A/N: Hey thanks for all the reviews. Sorry that we killed off everyone in Don't Look Back, but I have to admit, it was pretty funny, yet sad. Don't worry, I'm not in a killing mood with this story…or am I?
Chapter 8
Adrian and I swam farther down into the ship, trying to avoid Krissy. I was pretty sure she had given up on following us, but we still headed down just in case. Finally, we stopped and caught our breath. Adrian was bent over, hands on his knees when he spoke, "Sorry about her Lark. She's a real pain in the ass sometimes."
"You'd think she would learn to take disappointment better." I answered, then thought I heard a voice down the hall, "Did you hear that?"
Adrian said he did and we decided to venture down there and find out if there was someone in trouble. The hall was dim and water sloshed around our waists as we approached a half open door. Adrian put his hand on my shoulder to signal to me to stay back. He slowly popped his head through the door and squinted in the low light.
"Oh my God." He gasped.
"What?" I asked dreading what he would say.
"I think it's Alex."
I pushed past him and entered through the door. What I saw next was dreadful. Alex was trapped under a fallen bookcase, her head barely over the top of the water.
I immediately went over to her, "Are you okay Alex?" My voice cracked.
She breathed heavily, "Ahh, my wrist hurts. Get me out." Then her eyelids flickered closed.
Adrian and I used all our strength to lift the heavy mahogany shelf off of her. I was glad that we got to her when we did or else she may not have made it out alive.
"Careful, don't move her yet." I cautioned to Adrian. I felt terrible. This was all my fault. I should have tried to find Alex, but I believed she had gotten on a life boat.
Reading my mind, Adrian put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "It's not your fault. Everything's going to be okay."
"What are you basing that off of?" I almost sobbed, then bent down and engrossed myself in trying to keep Alex's head level. Her skin was very pale and as I looked at her wrist, I knew it was probably broken.
"Alex, can you hear me." I tried to bring her back into consciousness. She opened her eyes a tiny bit and murmured, "I feel sick."
"Alex, listen to me. Don't go to sleep. Stay awake."
"I am…." She replied and then trailed off. Alex blacked out again.
The water was rushing in now and we both carried her up as far as we could, periodically taking breaks.
"We're not going to make it." I blurted out. This was taking way too long to carry Alex up. Soon the water would overtake us.
"Just gotta keep going." Adrian breathed, "Wait we could use that food cart over there!" He pointed and went over to get a metal trolley. Alex was lifted onto it and we both pushed it down the hall, making much more progress than before.
Alex woke up soon and I tried to calm her down and tell her she would be fine. She explained that she went down below decks to look for me and Adrian, when the bookshelf pinned her down. She never even saw it coming.
"Alex, I'm sorry. I should have tried to find you before this happened."
"It's okay. You found me anyway. And here I was going to go rescue you."
At long last, we managed to get back onto the decks.
"Are there any life boats?" I asked scanning the area.
"Over here." Adrian called through the commotion. With Alex leaning on my shoulder, we headed over to the boat.
"Hey wait." Adrian called to the crew man who was loading the orange plastic raft, "We've got three more."
The man stopped untying the ropes and called, "Hurry up."
Adrian lifted Alex and set her in the already crowded safety device. I was about to get in with him when there was an earsplitting crack. Then I felt the ship roll an unnatural way and myself get yanked in a different direction. Screaming filled my ears and I tumbled and slid down the deck. My head smashed into something hard and metallic, and there was the unmistakable bitter taste of blood in my mouth.
"Alex! Adrian!" I called. The world seemed to be tipping in front of me and I was sliding towards a giant fault splicing the cruise ship in two. My eyes grew wide as I saw that now there were two halves of the ship. My hands flew around me as I tried to find something to grab onto so I wouldn't fall in. Other people were going the same way I was. Screaming, they seemed to be dragged by an invisible force down into the crevice.
My legs his something soft and I realized it was another person holding onto the railing. I managed to grab a hold of it too and stop myself from going down the world's longest slide. After I somewhat figured out what was going on around me, I began to make my way up, pulling my body up and using the railing as a ladder.
The ship seemed almost vertical. It bobbed up and down like a small toy in a bathtub. All the lights went out and the dangerous night enveloped everyone. I could only here the hundreds screaming as they began to lose strength and let go, plunging to their deaths. How did I end up here? That was all that ran through my mind as I tiredly climbed the railing up? I had no idea where Alex or Adrian were. I just prayed that they were safe.
I exhaustedly pulled myself up onto the bow of the broken ship. Someone helped me up, taking my hands and making sure I didn't fall. When I had enough energy to look up, I saw it was Adrian through my tangled and wet hair.
"Lark!"
I embraced him on top of the ship, feeling weak and shaking.
"Adrian. What's happening?" I exclaimed feeling terrified. My hands gripped the small white railing and I realized that my life was so fragile. Anything could push us off and cause us to fall to our deaths.
"The ship is about to go down. Lark, we have to stay on here for as long as possible. The suction will bring us down. Here." He took of a life jacket he was wearing and gave it to me.
Weakly, I took it and put it on. Vaguely I thought he would need one too, "Adrian, I love you." I said quickly, fearing that it may be the last time I would speak to him. He wrapped an arm around me and we both waited for the ship to get pulled down. I watched in horror as others around me lost their grip and let go. They fell fast, some hitting poles and other objects that stuck out.
The sea seemed an immensely long way down. As if on queue, the ship began to sink down into the ocean. The black water rose up, taking the ship into it. My stomach dropped beneath me as we lowered in altitude. The gulf rose alarmingly fast, consuming the ship.
"Hold your breath, Lark. When the water takes the ship it will suck us down so swim to the surface." He took my hand, "Don't let go."
"I won't. I'll never let go." I told him over the roaring noise.
The water was getting closer, now I could see the white foam splashing up. Closer it came and it grew louder. It was almost upon us. We had been outrunning it long enough. Now it would finally catch us.
I took a deep breath and then felt the cold liquid wash over me and the current yank me down into the deep.
A/N: I'm almost done with this story, maybe one or two more chapters. Chinchillas are friends not furs! Fight the power, don't let the government spy on you! And Alex finally came back! I didn't forget about her! Unlike how Jack forgot about Fabarizio. (sp?)
