Overprotective
Chapter VI
Spencer, Adam, Clarissa, and I arrived on deck and heard steam billowing from the smokestacks. It was more than deafening.
I covered my ears, and looked over to see that Adam had clamped his hands to the sides of Clarissa's head.
"What's going on?!" I tried to yell over the sound.
"What?!" Adam yelled to me because he obviously couldn't hear.
I leaned in towards him and yelled again, "I said, what's going on!?"
"I don't know!" he screamed back.
There weren't many people on the deck at the moment. Only a few were strolling around, curiously looking for a clue about what happened.
The steam finally stopped, and we all looked around for the source of this blessing.
"Hey, Mer, isn't that your brother?" Adam asked, pointed towards a group of sailors standing around a boat.
"Yes, it is. I'm going to ask him what's going on." I walked towards Harold, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh, Meredith. How are you?" he asked. His cheeked looked red from the cold.
"I'm fine. Harold, what's going on? I saw the ship hit an iceberg, and they told us to put on lifebelts and come up here. What's this about?"
"Nothing." he answered quickly. "Just a drill, that's all." he looked nervous.
"Harold, I don't think you're being honest with me." I crossed my arms and stared him square in the eye.
"I'm not really supposed to be telling anyone. Our job is to just get as many people as we can off this ship without a panic."
"Panic? Why would anybody panic if it is only a drill?"
He sighed, "Merry, we're sinking."
I froze and my heart stopped. I suddenly had the unpleasant feeling in my stomach of the ground falling beneath my feet, which it actually was slowly but surely.
He grabbed my shoulders, "You can't tell anybody, Merry. It'll create madness."
"But if people don't know, they might not make any effort to save themselves. They need to know something serious is happening."
"Mer, everything will be fine, I promise you. Do not worry. Just take your friends and get onto a boat."
"I know there's only enough boats for half the people. James told me a few days ago. Not everyone can be saved, Harold."
"I'm aware."
"There will be chaos soon, Harold!" I hissed sharply, "When everyone realizes the ship is sinking and there aren't enough boats for everyone, they'll panic sooner or later."
He didn't answer. He looked back at the boat he was near. There were only a few people inside.
"Lower away, men!" I heard the first officer demand from a few feet away.
"Wait." Harold yelled to him, and the men all stopped. "Meredith, please get in. I need to see you get off safely."
I looked into the boat, "Harold, this boat is only half full. There's room for many more. You could save so many more lives."
"Meredith, look around. Nobody seems to want to get in."
"Because they have no idea how serious this is." I looked to Mr. Murdoch, "Sir, please fill this boat to capacity before lowering!"
"We're doing all we can, Miss Lowe." he explained.
"Merry, get in the boat, now." my brother ordered.
"I cannot. I need to find James and some other people first. Then I'll get off." I went to go back to my friends, but Harold grabbed my arm.
"Meredith, please, you must go now. Go get that girl you've befriended and get in the boat. Men can't go yet, but-"
"Then they'll never get off! They'll die, Harold!" I yelled a bit too loudly.
"Meredith, stop it! Get in the boat!"
"No! Let me go!"
"Get in the goddamn boat!"
"No!" I yelled in his face again, and I suddenly felt the sting of his palm slapping my cheek. I brought my hand up to my face slowly and touched the spot, then looked at him incredulously.
"Merry…" he started slowly, "I'm sorry… Mer, I didn't mean it." he held out his arms to pull me in for an embrace.
I pushed his arms away, "Go to hell!" I shrieked and stormed off.
"Meredith!" Adam and Clarissa ran to me, "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just glad to be far away from him." I looked around, "Where's Spencer?"
Adam turned around in a circle, "I have no idea."
"I think he said something about going back to his room." Clarissa said.
"Mer, can you go find him? Perhaps a walk will do you some good. Clarie and I will stay here and find out some information."
I thought about it for a moment. The ship was going to sink, and I wasn't sure if I should tell them yet. I'd go find Spencer and then I'd tell them all what I know. "Alright. I'll be right back. Stay on this side of the ship though so I'm able to find you again."
I walked off towards the first class entrance and went down to B deck.
"Excuse me, miss." a man with grey hair came up to me, "My name is Mr. Lovejoy, and I was wondering if you could help me. My young daughter won't leave our room, and I was hoping you could coax her out for me."
"Oh… Sure, I suppose. I was looking for a friend of mine. Spencer Welch. I'm not sure if you know him, but if you've seen him-"
"I've seen him. I'll help you look for him on the way to my stateroom." he said, and I followed him down the B deck hall.
"So what is your daughter's name?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
"Her name is…" he hesitated for a moment, "Rose."
