She was gone. Tobias anxiously scanned the crowd in search of his younger sister, Cordelia. "Cordy!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. His voice was lost amongst the thousands of people gathered at Southampton harbour to see the Titanic off on her maiden voyage across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Tobias turned around, scanning the crowd for signs of Cordelia. His parents would haul him overboard if they knew he had lost his six-year-old sister! He took a few paces forwards, not really taking notice of where he was going.
"Oow!" He heard somebody cry out. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. He was standing on the toes of a pretty girl about the same age as him, fifteen. " That's ok." She smiled at him. "I'm Harper McKenzie."
"Tobias Payne" he answered.
There was an awkward silence. "Oh, have you seen a small girl, about this high?"
He held his hand about a metre or so off the ground. "Brown curly hair?"
Harper grinned and pointed over Tobias' shoulder. Tobias laughed. Cordy was standing about a few metres away, talking to a boy around her own age. "That's my brother, Nicolas." Harper said.
Tobias noticed a girl similar looking to Harper, except with straighter hair, and maybe a few years younger walk over to Nicolas and Cordy and start talking to them.
"That's my sister, Hallie" Harper said. Hallie walked towards them, with Nicolas and Cordy in tow.
"Tobi's got a girlfriend," Cordy sang. Harper's laugh merged with Cordy and Nicolas's. "Cordy!" Tobias scolded, his face turning red.
"I'm sorry, we have to go now," Harper pointed to where two people, presumably her parents, were standing.
She turned and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder to look at him. "What deck are you on?" he called anxiously after her. He saw her eyebrows knit in confusion. "WHAT?" she called back. "WHAT DECK?" he yelled. But Harper had disappeared into the sea of people.
MiloHe felt their eyes boring into his back. The eyes of those who only saw his skin, its colour. He pulled his hat lower, trying to cover his face. He was boarding with the people in second class. Because he was black. The first class passengers didn't want to be associated with a black person. Ahead of him he heard a dull thump, followed by a short shriek. He looked up; only then realizing how low his hat was pulled. He reached up with a gloved hand and tipped it just high enough so that he could see. There were two girls, with dull orange hair. One balanced a small child on her hip the other was struggling with numerous suitcases. His suitcases had been taken onboard for him. He was free to help with the fallen suitcase. The girl looked at him gratefully.
"Thank you so much. I don't think I cold have picked that back up, much less carry it." She had looked at his face, yet she hadn't flinched like the other people. He smiled.
"No trouble at all." He carried the suitcase a little way inside, where the girls caught up with their parents, and their father took it, also giving thanks. Milo smiled when he met the father. He didn't flinch either.
SiennaWhen the huge oak doors were opened for Sienna, the first thing she noticed was that her suitcases had been neatly unpacked for her. As she strode into the room, her heels clicked on the polished wooden floors. The clicking stopped when she reached the plush new rugs. Around her the room glistened. Everything had been polished. Cabinets, windows, mirrors as well as every other surface in the room. With one glance you could tell nothing had ever been used before. The chairs never sat in, the bed never slept in. It was overwhelming.
"Well mother, what do you think?" Sienna said.
"Personally, I can't see what all the fuss is about. Oh, certainly it is impressive, but do you suppose the media created a sort of 'hype' about the grandeur of this ship?" She saw her mother scowl.
"Do try to be more appreciative, Sienna. Your father paid quite a price to get us here." Now it was Sienna who was scowling. She wished that just once her mother would stop her fearful worship of her father and listen to her for once
CricketCricket decided to leave the cabin when he counted the third rat scamper across the floor. Not bad considering previous experiences, but not the sort of company you'd prefer. Cricket had just shut the door to his cabin when a little girl bumped into him. She giggled something that sounded like "sorry," then turned and ran into her room next door. Cricket smiled. He liked little kids.
"Tobias! I walked into a boy outside and now I don't want to go out. Come with me please, please, please."
"Cordy" he heard someone groan. He quickly turned around, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. But of course, he fell over when he was trying to look casual. When he picked himself up there was a boy his age in front of him.
"Err, hi! I'm Cricket." The other boy, Tobias, was obviously trying to smother his laughter.
"Tobias. Hey Cordy's a little shy sometimes," he rolled his eyes as if he couldn't believe it, "but she says 'sorry'. Hey I'm feeling like I've been locked down here. I'm going up to the decks…" he trailed off and raised his eyebrows. An invitation to come. Cricket nodded. Then he remembered the case that he "borrowed" as he was boarding. And the first class dinner suits that were in it.
"I have an idea," he said, a smirk spreading across his face.
HarperHarper stuck her head around the corner into her parents cabin. "Is it ok if I go upstairs?" she asked. "Only if you take Hallie and Nicolas" her mothers voice floated through the door.
Harper sighed. "I thought I was here on a holiday, not babysitting duty!" she yelled.
