Blood in the Water~Dunkirk|Book One|

Chapter Three

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Rayna soon found herself in front of a soldier, laying silently on the ground of the boat deck. Blood trickled done the side of his head and his eyes were closed. Besides the fact that his chest rose and fell as he took a breath, Rayna would've thought him dead.

Rayna kneeled down next to him and took out some gauze and another rag, wiping away the blood away, some of which had already dried.

"I am a lost cause," he spoke, trying to wave Rayna's hand away. "Save your medicine for a man more in need."

"It is just a head wound," Rayna didn't listen as she kept wiping the blood away. "You will be just fine."

The man sighed, clenching his jaw as he opened his eyes to look up at Rayna. "Your optimism has no place in war."

The sound of aeroplanes interrupted their conversation. The loud hum of the engines echoed through the air.

"Get down!" A male voice yelled out. Rayna didn't even have time to duck when an explosion erupted from the side of the boat.

"She's going down!" Another voice yelled.

The boat made creaking noises as it began to tip sideways. "Cut her loose!" Another person yelled. The sound of blade hitting wood came from the deck, the soldiers cutting the rope tying the boat to the shore. The boat instantly began to tip sideways.

"Abandon ship!" A soldier yelled as he climbed the railing and jumped from the boat.

Rayna leaned forward and grabbed onto the man, trying to drag him to his feet when he lurched forward and puked all over himself and Rayna. But it wasn't vomit that came from his mouth. It was blood. He was bleeding in internally.

"Save yourself," he spoke. "I'll float to the top."

Rayna hesitated, staring at him in uncertainty. "Well go on then!" The man yelled, blood dripping from his lips.

This time, Rayna listened. She got to her feet and ran to the side of the boat. She dropped her medic bag at her feet. It would be too difficult to swim with it, so she would have to leave the bag behind. Rayna then slipped her small heels off of her feet, climbed over the railing, and jumped into the freezing cold water.

For a second, everything was calm. Rayna was submerged underwater. Everything was silent and she felt at peace. But then, her body floated up to the top and Rayna's head broke the water's surface to find herself in chaos.

Rayna swam as hard and as quickly as she could away from the boat that was now sinking into the water below her. She found herself swimming towards the dock, finding a familiar face holding onto a wooden beam under the boardwalk.

He reached his hand out for Rayna, which she grabbed onto and let him pull her up beside him. He held her close to his chest as she coughed from the water that had gotten into her lungs on the dive.

After a moment, Rayna pulled away from Tommy to see that he was not wet at all, except for his chest where he held onto her.

"You didn't jump?" She asked him, confused.

"We were thrown off of the boat because we weren't medics," Tommy spoke, motioning to the silence boy beside him.

"Then why are you down here?" Rayna asked, before realization hit her. They were going to sneak on board.

Tommy looked guilty as Rayna realized what his plan had been. Rayna felt disappointed. He was going to try and steal the spot of a wounded soldier. But she also understood. This boy was her age, maybe a year older. He was just a boy that had been thrown into war. And all he wanted was to go home.

"Dunk yourselves in the water," Rayna told him.

He looked at her, confused. "What?"

"If they find you down here completely dry, they'll know you were trying to sneak in and they'll guarantee that you never leave this beach," Rayna spoke before giving him a small shove to egg him on. "Now get in the water."

Both do the boys listened as they slipped into the cold water, dunking their heads under to be completely soaked.

They then began to climb up the latter of the boardwalk. The boys and medics walked back down towards the sands, hoping to find another way home.