Are we star-crossed lovers?
Did I really want you gone?
If I'm really a winner
Where did these demons come from?

~"Mirror" by Ellie Goulding

Ellen

Ellen had never believed that everything in her world could literally come crashing down around her until she began witnessing the Titanic's final hour.

Her arms were weary as they carried her through the icy Atlantic. It was impossible to find refuge anywhere when there were hundreds of people surrounding her with adrenaline running through their veins. Many people were swimming frantically towards the lifeboats, barely visible in the distance, but she knew that it was too far to swim in water this cold. She could feel the suction from the ship fighting against her arms and legs that were so desperately trying to create space between the ship and her.

A horrible springing noise convinced her to turn around. For a moment, all pain and weariness in her body was forgotten as she brought her hands to her face out of reaction to the loud sounds that were all around her. She looked up to the smoke stacks that towered above her, the bottom almost eye level with most of the front of the ship underwater. The cables holding them to the ship were snapping loose and she watched, horrified, as the large and heavy cables flew into the water, hitting unlucky people who happened to be in the way. She saw one of the smoke stacks teetering, swaying to and fro before leaning forward like a large tree ready to fall.

"Swim away!" someone cried.

She didn't need to be told twice. Using the breaststroke her brother had taught her as a child, she kicked her feet as fast as they would go, swallowing saltwater as she did her best to distance herself. She looked behind her to see it falling and thanked heaven that she was out of the impact zone and turned away before she could watch it fall on people that hadn't been so quick. A large wave from the impact pushed her underwater, edging her closer to the ship. When she came to the surface, she cursed loudly realizing she was close enough to the ship to touch its walls. She was fighting a losing battle.

Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed hers. She pulled her hand away, spinning around to see who was trying to take advantage of her lifebelt, but her eyes met a pair of warm eyes, obviously calm.

"This way, miss!" the man said to her. He was wearing a lifebelt and in a dark suit, but she couldn't tell what color due to being soaked through from the ocean. He had red hair, sopping wet and sticking to his face and round, freckled cheeks.

"This way," he said again, taking her hand, more gently this time. "There's a boat."

Confused, she let him pull her through the water. Where did he come from? Why was he helping her? He was a strong swimmer, leading her away from the ship and avoiding anyone who looked like they might try to roughhouse them for their lifebelts. It wasn't until Titanic's lights went out that she understood where they were going.

Before her was an upturned lifeboat, with somewhere between twenty-five and thirty people clinging onto its hull. She saw an officer's uniform present among the struggling passengers, and for a moment her heart stopped thinking it was Harold, but she recognized the man as Second Officer Lightoller. She prayed that Harold's missing presence meant that he was on a lifeboat.

"Thank you," she said to the man as they reached the lifeboat. On the side was written Collapsible B and she recognized the boat as one of the ones many of the crew had been trying to lower onto the deck to launch. Apparently this one wasn't ready in time. Surprisingly, there weren't many people in the water close to them, or perhaps it wasn't obvious what these people were floating on. Regardless, she was thankful for her luck and let a pair of men help her onto the boat, draping her body almost lifelessly across the hull and panting for breath. The red head was soon beside her, shivering so extremely that she could hear his teeth chattering. She lay on her stomach, staring at the dark water on the other side of the lifeboat. With the boat upside down and so many people piled on top of it, she was amazed it was able to stay afloat. She wondered how large the air pocket was underneath them and how long it would hold out.

She carefully adjusted her body, her limbs fighting her from numbness, so she could face the ship that was slowly killing her will to live. She had undergone more near-death experience in the last hour than she had in her entire life. The lights had flickered off, leaving those around her immersed in darkness. They watched in horror as they heard loud crack after crack, watching the weight of the suspended stern splitting the Titanic in two.

"Dear lord!" a man cried, "Look at the poor souls still on board!"

He was pointing at the railing. Many passengers still on the ship had fled to the stern and were clinging on anything they could find: the railing, benches screwed to the decks surface, poles, and rope.

"Brace yourselves!" she heard the officer lying a few feet away cry.

With a final, earsplitting crack, the Titanic was ripped apart in the middle. She watched, terrified, as the stern of the ship fell back to the sea. She had seen the large waves and the poor people that had been struck by the smoke stack earlier and she could only imagine what the damage of the stern would do.

"Hold on!"

With a loud splash, the stern struck the face of the Atlantic. The waves that approached them were the largest she'd seen in her lifetime and she screamed, grabbing hold of the lifeboat with the little grip it gave here. The waves approached them, pushing them further out to sea. Some of the waves splashed over them, causing some to lose their grip and be swallowed into the Atlantic. She felt the red haired man grab her hand, holding her securely to the boat. However, as the waves began to settle once more, she noticed that her feet were now dipping into the sea, even though her body hadn't moved on the hull. It was that moment, that she realized they had lost some of the air beneath the lifeboat and it had sunk several inches into the ocean.

"Look at that!" the red haired man cried, "The front half of Titanic is gone!"

Sure enough, she looked just in time to see the bow of the Titanic slip underwater, gone forever. The thought of the Astors' suite now underwater made her head spin, and she brought a hand to her stomach to keep herself from becoming sick.

With the bow gone, the stern began to rise, quickly this time. Water was rushing into the large opening now created from the giant split in the middle. It only took a few minutes before the stern was completely upright, passengers falling from the railings and decks like flies. Then, as quickly as it had risen into the air, it began to descend back into the ocean.

"That's the end!" the officer cried.

