"Let's go get them," yelled Anna aloud, raising her left arm up and holding her gun with the other. Cries of anguished pain mixed with gunfire from the ground and the air. Airplanes on fire dove nose-first to the ground and others went into the sea. Some fell on ships at Souda Bay. The antiaircraft units at Maleme Airbase were knocking planes out at a fast rate.
When Anna was grabbed from behind by a German soldier, ready to slice her throat, Ikaros was right behind him, thrusting his knife into his lower back. He fell on the ground dead.
"Sara! Behind you!" shouted Anna as a German was untangling himself from the ropes of his parachute and preparing to shoot. Sara quickly turned around and shot him between the eyes. Seconds later, Anna saw three Germans empty their semiautomatics into Ikaros.
"Noooo … !" she screamed and sped like a cheetah toward the soldiers, rapidly shooting all three of them, inflicting severe injuries. Anna went closer and took a semiautomatic from one of them, since she had run out of bullets. One of the soldiers in a sitting position against a rock wall took his hand pistol and pointed it at Anna as she was looking down on him at close range. Her gaze met his.
He then turned and shot both of his injured comrades in the head, then pointed his handgun at Anna again. She stood there fearless. Then he turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. Anna closed her eyes. Another injured German soldier started to laugh as blood spewed out of his mouth. He was taunting, "Shoot me ... I said shoot me!"
Anna knelt down to take his gun, which was empty, and threw it on the ground, never losing contact with his eyes. He looked so young, only a boy.
Anna tried to revive Ikaros but she saw there was no hope. She held him close to her bosom. He opened his eyes, a faint smile came to his lips, and he whispered, "I love you Anna." She then held the boy tighter and yelled so loud that her voice seemed to echo against the tall White Mountains to the south. As she ran toward Sara to give her a hand, Anna struck a tremendous blow on the back of a German's head and the soldier fell down unconscious.
Paratroopers who didn't get killed began organizing themselves in groups to fend off the angry freedom fighters of Crete. The antiaircraft fire from the ground had ceased. The invading airplanes had dropped their load of bombs, men, and equipment and had disappeared. As the second round of invaders appeared on the horizon, the order was given to take the wounded and leave the area, heading toward Maleme.