"WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE BEACHES, WE SHALL
FIGHT ON THE LANDING GROUNDS"
It was right there. It was right in front of them, teasing them by sitting just beyond their reach on the horizon. It was like you could blink and you would be th...
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The four soldiers reached the beach by sunrise. Kris was asleep, her head leaning against the life jacket. The rest had stayed awake throughout the night, never once taking a chance to even blink.
The men in the boat anchored the rowboat and exited their seats. As they filed up onto the beach, there seemed to be a lot more of them.
Two soldiers exited the boat together, one glancing at the four hanging onto the rope, but when his eyes fell on Kris, he stepped away from the other and dropped down into the water.
"Kris? Kris!"
Kris woke up, startled. She looked around, squinting at the sun that was pulling up over the horizon. The soldier that had called her name was now crouched in front of her.
"Flynn?"
In an instant, the two enveloped each other in a tight embrace. Flynn buried his face into Kris's shoulder, no longer caring that the life jacket prevented him from squeezing her in the way that he did before he was drafted. The man's friend stayed close behind, not saying a word.
Kris pulled away from Flynn, "let's get to the beach."
The six of them all dragged themselves from the tide and onto the steady sand. Each of them sat in a group on the damp ground, with Flynn and Kris closest to each other.
"Jesus Christ, what are you doing here?" Flynn asked his sister, and then he realized something. "How did you even make it here?"
"I came looking for you," Kris breathed out, almost amazed that her brother was in the boat in front of her the whole time.
"Yeah, I get that," Flynn dismissed. "I mean, how did you fake it?"
"You'd be amazed at how many men don't want to fight in a war," Kris replied.
"I'm proud of you, Kristen."
There was silence. Kris could feel the three soldiers she knew stare at her with emotionless eyes.
"Who the hell is Kristen?" Alex grumbled, his eyebrows, as per usual, were furrowed.
"Me," Kris said, turning towards Tommy, Alex, and Gibson.
"Kristen is a woman's name," Tommy stated. He wasn't confused. If anything, he didn't want to believe that some woman was willing to put herself in the middle of a war just to find her brother.
"And I am a woman."
Gibson, of course, didn't say anything. Tommy felt like it all made sense then. It made sense why she wasn't as muscular as a man her age would be. It made sense that she was more boyish looking. It made sense.
