Hey, TenspeedGV. Thanks for the opportunity to read this bittersweet piece. The ending makes this work.

The plot, in my mind, works better for kids than adults. I was yanked out the story when I read the word "man".

At first I thought they were in boat, then found it hard to reconcile with " they staked out this floor as theirs a month ago." On that point, this is intrusive exposition and can be weaved into the storyline much earlier. If you establish Who, When and Where at the beginning, the reader finds it easier to understand,

"end" should be capitalised as the name of event causing their misery, otherwise "end of what."

If you are implying Thomas's death, that may be overdoing it, for the simple reason that the plot is about getting Thomas's intentions wrong, not retribution. Cheers.