First-Class Hallway,
11:47 P.M.
The hall was a bustle with activity. Many passengers, some having been roused from their sleep, or having just returned from their cabins from dinner in the D-Deck Dining Saloon were stopping many of the stewards, inquiring as to why there was a sudden shudder, or why the engines had stopped. Shakey himself was walking down the A-Deck corridor when he was stopped by Kate, stepping out of her cabin.
"Shakey," she called, her face reading great concern, "why have the engines stopped? I felt a shutter."
Putting on a kind smile, the young steward addressed the clearly distressed young lady.
"I shouldn't worry, Miss Kate," he responded, "we've likely thrown a propeller blade. That may have been the shudder you felt."
Upon seeing that Kate held her look of concern, Shakey thought he might offer her something that would calm her nerves.
"May I bring you anything, a spot of tea, or wine perhaps?"
Before Kate could answer, she saw one of the ship's junior officers, Moody if she recalled correctly, escorting Mr. Andrews toward the forward section of the ship. Kate instantly took notice of the concerned expression on his muzzle, the Irish-wolf's pace and posture also a clear indication that something may be wrong. Turning her attention back to the steward before her, an eager smile still on his face, Kate politely returned the smile.
"No, thank you," she responded, allowing Shakey to resume his rounds down the corridor. Before returning back to her cabin, Kate saw two other females walking toward the front of the ship. Her sister, Lillian Reynolds, wife of Junior Chief Officer Garth Reynolds, her white fur accented splendidly by her violet dinner dress,a black mink stole placed over her shoulders, and Terra Davis-Ramirez, wife of Junior First Officer Samuel Davis, her auburn fur blending perfectly with her crimson red evening gown, which seemed to outline her slightly swollen stomach quite well.
"Lilly, Terra," Kate called as the two finally reached her, "where are you going at this late and hour?"
"To the bow," Lilly responded with an accent similar to Kate's, "we heard that the ship bumped into some ice." Upon hearing this, Kate instantly remembered Mr. Andrew's look of concern as he traversed the corridor. Perhaps the ship had been damaged. As if she was reading her friend's mind, Terra spoke next.
"I heard it was just a light grazing," she explained in a light Hispanic accent, "nothing too serious. But, we heard that some of the ice fell on the deck. We were going to go take a look." A teasing smile then formed on her face as she continued to speak. "Care to join?" After taking a moment to consider the invitation, Kate figured it couldn't hurt."
"Oh," she said with a chuckle, "I suppose." After rushing back into her cabin to grab one of her coats, Kate, Lilly, and Terra proceeded to make their way to the forward most part of the ship, that is the part that was not restricted to crew or steerage. Upon arriving at their destination, the trio looked down on the well-deck to see several steerage passengers playing a game of football (soccer) with large chucks of ice, an obvious clue that a collision had occurred.
"To bad we can't join in," Lilly commented as she watched the jovial immigrants run about, "it looks like fun." While Kate had to agree with her sister, she knew that such interactions with steerage passengers wouldn't shine to well on them, or their father, who was one of the wealthiest railroad tycoons in both America and Canada, and more than likely still enjoying cigars and brandy with friends in the ship's First-Class Smoking Lounge.
"It would be fun, Lilly," Kate conceded, "but remember, we are ladies of grace and etiquette." Rolling her eyes at her friends statement, Terra decided to show her Kate how she felt about her so called "grace and etiquette."
"Oh Kate," she said with a laugh, "forget about your 'principles' for one minute and have some fun for once in our life." With that, Terra, accompanied by an equally enthusiastic Lilly, began to push Kate toward the gate that led down to the well-deck. At first resisting, Kate finally relented as she joined her friends in laughter.
But then, all of a sudden, the trio clasped there hands over the ears when a deafening, thundering sound emitted from over head. Looking tot the source of the noise, the girls could barely see from their vantage point, geysers of steam shooting from Titanic's safety valves on her funnels. With the engines stopped, steam pressure was building in the boilers and pipes. To prevent an explosion, the valves were opened.
