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Tommy
"We'll be getting close soon." Lucille spoke up from amongst the peaceful silence that had comfortably settled upon them.
Tommy could tell she was nervous, her shoulders were shaking slightly as she breathed in an out, her own hand stretched out toward the small cow in front of her, for her own reassurance. But even Tommy himself held a tiny amount of anxiety within him. It wasn't as if jumping from a moving train was something he had done before.
"How are we going to do this?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We'll jump from the side panels. It's the safest way." Dawson said, as he stood up moving toward the side of the carriage.
His hands met with the latch of the edge of a panel. He nodded toward them, before he dragged the handle back, pulling the wall back with him. Outside, the scenery flashed before them, trees seeming to fly from their roots, sun chasing behind them.
"It's too fast!" Lucille exclaimed.
Tommy grabbed into a nearby latch, using it to hold himself in as he tucked his head out of the train, gazing up in front. Not far in front of the train, they were losing distance between a corner. He pointed ahead.
"The train should slow at the corner." He said.
Lucille took in a breath and nodded in agreement. They readied themselves, standing in a line by the edge of the carriage, hands gripping on tightly to the side or another's hand. And sure enough, just as Tommy said, the train began to slow, though not by much, as they reached the corner. Tommy looked down to see her hand shaking, and he encased it in his own, feeling as she was soothed by his touch, holding it tightly.
"Ready." He mouthed, and she nodded.
Lucille grabbed Dawson's hand as Tommy began to count, and upon the count of three, they leaned out of the train. Dawson was thrown to the side slightly, falling quicker as his hand slipped from Lucille's, before tumbling down the small grassy hill to the side of the tracks. Tommy could feel her tripping, and as they fell swiftly, he forced himself in front of her, allowing her to land on him upon the grass.
The three of them laid on grass for a while, panting heavily as they caught their breath. Lucille had rolled from in top of Tommy and was gazing up at the cloud above.
"Where do you reckon we are?" Tommy asked, as he pulled himself up from the grass.
He looked across to Lucille, who was sat up cross legged. Her hair was big up, grass and hay stuck up from behind her ears. He laughed, reaching forward to pull it from one long lock of blonde, flicking it away. From behind him, Dawson sighed, his hands on hips as he searched all around them.
"It looks like every other bloody place in France we've seen so far." He exclaimed, and Tommy laughed.
"He's got a point." He said, with a shrug.
Lucille pulled herself to her feet, joining them in observing their surroundings, with a shake of her head. There was a large field to the right of them and a small dust road straight ahead.
"We'll try and walk to the next village." She said, pointing into the distance above a cluster of trees. "Look, you can see it just passed that field there. You see?"
"It's so quiet." Lucille whispered, as they entered what looked like the town centre.
Lucille had spotted a woman with a pram, and hurried over to her, a skip in her step. "Excuse me, could you tell me where I am please?"
As Lucille talked to the woman, Tommy and Dawson looked around. The streets were empty and curtains were closed. The quietness was quite eerie.
"It should only be a small walk, about half an hour to the last check point. It's not as heavily guarded because of the battle at Verdun." Lucille came back and said. "I think we've actually pulled this off."
"Do we have to shoot them?" Lucille whispered, as they peered over the bush toward the checkpoint. There were only a few guards, as predicted, and they were set in two groups of two.
"They're the enemy." Dawson replied, and Lucille frowned.
They were still people after all, probably forced into war as many people had been. She couldn't help but think of how they were someone's husband, son or father. These soldiers were the enemy, but Lucille was not a soldier, and she would leave the shooting to them.
"I know but I still don't think I could do it after that time in the car." She said, remembering the time when she had too needed to pass a checkpoint, with the two of them injured in her car. "How many are there?"
"Four." Dawson replied, before stating his plan. "If we get to the first two quietly, we can know them out without the other two noticing. Then do the same from there."
"Will that make you feel better?" Tommy asked, and Lucille nodded.
"I'm sorry." She apologised for her fuss but Tommy shook his head dismissively.
"Once we've done the first two, you'll need to open the gate, okay." Tommy expanded upon Dawson's plan. "Come on."
The two of them left Lucille by the bush, crouching as they rounded toward the first of the two that stood closer to them. Tommy and Dawson separated, coming up behind them, pulling them backward and dragging them by the top to the side. They struggled, hitting against their arms, faces inflating a deep red.
The two soldiers were left hidden at the side, knocked out. As Lucille watched from beside the bush, she held her breath. They moved almost in sync as they bombarded the last two in their posts, working at the same time to knock them out easily.
Lucille squealed suddenly and Tommy whipped his head around, running toward her in panic. She stuck her head out as she heard the two of them running, smiling.
"What happened?" Tommy asked, taking her by the arms.
She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"You screamed!"
"Oh." She blushed. "I just got excited."
They were silent for a second before Dawson broke out into laughter.
"We've done it!" He shouted, standing up and raising his arms in the air in relief.