I looked at him suspiciously. He seemed to be lying, but before I could question him about it, he stopped by a door. "This is my room." he opened the door, and then pushed me in harshly.
"Hey!" I yelled, and then looked to see Mr. Hockley staring at me. "You!"
"Hello, Miss Lowe. Welcome to my room." he said casually.
I looked behind me and saw the man, Mr. Lovejoy, if that was his actual name, was blocking the closed door.
"Why did you have that man bring me here?" I asked, glaring at him angrily.
He came to me, "Nobody insults me and gets away with it." he hissed.
I tried to slap him, but he caught my wrist. He grabbed my other arm and held tight. I tried to pull out of his grip. "Let go of me!"
Lovejoy came over and put his hand over my mouth.
"From what I hear, this ship is going to founder. You will be going with it." he nodded to Mr. Lovejoy, who slipped his hand around my waist, with his hand still over my mouth. I bit him, and he pulled his hand away quickly.
"That was a bad idea, Miss Lowe." he said, and put his hands around me strongly, pulling me backwards into the next room.
I kicked at him, "Let me go!" I yelled as loud as I could.
He dragged me to a door, opened it, and shoved me inside. I hit my head on a porcelain sink and fell the to floor, as I heard the door slam and lock.
"Meredith?" I looked and saw Spencer sitting in the corner. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, Spencer." I lunged to him, throwing my arms around him.
He chuckled and then turned serious, "Are you okay? You just hit your head."
"Yes, I'm fine." I touched the back of my head and hissed slightly.
"Let me see that." he looked at the back of my head, "Just a bump. But you may want to put some ice on it when we get out of here."
"Thank you." I said softly.
"So I take it you're not still mad at me?" he asked.
"No, I'm not. James came and found me, and he told me that you explained it all to him."
"I did."
"If it wasn't for you, he probably wouldn't have spoken to me again. Thank you."
"It was nothing, Mer. I just couldn't stand you being mad at me."
"Well, I'm not anymore."
"Now, how do we get out of here?" he asked me.
"I was about to ask you the same question."
"I've been sitting here the whole time trying to get out. The door is locked tight."
"Why did he put you in here?"
"I don't know. He's never liked me. He was also mumbling something about how he hates his fiance. I assume he's in an extremely vengeful mood."
"Spencer… I need to tell you something, but you have to promise you won't get scared."
He looked at me questioningly. "What is it?"
"Promise first."
"I promise I won't get scared. Now just say it."
"My brother told me that the ship will sink. And unless we find a way out of here, we'll be going down with it."
His eyes widened in terror. "You're joking, right?"
"No, Spence. We need to find a way out of this bathroom quickly."
He stood up and went over to pull on the door handle. "It won't open."
"Of course it won't. It's locked. You knew that already." I stood up too.
He rammed the door with his shoulder a few times.
"Spencer, stop. You're going to hurt yourself." I said, as he stopped and held his sore arm.
"How much time do we have?"
"I'm really not sure. Things didn't look too bad when I was on the deck."
He sighed, "Well, there is one good thing about this."
"What's that?"
"If I die right here, the last thing I'll see is your beautiful face." he stated sheepishly.
"We won't die in here, don't worry." I replied, taken aback by his sweet comment, and trying to calm his fear.
"But what if we do. What if we don't make it out of here?"
"Then that would be quite unfortunate. I don't know. What do you want me to say, Spencer?"
"I really don't know…."
Suddenly I heard a noise followed by footsteps. "Did you hear that?" I looked to Spencer who just put his finger to his lips to prevent me from speaking.
"Hello! Anybody in here?" A voice called from two rooms away.
"Yes! Help! We're locked in the bathroom!" Spencer yelled. In my mind I was praying that he was heard.
"Hello?" the man's voice called as it came closer.
"We're in here!" I yelled loudly.
The doorknob began rattling. "You're locked in here?"
"Yes, we are." I answered.
The door was kicked down, and there stood Mr. Andrews. I'd seen him a few times, and everybody on board knew him.
"Are you two alright?" he asked worriedly.
"Yes, we're fine." Spencer answer, putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me towards the door. The three of us walked into the living room.
"You both should get topside as soon as possible. There's a big drill going on, you know." Mr. Andrews said worriedly.
"Sir, I know this isn't a drill." I stated.
"We're trying not to start a panic, Miss. Who told you about what's going on?"
"My brother, Harold Lowe."
"Oh, I heard he had a sister on board. It's nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Thomas Andrews." he held out his hand to me.
I shook his hand, "I know. I've seen you. I'm Meredith Lowe. This is my friend, Spencer Welch." They shook hands as well.
"Might I ask why the two of you were locked in a bathroom?"