"In his Cabin, Mason was stirred from his sleep by the sudden noise, combined with the loss of the familiar thrumming of the engines. Pulling himself out of bed, Mason slipped on his slippers, before pulling his great-coat over his striped pajamas as a make-shift robe. Exiting his cabin, he made his way up the Grand-Staircase and through the entrance tot the officer's quarters, where he went straight for the wireless room, where Jack was still hard at work, the two quickly joined by a groggy Bride.
"What's up?" Mason asked, earnign a shrug from Jack.
"Stopped, blowing off steam," he responded while moving papers around, "something wrong, don't know what...Bumped a bit of ice I think."
"Well," Mason yawned before looking at the mess on the table, "since I can't sleep with this racket, how's about some help?"
"Well," Jack responded with a laugh, "I'm caught up with Cape Race, so you can help with the East Coast."
"returning the laugh, Mason looked down at his state of undress.
"Let me get some clothes on," he said before leaving the room.
Back at the forecastle, while the sound made it hard to hear, the girls managed to catch movement from the corner of their eyes as the gate flung open, making way for Terra's husband, who appeared to be quite frantic. Terra, taking no notice, smiled at her husband.
"Hello, Mi Amor," she greeted happily, having to shout over the noise, "care to join us for a game?!"
Upon hearing his wife, Samuel turned to see the beaming faces of Terra and her friends. Unfortunately, he did not have time for this.
"Not now, dear!" he called, clearly distressed. As Terra's face fell at being so swiftly rebuffed by her husband, Captain Smith, accompanied by Mr. Andrews, Garth, Humphrey, having been roused by Mr. Moody and ordered to the bridge, and a dark brown-furred, blue-eyed wolf that the girls recognized as Mr. Wilde, rounded the corner.
"Well, Mr. Davis?!" Captain Smith inquired loudly as the Junior First Officer opened the gate to lead the group down into the stairwell, quickly explaining the situation as he did so.
"From what me and Mr. Hutchinson have seen, Boiler Room 6 is flooded eight feet above the plate, but the mail hold is worse," Samuel began, completely ignoring the trio of women nearby, their eyes widening at what he was saying, "She's all buckled in at the forward holds!"
"Can we shore up?!" Garth called, his teal eyes wide with concern as Samuel led them to a hatch that would lead them deep into the bowels of the ship.
"Not unless the pumps get ahead," Samuel answered as the group descended down a spiral staircase.
"Have you seen the damage in the mail hold?" Mr. Andrews inquired with a thick Irish accent.
"No, it's already underwater," Samuel answered as the group entered a spacious compartment, the walls lined with smile sorting shelves, each holding envelopes; the mail sorting room. Looking around, Samuel saw the form of a wolf partway down a stairwell that led into the main storage compartment for the mail. This was the ships carpenter, John Hutchinson, but everyone on the ship just called him Hutch. Upon noticing the group that had entered the sorting room, Hutch stepped back, smoothing back his slicked back, neck length hair as his yellow eyes conveyed nothing but dread.
"It's bad, sir," the Welsh-born Hutch conveyed to the Captain as the older wolf and Mr. Andrews descended the stairs into the mail, only stopping three quarters of the way before their feet stepped into freezing Atlantic water, with the level rising by the second. And if what Samuel had told him about the situation in Boiler Room 6 was any indication, Mr. Andrew's fears were coming to fruition.
Boiler Room 5,
11:50 P.M.
With the turning of gears, the watertight door between boiler rooms 5 and 4 rumbled open, allowing Archie and a hand full of other engineers to step forward into the already foot deep water. As they did so, they carried along with them large hoses, which were to be hooked up to the pump system in order to keep the water down.
"All right Lads," Archie called as he helped feed the hoses through the door, "let's get to it."
