Jack was flying through the sky in anguish.
He had been playing with a group of children, making it snow and giving them snowballs to pelt at each other, and had been so focused on the game he hadn't noticed when their parents arrived. They had walked right through him.
No matter how many times someone walked through him, it never felt any better. It felt like a big hollow was opening up inside of him, the breath being sucked out in a big gasp.
His tears froze on his face, and he finally took the time to notice where he was. He was somewhere over a huge ocean, he would guess the Atlantic, with the waves eerily calm, moon shining clearly in the sky.
The moon. Jack glared up at it as he landed on the water, a wave freezing under his icy presence.
"Why?" He asked it.
"Why can't anyone see me? Why can't I remember anything but rising out of that lake? Why is all you've told me my name?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"... I don't want to be alone anymore."
As his emotions roiled, a huge iceberg began to form as his powers went haywire. Jack, still lost in his thoughts, didn't notice.
Not even when a large cruise ship, Titanic painted proudly on its side, began to approach.
He only jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a shout of alarm, his head shooting up to see as a gigantic ship approached.
Panicked, he looked around, only to see the large iceberg he had created in his despair.
And the ship was going right toward it.
No. NO!
He watched fearfully as the ship continued to inch forward.
It wasn't turning. Why wasn't it turning?
He called the wind and flew off the iceberg, surveying it desperately. If only he had the power to melt ice as well as make it…
He turned around again to face the ship. It had finally begun to turn, but too late. Far too late.
This was his fault. All his fault. No wonder no one could see him. He didn't deserve to be seen.
The Wind howled, responding to his dark thoughts as he flew around to the side of the behemoth boat.
It was getting closer.. And closer.. It hadn't turned enough. It was going to hit- crash.
The ship grated alongside the berg, ripping into the side of the metal. Water was flooding in, and chunks of ice fell off the iceberg, splashing into the water.
Jack's heart sunk. He darted down low to the water, surveying the damage. He bit his lip. He wasn't an expert on this. He didn't know if it would sink or float.
He knew he couldn't just leave. He did this. It was up to him if these people died or lived. He needed to know if they would make it. And if they didn't… he needed to be there as the ship went down. And besides, surely the passengers would know more? Even if they couldn't see or here him to ask questions, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one curious to know the fate of the ship.
Calling again to the Wind, he flew onto the deck. He could see a few groggy passengers in silk bedclothes coming to the deck to see what had happened, but they didn't know any more than he did. He needed to find the captain.
Looking around, Jack wondered where the captain would even be.
Whisking through the air, Jack suddenly saw an important looking white haired man- who also happened to be wearing a captains hat, talking to a darker haired serious- faced man, in an abandoned corner of the ship.
"How long does she have?" whispered the captain.
"3 hours at the most, I'd say." said the dark haired man, white faced.
That was all Jack heard as he fell back, in shock. He had doomed this ship.
He looked around, taking in all the confused, but unworried, people. How many of these people would be dead by the night's end? Just because he had a temper tantrum.
He collapsed to the ship deck, staring as people began to shrug and head back inside, barely noticing the pang as people passed through him.
Shaking himself, Jack stood up. Was there anything he could do?
Why weren't there alarms? Why weren't people being warned? Surely there were lifeboats?
And indeed there were, noted Jack as he went on another flight around the ship.
Not that many people wanted to go on. The captain and that man knew the danger- why were they not telling anyone? Only like 30 people were on the first boat- and it looked like it could fit a lot more.
Jack bit his lip. This was his fault, but he hadn't the faintest idea how he could help. He was invisible and soundless to everyone else, how could he warn them?
He flew below decks. A few people were coming around handing out life jackets and telling people to get dressed and go above decks, but few were listening.
Jack sighed. He wished more than ever that he was visible right now.
Suddenly, a little girl came toddling out of a room into the hall. He would guess she was about 10 years old, and she looked scared.
Feeling sorry for the poor little child who's life was about to be turned upside down, Jack flew toward her.
She turned her head, medium length brown hair swishing.
"Who are you?" she asked in a scared voice.
Blinking owlishly, Jack looked behind himself to see who she was talking to.
There was no one there.
Jack looked back at her, confused.
"Who?" he asked her, knowing she couldn't hear him.
She blinked. "You."
… what?
"Wait." He said. "Can… can you hear me?"
She nodded, hair bobbing. "Of course silly!" she said brightly. "Do you know where my uncle is?"
Jack's head was spinning. The first time in hundreds of years someone had ever seen him.. After so long of begging and wishing.. And it was on a ship doomed to sink.
"You… you can see me…"
She blinked. "Are you okay, mister?" she asked.
"I'm.. fine." he said dazedly.
Then reality sank in again.
"We need to get you in a lifeboat!" he cried. "The ship is sinking!"
"No, it isn't." she giggled. "Silly. Uncle said it's un- sink- able."
Jack sighed. "Where did you last see your uncle? We need to find him."
The cheerful girl sobered again at that.
"He said we needed to go up. But I saw this cute little puppy and then uncle was gone." she started sniffling.
"Shh it's okay. We'll find your uncle. What's your name?"
"Mabel." she sniffled. "I'm Mabel."
"Okay Mabel. Just come with me and we'll find your uncle, okay?"
