Bigger than us
Chapter 1: Absolution
Author's note: I do not own Jack or Rose (Nevertheless, I'd love to!), they belong to the great James Cameron. Father Byles, Officer Lowe and the two boys in the water, named Rossmore and Eugene Abott, were real people.
The water was deadly cold. Over hundreds of feet into the water, the silence was absolute. The night, so clear and clean, would have seemed beautiful from the window of a room with a fireplace. But for the unfortunate survivors, it was as dark and frightening as Hell itself.
Jack felt the water reaching his shoulders, so cold that it burned. It seemed that every inch of skin had a knife nailed, and his numb head and arms were bending on the piece of debris. But he needed to go on. He had to make it. He could resist it. Just for a while...
With great effort, he turned his head. Father Byles, who formerly swam back and forth endlessly, had stayed motionless. His brown eyes showed intense suffering and faith. With a last breath, he let his eyelids fall and his bald head fell on a miserable piece of wood. After a few minutes, it began to turn blue.
Jack turned his head again, this time to distinguish two boys. The oldest must have been about sixteen, and the other looked no more than thirteen. They were similar enough to be brothers, and the tallest held the youngest in his arms. Suddenly, the little boy spoke.
"Where's Mom...?" he asked.
"She will come, Gene... She will come" his brother said. His voice was very weak. A few seconds later, he dropped his head and closed his eyes.
"Ross?" the boy said "Ross..."
He was dead. Jack saw how the boy shed a tear, settled on the shoulder of the deceased and remained motionless.
He laid his head on the debris again, unable to stand the thought of seeing someone else die. All those poor people... And all because of a piece of ice. All that suffering, those deaths had been for nothing.
Where were Tommy and Fabrizio? What had happened to them? Were they still alive? It was impossible to know. And little Cora, and her father...?
No, he shouldn't think of them. He would do it later, when it wouldn't hurt so much, when the night wasn't be so cold, when he knew that Rose was finally safe.
Rose. He had her. Her heart belonged to him, and that knowledge was enough to live and die like the happiest man on Earth. Despite the circumstances, he still had some hope; he was still determined to get her out of there.
"It's getting quiet." she suddenly whispered. Her voice was weak.
"It's gonna take a couple of minutes... to get... the boats organized." said Jack. His voice trembled, but it sounded more vibrant than Rose's. "I don't know about you, but I intend to go write a... strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this."
His intention was to make her laugh, but he couldn't. She didn't even smile. To see her face, Jack only had the starlight. But she did not looked good. She didn't look good at all.
The skin of her face clung to the bones, as white as a corpse's. The cheerful light was gone from her expression, leaving only two white dots at the bottom of her eyes, which seemed larger than normal and marked by dark circles. Her expression was like the one of a convict awaiting the gallows.
"I love you, Jack." she mumbled.
He raised his head.
"Don't you do that. Don't you say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?"
Rose seemed ready to die with every word she uttered.
"I'm so cold..."
"Listen, Rose." he said, trying to sound firm even though his voice trembled. "You're gonna get out of here. You're gonna go on... and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed... Not here. Not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?" The words got stuck in his mouth, and some of them didn't make it past his throat.
"I can't feel my body..." was all that she said.
"Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you." Jack continued. "And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must... you must do me this honor" he added, taking her hand firmly. "You must promise me that you'll survive, that you won't... give up, no matter... what happens, no matter... how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise."
"I... I promise."
He raised her hand to his lips.
"Never let go."
"I'll never let go, Jack... I'll never let go."
With a faint smile, he kissed her hand, then pressed his forehead to hers and hushed.
Hours... Days... Even years seemed to pass while the absolute silence hung over the water. However, Rose, still on the debris, was oblivious to it.
Struggling between life and death, balancing somewhere far away from time and space, she looked at the stars. They literally reflected in the sea. Its brightness was so captivating, so innocent, that it seemed impossible that a catastrophe had just happened. It seemed impossible that so many lives were lost.
"Come, Josephine... in my flying machine ... going up she goes, up she goes..."
It was their song. Hers and Jack's.
"In the air she goes... up she goes... up she goes..."
She was so peaceful ... So much, that it was almost impossible to fight against temptation. The temptation of closing her eyes and sleeping forever. Of leaving behind the sorrow, pain and fear. Of surrender and let Death cradle her in its arms.
"My Josephine..."
After exhaling that verse, she stopped. She breathed heavily, as if knowing that her sighs were numbered. The air coming out of her blue lips froze in the air, becoming a whitish vapor.
"Come, Josephine in my flying machine..."
The raspy and weak voice next to her ear made her turn around. Jack chanted the song, with a monumental effort. He was pale, so pale that, hadn't it been for his voice and the sparkle in his eyes, she would have believed he was dead.
"Going up she goes, up she goes..."
The ghost of a smile curved the corners of his lips. His hand grabbed to Rose's, and he caressed it affectionately. She was so cold that she almost didn't felt his touch.
"Balance yourself like a..." but he suddenly stopped. Rose thought the worst, until she heard him repeat it "Balance yourself like a..."
Rose smiled slightly. He had forgotten the lyrics.
"... Bird on a beam" she completed. Jack raised his head slightly and smiled back. The two lovers continued to chant, clasping hands even more tightly.
"In the air she goes... Where she goes? There she goes! Up, up, a little bit higher... Oh, moon is on fire..."
But suddenly a light flashed in the distance. It disappeared for a few seconds, then reappeared. It was just a speck of a warm yellow, illuminating the water surface. A male voice, strong and deep, with an Welsh accent, screamed.
"Is there anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?"
Jack turned his head, until he clearly saw a boat. Rose opened her mouth and eyes.
Jack turned to her, his face serious.
"I... I told you" he murmured. "Don't shout. I can barely hear... myself."
With these words, he let go of her hand and began to tilt one side of debris. Rose startled when she felt it moving, and clung desperately to the edge.
"No, no, don't worry. Do you trust me?"
Rose gulped.
"I trust you." And she plunged into the water, letting out a muffled groan.
"Come. Swim." Jack said, taking her hand once again. He headed to the deceased officer Wilde. A whistle could be seen between his lips. Without being told, Rose knew what Jack was doing. He took the whistle, cleaned it a little and blew.
A high-pitched beep stabbed the air, attracting the men in the boat.
"Turn around!" Lowe shouted.
His flashlight illuminated the two youngsters, deadly white and purple-lipped. As the boat approached, Jack continued blowing, in a stronger and more determined way. He stopped when Lowe was about a half meter of distance.
"Pick them up!" he exclaimed. One of the sailors took Jack by the shoulders and got him into the boat, while another did the same with Rose.
"Give them some blankets." Lowe ordered "Keep them warm!"
"Are you okay?" Jack asked, stroking her face. Rose nodded.
"I'm fine." He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and finally her lips. After that, he embraced her tightly.
"I love you." he whispered, with another kiss on her cheek "I'm sorry... I didn't say it before."
Rose smiled.
"It was not necessary. I already knew it."
Warmly embraced, they both fell asleep.