Before long, the men could see some progress, as the pumps helped to keep the water down in the boiler room.
Unfortunately, as Mr. Andrews, Hutch and Samuel could see in Boiler Room 6, where fires were being drawn from the furnaces, the waist deep water, with more raging in from the massive gashes in the hull, was causing great concern.
"This is a far back as it goes Sir," Hutch said to Mr. Andrews as the wolves and Samuel looked from the ladder.
"Is there anything else?"
Looking tot he men int he water, Mr. Andrews, simply shook his head a silent indication for Samuel to start ascending the ladder. But before following, Mr. Andrews gave a final request to Hutch.
"Get these men out as soon as you can.
Captain Smith's Cabin,
Seven Minutes Later
Smith and Andrews both stood over a desk in the former's cabin, the officers and Mr. Ismay, having come tot the bridge to find out what was going on, remaining in the wheelhouse to wait for the final results of Mr. Andrews investigation. Unfurled on the piece of furniture was one of the blue prints Mr. Andrews had brought with him, one that showed the plans for the Titanic's sixteen watertight compartments, each departed by bulkheads represented by bold white lines, Andrews began to rapidly summarize the damage report, all while pointing out the positions on the blueprints.
"So we have water coming in," he began calmly, "In the fore peak, all three holds, and in Boiler Room Six and Five. That means a series of gashes from here..."
Mr. ANdrews paused to place a penciled dot on the blueprint which depicted the fore-peak tank, before drawing a line back tot the section that display the coal bunker between boiler rooms 5 and 6.
"...to here...Do you agree?"
"Yes," Smith responded, somewhat impatient at being told the obvious results of the collision that eh had seen for himself.
"And?"
"The pumps are keeping the water down in this boiler room," Andrews explained, pointing to Boiler Room 5, "but the first five have flooded."
"WHat does this mean?" Smith inquired, dreading the answer. Looking to the nervous Captain, Andrews let out a sigh before answering.
"She's going to sink, Captain."
Smith stood silent, completely gobsmacked.
"But she can't" he tried to deny.
"SHE'S UNSINKABLE!"
"She can't float," Andrews countered, not at all phased by Smith's outburst.
"She can stay afloat with any three of her first five compartments flooded," he continued to explain, "she can even float with four gone...but not five. Her bulkheads only go as high as E-Deck. The weight of water in the bow is going to pull her down by the head, and the water is going to spill from the fifth compartment into the sixth, the sixth into the seventh, and so on.
It's a Mathematical Certainty."
After taking a moment to come out the shock that had overtaken him, Smith needed an answer to some very crucial questions.
"How long will she last?" Taking a few moments to calculate the rate of flooding, Mr. Andrews came to a sorrowful conclusion.
"I am working it our now," Andrews said, scratching down numbers on a piece of paper
"From what I have seen, she made fourteen feet in ten minutes," he finally said.
"That's not very fast. She should live...an hour...two at the most."
"There must be no panic," Smith finally said after a minute of silence.
"Yes," Andrews agreed.
"And you will be careful about what you say to the passengers?"
"Of course," Mr. Andrews assured, only for his face to fall as a concerning thought came to mind.
"How many aboard?"
"Twenty-two hundred or more," Smith reluctantly answered, an even graver reality coming to mind, a reality voiced by Andrews.
"With room in the boats for only twelve-hundred."
Upon hearing this, Smith's face took on a hard expression.
"I don't think the Board of Trade regulations visualized this sort of situation."
With that, Smith left Mr. Andrews alone in the cabin before returning to the wheelhouse, where Smith addressed the congregated officers and Mr. Ismay.
"Gentlemen," he began with as strong a voice as he could, "we are in a very precarious position...
We must be prepared to abandon ship."
At that moment, every officer's eyes went wide. Even the ever-stoic Mr. Wilde couldn't help but share his incredulous expression with Garth. Despite the shock, the group continued to listen as Smith gave instructions.
