An Ocean Between Us

As All the Stars Go Out

Delly screamed in shock and was nearly thrown from the stairs, the hose going taut as the rushing water tried to suck Thom and Madge away. Fuck, fuck! I can't hold on! he thought, his arm howling in pain, nearly wrenched out of its socket by the force of the water.

"Don't let go, don't you dare let go, Thom!" Delly shouted and he watched in shock as she sat down on the stairs, bracing her legs on the railing and pulled.

"Come on Thom, kick!" she yelled, voice strained and Thom closed his eyes. Come on, you can do this, you can do this! He could barely feel his legs but he kicked anyway, keeping his eyes focused on Delly. He was so tired and he wasn't sure he was actually moving at all, but he looked at her, the effort written in the scrunches of her nose, the clenched teeth and he couldn't give up now. We're going to make it.

The water around him continued to rush down the hall and his slow, foggy brain began to form coherent thoughts, one particular one lighting up his mind. If all the water goes down the hall, it'll lower here, at least for a little while. I just have to hold on a bit longer. The arm holding Madge was steadily growing number, so much so he had to keep looking back to make sure he was still holding her and his other hand had slipped on the hose, the rim of the spout digging into his skin. He was almost glad, the pain penetrating the mist that seemed to be slipping through his senses.

"I've almost got you!" Delly was saying and Thom wasn't sure he believed her, but the water was going down, his feet actually able to touch the ground. It wouldn't last long, soon the hall would fill up and all the water would come spilling back towards him, but it would have to last long enough. He squeezed the hose as tight as he could and began to walk, each step shooting agony up his legs. Delly continued to reel them in, her arms shaking and together they made progress, slow though it was. We're going to make it. I won't die here, I won't. The water was inching upwards again, slowly but surely, the ocean crawling up his body. Almost there, almost there.

"Got you!" Delly exclaimed, letting go of the hose and grabbing his arm. He sagged into her and she heaved him up the stairs, his feet slipping and sliding on the sodden carpet. He collapsed when they reached the next floor, Madge prone beside him. Delly bent over her immediately, face white with fear but set with determination.

"We have to get the water out of her lungs," she said and Thom wanted to answer but his tongue felt frozen inside his mouth, his teeth chattering. He closed his eyes and God, he was so cold. All he wanted to do was sleep, just rest a little while…

Shaking hands grabbed his face and then chilly lips met his in an urgent kiss, a surge of heat rushing through his blood. Thom felt his eyes go wide and even through the cold, he could feel himself starting to thaw.

"Stay with me, Thom, stay with me," Delly begged, her fingers squeezing his cheeks and he nodded.

"Sorry," he whispered and she shook her head before turning back to Madge.

"You're going to be okay Madge, I swear," she said, voice shaking and he nodded.

Please be okay

Gale looked frantically at every face, desperate to see Madge and Thom. Where are you? The deck was crowded with terrified passengers, the air thick with their screams and tears. Lifeboats continued to lower down to the ocean and Gale felt a tight ball of fear growing in his stomach.

We're running out of time.

Madge came back to the world with a searing pain in her throat, a thudding ache in her chest and a sickly sort of fear filling up her mind. She turned on her side and coughed and retched and felt as if all of her organs were trying to force their way out of her. There was a hand on her back, a voice saying soothing words she couldn't recognize and finally, one thought settled in her head. I'm not dead. Madge rolled onto her back and panted, her whole body quaking.

"It's okay, you're okay," Delly's voice came to her and hands rubbed her arms. Madge forced open her eyes and for a moment she was blind, her eyes stinging, before everything slid into focus. Delly was leaning over her, sopping wet and tearful in relief. It was her hands trying to warm Madge up and Thom was slumped against a wall behind her, his breathing shallow. Delly helped her sit up and Madge felt heavy and waterlogged, her body still wracked with wet coughs.