"Caledon Hockley found me and brought me into his room to talk, and then his valet pushed me in there. Then he somehow tricked Meredith in here and they shoved her in too. He doesn't like us very much, but we never thought he'd go that far."
"Oh my. I have had an odd feeling about that man ever since I met him."
"We should be heading for the deck now." I said, remembering the fact that the ship was sinking.
"Yes, you should. Now go, please." Mr. Andrews begged. "God bless you both."
"Same to you." I said softly and took one last look at him as Spencer grabbed my hand and pulled me gently out of the room.
"Where's Adam and Clarissa?" he asked.
"Somewhere on the deck. I told them I'd get you and then go find them again. I left them on the starboard side."
"Let's stop by our rooms first to see if there's anything we should bring with us." Spencer suggested, so we went down the hall. I entered my room, and he entered his. I picked my journal, and then went to my wardrobe to get a coat. I then remembered I lent it to Emma and she left it in the Welchs' room. I grabbed a few small items and went into the hall, shutting my door behind me and then going across to Spencer's room.
"You get everything you need?" he asked, putting on a black coat.
"Yes, I just needed this." I picked up my maroon coat and put it on, placing my journal and small trinkets in the pockets.
"Alright, let's go find the others quickly. We have to leave the ship as quickly as possible." I said, and off we went down the hall.
A young blonde stewardess accidentally bumped into me, and I realized who it was, "Emma!" I yelled and she turned to face me. She looked exhausted.
"I can't talk now, Meredith. I'm busy rousing the passengers." she explained and knocked on another door.
"Emma, I need to talk to you." I walked over to her, Spencer followed behind me.
I waited for her to finish speaking with an elderly couple, and then I made her stop by me. "Em, the ship is sinking." I looked her straight in the eyes.
"Oh, rubbish. The Titanic is unsinkable, you know. She's a fine ship. Very sturdy. I have all the faith in the world in it. This is only a drill, mind you."
"This is not a drill. I heard it from my brother. It doesn't look like a drill to me. You saw the iceberg as clear as I did. Something is wrong, and you know it."
She sighed, "Meredith, I do not have time for this right now. I need to do my job and wake up the passengers." she turned to go to another door.
I grabbed onto her arm, "Emma, do you feel that slight tilt? The ship is listing. We're going to founder."
She searched my face for sincerity. "You're serious? You ain't pulling my leg or anything? The ship is really going down?" she whispered to me, as a few passengers passed by.
"Yes. I think you should go get your coat, and lifebelt. Perhaps a few small items. Then you should get up to the boats. I'm afraid to say there aren't enough for everyone aboard."
"My cabin is down a few decks. Would it be flooded?"
"I'm not sure. Would you like me to accompany you?" I asked, trying to be nice.
"If you'd like."
I nodded and then turned to Spencer. As soon as I opened my mouth so speak, he interrupted me, "No, Mer, I will not go on without you. I'm not just going to leave you down here. Let's go."
And with that, we all traveled down three decks. Emma led us down what felt like a hundred different corridors. I hoped she'd know her own way out.
A young woman with auburn hair came up to Emma, "Do you know what's going on?" she asked.
"Yes, I do." Emma answered, and the girl grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the crowded hall.
"Wait! Emma!" I yelled, trying to push through people. I couldn't lose her here. I had no idea how to get back up to the deck. Spencer was following behind me, also yelling her name. But it was no use. She was gone into the crowd. "Spence," I turned to him, "I have absolutely no idea where we are right now."
"Me either." he confessed. We wandered around this maze of halls, still not getting even a glimmer of hope that we would find our way out. I saw a few clusters of passengers in an array of different outfit. Their clothes was nothing like what I'd become accustomed to over the past few days in first class. "I think we've wandered into steerage." Spencer said from beside me.
There were men, women, and children, and standing around speaking in a variety of languages. Spencer and I made out way towards a crowded stairway.
"They've locked the gate!" I cried.
Spencer put a comforting arm around my shoulders, "I'm sure it will all be fine."
A man approached us carrying a baby. He began to speak in Italian, and Spencer and I could not understand him.
"Sir, I cannot understand you. I do not speak your language." I tried to say. Then the man thrust the baby into my arms, and ran off down the hall. "Excuse me, sir! What do you want me to do with this?! Wait!"
Spencer looked down at the baby in my arms. "Did that man just abandon her with us?"
"Yes, I believe so." I murmured, and held the now crying infant to my chest. "Shush, dearie. Please stop crying. It's all going to be alright." I rocked the child back and forth trying to sooth her.