"Everything must be done quickly and quietly. There must be no panic.
Mr. Moody...you will muster the passengers.
Mr. Boxhall, have all hands to boat stations.
Mr. Murdoch, you and Mr. Davis will have starboard boats swung out and ready...Mr. Lightoller, you and Mr. Chambers on port.
Mr. Reynolds, you will help Mr. Lightoller.
Mr. Wilde and Mr. Pitman will remain on the bridge. I will give the order when the boats are to be loaded...dismissed."
"Aye Sir," all officers answered together before dispersing to perform their duties, leaving Smith alone with a flabbergasted Mr. Ismay.
"Captain," the brown-furred wolf said, "don't you think you are exaggerating the situation? Where's Andrews?"
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Ismay," Smith responded with a firm voice. "And I am acting on Mr. Andrews advice.
This ship is going to founder."
"But she can't," Ismay argued. "In any case we can't get everyone in the boats."
When those words hit Smith's ears, he glared hard at Ismay, making the White Star Line's President shrink back in submission.
"I know that Sir," he growled before turning on his heals.
"Please God it won't come to that."
With that, Smith left Ismay on the bridge, making his way toward the wireless room, giving the confused operators a crucial message.
"CQD?" Phillips asked incredulously.
"Sir?" Mason inquired, confusion, as well as concern laced in his voice.
"That's right," Smith responded as he wrote coordinates on a slip of paper, "CQD, the distress call...that is our position."
Handing Phillips the slip of paper, Smith momentarily removed his cap as a sigh escaped his lips.
"Tell whoever responds that we are going down by the head and require immediate assistance."
With that, Smith replaced his cap back on his head before leaving the three young men in stunned silence, silence that was broken by Phillips.
"Blimey."
Pulling his chair closer to the desk, Phillips turned up the voltage on the wireless set before keying out the CQD followed by Titanic's radio call-sign.
-.-. -.- -.. -..-. / -.-. -.- -.. -..-. / - -. -.- -..-. / - -. -.- -..-
(CQD, CQD, MGY, MGY)
After taking a moment to recover from the shock, Mason's eyes lit up with an idea.
"Hey Jack," he said, leaning on the desk to look at Phillips, who briefly turned his attention away from the key to look at Mason.
"Maybe you should try that new distress call...
SOS."
Phillips, upon hearing this, nodded as he began to consider, his attention quickly pulled back to Mason as the latter chuckled.
"It may be your only chance to use it."
Let out a short huf of amusement, Phillips decided that, under the circumstances, it wouldn't hurt.
And at that moment, Jack Phillip's sent out history's first SOS.
...-.../...-.../- -.-.- -..-.
(SOS, SOS, MGY)
Port Boat-Deck
12:15 A.M.
"ROLL BACK THAT CANVAS!" Humphrey yelled over the still escaping steam as seamen worked to roll back the canvas coverings of the ship's lifeboats. The vast majority of the ship's deck crew had just started working on preparing the lifeboats.
"GET THESE DAVITS CRANKED OUT!" Garth shouted to nearby crewmen, the latter of which turning the cranks that would swing out the ships tall lifeboat cranes. So far, the officers and crew had managed to uncover the port side lifeboats, as did Bill and Samuel on the starboard side, and were now in the process of getting swung out and lowered to deck level. At this point, a few curious passengers stepped out on deck to see the crew at work. Truth be told, once it was evident about their current predicament, Smith ordered the stewards to have the passengers report to the boat deck, dressed and with lifebelts on. Unfortunately, as Mr. Andrews observed, there were hardly any passengers to speak of.
"MR. REYNOLDS!" Mr. Andrews called over the escaping steam as he walked toward Garth, the latter still shouting orders. "MR. REYNOLDS! WHERE ARE THE PASSENGERS!"
