She was the light in the darkness.
He was the anchor in the storm.
•••
It's spring of 1940 and Europe has been thrown into possibly the worst war the world has ever known. A young French girl named Rayna has enlisted as a combat medic. With the Nazi...
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•••
"Rayna," a voice spoke in her ear. Rayna's head fell limply to the side as she acknowledged the sound, but her mind was foggy form sleep and she had no idea if it was real or created by her imagination.
A hand was then place on her shoulder and another hand on her other shoulder. Whoever hovered above her body then began to shake her, lightly. This pulled the girl out of her groggy state as her eyes fluttered open.
She was met with Tommy's face hovering only inches above hers. Above Tommy, was Gibson, glancing from Rayna and up to the dock that sat in the distance.
"What is the matter?" Rayna asked, ignoring how great of a background the stars in the night sky made for Tommy.
Tommy leaned back on his heels form his squatting position, letting Rayna sit up. "Nothing," he spoke. "Good news, actually. There is a destroyer coming. They've asked for young soldiers to line up. We are going home."
Rayna cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Home?"
Tommy opened his mouth, but hesitated, knowing what he said was a mistake. "To England."
Rayna closed her mouth and nodded as she grabbed Tommy's outstretched hand and stood up. She realized now that Thomas meant his home, not hers. But she assumed it would be made her home soon enough.
The news of leaving Dunkirk finally seeped inti Rayna's mind as she realized what this meant. She would be safe. No more death. No more decay. She could work from inside of England, helping to finish the war. This caused excitement and adrenaline to hit Rayna all at once. With so much happiness consuming her, she had no other reaction but to pull Thomas into a hug.
"We're leaving!" Rayna spoke, happily into his ear. Tommy was stiff at first as he did not except the gesture, but he soon loosened up and wrapped his arms around her waist as to return the favor. Tommy liked it much more than he'd ever admit in this moment.
Much to Tommy's dismay, Rayna pulled away after a moment and smiled, turning to Gibson. "So, are you boys ready to go?" She glanced at the both of them. Gibson nodded, happily. "Where is Alex?"
Tommy scratched the back of his neck, nodding towards the dock. "He already left."
•••
The three of them walked side by side, making it too the end of the boardwalk just as it docked.
Rayna took pins from the tight bun she had had when in her medic uniform and used them to connect her hair and hat together so that the hat would hold on tightly. Now when walking through a crowd of men and boys, she wanted more than ever to blend in.
They didn't pay much attention to her as she clutched her gun to her side and walked with her head held high. While she was an inch or two above average height for a woman, she was very short for a man. And very skinny. Those that did turn to look at her probably simply wondered how she survived the war this long since she posed as a weak boy.
They made it onto the boat. Rayna expected more of a security process or even just some sort of checklist to keep track of how many men boarded, but there was no such thing.
Everyone was ushered into the under cabin storage of the large ship and given life vests. There were so many men inside that Rayna's shoulders were pushed up against random soldiers.
Rayna held onto Tommy's arm as she could not see over the men that were multiple inches taller than her. Tommy himself stood at about six foot, which was not too drastic to Rayna but she still had trouble seeing over him.
She clung to his arm for fear of being separated from him. He was the only person she truly trusted on this god damned beach. And she wasn't about to let him go.
They passed by a long wooden table that held slices of bread with jam on top. Alex, Rayna, and Tommy all grabbed a slice and devoured it quickly. They were so overwhelmed by the fight space that they didn't even notice Gibson had disappeared.
The three of them made it to a side wall near the door they came in. They rested their backs and heads against the wall, wishing they could lay down. But it was impossible to do the multiple other men the tree of them brushed limbs with.
Rayna told Tommy she would be right back as she simply wanted to get one more slice of bread. She could feel his eyes follow her body as she walked through the crowd, but she felt safe under his watchful eye.
She grabbed a piece of toast, just as the sound of the engine whirled to life. The men and nurses in the room hooted and hollered in excitement. This was it. They were leaving Dunkirk. Rayna could start over. She could have a normal life again.
The shaking of the boat and the lights flickering overhead forcefully pulled Rayna out of her fantasies. She heard shouting form the outside of the boat and instantly understood. The boat had been hit by a German torpedo.
The men in the room crouch down as to wait for another obj of the boat or explosion, but there was none. The damage had been done and the ship's kismet was to sink.
Rayna turned and made eye contact with Tommy through the crowd. They both radiated fear as they started to push through the crowd to get to one another. But it was too late.
The walls tore open and the hole in the shop grew. Water began to rush into the cabin. And the ship began to flood.
