CRASH!
A wooden doorframe splintered as we all came rushing out into the hallway, lit brightley and flooded with people. We continued rushing foreward, drenched from head to toe in icy water.
"Hold up there! You'll have to pay for that you know!" A steward came to chase us about something that was trivial and was gonna be at the bottom of the ocean in less than an hour anyway. He continued, "That's White Starline Property!"
We all turned and glanced back at him angrily,
"SHUT UP!"
And onwards we went to try our best to escape.
"Darcie. What did I tell you about being a hero?" Whitney said in a whisper to her friend. Katie sat across from Darcie and Whitney croutched on their knees where the doors used to be. Suddenly they all got up. Darcie ran to where Elizabeth was being lowered into the darkness and seemingly welcome arms of the sea as it beckoned "Come to me. Lay in my arms forever...stay...stay."
"Bring the boats back!" Darcie said as she yelled to Elizabeth, reaching over the edge to touch the fingers of her new-found friend, only to be forced back by a bunch of people. "Bring the boats...back." Darcie said bewildered as the boat continued being lowered into the ocean.
Elizabeth had no idea what she was talking about. There was only so much she could do. She was a woman in the 20th century. What could she do? A hell of a lot more then they thought.
The rockets flared up above them as Darcie found some hidden strength and began to race back to her friends. They had to wait for the others, but they also had to be ready. Getting lifebelts for everyone, and mostly, staying warm.
We found ourselves on E-deck looking at a crowd of people waiting as though the doors would suddenly burst open waiting for them and there, miraculously, at the top would be some boats left. If only they knew. The shouting went on all around me. Megan, Rose, Shavai and Jack pushed their way to the top to do a little "persausive talking" to make the man open the gates. Things began to get really quiet as though I lost my hearing, and for a moment things went into slow motion as I looked and saw a mother and her two children. They looked definite third class, the girl held onto a doll of somesort and the boy wore a shabby cabby-cap. The mother spoke to them, reassuringly, that sooner or later, they WOULD get on a lifeboat. If only she knew. I shoved past a bunch of people to the front.
"Listen, pal! I have been through too much of this shit to be killed like this! Now open the goddamn doors!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, pushing the bars that were the only thing keeping us and our only chance, seperate.
He wouldn't budge.
"Fuckin' bitch! You bastard!" Shavai yelled as she kicked on the bars.
Suddenly, Rose pulled my hand and I pulled Shavai and she grabbed Megan. Fabrizio and Tommy followed after us.
Jack led us to another similar problem. One pair of bars, one man with a key that was acting like a bitch.
"Open the gate." Jack stated, as though they were friends and he actually would.
"Go back down the main stairwell and this'll all be straightened out." He said motioning to go back to where we came from as if we could. The other way was certain death.
Suddenly, and without warning, Jack lost it.
"God damn it to Hell son of a bitch!" Was all he said before he walked down the stairs, seemingly momentarily defeated. Then he grabbed one end of a bench, bolted to the floor and attempted to lift it up. Suddenly, Tommy and Fabrizio came and helped, along with Megan and Shavai.
"Move aside! Quickly! Get out of the way!" Me and Rose said to get the others out of the path of the bench as it went crashing up against the bars.
"Stop it! Put that down!" The steward said as he pointed an accusing finger at us like disobedient dogs.
"Again!" Jack ordered, and low and behold, the bars gave way.
The steward went crashing backward against the wall as we all crawled up and over the bench to try to find the top deck. Megan came over the top of the bench and looked at him sternly and used all the fancy ettiquette available in her vocabulary.
"If you have any intention of keeping your pathetic job with White Star Line, I suggest you escort these good people to the main deck." She grabbed his collar to make her point. "Now."
Darcie, Katie and Whitney adjusted their lifebelts and blew warm air onto their hands. They had decided to wait at the back end of the ship because that was the last part to go down. They kept watch over the doors and kept count of how many boats were left. They never seperated. One wrong step and you were sure to be lost in the endless sea of faces. Each one of the faces looked petrified with the utter look of doom imprisoned in their eyes. For the ones who walked onto the boats, they had a glow like the last chosen few to be accepted into Heaven while the rest were in for eternity in Hell. And for those of them who waited for "Hell to freeze over" They needn't look any further.
