AN: We catch up with Bob, Mark, and London at the start of this chapter. I own nothing except my OC's. Enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen: Despair and Hope
Bob, Mark, and London were making progress. They had managed to make their way as far towards the bow as they could get on deck 7 before they had run into a dead end.
"Now what?" London asked.
"I don't see any way for us to go up here…we may have to go down and then try to find another way up" Bob said.
"Down! But that's where the water is flooding in from!" Mark said.
"Do you see any other way? I mean, we could go back the way we came but…" Bob began.
"Oh no, I am not crawling back through that stuff we just crawled through" London said firmly.
"London, no matter where we go from here, you're gonna be crawling over or under more stuff, you can count on that" Bob said.
London didn't say anything in response.
"Bob, doesn't it seem to you like the ship is tilting forward towards the bow?" Mark asked.
"Yeah, it does now that you mention it" Bob said as he noticed the slant in the ceiling they stood on.
"Well, if the ship is sinking by the bow, and we keep heading forward, then when we do eventually make it to the hull..." Mark began.
"...it might be underwater" Bob finished with a sigh as he thought for a moment.
A sudden series of explosions rocked the ship and threw the trio off their feet for what seemed like the hundredth time. Bob looked back in the direction they had just come in time to see the floor above them collapse, sealing off the corridor.
"Well, there's our answer…" Bob said as the noise died down "…even if we wanted to go back we can't now…" he said.
"I guess our best bet now is to do like you suggested, try and find a way down and then back up from there" Mark replied. Bob and London nodded in agreement.
They began looking for a stairwell, a hatch, anything that they could go through to descend down to the deck below. As they searched, even though he knew it was a lost cause, Bob walked over to the collapsed section of deck to see if there was any way they could get through it. As he was inspecting it he noticed something. The thickness of the deck that had fallen down looked surprisingly thin.
Thin enough to smash through if I only had an…
"Mark, London! Look for an axe! There has to be a fire hose around here somewhere and maybe there is an axe!" Bob suddenly exclaimed, finishing his thought.
They frantically searched through their small section of deck 7 they were now trapped in, which included a crew lounge and a pair of restrooms. As if sent from heaven above just for them, London spotted the handle of a fireman's axe sticking out from under a small pile of debris and brought it back to Bob.
"Good job London!" Bob said taking the axe from her.
He then led the others back down the corridor to where the collapsed section of deck was and began swinging. He quickly learned that, due to the angle of the collapsed deck in relation to himself, he wouldn't be able to get a solid hit on it. He tried a few other positions but quickly realized they were not going to be able to cut through and head back the way they'd come.
"Looks like we're back the original plan…we'll have to go down" Bob said. He assumed that the deck they were standing on would be the same thickness as the one that had collapsed.
They returned to the area near the dead end and Bob picked out a spot that he hoped would be the best place to try and cut through. He took a big swing and slammed the axe down as hard as he could on the ceiling beneath him. Plaster shards and paint chips went flying as Bob continued swinging. Eventually Bob tired and leaned against the wall. He had made some progress as the trio now saw the wooden ribs that made up the distance between the ceiling of deck 7 and the floor of deck 6. Mark was unable to swing to the axe because of the damage to his arm. Bob looked at London.
"You think you could do some damage London?" Bob asked, breathing hard.
London rubbed her arms and did her shoulders in a circular motion before she answered.
"You bet, I'm gonna put all my anger at being trapped down here into it!" she said.
Bob handed her the axe, not expecting the thin girl to be able to do much, and stood out of the way. London effortlessly hefted the axe up and over her head and slammed it down into the hole Bob had begun. Much to Bob and Mark's astonishment, huge shards of wood began to fly up from the hole. London swung the axe again, and again, and again. Bob and Mark shielded their eyes from the splinters flying through the air. After a few more swings London had punched through to deck 6. London dropped the axe through the hole and turned to look at the guys, covered head to toe in wood pieces.
"Okay let's not ever really make her mad huh Mark?" Bob said.
"Agreed" Mark said, his jaw on the floor.
Bob lay on the floor next to the hole and put his head though it as London and Mark held his legs. The emergency lights were out on deck 6 and he could hear the sound of water spraying from somewhere in the direction of the stern. Bob pulled his head back out of the hole and looked up at the others.
"We're gonna need flashlights, the power is out down there" he said.
Mark and Bob returned to the crew lounge where London had located the axe and Mark found a flashlight inside the locker of one of the crew members. When they returned to the hole, London was nowhere in sight.
