Cassidy woke to the sound of an unpleasant yet faint screeching noise. She quickly sat up, Tommy groaning slightly but not waking. She glanced around the room and then felt a shudder.
What was that? The ship seemed to have stopped. She slowly stood up and walked out to the hall. She looked to her right. A few other people were poking their heads out of their doors, looking tired and confused. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, though. Then she turned to her left and gasped. Further down the hall was a steady flow of water, creeping up towards where the rooms were. Casssidy rushed back into the room.
"Tommy!" She exclaimed, hurriedly throwing on her dress. He sat up immediately, arms trying to reach for her.
"Huh?" His eyes were trying to adjust to the bright light of the switch Cassidy just flipped. "Whazzgoingon?"
"Tommy," she strode over to him quickly and started to drag him out of bed. "We need to move."
"Why?" He complained, still blinking groggily.
"There was a shudder...and I think we hit an iceberg, Tommy!" Cassidy was a little annoyed that he wasn't taking her seriously.
" 'Ship's unsinkable, Cass," Tommy murmered and rolled back over to the other side of the bed.
"Tommy!" Cassidy exclaimed. "There is water creeping up the hall as we speak, we need to GO."
"What?" Tommy shot out of his bunk, throwing clothes on as well. He stumbled out of the door, closely followed by Cassidy. He saw the water and groaned.
Quickly, he came back into the room and grabbed two sweaters. He threw one to Cassidy and ran back out into the hall.
"Tommy–"
"Let's get the hell out of here," Tommy said urgently, pulling the sweater on over his head and pushing it down. If the situation wasn't so urgent, Cassidy would admire this factor– "Put that sweater on, it might be cold updeck, Lass."
She nodded and pulled her own sweater over her head with the help of Tommy. It was warm and soft and smelled of Tommy...that is, Guinness and tobacco and happiness. Cassidy shook that thought of her head. This could very well be an emergency. Tommy grabbed her hand and they quickly headed up the hall, following other people who had the common sense to leave the instant they noticed the water.
They stopped abruptly, though, when they reached the stairs. A small crowd had gathered, but the gate was locked with an officer standing on the other side telling everyone to calm down and that they would open the gate eventually. Tommy began pushing through the crowd, dragging Cassidy with him.
"Let us through," he demanded. The officer stared back at him with contempt.
"No. Captain's order's."
"Captain's orders? It's the captain's orders to have all these men and women die down here without even bothering giving us a chance?" Tommy argued angrily. Cassidy glanced back. The crowd was getting larger and more animated.
"No..."
"Let us up so we have a chance to live, ye limey bastard! The ship's bloody sinking!"
Cassidy had to admire the officer's ability to keep a straight face and be devoid of emotion. She would have been cowering in fear on the recieving end of these words. Tommy was a force of nature.
"Get back!" The man yelled. People were crying and screaming and pulling on the gate.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE, THERE ARE WOMEN AND CHILDREN DOWN HERE!" Tommy yelled, completely fed up, pulling Cassidy closer to him.
The man looked conflicted. Then he cracked.
"Fine. Women and children only!" He called, fumbling with his keys. He swung the gate open and Cassidy was immediately shoved through and fell past the officers. She heard yells and knew chaos ensued behind her so she turned and ran towards the stairs. She stopped and saw the gates had been shut again and the officer was waving a pistol.
Tommy was still stuck behind the gate. Cassidy took a step forward, but Tommy shook his head and gestured for her to go. One officer noticed and looked back at her. He didn't seem to find her a threat and turned back to the mob below him.
Go, Tommy mouthed. I'll meet you up on the deck.
Cassidy shook her head. He could die down there, the water was rising steadily and the gate didn't look like it would open again anytime soon.
Go. Tommy gazed at her. Luck of the Irish.
Cassidy felt a tear fall down her cheek, smiling despite herself at his argument. I love you, she mouthed.
He nodded and gave her a sad smile. Love ye too.
She turned and hurried up the stairs, hearing Tommy yell at the officers behind her. She looked back once more to see Tommy's furious face fall behind the crowd of people. This sight alone nearly caused her to turn back, but she steeled her nerve and ran up the stairway.
She needed to get to a lifeboat. It would be easier for Tommy to survive if she was safely out of the way. When Cassidy reached the top deck, she didn't see any open lifeboats in her area. Everything was falling to peices before her eyes. People were screaming and crying and trying to force their way onto boats.
But what terrifed Cassidy the most was the bow of the Titanic–nearly halway under water.
A/N short chapter I know, but it's more of a filler for the next chapter, in which we will have *gasp* drama.