Chapter Sixteen: Collapse
Max climbed up level with deck 6 and spotted the grill cover for the air vent on that deck. She pushed against it several times, trying to pop it off, but it refused to budge. She climbed a bit higher and began kicking at it with her foot. Finally the stubborn cover came off and dropped into the room beyond. She went through the opening and noticed she was in one of the kitchens that comprised that deck.
The scene around her was straight out of a nightmare. Kitchen utensils, appliances, and food of all kinds lay scattered before her on the floor. Fires from the gas stoves emanated from their housings above her head. The temperature was unbearable. Several bodies of the kitchen staff lay scattered around the room. Max gagged from the smell but pressed on through the room. She had to find a way up for the others. There was no way to head aft so she went forward towards the bow. She went through a doorway and rounded a corner, being careful to duck down below the flames when she had to. She was looking for some kind of access back down to deck 5.
They must get the food up to our commons area somehow...maybe some kind of dumbwaiter...hopefully its big enough to allow the boys to climb up Max thought to herself.
As she moved along she had to stop and grab a cloth, wet it using the water trickling down from the floor above, and hold it over her mouth. Even with it the smoke proved to be overpowering.
She moved further forward, to the spot where she figured she would be directly below, now above, where the commons area was on deck 5. She spotted a large closed door with a control panel next to it that indicated up and down. It was too small to be a normal elevator but larger than a standard dumbwaiter. That must be it! Max thought. As she hurried over to it she stumbled and nearly fell after running into someone's feet. She turned and looked down to see chef Paulo laying there dead. Max brought a hand up to her mouth and tears came to her eyes. While she had never lived at the Tipton herself, she had on several occasions gotten to meet the chef and had eaten many of his specialty dishes. He had struck her as such a kind and generous man who could also have somewhat of a temper at times. He knew how much the big guy had meant to the twins, especially Cody. How am I going to prepare him to see this? She thought.
She shook off the thought and turned her attention back to the door. There was a small lever next to the door and she began cranking it. The doors opened easily enough and she peered inside. The dumbwaiter itself was wedged above her in the shaft and, unlike the elevator from before, did not appear to be at risk of falling. Max then looked down and noticed that the shaft appeared wide enough to accommodate the boys, particularly Russell. As she was about to head back to the air vent to inform them she heard a noise and looked closer, squinting down into the darkness. Down where deck 5 was, water was spraying into the shaft from the seams of an identical set doors there and she saw that the shaft was almost flooded to that point.
The commons area must already be completely flooded she thought. Despair enveloped her as she realized this was the only way, other than the air duct, for them to come up.
And Russell can't go that way! She thought. Then an idea struck her.
Maybe they can swim underwater to this shaft!
While hurrying back to the air vent she spotted a square shaped industrial flashlight lying on the ground next to a first aid kit, another rope, and an axe. They had all come flying out of a nearby supply closet when the ship had turned over. She grabbed the flashlight and the rope and made her way back to the vent. She climbed in and began her short decent.
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Huddled next to the air vent opening on deck 5 Cody was beginning to get nervous. By his best estimate Max had been gone almost all of her allotted ten minutes. Zack was staring up into the darkness of the duct as if he was willing his girlfriend to return safely.
"Uh...maybe we should go see if..." Cody began.
"Shhh, I hear something...it's her! She's coming down!" Zack said. The relief in his voice matched the relief that surged inside Cody.
Max reemerged from the duct and Zack gave her a quick hug. He noticed she was sweating profusely and her skin was bright red like she had been in a sauna. She set the rope and flashlight down beside her.
"What did you find?" he asked.
"The kitchens are one deck up. A little ways forward I found a large dumbwaiter shaft that I'm assuming they used to get meals to the different decks. It's bigger than the air duct so everyone should be able to fit..." Max began, glancing at Russell. "Zack, the access for it on this deck must be back that way in the commons" Max said pointing behind them down the corridor in the direction they had just come.
At that moment they noticed the water surging up the corridor towards them.
"Max, it's already flooded back that way" Zack said.
"I didn't see any other way to get from down here up to there!" Max said, obviously frustrated. "Your only option is to swim back into the commons, find the doors to the dumbwaiter, and then crawl up the shaft to deck 6"
Zack made a mental note in his head of the distances involved.
"Are you crazy! It's way to far!" Russell said.
"I hate to admit it, but he's right, it's got to be a hundred feet at least, then I'd have to find the door" Zack began. "Even if Russell and I managed to make it, there is no way Cody would, not with one arm" he finished.
"I don't know what to do then...it's either this or try to force Russell into the air duct!" Max said, desperation apparent in her voice.
