*Chapter 25*

Lightoller found several men trying to free Collapsible B off the roof of the officers' quarters.

The men had rocked the boat off, too hard, and it was now upside down, unable to be turned over the right way, because there was absolutely no time left.

The water, which had engulfed the bow, was now spreading through the wheelhouse, the bridge, and up to where the overturned boat was. Suddenly, it was washed overboard.

"Girls, there's no other boats, you've got to hop onto this one."

Lightoller assisted Clara and the unconscious Claire in getting onto the boat.

Then just as he grabbed the side of the boat to get on, he heard cables snapping, and whipping the water.

Clara looked up, and Lightoller turned his head, to see the great forward funnel toppling over, with a humongous metal groan, slapping the water upon contact, crushing those in its path, and creating a large tidal wave.

It narrowly missed the overturned boat, but the wave was so great, that it sent the boat some 150 feet away, along with all its occupants.

Lightoller was washed onto the boat, and Clara gripped his hands tightly, to prevent him from coming off.

Suddenly, Clara was shocked by something. It never occurred to her, the fact that she wasn't holding onto Claire, as the wave washed over the boat.

Lying over the boat, Clara screamed Claires name, several times.

"Its alright, Miss Sherbrooke. I've got her."

Clara jerked her head around quickly, and saw that it was Bride and Phillips, holding onto Claire firmly.

Clara let go of Lightoller, who was now holding onto the rudder of the boat, and slid over to Bride, and hugged him.

"Oh, thankyou, so much, Mr Bride, and you, Mr Phillips."

Bride and Phillips smiled politely.

Clara leaned back onto Lightoller, and he held her for the time being.

All the occupants of the overturned boat watched, as the lights of Titanic flickered, and went out.

Clara gasped, and held onto Lightoller.

Just then, she heard planks of wood, coming loose, and cracking sounds, coming from the ship. Suddenly, with a huge pull, and a sound like an explosion, the Titanic split in half, before everyone's eyes.

"Oh my god," Clara breathed, and watched the liner's death.

The stern of Titanic fell back, almost level, and as the bow started to sink, vertically, it pulled the stern upright, and finally, detached. The stern bobbed in the ocean for a few minutes, in which Claire awoke, in Bride's arms, in just enough time to see the Titanic finally founder. The stern finally flooded, and started to fall into the ocean. Finally, it disappeared.

That was the end of Titanic.

The unsinkable ship, which had in fact, sunk.

Claire turned around, and faced Bride.

"What am I doing here?" she asked, a little panicky.

"Claire, you fainted. We were washed onto this boat, so we could stay here, until the rescue boat arrives." Clara reassured Claire.

"That's right, Carpathia should be here in a couple of hours," Phillips said, shakily.

"Oh. How did I faint?"

Not wanting to send Claire into a mass of tears, Lightoller just told her that she froze, in the cold water.

The ocean, now, was full of screams and yells of people, stranded, which were drowning or freezing to death. Mr Wilde was floating on a nearby plank of wood, blowing his whistle.

"Return... the boats!" he yelled.

But the boats weren't going to return at all.

The occupants feared that, by going back to save drowning people, they would swamp the boats, and capsize each one of them. So they just kept rowing away.