"THEY'VE ALL GONE BACK INSIDE!" Garth shouted back after he was made aware of Mr. Andrew's presence, his thick accent and loud steam making it hard to understand him. "TOO DAMN CALLED AND NOISY FOR THEM!" With that said, Garth resumed the task at hand, leaving a stunned Mr. Andrews alone on the boat deck. Pulling his pocket watch out of his overcoat pocket, Mr. Andrews could see that time was running out.
First Class Lounge, A-Deck
Despite the otherwise serious situation, the Titanic's passengers appeared to be none the wiser. From what they could tell, this was just a late night lifeboat drill. Many of them were still dressed in their sleepwear, save for a few gentlemen who had congregated from the first class smoking room, brandy glasses and cigars still in hand. The only really difference in attire was the bulky white lifebelts, worn over thick overcoats. However, Mr. Andrews could only focus on the faces of these people, many of which would never see the sun again. And not just the people, but the ship itself.
His ship.
Not even the cheery sound of Alexander's Ragtime Band being played by the ship's small string orchestra offered any comfort.
"Care for a drink, sir?" A deep bass voice asked. Looking toward the source of the voice, the absent-minded Mr. Andrews just stared blankly at the portly, cream-colored wolf, a small, neatly trimmed mustache adorning his top lip, who appeared quite dapper is his white server's uniform. Waiting patiently, Cornelius Roberts, or Mooch as many of his friends called him, continued to hold out a silver tray which held several glasses of brandy. Without saying a word, Mr. Andrews walked away, which only made Mooch shrug as he continued his rounds around the room.
First Class Grand Staircase, A-Deck
"HEY SALTY!" a brash female with brown fur called out, stopping a tall, lanky steward with grey fur. His yellow eyes widening at the sight of the woman who had made his life a living hell since she boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, the young steward dreaded what the "new money" socialite wanted now.
"What's the big idea?! You got us all dressed up, now we're here coolin' our heels."
"Sorry, Mrs. Brown," Salty responded with a nervous laugh, moving cautiously around the irate female toward the ornate staircase, "let me go find out."
Just as he finished answering, Salty bolted up the oak stairs, leaving Mrs. Brown alone with her gentlemen companions.
"Honestly," she said, her annoyance apparent, "I doubt anyone know what the hell is going on."
However, her face soon brightened up when she saw three young ladies enter the staircase foyer, each covered in coats while still dressed in the same attire as she had seen them in at dinner, but this time with lifebelts on, accompanied by an older blonde furred female, a heavy red overcoat closed over her body, her head adorned with a black sunhat, as well as three older gentlemen, two grey furred males and an auburn furred male, each dressed in tailor-made suits, although one of the males, his yellow eyes holding what Mrs. Brown could see as some concern, wore his lifebelt over his grey trench coat.
"Hey, you lot!" she called, only to gesture to the chaos around her "What can you make of all this?"
"It's the Goddamn English doing everything by the book, Maggie." This came from Winston. His response earned a hearty laugh from Maggie, as well as Tony. King merely chuckled.
"There's no need for language, Winston," the older female said with a teasing smile.
"Yes, Eve," Winston chuckled as he offered his arm to his wife, who gladly took it. However, while the group of older wolves made pleasant conversation, the three young women couldn't help but notice Mr. Andrews, who appeared to be very lost in thought as he walked past, staring at the ornate wood paneling of the room. Curiosity finally getting the best of them, Kate, Lilly and Terra caught Mr. Andrews just as he started up the stairs. Pulling his gaze away from the immaculate wrought-iron glass dome skylight, Mr. Andrews was met the expression of three very nervous girls.
"Mr. Andrews," Kate began, which succeeded in snapping the architect out of his trance, "we know about the iceberg." Moving quickly back down the stairs, Mr. Andrews pulled the three woman to a secluded part of the room, a clear indication that this was a conversation best held in private. The fact that he did this did little to ease the ladies nerves.