"Well...what scares you more Russell? Drowning by trying to swim too far underwater or getting wedged in that duct...and then drowning?" Zack asked.
"You're not actually considering trying to swim that far?" Cody said, turning his brother to face him as another wave of panic threatened to seize him.
"It's up to Russell, whichever way he decides that's the way I'll have to go...you said it yourself we can't just leave him behind Cody" Zack said.
"Yeah, but would he do the same for you!" Cody spat, knowing his twin was right but not liking it one bit.
Russell didn't say anything and just looked at the floor. The water crept towards them even more and Zack finally made the decision.
"Cody, you are going to follow Max up the duct to deck 6, Max...you'll help him along?" Zack said.
"Of course" Max replied.
"Whoa, wait, who made you decision maker!" Cody asked.
"Cody, please, just do it...Max, take him and go" Zack said as Max began pulling his brother away from him toward the air duct.
"Zack! What if you drown!" Cody said, now on the verge of dissolving into a mini freak out as he was led away.
"I haven't let you down yet and I won't now...I'll see you up there, I promise" Zack replied trying to sound as confident as he could.
Cody seemed to calm down a bit as he and Max disappeared up inside the air duct. Zack bent down and picked up the flashlight and rope that Max had brought back with her.
"You ready for this?" Zack asked Russell.
The color in the larger boy's face only paled in response and he looked just as uncertain as Zack felt.
"Here, tie this around your waist...it'll keep us from getting separated. When we go under, follow my lead understand" Zack said.
Russell nodded as he tied his end of the rope around himself.
"How good a swimmer are you?" Zack asked him.
"Actually, swimming is one of the few things I'm really good at" Russell said.
The bully's demeanor had seemed to soften dramatically now that it was only himself and Zack. Zack took this as a sign that maybe Russell's hard edge was just a way he drew attention to himself. Now that there wasn't an audience he had seemed to drop the act.
They waded into the water as they headed back towards the exit to the girl's cabin area. They got as far as they could, eventually treading water, before their heads touched the floor that was slanting down at them from above. As they prepared to go under, Russell spoke up.
"Hey Zack, can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Shoot" Zack replied.
"Why are you doing this? You are risking your life, risking leaving Cody alone, just to help me get out. I've been so rotten to you two...it doesn't make sense" Russell said.
"No, it doesn't make sense, and to be completely honest with you...when we first found that air vent, I thought about leaving you there and going on without you. But I realized I couldn't do that. If I had left you behind then, or let you try this on your own now, and you died, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. It's the kind of person I am. You're right, I could die here and then Cody would be alone...and nothing scares me more than that. But if I do at least I'll have died doing the right thing and I know Cody would understand that" Zack said.
"Well, whatever happens...thanks" Russell said and Zack could tell that such words were not easy for him to say. He came from a completely different upbringing than Zack and Cody.
If they made it out of the ship alive Zack knew they would probably still not like each other, but he doubted very much that Russell would still treat them as he had.
"Ready?" Zack asked as he switched on the flashlight.
"Ready" Russell repled.
"Three deep breaths and then we go on four" Zack said.
They breathed in and out and on the fourth count they both went under.
... . . . ... ... . . . ... ... . . . ...
Max helped Cody out of the air duct on deck 6 and they began making their way forward. Now Cody could see, and feel, why Max had returned to them all sweaty and red. The kitchen was an inferno. After taking this all in, his thoughts went back to his brother and the challenge he knew he was now facing. He hated Russell now more than ever and it made him feel terrible inside. If Zack died while helping...him, Cody didn't know how he would cope. He felt a sense of betrayal that Zack would leave his side while they were in a situation like this. But as he thought about these feelings surging inside himself he suddenly felt guilty and knew he was being selfish. Cody understood why Zack had decided to do what he did. It's how they were raised. Carey had brought them up to know that they should always do whatever they could to help anyone in need. Cody then realized that, wherever she was, their mother would be proud of Zack and that made Cody proud of him too.
Hate is not the answer, and anyway, Zack's not going to die...he promised me Cody thought.
As they were about to enter the room where the dumbwaiter shaft was, Max suddenly stopped as if she had suddenly remembered something. She quickly turned around blocked Cody's view into the room beyond.
"Cody, before we go in there I think there is something I should tell you..." Max said.
