Bury

TWELVE

The boat jerks ahead just as Tommy's fingers brush past mine

"Tommy!" With a last burst of strength his arm lunges towards me with his hand barely connecting with my own. In the distance the Me 109 slams into the oil, setting itself and its surroundings ablaze. His weight pulls against my bones, slamming my body into the boat, a shriek of pain escaping my lips "Help me!" I turn to the pilot, gaining his attention away from the soldiers. Swiftly, he rises to his feet, manoeuvring through the sprawled soldiers to arrive beside me. Instantly, he grabs Tommy's wrist tightly

"Let's wait until we slow down, the resistance is too strong"

"I can't" I shake my head repetitively, a growing pain settles in my gut once again

"You'll lose him if you let go"

"I'll go overboard with him if I don't" I snap, sharply inhaling as my hand quivers before me

"Son, help me over here!" The pilot shouts after furrowing his fair eyebrows at me. The young civilian rushes over, his hand enveloping Tommy's arm

"Ready?" A set of nods follow "Lift!" The pilot exclaims, in sync we hurl Tommy's body above the water with gasping breaths escaping his mouth. The civilian grabs Tommy's free hand, taking away the pressure from Tommy's one arm. Once his body is well above water, the pilots grabs into Tommy's coat and yanking his body onto deck.

Stumbling away from the men, I crash onto the deck leaving the men to resume their efforts. My hand clamps onto my stinging wound as Tommy slams onto the deck, oiled and panting he breathes

"Take me home" With closed eyes, he settles there. A towel is handed to him by the civilian, grateful he clings onto it with shaking hands. The pilot crouches before me his eyes glancing towards my clamped hand. The adrenaline is quickly draining out of my body, leaving a battered body behind

"Can I see it?" He asks. Gingerly, I raise my hand exposing the wound. His face curls up into a wince "The bandages need to be redone" in response, I shake my head with the little energy I have

"I know I won't make it" I reply, almost as a whisper

"Don't say that" Shaking his head, his tone softens

"You can't fool me" I cast my eyes towards my medical armband with his eyes following. His eyes widen momentarily, his arms making their way towards my body

"Let's just get you below deck" his arms slide behind my back and under my knees. I left out a soft cry as he picks my body up from the deck. He manoeuvres with caution, placing his foot down on minuscule soldier-free spots.

An elderly man stands before the wheel, his eyes focused on home. His eyes cast upon me once we enter his peripheral. However, his gaze dips just before he's out of sight. The pilot sidesteps down the minuscule stairway with a slight struggle

"I'll get you a blanket" The pilot says, setting my body down against a wall within the soldier-filled deck. Shortly, the pilot returns with a life jacket and a wool blanket. He slides the life jacket under my head before draping the blanket over my body

"Thank you" Pushing the words out, I wince

"At least change the bandages"

"There's no point," I shake my head "I just want Tommy" The pilot nods, disappearing above deck to retrieve Tommy. Booming footsteps erupt from the deck above, the stairway suffers agonising creaks as Tommy stomps down the steps

"Kathy" he says in a low voice, crouching next to me

"Tommy" I smile, yearning for his touch. His face before me has been ridden of oil, allowing my eyes to take in his features once again. I push my hand out of the blanket's cover to be instantly grasped onto by Tommy's

"We made it"

"Tommy..." my heart contracts into my words "I won't make it"

"No! You wi-"

"Tommy!" I barely exclaim "don't be daft"

"No, no, no, no, no" Tommy mumbles in repetition, his head rests on my chest and his hands grip my shoulders

"Just hug me properly," Tommy obeys, lifting my body with his arms tightly around my body. Tommy pulls away from the embrace once prompted to, setting me down onto the wood once again "Your coat, it keeps me feeling safe. Please?" Tommy nods, shrugging his drenched coat off his body and drapes it over the blanket

"Better?"

"Much better," My lips curve into a small smile. My heart dips as my mind travels into reality, my eyes forming painful tears threatening to fall

"Kathy?"

"I don't want to die," I whisper with the first hot tear slipping out of the corner of my eye "I just wanted to help. I just wanted to bury the men who have passed" Tommy's hand grips onto my own once again

"You've done a great deal to the soldiers back there. You've done so much for me and the men in this boat," Tommy's gaze doesn't falter "you're brave." I nod, retracting my hand from his as tears continue to flow from my eyes at a slow pace. I slip my hand under the blanket, feeling for my medical band before slipping it past my wrist and out of the blanket with little strength

"Don't forget me" I hand Tommy the armband with a quivering hand

"Never" Tommy grasps onto the armband with his glossy eyes strictly on my lips. Thankfully, his lips connect to mine after an agonising pause.I take in his warmth and fill in the hole of absent love from days prior.

His hands caress my face gently, with care. I wish to return the gesture but my body has been ridden of any strength. Tears continue to slip through my shut eyes, the pain terrorising my whole body.

Just as Tommy pulls away from my lips, I flutter my eyes open momentarily to secure one last look at the man above me before closing my eyes, submitting into the deep internal slumber.

•

I can't believe this is the end
:( Ghost of you was in my mind the whole time while writing this so give it a listen and watch the video to get a train of feels smacked into your heart.

Thanks for sticking around til the end.
See you around <3