"Fine, we'll take them up later" her parents agreed.
As Harper jogged up the stairs that led to the second class balcony, she thought about the boy that she had met before they boarded. Tobias, she thought his name was. She smiled, remembering him. She hoped she would run into him again before they disembarked in New York.
Harper turned left at the top of the staircase, heading towards the ships bow. She leaned over the edge, watching the white water churned out behind the ship
She heard footsteps and laughing behind. She turned around. Two boys in evening dress walked past, heads bowed. Actually they didn't look that old, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She thought she recognized one of the laughs, but quickly dismissed the idea, as she had met nobody in first class.
SiennaSienna took a last glance at herself in the full-length mirror before heading down to the dining hall where she was meeting her parents for dinner.
She took a seat at one of the round tables, next to her mother. She glanced at the people sharing a table with her. There was an older couple, stuffy looking people in formal wear. Then there was Mr. Murdoch, the president of White Starline, chatting to her father. She sighed, wishing there was somebody her own age. Who wasn't black of course. Which was, of course, who she had to sit with. Milo. That was the boy's name. At first Sienna couldn't believe they had even let a black family on, let alone in first class, whether or not they were the richest people from their country. But despite her best efforts, Sienna couldn't help being amused by Milo's jokes, interested in his conversations, and general opinions. She was deeply absorbed in conversation with him when the tiniest fragment of conversation reached her ears. Although she hadn't heard the entire conversation, she could be sure what her father, Johnson, and Mr. Murdoch were yakking about. She tuned out from what Milo was saying and instead listened to her fathers.
"Some one of his colour barely deserves to live, let alone have such privileges, wouldn't you agree Mr. Murdoch" Sienna jumped from her seat.
"These people may be different colored to us, but you have no right to dictate who and what should be granted life!" She didn't wait to hear his answer. She strode out of the room, with Milo following closely behind her.
TobiasTobias positioned his deck chair so that he was out of the sun. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the day.
Tobias let his mind drift, thinking over the last few days. He immediately thought of Harper. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't forget about her.
He must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes next, the sun was on his face. He rolled over, shading his eyes with one hand. People in sun chairs were scattered all over the deck. The closest person to him was a young girl, about his age. She had her hair tucked up under a large brimmed hat.
She was the last thing he saw before he shut his eyes again to block out the suns rays.
HarperHarper turned around, preparing to go back to her cabin. Lying behind her was Tobias. His eyes were closed, blocking out the sun.
"Tobias!" she said. Then she blushed and cleared her throat. She thought she sounded too excited. Tobias was grinning before he opened his eyes.
"Hi! I was trying to find you the other day…" he grimaced. He hadn't wanted her to know that.
"Sorry. I'm on 'E' deck. second class." There was a silence, like when she first met him. Then Tobias broke it with an invitation.
"Can you dance? There's a day time ball or something upstairs in first class, if you want to go." He was grinning already. Harper frowned.
"I've always wanted to go to a ball, but there's no way…" Tobias had shot up from his deck chair, and grabbed her hand. Then he towed her behind as they ran madly for the bottom decks. In the suitcase Cricket had stolen where a couple of suits and an evening dress. Harper couldn't help laughing as people jumped out of the way.
Ten minutes later they were running up to first class, people ducking out of their way as they fled past. They stayed there until the blue sky had faded into an ebony black colour.
Milo"I should be getting back now," Sienna said regretfully. Her and Milo had left the ball held in honour of the maiden voyage of Titanic earlier that afternoon. Sienna was sick of exchanging 'meaningless pleasantries' with the other first class passengers. Her and Milo were sitting in one of the empty lifeboats on the deck. It was pitch black, and they didn't know if they were allowed to be there, but fir the first time in her life, Sienna didn't care. Sienna wasn't sure why she liked Milo, but after the incident at the dinner table, she was determined not to see him the same way as her father, who saw him as a lower life form. She knew she didn't like him in 'that' way, but he amused her, and she enjoyed his company.
They could hear the voices of the lookouts above them. At dinner, she had heard Mr. Murdoch telling her father that the ship had received several ice warnings throughout the evening.
They were facing the dilemma of getting out of the lifeboat when they felt the ship rock. Sienna grabbed the edge of the boat. "What was that?" she asked nervously. "I don't know" Milo answered.
Above them, they called hear the lookouts, their voices urgent, calling out "Iceberg!"
Hallie
Hallie fell over when they hit the iceberg.
"Mum? Dad?" she called out. The only person to answer was Nicky. Her fear of the Titanic sinking as quickly remember, and she grabbed Nicolas and set out to find Harper. Uncertain of where to start looking, she thought of her friend, Tobias. She didn't even close her cabin door when she sprinted out, her four-year old brother balanced on her hip
HarperHarper was tripping over her dress. Tobias was ahead of her, glancing behind every few paces, checking to see she was ok.