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Zack and Russell swam as fast as they could. The corridor was dimly lit by a few remaining emergency lights that amazingly refused to short out. Despite this, Zack was grateful to have the flashlight. After what seemed like an eternity they swam into the commons area. Zack headed for the area where they would pick up their trays on the days they didn't have a buffet and swam through the opening. Russell followed right behind him. Not immediately seeing what he was looking for, Zack began frantically shining his light back and forth in the small serving area, scanning everywhere for the doors to the dumbwaiter shaft. His lungs felt like they were going to explode. He fought the urge to open his mouth and breathe in, knowing what that would mean. He finally spotted the doors and hurried over to them. He found the hand crank and tried it. It wouldn't budge.
Oh no, please, not this Zack thought.
He tried to think of a solution, but because his brain was becoming oxygen deprived he found his thoughts becoming hazy and unfocused. He shined the light at Russell and saw that he was on the verge of panicking. Before Zack could do anything else, Russell moved himself in front of the doors and began to mash his foot down on the crank. Zack tried to stop him, fearing he would break it off, but Russell continued unabated. The kicking eventually paid off and the crank began to turn and the doors began to slide open. Once it was open enough, they swam through the opening and up, breaking the surface inside the shaft.
"What were you thinking! You could have broken that handle off!" Zack yelled as soon as he could speak again.
"I didn't see you coming up with any better ideas!" Russell yelled back.
"Well, at least it worked, we're alive" Zack said.
They then began the arduous task of scaling the wall of the shaft. Fortunately they only had to climb up one deck. Zack smiled as they ascended side by side.
I saved a life and I kept my promise to Cody he thought.
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Cody collapsed upon seeing the dead body of his beloved friend. He dropped to his knees as if being shoved down from above by a pair of powerful hands. He didn't cry, there were no more tears to cry. He simply had a blank defeated look on his face as he tenderly picked up one of chef Paulo's limp hands. Max stood behind Cody with a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then she heard a noise in the shaft behind them. Leaving Cody's side, she rushed over and looked down to see Zack and Russell climbing up.
"Oh thank God" Max said.
Zack and Russell reached the opening and Max helped them into the room. Zack and Russell leaned against the wall and tried to catch their breath.
"See Codes! I told you I'd make it...didn't I promise..." Zack began without realizing why his twin was kneeling on the floor with his back to them and not moving.
Max stopped Zack from speaking by grabbing his arm and shaking her head. Zack then took a few steps closer to Cody and saw the body spread out before his brother.
"Oh no" Zack said as he walked up and dropped down right beside Cody.
Cody didn't move, didn't blink, didn't speak. He just continued to stare at chef Paulo's body. Zack put his arms around Cody and pulled him in. Cody tried to cry then, but the only thing that came out were a few dry sobs. Tears came to Zack's eyes but he was hurting more for his brother than the actual loss of chef Paulo. A few minutes passed and the ship issued a large groan, snapping Zack back to reality. He turned Cody towards him so he could look him in the eye.
"Cody, I know it's hard, but we have to keep going. We have to get out so we can live, so we can remember everyone we lost here. They would all want us to get out you know that right?" Zack said.
Cody was looking at Zack but he still seemed a million miles away. Zack tried again.
"One of the last things mom said to me was not to give up. She made me promise to find you and get you and Max out of here and I intend to keep that promise. Please Cody, don't quit on me now" he said.
Cody blinked then and his eyes seemed to refocus. He nodded at Zack and allowed his twin to help him to his feet. They heard the sound of rushing water then and looked behind them just in time to see the water come over the edge of the opening between the dumbwaiter doors. In the time they had been in the room the water had flooded the shaft up to deck 6. Poseidon was sinking rapidly now.
"Max, did you see any way to get to the stern back by the air vent!" Zack asked hurriedly.
"No it's a dead end that way" Max replied.
"Okay, this way!" Zack yelled and they started running further towards the bow.
As they ran, every joint and seam in the corridor seemed to split open, allowing multiple jets of high pressure water to spray in at them from below. They exited the first kitchen through a round steel hatchway door and found themselves in a kind of foyer between the two kitchens. They walked across the small room and as Zack went to pull open the door to the next kitchen Cody suddenly yelled out and grabbed Zack's hand.
"What?" Zack asked.
"Look at the door" Cody said.
They all looked closer at the door and noticed it was sweating. Cody ran his hand from the bottom of the door all the way to the top.
"Completely flooded, if we open this we'll be inundated!" he exclaimed.
"So we're trapped here" Max said.
"One last chance...stay here, let me see what's over that way" Zack said and moved back deep into the small foyer area. If there was no way up back there, he knew they were all done.
Fourth and goal, no time left on the clock, last play of the game Zack thought. He rounded the corner and suddenly beamed.
"Happy new year guys, there's a stairwell back here!"