Blood in the Water~Dunkirk|Book One|

Chapter Sixteen

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"I got one holding on!" A blonde boy yelled at the edge of the boat. Rayna ran over to him, grabbing the other hand of the soldier still in the water.

Rayna and the blonde boy used all of their strength to pull the boy out of the water. His head broke above the surface to reveal his identity as Tommy.

Rayna wanted to collapse to her knees in this moment or scream and cry from joy. But she kept her composer and pulled Tommy up onto the boat with the help of the blonde teenage and another man.

Tommy collapsed on his back on the floor of the boat, the same position Rayna had taken when she got on the boat.

Rayna quickly got down to her knees, scanning Tommy over with her eyes to make sure he had no serious injuries. Rayna places a hand on each of his cheeks once again, cupping his face.

Tommy opened his eyes to look at her. The sun shone over her head and she looked like an angel that was about to take him away to heaven. But he was not dead. Not yet. And he had never been more happy for this fact.

Rayna leaned down and pressed her lips to his, kissing him for the first time. Tommy gladly invited the kiss. Even though they were two soldiers that almost died multiple times, are covered in oil, and have barely known each other for five days, they cared for each other more deeply than either of them realized.

All Tommy wanted in the world was to take Rayna home with him. All Rayna wanted was to create a new life with Tommy. And now that they sat on this boat, kissing each other in complete and utter bliss, they truly believed that these things could happen.

Rayna broke away from the kiss first, smiling sheepishly at Tommy while he looked like he had never felt joy before this moment.

"So," Rayna spoke so that only Tommy could hear. While there were soldiers around them, they were too caught up in themselves to pay any mind to what Tommy and Rayna were doing or saying. "Are we at one hundred percent?"

Tommy lifted his head off of the ground to kiss Rayna once again, his right arm propping him up and his left arm on her cheek.

Rayna broke away, smiling while glancing back and forth from Tommy's lips to his eyes. "You didn't answer the question."

"Yes," Tommy answered. "I am in love with you. One hundred percent."

While they both felt immense joy and hope that they were together, the memory of Dunkirk and what happened there will always travel with them.

Tommy and Rayna both knew that they would be haunted by this beach for a long time to come. Rayna knew that she may never return to France. And Tommy knew that even in England, this war is being fought. Getting off of the sand of Dunkirk did not mean that they had escaped the war. The war was just getting started.

Rayna stood, helping Tommy to his feet. Tommy held out his hand to Rayna, looking at the side of her face. She turned her head, looking from his hand to his eyes. He stared at her as if she was the world. And she looked at him the same way. Rayna took his hand, entwining their fingers together.

Rayna lead Tommy over to the side of the boat, both of them looking out at the beach of Dunkirk which was getting small and smaller in their view by the second.

Tommy unclasped her hand and wrapped and arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. She laid her head on his chest, leaning against him.

Rayna internally wished a goodbye to France, her home. She promised to return, even though she wasn't sure she ever would. If the Nazis won, France would be there's. And Rayna would never go back.

But looking up at Tommy, Rayna knew she would make a new home in England. Looking at him, she felt safety and love and she knew everything would be okay. As long as they had each other.

Rayna turned her head back to look at Dunkirk. As they guy further away, her eyes began to play tricks in her and the oil spill looked more like a blood spill in the water. Although, the farther they went, the more Rayna began to doubt that it actually was oil.

No matter how many years passed, Dunkirk would always be known as the beach that blood was spilled on. The beach with blood in the water.