"London?" Bob called out.
"London where did you go?" Mark chimed in.
In response they heard nothing but the low groaning sounds of the ship. Suddenly London was behind them, causing both of them to jump with a start.
"Hey guys, I went in to use the bathroom and not only did someone put the sign for the door upside down, but they put all the toilets and sinks upside down too! How is anyone supposed to go in a bathroom like that?" she said to them as they spun around to face her.
"London, the entire ship is upside down remember?" Bob said pointing to the floor, which was the ceiling.
"Oh yeah" London said as a horrified look replaced the slightly miffed look she had had a moment before.
"Let's go" Bob said shaking his head and moving over to the hole with Mark.
"You think it's amnesia?" Mark asked Bob in a whisper only the two of them could hear.
"No Mark, it's London" Bob replied.
London came over to join them and then, deciding to go first, dropped down through the hole to deck 6. She landed with an "oomph" as it was a considerable distance but quickly informed Bob and Mark that she was okay. Next, Bob tossed the flashlight to London and then did his best to lower Mark, by his good arm, as far down as he could until he had to let go and London caught him. Then Bob dropped though and was also cushioned somewhat by London. Bob turned on the flashlight and shined it aft. Sure enough a spray of water was coming through a wall of debris in the direction of the stern. Bob swung the light back towards the bow and saw to his relief that there was a clear path for them to go.
"Okay, let's try to go forward as little as possible. Keep looking for a way up" Bob said and the trio started off again.
... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...
The elevator shuddered down, stopped, then squealed down rapidly. The rope Zack clung to was snapped when the elevator fell past the open doors to deck 5 and he plummeted down the shaft into the water. The elevator seemed to be falling after him just as fast but it caught again at the last second, stopping just above the opening to deck 4. Zack fought to keep his head above water as it poured in on him from the opening above. The few remaining emergency lights in the shaft between himself and the bottom of the elevator was barely enough to illuminate Zack's surroundings. He could see that he was about 8 feet shy of being able to force his way back into deck 4. Above him he could hear Cody and Max screaming for him from the other side of the elevator car.
Zack realized that if the elevator let go it would hit him, fill with water, and push him down deeper in the flooded shaft. He would certainly be killed. There was no way he could climb the 8 feet up the ladder and make a jump back into deck 4 while the water was still pouring out of it.
His only option was to wait…to tread water until the shaft filled up enough and lifted him level with deck 4, praying all the while that the elevator held where it was until he could get out of its way. He looked up at the ominous car above him.
Please, just wait! he thought towards it.
On deck 5 Cody was frantic. He knelt at the opening, looking at the bottom of the elevator car which now separated him from his twin. For all he knew Zack had been hit by the car and knocked unconscious.
"There has to be something we can do!" Cody cried out, his voice strained from screaming Zack's name after the car first fell.
Max looked around, just as frantic, scanning the immediate area for…what? What could she possibly find that would allow her to remove this large elevator car from between them and Zack? She had never felt so helpless…
Zack waited, swimming as hard as he could as the water swirled him in circles like he was in a slow moving toilet bowl. The water rose quickly and he was now only 2 or 3 feet from being level with the opening to deck 4. Each time he passed beneath the waterfall coming from the opening, it pushed him down and he had to swim even harder to return to the surface. When his head was above water he kept his eyes glued to the elevator car perched above him. Occasionally it would rumble and shriek but it held firm.
One more foot to go… Zack thought, flinching every time the car made a noise.
Finally the water in the shaft reached the opening to deck 4. The water coming out of deck 4 seemed to equalize and slow when it made contact with the water that was already in the shaft and Zack quickly swam through the opening. At that moment the car let go and slammed into the water behind him, creating a wave that slammed him up against the wall across from the elevators. Zack was now in total darkness, listening as the water filled the elevator car. All he could do now was hope the car wasn't stuck again. His only hope was for the weight of the water to pull the car down further, past the opening, so he could escape back into the shaft and climb up to where Max and Cody were.
With nowhere for the water to go now, deck 4 began to fill rapidly around him so that he soon found himself once again having to swim to keep his head from going under.
He fought back intense panic as he treaded water all alone in the dark as he listened to the groans of the dying ship.
Something bumped his leg and he instantly knew it was one of the corpses from the other elevator. That pushed him over the edge. He swam towards the elevator car and pounded on it with his fists, kicked at it with his feet, trying everything he could think of to get it to fall and not having any success. Deck 4 was now nearly full to its floor and Zack screamed in terror, realizing that his life was about to end.