"Harper, please, get on a boat." Tobias yelled. The warning had gone out mere minutes ago, while Harper and Tobias were at the ball. "Women and children first." The ship was sinking. Ahead of Harper, Tobias rounded a corner. Harper sped up trying to keep up. Her heel landed on the long fabric, and she skidded until she hit the wall. Her shoulder took most of the shock, but her head cracked against the wall too. Tobias picked her up, and then held her by the shoulders.
"Go and get into a life boat." Tobias said. Harper broke free and ran ahead of him. He caught up, until they were running side-by-side.
"That's my family down there too." She didn't say anything else
SiennaMilo and Sienna were crushed in the middle of a crowd. Slowly, they were making their way to a lifeboat. Sienna was being pushed aside. She lost sight of Milo.
"Sienna!" she heard her name called. She called back. He felt Milo seize her hand before she saw him, standing behind her. They had reached the front of he crowd.
"Please sir, we're only sixteen." The officer loading the boat nodded. Sienna was being helped into the boat, both by Milo, behind her on the ship, and a crewmember already on the lifeboat. It was then that a fight broke out. Sienna's eyes welled. The whole crowd was chanting. Milo shouldn't be allowed on. He was black. She started to get out of the lifeboat, try to explain. But Milo pushed her in. The boat was lowered before anybody heard her scream.
Harper and TobiasHarper waded through water. She had passed Hallie and sent her straight up, to the lifeboats. She was still wiping the tears out of her eyes. Tobias held her hand, half for comfort, half so that she didn't get swept away. The water was up to their knees and still rising. They were still at least five corridors away from Tobias's room, but even the rushing sound of water couldn't drown out the sounds of Cordy's screams. They tried to move faster but they were walking against the flow of the water. Tobias was gasping. He was desperate to get to Cordy. He knew she would be huddled on the top bunk, paralyzed by fear, screaming out for someone to save her. But the corridors were deserted. Tobias felt a sudden wave of hatred towards everyone that had stayed in this corridor. They must have heard her screams. They had left her for dead.
"CORDY!" he screamed out when they came close. The wailing stopped.
"Tobias? Help me please…" Harper felt heartbroken. Cordy had dragged out the word please until it sounded like a plea for life.
"Cordy don't move!" Harper yelled. If Cordy came out into the corridor, she would be swept away. The current was too strong. Tobias and Harper froze in horror. Cordy was holding onto the doorframe, wiping away tears. At the same time she stepped into the hall, a massive surge of water roared down the corridor. Cordy was swept under. So was Harper. She felt her legs swept out from under her. She inhaled water as she was pushed under. It was freezing, colder than ice. She pushed her self up. She was standing behind Tobias. Harper looked down the corridor and felt a hollow pain in her chest. Like someone had ripped a part of her out and hadn't bothered to replace it, leaving her empty and confused.
"Cordy," Harper barely heard the word Tobias had whispered. A tear ran down Harpers face.
"We can't…" she didn't know what to say. How do you tell someone to leave the body of their six-year-old sister, face down in a flooded corridor? She held out a hand. Quicker than before, they waded through the icy water, up to the lifeboats.
Sienna and MiloSienna was crying. People threw themselves off the boat. Some were frozen in the water. Shots had been fired on board. They rowed past dozens of people, begging to be let on. These people were thrown off the edge of the boat. Once they slipped under the water, they didn't resurface. Sienna was trying not to look at the pleading faces in the water. But one stood out.
"Stop!" she screamed. Everyone thought she was mad.
"Please, there is a boy in the water, he's only my age. Please, if we save no one else…" The officer in control of the boat did an amazing thing. He stopped. Then he rowed towards Milo. Every one tried to help pull him in. After twenty minutes of moving slowly, trying not to capsize the boat, they hadn't accomplished anything. No matter how much then tried, the only way to pull him up was to have someone in the water, to push his feet over before he fell. But whoever that person was, they wouldn't be able to get back in. It was suicide. Sienna didn't hesitate. She slid gracefully over the edge, barely rocking the boat. Imminently her breath turned to white mist. She shook all over. This close to Milo she could tell he didn't have long left, maybe not even if he was pulled out from the water. Milo's mouth was moving, but only mist was coming out. He thrashed his arms weakly when Sienna tried to push his feet in.
"Don't. Get back in." The words were so soft Sienna wasn't sure they were real. She cried to herself as the outline of the boat became smaller, until it had disappeared.
Hallie-onboard the "Carpathia"She felt so cold. Hallie drew the blanket around her ears. It didn't take long for the horrible memories of the night before to come racing back. Her brother was dead, pulled under by the current while they were racing towards the top decks, the boats. Harper was missing. So were her parents. Tears slide down her face. She could still see the people, floating in the water, all frozen, most dead. She couldn't escape the memory. Some one put a wet cloth on her head. Slowly, she faded back into darkness.