The men I lead aboard are better than some of the other ones I've seen, but they are still injured regardless. "Please find an empty space below, someone will be along soon to help you," I instruct the men, showing them to the entrance below deck. Most comply, but one young soldier shakes his head at me.
"Please don't make me go below," He pleads. "I'm not off too bad, just my shoulder. I can help." Fear in his eyes results in me giving in, if only to put him to work.
I walk over to the head nurse, Nancy, to receive further instructions. "Ma'am, I've finished leading the men below. Where can I assist now?"
She rolls her eyes at me before answering. "Go wrap wounds. Nothing more." I want to grumble and lash out at how inferior she sees me, only for my age of seventeen. But I do as I'm told, grabbing multiple rolls of bandages.
One of the nurses passes by and informs me they could use help by the gangplank so I walk that way. I get to work on a man that reminds me a bit of my father. I inject a dose of morphine into his arm, clean the gash in his leg, and wrap it. All the while he's telling me of his beautiful wife he cannot wait to return to. The way he talks of her makes me smile.
As I wrap up my third soldier, a commotion causes me to look up. It's the captain of the ship yelling at two soldiers. By the looks of them, they aren't from this reagent.
"Listen, I appreciate what you did, but you can't stay here," The captain yells. "Find a boat with your own people." The soldiers walk off dejectedly. My heart breaks a little for them. They're looking for a way home, just like everyone else.
As I move on to yet another man, I watch the two drop down to a beam on the pier. Smart, but risky. Intrigued, I walk over and pretend to drop something on the deck near where they are.
Before I can even get a good look, a plane engine roars overhead. I drop down to the deck, per training instructions, and cover my head.
"She's going down! Abandon ship!" Someone screams. I raise my head and see that the tilting I felt wasn't actually just in my head like I thought. I scramble to the railing and look over. It's a long way down and I hesitate.
"Just jump!" It's the soldier on the beam. "I'll pull you out, I promise." I don't want to, but what other choice do I have?
I climb over the rail, balancing precariously on the edge before taking a deep breath and plunging into the freezing water. For a moment I forget everything that's happening and feel calm in the blanket of water surrounding me. That is until a hand clasps around my wrist and yanks me above the surface.
"Do you not know how to swim?" The soldier who pulled me up asks. His blue eyes peirce mine.
"I-I do," I stutter. The wind chills me to the bone. "It w-was the d-dress. I-it pulled m-me down f-faster."
"You must be freezing," he exclaims.
"Oh, no f-feels like I'm in p-paradise," I say. He chuckles under his breath and wraps his arm around my waist, offering a small amount of warmth.
"I'm Tommy, by the way." He helps me sit down and grabs a man before he is crushed by the ship. When he assures us he's okay and we learn his name is Alex, Tommy turns to me and says, "Never did catch your name."
"Cece."
"Pleasure meeting you, though I hate that it was under such circumstances."
"It was nice to meet you also, along with you two," I say addressing Alex and Gibson, who was with Tommy earlier. They nod their heads in acknowledgement.
"Let's get you another boat, boys," The captain yells. Tommy and Gibson dunk under the water, giving the illusion of being on the med boat that went down. I jump back into the frigid water and am almost immediately pulled under. I thrash around trying to get above the surface.
My head is lifted enough to draw a breath. "Calm down, love. Panicking is not going to help you." I'm met with the blue eyes again, but don't have enough breath to speak. He swims us over to the ladder of the dock.
"Go first, and I'll follow you," He tells me. I grab the rung of the ladder and try to pull myself up, but the combination of my dress and lack of arm strength sends me back into the ocean. "Change of plans." Tommy gets up easily and helps me up with a small struggle.
He waits for me to climb before following. My foot slips and I slam forcefully against Tommy. "I'm sorry," I mutter. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize, just keep going." I make it to the top without another incident, but I'm still red in the face from one that did happen.
"Thank you," I say, once we move along with the other boys. "For everything."
"Don't mention it, love. It was no problem for me." I give him a small smile as we get orders to board a small boat that will take us to the ship. There's only standing room on the boat, I squirm uncomfortably. My dress, the frigid wind, my aching legs, and lack of sleep is really taking a toll on me now.
Without a word, Tommy notices my discomfort and scoots closer, pulling me into his side. A sigh of relief escapes my lips. Tommy's chest rumbles lightly as he laughs at my state. I have no remark to make though, eternally grateful for him at this moment.
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