"Darcie. This might not be the best time to ask this, but, what happens if there's sharks in the water?" Katie asked looking a little petrified, and on the edge of laughter. Darcie scoffed at the question.
"Shut. Up." Darcie stated for a reply and gulped when Katie and Whitney turned their attention the other way.
We finally reached the main deck when suddenly Rose shouted with suprise.
"The boats are gone!" We began to panic, till Colonel Gracie was caught in our sights.
"Colonel! Are there any boats left?" She all but yelled at him, leaving him completely dumbfounded for a moment.
"Yes, miss. There are a couple boats left all the way foreward. This way, I'll lead you!" He exclaimed. We didn't have that much time. We raced past him and continued straight ahead, hoping to God he didn't leave anything out, like "turn left at the screaming baby" or "Turn right at the crying children."
We ran past the playing band while holding hands. Tommy looked amazed as he continued running, remarking to Megan, "Music to drown by. Now I KNOW I'm in first class."
At last, we found a boat. But, it was for women and children only. Jack, Fabrizio and Tommy, would have to wait, but my "heroic side" bit at my concience and made me take a step back to stay with Jack to make sure he lived. Shavai and Megan decided to stay with me. Leaving Rose by herself to get onto a boat. Tommy and Fabrizio ran off to check out the other side.
"Get in the boat, Rose." Jack said, holding onto her elbows as he tried to ease her into the boat. She resisted.
"No. Not without you."
"Get in the boat." Jack restated. Just then Cal walked up, just as cool as could be....Bastard.
"Yes. Get in the boat, Rose." He said as he looked at her, while she chilled from the cold. Leaving me and my friends to shiver.
"My god." He said, noticing how damp she was. "Look at you. Here." He took off his coat and wrapped it around her. The Lighttoller looked over at us,
"Quickly, please, ladies." I began to grind my fist into my palm watching Cal.
Truth be told, I was fixing to push all three of them in the water and get me and everyone else into a lifeboat. My coat wasn't working much, I was cold and tired. And grumpy.
But she didn't even care Cal was there. Rose continued looking past him to Jack.
"Not without you." She restated to Jack. Cal saw the emotions between them and clenched his teeth. He finally thought up a lie and leaned closer to Rose's ear and said something to her. Me, Megan, and Shavai strained to hear but couldn't. Suddenly, it was all brought back.
"He's lying." I said. Everyone looked over at me. Talk about a way to ruin a moment.
"Excuse me?" Cal said looking over at me. It seemed he spoke for Jack and Rose too. I realized I ruined their way to get her on a boat. But oh well, it was now or never.
"You're a goddamn liar. There is no boat on the other side." I finished what I had to say, holding back some extra vulgar words of choice I put together in my head just then. But they all seemed to clear themselves from my brain the moment he walked toward me. He shook his head yes as though he understood what I was saying, like he would admit to lying to her. Then suddenly, looking me in the eyes, his hand met the side of my face and before I knew it, I was on the ground bleeding profusely from my mouth like I had bitten myself. I caught myself with the hand that still stung with pieces of glass that remained inside. I pushed myself up, pissed off.
"Mother fucker! You don't fuckin' hit me! My own daddy don't fuckin' hit me!" Shavai held me back as he walked back to Rose, who had just stepped off the boat and was in Jack's arms. Cal began to get into a shoving fight with Jack, until Megan took one punch to his face and knocked him over the railing like sometype of rag doll. We ran down to A Deck to see if he made it or not. Unfortunately for us, he did. And he was pissed.
Rose and Jack were so happy to still be together they embraced each other.
"Why didn't you get on the boat, Rose? God you're so stupid!" He regailed as he hugged her. Wanting to hold her forever and remain this way. But the ship was sinking fast, and ever moment counted now.
Cal ran around to the top of the staircase and slammed into the railing. Overcome with jealousy, it bankrupt all rational thought. Lovejoy came and placed a restraining hand on Cal, but in one cobra like move, Cal grabbed Lovejoy's pistol and fired right at us. Needless to say we began to run. We continued running and then began to run back into the cold water as though Death wasn't coming fast enough, no. We had to run and greet it.
Suddenly, Shavai cried out. She was hit.