted with drop tanks, so

An hour was all that he’d got,

We phoned the guys in the tower, and asked,

‘Is he overdue, or what?’

 

It was then that A3-22

Came screaming over the strip,

Smoke was streaming out of its tail,

Black as a coal mine pit,

He turned and landed, the fire trucks

Were waiting to put it out,

A pool of kerosine lay in the tail,

As Devine came tumbling out.

 

His face was thunderous, back in the hut

Where he signed the duty log,

But he kept his visor firmly shut,

Then turned, and he just stalked off,

I didn’t see him again, but heard

He’d tried to report us all,

He blamed the erks for the whole damn works,

Said the engine nearly stalled.

 

He left the following morning for

Another Miracle flight,

We didn’t go out to look for him

‘Til the day turned into night,

We never discovered his plane at all,

It’s missing still, at sea,

But his wife was down in the hospital,

And that was what interested me.

 

She’d been admitted with cuts and scrapes

And scratches down to her feet,

They said that she was hysterical,

Was babbling in white heat,

‘I haven’t a clue who that pilot was

Dressed in my husband’s clothes,

But it wasn’t my Jack Devine,’ she said,

‘And I think that a wife would know!’

 

She said he’d taken her there by force,

And raked her body with claws,

He’d bitten her shoulder ‘til it bled,

She couldn’t fathom the cause.

He’d looked like her husband, walking in,

But then his body had changed,

‘He looked like he had a scaly skin

And his face was rearranged!’

 

The last that I heard of Jean Devine

Was in June, the following year,

She’d gone to deliver her baby

But was shaking in dread, and fear,

They told her that it had been stillborn

And refused to show her its face,

Or the tiny body scales it had,

Unknown to the human race!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Patricia B. Hepler]

Definitely Sci-Fi! This also reminds me of Rod Sterling's show (from back in the day)..now what was the name of that..? The Outer Limits?
Anyhoo.
Great, great story. I didn't expect a lizard-thingy to show up, tho.. ;) Thanks for sharing this!! I really enjoyed :)
~pat

[emmy bon]

wow! very intriguing, great writing dark story yet so interesting well done once again sir.

[Valentine]

A science fiction tale..very interesting lthough I am not into science fiction..I am moe in to real things as you know..Yet I enjoyed your telling of it just the same..You are asset to this site david..Love to you and Lyn..Kathie

[Lisa Ring]

Do scaly creatures reside in the mists of Avalon? Intriguing and skillfully written. :)

[Rick White]

Wow! Really really cool. Very dark and a very enjoyable read. Can't think of anything else to say I just really like it. Cheers

[ElizabethRaine]

Wow. This had a SyFy feel to it. Well done. I like how the story is told through a poem (once again). You really know your stuff and how to keep a reader interested. I think this story reminds me of The Astronaut's Wife; A good little science fiction/thriller film back in 1999 about an Astronaut who is sent up into outer-space to repair a satellite and there's an explosion. Anyway, he comes back to earth and isn't this woman's husband, he's an alien and impregnates the woman with alien children. Anyway, it's really good. I wonder, have you seen it?

Anyway, really well done. Interesting and thrilling. I enjoyed this very much.