"We heard you and Samuel talk about flooding," Terra said next, her voice shaking with the dread that was filling her, her arms instinctively cradling her pregnant stomach. Placing a hand of the older man's shoulder, Lilly spoke next.
"Please," she pleaded, tears of fear welling in her eyes, "tell us the truth."
Realizing that said truth would be become apparent in the cumming hour, Mr. Andrews knew he had no choice.
"The ship WILL sink."
"Are you certain?" Kate inquired after moment of shock, shock quite evident in all three woman as Mr. Andrews solemnly nodded his head.
"Yes," he confirmed, "in an hour or so, all of this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic."
"My god," Terra silently sobbed as she brought a hand to her mouth. Noticing this, Mr. Andrews enveloped the emotional girl in a tight embrace.
"Please," he implored after pulling away so as to look at all three women, "get to a boat as soon as possible. DO-NOT-WAIT.
You...remember what I told you about the boats?"
Now fully realizing the seriousness of the situation at hand, the girls numbly nodded. Before leaving, however, Mr. Andrews received a great surprise when the three girls enveloped him in a tight group hug, one he tearfully returned. Pulling away from the embrace, Mr. Andrews went on his way as Kate, Lilly and Terra sadly watched his retreating form.
"Good Luck, Mr. Andrews," Kate tearfully whispered.
Meanwhile, down in the engine room, Chief Bell had called all of his men back to the large space. Standing beside him was Mr. Andrews. Archie, who stood along side Artie Frost, looked attentively at the two men, whose faces appeared grave.
Finally, Mr. Andrews spoke.
"The ship does not have much time." he began solemnly.
"And if you stay here...you WILL die."
Every man stood in silence, the gravity of the situation crashing down on them. Even Archie was overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events. But, a great feeling of pride swelled within his chest amongst the fear, as he knew that his eldest son would be one of the men sending a call for help.
And he was going to provide all the power he could until the last possible moment.
Stepping forward, Archie, with a brave face, spoke boldly.
"We will stay here for as long as we need to be Tom."
Inspired by there colleague's confidence, the other men gained courage to stand beside him and keep the power going as long as possible...
To Be Heroes.
Port Side Lifeboats
12:25 A.M.
The deafening scream of steam rushing out of the safety vales was simply unbearable for the passengers as they came out a deck. Some women even covered theirs as their husbands screamed at each other over the noise. Walking through the crowd of confused passengers was Captain Smith, a blank stare on his face as he continued to digest the troubling news he had just received moments before.
"Sir!" came Mason's voice, the young wolf finding the Captain in the ship's, shall we say, much quieter wheelhouse, speaking to Samuel, who had informed the captain the starboard boats were ready for passengers. Turning to Mason, Smith noticed the young wolf offer a slip of paper as he continued to speak.
"Carpathia says they're making seventeen knots! Full steam for them sir!" As Smith read over the slip, Samuel turned to Mason
"She the only responding, Mason?" the Junior Officer inquired.
"The only one close, Sam," the slightly taller Bride replied. "Says they can be here in four hours." This caught the Captain and Junior Officer by total surprise.
"FOUR HOURS?!" the two exclaimed, their eyes wide in abstract horror. The ship will have been long gone by that point. Samuel, desperate for another answer, quickly recalled something he had seen off the port bow.
"But there's a ship," said, pointing Mason's attention to a speck of light on the horizon, "about ten miles or so...Isn't she responding."
"No," Mason casually responded.
"No?" Smith inquired incredulously.
"Well," Mason reasoned, "she'd be blasting our ears off if she was. Maybe she can't keep a twenty-four hour watch...maybe she hasn't got wireless at all."
Taking this into consideration, Smith numbly nodded his head.
"Thank you Mason," Smith quietly responded. After offering a quick nod, Mason turned to return to the ship's wireless room, leaving Smith and Samuel alone in the wheelhouse. Looking to the young officer by his side, Smith placed a hand on his shoulder, which succeeded in pulling Samuel out of his shock.