Just then Poseidon let loose with another round of explosions...
As Cody continued to kneel at the opening of deck 5 fearing the worst, the explosions started again. Max grabbed the back of Cody's shirt to keep him from falling into the shaft. As the explosions stopped Cody heard a tremendous noise from high above and watched in awe as the entire hydraulic mechanism for the elevator came falling down the shaft. He scurried back from the opening just as the heavy machinery came screaming past and slammed into the elevator car below…
Just as the water reached Zack's chin the explosions ceased and he heard a low, lasting rumble from above. Suddenly the car in front of him disappeared with a deafening sound and he was launched forward into the shaft by the force of the water falling into the void. He held his breath and found the access ladder. Judging by how far he had been pushed down into the shaft he knew he would have about 20 feet to go before he broke the surface again. Hand over hand he shot up the ladder. As his lungs screamed for air, he resolved that there was no way he was going to die and leave Cody and Max alone.
Cody sat in utter despair. If Zack wasn't dead before, after what he'd just seen, he was sure he was now. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the water now rising above the opening to deck 4. He saw no sign of his brother and put his head between his knees and began to sob. Max, beside him, was just as distraught. But then they heard a splash of water and both looked up to see a sight they never expected to…Zack was climbing up the ladder as fast as he could.
"Zack!" both of them said in utter astonishment.
"Hey guys, miss me!" Zack replied.
"How did you do that!" Cody asked as Max just shook her head in astonishment.
When Zack reached the level of the opening to deck 5 Max and Cody, Cody using his good arm, used what was left of the rope to haul Zack in. The adrenaline rush both of them had provided them with more than enough strength to get the job done.
As soon as they had pulled him in they all collapsed in a tearful reunion.
"Zack! I thought I'd lost you" Cody cried.
"Shhhh, it's okay, I made it...I promised you I'd make it…" Zack said crying as well.
Max was so overwhelmed she didn't have any words at all. She simply cried tears of joy into Zack's shoulder.
Zack turned his head back to look at the elevator shaft. The water was still climbing.
"Guys, we gotta keep moving…" he said, jumping up and helping the others to their feet.
"Aaaaaaah!" Cody yelled out in pain as Zack absentmindedly grabbed him by his bad arm.
"We have to do something about that arm. Is it broken?" Zack asked.
"No, its just out of its socket at the shoulder" Cody replied.
"So what do we do?" Zack asked.
"I have to somehow pop it back in its socket, but the pain involved is going to be incredible" Cody replied.
After a moment of consideration he walked over to the wall and leaned his bad arm against it. Using his knowledge of anatomy he gritted his teeth and maneuvered the ball of his shoulder joint to the area of the socket.
"Okay, Zack, I need you to run at me and slam into me as hard as you can. Make it happen the first time…this is something I don't want to have to try twice" Cody said.
"Buddy, you sure about this?" Zack asked, not liking the idea at all of being the one to cause so much pain to his twin.
"Yes Zack, it'll pop the bone back in and we don't have a lot of time to discuss it. Max, I'm going to need a sling of some kind after its back in place, see what you can find ok?" Cody replied.
Max nodded and began looking around.
"Ready Zack?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, you?" Zack said sounding very uncertain.
Cody nodded and Zack moved back against the opposite side of the room. He took a run and Cody shut his eyes. This was really going to hurt.
Zack rammed into Cody at top speed. Cody heard the popping sound of his shoulder bone going back into place and immediately saw stars as the most intense explosion of pain he'd ever felt in his life surged from the shoulder area to the rest of his body. He screamed out and would have collapsed to the deck in a heap if Zack hadn't been there to hold him up.
"Did it work, is it back in!" Zack asked in a very distressed tone of voice, indicating he was not dealing very well at all with the amount of pain his brother was in.
Cody nodded and smiled a little smile at Zack. "Let's hope we don't have to do that again" he said. Zack smiled back, calmed a bit as he realized Cody was okay.
Max returned with a large piece of tablecloth from the commons area. She tied it around Cody's neck and Zack gingerly placed Cody's arm inside. In the sling it would be immobilized, allowing the traumatized muscles and joints to begin healing.
"Okay, now let's get going" Zack said.
As they turned to run towards the stern on their former school deck they heard someone calling for help in the opposite direction.