Ellen watched, unable to tear her eyes away, as she watched passenger after passenger being swallowed into the sea. She watched the last few passengers lucky enough to secure a spot on the railing by the English flag at the very end of the stern step into the ocean and that's when she knew it was all over.

"We need to swim away!" the officer cried. "The suction will pull the air from underneath the boat!"

A handful of men jumped off the hull and positioned themselves near the lip of the overturned boat.

"Push!" Lightoller shouted.

They were able to move the boat a few meters, but stopped as it continued to descend into the water. She watched with wide eyes as she watched bubbles emerge from underneath the boat and pop on the surface, the water now up to her ankles with her legs hanging off the hull.

"What are we to do?" another man cried. As Ellen's eyes adjusted to the darkness and she looked around her, she realized she was the only woman on the boat. Everyone looked to Lightoller, whose lips were in a thin line and his eyes grave.

"A ship is on its way," he cried over them. "But they were miles away, they won't be here for at least two more hours."

Ellen swallowed the lump in her throat. Two more hours? How were they going to stay afloat on this overturned boat for two hours?

She caught the glance of the officer, a glimmer of recognition in his eye.

They weren't.

She bit down on her fist, hiding the scream she was afraid would be released if she didn't silence herself. The red haired man turned over, lying face up on the boat, stretching his legs which were soaking wet from the water.

"What is your name?" he asked her through chattering teeth, his lips slowly turning blue.

"Ellen Whitehouse," she replied, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Thank you, sir. You are an angel from God."

"Aeron Glyn," the man said, extending his hand to her. She shook it and did her best to smile. This was the strangest place to be making introductions.

The officer cleared his throat, bringing himself to stand on his knees so he could address the group. "Be sure to keep as still as possible!" he called out. "The more we move, the more likely we will lose air underneath the boat. We need to keep ourselves out of the water as long as possible. As long as the water remains still, we shall as well."

The group nodded solemnly. Nobody dared questioned his instructions. They all recognized he was their leader now and their survival was dependent on following him.

When the group fell silent, the horror of what had just happened was brought to their attention by hundreds of screams. Looking behind them, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people swimming in the water, desperate to find something or someone to keep them afloat. Ellen understood their suffering in the freezing water and could only imagine what was going through the heads of those that didn't have a lifebelt on. Unashamed, a humbly dressed man near the end of the hull was sobbing listening to the screams.

"Will anyone go back?" she asked, asking the question nobody wanted to speak.

Lightoller looked at her gravely. "I pray to God they do. I think they fear people will swamp the boats."

She bit her lip and looked back out to the sea where the Titanic had been just moments before. He was right, with so many people desperate for survival, it was likely if a lifeboat approached, the boat would be overturned from so many people trying to seek shelter.

"The damn White Star Line did this!" another man cried. Everyone looked at him with curiosity, carefully reading the expression of Lightoller in response to the accusation.

"What the devil are you talking about?" one man asked behind her.

The man lifted his upper body, causing the lifeboat to sway and a stream of curses being thrown at him from startling everyone. "There aren't enough lifeboats! If we had enough, we would be able to save the poor souls! But they're so damn greedy, they can afford cigar holders in first class bathrooms but can't provide lifeboats to save human lives!"

A cry of protest came across the boat, another man crying, "It's the bloody officers' fault!"

Fury crossed Ellen's mind. How dare this man accuse the officers! Harold had been sleeping when the incident occurred, how could he possibly be responsible?

The same man continued. "Going so bloody fast through waters that are filled with icebergs. We should throw you overboard!" he cried, pointing a fat finger at Lightoller. Several men grunted in agreement, shifting their bodyweight to move closer to the Second Officer.

"Stop it!" Ellen cried. The man looked at her in surprise, not realizing there was a woman present on the boat. Many blushed in embarrassment as she cried, "We don't need anymore death. Shut your foolish mouths and be gentlemen!"

Aeron grinned, but it was lost as the screams interceded the conversation. These poor people had only been in the water for ten minutes, but it was obvious that the screams were dying away. Was death such a quick worker?

"Where are you from?" he asked her, trying to district them from the horrible scene behind them.

She swallowed loudly, turning so she was facing the other direction. It was easier to bear when she could only hear but not see.

"Brooklyn," she answered. "I was so excited to return home…" Her voice trailed off as a tear fell down her cheek. It felt like fire against her numb skin. She wiped it away quickly and turned to him. "And you?"

"Wales," he said, but she could have guessed from his thick accent.

"Why New York?" she asked, grimacing as she heard a scream die away.

"To meet with a potential customer," he answered, turning his body so they were facing each other. "My employer wants business in America to help spread our wings."

"Who's your employer?" she inquired, wondering why this story was sounding familiar to her.

"George Lowe," he said proudly. "We're in the bracket business, I overlook exchanges."

"Lowe?" she asked, whipping her head around to fully face him. "As in "

"Harold Lowe's father," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know Mr. Lowe?"

She blushed. "No, well, yes. We met on the voyage."

"I pray to God he's alright," Aeron said. He motioned to the people behind him. "And I pray he's not out there with those poor souls."

Ellen shuddered at the thought. How small of a world this was to be on a lifeboat next to a man who was an acquaintance of Harold's. But then again, she thought with a grimace, Who am I to question coincidences when I just watched the 'unsinkable ship' succumb to the Atlantic?

One of my favorite parts of writing this story is choosing the lyrics to put before each chapter. As a music major in college, each chapter is often sparked by a song. It's really hard for me to get my pen going without music to inspire me and I've often wondered if I'm the only person like this!

Also, I wasn't going to let Aeron disappear from the story that quickly. I really do have a soft spot for him!

Don't forget to rate and review!