"Best to have Mr. Murdoch start loading the boats, Mr. Davis," he silently ordered.
"Yes sir," Samuel said softly before, being stopped by Smith once again.
"And, um, ask Mr. Wilde where the arms and munitions are kept...they may be needed later."
Giving a timid nod, Samuel left the catatonic Captain alone with his thoughts.
"My God," he whispered.
Just then, Smith saw Mr. Boxhall enter the wheelhouse to go into the chart room.
An Idea came to mind.
"Mr. Boxhall!"
"Aye Sir!" Boxhall responded, rushing to the Captain.
"I want you to have Mr. Rowe bring distress rockets to the bridge," Smith explained proceeded to point to the speck of light on the horizon, "and try to contact that ship. One every five minutes will do."
"Yes Sir!" Boxhall replied smartly before leaving Smith alone in the wheelhouse.
"SIR!" Turning to the voice that pulled him from his thoughts, Smith turned to meet the face of Mr. Lightoller, flanked by Humphrey and Garth. Seeing that he had Smith's attention, Lightoller continued to speak. "WE ARE SWUNG OUT AND READY, SIR!" he shouted over the still escaping steam. Seeing the Captain's distant look, Humphrey assumed he hadn't heard Mr. Lightoller.
"HADN'T WE BETTER GET THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN INTO THE BOATS SIR?!" he shouted past Mr. Lightoller, a hand cupped beside his mouth to amplify his voice.
"Yes," Smith mumbled, his voice barely audible over the steam. Looking to Humphrey in confusion, the young wolf simply shrugging, Lightoller turned back to Smith.
"SIR?!" he inquired, a cupped hand to his ear. Looking squarely at the group of officers, Smith reiterated his response, but this time much louder.
"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! YES!"
Pleased with this response, Mr. Lightoller nodded his head.
"YES SIR!" he responded before moving to nearby lifeboat six, followed closely by Humphrey and Garth. Upon reaching boat six, Humphrey and Garth stood alongside Mr. Lightoller, their eyes instantly drawn to their wives and their families. Noticing two people being absent from the group, Humphrey looked directly at Kate, a confused expression on his face.
"Terra and King?" he mouthed. Kate smiled as she raised her hand in reassurance.
"Samuel," she mouthed back. With a smile, Humphrey nodded as he understood what was going on; Terra and King were boarding on the starboard side so the former could say goodbye to Samuel.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" Mr. Lightoller shouted over the steam, beckoning he crowd closer with his hands, which the passengers did tentatively.
"STEP THIS WAY PLEASE! THAT'S RIGHT, COME TOWARDS ME! THANK YOU!"
At that moment, an unearthly silence fell over the ship. Looking up towards the funnels, the officers and some passengers could see that the safety valves were no longer spitting steam, meaning the boilers had finally cooled down.
"GOOD!" Garth called, pulling everyone's attention back to the situation at hand. "As of now," he began," we are requesting ONLY women and children. So men, for the time being, stay right where you are!" Looking to their father and husband, Kate, Lilly and Eve, who had told their still doubting mother that the ship was going to sink, each held a nervous expression at what this could imply for Winston. Looking to the three most important women in his life, Winston put on a brave smile as he pulled them close.
"Go on," he warmly said, "I'll see all you in the morning." With a sad smile, the three females turned to Humphrey and Garth, who at this point had already helped to load Mrs. Brown and a few other women into the boat. Stepping cautiously toward the seemingly unstable boat, Eve extended her hands to her two sons-in-law who, with a reassuring smile, lowered her into the boat while grasping her arms for stability. Next came Kate, who placed a tender kiss on her husband's cheek.
"I love you," she whispered as Humphrey helped set her the boat.