"We're okay, we're okay," Delly kept saying and are we? All three of them were soaked and freezing and from the corner of her eye, Madge could see the water climbing up the staircase beside them. We need to get out of here. Inhaling deeply, Madge struggled up, even though it felt like there were weights tied to each of her limbs. It took all her effort to get her body to cooperate and she used the wall to claw her way up, an angry, hot pain flooding through her. There was a room just to the right of her, its door left ajar and Madge staggered over, leaning heavily against the wood paneling of the hall. Panting heavily, she stepped inside.

"Madge?" Delly called and Madge returned, her arms burdened with blankets stripped from every bed.

"Here," she said, dropping one by Delly. She tossed the other one at Thom and then wrapped herself up tight, cold water still dripping to the floor beneath her feet. She fell back against a wall to catch her breath, her lungs still aching, while Delly wrapped herself up and stood. Thom followed suit on unsteady legs, swaying for a moment before he draped his own blanket around himself, his expression clearing. Delly moved to his side and they huddled together for added warmth, Madge pushing off the wall and squeezing in beside them. The three of them started moving up the slanted hallway, the floor tilting worse and worse.

We'll make it. We will.

They stumbled their way to another staircase and began to climb, up, up, up.

Eventually we'll reach the boat deck, she assured herself but still, there was a tiny voice in her head she couldn't quite quiet.

What then? it whispered and Madge didn't answer.

(she couldn't)

Gale pushed through the crowd, his heart trying to burst its way outside of his chest. The deck was slowly dipping below the water, the other end starting to rise ominously, the numbers of available were lifeboats dwindling and still, he hadn't found Madge and Thom.

I'll see you soon, I love you, he'd promised his siblings and he could see their faces in his mind as they were lowered down to safety, Rory with his teeth clenched and fighting tears, Vick sobbing into his hands, Posy bawling and reaching for him. His heart squeezed painfully as it had then and he remembered Katniss staring at him, a silent promise in her eyes. I'll look after them. His mother had touched his cheek and he had smiled, filled his voice with false bravado as he'd tried to reassure them. I'll be fine, he'd said, I'll find some other way off.

Now, standing here on a sinking ship as people wailed around him, he was beginning to think maybe he wouldn't.

Gale closed his eyes, could feel fear starting to ravage his every cell and fought down the urge to sob, puke, collapse.

God, God, I'm going t-

"Gale!"

Madge's chest felt tight, breathing was getting harder and harder but still she pushed on, refused to give into the panic trying to swallow her up. Almost there, we have to be almost there. She was fighting gravity as she climbed up the stairs, the ship titled so far back her hands clutching the railing were the only thing keeping her from falling. Delly and Thom were just ahead of her, their pace slowing and she couldn't tell if it was because of exhaustion or fear. Don't give up now, she pleaded to their backs and her fingers were starting to numb from squeezing the rail so tight. We're so close, we're so close.

And then, she heard it.

Voices, cranks, fireworks.

The boat deck.

Madge felt adrenaline surge through her and we're almost there! All three of them began to run, a drunken sort of relief sweeping over them and making them giddy.

"Holy shit!" Thom shouted, both jubilant and disbelieving as he burst out of the stairwell onto the deck. He turned back to Delly right behind him and watched as her foot landed on the trailing hem of her blanket. Both their eyes widened simultaneously and she slipped, Thom watching her fall back as if in slow motion. He lurched forward but would never catch her in time and she screamed, the sound drowned out by the chaos all around them.

Madge did not hear Thom's holy shit, barely heard Delly's terrified shriek but she did see Delly falling backwards toward her, a hot flash washing over her.

Oh no.

She had one second to brace herself, her hands tightening on the railing and then Delly collided with her, her head snapping back into Madge's chin. Madge bit her tongue and tasted blood, her body yelped in sudden pain and her arms shook, barely maintaining their grip after the impact.

"Fuck! Delly, are you okay?" Thom said in fear, clambering back down and Delly couldn't find her footing, feet tangled up in her blanket. Madge could feel her arms screaming as she held on, gravity and Delly's weight trying to force her down the stairs. Hold on. HOLD ON. This isn't what beats us. No way.