"You will?"
"Yes."
She smiled, seeming cheerful again. "Okay then!"
As Jack started to fly down the hall, her eyes widened like saucers. "You can fly?"
"Yes I can, kiddo." he answered.
"Wait." she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I told you my name! Your turn."
Jack sighed. He knew they didn't have much time, but she refused to budge.
"I'm Jack Frost." he answered.
Her eyes widened again. "My momma used to tell me stories about someone named Jack Frost who spread snow. Is that you?"
He shook his head in wonderment. He didn't know there were stories about him!
He nodded. "Yep, that's me!" he responded, cheerfully as he could.
"Wow." she said.
"Now, what do you say about finding your uncle?"
She perked up even more, skipping after him with all the boundless energy of a 10 year old.
LINEBREAK
Mabel and Jack had reached the stairway, where a huge crowd of people were milling about.
"Why aren't they going to the deck..?" Jack muttered.
But Mabel seemed excited. "Uncle?" she cried. "Where are you?"
A few people looked at her for a moment, but soon turned back to their own business.
"Can you see your uncle?" asked Jack quietly.
She shook her head.
"Maybe he already went up. We should go to the deck, okay?"
Jack picked her up, still marveling that he could touch someone, and flew her above the crowds of people as she giggled in delight.
As they reached the top, they began to hear shouting. Jack touched down to investigate.
A group of people were shaking at- were those metal bars? And demanding to be let up.
They had been locked downstairs. Locked downstairs. When the ship was sinking!
Jack told Mabel to stay there, and approached the bars. Lifting his wooden staff, the conduit of his power, he touched it to the lock, which began to freeze over.
The people who couldn't see him stared in shock, one going to touch the lock, passing through Jack and standing right inside of him.
Jack sucked in a breath, a cold agony shooting through him, but he kept on freezing it. After all, he kind of deserved it, seeing as he was the one who caused this situation in the first place.
Finally, the lock broke off, and Jack flew up immediately in relief, the pain fading as he drew out of the man.
The people who had seen what happened stood in shock, people who hadn't flooding out into the stairway, calling it a miracle as water flooded the area they were vacating.
Jack flew back to Mabel, taking her hand in his own cold one, and they headed out to deck.
Too late, as Jack soon found. All the lifeboats had already left, and the ship was beginning to list severely.
Mabel turned to him, tears welling in her eyes once more.
"Jack, I'm scared."
Jack blinked. It felt like a knife had struck him. He knew that.. He knew that! Why did that seem so familiar to him..?
He shook it off, despite the strange feeling welling up inside of him. He had more important things to worry about.
"It'll be okay, you'll be okay.." he said, wildly looking around for something he could do to save her.
He picked her up, trying to lift her again. He managed it for awhile, but the Wind couldn't lift two people for very long, and they soon fell back down to the deck, the Wind ruffling his hair in silent apology.
"Nononono.." he muttered. This couldn't be happening. His first believer… she couldn't die!
But they soon began to fall towards the cold ocean, Mabel clutching him in fear.
Jack stared down at the water, an irrational fear filling him. He was immortal, he couldn't drown. Why was he so afraid..?
Yet he still refused to fly off and leave Mabel to drown. Surely he could still save her!
Finally, the last bit of ship slid from beneath them and they plunged into the ocean.
Jack struggled immediately, a panic filling him as water began to flood into his nose and mouth. It, too, seemed familiar. But he battled past it, he needed to save Mabel. He needed to help her.
He clumsily rose out of the water, thankfully he had still kept hold of his staff, and searched the water. His stomach dropped. So many people… so many people were struggling, dying, because of him.
Wait- there she was. Mabel. She was sinking, evidently unable to swim. He immediately dove down and swooped her up, creating an ice floe and setting her down. She looked up at him with scared eyes.
"I'm cold." she said quietly.
Jack felt like his heart was breaking. He would have huddled close to her, except he didn't have body heat like anyone else.
All he could do was keep people cold.
LINEBREAK
He wasn't sure how long they had huddled on the tiny ice floe, watching the Titanic sink, but Mabel was shivering, eyes turning vacant.
"Mabel." he whispered. "Hold on, okay? We'll make it out of this."
She didn't respond.
He bit his lip worriedly. "Mabel?"
He reached out, touching her.
She flopped back.
Jack recoiled.
"No…" he whispered.
"NO!" he screamed and cried, looking around at everyone else, oddly… still and quiet. Dead.
Jack felt tears starting to come down his face, freezing as they touched his icy skin. How many people had he killed today? Children, mothers, fathers, and brothers. People with a future. Not anymore.
Flying into the air, Jack felt an uncontrollable feeling of sadness and rage.
He couldn't take it anymore.
He flew. He didn't think, he just flew. Away from all the death and despair he had caused.
He ended up deep in the snow and ice, he wasn't quite sure where he was.
He didn't care. Here he couldn't hurt anyone.
He thought of Mabel, her cheerfulness and bright smile that would never appear again.
Of all the people he had seen on the ship that night.
How many were dead now?
A storm raged deep in the Antarctic that night. A storm that mourned the Titanic.
xxxxxxxx
Mabel is actually a real third class child who died on the Titanic. She was 10 years old, and her whole family who boarded died as well.