A low rumble rattles my resting senses, a constant whirring occupies my ears. An ear-splitting crash jolts my body upright, bursting my eyes open and stinging in the process. The hammering in my chest unfurls throughout my whole body
"Tommy!" I shout, shaking his motionless body with as much force as my fatigued body could muster. Countless explosions erupt all around us as Tommy remains in slumber
"Fucking wake up, Tommy!" Tommy snaps out of his slumber, jerking in his wake
"Bloody hell, what's wro-" A nearby explosion cuts him off, the truck wavering in its shockwave. Furrowing his eyebrows he nods, gathering his coat and handing me my weighty bag. Remaining in a crouch, we crawl our way over to the opening of the back, awaiting the end of the bombs.
Finally, the roaring BMW 801 engines of the Luftwaffe dissipate into the morning sky, prompting us to emerge from the truck. The sun sits a few hours before noon, Tommy frantically scans the beach with eyes deep into concentration. The broken medical Jeep remains adjacent the medical tent with my uniform laying over its cracked windshield. Kicking my feet through the sand, I rush over, sweeping the jacket off the windshield, sending sand that has been gathering on my jacket flying. Tommy continues to search the beach, only turning around to the low thunk of my bag hitting metal and observing me as I sling my jacket on. The familiar medical arm band somewhat comforts me.
Two familiar figures dash towards the water, I send a nod in their direction where Tommy follows. His calloused hand tugs at my arm before breaking into a feverish sprint. Instantly, I follow suit with my bag bouncing against my aching back.
"Hey Highlanders!" Alex booms as we near him, its force losing power over the wind "Hey Highlanders! What's that way?" He repeats with more anticipation to a group of Scottish soldiers carrying large rifles.
"A boat" A tall, long-nosed man answered
"It's grounded" Alex replies after glancing at the washed-up boat
"Not when the tide comes in she's not" A man with a thicker Scottish accent jumps in. Silently he accepts their plan and unites with his region. Tommy and his unnamed friend trudge behind Alex while the weight of my bag sinks my footsteps deeper into the damp sand
"Where have you two been?" Alex asks glancing at Tommy from his peripheral
"Medical tent" Tommy answers numbly
"Saw you two fell asleep on each other near the water" He smirks as a result of Tommy shaking his head. Casting my eyes down, heat rushes to my cheeks and ears to be briskly stolen by the harsh wind.
The walk to the grounded ship presented an endless sight of sand, overlapping each other as the wind carries the sand throughout the soldier-filled beach. The ship sits in the distance, almost preserving its distance no matter how much we trudge through the sand.
Soldiers no longer line up in sight, we have surpassed ally territory.
After traversing the beach, the eternal and prolonged journey has come to an end. The ship is perched with a slight tilt, the miniature waves lapping beneath its nose.
Highlanders' boots clank against the metal ladder leading to the deck. However, as soon as they would stand upright at the top, they proceed to descend below another ladder. The rest of the Scottish follow suit before the British would follow. The metal steps have been warmed by the men clamping onto it previously, preventing the initial shock of steps sitting in the howling wind all day.
Once inside the lower deck, the soldiers have already settled in leaning against miscellaneous equipment and scrap material or the body of the ship. Tommy resides against a wooden chest, giving me a reassuring nod when our gaze meets.
My eyes travel across the Scottish and British boys, scanning for any injuries on their bodies. My eyes land on Alex, his left arm perched upon his knee with a burned tricep and bicep
"Can I look at that?" Alex perks up, looking at me as I lower myself to meet his level
"Oh, go ahead" Alex replies. Wincing, he peels his jacket off his sweat-drenched body
"What happened here?" I wince at the image before me, uncapping a new bottle of water to pour over a clean enough cloth
"Bloody bombs managed to catch my arm as I was running"
"One lucky bastard you are, only nicking your arm," Alex shoots be a confused look "you could have burned your whole body, Alex" speaking with a hint of seriousness and shaking my head, the Scottish soldiers tease Alex and burst out in a short-lived laughter
"Getting a nurse on a first name basis are we?" The long-nosed soldier smirks
"I'll batter your face in" Alex threatens lightheartedly as I simply smile, continuing to pat his burned arm. Unable to reach a secluded part of his burn I look over to Tommy, beckoning with s nod
"Do you still have that knife?" Tommy nods, sliding his Swiss knife out and flipping it outright "Mind if I cut the sleeve off?"
"Woah there, I can just take this off" Alex unbuttons his shirt just enough to slide his injured arm out for treatment. Tommy retreats his knife into his pocket, lingering around me. Alex's tricep curves into his arm to be separated from his toned bicep by his shoulder curving down.
The patting resumes now being able to reach further in his muscular arm. Alex attempts to hide the pain of the water in contact with his injury, I wrap a gauze around his arm and secure it with tape
"Thank you" Alex nods
"Of course" I glance over to Tommy, bring my eyes down to his hands to see cuts and bruising over his knuckles. Tommy shakes his head and dismisses the issue
"Let me see it" Persistently reaching for his hand. Tommy meets my gaze with a stern look before presenting his hands before me
"It's fine" He utters, I simply shake my head, using a new cloth to pat his knuckles. Most likely caused from constant friction and applied blunt force. I present a bottle of hydrogen peroxide before him and pour an adequate amount of the liquid onto the same cloth. Tommy produced an audible wince as I pat the dirtied wounds
One Scottish shoulder suffered a graze of a bullet on his cheek, cutting fairly deep. The other soldiers didn't speak up other than jokingly presenting an imaginary wound to bring me over.
"Can ya check the tide?" Alex asks Tommy's friend while poking his hands through junk. Tommy's friend simply shakes his head, hiding his face in the process. Tommy glances towards the conversation, eyes intently on his friend
"Not a talkative sod, are ya?" Alex shakes his head, furrowing his eyebrows at him. Tommy maneuvers towards the ladder at a slow pace before scaling the ladder quietly. His head disappears above the entrance and remains there before briskly returning below deck
"How's the tide?" Alex asks
"It's barely come in at all" Tommy replies, shrugging
Tommy returns to lean on his wooden chest. However, he won't be resting alone. Leaning against his shoulder, we link hands discreetly under Tommy's coat and attempt to rest our weary bodies.
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DAMN look at the speed of my update. I'm gonna keep this up ;)
Favorites and criticism are appreciated. Hope you enjoyed <3
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Bury
Fanfiction| Operation Dynamo is in effect, 1,300 nurses are appointed to aid the soldiers in Dunkirk. | Katherine Bennet, a young nurse appointed to stay at Dunkirk and offer help in the heart of terror.