A piece of paper fell from the child's blanket it was wrapped in. Spencer bent down to pick it up. "I can't read the handwriting too well, plus I think it's in Italian, but as far as I can try to make out from this, the child's name is Lucia, and her father lists a place to find her relatives in America. That's good. At least she won't be homeless."
"What are we going to do about this, Spence?" I looked to him helplessly.
"I really don't know. I guess we'll take her up to the boats."
"How do you suggest we even get to the boats?"
Spencer placed an arm around my waist and led me and the baby through the crowd by the stairs. "Excuse us! Please let this woman through! She has a baby!" he yelled and a few people moved. We made it almost to the top of the stairs. There was a steward standing by the gate. "Sir, please let us through. We need to get to the boats."
"No, I'm sorry, I cannot. Now please go back and wait like you've been told to." The steward responded rudely.
"There's women and children down here that need to get to the boats. This is serious. There's a woman and a baby right here. Please let them through." he begged. "We're not even in steerage. We're first class passengers, if you couldn't tell by our attire."
The man looked us up and down. "Well, how in the world did you end up down here?"
"We're not sure. Just please let us up."
"I can let the lady and the child up, but not you. Men must stay back." the steward ordered as he fumbled for his keys in his pocket.
"Spencer, I'm not going without you. I can't leave you down here. I refuse to." I rambled, "Please, don't make me leave you here." I begged. I couldn't leave without him. He'd helped me out so far, and he was my friend. I wouldn't leave him locked down here to die. But I had the small stranger's child in my arms to think about. No, I couldn't leave Spencer.
"Meredith," he placed his hands on my upper arms, "You must go. I'll find my own way out of here, I promise you. What I need right now is for you to go find Adam and Clarissa. I need you to get that baby to safety, and I want you and Clarissa to board a lifeboat. Please. Do it for me." I've never seen him look so serious. A tear escaped my eye.
"I can't. I don't want to leave you. What if you don't make it out of here?"
"Then I will have died knowing you were safe."
The steward opened the gate and let a few women through. "Miss, are you coming?" he looked to me.
"Yes, she is." Spencer answered for me. "Now go. And tell my family I love them."
I kissed his cheek softly and walked through the gate which was then locked behind me. I took one last look at him.
"Take care of yourself, Mer." he called, and that was the last thing I heard as I made my way down the hall. I brushed away a tear, and hurried up the decks until I reached the boat deck. I still had the now calmed infant held against my chest. "Lucia, we're going to get you onto a boat, alright?" I whispered to her, holding her tightly to keep her warm.
I was on the port side of the ship. I had left Adam and Clarissa on the starboard side. I hoped they wouldn't be too far from where I'd left them, but since it had been a long time since I'd seen them, I doubted I'd find them easily.
I looked over and saw a large mob around a few boats. They seemed to be the last ones on this side. I rushed over to them. My brother Harold was loading people into one, and James was loading people into the other. I pushed through a few people to get near James.
"Miss, please step lively. Quickly, now." he touched my arm and tried to lead me into the boat, but then he saw my face and stopped. "Meredith! I've been so worried about you!"
"I've been worried about you too." I stepped back a step away from the boat.
He looked down at the arms, "Who's child is that?"
"I don't know. Some man in steerage handed her to me. I brought her up here. Could you get her into a boat?"
James held out his arms. "Here, give her to me." I handed the baby to him and he turned around to the boat. "Look after this, will you?" he said as he handed the baby to a stewardess. He grabbed my hand gently and said "Well, come on. Get in."
"I cannot. I need to find my friends. I'll get off in another boat though. Don't worry."
"I can't leave my spot right now. There's too much to do. But I'd come with you if I could. I need to make sure you leave safely."
"Are you going to leave?" I asked.
"Of course. Only a fool would stay here now."
I kissed him softly, not caring who watched. "I'll go find my friends, get on a boat, and I'll find you again as soon as I can."
"Promise?"
"Of course." I attempted to smile.
We both looked over at the other boat as we heard gunshots and screams. Harold was in the descending boat, firing a revolver. "Now don't any other man try that or this is what he'll get!" he screamed angrily. I looked at him and could see terror reflected in his eyes. He was frightened, which was understandable.
He saw me standing by Jim, "Meredith! I'm sorry!"
I didn't respond.
"James, please get her on a boat!" he called as his boat descended out of view.
I turned to James. "I'm going to find my friends, and get on to a boat."
"Be careful." he said worriedly, and with that I walked off, heading for the starboard side of the ship.
Thanks for reading chapter 6. I have a snow day right now in NJ. It's great. Anywho, please review. I'll greatly appreciate it. The ship is still sinking. Oh no! What will happen? You'll have to read chapter 7 to find out. It will be posted soon. Thanks. Love, Kell.