*Chapter 28*

"Incoming!" Lightoller pointed, and several occupants turned to see the ship.

"That's Carpathia, for sure," Bride whispered.

"Finally," Claire sighed.

Lifeboats were rowing towards Carpathia, the rescue ship, and by now, one lifeboat had its occupants climb the rope ladder leading to the boat deck of Carpathia.

It was boat 14, with Lowe in command. He had come back to rescue some of the alive people, still in the water, at about 3am. It was the boat that Clara had seen.

"Get the falls hooked up on that boat. We gotta pull her on board," an officer of Carpathia shouted from the boat deck, to Lowe.

"Sorry, sir. I have to go back, there's a whole group of people stranded on an overturned collapsible," Lowe replied.

He brought two crewmembers on board with him, and started to row back to where collapsible B was floating.

Clara watched intently at the lifeboats being pulled onboard Carpathia, and the passengers climbing aboard the smaller ship.

Claire watched in disbelief, as the Carpathia moved ever so slowly, picking up passengers from lifeboats.

Carpathia was tiny, compared to Titanic. You could almost fit two Carpathias into Titanic, it was that big.

Just a few hours ago, they were sailing on the grandest ship in the world; now Claire and Clara were on this tiny collapsible, in the middle of the North Atlantic.

All of a sudden, something hit Claire.

"MOM!" Claire jumped up and yelled. "Where's Mom?"

"I don't know. Wasn't she on that lifeboat with you?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, but then she swam off, somewhere." Claires voice trailed off, and she sat back down.

"Relax, we'll find your mom when we get onboard Carpathia," Lightoller reassured.

Lowe finally reached the overturned boat, and started to pull passengers onto his lifeboat. As Clara held Lowe's hands, to get in the boat, her feet slipped, and she nearly fell into the water, but Lightoller and Claire caught her.

"Im sorry, it's just that I'm so cold!" Clara apologized.

"Oh, don't be sorry." Lowe waved his hand dismissively.

Finally, he managed to pull all 28 people from the boat, onto his own boat.

Bride was wincing in pain, which attracted Clara's attention. She tapped him on the shoulder, from behind.

"Uh, Mr Bride, are you alright?"

Bride turned to face Clara.

"I can't feel my feet."

Clara peered underneath the blanket at Bride's feet, which were purple, and swollen to nearly three times their size. Obviously, they had been frozen and crushed.

"We'll get you to Carpathia's hospital as soon as we get on board," Clara assured Bride.

"We?" He asked, confused.

Clara leaned over and whispered, "Me." She sat back down, and Bride smiled.

It wasn't a long journey to Carpathia, taking only ten minutes.

"I saved six people from the water. Three of them died, I think, and then, I noticed your collapsible floating nearby, so as soon as I dropped off my passengers, I came to rescue your boat," Lowe explained to Lightoller, as he handed him a blanket.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. Had it not have been for me ordering you to man that boat, you would've met an icy death." Lightoller changed his expression to seriousness, and whispered to Lowe, making sure Claire couldn't hear "You know Will shot himself, don't you?"

Lowe hung his head. "Yes, I'm afraid so. A woman told me."

At last, they reached Carpathia.