"I've got you," Thom said, one hand holding the railing and the other helping Delly up. "Come on," he coaxed and Delly swayed, eyes a bit unfocused. He pulled her up the stairs, hoping that collision had only dazed her temporarily and Madge felt only a minute relief as Delly's weight left her, her arms so strained she could barely keep them from letting go. Only a few more steps, I can do this.

Madge closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then let go.

She sprinted up the stairs and knew her arms never would have held out if she tried to go slow. Her momentum took her part way up and then she began to feel herself pulled backwards, balance starting to be lost. No, no! I'm so close! Madge threw herself up the last few steps and crashed out onto the deck, her heart racing. She landed on knees, arms uselessly folding up beneath her and spat out blood, her body vibrating all over. We made it, we made it. Thom helped her up, one of his arms around a still unsteady Delly and that's when Madge saw him.

Gale

Madge felt as if the world had stopped and all she saw was Gale, every other face blurring. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open and her heart beat even faster somehow, all her exhaustion disappearing and replaced with a desperate need to be with him.

"Gale!" she shrieked, moving without thinking. She began to shove through the crowd, eyes fixed on him and he was so close, so, so close.

"Gale!" she shouted again and he turned, the despair on his face changing into relief.

"Madge!" he yelled and then he was coming towards her, the both of them fighting to be back together.

"Gale, Gale, Gale," she said and then they met, fire erupting under her skin and burning away every fear. Her arms pulled him as near she could, bodies pressed tightly together and she never wanted to let go, never ever ever. You're okay, we're okay. Her fingers clutched at his jacket, her face pressed into his shoulder and his hands were cold and shaking on her back, warm tears dripping from his cheeks to her skin.

"I found you," he choked into her neck and she nodded, half laughing, half sobbing. He kept repeating himself, over and over, and for this one perfect moment, nothing seemed as terrible as it had before. She breathed him in, let his presence heat her shivering bones and then kissed him urgently, desperately, tasting the salt of both their tears.

"Gale!" Thom's voice interrupted and she pulled back, Gale's arms still keeping her near.

"Thom?"

Madge looked behind her and Thom was hurrying over, a smile just starting to touch his mouth. He dragged Delly after him and Gale reached out with one hand for his friend, the other still snug around Madge's waist. They all met in a messy sort of hug, the four of them taking a second to relish in this fragile reunion.

If we're going to die, at least we'll do it together.

"We need to find a lifeboat," Gale said and a little of that despair she'd seen on his face started to creep back into his voice. Madge looked around and she couldn't see a single one, the side of the boat entirely devoid of any means of escape. She felt her stomach drop, her breathing quickening.

"There's got to be one somewhere," Thom said, voice thick with determination (and maybe a little hysteria). Gale nodded and took Madge's hand, ready to set out in search. We'll find one, we have to.

"Are you trying to find a lifeboat?"

Madge barely heard it over all the noise, but she turned and there was a boy just behind her, perhaps her age with blond hair and very blue eyes. She nodded.

"Yes, yes, do you know where we can find one?"

"On the other side of the ship. We just put my mother on one, if you hurry I'm sure there'll be some left."

"Thank you. Thank you," she said, reaching forward to squeeze his arm. He smiled sadly.

"Hurry," her whispered and Madge turned back to Gale, tugging on his hand to get his attention.

"There are boats on the other side, but we need to hurry," she told him and he nodded.

"Right. Thom! This way!" he called and spun on his heel, pulling her swiftly through the crowd. Thom came running after them and Madge reached for his hand, catching his sweaty fingers with hers. She cast a last look at that blond boy and he watched them leave, a resigned sort of melancholy colouring his face. We just put my mother on one he'd said, but then, why hadn't he gotten on too?

"Look, over there!" Gale said and Madge followed his eyes and forgot all about that boy. A lifeboat, oh God, we're going to make it. Madge nearly tripped over her own feet as they ran, safety almost in reach. It's going to be okay, we're going to be okay. They were almost there, pushing through a clump of men she was too excited to think about and that's when she heard it, the words that drowned out everything else.

"Women and children only!"

AN Hi! If I didn't answer your review, I'm very sorry but my organisational skills were a little off and I completely forgot which ones I'd answered and which I hadn't. Whoops. Sorry!