"I love you too, my dear," he replied with a sad smile. As Garth prepared to put Lilly in the boat, the white-furred girl suddenly threw her arms around his neck, planting a deep kiss on his lips as tears began to fall from her eyes. The display itself made the occupants of the boat, as well as some on deck slightly uneasy, not because of the affection being displayed, but the passion that seemed to convey that perhaps the situation was more serious than they thought.
"You need to go, Lilly," Garth whispered after parting, eliciting a small yelp from his wife as he hoisted her by the waist into the boat beside her sister and mother.
Starboard Side Lifeboats
12:45 A.M.
Lifeboat number seven was ready to be launched. After receiving approval from Captain Smith to start filling the boats, Samuel and Mr. Murdoch worked tirelessly to fill number seven as much as possible. Since both adhered strongly to the "Women and Children First Policy," Samuel, after seeing Terra onto the boat, and upon seeing no more willing women and children, offered a spot to King. While King was tempted, he felt that he would be abandoning his son-in-law if he did so.
"I will not leave you behind," he muttered in a thick Hispanic accent as Mr. Murdoch shouted to the crew at the davits.
"READY ON THE FALLS!" he called as the crew readied to lower the boat.
"You need to go," Samuel urged King before signal to a prepped Mr. Murdoch to wait another moment. "Terra needs one of us with her, and my duty dictates I stay here. Please King. She'll need her father by her side." Looking into Samuel's eyes, King could see overall determination in them, a clear sign that Samuel would not budge on his stance to see his duty through to the end. Letting out a sigh of defeat, King nodded as he turned to enter the boat. But before he did, he offered his hand to Samuel, who shook it with a smile.
"I am proud that you were the one to marry my daughter," he said, a proud twinkle in his eye before entering the boat beside his daughter, pulling her close.
"Mr. Davis," Mr. Murdoch called, catching the young officer's attention. "Lower this boat while I ready the next one."
"YES SIR!" Samuel responded as Mr. Murdoch moved to the next boat. "Stand by the falls!" Samuel called. "Ready on the left?!"
"Ready!" a seamen called.
"Ready on the right?!"
"Ready!"
Extending his arms out, Samuel quickly brought them down a little bit as he gave the order.
"LOWER AWAY! LEFT AND RIGHT TOGETHER!" With jerk, the boat began to descend down the side of the ship to the icy water below. "Steady! STEADY! Both sides together now," Samuel ordered as the small boat continued it's descent. But as he and the occupants of the boat observed, they were in for a real thrill. The forward half of the boat began to descend more rapidly than the aft half, startling the passengers inside.
"STOP! STOP!" King shouted over several screaming passengers as he held Terra tight, her eyes clenched shut in fear.
"HOLD LOWERING!" Samuel called, his eyes wide on terror. Taking a few moment to assess the situation, Samuel began to remedy the situation. "Right side only lower away, hold the left!" Slowly, Samuel could see the boat begin to right itself. "Lower away together," Samuel ordered after seeing the boat stabilize itself. "Steady," he called as he motioned for the seamen to cautiously lower the boat. Before long, he heard the boat make contact with the water, leaning over to see the crew working inside working to unhook the falls. After that task was completed, Samuel let out a sigh of relief as he watched the small boat, carrying his pregnant love and her father, begin to row away from the massive ship.
"LOOK!" a child's voice sounded in glee. Looking to a small child, Samuel could see they were pointing to a white streak of light shooting into the sky. The streak quickly died off, only to be replaced a massive shower of bright white sparks, resulting in a loud boom. While children and other oblivious passengers marveled at the spectacular sight, Samuel only felt dread.
"God help us all," he muttered to himself as the sound of calming music from the ship's band on the port side began to carry over the ship.
But far beneath the calm, came chaos.
Descending the ladder into Boiler Room 5, Scar, with a panicked look on his face, called to the engineers manning the pumps.
"GET OUT BOYS! THE BULKHEADS ABOUT TO GIVE!"
And give it did, for within minutes, the room was awash as a torrent of water came crashing down overhead.
Boiler Room 5 was gone.